Equipping your organization to meet the requirements of today’s IT needs is a daunting task. The biggest issue you will come across is planning for and standardizing this infrastructure. If you do your homework well and plan before you actually start buying or implementing, you will be astounded at the benefits that accrue. Also, setting down some policies for standardization can make a remarkable difference. Sounds theoretical?? Well, yes it does, and sure, it is slightly rigid…but when you are planning for a large enterprise, it is well worth the effort.

Now before I actually get down to specifics on how this is is done, I would like to put a fix on what is considered an ‘enterprise’. I’m not really sure if there is a definition of this anywhere but in most dictionaries, a "business firm" is considered to be an enterprise. In common practice, an organization with more than 100 employees, multiple locations, spanning not just a single country but across multiple nations and in different time-zones is considered to be an enterprise.

Though a lot of the issues in this write-up will be aimed at larger organizations, it should not be construed that smaller ones are being ignored. To a great extent, these same issues will affect any organization’s IT infrastructure.

The basic requirements of enterprise computing include at least the following components: desktop computers for normal office automation, design, development and research; notebooks for the mobile and sales staffers; servers for file and print services; messaging, accounting and other business process applications; and finally, a strong network and communications backbone.

A very basic premise that I would like to state here is that one size does not fit all. Each organization will necessarily have to do a ‘needs assessment’ for itself…but of course, knowing what others are doing helps.

Having said that, let’s take up a simple example of how planned acquisition of equipment should be done. Let’s consider two approaches. The first is the price-driven method. Here, the organization sets a price, and at any given point of time for that price it can acquire an entry-level desktop, maybe not cutting-edge but definitely a current model. This PC stays with the organization for three years, after which it is phased out. Pricing is at Rs 40,000-45,000.

Another approach used by an organization with over 1,100 PCs—the company put all its users into four different categories and depending on work profile, four different categories of PCs to be purchased were defined. A
category ‘A’ PC was a leading-edge workstation with all the frills while category ‘D’ will have an entry-level desktop.

Purchasing PCs is probably one the easier tasks; the real issues start when you look at servers. Low-end servers have the same lifespan as desktops, around three years, but mid-range servers need to be with you for at least five years, while the higher end would have to last a minimum of ten years to justify the investment.

Software, which until now was never given serious thought, actually costs way beyond hardware and is the basic brain behind all the required equipment. Planning for software acquisition requires a look at the entire range of applications and services that would be used, starting from the desktop OS, the office suite and going up the rung to databases, payroll, accounting and ERP software.

Standardization here makes a large difference. If you decide to use a certain desktop OS, let’s say Microsoft Windows, extending the standards would include version control. If it is going to be Windows ’98, it would be Windows ’98 across the board with deviations only for very good reasons.

I have seen organizations that take this so far as to make all desktops identical. There are several advantages to this approach, the primary being support. Having identical systems makes it easy to replace and replicate when things go wrong, reducing downtime and allowing high productivity. Combined with sensible usage policies, one can ensure that all data is centrally stored and that desktops act as access points, allowing the use of any PC anywhere in the organization…a tremendous advantage.

Stringing all of this together is your network. A very critical component of enterprise computing since it is the first step towards sharing the organization’s IT resources. Networks these days need to cater to high bandwidth usage based on the rich content available. Capacities need to be planned way beyond current expectations, when networks grow, they grow logarithmically, not in little steps but literally in leaps.

The single-largest application on the network today is messaging—a common messaging platform is essential. Insist on the same platform: if you decide to go in for Lotus Notes, then have that throughout, if you prefer Micro- soft Exchange, then all branches should use that.

The factors to consider are quality, service and price. In fact, while buying, one of the things to do is negotiate a good deal, even with larger vendors. Don’t let those top brands faze you. I know of instances where top vendors have brought out down prices below those in the grey market just because of volumes. Size does matter, after all!

Given that large sums of money are invested in building IT infrastructure, it should be protected. From the users’ point of view, it clearly defines what they can and can’t do with the organization’s equipment, and this makes it useful to both parties. An example would be whether to allow MP3s to be played or allow an Internet chat tool, like ICQ or AOL’s instant messenger, to be used. These can compromise security.

As far as security is concerned, not enough can be said about its criticality. An organization can lose its competitive edge if information falls into wrong hands. Unfortunately, even after having seen the disastrous results of security breaches, neither the management nor IT departments take this seriously enough. The only way security works is if it fully backed from the top, the upper management has to take this up and let the effects percolate in the form of a rock-solid policy. Security is not a solution; it’s a way of life.

Kishore Bhargava is a technology consultant with Linkaxis Technologies

He was project consultant for the cover story