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The Ten Common Myths of I.T.

"A company runs on information, not data." - Bryce's Law INTRODUCTION You've heard them all before. They particularly arise whenever quality work is required or when organization and management control is imposed. Of course, I'm talking about the ten common myths of I.T. Ten common rationalizations people in the Information Technology world turn to whenever their authority or professionalism is challenged. They are neither new or limited to a specific geographical location. They have been around as long as the modern computer and they transcend all cultural and industrial boundaries. What's worse, they have proven to be effective. The following is the ten most popular myths in the field. Obviously, it is not all inclusive. It is simply the ten most commonly used: OUR PROBLEMS ARE UNIQUE WE NEVER SEEM TO HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO DO THINGS RIGHT YOU ARE STIFLING OUR CREATIVITY SYSTEM DESIGN IS AN ART FORM TECHNOLOGY WILL SOLVE OUR PROBLEMS A DBMS IS A PREREQUISITE FOR DATA BASE THERE IS AN INFINITE AMOUNT OF DATA IN AN ORGANIZATION OUR COMPANY RUNS ON DATA USERS OWN THE DATA USERS DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY WANT Let's look past the facade of each of these for a moment and see what they really mean. "OUR PROBLEMS ARE UNIQUE" This is perhaps the most popular of the myths and is probably used to pacify the ego of I.T. Management. I discovered it several years ago when I happened to do some consulting for three separate companies from the United States, Japan and Brazil. In all three instances, the I.T. Managers insisted their problems were unique to their company. They pointed at the overwhelming pressure they operated under, uncooperative users, insensitive management, and some cultural constraints. The parallelism was incredible. Here were three separate companies, geographically separated by thousands of miles, all of which describing the same problems, yet viewing themselves as unique. In studying this further, I discovered most companies share the same problems, such as: A. A substantial backlog of user requests (three to five years seems to be the norm). B. Poor communications internally within the I.T. staff and externally with end-users. C. Project cost overruns and slipped schedules. D. Employee dependencies to maintain and support systems. E. Hardware/Software dependencies; systems are tied too closely to a particular vendor, making upgrading difficult. F. Redundant data throughout an organization (we know of one state government who conservatively estimated NET-PAY is calculated at least 100 different ways). G. Lack of adequate documentation (thus providing job security for the staff). H. High staff turnover. I. Design inconsistencies. J. Systems personnel clash with data base personnel. K. Information Systems do not meet users needs. L. DBMS is used as nothing more than an elegant access method. M. Data is tied too closely to applications, making change difficult. Bottom-line, I.T. organizations suffer from low productivity and poor performance. Inevitably they end up in a "fire-fighting" mode of operation constantly patching problems. However, the problem here is the chief fire-fighters are also the principal arsonists. It is unfortunate the "fire-fighters" enjoy higher visibility than those who work quietly in a methodical manner. This is a situation where the guilty are promoted and the innocent are prosecuted. Instead of imposing management discipline and control, I.T. managers resign themselves to a life of chaos. It is no small wonder their average tenure in office is less than three years. "WE NEVER SEEM TO HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO DO THINGS RIGHT" This implies "we have plenty of time to do things wrong." There is an interesting relationship between the quality of a product and the speed by which it is developed. This phenomenon is true of any product being built. The faster the delivery of a product, the greater the chances are for inferior quality. The slower the delivery, the greater the chances are for superior quality. Neither extreme is acceptable; an even balance must be maintained to assure one doesn't have an adverse effect on the other. Instead of developing a long range plan that incorporates an information strategy, management nurtures the problem by saying they need everything "yesterday." Software vendors prey on companies like this by offering miracle products (e.g., CASE, 4GL, program generators, etc.) promising to accelerate development while producing quality results. Without the appropriate management environment, they deliver neither and compound problems further. These tools concentrate on efficiency, not effectiveness. Before you can streamline your operation, you must first know what you are doing. "YOU ARE STIFLING OUR CREATIVITY" This scapegoat is a favorite among the "techy set." It is a defensive expression that springs up whenever discipline or change is mentioned. What is ironic is these same people do not hesitate to reorganize a user's department. The hypocrisy is incredible. Systems people, who are supposed to be the agents of change in an organization, are the most resistant to it. "SYSTEM DESIGN IS AN ART FORM" Closely related to the "stifling" myth is the view of system design as an exotic art form. Most systems developers like to be viewed as free-spirited souls who do not like to be encumbered with organization, discipline and accountability. The fact is, many of these so-called "Rembrandts" are nothing more lousy house painters. They hide behind the mystique of their technology in the hopes it will conceal their poor performance. Systems design is a proven and teachable science. This is not to suggest science lacks creativity. For example, there is considerable creativity in the sciences of architecture, engineering, music, etc. Science simply establishes the governing principals and rules to be observed in your work. "TECHNOLOGY WILL SOLVE OUR PROBLEMS" This is more of a train of thought as opposed to an actual expression. It is based on the belief that hardware and software will correct all of the ills and ineffectiveness of the company. The belief that technology, not management, will solve problems is just as prevalent today as it was when the computer