Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Sources of Complexity
A common rule-of-thumb employed by CIOs, IT directors, and other
technology architects in making strategic technology decisions is
that the support requirements and costs associated with technologies
increase by the square of the number of similar solutions used. Thus,
having two workstation operating systems will require approximately
four times as many resources as having only a single platform; while
having three standard user application suites might require as much as
nine times the effort to coordinate, integrate, and update all three in
comparison to an enterprise employing a single standard suite. Table 3.1
details a few of the potential sources of enterprise complexity that may
be encountered.
The business value of information technology can be affected by the
complexity of its implementation. Enterprise architects must consider
complexity issues not only in technology selection, but also in terms of
the number of resource silos and the level of undesirable redundancy pre-
sent in any enterprise that has not recently been reengineered from whole
cloth. The issues surrounding desirable and undesirable redundancy will
be discussed later in this topic. Here, it is enough to recognize the need
for simplification and standardization in order to provide a level founda-
tion atop which other strategies can be constructed.
Opposition to Standardization
Whenever standardization is considered in an organization, opposition is
almost guaranteed. Beyond simple issues of budgetary constraint, com-
monly raised issues include:
•
User familiarity
—Opponents to standardization often note exist-
ing user familiarity with the disparate technologies under con-
sideration for replacement, and the potential disruption that may
occur during transition. This is a short-term problem that may be
addressed by user training and awareness as a part of the update
project's requirements. The architect should, if possible, identify the
platform in use by the majority of existing users, as selection of that
as the new standard will reduce public outcry because proponents
already exist among the current user base.
