IT Teams: Ranchers or Vets?
At the start of every conversation when we bring on a new client we always ask the question: Is your current IT being handled by Ranchers or Vets. Today, I would like to ask you the same. Is your business being taken care of by Ranchers or Vets? If you are reading this and wondering what exactly do I mean? You’re not alone; this question is usually met with confusion but let me explain. The question is rooted in two methodologies in taking care of IT infrastructure:
“The Vet Methodology”
Admins that apply the “Vet” methodology treat their systems as if they are pets. This means that each of your organizations' systems has data that specifically lives on that device and that device is usually linked directly with an end-user that needs that specific system to get their job done. This leads to a high connection of an end-user to a specific system or the system becoming the end-users “pet” system. It then becomes the IT admins job to take care of the end-users pets. For example, if you were to spill your [Insert Favorite Drink] on your laptop right now, and you aren’t able to pick up the next closest one and start working again you probably have a pet and your IT admins are “Vets”.
“The Rancher Methodology”
Admins that apply the “Rancher” methodology treat their systems as if they are cattle. This means that each of the organizations’ systems are treated as a resource to meet an end goal. Systems in these environments aren’t specific and data usually lives central to the environment and is readily available to end-users no matter the device that they are working from. This leads to data, systems, and end-users being completely decoupled. An example of this would be if the screen of your laptop dies from a factory defect and you are able to use the spare from the office while it is being fixed your system is cattle and your IT admins are “Ranchers”.
So let me ask the question: Is your business being taken care of by Ranchers or Vets?
If you answered Vets you might want to rethink your organization's IT methodology and we are here to help. At Lockedheart Technologies, LLC we are proud “Ranchers”. We know that to our clients, time is money and at the end of the day as a business, they can’t afford downtime. This is why from day one we implement data strategies that decouple data and systems from the end-users allowing businesses to continue as usual if an issue occurs with a specific system. This starts by creating an end-user identity. This identity is used to tie together end-users with the data they need as well as the software packages they use. This makes it possible for us to use our tooling to allow users to sign into selected devices and then that device gets all the software installed and data mapped to it specific to the user signed in at the time. All the user had to do was log in. This freedom to work from any device available and the business continuity benefits are why we believe that all IT admins should be “Ranchers” not “Vets”.
