IT for Business - Getting the Value You Deserve
Computers are all-pervasive. There cannot be many businesses which do not use PCs for production or service delivery, management or communications, yet it can be difficult to get the best possible value from your outlay.
In this article, reprinted from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland's "Focus" newsletter, Archie Bell of Waverley Lane gives some pointers on how to obtain the best value from your business IT system.
Don't Cut Corners!
Always remember that your data is the most valuable element in your IT system, so make sure to invest in good quality, brand-name server equipment with some protection against component failure.
Setting up and supporting your IT system in-house may seem attractive
from a cost point of view but experience and judgement, commercial awareness
of the wider IT market and technical ability also need to be considered.
Staff with a job split between IT management and their main business role
can become unhappy with the responsibilities of system reliability and
costs and not having time to do their "real" job. The largest
hidden cost of in-house IT support can be the recruitment fee to replace
the senior surveyor or engineer who has gone to another job with no IT
responsibilities.
Remember that even enthusiastic and technically able staff may not have experience of working with other similar businesses and could lead you up a computing cul-de-sac as far as long-term development and support are concerned.
You can ease these pressures by setting boundaries appropriate to your own resources, beyond which issues get referred to an external IT support company with whom you have an ongoing relationship for continuity of support.
Research
There are other businesses out there who have resolved the same issues you face, and if you can tap into that knowledge you will benefit from their pioneering efforts. You can get information from trade organisations, business networking groups, or from employing an IT support firm with in-depth experience across a range of clients.
Know what you need from your IT system and the likely costs rather than working out how to configure an email server, for instance. There will be several equally valid technical solutions, and it is more important that you know what to expect from your IT budget than specify the router to be used.
Don't Reinvent the Wheel
Stay with the mainstream. PC-based desktop IT has been around since the mid-1990s, with the advent of email and internet access the major step-changes in the decade since. There will be products available to suit your requirements, so it may not be cost-effective for you to have software written for exactly the way you run your business.
If that sounds unreasonable, consider that "just doing it in Access" is actually undocumented and unsupported software development. There are software packages available for every industry and business process, and buying rather than creating your own applications should bring you regular improvements, fixes for problems, and ideally an online forum where users can get support from each other.
Stay with the Market Leaders
There is no doubt that Windows is here to stay. There are 160 million PCs sold per annum - that's half-a-million a day - and the vast majority of these use Windows. It works, basically, and the Microsoft Office file formats allow documents to be sent around the world. Apple Macs are often even better, being simple, robust and well-suited to creative industries such as publishing. There is no case for an alternative to these two systems for the smaller business.
Do also take care not to let unusual or obsolete software become business-critical by accident. It is quite common to find that a software package has taken on a business-critical function but cannot be upgraded and will not run on the more recent version of Windows which other software needs, for example. This is not to suggest change for change's sake, but audit the software your staff use, keep in touch with the suppliers, and if they show signs of not keeping up with developments elsewhere you should look for alternatives.
If the correct building blocks are chosen you can get useful features at no additional cost over using the "incorrect" components, and these will make your system more secure, more reliable, and cheaper to support.
Protect Your Data
Data integrity and security are paramount. You should have some hardware redundancy - a "mirrored pair" of hard disks in a brand name file server is cost-effective. You must also have regularly tested backup procedures, virus protection, and firewalling of your network from the internet. Regrettably, spam and virus filtering of your incoming email is essential these days, but choosing the correct internet service will bring these at no extra cost. Internal security with password-protected user permissions is essential as more data is lost through human error than hardware failure.
The correct choice of broadband service, router and firewall will also allow secure remote access to your network at no extra cost. Not only will authorised staff be able to collect email and files while out of the office but remote administration of the system becomes feasible, improving facilities and cutting costs once more.
"Acceptable Use Policies" for both email and internet usage are important matters for your Contracts of Employment, but a positive and focused office culture is the most effective safeguard against inappropriate use. The "European Computer Driving Licence" is a recognised qualification which will give your staff a good grounding in computer operation and help them to take ownership of the work tools they use daily.
Try to avoid laptops unless you have a real need for portability. They are more expensive than desktops, more fragile, more difficult to get spares for, and more easily lost or stolen. Good-quality desktop PCs from Dell or HP/Compaq can be expected to have a useful life of three to five years, while even the best laptops may be uneconomical to repair after only two years.
And Finally...
From a managerial point of view, treat the IT system as a service to be provided to your internal customers. For reliability and security the system must be carefully specified and then sensibly developed and maintained to control the total cost of ownership. Aim to stay in the mainstream with good quality equipment and support, standardise wherever possible, and don't let well meaning enthusiasm get the better of calm and careful expertise.
Archie Bell - May 2005