InformationWeek Stories by David Johnson

InformationWeek Stories by David Johnsonhttp://www.informationweek.comInformationWeeken-usCopyright 2012, UBM LLC.2012-11-27T09:06:00Z4 Key Elements: Strategic IT PlansHope is not a strategy. Thousands of IT projects launch every day -- and more than one-third crash before they get off the ground.http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/interviews/4-key-elements-strategic-it-plans/240142599?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_AuthorsRegardless of what our minds conjure when we think of air travel, one thing that we can readily observe is that although the weather, the mechanical condition of the aircraft, the experience of the flight crew, and the destination of the flight are all variables, the actual system of getting an aircraft from one place to another -- in one piece -- is extraordinarily reliable. Every commercial flight starts with a flight plan, a flight crew, an aircraft and a destination. The dispatcher develops a plan based on an expected set of variables, and each activity is performed to achieve one purpose: Getting the aircraft and its passengers safely to the destination. Consider how strange it seems, then, that thousands of IT projects begin every single day, but more than one third crash before they get off the ground. What's more, a recent Forrester survey found that although 50% of firms say that investing in systems to improve engagement with customers and partners is a high or critical priority, the majority see workforce computing technology as a cost and risk center, instead of an enormous opportunity for competitive advantage. Why? Because there is seldom a clear destination in mind, a rational plan to get there, and a viable system in place to execute the plan. Most of the time, the destination and the means to get there are only vague estimates, and the elements of strategy are rooted in hope. [ Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/interviews/cio-role-in-2013-four-headed-monster/240005431?itc=edit_in_body_cross">CIO Role In 2013: Four-Headed Monster?</a> ] In the midst of reactive daily fighting to keep your head above water in IT, it's nearly impossible to find the time to think about the future or reflect on the capabilities of the organization relative to its goals and expectations. This is precisely why developing a strategic plan is important. W. Edwards Deming, widely credited as the father of the Japanese quality movement, puts it this way: "If you can't describe what you're doing as a process, you don't know what you're doing." In Forrester's Workforce Computing Playbook, my colleagues and I maintain that a workforce computing strategic plan should include the following elements: 1. Mission Statement. The goal of the mission statement is to state in plain language how the workforce computing strategy relates to business objectives. If the aim of your organization is to become the largest provider of farm equipment in the world, then every initiative must be evaluated and prioritized based on how it will help employees achieve the business strategy and reach the destination. <div style="margin:0; padding:0 0 10px 15px; width:244px; float:right;"><div style="margin:0; border-top:1px solid black; border-bottom:1px solid black; padding:6px;"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/"><img src="http://twimgs.com/infoweek/1217/217ID_GlobalCIO_75.jpg" width="75" height="75" border="0" align="right" alt="Global CIO" style="margin:0 0 6px 6px;"></a><div style="margin:0 0 6px 0; font-size:1.3em; font-weight:bold; color:#113e53;">Global CIOs: A Site Just For You</div>Visit <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/">InformationWeek's Global CIO</a> -- our online community and information resource for CIOs operating in the global economy.</div> </div>   2. SWOT Analysis. The SWOT -- strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats -- analysis is the place to get specific about the health of your company's key business priorities and IT strategy as they relate to your culture, capabilities, and infrastructure. For threats, try to think of a handful of the most likely things that could invalidate either your strategy or execution plans, such as natural disasters in the region or disruptive announcements from a competitor. <center><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/news/2012/11/SWOT.jpg" width="580" height="380" alt="A Sample SWOT Analysis" hspace="0" vspace="0" border="0" style="margin-bottom:7px;" /> </center> 3. List Of Prioritized Actions. These must be thoughtfully linked to both the mission statement and SWOT analysis. Consider the projects and tasks that infrastructure and operations professionals must perform to: 1) bring workforce computing to the required level to remedy current weaknesses, and 2) acquire new processes, skills, and tools to remedy tomorrow's challenges. 4. 12-, 24-, And 36-Month Road Maps. A strategic plan is a living organism. Gone are the days when a plan would be cast in bronze for the next five years. Firms must develop a road map for action, as well as be prepared to anticipate and respond to emerging obstacles and challenges. Clear, consistent and repetitive communication is essential for maintaining momentum. Finally, remember that hope is not a strategy. The more your organization knows about the conditions outside, the more that people are encouraged to learn and participate. The better understanding they have of business goals and how their work contributes, the more accurate the strategic planning, the more reliable the execution, and the more rewarding it will be for the people involved. Competitive advantage doesn't come from reactive cultures. It comes from awareness, deliberate action, and careful sculpting of organizational abilities to achieve what your competitors cannot. And most of all, it requires business leaders who understand systems thinking and who are capable of crafting organizational systems to achieve the aim of the business. <a href="http://www.forrester.com/David-K.-Johnson?cmpid=pr:ema:oth:DJBio">David Johnson</a> is a senior analyst at Forrester Research serving infrastructure and operations professionals. Upgrading isn't the easy decision that Win 7 was. We take a close look at Server 2012, changes to mobility and security, and more in the new <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/092412/?k=axxe&cid=article_axxt_os">Here Comes Windows 8</a> issue of InformationWeek. Also in this issue: Why you should have the difficult conversations about the value of OS and PC upgrades before discussing Windows 8. (Free registration required.)2012-07-02T08:41:00Z4 Steps To A Successful BYOC ProgramMany employees are ready and willing to use their own computers to get work done. Consider these steps to launch a bring-your-own-computer program.http://www.informationweek.com/news/240002922?