I don't know where to start with my IT strategy. Help!

Today, IT is a vast field that requires teams of people for each specialisation. As business owners we need to step back from the technology, leaving that to specialists and engage at a strategic level to ensure the direction of the overall company is sound.

So let's talk about the 5000-foot view - as a pilot, this one appeals to me. From 5000 feet we do not get a view of what an individual is doing, we can no longer make out individual houses or people on the street. What we can see is the shape of a suburb, the flow of a highway, we can distinguish cars from trucks and houses from sky scrapers, we can see swimming pools and parks and so on.

So how does this relate to IT in business?

First, the big picture

Well, the 5000-foot view of IT is about the shape of it, you need to be able to see a strategy for each of its parts without seeing who is pushing the buttons or the label on the box. You can see an accounting system, a backup solution, the general flow of a network, a website and an e-marketing solution and so forth.

When you appreciate that this is a 5000-foot view you will also realise that you can't just reach out and touch the solution. So from here you are able to get a real overview of the systems your business needs. You are not about to come down for a hard landing so you have plenty of time to plan your options and take advice on approach paths.

Looking closer

So with this level of overview established, we now need to dip down to 1000 feet. At this level we can see individuals and identify familiar objects, we can see individual fence posts and can just make out the thicker wires on a power pole. We are ready to join circuit traffic and identify our landing position.

At this level we can see the technologies we need for our business such as the type of software and hardware and the business processes that need to be replicated and automated in these systems. We are still at 1000 feet here so we still are not at the level where we can jump in without breaking our legs. So we can make more detailed assessments of what is required in each part of the business. We can lay the plans and select the suppliers and solutions.

The delivery

So now it is time to line up and descend onto the runway. This is the bit where all the prior planning determines the level of pain you will cause those on board. Hopefully you have the wheels down now and have your rate of descent under control and you can slide in for a smooth landing on the right strip.

In business this is the bit where the solutions go in. If you have planned well at the higher levels you will slide the systems in alongside the existing solutions and they will integrate well and add value to your business through improved productivity or capability.

If it all lands well, you are in for a smooth taxi run to the terminal and will have delighted passengers and crew.

Relating the metaphor

If you can break up your thinking about IT at the high level and not get stuck in the detail too early it will help you to design better systems that deliver on the business requirements rather than just delivering the ‘out of the box' solution from poorly selected boxes. This will help you streamline your business processes and gain productivity and functionality from your IT.

Just don't assume the solution lies with one person. No matter how large or small your business is you will need a team of people to get good solutions in different technologies.

Don't try to step off at 5000 feet, only to discover you have no parachute. If you doubt your ability to handle the altitude, call a pilot.

If you have been thinking about IT strategy and need advice on what are the best options for your business do not hesitate to speak to Combo. Our consultants have worked in many business large and small and can share experiences gained from other strategic solutions with you. The team at Combo also implements and maintains these strategic solutions so the advice you get is based on sound experience not book based theory.

Call Combo on 1300 726 626.

David Markus is the founder of Melbourne's IT services company Combo. His focus is on big picture thinking to create value in IT systems for the SME sector

There are new IR laws coming in 13 days. Can IT help me?

Actually yes, IT can really provide some great value.

In the past month I have come across two software packages that assist companies in staying up to date with IR and HR issues. There may be others that I am not aware of.

In each case their solutions cover recruitment, start-up, performance management and business reporting. They are database applications that provide sample letters and forms for every action, from defining job roles to position descriptions and creation of job ads, through to staff policy and procedure templates and staff review documents, warning letter samples and termination letters. The sample letters and policy documents have, in each case, been carefully put together by IR lawyers so the value of the products appears to be real and significant.

I have not used either product in person so cannot comment on their content, usability or performance.

In each case the applications encourage you to create a folder for each staff member and scan completed versions of the template forms and letters into the system to create a permanent record.

In this way a complete IR/HR profile can be extracted for each employee at a moment's notice.
One of the applications I have seen presented is Key Business Advisors, which is a traditional install-it-on-your-PC solution.

The other is WorkForce Guardian, which is offering a hosted solution on a subscription basis.
Implementing these tools will not give you a complete IR/HR solution for your business, but it will significantly cut down on the time you spend managing the issues and documenting the steps and processes.

With flow charts, organisational charts and more, it will offer enormous benefit and reduce your dependence on outsourced or in-house resources by giving you a well structured central repository with a wealth of information at your fingertips.

You could create all this material with your lawyers but the time effort and expense will be significantly higher than it would be if you made use of one of these solutions where the creation costs have been spread across many clients.

Of course, each of the vendors offers a subscription based update service to ensure this stays current.

Do let me know if you are aware of other products that service the same space. Sharing of information is the key to our shared business success.

David Markus is the founder of Melbourne's IT support company Combo. His focus is on big picture thinking to create value in IT systems for the SME sector.

