Business Process ImprovementTag Archive

We learn more from our mistakes than we do from our successes, but it is better to learn from other’s mistakes, because you don’t need to suffer. In many encounters during my career, I have learnt from the failures that occur during disasters. The disasters in disaster recovery may not… Continue Reading Disasters in disaster recovery

As Rear Admiral Grace Hopper said – “It’s easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission”, and this is true in many areas of change. When I am fighting against “this is the way we have always done it“, I find that the path to success is to… Continue Reading Ask for Confirmation, not Definition

If you have a smartphone, you may know that if you have the OneDrive app installed, it can automatically upload your photos to OneDrive. However, the app does not allow you to upload photos automatically to OneDrive for Business. It has been an annoyance for many that Microsoft have decided… Continue Reading Copy Photos to OneDrive for Business

The role of the IT department has changed, and modern IT functions need to re-invent themselves to maintain their relevance and role within the modern enterprise. The changing IT department is moving from the nerds in the basement to real business partners. The Changing Face of the the IT Department… Continue Reading The changing face of the IT department

Humans originally evolved to be dependent on fear. In modern life, the fears that we had evolved around are no longer relevant; we are not going to be hunted by large animals, we have conquered the dark, winter and times of hunger are distant memories. It may be true to… Continue Reading What was a fear, becomes a strength

I have learnt from my Cloud implementations that often customers hold expectations of Cloud that are not always completely effective. Based on my own experience from working with many customers, I have learnt that the following will need to be a focus; Cloud is potentially more secure than on-premises implementation. However, the… Continue Reading 6 Lessons from Cloud Implementations

You have probably heard the expression that entrepreneurs want to “fail fast” – and that you should do the same for your business… but what does it actually mean – and do your customers want you to “fail fast”? Why would you want to fail at all? It’s important to… Continue Reading Fail fast does not mean you want to fail

What is an ‘Older Worker’? According to a Chandler McLeod report: “Coming of Age – The impacts of an ageing workforce on Australian business”, “variations exist in the definition of an employee as ‘older’ or ‘mature aged’. The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations classifies workers and job seekers… Continue Reading Aging workforce and obsolete computer systems

Consumerisation of IT refers to the transferring of consumer market IT solutions to the workplace, used to resolve enterprise needs. Among others, the use of laptops, tablets, smartphones, and software applications such as social media, web conferencing, cloud storage, smartphone applications and even delivery models used to make solutions available to… Continue Reading Consumerisation of IT

A term that you may have heard used a few times may not make complete sense, so; What is Shadow IT? The term Shadow IT or Stealth IT is used to represent the implementation or usage of IT services that have not been officially created or deployed by the IT… Continue Reading Shadow IT / Stealth IT

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

Who defines how your business operations are performed? How does your business operate? Is it based on a definition of what is best for your business and customers, or is it because that is the process that came out of a shrink wrapped application? Shrink Wrapped Applications vs. Custom Build… Continue Reading Shrink wrapped applications

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

I was once in a conversation about capital investment in IT, where the financial manager posited that IT projects can be treated in the same way as an asset – it has an inherent value throughout the lifespan of the system. The belief was that IT CAPEX investments had a… Continue Reading Capital investment in IT – an oxymoron?

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