CultureCategory

Many of us have to give directions; it might be in a project, when managing a team, instructions for someone to pick something up for you from a shop, defining a business strategy – but the way to give directions is important. What is wrong with the way people are… Continue Reading The best way to give directions – destination first

In a 2014 report, Gartner identifies the challenges of the IT organisation in view of the nature of the demands they need to satisfy: provide innovative solutions with agility; provide operational continuity as “business as usual”.  Gartner’s model establishes these as two different types of needs that require two separate… Continue Reading Bimodal IT – Gartner’s view on IT

There are lots of reasons why projects fail, but specifically why IT projects fail – not technology, not budget. You may read in the press about massive IT projects spiraling out of control, costs are double or triple the budget, and technology is being blamed. However, the root cause of… Continue Reading IT projects fail for EVILL reasons

You have probably heard the analogy of trying to guide or coordinate people who have their own agenda or views – that it is like herding cats. It’s often a battle dealing with people who think that they already have the right answer (or those who stick to, and defend,… Continue Reading Herding cats? Use catfood

In describing myself as an IT Architect in a social gathering recently, the gentleman who I was speaking to suddenly burst into a frustrated tirade that he was a real architect, and he was horrified that I could call myself an architect. To become a construction architect, it takes 8… Continue Reading The difference between an IT Architect and a construction architect

In my travels as a consultant and adviser, I have come to find that middle management is holding back innovation. Allow me to explain this dramatic assumption. I have found that there are three types of employee – the leader, the worker and the middle-manager. The leaders In industry, government… Continue Reading Middle management – holding back innovation

The focus needs to change. People need to stop fighting today’s problems with yesterday’s answers, and instead, focus on finding solutions to tomorrow’s challenges. I see this time and again from organisations large and small, from both experienced and newly educated people – a focus on the problems that have… Continue Reading Stop fighting today’s problems with yesterday’s answers

Businesses are running headlong into automation as a useful way to improve consistency, flexibility and speed, and decrease costs. However, there is a need for businesses to reconsider what is being automated, and more importantly why automation is being used. Implementation of automation requires a change in paradigm, similar to… Continue Reading Automation requires a change in paradigm

Ring, ring. “Hello, is that the IT Manager? Can I ask you a few questions for a survey? <preamble here to build a relationship and feeling of trust, like complimenting the company or asking what the company does, saying that it’s impressive or hard work>. Can you tell me what… Continue Reading Information disclosure as a security risk

We have all been conditioned. We have been indoctrinated through years of advice and needing to follow requirements – but perhaps we need to reconsider passwords in the Internet age? What is wrong with password policies? For years, we have been told that you need to have passwords that are a… Continue Reading Passwords in the Internet Age

You may think it is bold of me to forecast the impending decline of Infrastructure As A Service (IaaS) before it is even mainstream, but I expect that the takeup and consumption of IaaS offerings will decrease gradually from 2025, down to almost nothing in 2030. So, IaaS is dead.… Continue Reading Forecasting the demise of IaaS

For years we have been hearing that tablet sales are outstripping PC sales, and projections that the PC platform will die, leaving all of us using tablets for all our computing needs. There has been a rush by organisations to equip staff with mobile devices (or let them bring their… Continue Reading Why a virtual desktop is the solution to workforce mobility

Activity Based Working (ABW) is the term used for a change in work practices that focusses on creating collaboration based workspaces, instead of personally assigned desks or cubicles. To enable ABW, there needs to be a shift in tools used by staff, so that they are accessible from mobile devices.… Continue Reading Activity Based Working is not provided by IT

How many times have you encountered a “block” of a suggestion for improvement with a response of “That is what we have always done”? People are resistant to change, even in an innovative organisation dealing with the latest technologies. The reality is that the opportunities provided by technology and new tools are… Continue Reading That is what we have always done

Many organisations have allowed staff to bring in their own device for use at work – these are Bring Your Own Device policies (BYOD Policy). It’s becoming more common, but what are the bring your own device policy risks? In this article, when I refer to device, I include phones,… Continue Reading Bring Your Own Device policy risks

Whilst defining your BYOD policy, you might miss some important requirements to producing a document that will help guide your employees when they use their own device for work purposes. More organisations around the world are now providing an allowance to employees to allow them to buy their own consumer… Continue Reading Tips for defining your BYOD policy

Many of us have to give directions; it might be in a project, when managing a team, instructions for someone to pick something up for you from a shop, defining a business strategy – but the way to give directions is important. What is wrong with the way people are… Continue Reading The only way to give directions

How do you work out what data you need to capture for a system? This is a question not often asked, at least not in the right way. Designing data entry for a system should be driven by the wants and needs of the output. It’s no good gathering data if… Continue Reading Designing data entry for a system

Running release N minus 1? What about release N plus 45 days? Software update best practice should mean that patches and updates are tested, but not held back when it provides known fixes. It is common practice for risk-averse companies to not run the very latest release of software, instead… Continue Reading n-1 is dead, long live N+45