ICT A2

ICT strategies

An ICT strategy is a long-term strategy plan for achieving the company’s goals. An ICT strategy would require a set of Policies in place. These are mainly: security, Procurement and Training. Most companies have a chief information officer to maintain the policies.

 

Security

These are a set of rules and regulations designed to ensure the security of the ICT system. The Security policies outline what is computer misuse, the prevention of computer misuse and the consequences of computer misuse. Examples of these would include documentation on physical security of the systems, investigation of irregularities, staff code of conduct, operational procedures and disciplinary procedures.

 

Procurement

This policy oversees the purchasing of items. The policy aims to improve efficiency and therefore produce quality goods and services. Requirements of the policy and documentation usually include: Checks to ensure staff achieved value of money by presenting evidence, high spending e.g. for suppliers would be put into competition for the best price, hardware must be of a certain specification or must meet certain set standards, software must be compatible with current systems and purchasing of services must be done under the company’s standard contract.

 

Training

Most training policies in and organisation ensures that staff are: correctly matched to the job they perform, fully aware of legal issues, and properly trained in use of the systems. It also tries to demand that all staff skills are tested yearly, training needs are accessed, and new rules involve retraining all staff and training for any new software, hardware or procedures introduced.

 

CIO

A CIO is a Chief Information Officer. This job entails being in charge of ICT resources. As a result of importance the CIO operates at a strategic level. The job description typically includes: Responsibility for the overall technology, involvement in strategic planning of the company, having knowledge about administrative procedures, overseeing project and programs budgets, staff training decisions, hardware, software and services purchases decisions and using helping the company use ICT as a competitive tool