Addressing Software, Communication, Visibility, and Hardware Issues at IT Department Essay

Executive Summary

Following the submission of a report to the Chief Information Officer of Acme Inc. outlining the organization’s assessment of the IT department, a high-priority task was assigned to develop independent recommendations to address the identified shortcomings. Based solely on the provided organizational description and survey findings (see Survey Results), this paper proposes targeted corrective actions to address four key deficiencies affecting IT performance and effectiveness. The recommendations aim to align the IT function with organizational goals, improve service delivery, and strengthen overall operational efficiency without incorporating input from other team members.

Introduction

The survey results show that Acme Inc.’s Information Technology (IT) department is not meeting staff expectations. Many feel their services are interrupted, that the help desk could be more efficient, and that the IT department does not offer dependable or efficient systems. The survey results show that the IT department has several shortcomings, the four most significant of which are software, communication, visibility, and hardware issues.

Challenges at the Acme IT Department

Software

Firstly, there may be flaws with the software itself that result in poor availability and functioning. This is evidenced by the low agreement rate for the uptime of cloud-based services such as ServiceNow, Office 365, Workday, and SharePoint. To resolve this, IT should thoroughly analyze its current software stack to identify potential flaws or issues that may be causing unfavorable survey results.

Communication

Secondly, only 40% of poll respondents agreed that IT communicates changes before they occur, highlighting significant communication issues. The lack of communication gives the impression that the IT department lacks transparency and disregards employee input. Thus, to address this, the IT department needs to prioritize good communication and ensure that staff members are aware of any critical changes that may affect their work.

Visibility

Thirdly, another issue for Acme Inc.’s IT department is visibility. Several survey questions remained unanswered, suggesting that respondents may not be aware of the IT activity. To address this, IT should improve its visibility within the company. The recommendation is to provide frequent status updates and explain the work’s importance to staff.

Hardware

Finally, hardware replacement is recommended to resolve issues with internet speed, service reliability, and efficient system performance. Specifically, the low levels of agreement for service reliability and internet speed indicate that these problems need to be resolved. Similar to the issue with software limitations, the IT department should execute an extensive analysis of its current hardware and services to discover any obsolete or underperforming systems that need to be replaced.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the IT department may enhance its services by addressing the issues with software, communication, visibility, and hardware. To do so, the IT department needs to thoroughly analyze the software and hardware in use, replace them as needed, and improve its communication and visibility. If followed, these recommendations could provide all Acme Inc.’s workers with a more effective, productive work environment, thereby enhancing productivity.

Survey Results

1. IT quickly and effectively corrects issues.
   • Agree 60%.
   • Disagree 35%.
   • No Response 5%.
2. IT communicates changes prior to their occurrence.
   • Agree 40%.
   • Disagree 40%.
   • No Response 20%.
3. I feel IT works to avoid interrupting my services.
   • Agree 35%.
   • Disagree 45%.
   • No Response 20%.
4. IT provides a reliable and effective system that enables me to be effective in my job.
   • Agree 35%.
   • Disagree 45%.
   • No Response 20%.
5. The Help Desk system is user-friendly and helpful.
   • Agree 37%.
   • Disagree 43%.
   • No Response 20%.
6. Services at Acme Inc. are reliable.
   • Agree 35%.
   • Disagree 45%.
   • No Response 20%.
7. The Internet speed is adequate at Acme Inc.
   • Agree 15%.
   • Disagree 80%.
   • No Response 5%.
8. Do you feel the uptime of each of the following services is acceptable?
   1. Service Now (cloud):
      • 25% agree,
      • 75% disagree.
   2. Office365 (cloud):
      • 20% agree,
      • 80% disagree.
   3. Workday (cloud)
      • 30% agree,
      • 70% disagree.
   4. Drive Shares (onsite):
      • 80% agree,
      • 20% disagree.
   5. Microsoft Office (onsite):
      • 90% agree,
      • 10% disagree.
   6. SharePoint (cloud):
      • 10% agree,
      • 90% disagree.
9. Do you feel that IT ethically handles its responsibilities?
   • 99% Agree
   • 1% Disagree.
10. Do you feel that Acme Inc. ethically handles its responsibilities?
    • 90% Agree
    • 10% Disagree.
11. Do you feel IT does a good job providing support and resources to you and your team?
    • 10% Agree
    • 90% Disagree.