Through 20 years of working in IT, I have worked on many different projects. In that time, I have come to see just how often companies and organisations struggled, with inappropriate and/or badly configured systems and software. I was often amazed and confused as to why this was so. Vast sums of money were being spent developing software packages that worked inadequately or on hardware installations that were poorly maintained and configured.

It all seemed such a waste of time and money, not to mention the endless frustration it caused those who had to use it all day to day. It grieved me to see all this and wherever I went, I made it my business to look for and implement ways of improving things.

The problems of poor computer installations and ineffective software have certainly not gone away. How often do you hear on the news about major system crashes, sometimes affecting critical systems?

In recent years, with a number of businesses locally, primarily estate and property management agencies, I have seen even more striking examples of misuse or under-use of systems, or of companies paying good money for software that is difficult to use and does not meet their needs. Typically, these businesses have between 1 and 10 PCs, occasionally as many as 15 or 20, usually networked, sometimes with a server. So often, the hardware and software these companies obtain meet only immediate needs and there is little thought given to future business requirements, or, when changes are made to their IT set up, how these will affect what they already have. It is therefore not really surprising when these companies run into difficulties.

Because of this, over a number of years I have developed a process that can be used to help businesses make the very best use of their computing facilities, AND to detect potential problems early. Maybe you operate such a business and have suffered from the sort of problems I have described. If so, please read on.

The process I have developed is called the System Efficiency and Configuration Test (SECT). This is an effective and thorough ‘service’ of your entire computing infrastructure – this includes everything from system units to printers to network routers to servers. It is especially designed to look at every component and every piece of installed software, then at all these working together as a whole - this last point is the key to its usefulness..

Because I deal with a number of different types of business, particularly in the property market, I have diversified the process into a series of distinct models, each tailored to the needs of that particular type of business.

In most cases, the type of company that I deal with uses specialist software packages, which are usually maintained and supported by their respective software development companies.

The SECT process is not designed to replace this support, or any other IT support that may be used.

But what it is designed to do is to look at ALL computing facilities, including how any specialised software fits into the whole. Software development companies will generally advise and help a customer with their particular product, but this is normally as far as it goes, unless the product is causing problems in other areas of the business.

Some will offer more comprehensive support but generally speaking, these companies do not look at the whole picture.

This is the strength of the SECT process. It would look at the computing infrastructure from 2 points of view:

1. Features of the entire system where problems or potential problems may exist. A well known fact from the world of software testing is that the earlier a problem or ‘bug’ is detected, the cheaper it is to fix. Costs rise exponentially the longer problems remain undiscovered.
2. How existing features can be better integrated, better employed, enhanced or reconfigured. In my own experience, computing facilities used to support businesses only operate on average at around 30 to 40% of their potential capacity.

Both aspects of SECT can save you time and money:

• Problem detection and resolution costs you less the earlier it is done.
• Achieving the maximum capacity your systems can provide makes the most of your IT investment.

When I stated, rather boldly at the beginning that you will not find this service anywhere else, that truly is the case. Other IT support companies will maintain, repair and sometimes improve, but they do not TEST the whole system in the way the SECT process does.

If you drive, you will know the difference between giving your car an annual MOT and giving it regular servicing. I think it is fair to say that the MOT is the equivalent level of testing which many IT support companies offer. Pretty basic, enough to ensure that your car is actually roadworthy, and is not going to cause an accident by some vital part falling off.

But would you be happy driving your car with only an MOT as security, as it were? Would you feel safe? I don’t think so. You would much rather have regular servicing, a proper and detailed inspection, proper maintenance, with an oil change, brake fluid checked etc. etc.

The SECT process gives you this level of detailed service for your IT systems.

The bottom line is, complete business systems are NOT tested once they are live. Once a piece of software, or a network or an entire computing facility goes into ‘production’, that’s usually it as far as testing is concerned (unless they go horribly wrong, of course!).

So what?

If computer systems/networks are working ok, what is the point of testing them? Which is really the same as saying, if your car is running ok, why test that?

Systems change over time. Any system will. They ALL need regular and detailed inspection and tuning.

Do you want to know if your computer systems are ‘safe’? Do you want to risk disruption to your business if your computer systems fail, when this can so often be prevented?

I would like to have the opportunity of proving to you that ‘looking under the hood’ of your computer systems is a good idea.

What I would do, completely free of charge, is to select any one of your computers at random (you may only have one or two, or even just the one, it doesn’t matter really) or you could chose a particular machine that may have been giving you trouble. Either way, I would spend a few minutes looking for ‘clues’, for signs of any underlying trouble.

During this brief test, I do nothing to change any programs, folders, files or settings on the computer concerned and I do not go anywhere near any of the data on it. So you need have no worries over the security aspect of what I would do.

If I find nothing of any significance in that short time, then you can feel pretty confident that the servicing you are getting is good. You won’t be needing me.

However, if I DID find something, I would tell you about it, what it means and how it might affect the computer’s future operation. From there, it is up to you how to proceed.

If I find something worthy of further investigation, I would always recommend that I carry out a full SECT service on all your equipment. But you are under NO obligation to do this. If you decide to go ahead and have the full SECT process carried out, I will give you an initial quote. If you are happy with this and I proceed, if, at the end of the process I have discovered no major risk or no major improvement area, I will reduce the fee by 50%.

As I said, there is absolutely no commitment on your part to do anything further if I carry out my short random test.

But it might just save you a whole heap of trouble (and money) further down the line.

Call me anytime on 02380 398622, or my mobile 07852 452211. If you are located in the South of England I can usually arrange to visit you within 24 hours of you contacting me.

Remember, you are at no risk having me carry out a ’mini’ assessment for you. Also, any problems that I may find, you can happily pass to your existing IT support for resolution, if you wish. They would be glad of the business!

I do hope that I may be of service to you and I thank you for reading.

David Daish. Software Improve, Design and Test.