When tasked with checking for a plethora of tech issues, it’s easy for CIOs to miss some of the smaller IT problems that every business encounters. Their hands are always full, so smaller problems that are not caught or addressed can eventually grow out of control, leading to needless headaches down the road. Here are a few things to keep in mind as the fall tech season approaches.
1. Lack of communication. Unified communication gets discussed a lot in the business atmosphere, and that’s because having a streamlined approach towards getting messages from management to worker really keeps things productive. CIOs, with or without a UC program, should make sure everyone is getting alerted properly and knows how to contact whomever. Otherwise, it’s easy for things to fall apart at the seams.
2. Corroded decisions. A CIO has plenty of things to handle in a given day, and one of them relates to decisions about possible software to acquire, people to interview and vendors to discuss items with. Some might feel compelled to bring in as many voices as possible regarding the matter, but a saturation of opinions can degrade a CIO’s final word. From multiple vendor suggestions to people looking to get family in with IT, a CIO should make sure they balance who says what and their final decision on a matter.
3. Improper record keeping. IT projects are reliant on hitting their project finish line within a reasonable timeframe. However, for newer projects, it’s fairly easy to overlook documenting things each step of the way. A CIO should emphasize the importance of this while also checking for record practicality (as in, the usefulness of the data). Without data to go from, a project can fall apart and have to start over again from scratch since records didn’t exist in the first place.
4. Outdated plans. Backup and disaster recovery is a phrase that appears in IT with great frequency, and for good reasons. Without a proper recovery plan, companies can go under due to unexpected circumstances. It’s important for CIOs to make sure the company’s current BDR solution is up to date, taking into account new threats and amending for expected ones. For example, if an IT business has experienced increasingly frequent virus attacks, it’s worth adding something in case a virus crashes an entire network.
5. IT relations. It may seem like a minor issue, but relationships formed between workers that go beyond the professional do run the risk of problems. Employees that start dating, are relatives, or have other special interest can show bias and favoritism which leads to a soured environment. Everyone is equal in the working field, so no one employee should face unfair circumstances because they aren’t someone’s brother or the like. A CIO should make sure scheduling and worker relations are kept professional to maintain a healthy IT environment, ultimately keeping things as productive as ever.
