Preventive IT Audit Case Study

INSPIRE case study a consulting Preventive IT Capacity Review helping our client to build preventive maintenance and disaster recovery capacity As organizations grow, capacities in had also failed was sent the next day; and when it was IT management and risk management and the approved, BMG’s consulting team was tend to be left behind. When it comes backup data on the way to Northern Ontario. to IT, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” was not us- able. With its Originally, we had been requested to attitude can certainly save you a few system inop- conduct an IT infrastructure audit. dollars now; but it is really like playing erative, IT staff However, as we became more involved Russian roulette. Insufficient IT scrambled to in this project, the root cause became Capacity and Risk recover data, apparent: A lack of strategic manage- Management can caseworkers ment led to insufficient IT capacity to caus e ser vice were forced to perform manual docu- keep up with growth. We are driven to disruptions, if you ment entry and senior management building our client’s are lucky; worse, looked for ways to cover the cost. capacity, to em- your organization Shortly after contacting vendors, the power our clients can be incapacitated for weeks or recovery cost of this disaster began to with key skills months if mission critical data/system be glaringly apparent. Data recovery critical to their becomes completely unusable. Such alone would cost over $50,000 and missions. There- was the situation our client faced the cost of service interruption was fore, it was essen- when Barnes Management Group estimated to be well over $5,000/per tial that we investi- (BMG) received a call from them one day, intangible impact notwithstand- gate areas beyond morning. ing. IT infrastructure. These were:  Existing IT infrastructure setup and Client Situation Our Involvement IT systems. Potential points of failures, system bottlenecks and Our client, located in Northern On- At BMG, we aspire to create a posi- limitations. tario and funded by Ontario Provincial  IT staff’s roles, responsibilities and tive impact on society through our government, is a provider of child level of work load. consulting services. Driven by this welfare and children’s mental health value, we have established long  System users’ usage patterns and services in several communities in lasting partnerships with many not-for- challenges they face when dealing Northern Ontario. In attempt to keep profit organizations, including this with stress from casework, traveling up with the demand for children’s particular client. So when their Ex- to case locations, adhering to Pro- social and mental health services in ecutive Director called BMG that vincial policies or using the systems the region, our client has now over morning, we were sincerely regretful in general. 100 full time staff and the growth is for their situation and felt truly hon-  Organizational objectives, recent expected to continue at a fast pace. oured to be the one they looked to for and anticipated growth, IT financial assistance. planning process and the objectives Our client depends on various infor- of this audit. mation systems (e.g., tracking case Right away, we assigned a project lead progress, HR management and etc). with from BMG’s core team and in- But Risk Management and Disaster stantly carried out a rigorous evaluation Prevention were not a major part of its process to select the most fitting and management process. And over one knowledgeable consultant from our weekend in August 2011, a server pool of associates. Understanding the hosting its critical system unexpect- urgency of the situation, a proposal edly went down. Critical data storageBarnes Management Group | 1 Yonge Street, Suite 911 | Toronto | Ontario | M5E 1E5 | Canada | 416 977 3811

approval on developing much needed Results plans, procedures and policies to Key Success Factors: ensure service continuity . BMG delivered beyond what was Closing  Thorough knowledge of asked of us, our genuine intention was existing IT operations to ensure our client has the capacity to proactively and strategically manage its BMG managed to successfully re- and needs IT operations to prevent disasters and spond to our client’s urgent needs. It  Identification of the to quickly recover if an unforeseen was only possible by conducting client’s IT growth plan disaster does occur. This approach comprehensive investigation on our was instrumental to the success of the client’s management process, IT  Keen awareness of the report in that it provided a comprehen- infrastructure, organizational capacity client’s financial and operations. Our consultation sive coverage of all issues surrounding capabilities IT capacity. Even with all critical data process was engaging, friendly,  Solutions to address eventually recovered, our client was respectful and inquisitive. Further- remarkably fortunate; it could easily more, success of this project would current and future not have been possible without the have faced the worst case scenario. requirements Nevertheless, the system was out for 2 warm hospitality, cooperation and weeks and cost well-over $100,000. dedication of our client. So once again, this case proves an age-old truth: prevention is less costlyIn the end, we delivered a comprehen- than recovery. With a strong financialsive audit report with recommendations impact analysis outlined in BMG’s auditon organizational policies, operational report, our client intends to present thisprocedures and IT infrastructure set- report to the Ministry for approval toups that our client would need, to improve its IT operations and riskensure service continuity and prevent management.future disasters. We identified the rootcause to be the organizational capacityof the IT department and suggested Since this audit report, there is now anactions to strategically manage that. incredible momentum to ensure itsNot stopping there, we also planned service continuity and to enhance ITour recommendations in phases such capacity in our client’s organization.that IT staff would be coached by Changes to current IT infrastructure inconsultants in initial phases and could protecting critical system/data arecarry out similar tasks independently in already in progress. Backup datathe future. With this unconventional centre is approved to be constructed.approach, overall implementation cost IT recruiting efforts are now in place.would be dramatically reduced AND it The IT department now has a muchwould be a remarkable opportunity to more important role in senior manage- Contactimprove IT staff’s capacity. ment practices. For example, and most importantly, IT staff are no Clare Bonnell longer treated as just “Computer-Fixer Senior Associate Recommendations -Upper” but rather an integral part of Phone: +1 416 977 3811 x105 our client’s growth strategy. And the Email: include: agency is waiting for the government cbonell@barnesmanagementgroup.ca  Service Continuity  Organizational Capacity  General Policies and Procedures  Service Enhancement & Cost Saving MeasuresBarnes Management Group | 1 Yonge Street, Suite 911 | Toronto | Ontario | M5E 1E5 | Canada | 416 977 3811

Preventive IT Audit Case Study

by barnesmanagementgroup on Dec 09, 2011

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Preventive IT Audit Case Study — Document Transcript