Evaluating Your IT Organization - The Big Questions, Part 2

If you missed Part 1 check that out first. Our very own Robert Mills has put together a great list of questions that every CEO and CFO should be asking of their IT departments.

The Big Questions, Part 2

by Robert Mills

Many IT organizations are effective and well run. How can you quickly determine if your IT department is effective? When it needs help how do you determine when outside help is needed? Ask the "big questions" and see if your IT organization can pass the test:

Does My IT Need Help? "The Big Questions You Need to Ask"

1. IT Investment in Business

   • Is at least half of the IT spending invested in projects helping to drive future business?
   • Are the investments consistent with the strategic plan?
   • Is IT spending aligned with what the business can afford?

2. Cost Effectiveness

   • Are your IT costs low compared to your competitors?
   • Does IT have a ongoing cost reduction process?
   • Is IT using the Cloud, virtualization, outsourcing, etc. to attack costs?

3. Service Quality

   • Can your Help Desk generally answer questions, reset passwords and dispatch help well?
   • When IT help comes can they get your employees back on-line quickly?
   • Is there a accurate inventory of everything IT and a history of all work done?

4. Technology

   • Are all PCs less than 4 years old?
   • Are all servers run on actual fault tolerate server hardware with battery backed up power?
   • Are all networks at least 100Mb Ethernet and is WiFi at least "N"? (Are they fast enough for your needs?)
   • Are networks reliable? (a couple of short outages per year maximum)

If you had trouble answering many of the questions or had many negative answers here in part 2, you may need some outside help regaining control of your IT department. Stay tuned for part 3. Read Part 1.