) 
In an IT divorce, who gets the passwords?
It is certainly common that when ISOutsource steps into a new account, someone has been there before. One recurring theme we run into (fortunately not all the time!) is the issue of how information will be recovered from the outbound service provider.
We often hear quotes like ‘I don’t know if they have any documents, but I’ve never seen them’ or ‘We have tried to get our password list from them, but are not having much luck’. These issues are a great cause of frustration and concern for companies that outsource, as they worry about what happens if they ever decide to part ways.
Those concerns can be well grounded. It is tough enough worrying if a problematic outgoing vendor will exit gracefully (and how will you really know?) without wondering if you will get back your passwords.
The answer is simple, talk about these things up front. Think of it as an IT prenuptial. If documentation is created on your dime, you have the rights to that documentation! When an IT vendor leaves, you have the rights to all of your information that they collected as part of doing the job, such as passwords. When an IT vendor departs, or even while they are still helping you out, you should have access to core documents and passwords. You paid, you are the customer, you should be able to see these things and keep copies if you wish. Ask about that with your current vendor! Make sure you are comfortable with the answer. Always remember that you are the customer, you have the right to feel secure in the fact that you own the value of deliverables you pay for!
If your IT provider can’t or won’t comply, then perhaps it is time to talk to a new IT provider!
IT’s Biggest Money Wasters
When thinking about IT budgets, it is important not only to look at new requirements, but also to look inside of current expenditures and make sure that every dollar is being used to its best purpose.
Last week I saw a great article on the biggest sources of waste associated with IT and technology, and thought it worth summarizing.
The 6th worst money sink in IT is failed projects. While this covers a lot of ground as a subject, the simple matter is that IT organizations have reported average project failure rates between 30 and 70 percent. Even at the low of 30 percent, this is an amazing number, considering IT projects often represent a quarter or more of an IT budget in some years. Clearly, project management and planning are critical here.
The 5th worst money sink in IT is, somewhat surprisingly, excess bandwidth. We all love massive bandwidth, and it is often the cure allfor network speed issues. The point in the article is that there is a declining curve of value at some point where we are simply way overestimating our real ongoing bandwidth needs. Think of it like having a 2,000 minute plan on your cell phone when your average use is 500 minutes. The rest is just waste and profits for the data line provider. We all WANT to believe we need it, and feel good having it (more IS better right???) but at the endof the day, many companies are buying bandwidth for an imagined peak usage that may exceed reality by several orders of magnitude.
And on to number 4 – uncontrolled email usage. Yep, email. There are two aspects of this mission critical piece of all of our lives that costs companies so much money. First, it is a productivity draw down. Clawing through hundreds of emails to find the critical hand full is a daily part of our lives, and it is expensive. Spam filters, etc, play an important role, as well does having smart inbox management policies and rules in place. The hidden costs, however, lie in storage costs, licensing, costs, and the ongoing battle against viruses, malware, anddata protection. Make sure you understand the costs of storing and backing up those unlimited email inboxes and decide if perhaps some limitations and rules are in order. Not only does storage cost money, but backups cost money, often by the gigabyte of storage, and the larger the backup, the slower the recovery, and unlimited email storage in a large company can really hamper disaster recovery times. There are about 250,000,000,000 (250 BILLION) emails sent a day. Think about storing and backing all of that up!
Moving on the the IT money wasting winners circle!
In 3rd place we have high level product and software service agreements. Although many of us shy away from those expensive in home warranties for our appliances, knowing they are huge profit makers for the manufacturer, we gladly sign up for 24/7, 99.999% uptime, 10 minute phone response, and 4 hour onsite repair guaranties. In general, the bigger the promise, the higher the cost, and in most cases, we really don’t need the excessive service level. Take a look at your service plans and warranties and align them with your actual business needs. IT systems are business tools, so reduce the fear factor and think of them as business tools and pay for service levels associated with the criticality of those tools to your ability to transact business.
In 2nd place we find an old favorite – The Paper Chase.
