- IT Complexity Transformation
- Corporate Complexity Assessment
- Open Standards Mean Less Complexity
- What Can Be Done in the Short Term?
- Conclusion
What Can Be Done in the Short Term?
There are several short-term solutions to complexity issues:
Server consolidation. Determine what can be consolidated to save costs and lessen complexity.
Outsourcing. Review all applications to establish which can be outsourced.
System management. Review new automated system management software for automated updating of new software releases, patches, and updates.
Application development. Review application development software, consolidating where possible.
The impacts of complexity on IT systems "thinking" are fundamental. Instead of basing our strategies and actions on prediction, with the development and implementation of a plan designed to take us from "here and now" to "there and then," we need to adopt a more creative approach. This implies more frequent monitoring and reassessments, with an awareness and capacity to change the targets and goals, making better use of what's working, and reducing what isn't working. This approach recognizes the constant need to learn about what's happening, and to try to make sense of it as fast as possiblebefore the complexity increases to unmanageable proportions and overwhelms us.