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Taking Time to Assess the IT Plan

Taking Time to Assess the IT Plan

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Twice a year, I get my greater IT team together to assess the tactical plan for the next six months and gather input looking forward to the next three years.  I found this process to be insightful, thought-provoking, and personally challenging.  Nobody, and I mean nobody, enjoys having someone poke holes in their plans for eight plus hours.  However, if this is not done regularly than my plans and assumptions may be completely off or develop gaps large enough park a small data…

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Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for Small Information Technology Departments

Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for Small Information Technology Departments

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Individuals, departments, and companies must track their performance in order to have a baseline and comparator for improvement over time. KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are a great baseline for understanding historical performance, setting future expectations, and keeping the team on the competitive edge. If you do not have a good baseline and understanding of performance metrics, you will not know when you are slipping into mediocrity or worse. Several weeks ago, I wrote about the importance of KPIs for individuals and departments. I received a few e-mails asking what KPIs I would…

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Whose commitment comes first, the company or employee?

Whose commitment comes first, the company or employee?

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Who needs to show commitment first, the company to a new employee or the new employee to the company? By new employee, I mean any person who is newly working for a company as an employee, temporary staff, contractor, consultant, or intern. Before you answer, I see no third option, as the canned response of “well, both the company and employee should show commitment to each other” is just a wishful dream and only exist in the realm of utopian theory….

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Computing under lock and key, the corporate computing life

Computing under lock and key, the corporate computing life

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We live in the  age of corporate compliance, complex system support, lawsuits, social media, and numerous security vulnerabilities that necessitate corporate IT environments remain locked down. For many years, cries have come from the user base to “free our systems so we can work as we want to work.” And for years, IT departments have resisted those cries. I have had this discussion with friends, colleagues, employees, clients, and countless others over the years, and my core belief has never changed. IT environments must…

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