Master of Disaster Revisited

It has been a few years since my article, “Master of Disaster” was published by Manufacturing Systems Technology.  This article was a basic primer, offering step-by-step recovery planning for the SMB.  Since then, much has changed in the industry and I would like to address these changes.

In each IT engagement in which I consult, it has become more apparent that disaster recovery plays an increasingly significant role.  With the cost of High Availability servers and communications lines decreasing and the need for rapid disaster recovery increasing, many enterprises that in the past did not consider rapid recovery solutions, today are realizing their value and implementing them. 

In a High Availability environment, updates from the production server (called the source) are mirrored to the backup server (called the target).  The High Availability Software provides the synchronization services. 

Today, with many enterprises being geographically dispersed, the need for a dedicated Disaster Recovery Facility to host the “hot backup” is not required.  In some instances, the backup system may perform more than just a backup, it may also support development.  With the advent of commercial data centers that provide such features as high speed connectivity and security, the cost of hosting servers at these facilities may prove to be economically attractive.

High Availability is just one aspect of Disaster Recovery.  A backup architecture is also necessary which in many cases may be tiered. The storage media and recovery time are staged, with the costs reduced as the staging times increases.

Network disaster recovery must be addressed when developing or enhancing a Disaster Recovery Plan.  Without the ability to access systems, a Disaster Plan is useless and could prove to be catastrophic.

When developing a comprehensive Disaster Plan, it is imperative to provide the human resources necessary to run the enterprise in a disaster scenario.

To establish or update a comprehensive Disaster Recovery Plan, the use of outside resources is often necessary and employing experienced consultants will ensure its success. Ada Business Technology LLC., http://www.AdaBusTech.com, is primed and ready to support your Disaster Recovery Planning.

Project Management from the 20th to 21st Century

It has been some time since my last post. I have moved back to the east coast and am living in New Jersey. I have learned much from my six years in West Michigan and value the friendships I have made in the Midwest. I will be using this post to share my thoughts and experience over a career spanning 4 decades in Information Technology.

 

Managing an IT project is very different than it was 20 or 30 years ago. Today are there several Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Methodologies from classical Waterfall through more modern Agile (XP and SCRUM). When I started in Project Management the acceptable methodology was Waterfall.

 

When I started in Project Management we used PERT/CPM tracking systems. Communication was done through meetings and phone calls. Most projects were developed in a central location. As a Project Manager we had to do a great deal of tracking through spread sheets and a lot of traveling to customers and vendors. Today, in our global environment, the ball game has changed. Customers are demanding high quality deliverables with rapid deployment. Implementation teams may no longer be centrally located. Project Management becomes more complex when project stakeholders (customers, vendors, management and staff) are in geographically dispersed locations; adding the complexity of availability, language and culture to the project.  Communications tools are critical to the project's success they include:

• Flexible Web Sites to enable the project team to effective collaborate
• Conference Calling software that automatically archive the conference 
• Web Conference applications  that enables the team to communicate at any time

Tools have changed from the traditional scheduling software and spread sheets to Collaborative Cloud based packages. Today's Project Manager must not only perform classical Project Management but he or she must be a technologist who can effective communicate with all levels of the organization from team member through the board of directors and of course the customer.

Please tell me what your thoughts are on the changes in Project Management since you started your career.

Tomorrow's No Today’s Virtual Enterprise

In order to compete in today’s international market we must be smarter then our competition. We must have a special source that our competitors don’t have. To do this we need to concentrate on our core business while maintaining excellence in support services. To do this the most effective companies will have to outsource roles that were typically done with inside staff. In addition to gaining the technical expertise of the business partners there are other benefits such as reducing the foot print and saving the associated benefits.

I was speaking to a close family member recently. We were talking about the benefits of IT Virtualization. I learned that his company has recently virtualized their sales department reducing their overhead while increasing sales due to the expertise of their new business partner.

The Keep It Simple Factor for Business Success

I have not blogged for some time. I am looking forward to writing short blogs that deal with a topic of interest (at least I hope so), based on my years of experience as a Information Technology Architect and Manager.

Having worked for my own consulting organization, small, mid sized and international conglomerates and have seen a consistent formula for success.

The formula for success is very simple. Develop a product or service that improves the bottom line of your customers; treat your customers honestly and fairly. Treat your employees as the most vital asset of your success and you will succeed. Those companies that stick to this premise have succeeded throughout the years.

Early in my professional career I worked for a division of General Electric. Prior to submitting a proposal to a customer we where asked a key question, will this project jeopardize the name of GE. I have never forgotten that question. People are treated as the most vital asset of the organization and the company can depend on them and they intern can depend on the company.

First Light & Configuration Data Management

Holland Michigan, a city on the Lake Michigan shore line, has an annual custom called First Light. It is held in the middle of November celebrating the start of the Holiday season. We had the pleasure of attending this celebration this year. We went with friends that have also relocated from the east coast. We had an exceptional “First Light” dinner at Alpenrose which serves international cuisine.

Store owners opened their doors and provided cookies and refreshments to everyone. I was amazed at the number of people attending. It reminded me of holiday shopping in midtown Manhattan. We even enjoyed freshly cooked Chestnuts roasted on the sidewalk. I noticed how well organized the event was. Looking at the event from a systematic perspective, it was similar to a well implemented system that was developed using configuration data management practices.

