Therapy is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a diagnosis. So why not IT Therapy?

Organisations regularly come to the IT department with symptoms and other ailments that they need treated. The flu strikes when your computer has a virus, you break a bone when the T1 connection to Asia goes down, and you develop psychological problems when your knowledge management application is impossible to use.

However, like good medicine, prevention is often better than the cure. Prevention helps avoid the pain, cost and impact of remediation. IT departments should be acting more pro-actively and devising regular health checks with the business to identify issues ahead of time. ‘Doctor IT’ often knows their patient so well that they will spot problems ahead of time based on their behaviour (network usage is growing) or genetic history (legacy systems are straining to adapt).

IT departments that invest in ‘pro-active therapy’ will ultimately help improve the overall performance and effectiveness of the organisation. Nobody wants to go to the doctor, but its hard to say no when they turn up at your house, bearing gifts and free advice.

So when is your next therapy session?