Managing Computers in Large Organizations

Managing Microcomputers in Large Organizations
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/167.html
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MANAGING MICROCOMPUTERS IN STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 117
mystique of computers has successfully evaded cost-benefit analyses and return
on investment calculations. There is no reason for this. Computers are tools, and
data processing centers are machine shops. The same economics apply. Data
processing “experts” may attempt the standard technique of claiming
independence from accountability due to technical complexity, but this is no
excuse. As with every other capital and operating cost, line managers must be
responsible for the costs associated with implementation and use of micros.
It is only fair, however, to make sure that managers understand the true
costs of microcomputers. Usually, the major cost of a microcomputer lies in the
cost of the people who program and operate it. It is this consumption of
personnel resource that is almost always underestimated, particularly if it
involves any original programming. Functions that have been performed in
traditional data processing applications are often completely ignored by people
acquiring new microcomputers. As a result, those who attempt to write
programs without systems planning, analysis, design, and data definition are
doomed to commit the disastrous errors that plagued the early data processing
industry. One can only hope these disasters will be on a smaller scale.
The economics, then, are simple: equipment is cheap, people are
expensive. Minimize people requirements. Eliminate programming by buying
off-the-shelf software. Minimize training time by providing a helpful support
staff. Standardize vendors, both hardware and software, for common
applications. Provide centralized maintenance wherever possible. Provide an
internal qualified consultant staff to answer the myriad questions on common
micros and associated software that will arise from first-time users.
In short, make micros easy to use. If they are easy to use they require less
staff time, and that means less money.
What have state and local governments done to facilitate the use of
microcomputers? The answer is—many things. States' responses to the
microcomputer onslaught have been as varied as their existing data processing
organizational structures. Those with highly centralized data processing
authorities and procurement agencies quickly developed new policies and
procedures to cover micros. Authorization procedures tended to stress proof of
beneficial use, as well as sources of funding and cost-benefit analyses. Those
organizations that already had approval authority
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