IT Infrastructure

24 Minute CIO

POINTS

Complete the units, enroll in new courses, answer survey questions

By gaining points, you can win a personalised one on one coaching session

Complete the course to see how your learning has improved and gain 10 points

Answer the questions in each unit to generate your custom action plan and gain points

Collect points to be able to ask an expert any question you may have

Course Modules

% Completed

Module 1	24minCIO
Unit 1	24 Minute CIO Pretest
Unit 2	Business Strategy
Unit 3	Innovation
Unit 4	Business-IT Alignment
Unit 5	Cloud Computing
Unit 6	Data Centre Infrastructure
Unit 7	Storage Solution Implementation
Unit 8	Servers' Benefits
Unit 9	IT Infrastructure
Unit 10	Mobile Strategy
Unit 11	Leadership Skills
Unit 12	Talent Development
Unit 13	Project Management
Unit 14	24 minute CIO Posttest

Powered By WP Courseware

Unit Video

Unit Summary

Four benefits of standardizing your IT infrastructure Purchases:

Make it easier for IT to manage the diverse set of devices or software that is deployed in your organization
You can buy in quantity and get better deals
Avoid wasted efforts on compatibility issues between different systems
Reduce support calls as employees become collectively more familiar with features and with solving problems

Build Your Action Plan

Survey Questions

You cannot view this unit as you're not logged in yet.

Dig Deeper

Transcript

Hi, in this video we will explore the benefits of standardizing your IT infrastructure purchases. Information technology is providing competitive advantage for businesses across all industries as connectivity, data and intelligence come together to unleash great opportunities. With the changing business demands companies are continuously in need of updating their IT infrastructure to keep up with constant shifts in business requirements and IT trends.

So here are four benefits of standardizing your IT infrastructure and purchases:

Make it easier for IT to manage the diverse set of devices or software that is deployed in your organization.
You can buy in quantity and get better deals.
Avoid wasted efforts on compatibility issues between different systems.
Reduce support calls as employees become collectively more familiar with features and with solving problems.

IT managers these days are playing a key role in innovation and service delivery with in all businesses. The more CIOs and IT managers can simplify their operations the more they can focus on supporting the business and standardizing infrastructure is a step in that direction.

Case Study

A fast growing company was trying to be accommodating by allowing the staff to choose and buy their own laptops and phones while being able to claim the amounts back as part of their expenses. As the company started to go over 50 staff and some of the laptops where starting to break down or have software issues, the IT department found itself overwhelmed trying to support the various products and solutions. It then came out with a policy of working with one major vendor for its computer needs and as such kept a stock of spare parts on site so that it could easily solve issues. It also created some online learning material as part of the help desk to address the most common software issues that come up and to allow users to be self-sufficient.

Quotes

CIOs can no longer afford to sit around simply absorbing the change that filters through their organizations. Instead, CIOs themselves should work to drive change at all levels of the business. How to do it? Understand the steps needed to create change in the first place; factor corporate culture into your plans; pace yourself; and fight to deliver tangible business outcomes. The Wall Street Journal CIO Network.