Develop an IT strategy

by Audrey Rasmussen

April 19, 2001 —

The pressing issues in the typical day of IT staffs, such as constantly responding to and resolving critical system and network events, set up a situation where many IT staffs are forced to " live in the moment. " For some IT administrators, there simply isn’t enough time in the day to think about much else except immediate problems.

While most IT staffs, at one time or another, have had to temporarily tolerate this situation out of necessity, it’s a big mistake to fall into this pattern for an extended period of time. Periodically, IT management and staff must take a step back from their daily routines to survey where IT is and where it’s headed. This is such a simple concept -- yet in many cases, difficult to do.

Your organization probably already has processes in place to plan for technology procurements, budgets, staffing and the like. Although that is a related effort, that’s not what I’m talking about here. What I am talking about is that IT staffs must carefully consider the technologies looming on the horizon and decide which of those will have a major impact on the future of their company’s IT environment. Of course, this will differ depending on the direction of the company and the vertical industry in which it operates. This " forward thinking " must then be translated into plans for moving the company’s IT infrastructure into that direction.

Networks can’t be totally upgraded and overhauled en masse, so network and systems administrators must methodically upgrade their networks for their future needs. These plans could be as aggressive as a replacement of network switches and routers, or as simple as methodically replacing technology through planned obsolescence.

In today’s market, some of the technologies looming on the horizon that may affect an IT organization’s direction are wireless device management, voice over IP, streaming media, and policy-based network management. These technologies are not yet widely accepted or deployed in the real world, in spite of the hype that these technologies have been receiving in the press lately.

In order to support these technologies, there are changes that must happen in the network. For example, to support policy-based network management, network devices must be enabled with IEEE 802.1p and 802.1Q. In addition, policy-based management will be important for companies that have requirements for streaming media or voice over IP, because of the high bandwidth and variable requirements of these applications. So if a company is moving in that direction, it faces an upgrade of its existing network devices. This is something that can be done more easily in a controlled fashion, such as buying the IEEE 802.1p and 802.1Q devices for any new equipment procurements, or methodically replacing aging equipment with the newer devices.

So now you’re thinking, " I’ll just wait until the market sorts it all out before I spend a dime on any of those technologies. " In some cases, that would be the prudent thing to do, especially if the standards have not yet been worked out. But in other situations, waiting it out may cost your company more money in the long run and may cost your company its competittive edge.

If a strategy is in place, then the company can justify the costs and buy new equipment that has the desired features. If a strategy is not in place, in these times of shrinking IT budgets, the firm may decide to buy the cheapest devices rather than the devices that have the required features for the future needs of the company. Although the cheaper device might look like the right decision for the company, that device will have a much shorter useful life, causing the company to pay more than if it had purchased the proper equipment in the first place.

On the other hand, there’s a need for caution. It’s not in the best interest of your company to chase after every new technology, since this can cause the company to invest in technologies that will never be adopted by the industry. However, savvy administrators and managers can make sure that their company is at the leading edge, with a little foresight and planning. It’s better to be a wise visionary rather than a follower.

Network World