Technology innovation continues, but increasingly is being focused on the needs of today's economically and environmentally-conscious organization. Each year brings new innovations and advancements to assist in the everyday activities of the modern worker and user. Keep Info-Tech's top technology trends in mind when making technology decisions for business and leisure-related use.

A recent Info-Tech study of over 800 organizations assessed green initiatives in IT departments and across enterprises. The results show the current green IT maturity landscape and its future outlook. Despite tough economic times, there is still an opportunity for green maturity growth since such initiatives not only benefit the environment but also the bottom line. Understand the green trends of...

This tool allows enterprises to benchmark their green IT maturity scores against over 800 peers by revenue, IT budget, and number of employees. Find out what environmental actions other companies are taking in their IT departments and across the entire enterprise. Consider Info-Tech's recommendations for next steps to take to increase green IT maturity.

IT Projects are characterized by changing technologies, uncertainty, and shifting business needs and objectives. Review core project management basics and increase the chances for ongoing IT project success.

Defined by the Project Management Institute (PMI), the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) is a process-based guide that provides the fundamentals of project management. If left alone to project managers to decipher, the terminology and concepts of the PMBOK can often leave readers unclear and confused. Clear the fog by reviewing PMBOK basics to make the guide a valuable project...

Making the decision to outsource data center processes does not have to be a difficult task, provided that IT uses a formal procedure for separating core processes from commoditized ones. Use the results from this procedure to then make the appropriate vendor selection.

Falling price-points from e-mail hosting providers require enterprises to rethink e-mail provisioning strategy. Enterprises can make an informed decision by determining if hosted e-mail is an option and comparing the cost of in-house e-mail provisioning against hosted e-mail prices.

Sickness, unplanned family events, and medical emergencies are just a few of the unexpected events that can impact an IT organization. When an executive suddenly departs, enterprises must act promptly to minimize the impact on the IT organization and the company. Enterprises can’t afford to spend days or weeks determining a course of action because of the unplanned absence of an IT executive.

With the promise of low operating costs and zero hardware investment, cloud computing is garnering considerable market hype. The promise is quite real, but the reality is that the cloud is not yet ready to be trusted as critical enterprise infrastructure. Info-Tech sees five key challenges in the cloud and recommends a cautious approach.

Like any other IT project, metrics have to be properly designed, collected, piloted, and deployed. This implies an iterative approach that encompasses feedback, assessment, communication, and change management. The key to a successful implementation of IT metrics is adopting the top-down approach to metrics development.

Building or purchasing a Master Data Management (MDM) solution will not solve master data problems on its own. Employee behavior and organizational processes need to be changed first. Assemble a data governance group to drive the organizational change necessary for MDM success.

Many enterprises are tackling the usual and predictable when it comes to cutting IT costs. However, many significant cost-reduction opportunities are being missed or ignored outright. Move beyond the low-hanging fruit and scrutinize in-house cost management priorities.

In order to help the organization meet its requirements at an acceptable price, IT managers should consider vendor negotiations long before the selection of a final vendor. Learn to plan ahead for vendor negotiations with an eye towards maximizing bargaining leverage down the road.

For many organizations, projects in IT environments are a critical part of daily operations. Constrained by budget, time frames, and personnel, IT leaders must carefully select the best projects to align with organizational goals and objectives. Use this tool to help analyze and determine project priorities.

For many organizations, accurately allocating resources among projects can be a time-consuming and challenging task. Constrained by budget, time frames, and personnel, IT leaders must carefully select the best projects to optimize the use of limited resources. Use this tool to keep project requests in line with realistic resource capabilities.

Poor economic conditions will impact every organization, be it directly or indirectly, strategically or operationally. Info-Tech’s “Methodology: Reducing IT Cost-to-Serve” offers a proactive approach to IT cost reduction while mitigating risk to strategic goals.

Measures of enterprise size have surprisingly little to do with the IT service areas selected for cost reduction. In fact, most enterprises follow a similar cost-cutting path regardless of the number of employees, size of IT, or company revenue.

