There’s a lot of coverage in the press at the moment about the end of ITIL. To be honest, I’m not convinced this is the case; ITIL has embedded itself in the way we work, the language we use, and the software tools that run our support service. It’s not ITIL that I...
Over the last 10 or 15 years, server and storage technology has changed beyond all recognition, but one thing that has remained reasonably constant within the IT Department is the Service Desk. Granted, it may once have been called a Helpdesk, but the principle is...
When I apply for a job, I always ask the same question; is there a good IT Team in place? The response I get is invariably the same. A few exchanged glances across the interview panel, a pause, and then a measured reply along the lines of; “On the whole, yes, but...
It’s holiday season and we’re short staffed on the Service Desk at the moment. In our business, summer is the busiest season, so July and August tend to be our problem months. In order to cope, we’re trialling a system whereby everyone in the IT Department is by doing...
I wrote last week about our printer rationalisation project, which is one of a number of projects designed to reduce costs, but which can be seen as a threat. It is time to take turn threats into opportunities. Costs are very much on the corporate agenda at the...
In many organisations there are some technology systems which are not managed by the main I.T. team. Often these are small, specialist systems which are looked after by the departments which own them. The reasons for having this type of arrangement are usually...
How important is IT training for other departments? I was having a discussion with a senior (non-technical) colleague last week about a potential new IT requirement and we came to the issue of hardware. He asked me how much the server would cost (it would come out of...
Why are the elections so important to IT and shared services? With the election campaigning in full swing, it’s interesting to consider how this affects IT. All the political parties are talking about efficiencies (which effectively means the same as budget cuts) and...
Anna Codrea-Rado published an article in the Guardian recently which suggested that all degree courses should have an IT element, so that graduates leave university with basic IT skills as well as a degree. This seems like a no-brainer to me, but why limit it to...