IT Governance, particularly Configurations Data Management, is a term that IT departments of all sizes dread but should embrace. Configuration Data Management, simply put, is identifying the relationship of all entities in IT including:

• Network Equipment and Software
• Computers (Mainframe, Mid Range, Servers, PC, Laptops etc.)
• All Versions of software and their associated licensing
• Users and their organizational structure
• Applications (including interrelationships)
• Security (hardware, software, access control)

The benefits of implementing IT Governance and Configuration Data Management far outweigh any associated costs. They include:

• Enabling compliance to legislation such as SOX, HIPAA, GLBA, and Safe Harbor
• Ability to determine the impact of any hardware, software, or application change across the organization
• Providing proven “best practices” to the organization
• Decreasing time to implement enhancements
• Eliminating licensing compliance issues
• Providing better and faster response to user questions
• Improving Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Planning and Response
• Providing users with the equipment and services needed to perform their jobs

In order to effectively implement IT Governance and Configuration Data Management, an experienced consultant is frequently required. Mark Shurr, Vice President and Principal Consultant of Ada Business Technology, has over 20 years of experience in IT Governance and Configuration Data. Please contact Mark at (616) 805-7402 or on his mobile phone at (631) 742.5178. Email Mark at Support@AdaBusTech.com and visit his web site at http://www.AdaBusTech.com.

Nostalgia in West Michigan and “CIO As A Service”

My wife and I were recently invited to a get together at a friend’s house in West Michigan for a reunion with people I had worked with for over 10 years. Our friends live in a converted farm house originally built in the 1890s. At the reunion, there were people from Tennessee, Georgia, New York, and Michigan. It was great to see old friends and catch up with the latest news. We discussed how business has changed over the past twenty years and how people have had to adapt.

Today we are in an economy that is re-inventing itself. Businesses need to adapt to survive in this global economy. Rules of business that were valid 5 years ago can no longer be relied on since we must deal with competitors and customers around the world and communicate with them instantaneously over the Internet. Many companies today are subject to legislative requirements such as SOX, HIPAA, and GLBA. Additionally, those companies doing business with Europe may be subject to new regulations such as the European Safe Harbor Act.

My IT consulting firm, Ada Business Technology has developed a consulting service that I call “CIO As A Service” to provide Information System Executive “C” Level support to customers who need either an interim CIO or Executive level support on a part time basis. This support includes:

• Strategic and Tactical IT Planning
• Independent review of IT Resources (Hardware, Software, Network, and Staffing)
• Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Planning
• IT Governance to assure Best Practices, Security, and Compliance

I have over 20 years of experience as a successful IT Systems Executive and Technologist. Please contact me at (616) 805-7402 or on my mobile phone at (631) 742.5178. Email Mark at mshurr@AdaBusTech.com and visit my web site at http://www.cioasaservice.com/.

The Renaissance Fair and the IBM i

In August, we visited our family on Long Island and went to the Renaissance Fair in Sterling Forest New York. Sterling Forest is a community that is west of New York City and is known to IT folks as one of IBM’s largest Business Continuity Centers in the East. It was a very hot day with temperatures reaching into the mid 90’s. We went back in history to see life as it was (or as the artisan’s envisioned) during the Renaissance period. The children had a chance to ride on a human powered carousel and all were entertained by jugglers and acrobats.

Renaissance was a period in time that defined the “bridge” period between the middle ages and modern times. This reminds me of the IBM Midrange Systems that I have been working with for over 15 years. IBM in the late 70’s developed a system that was designed for the small to mid sized business and named it the System 34. Since then, it has undergone its own renaissance, growing and expanding its hardware and software capabilities as the System 34, 38, 36, AS400, I Series, and today it is known as the IBM i.

Unlike mainframes, UNIX and WINTEL architectures, the midrange IBM i was designed with several inherent capabilities and features not found in most other systems including:

• Operating System that employs easy to use menus (or a great GUI with Navigator)
• Includes its own database DB2/400 as part of the basic system
• Crash resistant hardware and OS architecture ensuring extremely high level availability
• Programming in virtually all major programming languages from RPG/RPGLE, COBOL through JAVA and PHP
• Ability to consolidate servers and centralize storage
• Capable of virtual processing, running multiple i5/OS, Linux and AIX session
• Ability to run virtual platforms including multiple i5/OS, LINUX, and AIX
• Availability of hundreds of business applications
• Ability to be upgraded as the business grow (the configurations can be upgraded many times without additional hardware)

Many ERP systems are available on the IBM i such as SAP, MAPICS XA, JDA, JDE (Oracle), BPICS and KBM. These systems can be readily integrated with business specific applications.

The architecture is designed for business applications and the throughput typically outperforms its competition. It can be integrated with WINTEL and LINUX/UNIX. I have installed and integrated several ERP, WMS, CRM, MES, Forecasting, E-business and custom WINTEL applications with midrange systems.

In order to effectively select the best midrange (IBM i) solution, implement it into production, customize it to best support the business and ultimately interface it with the business systems, an experienced mid range consultant is required. Mark Shurr, Vice President and Principal Consultant at Ada Business Technology, has over 15 years of experience in the implementation and integration of midrange systems. Please contact Mark at (616) 805-7402 or on his mobile phone at (631) 742.5178. Email Mark at mshurr@AdaBusTech.com and visit his web site at http://www.adabustech.com/.