We've just won a contract and we need a big IT upgrade. What should we do?

This week we have a case study. The company in question has just won a great contract to upgrade the software they provide to an industry sector across Australia and New Zealand.

Their supporting infrastructure is based on 16 servers - all four to 10 years old - for 60 staff and they need to upgrade the whole lot to run their project. They also have a really limited budget. What should they do?

What a fantastic opportunity to make use of modern technology to get set up for the next few years. First they must understand that supporting a server has a real cost of over $3500 per year and this is likely to cost more as it ages and causes interruptions to the productivity of their 60 staff members.

They should therefore allow a starting budget of $3500 per server that can be removed through consolidation. So if they can reduce from 16 to just three servers and shared storage solutions, the starting budget can be in the order of $45,500, just from the first year of savings plus reduced cost of management over the next few years, plus a whole lot more justified from productivity gains just to run their existing business.

Then add the real driver for this, which is the ability to develop and deliver their upgraded software product on a reliable & stable platform, getting the best possible productivity and lowest risk of downtime or data loss during the new project.

So if you are going to spend in excess of $100,000 what choices are there for you?

First of all we will be moving from single core processors to quad core processors, so the processing capability of each of the new servers is huge compared to what they had. As a result of this we can expect to run multiple servers in a virtual state on shared hardware. If we assume the whole lot will run on three dual processor servers with a virtual layer separating the operating system from the hardware we can be pretty confident that the eight processor cores in each box (24 cores in total) give us a lot of spare processing power.

Now we add shared storage via a storage area network or two. I suggest a mix of high speed drives for the line of business applications and transactional databases and some slower, less expensive drives for the offline systems and archived data.

Now with the right design and the right equipment we can build a system where each of the servers required can be dynamically shifted from box to box, test servers for the development can be run up on demand and then parked on the cheaper storage for use again later in the development cycle.

We can clone servers for testing without calling for new hardware and we can avoid downtime in the business if any of the physical servers fail. There is also the added advantage that this environment allows a test server to be run up in as little as 15 minutes, so no delays waiting for a spare physical server to be found.

This will also reduce the power consumption by over 50% and reduce the physical space requirements by over 70%, offering further cost reduction.

All this can be achieved with a 3% productivity gain across their existing 60 staff so, in fact, even though the business driver was the new project, the cost justification is there anyway. Why put it off until a big project comes in?

If you need advice on your IT talk to Combo. Get it right the first time. We can help your business Cut Costs and Get Fantastic Service on IT. Don't spend money in the wrong places, invest in the right technologies for your business.

David Markus is the founder of Melbourne's IT services company Combo. His focus is on big picture thinking to create value in IT systems for the SME sector.

The economy has picked up. What should we be doing with our IT

There is a fantastic opportunity out there right now and I am hearing savvy business owners making plans to use it to their advantage. Now more than ever the strong companies with good systems are going to expand swallowing their unprepared rivals in many industries.

My perception is that there is now an opportunity unrivalled in our generation to build IT infrastructure. With government tax incentives available now to build company infrastructure just ahead of Australia’s next growth phase, this is the time to ensure we sweep out old inefficient technology and get the tools in place for productive work for the next three to five years.

If you are not busy now but know you will be soon, it makes great sense to take advantage of the slowdown to prepare. You do not want to wait until you are up to your neck in work with unproductive systems creating time blow outs that let your competitors get the upper hand.

With only a few days left in June, larger companies are running out of time to purchase the infrastructure over $10,000 with the 30% tax benefit.

Smaller Companies making use of the $1000 threshold have another six months but need to rush if they want to claim the tax break in this financial year. This will help cash flow for the huge number of small businesses out there doing less than $2 Million turnover.

If you run a small business with just a few staff it is time to think about new PCs and Laptops for just over $1000 each. A new Small Business Server will help with data storage, central backup and mail communication. All will be eligible for the 50% tax break.

If your turnover is over $2 Million it is time to think about server upgrades and phone system upgrades. Putting these purchase decisions off for more than a couple of weeks will let a 30% tax break slide by on the 30th of June.

The tax break applies even if you lease the purchased equipment and spread the cost over 3-4 years!

For these larger systems upgrades your planning needs to be finished so you can get quotes for the equipment and make the purchase in time. If you do not yet know what you need you need to get on the phone to your IT people NOW and make sure they understand the time lines you are working with. If they are technically focused rather than business driven you will need to spell it out for them because they are not thinking tax breaks.

If your business needs a systems upgrade, Call Combo NOW on 1300 726 626 to make sure you don't miss out on the government tax break.

There are only 3 weeks left till the end of financial year and time is running out to define your requirements, approve proposals and get a solution for your business. We know we are going to be flooded by the end of June, so contact Combo now to make sure you do not miss out on the generosity of the Government to build your business.

David Markus is the founder of Melbourne's IT services company Combo. His focus is on big picture thinking to create value in IT systems for the SME sector.