The CIO should kick the tires... (part 2)

It occurred to me that some CIOs may find the data center an intimidating environment. They may have a background in development or the business. Some data centers are fiercely guarded alien worlds where only the elite trusted forces of the operations manager may tread. In many organizations, there are cultural barriers between the operational world and projects with mutual distrust. A benefit of the CIO walking the data center is that they can start to break down this unhealthy divide.

But first the CIO must find the confidence to to get out there and not feel that problems may have been hidden or that they have been treated like a child. A visit to another CIO who has this cracked would be a good place to start. Hosting companies are always friendly if they think there is a prospect of some business. They will demonstrate what a good data center should be like, they will have war stories of places that they have taken on and recovered. They will be able to provide simple checklists to help identify good and bad practice. Three or four visits should give sufficient knowledge. Now its time to test the knowledge, a trip back to your CIO friend is probably a good idea.

Your first walk around the machine room... Does it feel secure? Do you get the feeling that everything is well ordered? If it looks wrong then it probably is. If it felt wrong then go with your gut feel, there probably is a problem.

As CIO, you have the right to be satisfied that the data center is run effectively. If you don't know then you have a duty to find out quickly. If you don't think it is then you have a duty to get it fixed, and fixed quickly.

Can't afford the time? Can you or your organization afford major IT failure?

The CIO should kick the tires...

I suspect that, in general, motorists rarely think about their tires. But it is sensible to check them regularly to ensure that they are in good condition. A car's handling or its music system may be more interesting but a nail or a cut could put you off the road for good.

A CIO may be more interested in IT led business change or innovative uses of technology or even the budget but every so often they should kick the tires - visit the data center...

The following pictures were taken some years ago at the data center of a $10bn organization...

 

 

When data center discipline goes a major IT failure becomes a probability rather than a distance possibility. If the basic disciplines are not there then recovery will be slow and the ongoing service prone to further failure. When the board calls for an independent external review the evidence will be clear, the CIO has lost sight of the basics ...

Effective IT Conference

Recently I attended the Effective IT Conference near Cardiff run by Information Age.  As with all Information Age events, it was very well organised, the speakers were excellent, the facilities great, and the opportunities for networking were useful.

The conference launches the Effective IT Report each year which includes a broader selection of key strategies that senior IT managers have identified as successful. It's well worth taking a look at the presentations for some down to earth practical advice and some future gazing. 

Outsourcing Advice

I recently discovered a report on the Deloitte web site called
Calling a Change in the Outsourcing Market - The Realities for the World’s Largest Organizations.

Its findings were that very often the deals failed to meet their objectives:

• 70% cited cost savings as a key driver for outsourcing, but 38% said they ended up paying hidden or added costs they thought were included in their contracts.
• 57% cited quality and innovation, but 31% said vendors became complacent once contracts were in place.
• 35% cited flexibility and capacity, but comments revealed that contracts are binding and vendors, often rigid, are refusing to accommodate last-minute changes.
• 22% cited access to high-caliber labor, but one in five experienced greater employee turnover and realized the intellectual capital they had paid for was fleeting.
• 22% cited transfer of risk to vendors, but they said vendors were unable to fully absorb the costs of business losses, leaving the company on the hook for paying the bill.
• 16% said they outsourced because they lacked the in-house expertise, but 44% found their vendors couldn't deliver on the quality and cost savings and they decided to bring the operations back in-house.

These findings were backed by reports from Dun & Bradstreet and DiamondCluster International. The report received a lot of attention at the time which can be found by searching so I don’t want to go over that. I want to make another related point…

If you are engaged in outsourcing, then it is very likely that you will use an outsourcing consultancy. The selling point of these consultancies is that their consultants have “been there and done it”. This means that they were probably responsible for some of the catalogue of failed outsource deals highlighted in the various reports. Do you really want to be listening to these guys? Do you want “common practice” or “best practice”?

Why Blog?

I always wanted to write a book. I thought of writing a business book but I realised that "The Art of War" said it all. I started a project management book with a friend but the publisher didn't want originality. A novel ... No ideas.

I posted a couple blogs on the internet to let off steam at the pointless nonsense that management gurus have conned our largest corporations to waste their time and money on. This made me realise that my major contribution to the management arts was not a great insight, though I'm sure I have had many, but the rant.

Most managers seem to be able to put up with the rubbish that their bosses spout. They don't just tolerate it, they act on it, without anyone noticing the irony, they demonstrate the utter stupidity of their bosses notions. They don't laugh when the inevitable failure occurs, no they collude in the cover up. Despite the obvious they continue to proclaim the beauty of the emperor's new clothes.

What do I do? I point out of the emperor's nudity. I point out the emperor's hairy back. I rant.

It came to me, the rant is my great contribution to management. In fact, it is the foundation of my talent as a leader. I rant to demonstrate that you don't have to put up with it. You can do what common-sense tells you. You don't have to acquiesce. You don't have to be a sycophant. You can be your own person, but there will be a price ...

Is the blog the rant? No, the rant happens in real life. The blog records and explains the rant. In the heat of the rant, there may not be much logic apparent. The rant is caused by a clash of rationalities - my rationality and corporate logic. The blog is my post rationalisation.