Giva Blog

Many medium to large-scale businesses have dedicated Chief Information Officers, or CIOs for short. These individuals are typically in charge of technical processes related to IT and managing data flow and storage. Smaller organizations may also have an individual in charge of these areas, but it may not be their first or only priority.

In recent times, CIOs have faced many challenges. These hardships are generally driven by a power struggle, not between people, but rather around responsibilities. Do they manage traditional IT functions like hardware fixes and software updates or do they drive the transformation of technology in the workplace to remain efficient and competitive? With cyber risks at an all-time high and customers being as demanding as ever, finding a balance between IT function and digital transformation are critical to becoming a forward-thinking organization.

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The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) can be a tricky yet necessary protocol to follow. A common misconception of those on the "outside looking in" is that HIPAA only applies to healthcare organizations like hospitals and other specialty clinics.

When looking into who is covered by HIPAA, you may be surprised to learn that several more entities have a responsibility to adhere to HIPAA guidelines as a covered entity. Some of these organizations are not even directly involved with healthcare.

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In the IT sector, internal and external relationships are often governed by legal or quasi-legal documents. In IT and ITSM, the terms "Master Service Agreement" and "Service Level Agreement" are often used interchangeably. 

However, there are differences between the two kinds of agreements that can impact how you want to use them in your organization. While both can be used for similar purposes — such as establishing clear expectations for internal IT service providers or external vendors — what separates them and how they're used are sufficiently different that it's worth taking the time to understand why this is important.

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So, what is the meaning of an SLA, or what does SLA stand for, anyway?

The term Service Level Agreement (SLA) is basically self-defining: two parties (service provider and customer) officially agreeing on the level of service by which they both are willing to abide. However, defining and creating an effective SLA between an ITSM team and the rest of the organization, or between a third-party provider and a business isn't always that easy.

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IT asset life cycle management is a mission-critical function for every business.

Whether those IT assets are cloud based from software vendors, hardware, or on-site systems, the planning, procurement, management, and maintenance of them is crucial to the operational success of an organization.

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When it comes to Protected Health Information (PHI), healthcare providers and organizations can never be too safe. The repercussions for lost, stolen or manipulated data could cost you large sums of money, a tarnished reputation, and even jail time. According to data shared by HIPAA Journal, there were 339 healthcare data breaches of 500 or more records reported to the Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Between January 1, 2023, and June 30, 2023.

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IT and IT Service Management (ITSM) is a data-intensive business and operational function. In most cases, everything that can be measured is measured in some way. 

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and other metrics play a mission-critical role in the management of an IT team. It's also the main way IT operations managers can show senior business leaders how their team is performing.

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In today's society, several factors can impact the business continuity of IT environments. In addition to physical threats like theft and natural disasters, the Internet — despite its many benefits — can also wreak havoc. Downtime, in any form, can cost a company money and, perhaps, its reputation if not managed correctly.

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New and seasoned businesspeople know that a well-thought-out business model and strategy are two key ingredients needed to create a successful company. 

However, something discussed less frequently is an operating or operational model. This outlines important details about a company, including those regarding employees, processes, systems and technology.

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