by DAN CALLOWAY
Publlished 7 March 2010
UNITED STATES – The networking needs of XYZ Corporation have changed significantly over the last five years. As the IT manager, it is imperative that the approach I recommend to management for upgrading the network—not just for the sake of improving applications that run on it, but taking into account the aspects of improving the network from a hardware and software (protocol) perspective—be taken that will ensure a reliable, scalable, and efficient network that will not only meet the requirements—now but five years from now—of the business sector and its partners (stakeholders) in the organization who will likely need to remotely connect to the network, but which will be acceptable to everyone and that can be accomplished with the least effort and most economical means.
The approach that is often taken when upgrading a corporate network, like XYZ Corporation, is to rush into the upgrade by adding network devices of differing quality from various vendors as well as software applications in the same manner because the hardware and software is the latest and greatest on the market and does exactly what the business office wants to implement and use. This is the wrong approach because the business office and management lose sight of the fact that a lot of planning goes into upgrading a network from a hardware/software and services perspective. If the former approach is taken, then most likely at some point, the network will no longer be able to support the services needed for the business factions or the network traffic generated by the users. When the network fails, then, undoubtedly, management will look to point blame on IT for not ensuring the upgrade was successful in the first place and, in all likelihood, will seek outside assistance (an ISP or managed service) in giving advice and correcting the issue, which will be costly and will adversely affect IT’s credibility in the organization.
The approach that I would recommend to management after reviewing the corporate strategic goals and current and projected mission statements of the company would be to: (1) Confer with my department on the goals the company wanted to meet and where it was heading in the next five to ten years, and elicit from them their expert recommendations for the necessary hardware and software that would be required to achieve those goals; (2) Have an onsite technician perform a site survey of the network, documenting the physical layout of the current network from a hardware standpoint, and the applications that currently run on the network as a starting point for the upgrade project; (3) Ensure the site survey collected information on the current business plans and projected growth of the company, number of users and types of equipment needed, current Internet connectivity, what applications the network needs to support, what new services will be required now and in the future, what the security and privacy requirements are now and in the future, what the wireless network requirements (wireless or a mix of wired and wireless) are, what the reliability and uptime expectations of the new network are, and what are the budget constraints; (4) Request a formal written proposal from a prospective ISP on the requirements for and the costs associated with supporting the backbone for the network; (5) Develop a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis of the upgrade plan; and (6) Report the findings of the site survey, written proposal of the ISP, results of the SWOT analysis, and documented proposal for the network upgrade to management for their approval. Following the approval from management, I would execute the network upgrade in five phases: (1) Requirements gathering, (2) Selection, design, and purchasing of equipment and applications, (3) Implementation of the upgrade, (4) Operation in a live environment, and (5) Review and evaluate the new network (hardware/software applications) against the original design plans to see if they are a match (“The Technology Upgrade Planning Guide,” 2010).
I would not foresee any major obstacles to implementing the network upgrade if all of the steps outlined above are executed properly and there is complete and upfront communications between the IT department and the business factions/management during all phases of requirements gathering, design selection, implementation, operation, and review.
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References:
The Technology Upgrade Planning Guide. (2010). The Technology Upgrade Planning Guide. Retrieved March 8, 2010, from http://www.thebrookfieldgroup.com/news_story32.php.
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