Status report for CEO challenge project

Running head: CHANGE MANAGEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION 1

CHANGE MANAGEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION 2

Implementation of the Splunk System at Techdrivers

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

MEMO

To: The CIO

From: Student’s Name

Date: August 4, 2020

Subject: CEO’S Challenge: Implementation of the Splunk System at Techdrivers

The integration of the Splunk system into Techdriver's operations will be a big boost to the logistics company. Techdrivers, being an IT-reliant company with many clients and staff accessing the systems remotely, has been facing challenges arising from cyber security threats, and lack of an efficient system to monitor and record all logs from various devices for analysis. Adopting the Splunk system will help address these challenges by improving incident prevention, monitoring, response, and reporting. The new system will enhance log file and data management and network access (Sigman and Delgado, 2016).

Implementation of the System

Implementing the new Splunk system requires adequate preparation in terms of resources. The most crucial resources needed are finances, people, time, and information. As much as I can handle much of the processes of integrating the Splunk system into Techdrivers' systems, there is need to equip IT staff at Techdrivers with skills on how operate and manage the Splunk platform. Besides, we will need support from Splunk staff to help us familiarize with how the system works. They will help to customize the new system to fit the needs of Techdrivers Company. Therefore, the staff from Splunk will offer extensive services through monitoring the system until it is fully integrated into Techdrivers’ operations.

Besides personnel, financial resources will be crucial in implementing the new log management system. Its implementation is costly, and without proper planning and budgeting, it may not be possible. A fully equipped data center will cost the company an average of $30,000 to install and further $3000 monthly to maintain. Techdrivers being a medium company, may not have the capacity to implement such a resource-intensive system. With Splunk, it can implement a purely in-house hosted system, a cloud-based solution, or a hybrid system consisting of both in-house and cloud-based features (Wang et al., 2012). Techdrivers may not implement the fully in-house solution due to the high-cost implications. It should also not adopt a purely-based cloud system due to security and safety concerns (Sigman and Delgado, 2016). The company should consider adopting a hybrid system that is less costly and secure.

Similarly, implementing the Splunk system will require a substantial amount of time to train and familiarize the IT personnel on its operations and maintenance (Sigman and Delgado, 2016). That might take up time set for other duties of the staff. As a result, the staff may spend more time learning and training on the new system (Connelly et al., 2016). They will, therefore, need to work overtime to accomplish their routine duties. Techdrivers should set aside adequate finances to pay workers overtime. Staff in the company need to be furnished with all necessary information about the Splunk system, troubleshooting, security features, etc.

Change Management Strategy

Implementing the new system requires robust strategies to minimize the chances of failure. Change is not always welcome in institutions, and therefore, it must be managed well to avoid resistance from the concerned personnel. Bringing change will involve replacing the current information system at Techdrivers. The current system cannot efficiently handle or process log data. The new Splunk software will be integrated into the company's information system to work concurrently. The software is efficient in consolidating and indexing machine and log data, both structured and unstructured logs (Sigman and Delgado, 2016). It greatly improves data gathering, searching, indexing, correlating, visualizing, storage, and reporting. Implementation of the system should adopt an incremental approach. The company will begin by transferring the less mission-critical information and systems to the public cloud, followed by the less mission-critical data and systems to the system cloud. The company should also consider minimizing the use of an in-house system to allow integration of the software into its operations.

The staff at Techdrive company need to undergo training on how to operate the Slunk system to read the log data, JSON data, and CSV data. They should also learn how to transfer data from the company's systems to the cloud system managed by the Splunk Company. They should also learn to troubleshoot all challenges that may arise from using the system. They should undergo extensive training that covers all aspects of the Splunk system. The duration of the training will depend on how fast the staff learn about the new system. After training, they will then transition to using the new system under the guidance of Splunk’s support staff.

Implementing the new system may face resistance from some of the company's employees, especially those affected by its implementation. The IT personnel may oppose its implementation under the fear that it will be hard to learn how to use it. Others may fear losing jobs due to the automation of data management systems. To avoid such opposition, the company should involve the affected staff throughout the planning and implementation process through consultation and proper communication. Proper employee training will also minimize cases of resistance to change

References

Connelly, B. et al. (2016). “Too much of a good thing: User Leadership at TPAC.” Information Systems Education Journal (ISEDJ).

Li, S., Xu, L., Wang, X., & Wang, J. (2012). Integration of hybrid wireless networks in cloud services-oriented enterprise information systems. Enterprise Information Systems, 6(2),165-187.

Sigman, B. P., & Delgado, E. (2016). Splunk Essentials. Packt Publishing Ltd.