ICT Revision Factsheets Module ICT5 Section 1 - Policy and Strategy Issues Future proofing, Backup strategies

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Policy and strategy issues Understand the need for an information management policy. Understand the strategic implications of software, hardware and configuration choices for an organisation. Appreciate the range of needs of different users. Methods of enhancing capabilities Future proofing Discuss the reasons why organisations may wish to upgrade hardware/software provision - factors could include hardware/software development, organisation ethos, task driven change, software change. Understand that hardware and software exists which allows packages to run on different platforms. Understand the advantages and disadvantages of the approach. Backup strategies Describe the different options available for backup systems and understand the implications and limitations of their use. Understand the strategies for backup scheduling and storage of backups.

IT Policy
Needed ... to define who has access to information and at what level to define mechanisms for distribution of information e.g. paper, E -mail, web based, etc to define those (individuals/Departments) responsible for providing information to define timeframes for information requirements to assist in maintaining the running of the company to inform employees of their legal responsibility to enable the IT function to be considered as a 'company whole' and it will demand a large proportion of capital outlay The policy would include: At strategy level ... compliance with Data Protection legislation e.g. Non disclosure of personal data/privacy company safeguards against hacking/computer misuse/theft compliance with software licensing conditions Internet access policy, covering permissible sites and times health and safety E.g. employees must take rest periods, electrical safety, etc backup strategy E.g. procedures/frequency for each section/dept training policy for induction of new staff there may be a corporate policy about how new software is developed and by who At operations level... Note, many of these - where there is a direct impact on the user - amount to an

'Employee Code of Conduct

security - no use of other users password - no disclosure of password defamation - no publication of such material by E-mail staff may not leave logged-on machine unattended staff may not carry out unauthorised installation or copying or re-configuration of

software/hardware no browsing or alteration of other users data or files clear procedure for use of floppy discs or other portable storage media policy on virus scanning Health and Safety regulations. - refer to breaks, screen guards, lighting, seating, etc

use of facilities for leisure activities or non-company related profitable gain

E.g. access of the Internet by individual for personal business use of portable equipment E.g. do not leave notebook in car

Standardising on Hardware, Software and a User Interface

Software ease of learning - training material can be written to match workstation interface easier transfer of skills by staff to new packages if interface is maintained consistency of interface maintained when users move between workstations better self support between users users form networks within the organisation 'standard settings for defaults set for various software E.g. Word set to perform an autosave every 15 minutes easier distribution/use within the organisation of standardised items/procedures E.g. templates/logos, etc Implications / Issues ... file compatibility problems between versions of software in use .i.e. upward or downward compatibility between versions compatibility with existing hardware compatibility with other existing software staff training issues when required to learn new version any upgrades must be in line with statements in the IT Policy document selective and apparent unstructured upgrading may de-motivate other staff user support issues - can organisation cope with increased support required? site licences issues any new purchases or upgrades place additional strains on department budgets Interface need to upgrade some workstations if they cannot support standard upgrades may include hard-drive, screen may involve moving software from local workstations to a server may involve increased network traffic need to upgrade server storage capacity to accommodate move of application software from workstations to a server need to upgrade networking infrastructure from ring to star time consideration and staffing levels required for the for restructuring Hardware compatibility with existing hardware systems compatibility with existing software and the extent to which new hardware platform supports existing software user support within organisation and ability to cope with new systems purchasing and leasing contracts may exist on current hardware/software maintenance contracts and support for new systems are an additional cost which must be budgeted for Issues ... purchase/leasing contracts may exist on existing hardware additional strain on company/department budgets Media & Hardware used for backups (traditionally has been) tape cartridge mirrored disks on servers DAT/tape/exchangeable disk packs

Future Proofing/Upgrading
Compatible Different hardware manufacturers produce machines which all support the same software/data files. Emulator Software which acts an interface between the hardware of a system and a software application which was written for a different machine. Disadvantage - emulator software tends to have poor performance and it is software in addition to the application which has to be resident in memory. Software why upgrade? to cope with the resource demands of software development to decrease processing time with move to software with a higher performance organisation ethos/future proofing task driven change E.g. new data volume capacity demands improved performance and response times

Backup Strategies
In general there will be different procedures/systems/media/devices for backing up systems/program files and database files. The main factor will be the type of application and volume of data and its volatility. Strategies are: periodic dump (i.e. a complete copy of the data) file generations system mirror all transactions to a secondary disc store For Applications Software Generally backup required only: prior to an upgrade to the software being installed. Again complete backup may not be required. Backup only the configuration files and any related user files, etc as long as the original disc/CD are available. E.g. an upgrade to the E-Mail software would first require that the address book for each user is preserved prior to system maintenance For On-line database file(s) periodic dump of database to disc while on-line (say every hour) dump can be backed up to tape/disc without going off-line RAID disc array to facilitate on-line backup. Eevery single transaction is mirrored to a second disc For batch processing data Always keep three generations of the old master and the associated transaction files. Generally keep all backup data off-site / keep in fireproof safe some backups can take place while the system is in use, other strategies may require the system to be shut down General Reasons for a Backup Strategy in the event of any small (single transaction) or large scale (whole database) data loss, recovery can successfully take place. the nature of the business may demand a very rapid recovery for transaction processing applications, possibility of transaction tracking where all transactions are logged in case of possible loss of alterations between incremental dumps Remember: this may be an audit requirement maintain a backup log to keep records of all failures in backup process, and cases where recovery was required the backup software could use compression techniques for the backup files, to reduce backup time or storage media space