IT Manager's Handbook

Getting Your New Job Done

Bill Holtsnider, Brian D. Jaffe

• Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9780080465746
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Ciencia de la computación
• Subtopic: Tecnología de la información

IT Manager's Handbook, Second Edition, provides essential information to help students understand the responsibilities of today's IT Management professionals: not only planning network security and implementing disaster recovery plans, but also such vital tasks as creating budgets, administering compliance, and managing staff. In particular, the book discusses business practices that are most critical to effective IT operations: recruiting, budgeting, resource planning, managing personnel, and working with vendor.

This updated version includes expanded coverage on such critical IT management topics as security, disaster recovery, storage, government/regulatory compliance, and project management. Information is organized modularly so that instructors and students can delve directly into only the topics needed. Each chapter contains additional resources sections for books, articles, and websites relevant to that topic.

It contains new material on key technology topics such as open source, outsourcing, offshoring, and handhelds, plus updated coverage of e-commerce, remote access, intranets, and LAN/WAN management.

A completely updated and expanded second edition that provides practical, easily accessible management advice written specifically for new IT managers: · Brings you up to speed on those business practices most critical to effective IT operations: recruiting, budgeting, resource planning, managing personnel, and working with vendors. · Includes expanded coverage on such critical IT management topics as security, disaster recovery, storage, government/regulatory compliance, and project management.· Organizes information modularly so you can delve directly into only the topics that you need. · Provides a unique management perspective on those specific technical issues with the most significant business ramifications.· Includes new material on key technology topics such as open source, wireless, handhelds, outsourcing, offshoring, and operations, as well as updated coverage of e-commerce, remote access, intranets, and LAN/WAN management.

Part One

The Business of Being an IT Manager

CHAPTER ONE The Role of an IT Manager

The buck stops here.

—HARRY TRUMAN

CHAPTER TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Just What Does an IT Manager Do? 4

2. Managers in General 5

3. The Strategic Value of the IT Department 11

4. Develop an IT Strategy 14

5. Additional Resources 16

What does an IT Manager actually do? Are you glad you got the job? Or do you eventually want to become one yourself? Before we help you answer those questions, we discuss the definition and the pros and cons of being a manager. Clearly management as a career path is well suited for some people, but not for everyone. Is it right for you?

IT Managers need to wear a lot of hats. Different parts of the organization will have different expectations of this position, and you’ll have to address them all. Finance expects you to manage costs; Sales and Marketing will want to see IT help to generate revenue; your staff is looking for guidance, career development, and a work-life balance; and the administrative assistant down the hall just wants her printer to stop smudging. In this chapter, we will examine the roles and responsibilities of an IT Manager.

1.1 Just What Does an IT Manager Do?

IT Managers now have many responsibilities (data centers, staff management, telecommunications, servers, workstations, Web sites, user support, regulatory compliance, disaster recovery, etc.) and connect with almost all the departments (Accounting, Marketing, Sales, Distribution, etc.) within a company or organization.

This is both the good and the bad news. At some companies, an IT Manager can have direct influence on the strategic direction of the company, suggesting and helping implement e-commerce initiatives, for example. In other companies, an IT Manager is really a technician, a software developer, or network installer. And to complicate things even further, those definitions change quickly over time. Yesterday’s network installer is today’s e-commerce consultant.

By the way, at this point, “IT” (Information Technology) and “IS” (Information Systems) have now become synonymous terms. While they are often used interchangeably, “IT” is becoming much more widely used. Some people may use “IS” to refer to activity related to business software applications, but this use has waned considerably.

Why All That Change and Flexibility Is Good

The position of IT Manager can be very challenging. It is extremely varied in scope, allows you to come in contact with a large portion of your company, provides you with opportunities to directly affect the overall direction of your organization, and is excellent professional experience to acquire. In addition, you get to increase your range of experience; you are forced to (and get to) keep up with the latest changes in technology (so your skill set will always be in demand); and your network of contacts gets large.

As important as all that is, there is an added bonus: In recent years, IT has taken on a strategic value in the roles companies play in the new economy. Information Technology is now a critical component of many companies and the U.S. economy: “IT is the fastest growing sector in the economy with a 68% increase in output growth rate expected between 2002 and 2012 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).” Not only is your job interesting and rewarding, it is also very important. Dependence on technology is only growing, and issues like security and compliance are making IT more visible throughout the organization. What more could you ask for?

Why All That Change and Flexibility Is Bad

On the other hand, being an IT Manager is a difficult, often thankless, task. Like many service jobs, if you do it superbly, most people don’t notice. In addition, the responsibilities differ radically from company to company. Some companies actually have many IT Managers and several layers of management. At others (and this number is shrinking), an IT Manager is a part-time role someone fills while doing their “real” job.

In addition, the role of an IT Manager can often vary widely within an organization, depending on who is making the decisions at the time. While the techniques might vary, the “Western Region Sales Manager” knows what his or her role is — get more sales as soon as possible — and that isn’t going to vary much from company to company. An IT Manager, on the other hand, can mean many things to many people, and the job changes as technology and needs advance and evolve. Addressing all these needs and people can mean that time for “extras” like sleep and meals have to be sacrificed.

As a manager, everyone else’s crises become yours. People (your users, your staff, etc.) are demanding quick resolutions to problems, and are looking to you to fix them.

In this book, we will discuss in detail the positive and negative elements of the key components of being an IT Manager. If a process is littered with political landmines (“budgeting,” for example), we’ll warn you about it; if a process has hidden perks (being an unofficial project manager for a project can put you in contact with many different people at many different layers of the organization), we’ll tell you that, too. But before you decide if you should be an IT Manager, read the next section to determine if you want to be a manager at all.

1.2 Managers in General

Before you decide whether or not you want to become an IT Manager, you should decide whether or not you want to become a manager at all. One method of evaluating a potential career is to read books or take introductory classes about how to do it; sometimes, reading a book about a subject will make you realize you do not want to pursue that particular career (see Table 1.1).

Like most topics in this book, we present you with both the positive and the negative aspects of being a manager. We’d like to share our experiences and those of other managers we know; managers with over 100 years of combined experience contributed ideas to the following section.

Of course, the comments in this section are extremely subjective. Both positive and negative comments about such a broad topic (“management”) are bound to be generalizations that easily can be counter-argued. So take each comment/idea/suggestion as something to be considered, evaluated, and adapted; perhaps it applies to your experience and perhaps not. But remember, everything here has been written by professionals who have been out in the front lines of the corporate world for a long time.

General Definition of a Manager

Management has been defined as “assembling the resources to achieve a mutually agreed upon objective” (G. Puziak, 2005). Or it can be defined as “getting things done through other people” (AMA President, 1980). A more mundane view is the answers.com definition: “authoritative control over the affairs of others.” All three views are commonly held beliefs.

Note the radical difference between the definitio...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Preface
• Table of Contents
• Part One: The Business of Being an IT Manager
• Part Two: The Technology of Being an It Manager
• Bibliography
• Glossary
• Index
• Instructions for online access