A5 Choosing IT systems GapFill

Let’s imagine that a company is upgrading a major part of its IT system. There are a lot of things which must be considered.

First of all, we’ll consider the people who will use the system all day every day. How the system looks and feels, and how easy it is to master are all parts of the  frustrationusersystemexpected experience. If the system is running a standard operating system and off-the shelf software, staff are likely to already know how to use it, and the software should be highly customisable – permitting large fonts, high contrast and screen reader support built in making it  accessibledigitalavailableeasy. If the system can be used 24/7, including by remote workers and staff in different locations and time zones, the system is very  customisableeasyavailableonline aware. The requirements from the people operating the system, and the features that the system must have to allow them to carry out their job role are called  wantsperformanceaccessibilityuser needs. If a system is fast and responsive, users aren’t waiting around and the system is said to have good  performancetechnologyaccessibilitycustomisation.

As this system will still need to work with other parts of the old ones, and the data will need copying over, the system must be able to work and interface with the older hardware and software. This is called  troubleshootingleading edgesupportcompatibility. Similarly, older ‘legacy’ software may need to be run in a mode to allow it to correctly function on a newer operating system.

Most modern devices rely on a network to access other services and servers, or to be connected to. This process uses wired and wireless technologies and is called  efficiencyreliabilityconnectivitycards.

There are several factors that determine the  utilityclasspressurecost of an IT system which include the amount of and specification of the equipment, the ongoing maintenance and personnel, and energy requirement of the system.

Once a system has been planned, the new system must be  customisedplannedpurchasedshipped, delivered to the premises and installed. This might be during a quiet period in the business, and installation may take place at night or over  staff annual leavewinterspring breakweekends, or during working hours if the system is able to be set up independently of the existing one. Once installed, the system will be  testedrecordedshippedremoved before it is rolled out or pushed  datacorrectlyliveover.