IT Governance – 5 Myths to Break this New-Year

 IT Governance or Governance of Enterprise IT has now become the buzz word during every corporate discussion. This is not surprising considering the fact of economic recession and global meltdown. 

People tend to relate  Governance as an element of bureaucracy/executive control that adds additional layers of approval and processes to tighten screws.

It is imperative as Employees / Staff in the Organization to understand  and break some common myths to fully support Governance Initiatives and this article is first on the series aimed at providing those insights before your start on the IT  Governance Journey.

Myth 1: Governance is Top Leadership`s Business and Bureaucratic

While it is true that IT governance is the responsibility of the board of directors and executive management,  it consists of the leadership, organizational structures and processes  that Organizations IT sustains and extends  the organization`s strategies and objectives. The Whole Objective of Governance is to ensure that the entire organization is in alignment with the Corporate Strategy & Objectives and everyone has a role to play to ensure successful business outcomes. Bureaucracy does not pay off in the long run and the Executive Council & Board are candid of the fact to set the Right Strategic direction & leave it to the Steering committee to manage the implementation of effective Governance.

Myth 2 : Governance needs a Formal Framework like Cobit to get envisioned results

Though Cobit provides clear guidelines and best practices for effective Governance, it all starts with the Overall Intent and approach of the Organization embarking on Governance

Best Practice Frameworks aid your Governance but not serve as substitute for the ownership/drive and commitment of the Senior Executive Management to provide seamless delivery utilizing optimum resources and managing risks to achieve planned business outcome.  So you need to have the Basic 4 elements 1. Leadership  2. Organizational Structure 3. Processes  4. Management of Organizational Change (MoC) before deep diving into Best Practices.

Myth 3 : Culture of the Org can be taken for Granted once Leadership Buy-In is obtained

This is one fundamental reason that Governance initiatives fail miserably.  Though Leadership buy-in is vital, Culture of the Organization has far more impact in the overall scheme of things. What worked for one organization might not suit the other (one size does not fit all) because of various factors like Culture, Risk Appetite, Business Strategy & Leadership Style.  Substantial effort needs to be planned through a MoC (Management of Organizational Change) Program to ensure that all stakeholders understand the impact and are committed to contribute to the overall Organization`s strategy and objectives. 

 

Myth 4 : It’s all about Metrics/ Dashboards and Surveys that the Executive Council is interested

Organizations have become very good in meeting SLAs,  Operational Metrics & great CSAT ratings.  Gone are the days that meeting your agreed contractual obligations and prerogatives is sufficient to sustain momentum. Executive Board and Senior Management are interested on 5 major areas.  1. Strategic Alignment  2. Value Delivery  3. Risk Management 4. Resource Management 5. Performance Measurement.  So beyond the traditional Metrics and dashboards there is a shift of focus to Balance Score Card (BSC) &  Higher Internal Metrics for all governance areas  to continually improve and deliver agreed business Outcomes. The Ultimatum is not the numbers but achievement of planned business objectives.

Myth 5: Governance requires substantial investment & resources not aimed for Small or Medium Sized Business

Many organizations are not prepared to embark on Governance Initiatives claiming a simple reason “ Oh that requires huge investment & more resources which we cannot to afford as a small organization”.

Governance Initiatives is aimed to make your investments and efforts yield right business value and has to be embedded on your day-to-day practice. This can be done with the existing resources, leadership and org structure. It only requires the thought process to look at broader strategic objectives and how results affect various stakeholders (Customers, Shareholders, Employees & Vendors). Start simple with an Outline and then improve upon the maturity over a period of time. After all every big accomplishment starts with a single step :-)

Appreciate your feedback and comments!

BCP/DRP - Reality Check

As a Consultant, I go and do workshops and provide pragmatic recommendations on Business Service Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning for my Customers.

These become handy for real time life scenarios as well when we get to admit the fact that natural resources are not likely to be taken for granted.

In India, we have situations where there is total black out (Planned or Unplanned Outage) where you get lucky to get notice in advance or left alone to deal after the fact that a Power Grid/Transformed got distrupted. This affects Water to be transported to the overhead tanks using Motors and submersible water pumps.

Just because, we do not have the luxury, to take things for granted, we have precautionary measures and backups ready in place all days

1. Back up water is stored on a 10-12 L Storage on a daily basis to make it available under need basis

2. Inverters are prechecked for its full usage and maximum capacity and best practice is drawn to determine bear minimum usage for retention during longer periods

3. Priority check is brought in to execute mandatory services and the rest of them are either delayed or outsourced

4. Volunteers get into action, to help flat inmates for assistance of services/additional water capacity and relief measures.

I see that once we start using the Processes/Framework to our day-to-day use, we stand to walk our talk and invariably reinforce the aspects with powerful business case.

