IT Management: Challenges
According to our research, 2005 will not be without it's challenges for IT Production Managers. Here are some of the items which may be on your agenda:
IT Governance.
The IT governance toolsets such as Niku are becoming a mainstream must-have for IT managers trying to look after programmes of work, and aligning them with the Business Strategy. However, with 75% of IT manhours dedicated to post-implementation Support, instead of actually creating new Projects, it will become essential to deploy solutions for tracking the activity of IT Production, as well as IT development
Onshore or Offshore?
Outsourcing in the UK can rarely result in major cost benefits (see our News Comments on this subject in 2004). Off-shoring, on the other hand, has massive potential cost savings. In order to reap these benefits, it will become essential for IT managers to put in place Processes for Distributed IT Management. The rigour and clarity with which this is done will determine whether off-shoring succeeds or fails
Information traceability
Sarbannes-Oxley is only one of the latest in a long line of trends and legislation focusing on traceability and quality control. Part of this must revolve around the Information Traceability. After all, the IT department used to be called "Data Processing" (remember?). In our opinion, the role of the Storage Manager is a key, often neglected function within IT Production. We look forward to seeing this role given a higher profile in future.
Service Orientated Management
We all know that the Service-Orientated Architecture is the "right" buzzword to follow these days. Many companies have made inroads into "service enabling" their development processes. However, one of the theoretical benefits of an SOA is the ability to re-use services in subsequent projects. In order to ensure that this is achieved, IT departments need to roll out the function of Technical Services Manager, who should work alongside the Architects, to ensure that Services are re-used optimally. And, as we have frequently mentioned on this web site, the often-forgotten issues of IT Management occur after a project has been deployed. So the provision of Technical Services Metrics is essential if the business departments are able to costed appropriately for the use of generic IT Services.
| Research Topic: Java Deployment |
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Services for IT Production Managers
Dennis Adams Associates provide an IT Consultancy service which is focused on the area of IT Production, i.e. the manager who are responsible for the day-to-day running of the IT Infrastructure Support Teams (e.g. Systems Managers, Database Admins, Networking and Computer Operations).
In our view, there are four key elements which need to be in place if an IT Production team is to succeed:
- Metrics (both technical, and client activity)
- Operational Tools (for metrics collection, as well as management of the infrastructure)
- Processes and Procedures, and
- Standards.
If these elements are in place, we believe that an IT Production department can be made:
- more Pro-Active,
- more Client-Focused
- a Strategic Managed Environment
- in a better position to justify IT Infrastructure Investment