Current Tip
Ease the Pain of Migration
While tiered storage systems generally move the most critical data to the newest and fastest disk drives, the migration process itself can be difficult. Consider automating only one tier at a time by replacing the storage devices rather than cascading data to lower tiers.
More Tips
Help Employees Help Themselves (and You)
Good employees are scarce commodities, and the cost of finding the right one is measured in both dollars and time. Find ways to recognize and reward IT staff for jobs well done and look for ways to increase their job satisfaction. How can you find out what "job satisfaction" means to staffers? Go right to the source and ask them.
Stay Ahead with a Controlled Feedback Mechanism
Finding out what your customers, vendors and staff want from your organization can be difficult if the grapevine is your only source of information. Provide a sponsored feedback system through an online system like a Wiki, and solicit input. While you may not always like the comments, it's easier to address the concerns when you know they exist.
Make Your Service Oriented Architecture Usable
Service Oriented Architectures (SOA) provide programmatic functions as services so they don't have to be developed each time the function is needed. These services are useless if they are not used, and cannot be used if they cannot be found and identified as useful for a specific function. Make sure any SOA services your organization produces are well described and published.
Integrate Your Data for Flexible Results
When approaching the next data integration project, consider using semantic technologies to create more flexible connections than direct data translations can provide.
Equalize Your Wired and Mobile Devices
For most organizations, managing specific models, or even brands, of mobile devices purchased by employees is an impossible task. A more realistic strategy is regulating access to networked assets the devices can reach. Implement comprehensive security and profile policies that treat mobile access with the same level of concern as wired devices.
Don't Get Lost in Enterprise Systems' Complexity
Enterprise computing platforms have evolved from a single computer room to distributed data centers to global networks. Don't forget that the basic purpose of the technology is to support business processes. Check every deployment decision against the goals of the enterprise.
Help Employees Help Themselves
Most employees have a strong desire to do well in their jobs. Naturally, you'll want to help them set goals that you both agree on. But also be sure to monitor progress toward those goals regularly.
Try Out New Development Systems
Many application development technologies have held the promise of faster development cycles and reusable components. Test the promise of new techniques by using them to develop secondary applications and track the results meticulously.
Discover Hidden Passions
Many employees are interested in subjects related to, but outside of, their daily work. Make an effort to find out what your employees enjoy doing and you may find untapped enthusiasm for a different job assignment.
Reduce your Operating Expenses
Server consolidation can help reduce the number of administrators and physical servers in the data center. Evaluate the applications currently in operation to determine if they are candidates for consolidation or if they require the full resources of dedicated servers. Then plan consolidation around those that qualify.
