The beginning of a new year is always an excellent time to reflect on the past and make resolutions for the future. Info-Tech's Analyst Team has identified a set of IT management resolutions that we think should be on everyone's list.

IT Resolutions for 2007

1. I resolve to focus less on data center technology. The future data center is less about technology and more about the management of service delivery. To achieve success I will establish a service delivery process: as close to the business units as TCO permits; that fulfills service requirements without pitting business against each other; that insulates mission critical IT elements from service disruption; and that automates support for core business objectives. 
2. I resolve to stop wasting processing and storage capacity. I will consolidate all my servers. One app, one server, and distributed processing was fun while it lasted but now is the time to get the most out of these resources. I will start with storage consolidation in a storage area network (SAN). This will help me get the most out of virtual machine technology and multiprocessor blade servers to build a flexible, highly available, and fully utilized infrastructure. I will further drive out needless expense through the use of iSCSI and Ethernet for the SAN.
3. I resolve to stay away from customization. Customizing a vendor application introduces significant risks to maintenance and upgrades. It also can lead to business inefficiencies that result from replicating existing broken processes. I will partner with the business to question the reasons behind all requirements that demand customization. We will only customize the application in areas that represent a competitive advantage for the enterprise. Before I customize, I will explore all configuration alternatives available in the application.
4. I resolve to make business requirements the main driver for SOA. I will not focus on technology vendors that are trying to sell me SOA-in-a-box solutions. I will resist the urge to let Web services and Enterprise Service Buses (ESBs) dictate the direction of my organizations SOA initiative. Instead, I resolve to focus on my company's business drivers and processes. I will ensure that teams give full attention to stakeholder's business requirements and that they identify and record all business-critical processes because these are essential to having a successful SOA initiative. Although a solid technological foundation is essential, I resolve to remember that technology is the last phase in SOA, not the first.
5. I resolve to focus on the cost of risk, not the cost of technology. There are few functional differences between the specific products of many technology categories. The real costs for these products extend far beyond initial purchase. Operating and maintaining these products throughout their lifecycles are the real cost drivers. The biggest costs are the result of death march projects and failed vendors. I will look beyond the sticker price of technologies and consider full life cycle costs.
6. I resolve to create a succession plan for key roles in my department. I will determine areas where I have a key-person situation. I will determine areas of risk based on the growing number of retirements of Boomer-aged staff. I will prioritize across all the areas identified. I will understand what skills and knowledge need to be transitioned. I will develop a succession plan for each area based on the priority and risk to my business partners. I will ensure that my commitment to meet business needs is not compromised by the unmanaged risk of loosing key skills and knowledge.
7. I resolve to optimize network performance and management. With more business-critical applications and services being moved to IP networks, enterprise operations have become increasingly dependent upon network performance and availability. Any network outage becomes a business outage, so LAN/WAN redundancy planning and provisioning must be one of my top priorities. I will also benchmark network performance and provide an internal SLA that guarantees network performance standards for the enterprise. I will not waste money by blindly throwing bandwidth at network problems, but resolve to identify the cause of performance problems and pursue the most cost effective optimizations at my disposal, including technologies such as WAN optimization.
8. I resolve to stop thinking of IT security as a collection of individual tools. My data, my computing resources and my corporate reputation are sufficiently important to me that I'm going to make protecting them a priority. The tools I currently use just don't tell me enough about the threats I'm facing everyday and require an inordinate amount of time and effort to manage properly. I'm going to invest my precious security dollars wisely in consolidated security solutions that allow me to have deeper insight into the activities on my network while also allowing me to centrally establish and administer my IT security policy. Furthermore, I will be proactive in managing this infrastructure, making sure that sufficient resources are made available so that I'm preventing security threats before they occur and not fighting fires all year.
9. I resolve finally to get serious about mobile technology. I will recognize that the mobile devices that employees surreptitiously purchase and install on IT infrastructure represent a significant threat to the enterprise. I will implement policies and tools to allow the organization to move from a reactive to a proactive mobile footing. I will work with our business leaders to identify the compelling benefits of mobile technology. We will become partners to first prioritize initiatives to deliver mobile capabilities where they can deliver the most value to the enterprise. Then we will execute on these promises and measure our success. I will also work with business leaders to put the brakes on any mobile initiatives that don't directly address concrete business needs.
10. I resolve to remember the people who make all this technological wizardry possible. Too often, we are so focused on the technical aspects of delivering technology to the rest of the enterprise that we forget about the individuals who bring said technology to life. In reality, nothing happens without the people of IT, and I will take the time in the coming year to make sure this message reaches every corner of the organization. I will get out of my office and hang around hallways, water coolers, and company picnics more than I have in the past year. I will become a better coach, mentor, and facilitator. I will walk the walk of leadership and be the inspirational leader for whom every employee wants to work.

Bottom Line

Having an aligned plan for the year ahead is one thing – actually sticking to it is quite another. Make New Year's IT resolutions for 2007 that channel positive changes in the coming months.