OK, the paperless office has not happened. We love print outs. But, can’t we at least try for the LESS PAPER office? The average employee consumes 10,000 pages per person per year. In terms of the paper and ink costs, that is about $80 per person. While not a lot individually, it adds up across a company. What is really frustrating on this one is that it is estimated that over 50% of those 10,000 print outs end up in the garbage the very same day they are printed! Money thrown away every day. Make a policy, educate your employees and in general, try to make sure that things like emails and simple reports are viewed digitally, not in printed copy.
And the added benefit here is that reducing print outs is one of the simplest and effective ‘green’ efforts you can undertake!
Well, I know you have read this far primarily because you are dying to see #1. I did this whole thing in reverse order just to ensure you would read this far!
The #1 money waster in IT is unused and overbought software licensing! Studies show that the average enterprise has between 25 and 75% of enterprise software licensing is unused or underused. ERP systems are an even bigger problem, as they are very expensive, and studies show that 50% of installed ERP modules are not used.
Do an audit, look at all of your applications and make sure you are only paying licensing for the correct number of employees. Evaluate all components of your line of business applications, and make sure you are not paying for unused modules. All of these costs add up, and they add up large amounts. An example (a rather large one just to make the point) is Proctor & Gamble who assessed their Oracle and SAP systems to trim unused modules and save $30,000,000 annually.
At the end of the day, IT can be a significant part of your budget, but spending IT dollars on things that add no value is simply not acceptable. Talk to your IT department or provider andwork through these issues, then ask them what other areas of IT spend you can look at to create savings and more efficient use of your budget dollar.
Happy (and less expensive) computing!
Richard Brunke
In: Business, Tech Education
We Need iPads!
A quick post here, not so much about iPads, but more about the emerging trend of employee consumerism in IT. Like it or not, IT is not just about ROI anymore, and IT departments can no longer hold the lid down on all of the incoming technologies and always pick a ‘best fit’.
IT will have to be more flexible and more attuned to the reality that technology is about productivity AND employee satisfaction.
Good article to take a look at.
Happy Computing!
Richard Brunke
In: Business, Tech Education
The Enemy Is Out There – And Complexity Is It’s Name
I read an interesting article today that I thought I’d share. It dealt with complexity in IT, and how the more complex a project is, the higher the risk of failure is. While that is not in and of itself shocking, the actual statistics were. Projects/systems under a million dollars have a 75% chance of success, and projects over $2 million have only a 40-50% chance of success.
OK, I realize that if you are reading this, you are most likely not contemplating a multi-million dollar project. This blog relates to small businesses, for which I still think there are learning’s to be had here. Basically, the bigger and more complex a project, the more chance of failure in introduced. The author also points out that for the most part, cloud computing is an ADDITIONAL layer of complexity, and therefore should be planned for as such and not assumed to be a simplifying factor.
When planning projects, the goal is to break them down into the smallest logical pieces possible and then execute on those as individual projects. After all, that 75% success rate for ’small’ project is not really acceptable either is it? If the goal is to find a place where we are at 90+% chance of success, we need to really break our projects down to pieces that can be measured in as close to real time as possible. Daily and weekly checkpoints are relevant and important, and of course, having the big picture identified and managed to across projects is also critical, and not a skill that one should assume every IT staffer will have. Make sure that project management skills are carefully vetted when selecting a project team. Measure twice and cut once, as the saying goes. Or, perhaps more accurately, make sure you are not firing before aiming.
As you break down your large project into smaller projects with a higher percentage chance of success, you create a new risk – the increasing risk of not properly managing project interdependencies. That is why a documented project plan is required that captures the big picture, and shows how the individual parts nest within the greater goal.
Anyhow, follow the link above and take a look at the article. While the answers are not simple (nor are they given in the article) it is indeed an interesting issue and something that one should keep in mind as they plan out their IT needs this budgeting season.
Plan large, execute small.
Words to live by.
Happy Computing! (also words to live by)
Richard Brunke
IT Labor Budgeting
Every year, sometime in October, an annual tradition takes place in businesses everywhere. No, it’s not Oktoberfest, though that sounds like fun… that annual tradition is the kick off of budgeting season. October presents that cold splash of reality in the face that reminds us we are about to run out of year, and we have to do some planning for next year.
