Cloud Computing

A lot of companies that I visit have great IT staff. Their technical knowledge is excellent, but what they don’t always have is a strategy for the direction of the IT infrastructure. They are normally responding to internal politics and the thoughts and desires of a few others in the organisation.

Sometimes replicating what they have done elsewhere with slight improvements is a practice seen far too often.

It is in my opinion fundamental to take a massive step back, look at the company processes, the people involved in those processes and the deliverables of the organisation. In the same way that I advocate a flow chart for the process side of the business, a design document for the present and the future IT infrastructure is required. That design document should incorporate only the processes, the tools should come about as a result of dialogue outlining the most effective and efficient way of doing this.

For example; Is it imperative that a Solicitor should have a hosted solution or a cloud solution, when in fact everyone works from the same office, with no remote access required..? Using the same example, it might be said that another Solicitor has everyone working from home with hot desks at the office. There’s a lot to be said in this situation for a hosted or cloud solution.

I’m not dictating a right or wrong way to do any of this. It is more important to understand that an IT strategy should encompass so much more than the whims and desires of a few for the latest technology.

This approach to your planning can save a lot of expense, as it is easy – and seen very often – that IT hardware and software is something that needs replacing and that there should be something for everyone’s requirements, not necessarily the requirements of the company and its future direction. I’ve seen IT budget holders spend because they have to so that they don’t lose money the following year. That should never be a part of any company’s IT strategy, yet it happens.

To summarise; know your business now, know your business in the future and structure your IT accordingly. Sounds simple doesn’t it, but it happens less than you think.