Human Element of IT

Today, we are so used to Virtualized world that the Whole of IT somehow has forgotton the human element of IT
Tool/Process and Technology are all great aids to bring about transformation of IT and Business Outcome.
However, the simple fact that Human beings are instrumental in making things happen is getting lost somewhere in our race to be the fastest ...
Value to human beings and their importance is losing its shine because, we have become more commoditized.
It is time, we retrospect and give the people due recognition and empathize with their feelings and emotions....
There is so much of History that tells us that with the Power of People and their Synergy, we have made a world of difference..
After all Human Being is the most fascinating creature of this whole universe!

itSMF Singapore Chapter - EC Membership

One of the active ways of Contibuting to the IT Service Management Profession is to participate actively as Volunteer/Member to the local itSMF Chapters They give us a great opportunity to network with fellow professionals across the country and help us work in collaboration to achieve higher objectives It is a great experience and fun learning and meeting itSMF Professionals across various industry segments Look forward to share my part @ itSMF Singapore Chapter proceedings http://www.itsmf.org.sg/aboutus/executivecouncil201213.jsp

Success - Five Important Ingredients

Over the years, I have been trying to understand how few people succeed effortlesly and gain accolades/laurels at ease when there is the rest of lot are cribbing that destiny is against them.

Here are my 5 identified magic ingredients to success that I have seen working amidst all professionals across the globe.
1. Dream Big -
I think it starts here when one starts to envision how to win Big and how to roar like a lion even when you are a cat
2. Self Discipline -
This is one of the important aspect that is often ignored. It includes everything from getting up early in the morning, control of senses, ability to follow the process irrespective of outcome, doing things day-in and day-0ut whether you like it or not.
3. Attitude - It is all about Attitude!!!.
You can hire a Professional with great skills/talent (Aptitude) and you can train someone to acquire the skills needed. However Attitude is something one has to acquire and it stays intact all through the life. As the saying goes, Attitude measures the Altitude of person`s success.
4. Persistence - Quitters never win and Winners never Quit.
Believing in oneself and not giving up on things when it seem to fail is easily said than done. But the Price of Persistence makes you win against all odds stacked against you.
5. Honing Professional and Life Skills
Being adapative and honing necessary professionaland life skills(Certification,Training) are instrumental to pace one with teh growing trends/challenges and be prepared for the future.
Let me know your thoughts and suggestions from your perspective.

Go Green - Recycling

From the many disasters that had happened in this decade... We could derive a conclusion: What has happen today is the consequences of our past actions. Mother Earth has sent us threatening signs.
She has been providing us with warning and is seriously in need of our help. What can we do for Her and our future generations? Environmental Conservation is the Answer! So let's play our part in conserving the environment. We can do our part by implementation of the 3Rs
‘Reduce’ refers to decreasing the total amount of things used. With less things being used, it also translates to less waste being created. ‘Reuse’ refers to making use of the things again. ‘Recycle’ refers to making new things out of things that have already being used. Love our Earth just like how we love ourselves! Some Facts to Ponder Over - Recycling 50kg of paper = Saving one 20-year-old tree - Recycling 10kg of metal can = Saving 5.7 litres of crude oil. - Recycling 1 aluminium can = Saving electricity for 3 hours of TV time. - It takes 1 litre (0.2 gallons) of petroleum energy to produce 32 PET bottles. PET plastic bottles can be recycled to make sleeping bags, winter coats, stuffing for stuffed toys, zippers, binding bands, industrial plastics, heat sealable films, and many other things. Recycling plastic is better than producing new plastic because the process requires 50 percent less energy.
Before making a purchase, it is good to think about how the proposed item will be used and its long-term effects on our environment. Before purchasing, you should ask yourself: Is it truly necessary? Is it suitable? Can it be repeatedly used? Can it be recycled easily?
If answers to all the questions are NO, you may have to carefully reconsider if you really need to buy that item:)

The Wall Retires - Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid, today announced his retirement from Test Cricket after serving India for 17 years.
This legend is nicknamed Wall (Mr. Dependable) who was the most consistent Test Cricketer India has had in its Cricketing History. Recently he won the Life Time achievement award from NDTV.  With many awards and accolades to his belt, he has been a stupendous cricketer and an inspiration to youngsters to follow Cricket.  His Classic cover drives and straight drives have  been a treat to watch for years.  Overseas, he was one of the most successful batsmens scoring consistently at fast tracks and demanding situations.  More than being a stalwart, his humbleness, attitude as a thorough professional and his determination to keep trying irrespective against all odds has made this Cricketer a legend to follow.

We wish him an astounding life ahead and hope to see him mold future Indian Cricketers.