Client/Server
References Case
August 15, 1994
We can't afford our remote sites much freedom when it comes to purchasing network-related products, says Patrick Zilvitis, vice president of corporate information technology at Gillette Co. in Boston. A global organization with offices in 76 countries, Gillette has built an information technology infrastructure based on common approaches and consistency.
It all comes back to that vision thing. Without careful planning and coordination, a network is only as reliable as weakest link. Additionally, the trend in corporate IS to take control of networking purchases is driven by a desire to en-sure common systems company wide.
However, corporate IS understands the importance of being reasonable in its' authority and democratic in its decision-making That means companies such as Gillette are combining decentralized decision-making, as it relates to the needs of its decentralized businesses, with centralized control, as it relates to the organization s global business environment.
With input from key IS people representing the company 's various business interests, a Gillette advisory board makes information technology policy decisions on items such as networking protocols, end-user clients, LAN operating systems and software, routers, bridges and private branch exchanges, for example.
IS also recognizes that it can t be all things to all sites. Therefore, at many companies it maintains a give-and-take relationship with its remote offices.
The more corporate IS allows groups within the organization to make their own decisions and have some autonomy overt heir investments,the more invested they 11 be in the systems, says Jeffrey Kaplan, director of Dataquest, Inc. s Worldwide Services Group in Framingham, Mass. In this scenario, as long as the remote facilities select products from vendors on the corporate shopping list, they re on their own.
Moreover, according to a recent Dataquest survey of Fortune 1,000 businesses and government agencies on IS spending for system integration-type projects, which included networking, corporate IS is responsible for 50% of all budget spending. Functional departments or remote offices spend the remaining 50%.
Not only does this approach give [them] breathing room, but it helps the company establish closer ties with the remote vendor, Walther says.
The marine construction firm currently has remote sites in Bahrain, Nigeria, Singapore and Texas and an installation under way in Mexico. By taking a proactive approach to setting information technology policy, Walther says, the company has reliable and stable networks with few problems.
While most organizations understand the benefits of central IS decision-making, there are times when remote facilities are given the green light to make independent network purchases. The remote offices that generate their own profit and loss or are financially independent business units often have independent decision-making powers, says Jeff Bruckner, managing director at the DMW Group in Montvale, N.J.
Even in circumstances where remote offices don t have the freedom to shop as they please, it s not uncommon for remote site managers to identify their requirements and initiate contact with corporate IS. Working collaboratively with remote sites is in the interest of both parties, Ziivitis says. Never create a situation where corporate becomes the ivory tower and is not considered a business partner, he stresses.
The physical distance between corporate IS and its remote managers has the potential to create a divide between the two, but good communication combined with a common understanding of the business objectives and relation to the IS infrastructure can go a long way in creating a manageable relationship all around.