It’s About Time For An Annual Computer System Health Check-up

Originally published in Comments - Summer 2012

We are all expected to visit the doctor once a year for a thorough checkup. We take our cars for regular oil changes and tune-ups. We meet with our children's teachers once a semester to review their progress. If we are business people, we consult with our board and advisors from time to time to discuss everything from financial results to the competitive market. Yet, how many of us apply this same discipline to our computer systems? You know those ubiquitous machines that produce our financial statements and control our inventory and manufacturing? The same machines that calculate staff payroll, store our trade secrets and help us manage our enterprises in a smarter and more effective way?