So, I thought it would be a good time to post about some best practices to help you with your IT budget. The challenge over the last few years has been ‘right sizing’ IT infrastructure and staff in an world of business downsizing. That has created additional challenges to what is already a painful process. Even more challenging is the fact that business ‘right sizing’ may have IT expenditures off kilter, and perhaps badly.
The first question to ask yourself is what is the right staffing and spending level.
Although there is no secret sauce to IT budgets, there are guidelines that may help you identify issues with your current spend. In the typical small to medium business, there is one IT staff person per 27 regular employees. As companies grow, this ratio grows until it reaches about 1 to 40 for large businesses. From a spending standpoint, IT labor should be about 3-4% of total labor on average.
Where this gets challenging is for those companies that are 10 people, or 20 in total. A 10 person company should have about 1/3 an IT person, or if the average employee in that company is about $65,000, should spend about $21,645 or just over $1,800 a month on IT labor. Granted, various things can shift this around, such as high maintenance users (you know who you are!), complex environments, etc. However, after quoting hundreds and hundreds of companies for IT services, these numbers work really well for estimation purposes.
The next challenge in setting your IT labor budget is ensuring that you have the right resources available for the money. If you plan to hire IT, what position will they be in, what skills will you focus on, and what are the gaps? In general, IT is not different than any other expertise, and no single person can know and do everything, so plan carefully on whether you hire a generalist, and outsource the high level expertise (often a wise approach, as those skills are used the least frequently) or whether you hire an expert and outsource the generalist work (I see this with firms that have specific skill requirements around an internal application most frequently).
I’ll likely post more details on other aspects of budgeting in the weeks and months to come, but simply figuring out labor is the most important first step. In my experience, it is also the area for biggest savings, as companies often over hire in IT as they seek to capture key skills on staff that are then badly under utilized.
It is a fine line, not underspending, and not overspending. However, start with a goal in mind, and work diligently to move your model to that level of spend. Then over time evaluate your internal service levels and satisfaction and adjust accordingly. It does not matter if you have internal IT, or an outsourced provider, but each year you should sit down (with your employees, or provider) and talk about your business, your needs, and your budget, and ensure that IT is a partner in your business, with a full understanding of your expectations, and budgeting requirements.
Ask your provider to help you with a budget! Spending several hundred dollars to build out a budget together may be the most useful thing you can do with an IT provider. The same applies with internal IT. Challenge them with budgetary figures and requirements along with service level and expertise requirements and see if they are able to meet your needs.
At the end of the day, IT is another tool that exists to support and enable your business. It should not be a scary black box that you are afraid to look into, or where the employees do ‘obscure and unknown’ things that must be critical to the business. Take some time and dig in. Make sure you are getting what you want, and ask questions, be demanding. You deserve to not only be happy, productive, and supported by your IT provider, but you also deserve to understand and control your spending levels.
Happy Computing (and budgeting)
Richard Brunke
Partially Cloudy With a Chance of Frustration
This week, the Microsoft BPOS Cloud Suite (their cloud based offering for Exchange, SharePoint, Office Communications Online, and Office Live Meeting) experienced intermittent access to the data center (thus intermittent access to their apps) over a two hour period between 8:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. Eastern Time.
In other words, for those that have moved to these cloud based applications, for about two hours they could not be productive, assuming that email or Share Point, for example, were critical to their productivity (I know email is critical to my productivity, and that of my company).
This service comes with a 99.9% uptime guarentee. Well, that gives them about 2 hours a year of downtime, and that’s all been used up. The problem is, of course, that 2 hours does not seem so bad until it happens in the middle of a busy day, or during peak order times, etc. The other problem, of course, is that it is completely outside of your control.
Does this mean that cloud computing is doomed to failure? No, of course not. It is just a reminder that cloud computing, like any other IT choice, has its advantages, and its risks, and these should be thought through carefully and realistically. It continues to be my belief that cloud computing has a number of hurdles to overcome, most of which it will, given time, however, IT departments and business users need to continue to understand what all the issues and options are before making a choice to go to the cloud.
