Operating an IT Department

In recent years, companies have undergone a transformation, adapting to the changing market conditions. The role of information technology has also been transformed, it has become a “public utility”, which is essential for the functioning of companies. This has led to increased expectations that continually require a highly professional and motivated IT department.

Péter Klopfer, the director of business development at the Hungarian IT services provider Duna Elektronika, points out that for 21st century companies, information technology determines the success of a company’s daily business operations, its efficiency and its future. It is, therefore, essential that the professional IT team has the availability to access the highest level of knowledge in any situation. At the same time, managers must ensure the flow of business with optimal efficiency, streamlined processes and the never ending requirement to reduce costs.

“Despite the increased importance and new technology demands being placed on IT departments, we have seen that the financial crisis of the past 5 years has brought a stagnation, even a decrease in some cases of the number of IT staff, even though companies face challenges that must be implemented in the information technology system. As new applications and tools, such as mobile devices, are introduced competence also needs to be addressed. However, since there is a lack of time and resources this will tend to hold back the expansion or necessary requirements of the existing infrastructure and staff. This situation may allow for a certain level of proficiency but it has its risks and limitations,” he says.

What are the unforeseen problems Klopfer asks?

Failures, which may result in unplanned downtime, loss of data, system performance issues, virus and security issues. Others include the lack of available IT staff to address individual user issues in a relatively short time frame.   

It is partly due to these matters and how they are addressed that user satisfaction is gauged as to how comfortable and confident they are with the system that supports their work.

Additionally, investments that are not planned in advance, may turn out to be a very significant amount.

In summary, he says, it is clear that it might be necessary to re-examine the IT processes.

How?

• Companies need to clearly define or re-examine their business processes and how it relates to the support requirements to be fulfilled by the IT procedures.
• The TCO (Total Cost of Ownership), should be defined and measured continuously.

“This analysis, if thorough, can answer the question of what should be outsourced and what part of the company’s IT systems should be kept in-house. This requires experience and industry knowledge, both of which are rarely found in-house, and even if it is there, a company can seldom afford to appoint a key person or two for such a strategic task that takes them away from their daily tasks,” Klopfer points out.

Today’s technological advancements provide many opportunities for a company to change their operating methods, which in most cases will require consulting expertise to define and implement

In light of the above, what can managers consider when it comes to information technology? Consider the shift in focal points of the applied technologies, which can mean mobile technologies, Big Data and analytical solutions, or the better use of social networks. The other question is whether the existing infrastructure and its operation can support these new efforts and therefore should be kept in-house or not.

“So, we have arrived at cloud computing and outsourcing. In my opinion, the vast majority of companies will opt, in the foreseeable future, for partial utilization of both methods. It will produce, in almost every case, the most cost-effective solutions, as we have witnessed at many companies. Business units outsourcing, such as HR or accounting, have led the way in this field, but very wisely, more and more companies choose to outsource information technology operations that can be regulated, described and limited with service level agreements that fix the costs in a clearly defined manner” Péter Klopfer explains. Such an example is end-user support where one of the leading companies on the Hungarian market is Duna Elektronika Ltd., supporting more than 20,000 users nationwide.

Klopfer is of the view that “the use of cloud-based services is expected to spread in hybrid form. Companies will maintain the major applications or the highly sensitive data in house or at least in a private cloud. This, of course, raises the dedicated infrastructure required or whether it is more practical to utilize a secure data center, where you can have very flexible terms and conditions depending on usage. 

Based on all this, he recommends to companies that they look closely at their IT strategy and evaluate the risks and benefits so as to utilize the substantial expertise this industry has to offer to improve their business performance. Outsourcing and managed services provides the best and most cost effective solutions, he concludes.