IT Manager's Handbook

Preface Chapter 1. What is an IT Manager?1.01 Just What Does An IT Manager Do?1.02 What is all this about the new strategic value of IT?1.03 Why are IT Managers so critical now?1.04 Further ReferencesChapter 2. Staffing Your IT Team2.01 Hiring. Why Do I Need to do this?2.02 Hiring: How do I write a position description?2.03 Recruiter: Should I use one?2.04 Interviewing Candidates: How can I do this well?2.05 Making an Offer: How do I know how much to offer for an IT position?2.06 Career Paths: What are current career paths for myself and my employees?2.07 Further ReferencesChapter 3. Managing Your IT Team3.01 Tasks: How do I keep my employees focused on the right ones?3.02 Burn-out: How do I help my employees avoid it?3.03 Training: How do I know when my employee's need it?3.04 Performance Reviews: How do I conduct useful and meaningful reviews?3.05 Strategy: Develop an IT strategy3.06 Tactics: How do I keep my department central to the company's operations?3.07 Further ReferencesChapter 4. User Support Services4.01 Help Desk: How do I set one up?4.02 Help Desk: How do I staff one?4.03 Service Level Agreements: What are they? and How do I define them?4.04 Training: How do I arrange for user training?4.05 Call Tracking: How do I select a Call Tracking package? 4.06 Further ReferencesChapter 5. Managing Projects5.01 Initiating Projects: How Do I Get Started?5.02 Setting up a Project Team5.03 Productive Project Meetings5.04 Funding Projects5.05 Keeping Track Of Your Project5.06 Further ReferencesChapter 6. Budgeting6.01 Budgeting: What are the key items in a budget?6.02 Budgeting: How Does The Process Work?6.03 Capital vs. Expense items: What is the difference?6.04 Lease Vs Buy: Which one is better?6.05 Budgeting: What are some Key Factors I should consider?6.06 Further ReferencesChapter 7. IT Infrastructure Fundamentals7.01 Inventory: Where do I start?7.02 Users: How do I find out who they are? And why is this important?7.03 Downtime: How do I estimate, schedule, and announce it?7.04 Testing: How do I test new software versions?7.05 Testing: How do I test on a production system?7.06 Testing: How do I create a test environment?7.07 Legacy systems: How do I manage these?7.08 TCO and Asset Management: What are they?7.09 Further ReferencesChapter 8. Hardware8.01 How do I get current information on functionality? On pricing?8.02 How do I evaluate products?8.03 How do I evaluate vendors?8.04 What are the issues involved in buying desktop computers?8.05 How do I choose specifications for desktop PCs?8.06 How do I evaluate/choose specifications for laptops?8.07 What about "Network Computers"?8.08 What is the difference between a workstation and a PC?8.09 Further ReferencesChapter 9. Software9.01 Software: How do I get current information on functionality? On pricing?9.02 Desktop OS: How do I deal with the various versions of Windows?9.03 Desktop OS: How should I decide between using a PC and a Mac?9.04 Desktop OS: How do I deal with Windows OS's and MAC OS's in the same shop?9.05 Desktop OS: What is LINUX and what should I do about it?9.06 Workstation Software Updates: How do I deal with these?9.07 Software Licensing: How do I deal with it?9.08 Further ReferencesChapter 10. Data Networks10.01 Servers: What is the difference between database, application, web, file and print servers?10.02 Servers: How do I configure a server?10.03 Server OS: What is the difference between MS Windows NT/2000 Server, Novell Netware, Unix systems?10.04 LAN: What are the important issues in design?10.05 LAN: What are the key LAN technologies I should know?10.06 LAN: How do I manage one?10.07 LAN: How do I expand one?10.08 WAN: What are the important issues in design?10.09 WAN: What are the key WAN technologies I should know?10.10 WAN: How do I manage one?10.11 Cable Plant: How do I install, manage one and expand one?10.12 Remote Access: How do I know if I need it?10.13 Telephone Remote Access: What are the plusses and minuses?10.14 Direct Line Remote Access: What are the plusses and minuses?10.15 Web-Based Access10.16 What the Users See When They Log In?10.17 Network Security10.18 Further ReferencesChapter 11. Internets/Extranets/Intranets11.01 Internet, an Intranet and an Extranet: What's the difference between the three?11.02 Internet, Intranet or Extranet: Which do I need?11.03 Content Issues: What should I put on my Web/Internet site?11.04 Setting up: How do I design a server for Internet, Intranet or Extranet uses?11.05 What is "e-commerce"?11.06 What are some specific examples of what the Web do for my company?11.07 Web Site: How do I design one?11.08 Domain Name: How do I register one the web?11.09 ISPs: What are they, and how do I pick one?11.10 E-mail: what are the important technical issues to consider when I set up e-mail Internet Connectivity?11.11 Further ReferencesChapter 12. Enterprise Applications12.01 E-mail: What is the value of an e-mail system?12.02 E-mail: What are the different options?12.03 E-Mail Program: How do I choose one?12.04 E-mail: How do I manage my e-mail system?12.05 ERP: What is Enterprise Resource Planning?12.06 Groupware: What is it? And How do I know I need it?12.07 Further ReferencesChapter 13. Security13.01 External Threats: How do I protect my company from them?13.02 Internal Threats: How do I protect my company from them?13.03 Firewalls: What are they?13.04 Viruses: How do I protect my systems from them?13.05 Suspicious Activity: How do I monitor it?13.06 Security Breach: How do I handle one?13.07 Further ReferencesChapter 14. Disaster Recovery14.01 Disaster Recovery: Why do I need it?14.02 Levels of Disaster: What are they?14.03 Disaster Recovery Plan: What components should be in it?14.04 Contact Information: Who do I need to contact?14.05 Documentation: What do I need?14.06 Real Estate Issues: Where will everyone go when disaster strikes?14.07 Retrieval of off-site backups: How do I plan for that?14.08 Hardware Availability: What are some key issues?14.09 Disaster Planning/Recovery Committee: Company-wide membership14.10 Testing and Updating: Is my disaster plan current?14.11 Regional & Catastrophic Outages: Why these are different.14.12 Further References