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Policy
Development —
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It is not enough simply to have the
best technology. To achieve maximum benefit, companies
must use that technology in the right way. For any
company, that "right way" is defined through
the policies and procedures describing how information
technology is to be used.
Information Technology Policies serve a number of
purposes. These policies further corporate missions,
educate the corporate community about best practices in
the use of information technology, promote companywide
operational efficiencies, and reduce organizational
risks. They also guide employees to help ensure
compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
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Policy
Objectives
Good information technology policies are drawn to fit
each company's needs precisely. However, there are
a number of broad objectives all good policy statements
seek to achieve:
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Promote
knowledge transfer and reduce learning
curves
Information technology is, first and foremost, a
tool for sharing knowledge. Successful technology
policy authors will acknowledge this, and draft
policy statements that promote technology as the
communications vehicle it is intended to be.
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Protect and
secure corporate IT infrastructure and/or
data
Sharing information within the organization is
good. Sharing information with competitors is not.
As important as it is for your people to have access
to the information crucial to your business, it is
equally important to ensure that information stays
within your business. Effective computing must also
be safe computing. IT policies must embrace this
reality, and take great pains to communicate to end
users how to use IT resources in a safe and
appropriate fashion.
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Reduce
corporate resources applied to technology
solutions
Information technology is a remarkable tool, but it
is still only a tool. Moreover, it is not the only
tool business requires in order to grow and prosper.
Through careful articulation of a company's
technology priorities, good IT policies help reduce
unnecessary technology expenditures and direct
scarce corporate resources towards solutions that
will yield maximum benefit.
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Streamline
corporate IT systems and infrastructure
By defining standard procedures for utilizing
technology resources within the enterprise, good IT
policies go a long way towards streamlining IT
infrastructure. Through clear articulation of
standards, good IT policies help eliminate
unnecessary duplication and waste of scare
technology resources.
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Promote
consistency in the handling of
information
Effective corporate communications require that
information be handled in the same fashion across
all segments of the enterprise. Security guidelines,
retention guidelines, and disclosure guidelines are
but a few areas in which strong IT policies can
facilitate good corporate communications.
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Promote
cost savings
Business benefits when the same tasks can be
accomplished with less cost. That is the essence of
efficiency. IT policies are an extraordinary vehicle
for promoting the virtue of efficiency within the
organization. Effective IT policy helps managers
identify and quantify technology costs within the
enterprise, which is a vital first step in an
ongoing effort to manage and ultimately minimize
those costs.
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At
TEKMedia
Communications, we combine our knowledge
and understanding of technology with your knowledge and
understanding of your business to develop policies
specifically designed to meet these objectives for your
company. We work with your staff to ensure policies are
drafted in a coherent, concise fashion readily
understood by the whole of your organization.
We also understand that policies which sit in a binder
on a shelf collecting dust are counterproductive and
costly. At
TEKMedia,
our overarching policy objective is to
engage your company's culture during policy
development, to ensure policy statements are living
documents for your company.
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