Posts Tagged ‘red tape’
January 20th, 2009 | 
Author: Successfully implementing the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) requires an understanding of two very important factors well in advance.
- A team of well-trained, committed and dedicated process owners is vital.
Having someone ultimately responsible for it’s success is vital for a successful Incident Management process. The person responsible should be capable of dedicating enough time and effort to ensure a successful conclusion. Some of the mistakes made by various organisations include:-
- The process owner is non-existent which means there is nobody dedicated to drive a particular process.
There is a process owner, but he or she is bogged down in day to day reactive activities or other “more important” business-driven projects and thus have no time for unnecessary “red tape” like ITIL.
- There is more than one process owner for a particular process – a classic mistake. A single consistent process throughout the organisation is a prerequisite of ITIL. This is usually achieved by only having one process owner. How will the responsibility be determined if there is more than one owner? Major companies who have successfully implemented ITIL have only one process owner throughout the company, even if there are numerous divisions spread across the globe. This ensures that the process is consistent everywhere within the company. and consolidates co-operation between departments and divisions.
The primary problem here, is that companies do not want to spend the money on dedicated resources for process owners. Obviously a process owner can have a split role, doing other work as well, especially in smaller companies. As long as that other role is not too time consuming, this might not be a problem. It is possible for individuals to be made responsible for more than one process. It would be best if these processes are of similar focus. The Change, Configuration and Release roles can be shared by one person in small companies for example. In a large corporate company, each of these roles should be fulfilled by dedicated people. Companies who does not fill these roles individually are probably not serious enough about ITIL and are most probably lacking the management commitment.
Management commitment is the second and probably most critical factor.
Make sure you have full management commitment, or you may discover ITIL might just become another failed IT project.
Management commitment requires more than words. The manager must embrace ITIL and continuously show his commitment to it’s implementation. Empowering staff through professional training, tools etc, is a prerequisite for this. As is demanding the right reports and taking action. It also involves appointing the right people in the right roles and managing by means of ITIL.
Kotter’s 8 steps to organizational change is actually a good guideline for top management to follow.
Probably the most important success factor for ITIL is management commitment, although this is also probably the most difficult to obtain. That is why a lot of ITIL implementations just become a black hole sucking up money.
A great number of IT managers are under the mistaken misconception that ITIL is a wonder-cure for all the problems that beset their organisation. They think they can just install ITIL (almost like installing a new technology) and everything will be OK. Many managers need to understand is that ITIL is a a culture change as well as a major organizational change. Customer focus is paramount. It is not enough to focus only on technology..
Another reason for low management commitment is also that ITIL is usually an internal IT department endeavor and not a direct requirement from the business. It must be remembered that ITIL is merely a methodology for improving IT, and not the sole focus of the business.
For an ITIL project to be successful, committment from the top is an essential prerequisite, and the ITIL project may fail without it.
An experienced IT Practitioner and having just completed an ITIL Foundation V2-3 Bridging Course, George Marks is ideally placed to offer information on ITIL implementation.
Article Source: Tips for a successful ITIL implementation
When most people hear talk about “buying” versus “leasing” they usually think of a car purchase or some sort of real estate agreement. However, small business owners have to think about, and decide between, these terms all the time, and relating to almost everything the work with – buildings, vehicles, equipment for the factory floors and computers for the office.
Considering the amazingly low prices for today’s powerful personal computers, one’s first instinct may be to buy a computer without even thinking about it. Of course, you know you are going to use the machine for several years (computers stay reasonable current for the first year, then start aging rapidly) and the fact that you own it can be somewhat reassuring. There are several factors, however, that should prompt you to consider leasing a computer or perhaps even renting one, as opposed to making that impulse buy.
One is never enough
Leasing computers can help a company avoid plunking down so much capital up front. Leasing makes sense when there is a need for an especially powerful, customized, expensive unit, or a number of computers for different departments. This decision can turn the computers into an operating expense, an especially helpful thing if the company is just getting started. Another advantage is that, when directly leasing from a vendor or a manufacturer, businesses do not need to obtain loans from banks – and deal with all the red tape and paperwork that comes with it.
From a financial planning standpoint, leasing makes sense for many businesses, and if the conditions are right, so does renting. Renting computer equipment can be just as good as leasing in the sense that you can always upgrade, fairly painlessly, to the highest quality, greatest power and newest software available. The company renting you the equipment makes their money also assumes the responsibility for repairs and maintenance. Although some leases may differ on service contracts and onsite repairs, if you rent the equipment the owner is still responsible for the technical difficulties occurring throughout the duration of your contract. That is what paying rent is all about. You pay to have predictable functionality and a working asset at all times.
Other factors
If you really want to know what the best course of action is for you business or your personal needs, then do the usual research. There are always plenty of websites that can provide all the facts, crunch all the various numbers and make it worth your while to investigate. Steer clear of the “rent-to-own” dealers, of course, as the offer of “no money down and no credit check” is insufficient to overcome the price you pay down the road. With rent-to-own, it is always bigger than you expect.
If you have special enhancements on your one of your present computers – special internal plug-in cards (PCI), upgraded graphics (AGP) – and have “maxed out” your RAM, you may wish to reconsider replacing that particular unit. It may be difficult to find a lease deal that will allow you to upgrade and replace computer components, and your rental dealer will probably not like that idea much. If you do need customizing, it is best to own your own equipment.
Ask the accountant
If you run a medium-sized or larger firm, and have various departments with various needs, you will have to do a study to determine the actual, real-world, real-time needs of the various personnel. Ask your department managers to research the matter, and then be specific about what they need in the PCs for their respective departments. You can then have your accountant look at the various options – buy, lease, rent – and calculate what mix of these will work for the company as a whole.
It may be that you need to lease new Macintosh computers for your art department, and on an annual basis to stay up with the “state of the art.” Secretaries, word processors and accounting personnel can easily run new, powerful Windows software on lower-cost PCs, and not need upgrading for several years at a time. Purchasing low-end computers would seem a workable solution. If you have engineers and others needing some real computational horsepower, of course, you may even need to leave the realm of PCs and step up to a mini-computer from IBM or Hewlett-Packard. (PCs are actually defined as “microcomputers.”)
The bottom line is different for different companies and their different needs. Often a mix of these methods – buying, leasing and renting – is the ultimate result of a careful study. If you have a small company with just a few employees, of course, your decision should be a bit easier to make. The fact is, with prices so low for power so great, computers are one of the less expensive expenses for companies today, and contribute to the business out of all proportion to their small cost. Whatever strategy you come up with, it should be an affordable one.
If you are looking for technology and computer rentals in the San Francisco or Las Vegas regions, SWA Computers should be your first call. Our extensive inventory will make your computer rental san Francisco a successful and painless experience.
Article Source: How to Decide Whether to Rent Lease or Buy a Computer