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_AuthorsWorld-renowned author and business consultant Peter F. Drucker observed: "Most of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done." For the past several years, infrastructure and operations (I&O) organizations have pushed for standardized, locked-down corporate PCs in order to allow as little variation as possible. They want few surprises and even fewer support calls. While this approach might keep IT operations costs lower, it brings an unintended consequence of stagnation from the worker's point of view. Forrester's Q4 2011 <a href="http://www.forrester.com/Forrsights+Workforce+Employee+Survey+Q4+2011/-/E-SUS887">Forrsights Workforce Employee Survey</a> showed that workers are dissatisfied. They are spending an average of $1,253 annually of their own money on computers for work purposes, with 43% of workers saying they have used their own personal computer or smartphone to do their job in the past year. Given the competitive advantages that empowered workers can bring, and the risks associated with underground behaviors, embracing empowered workers and unlocking bring-your-own-computer (BYOC) programs are more important now than ever. That doesn't mean embracing anarchy; rather, changing mindsets, from one of prohibition to one of channeling and enablement, will set you apart from your peers. How should you get started? Step 1: Learn About The Available Tools The solution to variation for BYOC programs is a combination of client virtualization; using the correct management tools for the job; education; and matching skills. There are several methods for providing workers with a standardized Windows environment without a corporate PC. The most common methods are hosted virtual desktops (e.g., Citrix XenDesktop, VMware View, and now Microsoft VDI), desktops-as-a-service (e.g., Desktone, tuCloud, and dinCloud), and locally deployed and managed virtual desktops (e.g., MokaFive, Parallels, and VMware Player and Fusion). Each carries its own benefits and drawbacks--learn about them to figure out how they can, or can't, help you. Step 2: Understand Employee Work Styles The technology that employees use for their jobs should be a function of their work styles. However, it's true that many I&O professionals have a better understanding of technology and internal processes than they do the nuances of employee work styles and productivity drivers. It will take a concerted effort and a formal initiative to shift this imbalance toward greater work-style knowledge, but it's well worth the time to do so. I&O pros should be able to answer questions such as: 1. Which workers work more away from a desk? 2. Which workers are willing to buy their own computers and use them for work? 3. Which workers would be happy with a locked-down computer? 4. Which workers use advanced collaboration tools? 5. Which workers pose the most information risk? 6. Which workers would lose significant productivity with hosted virtual desktops?   <div style="margin:0; padding:0 0 10px 15px; width:244px; float:right;"> <div style="margin:0; border-top:1px solid black; border-bottom:1px solid black; padding:6px;"> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/"><img src="http://twimgs.com/infoweek/1217/217ID_GlobalCIO_75.jpg" width="75" height="75" border="0" align="right" alt="Global CIO" style="margin:0 0 6px 6px;"></a> <div style="margin:0 0 6px 0; font-size:1.3em; font-weight:bold; color:#113e53;">Global CIOs: A Site Just For You</div> Visit <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/">InformationWeek's Global CIO</a> -- our online community and information resource for CIOs operating in the global economy. </div> </div>   Not every employee is a candidate for BYOC. To develop a meaningful understanding of who will benefit from BYOC initiatives, I&O pros need an analysis of employee work styles and an exercise to group similar work styles into a handful of personas. Forrester built the Workforce Technology Assessment methodology to help our clients perform these assessments and get to know their workforce. In addition to creating productivity enhancements and costs savings, these assessments illuminate which workers will benefit from BYOC programs, and they help I&O pros form a rational basis for deciding for whom BYOC is not appropriate. It should take no longer than 30 days to assemble a sufficiently improved understanding of work styles to feed the next steps in the process. Step 3: See If There's A Better Way Frederick Winslow Taylor, widely regarded as the father of scientific management, said: "Whenever a workman proposes an improvement, it should be the policy of the management to make a careful analysis of the new method ... and whenever the new method is found to be markedly superior to the old, it should be adopted as the standard for the whole establishment." For example, VMware Workstation was introduced in 1995 on Linux first, and it was a game changer for technology pros who needed a way to run multiple operating system instances at the same time, such as sales engineers and software developers. Today, tech-savvy pros are using tools like Microsoft MED-V, VMware Workstation and Fusion, and derivatives like MokaFive to run a corporate PC image in order to provide access to business applications, such as Outlook and Siebel, while they use the PC or Mac of their choice underneath. Yet few I&O organizations have formally studied these as a potentially viable alternative. Step 4: Define Your Self-Support Zones A natural outcome of the exercises above is to develop a better understanding of who can potentially move into self support. Workers with moderate or better technical abilities, few dependencies on internal or legacy applications, and low security requirements are the best candidates for self support initially. They'll also be the least likely to need help to remain productive with the computer of their choice. While the self-support zone may initially be small, client virtualization, community development, and self-service tools will allow you to rapidly expand the self-support zone. Client virtualization is already a proven way to improve supportability, and it works particularly well for BYOC programs when properly matched to work styles. By supplying BYOC workers with a standardized Windows environment in either a hosted or locally deployed virtual machine, you can provide a clean separation between work and personal applications and data, while also improving manageability and supportability. <a href="http://www.forrester.com/David-K.-Johnson">David K. Johnson</a> is senior analyst at Forrester Research, serving infrastructure & operations professionals. Extending core virtualization concepts to storage, networking, I/O, and application delivery is changing the face of the modern data center. In the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/tech-center/storage-virtualization/download?id=189600017&cat=whitepaper?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe">Pervasive Virtualization</a> report, we discuss all these areas in the context of four main precepts of virtualization. (Free registration required.)