That way, every surprise can be a pleasant one.
Happy Computing,
Richard Brunke
The Catch Up Game
Normally I post about tech trends, but today I want to talk about what appears to be the beginnings of a business trend in the Puget Sound area. The fact is, the gloom seems to be lifting, and IT spend is coming back into the market at levels not seen for a while. Granted, much of this is driven by projects held off for, in some cases, several years too long, but the fact is, the economy no longer feels as much like the great black hole that may swallow businesses whole, and pragmatism is taking hold.
It is very difficult to know in real time where the bottom of an economy is, and when we are heading up or down, but at the end of the day, there are things we have to do to keep the doors open such as pay our employees, pay rent, and keep our computing infrastructure running. And more importantly, there comes a time when we realize that we don’t just want to keep the doors open, but we want to grow and thrive.
My experience is that many smaller businesses stretched their dollars by holding back on IT spend by holding off on upgrades and routine maintenance. This generally has little impact in the short term, but has an increasingly growing cost the longer you wait. As it has become increasingly evident that, while the business environment is challenging, it is still driven by the same requirements it always has, and putting off investment will hobble growth, productivity, and competitive advantage.
Due to this, project spend is on the rise, and rather rapidly. It’s the old catch up game as businesses realize that they are overdue for moving off of XP, for moving off of old versions of Microsoft Server or other core applications, and for updating hardware, upgrading networks, etc.
As all of this pent up demand hits the market, it becomes a bit of a feeding frenzy for qualified resources. As you plan for getting the help you need to catch up in IT, ask yourself a few key questions:
- Am I ready to increase my fixed costs in IT, or should this be variable project work?
- If I am ready to increase long term fixed costs, how do I do so in a way to maximize the quality of support and quantity of support I get for that spend?
- Have I kept up on technology offerings to the extent that I can make solid decisions regarding upgrades, changes, and purchases to ensure I don’t waste any money short or long term?
Make sure that you invest in IT the same as you would invest in any other aspect of your business; thoughtfully, carefully, and with foresight and after doing your homework.
This is a great time to slow down a bit and assess where you are in regards to your technology and your business needs. Slow down long enough to develop a plan for your IT spending and make sure you evaluate options. Otherwise, working from old upgrade plans may bring about wasting money on plans which are no longer appropriate from a business and technology standpoint.
It’s been great to see more energy and enthusiasm about IT spend, as it is part of a general increase in confidence in business, and often goes hand in hand with hiring. Just make sure you step back and validate your plans and realize that a small investment in planning now may save you a lot of money over the next few years, and, if in doubt, call us and ask for help!
Happy Computing!
Richard Brunke
Should you Upgrade to Exchange 2010?
I know I talk a lot about these upgrade questions, but I think it is important to take a look at the real value behind an upgrade, and make a decision based on whether it makes sense for your business.
Fundamentaly, I can see two real reasons to upgrade any major system:
- There are features in the new version you want
- The new version will positively impact productivity or reduce costs
With Exchange 2010, there is a bit of each, depending on how you use it.
In terms of features, there are a few really interesting new features – my favorite being the voicemail preview function, that transcribes voicemails so you can quickly scan them in an email. I can’t think of how much time I would save with that function in addition to the times I am in a meeting and can’t listen to voicemail (I admit, I do email in meetings). There are also some handy changes coming in the Outlook Web Access, Archiving, and Compliance management that may be of interest to many types of users such as Public Companies, Doctors, and Lawyers.
As to reducing costs and improving productivity, I think that the improved I/O (input/output) capabilities are the big sell. Microsoft claims that 2010 will require 70% less disk I/O, which means a few important things. First of all, it means that in large data stores, you can use lower speed cheaper hard drives and still get excellent performance, and this can save relevant amounts of money. It also means that really huge inboxes will be much easier to manage with far fewer errors than has historically been true, and this is really relevant with lawyers for example, that often keep very large inboxes. I for one struggle with trimming my inbox all the time keep it within recommended best practices.
