How to manage IT in a growing business: Implementing IT policies
Although vendor-written, this contributed piece does not promote a product or service and has been edited and approved by Network World editors.
As business leaders grow their companies, corporate assets should always be top of mind. As such, business leaders should be implementing IT policies early on in order to set standards and expectations for employees when it comes to the use of corporate technology and managing corporate data.
In parts one and two of this three-part series, I rolled out a playbook on when companies should hire their first IT consultant and what to keep in mind when appointing a CIO. In this third and final part of this series on the IT Lifecycle I’ll discuss when companies should start rolling out formal IT policies and how to do so.
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How to manage IT in a growing business: Appointing a CIO
Although vendor-written, this contributed piece does not promote a product or service and has been edited and approved by Network World editors.
Timing is everything when hiring a CIO. The primary function of a CIO is to be forward-looking for developing and implementing IT initiatives, but it can be difficult for a CIO to fulfill this duty if he or she is brought in too late and provided with inadequate technologies and processes. The earlier a company invests in a CIO, the earlier everyone can be in tune with what will make the business most efficient. But most companies don’t know when it’s too early and when it’s too late.
In the first article of this three-part series on the IT Lifecycle, I discussed recommendations for when to hire an IT consultant, and what to consider when doing so. During this process, it’s important to recognize when a CIO will be a valuable addition. In this second part of the series, I will continue to follow Joe’s Widget Shop, a hypothetical software development company, as they move onto the next stage in the IT lifecycle. I’ll provide you with insight on what to look for when appointing a CIO Continue reading
How to manage IT in a growing business: Using consultants
Although vendor-written, this contributed piece does not promote a product or service and has been edited and approved by Network World editors.
Few companies are founded with a CIO. For many, the first IT “hire” is the company’s founder, whose job description may include activities like IT purchasing, networking and IT support, alongside planning, marketing and business development. Eventually, that changes. But when? And how?
In my role as a chief operations officer, I’ve helped many companies build out their IT operations as they grow from startups to SMBs and beyond. In this three-part series, I’ll explain the IT life cycle of a hypothetical startup called Joe’s Widget Shop, a software development company.
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FishNet: Single Page Resources for all Things Fishy on the Net
Introducing to Networking with Fish a new page —- “FishNet”. 
What is FishNet? Imagine “casting a net” out on the Internet for all “Fishy IPv6” – in other words… for all the stuff I’ve written, taught (CiscoLive), or YouTube’d that is IPv6 that is somewhere out on the internet.
Topics thus far that I’ve cast a net out hauled in thus far are BGP, DMVPN, IPv6, IWAN, Multicast, and Troubleshooting. I’ll be keeping them current as a “single source” for all things “Fishy” out on the internet for those topics.
Happy nerding!
The Design Mindset (5)
So far, in our investigation of the design mindset, we’ve—
- Observed, specifically asking what, applying questions about state, surface, and optimization in our examination of the network as it’s actually deployed.
- Oriented, asking why, really focusing in on the questions around what we’re optimizing, and how that drives state and surface in the design.
- Decided by matching technology to requirement, and making certain we really think through and justify our decisions
We also considered the problem of interaction surfaces in some detail along the way. This week I want to wrap this little series up by considering the final step in design, act. Yes, you finally get to actually buy some stuff, rack it up, cable it, and then get to the fine joys of configuring it all up to see if it works. But before you do… A couple of points to consider.
It’s important, when acting, to do more than just, well, act. It’s right at this point that it’s important to be metacongnitive—to think about what we’re thinking about. Or, perhaps, to consider the process of what we’re doing as much as actually doing it. To give you two specific instances…
First, when you’re out there Continue reading