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Support, administration and maintenance

In general, a Web server is no more difficult to install and administer than most other software for the platform involved. Any organization already running computer systems will probably have support staff with sufficient experience to cope, assuming the server is to be run on an existing platform.

It is advisable to designate staff to be responsible for the administration of a Web server. If the organization comes to depend on the smooth running of its Web server, it is important to ensure that it is well maintained. Backups must be taken, general system administrative tasks performed, and fault reports dealt with, and there will also be a need to liase with and provide technical support for document authors or the editorial team. Managers, authors and editorial teams will require feedback and analysis of Web usage. As the size and complexity of the Web site grows and the volume of traffic increases, the rôle of the Web administrators will expand and may require additional staff.

Having a presence on the Web is likely to have far-reaching implications for an organization, at all levels. Decisions about Web implementation and site maintenance require managerial involvement at the highest level, and the widest possible consultation throughout the organization.

Spinning the Web by Andrew Ford
© 1995 International Thomson Publishing
© 2002 Andrew Ford and Ford & Mason Ltd
Note: this HTML document was generated in December 1994 directly from the LaTeX source files using LaTeX2HTML. It was formatted into our standard page layout using the Template Toolkit. The document is mainly of historical interest as obviously many of the sites mentioned have long since disappeared.