What We Do

Our Services

IT Standards

The key to almost ALL efforts to promote reductions in the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for IT organizations is though the adoption of standards for use across the organization. Whether it is hardware platforms, software applications/tools, or processes the use of a common set of capabilities is critical. It simplifies selection, purchasing, implementation, deployment and maintenance.

However the adoption of IT Standards is not a simple process. We assist our clients in developing processes and standards. One of the initial issues that must be faced is the existence of a variety of legacy products, systems and processes. In order to consolidate and simplify the number of products and processes in use a roadmap to achieve the standard must be established to allow the various legacy capabilities to move forward at the proper pace.

Additionally the standard must be examined not just as it exists today but how it might evolve in the future and the ramifications on the decisions. A standards approval body should be created and meet regularly as a part of the organization’s governance process. The standards governance body should include members of the company from both IT and non-IT organizations. Note: We do not advise that outside partners or suppliers be members of a governance body.

One of the keys to remember about standards is that a technology standard by itself is generally NOT a sufficient decision to adequately address the real business environment. Many technology standards are sufficiently open in that products which support them do not necessarily work well together. Eventually ALL standards need to be reduced to product decisions that embody them to allow effective purchasing to occur. Companies buy products not standards.