Barrier's on IT/IS Implementation
Before we are going to tackle about the barriers of IS/IT implementation for my visited organization, let's define first what barrier is. According to a common online dictionary, it is anything that restrains or obstructs progress, access or in other word, it is a barrier. Barrier is not new to us anymore. Even in our personal lives, there are barriers also. These barriers hinder so that we will not become successful in life.
As I surf over the internet, I found these seven barriers in IT modernization. These are:
1. Cost: Finding the funds to pay for modernization projects
Modernization is rarely an IT budget item and typically requires incremental funding that must be raised from somewhere else in the organization. And, getting those monies allocated is the number one challenge facing IT managers. In fact, many executives express frustration at their inability to show business value or return on investment (ROI) from modernization initiatives. For example, arguments related to technical capabilities and toolsets or addressing the shrinking pool of staff skills are viewed as purely IT problems, and therefore, fall on deaf ears. What’s more, in the eyes of financial types, legacy applications are “paid for” with ongoing maintenance (which is a standard IT budget line item) their only cost. Couple that with the perception that modernization projects simply maintain the status quo – and don’t deliver new functionality – and it’s easy to see why there’s little enthusiasm for projects to upgrade legacy systems. What’s lacking are vehicles to communicate the current business value of the supporting applications and infrastructure, the future business value of modern, agile systems, and the implications of delaying modernization work. IT executives need ways to make a stronger connection between modernization and operational concerns, such as lost competitive advantage, declining revenue, and poor regulatory compliance, to get the needed funds.
2. Risk: Changes to core business applications must be carefully considered
Frequently, the very systems that are in the most need of modernization are essential to the business and, as such, are very likely running quite well. And because downtime isn’t an option with such software, IT has the additional challenge of trying to modernize without jeopardizing current operations. Moreover, any change to core capabilities introduces significant business risk that can be very hard to justify. Without a sound business case for modernization, there’s little reward for that risk, particularly when compared to doing nothing at all. But, IT executives also worry that “leaving well enough alone” when it comes to core business applications simply delays the inevitable – and puts them in the uncomfortable position of having to be reactive rather than proactive. However, they need to ensure that their political capital is spent on projects that deliver maximum benefit in the shortest time possible and with minimal risk. A clearer understanding of the risks from inaction is necessary to make a good case for modernization.
3. Inertia: Why modernize when everything is working fine?
For many IT executives today, there’s no clear personal reward for modernization. And, that’s particularly true in situations where the end result simply maintains the status quo functionality, albeit on a more current technology platform. In fact, there’s a strong disincentive to take on projects to update legacy applications and development tools. Horror stories abound of career-killing, big-bang modernization projects that go over budget and fail to go live. This, combined with the fact that all IT departments have more than enough urgent work on their to-do lists, creates yet another barrier to modernization.
4. Time: Modernization projects take too long
Another common impediment to modernization is the perception that timelines for such projects are inordinately long. Of course, they are complex and require considerable planning and validation time, in addition to performing the actual upgrade work. However, as with any project, the longer the timeline, the more time it takes to realize the benefit – and the greater the likelihood that it will be interrupted, suspended, or even cancelled. IT organizations need to find ways to define an overall modernization roadmap, deliver in smaller, incremental steps, update the plans as business and IT needs change, and show progress along the way.
5. Information: Where to start; what the best practices are; when to use what approach
Another common concern for IT executives is how to make the right decision about modernization tools and techniques. There are many vendors promoting many products and services – and little independent information to help organizations make the smart investment for their particular environments. There’s a real fear of being locked into an approach and technologies that don’t easily adapt as the industry changes. And, that’s understandable because modernization projects are hard enough to get off the ground without having to worry that they are going down the wrong path.
