How do you ensure that the most complicated systems, the most technically advanced products and the most diverse projects are delivered and supported in the simplest way? Following the 5 points below will enhance IT service delivery and make your life easier.
- Standardise – Minimise the number of products by selecting based on business need rather than “lights, bells and whistles”. Avoid customisation where possible and deploy ‘out of the box’ for an easily repeatable user experience;
- Educate – Find out what skills the staff need to use systems effectively and develop a training programme including in-house, external, self-paced and peer to peer. It’s easy to forget about training as the assumption now is that everybody is familiar with technology but that isn’t always the case and good training can show benefits quicker than most other investments;
- Avoid complexity – weigh up the cost, effort and ongoing support for integrating or developing systems against the business benefits. Being responsive and providing a service isn’t always about reacting when areas of the business shout or demand;
- Define IT – Clarify the services and products that IT is delivering, how they are delivered and the service levels you expect. Then your users know what is available, what to expect and you can measure performance;
- Flexibility – build and implement systems that can grow and change as your business dictates. Cloud services are a good example of this and can now replace most on premise solutions.
This isn’t about being restrictive and IT Service delivery should never dictate to the business but the good practices outlined above will help with decision making and lead to a much better overall service.
It’s important to know where you want to be before you start trying to get there. Our Strategic IT Services, IT advice and professional IT Management will all help with this and ensure that you aren’t wasting money and time. If you would like to talk about how we can help then please send us some details below.