was first introduced. It is fascinating to watch companies throw millions of dollars at solving a problem through technology, yet balk at spending money for management, a sort of "penny-wise and pound foolish" mentality. Corporate management genuinely believes that I.T, management controls and tools can be developed inexpensively, if not free. To some companies, technology is purchased more as the latest status symbol, as opposed to its practicality. It is purchased more to "keep up with the Jones'" than anything else. What they don't realize is the Jones' are in as much trouble as they are. "A DBMS IS A PREREQUISITE FOR DATA BASE" I remember meeting an I.T. Director from a large regional bank from the U.S. southwest who insisted his company didn't have a data base. What he meant to say was he didn't have a DBMS (Data Base Management System). With the propagation of DBMS packages in the field, most companies now sincerely believe a DBMS is a prerequisite for data base. Although DBMS software offers tremendous leverage for file management, it is far from being a mandate for data base. All companies have a data base, some are managed, most are not. A data base is nothing more than a collection of all of the data required to produce information. Obviously, this definition transcends the computer. It is a recognition that data is a resource which must be managed like any other resource; e.g., money, people, materials, etc. A DBMS offers great capability when managing data stored on mass storage devices. But it must be realized that data is used throughout an entire organization, in manual and computer applications, in a variety of files (manual, tape, microfiche, disk, etc.). Data Base Administration activities typically cover only the data used by a DBMS. What is necessary is a higher level position that manages all of the data, regardless of where used or how stored. The Data Management function should behave in a manner similar to Materials Management, Financial Management, and Human Resource Management. This is the Achilles' Heal for most I.T. organizations, the failure to recognize data as a valuable and re-useable resource. To compound problems further, even when DBMS technology is introduced to a company, it is rarely used effectively. Instead of utilizing a DBMS to share data among applications, most apply it as an access method only. I conservatively estimate less than 5% of all I.T. organizations in the world have successfully implemented a managed data base environment, DBMS or not. "THERE IS AN INFINITE AMOUNT OF DATA IN AN ORGANIZATION" Some people would have you believe there is an inordinate number of unique data elements used in an organization and to catalog and control them is a mammoth undertaking (therefore, we shouldn't waste our time). Instead of documenting a data element and re-using this intelligence, people typically redefine data with each application. This leads to inconsistent definitions and redundant work effort. But worst of all, it makes implementing a change to a data element extremely complicated. In reality, there is a finite number of data elements in any given organization, probably in the neighborhood of 3,000 to 5,000. And although it is no small effort to document the data, it is a wise investment in the future. Once it is defined, a data element can be re-used in multiple applications, which leads to a shared data base environment. Capturing this intelligence must evolve over time with each application, it cannot be captured over night. "OUR COMPANY RUNS ON DATA" This is one of the most naive statements in the business, one rooted in ignorance. The person using this expression obviously doesn't grasp the inherent differences between data and information. They are not synonymous. The differences are simply too numerous to list here but essentially Data by itself is meaningless; it is the representation of a fact or an event. It is the raw material by which information is produced. Contrary to this, Information is the intelligence or insight gained from processing data to support specific business functions. A company runs on information, not data. In fact, information is the most important asset a company has. All actions and decisions are predicated on information. Organizations progress when the impact of good actions and decisions outweighs the impact of bad actions and decisions. Information gives us the means to make these actions and decisions. Those who do not understand the differences between information and data are probably the same people who do not understand the differences between an information system and computer software. "USERS OWN THE DATA" This is a typical attitude found in companies who do not understand the concept of managing data as a resource. In this situation, data is jealously guarded by each user. As a consequence, redundant files and applications are the norm. The sooner you get past this stage, the better off your organization will be. Does the Controller "own" the money? Does the Human Resources Manager "own" the employees? Does the Materials Manager "own" the parts? Of course not; they simply administer the resource. A comparable position to manage data resources must also be created. "USERS DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY WANT" Translation: "I don't know what I'm doing so I'll just keep hacking away at the problem." This type of comment is a sign the person is not properly trained in Systems Analysis. Users didn't get their job by default; they must know a little bit about their end of the business, otherwise they are not going to have it for long. The problem typically stems from the analyst's inability to define business problems, specify information requirements and to effectively communicate with the user. Instead of asking how the user wants to view their screen, try to understand their problem first. An elegant solution to the wrong problem solves nothing. Only when the Systems Analyst can walk in the moccasins of the user, does the analyst have the right to build a system for the user. CONCLUSION You would think after forty years of promoting these myths, we could invent some new ones that are a little more imaginative. The fact they have survived this long is indicative that management is still not facing up to their problems and are still baffled by technical gobbledegook.

