Some IT projects always seem to get superseded by higher priority work, but deferring them can be costly and counterproductive. Here are 10 projects for your 2015 to-do list.

As we get underway in 2015, IT departments can help themselves by getting on top of historically “sluggard” projects before these projects begin to grow beyond control. What are these projects, and why is it important to stay in step with them?

1: Endpoint management

Some organizations report that when they track down all their end points in the corporate network, they discover that up to 20% are abandoned but active. Security threats continue to loom. This makes tight policies and management of endpoints critical, especially as mobile devices grow. Before your auditors ask you about it, conduct your own investigation into your network’s end points to ensure that all are securely buttoned down — or turned off if they’re no longer needed.

2: Data retention

IT should be sitting in with end business units at least once a year to see that data retention and access policies are current. Most IT departments are lucky if they conduct data retention meetings every three or four years. With security threats rising and new data retention and access demands for both traditional and big data, data retention meetings are not activities that should be delayed.

3: End-user request log

Software maintenance consumes up to 50% of IT staff time, limiting opportunities for enhancements or the development of new software. This is why end-user requests sit in request queues for years — until even the original requesters have retired or left the company for another job. IT should review its end-user request log with users annually to determine which requests should remain open and which should be closed out.

SOURCE: techrepublic.com