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These 5 “Old” IT Strategies Are Still Relevant

 

While technology is an ever-changing field, not everything becomes irrelevant with time. Certain IT strategies are just as valid today as they ever were, and can provide a significant about of value to organizations that use them wisely. Here are five pieces of classic wisdom that are just as relevant now as they ever were.

  1. Physical Security is Critical to Information Security

Controlling access to important hardware is still a vital part of the larger IT security puzzle. It provides a method for protecting your systems and data from those who shouldn’t have access in a fundamentally practical way. If you maintain your own infrastructure, keeping everything under lock and key should still be part of your strategy. However, cloud-based alternatives also provide a similar benefit without having to dedicate physical storage space to the task.

  1. New Software Shouldn’t Be Tested in the Production Environment

Most IT professionals know that making system updates, like coding changes, and throwing them into production without appropriate testing is risky, to say the least. It can cause critical systems to fail, affecting productivity and potentially damaging data or systems along the way. The classic way of handling the task is to maintain three environments: dev, test, and prod. Now, the option also exists to move testing into the cloud, limiting the infrastructure requirements while still achieving the same goals.

  1. Change Control is a Necessity

While the change control process can be cumbersome, it is widely acknowledged as a best business practice. As mentioned above, tossing changes straight into production often yields mixed results and can disrupt production. Change control provides a system to help mitigate these risks and ensures everyone is playing by the same rules.

  1. Integration Improves Processes

If you want to remove redundant tasks from your workplace, integration is often the key. By bringing together key systems and functions, you can avoid having to ask employees to duplicate each other’s efforts just to get all of the data into their needed places. Not only does this improve productivity, it also eliminates a lot of worker frustration that can be created when the same duties have to be repeated by different teams.

  1. IT is a Major Driver of Change

This concept was formed when computing technology was relatively new in the workplace. During that time, IT innovations had a significant impact on business processes, improving capabilities through the addition of the latest tech.

The ideology did fall out of favor for a while as interconnected systems became so complex that making even the smallest changes was a time-consuming and risky process. Now, things have returned to the original way of thinking thanks to improved tools, development methods and new service offerings. IT can now return to its place of prominence as a major driver of positive change in many organizations.

If you would like to learn more about IT strategy or are interested in adding a new employee to your team, the professionals at MindFinders can help. Contact us today to see how our knowledge and expertise can allow you to improve your business.

Written by Tim Booker, President and CEO of MindFinders, with over 20 years of industry experience.

 

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