The Ten Common Myths of I.T.

"A company runs on information, not data." - Bryce's Law INTRODUCTION You've heard them all before. They particularly aris...

Common Legal Penalties For Computer Crimes

Computer technology is becoming increasingly more advanced and there is a lot of money to be made surrounding it. Where there is more money to be made, there is more criminal activity, punishable by law. The Information Act of 2000 states that there should be different penalties for different types of technological crimes. The following are common legal penalties for computer crimes.Telecommunication service theft involves the unlawful obtainment of any telecommunications technology. This crime is punishable with a heavy fine and an undefined term of imprisonment. The legal consequences vary depending on the severity of the theft. Communications intercept crime is a Class-D crime that involves the interruption of communication technology. It is punishable by one to five years in prison along with a fine and can include other infractions such as offensive material dissemination, telecommunication piracy, and other cyber frauds.When someone changes a source code on a computer program or website, this is called computer source tampering. Those found guilty of this crime can face up to three years in prison, or a fine. Computer hacking also carries a prison sentence of up to three years.Though all technological crimes are taken seriously, government computer systems hold the most serious consequence when violated. Trying to obtain access to a system protected by the government is a very serious crime that can have major consequences on government operations. Anyone found guilty of tampering with a government computer faces ten years in prison and a major fine.Protecting computer technology crimes is extremely important because the world now relies heavily on the use of computer systems to operate. With one of the most common legal penalties for computer crimes being a prison sentence, the legal system has been very effective in putting new laws in place with the changing technology. Technology crimes are taken very seriously and punished harshly.	 	 		 			 				 					 						Are you looking for help in defending yourself against legal charges? Perhaps you need a <a href="http://federalcriminalattorneyhelp.com" target="_new">federal criminal attorney</a>? Find out all the information you will ever need at the site; <a href="http://federalcriminalattorneyhelp.com" target="_new">http://federalcriminalattorneyhelp.com</a>. And remember it is all free!

Common Legal Penalties For Computer Crimes

Computer technology is becoming increasingly more advanced and there is a lot of money to be made surrounding it. Where there is more mon...

