Enlightened
Network Management Michael
Lisagor, founder of Celerity Works, helps executives accelerate and
manage business growth. He shares his thoughts on
“Enlightened Network Management”.
The number of new network
management technologies is multiplying faster than a hutch of rabbits.
And, in their haste to embrace these necessary solutions, IT leaders
can forget to place an equal emphasis on the people who implement and
maintain these rapidly changing networks. So, what are the major
non-technical risks an agency and its network managers need to deal
with to successfully fulfill this mission and provide enlightened network management?
Not all network gurus are created equal. As technically proficient
network staff members are promoted to network management positions, it
is important that they also develop the knowledge and skills necessary
to successfully navigate at a management level. This implies an
organizational commitment to training and mentoring.
Every function of a
government agency relies in some way on a robust and secure network and
the intangible skills of the enlightened network manager.
Add to this the need to respond to overall agency governance, risk
management and compliance (GRC) requirements and it is an impressive
list! And truthfully, only the most seasoned network manager probably
has a thorough grasp of every facet of management illustrating the
staffing challenges facing agency IT organizations.
Risk areas the network manager should pay attention to include:
Ensure sound policies and procedures
– don’t re-invent the wheel; start with a standard
set of policies and procedures and modify them to your environment.
Enforce compliance – this
begins with a thorough screening of job candidates as well as regular
network staff training and operational staff orientation.
Have sufficient dedicated network staff
– this isn’t always financially feasible, but
important when there are numerous remote locations requiring monitoring.
Identify potential performance and peak
capacity issues early – not always easy, but try to pinpoint
network problems with new applications early in the development process
to minimize the impact. This includes the implementation of change
management best practices.
Monitor network status at remote
locations – embrace an architecture that includes switched
serial backplanes, remote system management of individual modules,
hot-swap capability, and provisions for implementing high-reliability
architectures.
Compensate for staff reduction
– perform business process improvement exercises, project
rescheduling and automation upgrades prior to reducing staff size to
avoid major performance impacts.
Employ sound project management practices
– provide network managers with basic project management
training and mentoring to ensure new capabilities are well-planned and
managed within budget and schedule.
Standardize – since different
components of the network system typically come from different vendors,
it is critical to establish and maintain a sound open-standard
architecture.
Manage converged networks
(voice/data/video) – do the necessary planning and
intra-agency coordination to ensure adding telephony and video services
to an existing data oriented LAN infrastructure doesn’t break
the bank or disrupt current operations.
Finally, the glue that allows the network manager to keep everything
together is comprised of the equally important but more intangible
skills that result in an enlightened manager.
These include:
Treat staff with respect
Report honest project status
Practice effective listening
Keep sight of the overall mission
Prioritize technology implementation
within budget and cultural realities
Perhaps the biggest challenge for IT leaders is to differentiate
between network technologists who can and can’t transition
into competent people and business managers. The former will be a
management nightmare, while the latter can help an agency navigate the
rapidly changing IT governance landscape with enlightened network
management.
Michael
Lisagor founded Celerity Works in 1999 to help executives accelerate
and manage business growth. He writes the Enlightened Manager column
for Federal Computer Week and co-founded the 1105 annual government
Program Management Summit. He can be reached at lisagor@celerityworks.com.