Some organizations want to green their IT departments but are unaware of what options are available and what factors ensure successful implementation. Info-Tech identifies nine green IT initiatives that organizations should consider not only to be greener, but also to improve the bottom line. Understand the key success factors of green IT to realize both environmental and business benefits.

Based on data from a recent Info-Tech study, this tool assesses an organization's chances of success when implementing green IT initiatives. Understand the organization's current probability of success and consider recommendations to improve this score to realize the business and environmental benefits of green IT.

Data governance is a vital component of any master data management strategy. The creation of a governance program depends upon executive sponsorship and gaining the support of key stakeholders. Develop a clear project strategy from the outset to avoid political fallout.

IT often has a preferred vendor when going into a contract negotiation. If the vendor is aware that its products or services are preferred, this can prevent it from reducing its price. Learn from the case studies in this research note to discover how two IT professionals successfully negotiated price reductions from their top picks.

Different enterprises are facing different cost reduction targets and time frames. These realities are influencing which IT service areas are being selected for cuts. Understand the factors driving these decisions and the lessons learned to best prepare the enterprise for internal cost cutting efforts.

Establishing a process for collecting valid project requests is achieved through the completion of two main steps, which are, establishing rules of engagement and collecting project proposals.

Every enterprise has processes, whether they are formally documented or not. In fact, the fundamental building blocks of any organization are its processes and the people who put them into practice.

Once project proposals have been submitted and collected, establish a process to identify the highest priority project proposals. This will include maintaining an inventory of proposed projects, applying ranking criteria, and establishing the highest priority proposals.

After the preliminary ranking of projects, actual resource availability needs to be taken into account. In this stage, IT capacity for completing projects will be measured against the projects that have already been identified as high priority.

When organizational or market factors fluctuate, project priorities may shift due to changing realities. Organizations that have multiple projects competing for limited resources face some key challenges.

The purpose of Business – IT Alignment is to optimize the value that IT contributes to the enterprise. As such, in order to successfully outline a strategic IT roadmap, it is important to start here.

The first task in developing an Application Strategy is to identify weaknesses and gaps in the current set of applications in terms of achieving strategic objectives of the company. The health of current applications and their ability to support the business as it changes strategically are the critical elements of mapping a strategic direction.

You now have a set of opportunities to improve the application portfolio, enhance technical infrastructure and strengthen the IT organization. You now need to turn those opportunities into action and describe what needs to be done.

Maturity in the three fundamental elements of Project Management is proven to deliver improved overall project performance, increased realization of benefits, and improved project manager performance. This report will identify contributors to improved performance and provide directions on how an enterprise can mature their Project Management discipline

When a vendor is offering the lowest available price for its products or services, IT managers often assume they have no leverage to achieve price reductions during contract negotiations. Don't leave money on the table. Learn how a consultant helped an IT manager to extract further price concessions from the lowest priced vendor through effective price negotiation strategies.

Metrics can – and do – provide a number of benefits to IT and the organization as a whole, including alignment, improved efficiencies, and the business case for additional IT budget or resources. However, poor data quality, shaky implementation plans, and a lack of manager commitment will scuttle an IT metrics program very quickly. Focus on these three areas to make metrics a value-driver within...

Before entering into contract negotiations with a selected vendor, IT needs to be well-prepared in order to achieve a successful deal. Learn how to review the contract proposed by the vendor, as well as assemble a strong negotiation team with clear targets and a solid negotiation strategy.

Establishing effective communications between shifts is a proven method of ensuring data center quality and maintaining uptime. Use this fully editable Shift Turnover Checklist to facilitate clear and concise information flow between outgoing and incoming shifts.

Focusing cost-reduction efforts on internal IT administration services provides quick cost savings. However, it is important to supplement short-term tactics with mid and long-term follow-ups. The techniques provided in this note, as well as the potential pitfalls and case studies, allow IT decision makers to align the need to reduce costs with the need to meet business requirements.

Unforeseen events often alter organizational priorities, driving the need for project reevaluation. Recognizing circumstances that trigger the reprioritization of projects helps to clarify when and how projects should be realigned with changing enterprise objectives. Optimize the organization's project portfolio by realistically addressing when priorities need to be re-adjusted.