Common Causes of Data Loss and How to Prevent It

For most individuals and businesses, data loss happens. Even the most established technology companies with expert experience in network and laptop security, accidents and hacks happen and data is lost. With the right support and preventative measures, however, losing information doesn't always have to end in disaster. By making information safety a priority of your computer IT staff and for the employees who use your equipment, data loss can become a rare occurrence.Preventing Data Loss Most causes of work station (laptop or PC) data loss can be attributed to human error, physical malfunctions and hardware failure. The Boston Computing Network characterizes data loss into four different types: human error (overwriting a major file), file corruption (virus attack), hardware (fried hard drive), and site-related (earthquake causes coffee to spill on laptop).For an IT staff member, preventing data loss within a company means making sure employees are: - using equipment with up-to-date antivirus software - securing their laptops both physically and electronically with computer locks and good passwords - backing up their work onto a secure storage device - using a surge protector and uninterrupted power supply (UPS)Additionally, computer IT staffers need to have a best practices document in place that employees can follow related to how to handle incoming email, working outside of the office, and traveling. The document should describe how employees can avoid data loss through phishing scams, when and how they should use other wireless networks and how to protect company laptops from theft. By giving employees the information they need to prevent data loss, companies can stop many problems from every happening.Recovering Lost Data So much information flows electronically now that it is likely some data loss scenario will occur in a business. Whether it is a major server loss or a small problem on a single hard drive, there are certain things that should be done to avoid making the situation worse.- Don't: Use the system restore or system recovery setting on the computer. This will not bring your info back instantly - Don't: Implement an off-the -shelf system recovery software on your own. If you use the incorrect type of software, you are likely to ruin your chances of recovering any information. - Do: Contact a computer it specialist or tech professional to attempt to restore the data safely and correctlyMany IT and computer services offer continued preventative maintenance and care, but in the case you don't regularly use an outside IT service, contact one as soon as you realize a problem has occurred.In addition to dealing with data recovery, IT and computer services provide a vast array of additional preventative measures for combating data loss. For instance, many IT service providers will offer security and back-up solutions like electronic data storage, information security, server support, desktop support, and networking.Recovering lost data is not always possible but there are ways to reduce the chances of complete loss.~Richard McNeal, 2009	 	 		 			 				 					 						Richard McNeal is a frequent writer for Ascensha of Beaverton. <a href="http://www.ascensha.com/resources/index.php/what-if-data-loss-happens-to-you/" target="_new">Prevent data loss</a> and bolster your IT security by contacting Ascensha, a <a href="http://www.ascensha.com/" target="_new">Portland computer IT service</a> company.

Common Causes of Data Loss and How to Prevent It

For most individuals and businesses, data loss happens. Even the most established technology companies with expert experience in network ...

Common Voice Over IP Issues and Possible Solutions

While VoIP today is considered a stable and reliable technology for personal and business communications, there are still a few kinks here and there. Like all new and evolving technologies, there are still pitfalls that VoIP converts may experience at one time or another. Ranging from minor inconveniences such as compatibility issues to major ones such as misrouted calls, users of VoIP have to occasionally deal with problems that are just as if not more disruptive than the problems associated with a regular 'legacy' phone system.Deployment problemsEven before shifting to Internet telephony, a user must check the speed and bandwidth of the current broadband connection to see whether it can handle the added load of a VoIP. Typical business connections pose problems in particular, as the added burden of voice calls (increased data transmissions) may adversely affect operations in the long run. Adding bandwidth and speed with Quality of Service guarantees will likely suffice for most businesses.But for businesses with extensive calling requirements like telemarketing companies, a more exhaustive analysis of traffic volume, peak call usage, maximum concurrent calls and other information is necessary. These are required by the service provider to enable it to anticipate and roll out and/or recommend the bandwidth and speed needed at any given time.Porting PSTN numbers Individuals and businesses often find it necessary to migrate the number that they're using to their new VoIP service. The porting of numbers, called Local Number Portability (LNP), results in seamless transitions to VoIP. The downsides, however, are the complicated process, varying time frame for porting the number, and possibility of rejection due to technicalities. The good thing is that it takes only patience, goodwill and lots of grace to navigate the complicated steps in the migration of numbers, and resolve any rejected request.Security issuesOne stumbling block that keeps many from switching to VoIP is the often unsubstantiated fear of worms, viruses, denial-of-service (DOS) attacks and Internet-related problems. Others are concerned too on how secure VoIP calls are and if these are not prone to hacking.While it's true that voice calls in VoIP are sent as data packets, the possibility of these being corrupted while on transit is quite distant: it has identifiers (headers) that the sending and receiving ends must check, the packets are usually encrypted, and both ends of the call are likely to have first level firewall.More worrisome would be the possibility of voice interception that may result in wiretapping and toll fraud, and data interception that may cause confidential information such as passwords and personal info to fall into malevolent hands. Physical security policies, stricter authentication mechanisms and more stringent security measures like disabling remote access to the graphical are just some of the ways administrators can address security concerns.With the increasing rate in VoIP adoption, issues with broadband telephony will likely taper off as fierce competition fuels research and development in this emerging technology. Eventually, the hesitant attitude that some people have towards VoIP will become a thing of the past.	 	 		 			 				 					 						Saiju George is an IP communications and business software expert. He specializes in <a href="http://www.onsip.com/hosted-pbx" target="_new">hosted SIP PBX</a> implementations and <a href="http://www.onsip.com" target="_new">small business VoIP</a>.

