Successful DP management DP managers have a diffticult but impo~ant role

by FRANK JONES

T he other day I came across a definition of the role of the data processing manager in a book

designed to teach the layman the ABC of computing. Between grappling with the difference between hardware and software it defined the data processing manager as ‘the person in charge of the computer system, its environment and the people employed in the DP department’. It went on: ‘He is the person responsible for specification and purchasing decisions on hardware and software.’ Trivial, perhaps, but

Abstract: The role of the DP manager is to increase the compa~y’s ~o~tab~l~ty, not just provide intonation systems. The DPM in the 1980s must be prepared to implement micros as they become more popular in departments. Facilities management is an option that might be considered in recession.

Keywords: data processing, ~~agern~t operations, microcomputers.

Frank Jones is managing director of Duport Computer Services.

this definition would appeal to those managers who crash elephantine-like through the jungle with the unswerving intention of spending the DP budget by the year end.

The point is, that the role of the data processing manager is to increase the company’s profitability, not just provide information systems. This has

FrankJones.

~0125 no 1 januaryifebruary 1983 0011-684X/83/010009-02$03.00 @ 1983 Butterworth & Co (Publishers) Ltd. 9

policy

Pawn or king - how will DP managers of the 1980s see themselves?

always been the role and, arguably, always will be.

In the 1980s it is becoming increasingly difficult for the person occupying the DP manager’s chair to fulfil this function.

Today, there are approximately 38 000 data processing managers in end user sites and service organizations in the UK alone, and this number is expected to increase to 52 450 by 1985. At that time they will have a say in spending more than &3 OOOM on computer equipment which is more than double the expenditure in 1980.

Difficult role

There are several reasons why the DP manager’s role is so difficult today, and will become even more so. The rate of change of technology is increasing with regard both to price/performance ratio and the danger of becoming locked into one particular manufacturer through software. Also, there has been an increase in user awareness of computers. Depart- mental managers have bought per- sonal computers for home use, have seen the advantages they offer, and are then keen to acquire an Apple or PET for business use.

Other reasons are:

l the continual reduction in hardware prices

the relative increase in personnel cost as a percentage of DP budget the increasing requirement for colour screens and graphics type systems the increasing requirement for local area networks and national networks the increased demand for new systems from users which has led to even greater backlogs in development

‘The departmental manager

is rattling the DPM’s ivory tower’

Until recently the DP managers have been able to proceed at their own pace, in their own way. Now the departmental manager is rattling the DPM’s ivory tower demanding time, technical know-how and backup from the computer professional. The DP manager must thus respond positively by recommending and implementing a selected micro that will integrate into the mainframe configuration. The DPM will then benefit from collective single-source purchase and should attempt to guarantee reliable, nationwide engineering after-sales support.

The DPM has to control the departmental end user more closely. The increased trend to end-user programming, stemming from increased terminal power, means that more can be accomplished at local level.

Will the DP manager of the 1970s become completely obsolete? The minis and micros are designed, so they tell us, for first-time users with no previous computer experience. In the 198Os, broad-based knowledge is required to assimilate the merging technologies in the integrated, automated office. The trend towards the user accepting standard applications packages rather than bespoke software reduces the input required from the DP manager’s

development staff. A positive approach to micro

acquisition will, in addition to the responsibilities outlined above, enable the DP manager to form local area networks to provide departmental data bases which will complement the company mainframe database.

Facilities management

In recession the DP manager has to look very carefully at all the options available. If the DP departmental cost is too high, one possibility is to instigate a facilities management (FM) deal. Such an arrangement would have the benefits of cutting costs while still employing dedicated computer professionals to run and support the systems and also maintaining both the level of service and volume of information processed.

‘The role of the data processing manager is

to increase the company’s profitability’

So FM can be used by DPMs either as a stopgap, while changing manufacturers, or as a long-term solution. Which option is chosen, or whether FM is used at all, must depend on what will best increase the company’s profitability.

The ground rules for the DP manager in the ’80s are, then, to

keep abreast of technology understand what is required to run your company’s business gear up to implement on schedule and within budget keep costs to a minimum keep departmental users happy with micros or terminal-oriented systems that satisfy their departmental objectives in addition to the company’s information requirement. 0

Duport Computer Services Ltd, Sedgley Road East, Tipton, West Midlands DY4 7RT, UK. Tel: 021-5574922.

10 data processing