Resilience
....flexibility in the face of problems
Your office systems need to be flexible, particularly if something goes wrong that interrupts your normal way of working. The time you most need to email a report is the time your email will fail! We believe that every important office system should have some form of backup or fall back process.
When you rely on IT systems and need them to be efficient, you should consider the cost and inconvenience when something fails.
N.B. Sod's law - “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”.
Reliability – the first step
In the first instance systems should be designed and implemented to be reliable. This is more easily said than done, particularly where more than one application or product is used. Our experience in implementing IT tools and supporting them means we can not only avoid your learning cycle but can also provide an answer quickly when things do go wrong.
Design with failure in mind
We help you to consider what can fail and what to do when things go wrong. This does not necessarily mean added expense but simple ways of identifying the failure and using alternatives if a fix cannot be applied immediately. Failure or poorly performing IT systems can be very corrosive to organisations, confidence is eroded, and negative attitudes arise, sometimes holding back progress in other areas.
Build in contingencies - test them regularly
Some questions you might ask:
- What do you do when a PC breaks down?
- What happens when a printer fails?
- How do people work if a server is down?
- Can people work without email or internet access?
If a failure affects one person that is bad, if a department is affected or the whole business cannot work; what is the cost in terms of lost business, dented morale and loss of confidence?
Build in resilience – breakdowns happen all the time!
Considering and planning for
breakdowns not only reduces the occurrence of failure, but also keeps people working when things go wrong. With a little thought any additional work can be justified and it really is a better way of working.
We are very keen on systems being resilient
– if nothing else it gives you time to put things right
Simple examples of resilience
- Your exchange server is down. Key individuals can still send and receive emails. Everyone has their own email history, tasks and appointment information available to them.
- The server or PC with shared files is not available. An up to date copy of the files is available on another computer, enabling people to have continued access.
- An individual’s PC fails. A spare is available or a colleague's PC can be used with all the individual’s desktop and information available.
With a little thought and design, resilience can be relatively easy to achieve .
Infosysco is a trading name for Anetwork Ltd.
All content copyright © 2006 Anetwork Ltd.