Common Voice Over IP Issues and Possible Solutions

While VoIP today is considered a stable and reliable technology for personal and business communications, there are still a few kinks her...

6 Common Mistakes In Finding The Web Hosting Solutions

During our years of business in guiding people to find a reliable and affordable web hosting solutions, we have seen many hosting mistakes people have made in the true-life. Below are the most common 6:1. Spend Too Much Time on Looking for the Lowest PriceIt's not your fault to look for the lowest price of the web hosting. But spending couple days on finding the best one is not something wise. To be honest, the web hosting price has already been very low. let's take small business web hosting as an example, most of them will cost you less than $10 per month. Thinking about the value of your time, instead of spending a lot of time on searching and comparing the price of a web hosting, why not choose one which is affordable for you.Sometimes, you might be able to find a low price hosting from a reseller. But one thing need to keep in mind is that in most case, resellers cannot provide the same level support as what the original web hosting companies can provide due to all kinds of reason such as technology, privilege, etc2. Not Clearly Defining Your RequirementsWhen you choose a web hosting companies, you need to do some homework before making the decision. Many customers just purchase what people recommend without thinking about their own needs.The fact here is that all web hosting plans have their own target market segment, some might be only appropriate for a family web site, some probably work for small business web site. So, when you do your homework, highly recommend you to go through our very popular articles Determine Web Hosting Needs to figure out your web hosting needs. Choosing a wrong web hosting solution will bring you a difficult experience with your web hosting provider even they are very famous.3. Forgiving A Host's Bad Or Limited WebsiteIf the host can't or won't take time to craft an informational site of their own, most likely they won't be too concerned about yours either.4 . Putting All The Eggs In One BasketIf you manage several sites, it seems like a good idea to have everything in one account. You can simplify your billing and get a better deal. Not always. We know of some webmasters who lost hours or work time because they couldn't work on anything since all their sites were down. If your site generates income and they are interconnected, having all sites down at once is bad business.5. Taking Testimonials At Face ValueNot all testimonials are created equal. You need to ask other webmasters, talk to their customers. If they don't list customer names on their site, ask them if you can contact any of their customers or if they'll contact you. If the host refuses, beware.6. Trusting your host to have the latest softwareInternet crime is and viruses are more prevalent than ever. New software or the latest versions are meant to plug security holes. A customer had their site hacked twice in 2 months only to find out the host was not up to date with their software. Check with the host before you order what versions they are running and how often they make updates.Besides the anti-virus software, if your web site need some specific version of programming environment, you will need to check whether your web hosting service provider can provide.	 	 		 			 				 					 						Want to know more about web hosting, please refer to <a href="http://www.webhostingclue.com/WebHostingGuide/" rel="nofollow" target="_new">Web Hosting Guide</a> from <a href="http://www.webhostingclue.com" rel="nofollow" target="_new">Reliable Affordable Web Hosting: Guide, Review, and Compare</a>Ivy Thai is the co-founder of WebHostingClue.com, a free web hosting directory with only reliable web hosting companies and offering the visitors an easy way to find the right hosting plan for their needs. Feel free to contact Ivy.Thai at <a href="mailto:ivy.thai@webhostingclue.com">ivy.thai@webhostingclue.com</a> in case you have any questions or comments regarding this article.

6 Common Mistakes In Finding The Web Hosting Solutions

During our years of business in guiding people to find a reliable and affordable web hosting solutions, we have seen many hosting mistake...