By Phil Quigley, CFPIM

The challenges facing the IS (information systems) group in these kinds of organizations are enormous, because the new standard is operating on a 24-hour basis, 365 days a year with no downtime for the user. Let's look at the challenges:

• Systems must be up on a continuous basis — there can be no downtime.
• Systems must support divisions and plants in locations where communication and infrastructures meet different standards and are at different levels of maturity.
• Systems must be reliable, responsive and yet secure from break-in.
• Systems will be global, which means users will have different skill levels and languages.
• Systems must collect data on a global basis and be able to present it to senior management to support executive planning and decision-making on a real-time basis.

To meet these new requirements, IS groups must rethink how they design and manage the company's business systems. This means that systems must now be designed from the top down, with the goal of optimizing systems for the whole organization. There are problems, however. Since the introduction of PC groups, divisions and even departments have been allowed to set up their own LANs, software, etc., and put in their own PCs. To make worldwide systems work in a cost-effective, reliable, responsive manner, systems must be designed to the following standards:

1. There must be a corporatewide standard on types of hardware/software that will be allowed in the company.
2. These new standards must be enforced so that groups cannot implement new systems or put in new hardware without corporate approval.
3. Security must become a priority, and security procedures under the control of a manager reporting directly to senior management must be enforced and constantly tested.
4. A worldwide telecommunications plan must be established and managed by a competent, experienced manager.
5. The plan must be established and maintained to ensure that all users are competent in systems.
6. A disaster backup plan must be in place and tested on a routine basis; this plan must include all worldwide operating groups.

Some organizations and managers will not want to implement these steps. First of all, they cost money and no one wants to spend money where there seems to be no real need — especially in areas like security and disaster backup. But all you need is one break-in or one good disaster (e.g., the earthquake in Los Angeles or the flood in the Chicago business district) and you'll never argue over money spent in these areas. The biggest problem will be in standardizing systems and hardware throughout the organization. Users will not want to standardize — in the new PC world everyone is an expert who wants a particular piece of equipment or software. But to be blunt, this type of an attitude has caused companies to spend piles of money without getting anything in return. Money must be spent on IS and worldwide networks, but it must be spent wisely so that the organization as a whole benefits.

The last step in making IS systems effective in this new operating world is to make changes in the business processes you use. Some of the changes that should be made include:

1. common part numbers throughout the organization
2. common supplier and customer IDs throughout the organization
3. management processes established to manage customers and suppliers on a corporate bases using the data supplied by the system
4. common quality processes, metrics and information requirements throughout the organization

In summary, to get the results you need from your information systems takes the combination of a well-thought-out hardware/software plan combined with management and business processes designed to enhance and utilize these systems. You must do both to really succeed.