No IT Clowns Here Part II - Stephen King's "IT"

Companies to need Savvy up their IT

I wrote an article back in December 07, titled "This Isn't Stephen King's "IT"" and as I was reading the Wall Street and Technology web site today, I stumbled across this article about IT. Once again, it addresses the fact that people are so opposed to something they do not understand and refuse to embrace technology. To make matters worse, this author provides no real backing of his assumptions in regards to IT, which, in the end, makes him one of the main reasons IT gets such a bad rap.

Right off the bat, the tone is set incorrectly in this article about how IT should be viewed.

"In good times, the challenge is how to spend the money wisely; and in bad times, the challenge also is how to spend the money wisely."

IT cannot be viewed as simply managing costs associated with developing a business' infrastructure. I'll be one of the first to tell you that IT projects can and are expensive, but if the big picture vision is there and well thought out, success awaits you. Businesses that irresponsibly throw money around will suffer the fate of having a shoddy IT department,

but companies that utilize IT to attack and resolve business inefficiencies have more than just "15 minutes of IT fame."

A sand trap many businesses fall into are getting caught up with "buzz words" and not really seeing how the applications can benefit their business. They buy the product, not the solution. We can thank the salespeople that strive for the quick sale and not the long-term success.

The Author mentions that IT Departments "fail to build a sustainable practical environment" (Habbal, Mayiz 6/11/08). I challenge that remark and to ask how often a business agrees to an IT Project and then quickly disregards it before the solution is implemented!! As the list of insults are thrown at IT, words such as "appalling", "staggering", and my favorite, "exceptionally frightening" are mixed together, it is no wonder people think IT is from Stephen King's novel.

Mayiz Habbal has strong words towards IT, yet no evidence backing up his claims. I understand IT undertakings have failed, but also a lot of flourished. Apple fans love IT. iPhone software is the result of IT investments.

IT helps companies attack inefficiencies. Businesses that have multiple departments and have issues of the "silo effect", by bringing in an ERP solution and allow all those businesses to communicate seamlessly does wonders for breaking down barriers. Walmart owes all of it's inventory success to Information Technology. Its inventory systems allow both the supplier and Walmart to "talk" between intranets with ease.

Imagine if Walmart had to call each one of its suppliers for every store?! YIKES!

Overall, I am not saying IT is perfect. It is not and that is because businesses can be very loose when it comes to investing properly. Then, when a project fails, they blame the IT department when, in the first place, the other departments in the business did not fully harness the solution being presented.

There is no cookie-cutter answer for a business when it comes to IT. Every solution is customized to the business. Forcing a product on a business never leads to success. The product has to provide that solution that answers the issue posing a problem to the business. Once the corporate world realizes this, IT will be basking in the high life.....

~the GURU

A little video of Stephen King's "IT". Your IT guy is not the Clown.

Let Me See My Network!

Empower the Biz. Owner to see his networks and monitor it himself.

The all-too-common scenario: You're at home with your family or innocently relaxing. Then, your Blackberry begins to chime. You pick up your little handheld and learn... your network is down or experiencing "technical difficulties." And, this is the night all the file transfers and data back-ups have been schedule, and on top of that, you were submitting your proposal to a huge potential client.
A patch of sweat wets your brow, your heart rate went from resting to around 190bpm, and your kids might have just learned a new four letter word. What is your next step?
You do not know where the trouble is in your network. Is it even my network or is my service provider experiencing problems? All the routers, cables, hubs, etc are a vast maze. You passed on paying out the yin yang for the third party network management who, whenever you spoke with them, sounded like jibberish.

Now, what is your service provider doing? Do they pro-actively monitor your network? So, they already know there is a problem? How about SLAs (service license agreements)? All this information is critical. Most likely if it is some basement bargain priced providers you are in a "predicament." Remember, most of the time and what I am a firm believer in, "you get what you pay for." What are your answers to these questions? If you have a blank mind, better get on this...

However, if you are one of the enlightened ones, you realize telecommunications is an investment for your business. No communications = Business/Customers can't contact you. So, providers that pro-actively monitor networks to the T are where you need to be with your business. For example, the company I work for proactively monitors all its networks. If there are problems you see our trucks EVERYWHERE. Also, most of the networks supplied to you come with network management tools. The user can pull up all the network's statistics. You can pin-point where the problem is. Meanwhile, Mr. Bargain Basement is sleeping, most likely not even aware of the problem with your network. Do you ever even see their technicians?

C'mon, telecommunications are only becoming more critical with our globalizing world.
So, let's be honest here. Being able to see your network at any time is greatly beneficial. You can ping your network. Pin-point when you're peaking with bandwidth or trying to zero-in on problems, you can have more answers than question marks. The smarter and more-respected service providers are providing these services to their clients. Is your provider?

Web states are you friend. Take advantage of them.

~The GURU