All in all, the world will all get to 2010 eventually. Adoption is often slow, and a rough economy does not help, but I for one see Microsoft really working to put interesting and value added features into their most recent spate of releases (Windows 7, Office 2010, and now Exchange 2010) that will help speed up adoption. For many users, the new features and potential increased productivity make this a smart move!
The User’s Strike Back!
I’ve posted a few times about the importance of understanding the user, and ensuring that they are happy, productive and supported by IT. It all sounds very mom and apple pie, and yet, it continues to amaze me how many stories I hear about IT departments that simply don’t understand that they are in fact a service department.
A fantastic example is an article I just read on CIO.com entitled Stupid Users Are So Stupid. What a great example of the point. The writer points out that he simply wants to be a ‘happier worker’ but then laments that perhaps he is asking for too much.
IT has to come out of the black box and realize that times are changing, and service requirements are increasing. It is not enough to say ‘I can’t do it, and I can’t tell you why’. Time to share the secret handshake and open up the book of secret three letter acronyms. The fact is, many IT departments have become trapped in their own processes and history, and may in fact not be flexible enough to adjust to the future. While this may indeed be a boon to outsource firms (who don’t have the luxury of simply saying no, since we clearly know who are customers are), it is not good for the industry as a whole.
Businesses need to learn to trust IT and trust that IT not only understands business needs, but wants to understand business and user needs. A true service attitude that makes it clear that IT infrastructure is a tool, and tools are to be selected to fit the needs of the user, rather than the user being forced to use the tool given them (for some reason I picture a construction worker pounding a nail with a wrench at this point).
At the end of the day, job security will come from truly meeting business needs and creating flexible policy that enables individuals to truly be happy with their IT infrastructure, not from adhering to old policies that were created to make IT departments easier to run. If IT must be slightly less efficient to make business more productive and efficient, then so be it.
That is what service providers do, after all.
Rant over -
Happy Computing
Richard Brunke
Do You Speak “IT”?
I was reading an article on CIO.com and watching the video clip that accompanied it entitled Enterprise IT’s Top Enemy: Its Own Arrogance this morning and after watching the video, I had a minor epiphany. Minor only because it is not a new concept. I hear it from our customers all the time, but the video really brings it home.
We all hate it when someone who knows something we don’t lords it over us.
Yes, and more-so, we hate the embarrassed feeling we get when someone speaks over our head and makes us feel dumb for not understanding.
It is a trap we all fall into, myself included. At the end of the day, what IT has to keep in mind is that you have needs, but they are not technical needs. Technology is the tool by which your need will be fulfilled, but you should not have to do the translating, nor should you have to sit and listen to all the translations, unless you want to. The job of IT is to interpret business needs and translate them into technology solutions, then communicate back, in plain English, how you will experience your new solution as a user. You really do have the right to not care about the technical terms.
This is something I talk about a lot with my teams – the concept of being an invisible provider, when that is what the customer desires. Our importance is defined by our success in keeping employees productive and supported, not in our ability to mystify and impress with techno jargon. I often think that IT, at its best, needs to behave like the electric company. Our users don’t thank us when things work (I know I did not call the electric company this morning to thank them for my lights turning on). Nor do our users usually want to understand all the difficult technical ’stuff’ we have to do to make it all work (yeah, I know something goes on beyond that little outlet in my house, I just don’t care what). And when something goes wrong, they just want it fixed quickly and efficiently without having to understand all the details. Fix it, and do what you can to assure me it will have as little downtime in the future as possible.
So take note – I get it. We get it. While the desire to explain the work we take such pride in can be overwhelming at times, we understand that you reserve the right to not hear all the details. Whomever you work with in IT, tell them how you want to be communicated with. Just be honest and let your IT know what you do and don’t want to know. After all, it is the job of IT to work to meet your needs; technical, business, and communications.
After all, you just want the stuff to work, right? If you wanted to understand it all, you’d likely be doing what we do!
Happy Computing!
Richard Brunke
In: Business, Technology
