New and seasoned businesspeople know that a well-thought-out business model and strategy are two key ingredients needed to create a successful company.
However, something discussed less frequently is an operating or operational model. This outlines important details about a company, including those regarding employees, processes, systems and technology.
At some point or another, we have probably trusted our "gut" with making a decision. In other cases, you make a decision, which turns out to be incorrect, and then proclaim, "I should have gone with my gut." Intuition can seem like an attractive prospect in decision making, although there's plenty of research to suggest that it is nothing more than the luck of the draw. Whether you are deciding on a new personal auto insurance plan, or a big partnership at the company you run, data can help you better understand and quantify a decision. This is where data-driven decision making, or DDDM for short, can make a big difference. So, how can you validate an action before committing using DDDM? The answer is not straightforward. How you incorporate DDDM into your business is highly subjective. It will depend on things like the industry, business goals, client-type and, of course, the way you collect and process data. Continue reading to find out how you can transition from intuition to data-driven decision making at your business.
In most organizations there is a generic form of the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL®), that provides a detailed outline and operating procedure for IT operations and activities.
In many ways, this ITIL operational management process controls and oversees IT Service Management (ITSM), IT Help Desks, and relationships with external vendors, such as Software as a Service (SaaS) providers.
In recent years, the idea of becoming "ITIL compliant" has become more popular. However, this leaves many IT leaders wondering:
In ITIL and ITSM, it's mission-critical that everyone has a clear understanding of their roles, responsibilities, and how this aligns with business objectives and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
One way for IT leaders and CIOs to manage and monitor this is using a Responsibility Matrix, also known as a RACI Matrix. Another way to describe this is a Linear Responsibility Chart (LRC).
In the software and IT sector, software companies and IT help desks and service centers manage customer relationships and expectations using Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
Service Level Agreements are integral to the smooth running of relationships between IT help desks and Software as a Service (SaaS) companies, cloud-providers, other technology vendors, and customers.
The cloud is so much more than new-era data storage. It has grown to offer services of all kinds to businesses, healthcare organizations, educational faculties, and more. You may already be familiar with "Software as a Service" or the SaaS meaning. While that is a well-known expansion of cloud as a service, there are many other acronyms you may be unaware of. Each acronym reflects another capable service of the cloud — one or more of which may be of value to you and your organization. Continue reading as we have created a master listing of each service related to today's cloud technology.
Businesses and organizations constantly need to monitor performance and identify areas of improvement. Maturity models are a tool, often used in IT departments, customer-centric organizations, and software companies, to measure the success of management processes, styles, and IT systems.
In this article, we are focusing on the use of the following maturity models in companies' operations:
Project managers (PMs) and IT support specialists serve critical roles in a modern organization.
PMs have many responsibilities — running meetings, planning and scheduling, managing resources and budgets, analyzing reports, delegating tasks, and more.
Like PMs, IT support specialists are responsible for juggling multiple tasks simultaneously. IT service or help desk employees analyze, troubleshoot, evaluate and resolve technical issues for an organization's customers and clients, among other things.
As everyday consumers, we often consider price one of the top indicators to justify a purchase. When we say "price," we mean the sticker price, but rarely do we factor in other costs involved with maintaining a product. The same goes for organizations. They are often home to various software and services with an upfront cost. That upfront cost is likely an attractive number, strategically formulated to obtain a signed service agreement. Licenses and maintenance fees associated with the purchase are usually a small component of the overall total cost of ownership (TCO). Where actual costs can begin to pile up are in the areas of labor to maintain software, infrastructure, and hardware.
Calculating true total ownership cost can be a tedious process, though it is necessary. Before sending your IT team out to solicit new SaaS products, be sure they have a standardized template of data to look for beyond the sticker price.
Those working as mental health providers over the last decade have experienced a shift in how tools are used to help their practices. This is true for both large mental health facilities and solo practitioners. Electronic health record (EHR) tools along with electronic medical record (EMR) tools have made many processes easier for mental health professionals, whether they be behavioral health, therapy, counseling EHRs, or any number of mental health categories.
