Getting Up and Going

Post date: Oct 26, 2009 5:29:13 PM

This is the first entry in the On Demand CIO blog. We're here in St. Louis and focused on the business and technology issues that face smaller companies and not for profits that choose not to employ a full time CIO.

Smaller companies are just as influenced by the complexities of technology as larger organizations are, including issues like when to upgrade, make vs. buy, getting the most out of an existing IT investment, and alignment of IT with business and strategic vision.

Every company today should have tested policies and systems for information security, business continuity, and auditing of security violations. Do you have these?

Every company today has vendors touting buzzwords such as cloud computing, SaaS, hosted applications, and outsourced business processes. While these can be valuable solutions in some cases, the use of these services must fit your overall business strategy, and they have pros and cons. Have you considered these?

Every company today should be able to definitively state that their IT organization and infrastructure is aligned with the business, and is generating value for the business. At an ever increasing rate, your data and information is the lifeblood of your business, allowing you to quickly identify areas needing management action, take and fulfill orders, track trends, and build tactical and strategic plans. Do you feel that your IT organization, systems, and processes are in alignment?

I hope that you will find periodic updates to this site informative and helpful. Your feedback is welcome and appreciated.

Tom