Often, project scoping and planning is ignored in favor of getting on with other project work. However, many organizations fail to realize the value of a solid project plan in saving time, money, and mitigating risks. Leverage this “Project Definition Statement” template to outline the project details needed to set the baseline for a successful project.

It is possible to achieve price reductions during contract negotiations; however, IT managers often need to respond to vendor opposition in order to get the pricing that they desire. This note highlights several arguments that vendors commonly use to avoid reducing their prices during a contract negotiation and provides advice on how to counter these claims to achieve a successful price reduction.

The ability to negotiate a reduced price with vendors is a crucial skill for IT professionals, who are often under pressure to reduce costs. There are a number of strategies that IT can use when negotiating for a reduced price on an IT contract. However, not all strategies are created equal and not all strategies should be used in every negotiation situation. Use this tool to help choose which...

There are a number of strategies that can be used when negotiating for reduced prices on IT contracts. However, not all strategies are created equal and not all strategies should be used in every negotiation situation. Complete with a negotiation strategy tool, this note describes tactics that IT professionals commonly use to successfully negotiate for reduced prices, as well as suggesting when...

This tool is designed to help organizations determine top tactics for cost reduction within the internal IT administration area. After the questions have been completed, the tool will generate guidance on what cost-saving actions to take, the relative amount of savings from each action, the time frame required to realize these savings, as well as potential challenges and ways to mitigate these...

Every project manager understands the importance of organized planning and monitoring for each individual project. Use the ITA Premium "Project Planning and Monitoring Tool" to diligently track, analyze, and report a project's progress from start to finish.

Recovering from a disaster cannot occur without having key people in place to bring system, equipment, and services back online. Recruit, train, and empower these individuals in order to achieve DRP objectives for mid to large-sized enterprises.

Increasing compliance and security demands are creating an enterprise need for a new role that encompasses and assumes responsibility for risk management. Although risk management is handled on an ad hoc basis by most organizations, it may be time to make risk management a dedicated position.

A recent announcement from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) states that publicly-traded small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) will not be exempt from key provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SarbOx). These developments have serious implications for staffing in SMEs, as internal audit teams are crucial in achieving compliance.

Recovering from a disaster cannot occur without having key people in place to bring system, equipment, and services back online. Use this worksheet to identify team members, record contact information, and delineate responsibilities.

Since IT personnel have greater access to data than non-IT workers, the impact and risk of data theft committed by IT employees tends to be higher. Data integrity and security must begin with solid data privacy principles and practices. Align the enterprise’s access controls with a privacy mindset to mitigate threats of data loss.

Most privacy violations are caused – quite unintentionally – by employees. Training and patience are required from IT leaders to ensure that customer information is kept private and confidential. Use these from-the-trenches stories to improve the effectiveness of privacy initiatives within the enterprise.

By adopting a proactive approach, managers can prevent common teleworker problems and concerns. Improve the success of a teleworking program by taking care to understand and adhere to policies, set and measure goals, and ensure the teleworkers have the right tools at their disposal.

If a business case for a new hire hinges on an externally-sourced benchmark staffing ratio, then go back to the drawing board. Staffing ratios are notoriously inaccurate for most enterprises, and as such are frequently misapplied. Understand what insight staffing ratios can and cannot provide before relying on them to make critical hiring decisions.

Organizing a data center along traditional hierarchical lines might work for some enterprises for now, but an increasing focus on ITIL and service management will eventually shine a spotlight on the flaws in this approach. Assess changes that can be made to data center organizational structure in order to better support high quality delivery of IT services.

(Sample) End users display a diverse range of IT skills. Use this assessment tool to identify end-user skill levels and determine if they have the knowledge to act as resident experts.

Reduce training and IT support costs and improve desktop productivity by developing a Resident Expert Support (REXS) system within business units. Resident Experts (REs) are power users that employ their advanced knowledge of desktop systems to help train and support fellow employees on desktop applications, thus reducing the burden on IT.

