Concept of Approach to Optimize ICT Management Practices

Abstract

The rapid evolution of information and communication technologies (ICT) has led to changes in business processes, namely in public services or in local administration. Currently, customer expectations are focused on an incremental modernization that may imply greater mobility, cost reduction, and response times. This chapter describes a multidisciplinary and integrative approach considering the specificity of the Portuguese local administration. The proposed approach assumes of continuous improvement within the scope of integrated and sustained governance, which is based on the alignment of ICT with business. Thus, it is recommended that the contributions of the approach are the optimization of practices established in the domains of sustainability, human capital, increased productivity, optimization of information security practices, and improvement of environmental quality, promoting alignment with Green IT.

A Framework for the Alignment of ICT with Green IT

“…This virtualized model can be a way to reduce costs with maintenance contracts, enhance increased information security and internal know-how in the maintenance and configuration tasks of the virtual plant. In the context of this evaluation phase, it is also intended to ensure the ubiquity of access, between the various buildings, decentralized throughout the county, providing the data on impressions to ensure greater mobility of people and autonomy daily [17]. Particularly relevant are the two final tasks in this Phase 1: the evaluation of ease of management and environmental improvement, always present throughout this project the environmental preservation and the use of technologies that allow this preservation, in alignment with Green IT; and the containment equation or whenever possible, cost reduction without compromising the project [17].…”

“…In the context of this evaluation phase, it is also intended to ensure the ubiquity of access, between the various buildings, decentralized throughout the county, providing the data on impressions to ensure greater mobility of people and autonomy daily [17]. Particularly relevant are the two final tasks in this Phase 1: the evaluation of ease of management and environmental improvement, always present throughout this project the environmental preservation and the use of technologies that allow this preservation, in alignment with Green IT; and the containment equation or whenever possible, cost reduction without compromising the project [17]. Phase 2, as summarized in Figure 3, begins with the Study and Planning, having been concluded the assessment of the constraints encountered, the needs for improvement, and upgrade of the solution.…”

“…This phase should be considered as one of the most relevant and decisive in the conduct of the whole approach, although we are facing an iterating process between this phase and phase 6, as it will be based on the results of the study and planning carried out, that all subsequent phases will be supported, and where the need to change the areas outlined may bring unexpected costs to the organization or unforeseen results [17]. Thus, it is intended to study an approach that allows the involvement of all variables described in the previous phase, and that simultaneously includes the possibility of environmental improvement, encompassing both the internal environment and the external environment., aligning with Green IT.…”

“…In addition to server virtualization, with the creation of several VMs, in a distributed environment, the replacement of most PC's, in the end of life, by thin clients that will connect to the servers, that after the cost/benefit assessment and considering the requirements, one can opt for connections by Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), or connections to Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). Costs must be evaluated together with the benefits of the adopted solution [17]. Also, in the field of virtualization, it is noted that the replacement of end-of-life PC's by thin clients is conducting to reduction of costs, particularly energy as will be proven later, not undermining the alignment with Green IT.…”

“…Specifically, in telecommunications, it was identified a critical situation with the continued use of physical telephone centers in old, deteriorated buildings, where humidity prevails, implying constant breakdowns and obviously the breakdown of telecommunications between buildings and the exterior, with the consequent constraints and intrinsic costs. Another problem is the difficulty of daily management of IT technicians, hindered by the need to go to the different locations and locally deal with issues; an integrative solution should be achieved in the future and one that allows facilitated management, without increased costs [17]. Even if the option is virtual telephone centers, we will also be contributing to environmental improvement, with the reduction of the number of materials to be recycled and, after checking the numbers, one may state that a reduction in energy consumption occurred, as less movement will translate to a reduction of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere, which will help in reducing the ozone hole, clearly in alignment with Green IT.…”