6. Balance: Modernize and maintain – how do you do both?
Seventy percent or more of IT budgets is devoted to the maintenance and support activities needed to ensure that day-to-day operations run smoothly. Shifting focus and funding to modernization is a difficult balancing act and a significant barrier. With pressing business and IT issues always front and center, modernization projects quickly fall to the bottom of the list. Many IT executives find it difficult to “keep the lights on” while simultaneously updating legacy systems. They report feeling like they need ways to change the tires on the car while it’s speeding down the road at 85 miles per hour.
7. Quality of Service: Organizations are leery of changes that could compromise service levels
One significant advantage enjoyed by legacy applications is the years of careful, iterative tuning to ensure enterprise-class reliability, security, scalability, and availability. And, IT managers worry that adopting newer technologies, such as Java and .NET, may pose serious service quality problems once deployed. Even upgrades to the latest operating system levels and hardware technology can degrade the performance of aging applications, which were not designed to run in these environments or which exploit long forgotten features of the old one.
Incremental modernization approaches are needed that:
• Consider quality of service requirements
• Can model the production environment before deployment
• Help to ensure a seamless transition
Now, let's go to my adopted company for this task. My adopted company for this task is the Rhine Marketing-Computer Division in San Pedro St., Davao City. As we interview the MIS Manager of the Rhine Marketing-Computer Division, he gave us four barriers in which they found too tough in order for them to implement their IT/IS. These are:
1. Cost
2. Adoption in New System
3. Downsizing of Manpower
4. Feedbacks
According to him, the most barrier of these barriers which he enumerated for their organization is the Cost. Why cost? It is because when they want to change their IS in their organization, cost is the main reason why sometimes there are delays in implementing new IS. He also stated that, it is too difficult also to change new systems if the user of it is older and doesn't have any background in computer.
We all know that Rhine Marketing has many branches in the Philippines, they made their own programs and systems so that it is easy for them to implement within the organization. Mr. MIS Manager shared that when they're going to have their maintenance on their programs and systems, they usually made some back-ups of the data for some security reasons. Because they have their own systems, Rhine Marketing experienced also downsizing of the HR. But the bottom line of that is, if you have your own program within your company, be assure that it is user friendly.
Sources:
http://www1.unisys.com:8081/eprise/main/admin/micro/doc/Seven_Barriers_to_Modernization_White_Paper.pdf
As I surf over the internet, I found these seven barriers in IT modernization. These are:
1. Cost: Finding the funds to pay for modernization projects
Modernization is rarely an IT budget item and typically requires incremental funding that must be raised from somewhere else in the organization. And, getting those monies allocated is the number one challenge facing IT managers. In fact, many executives express frustration at their inability to show business value or return on investment (ROI) from modernization initiatives. For example, arguments related to technical capabilities and toolsets or addressing the shrinking pool of staff skills are viewed as purely IT problems, and therefore, fall on deaf ears. What’s more, in the eyes of financial types, legacy applications are “paid for” with ongoing maintenance (which is a standard IT budget line item) their only cost. Couple that with the perception that modernization projects simply maintain the status quo – and don’t deliver new functionality – and it’s easy to see why there’s little enthusiasm for projects to upgrade legacy systems. What’s lacking are vehicles to communicate the current business value of the supporting applications and infrastructure, the future business value of modern, agile systems, and the implications of delaying modernization work. IT executives need ways to make a stronger connection between modernization and operational concerns, such as lost competitive advantage, declining revenue, and poor regulatory compliance, to get the needed funds.
2. Risk: Changes to core business applications must be carefully considered
Frequently, the very systems that are in the most need of modernization are essential to the business and, as such, are very likely running quite well. And because downtime isn’t an option with such software, IT has the additional challenge of trying to modernize without jeopardizing current operations. Moreover, any change to core capabilities introduces significant business risk that can be very hard to justify. Without a sound business case for modernization, there’s little reward for that risk, particularly when compared to doing nothing at all. But, IT executives also worry that “leaving well enough alone” when it comes to core business applications simply delays the inevitable – and puts them in the uncomfortable position of having to be reactive rather than proactive. However, they need to ensure that their political capital is spent on projects that deliver maximum benefit in the shortest time possible and with minimal risk. A clearer understanding of the risks from inaction is necessary to make a good case for modernization.