Economic times are getting tough. Orders could come down from company executives to cut headcount immediately. If IT leadership doesn't make it happen, it could be their jobs on the chopping block. Be ready to take decisive action.

Enterprises continue to take sweeping actions to offset the economy's impact on their business models and to protect vital corporate assets. IT managers should modify their management styles and activity focus to counteract the growing fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) that could negatively affect the performance and morale of IT staff.

Layoffs can result in a large-scale reorganization of the IT department. Coordinating the details of who will handle what going forward may feel rather like putting together a puzzle with too many pieces. While no tried-and-true method exists, be as systematic as possible to achieve best results.

Making staff reductions is not only an emotionally challenging task, but also one wrought with uncertainty and risk for error. This risk is magnified when time frames for reductions are short. Follow a structured and objective method for determining who needs to be cut to minimize mistakes and help the enterprise reduce costs.

Job descriptions are important management documents that set expectations, accountabilities, and other requirements for job performance. Use this template to document role requirements in detail.

Organizational charts are important enterprise communication tools that spell out both vertical and lateral relationships between departments, working groups, and individuals. Apply this PowerPoint tool to help you visually document your IT department’s organizational structure.

Reducing headcount is a mentally and emotionally challenging task under any circumstance. Use this tool to take a systematic, skills-focused approach to making staff reduction decisions.

To control demand on IT resources, it's imperative to document available people resources and the percentage of their time to be allocated to specific activities or projects. Use this "IT Resource Designation Worksheet" on a quarterly basis at a minimum, and more frequently in fast-changing environments.

Managing enterprise data quality is essential for preventing poor decisions and wasting resources. To assert better management control over data quality, institute a data governance program led by a data quality team.

Employees are assets, and the skills they hold are important tools that must be documented, tracked, and assessed in order to be effectively leveraged. Use this tool to list and rate IT's skill set arsenal, identify what's missing, and plan for the future.

A flagging economy eventually forces some hard decisions when it comes to IT staff. How does IT remain able to respond to changing business needs with fewer staff? Learn how agile your IT staff truly is with this measurement tool.

Exit interviews provide a valuable opportunity for an organization to find out what it could be doing better from the employee's perspective. Use this template as a guide to conducting and documenting the exit interview process.

When an employee leaves, be it voluntary or through dismissal, some basic steps must be taken to ensure the smoothest transition possible and to protect the organization. Use this downloadable checklist to ensure nothing is overlooked.

The successful implementation of an employee performance evaluation program requires a clear understanding of the organizational setting; active, involved, and responsible participation by those who will be covered by the program; and an effective strategy to continuously review and renew the program. By carefully designing this program, it can benefit both the employee and the employer.

Managing business demand on IT is one of the last frontiers in achieving true IT-business alignment. Improve interdepartmental communications and put evaluative demand controls in place to reduce IT costs and improve the business value of IT projects.

Economic hardship can quickly cut already lean IT headcounts down to sub-minimum levels. Adopting an agile approach to workforce management is one method for doing more with less during times plagued with change and uncertainty.

Losing a job ranks with divorce and death of a loved one as one of the most stressful and depressing life events. During times of financial crisis, the number of terminations will increase as layoffs are mandated. Regardless of the circumstances, it's an employer's responsibility to conduct all terminations professionally.

Many enterprises use automation, improved human resources management techniques, or a combination of both to increase the productivity of their employees. However, both methods are expensive and time intensive. During times of economic uncertainty, Info-Tech recommends taking advantage of a less expensive but equally effective method of doing more with less – the elimination of unproductive...

The purpose of HR Management Practices is to provide the tools to manage the IT human resource lifecycle. This lifecycle begins with the decision to hire new employees and ends with how to manage departing employees.

The purpose of the Leadership section is to give IT leaders guidelines for improving their teams and their leadership skills.

The purpose of the Performance Measurement and Professional Development section is to gather performance feedback, at regular intervals, and to apply that feedback as a component in the professional development program.

Enterprises are dependent on vendors to obtain IT hardware, software and services. The Vendor Management process includes the identification, selection, contracting with, and ongoing management of vendors or suppliers, and is an essential part of the IT management process.