3. Inertia: Why modernize when everything is working fine?
For many IT executives today, there’s no clear personal reward for modernization. And, that’s particularly true in situations where the end result simply maintains the status quo functionality, albeit on a more current technology platform. In fact, there’s a strong disincentive to take on projects to update legacy applications and development tools. Horror stories abound of career-killing, big-bang modernization projects that go over budget and fail to go live. This, combined with the fact that all IT departments have more than enough urgent work on their to-do lists, creates yet another barrier to modernization.
4. Time: Modernization projects take too long
Another common impediment to modernization is the perception that timelines for such projects are inordinately long. Of course, they are complex and require considerable planning and validation time, in addition to performing the actual upgrade work. However, as with any project, the longer the timeline, the more time it takes to realize the benefit – and the greater the likelihood that it will be interrupted, suspended, or even cancelled. IT organizations need to find ways to define an overall modernization roadmap, deliver in smaller, incremental steps, update the plans as business and IT needs change, and show progress along the way.
5. Information: Where to start; what the best practices are; when to use what approach
Another common concern for IT executives is how to make the right decision about modernization tools and techniques. There are many vendors promoting many products and services – and little independent information to help organizations make the smart investment for their particular environments. There’s a real fear of being locked into an approach and technologies that don’t easily adapt as the industry changes. And, that’s understandable because modernization projects are hard enough to get off the ground without having to worry that they are going down the wrong path.
6. Balance: Modernize and maintain – how do you do both?
Seventy percent or more of IT budgets is devoted to the maintenance and support activities needed to ensure that day-to-day operations run smoothly. Shifting focus and funding to modernization is a difficult balancing act and a significant barrier. With pressing business and IT issues always front and center, modernization projects quickly fall to the bottom of the list. Many IT executives find it difficult to “keep the lights on” while simultaneously updating legacy systems. They report feeling like they need ways to change the tires on the car while it’s speeding down the road at 85 miles per hour.
7. Quality of Service: Organizations are leery of changes that could compromise service levels
One significant advantage enjoyed by legacy applications is the years of careful, iterative tuning to ensure enterprise-class reliability, security, scalability, and availability. And, IT managers worry that adopting newer technologies, such as Java and .NET, may pose serious service quality problems once deployed. Even upgrades to the latest operating system levels and hardware technology can degrade the performance of aging applications, which were not designed to run in these environments or which exploit long forgotten features of the old one.
Incremental modernization approaches are needed that:
• Consider quality of service requirements
• Can model the production environment before deployment
• Help to ensure a seamless transition
Now, let's go to my adopted company for this task. My adopted company for this task is the Rhine Marketing-Computer Division in San Pedro St., Davao City. As we interview the MIS Manager of the Rhine Marketing-Computer Division, he gave us four barriers in which they found too tough in order for them to implement their IT/IS. These are:
1. Cost
2. Adoption in New System
3. Downsizing of Manpower
4. Feedbacks
According to him, the most barrier of these barriers which he enumerated for their organization is the Cost. Why cost? It is because when they want to change their IS in their organization, cost is the main reason why sometimes there are delays in implementing new IS. He also stated that, it is too difficult also to change new systems if the user of it is older and doesn't have any background in computer.
We all know that Rhine Marketing has many branches in the Philippines, they made their own programs and systems so that it is easy for them to implement within the organization. Mr. MIS Manager shared that when they're going to have their maintenance on their programs and systems, they usually made some back-ups of the data for some security reasons. Because they have their own systems, Rhine Marketing experienced also downsizing of the HR. But the bottom line of that is, if you have your own program within your company, be assure that it is user friendly.
Sources:
http://www1.unisys.com:8081/eprise/main/admin/micro/doc/Seven_Barriers_to_Modernization_White_Paper.pdf
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