Business Manageres look to IT Departments to add value

According to eWeek, an overwhelming 96% of midside businesses see their IT Departments as a strategic part of their business. Managers who are not in IT see that remote access for their workers are more productive. They are also seeing that it is important for a company to be mobile.

Does your company look at IT as a strategic department? Do many employees at your company work remotely?

What today's top IT decision makers want to know more about

CIO Magazine recently released the results of their Top 10 IT Technologies being researched by top technology decision makers poll - #1 on the list: Cloud Computing.

Has your organization taken the first steps to adopting this new technology? NOW is the time to take action. Join us this November at the Cloud Computing & Virtualization Summit and find out if the Cloud is right for your business and what you need to do to implement this new technology.

Get the knowledge and insights you need to make the decision to transition to the Cloud from leading experts from Intel, TransUnion, IBM, Amazon Web Services and more. Hear first hand how your peers were able to prove the value of the Cloud to their entire enterprise, complete the transition, and measure results.

Download the program agenda for the complete speaking roster and presentation details.

Visit the event website

View the speaker list

Register today and save $100 off the standard rates - Reserve your spot today!

CIOs Believe that BPM is a Key Priority in Many Firms

This post on CIO.com discusses that even despite the economic situation, investing in BPM tools is still a main priority and focus for many firms. A report called "Driving Value with Process Improvement" written by Forrester Research indicates that CIOs must embrace BPM technology early in the life-cycle. Are you seeing the same trend across your firms? Is IT really investing more in BPM technology?

LinkedIn's Profile Bookmarking

According to Read Write Web, LinkedIn is now offering a way for it users to bookmark the profiles in a manageable way while browsing profiles. Users can bookmark important profiles, store them in folders, and add notes about why they've bookmarked the contact. The video below explains this tool.

CIOs should go primitive in communication

This recent post on CIO.com highlights that even though social media tools like Facebook, YouTube, twitter, email, technorati, and various other collaborative technology is popular now, it might not be the best choice for communication and messaging. Loraine Antrim mentioned that going "primitive" like a simple phone call or in-person meetings can give CIOs a strategic advantage for many critical situations.

Going "primitive" allows the CIO to engage in a more personal level. Here are some examples as detailed by the post when CIOs should go "primitive".

1. When body language can make a world of difference in your communication. At times a simple gesture or a shrug of your shoulder can really aid in communicating your point. Also, when the tone of voice is important CIOs might want to make a live phone call instead of tweeting or emailing.

2. When attempting to persuade or influence. Any type of persuasion is best done in person and in live delivery. Social media communication is best for expanding on data points.

Free Web Seminar - Navigation Tips for Exploring the IIBA BABOK 2.0

Date: Wed, Oct 7, 2009
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT

Have you ever gotten lost when traversing through the IIBA® BABOK® 2.0? How quickly can you find pathways through the Guide? How easily can you trace your way from one key element to another? Whether you are new to the discipline of business analysis, someone studying for the CBAP® or even a seasoned business analysis professional, navigating through the BABOK® can be a daunting task.

In this webinar we’ll explore a variety of pathways through the BABOK. Your navigator for the session is requirements guru Mary Gorman, a four year veteran of the IIBA Body of Knowledge Committee.

IIBA® International Institute of Business Analysis®
BABOK® Business Analysis Body of Knowledge®

What you will learn:

• Visualize the underlying foundation of the BABOK® (knowledge areas, tasks, techniques and requirements models)
• Trace foundation elements throughout the BABOK®
• Apply analysis modeling techniques to navigate the BABOK®

Speaker:
Mary Gorman, CBAP™, Senior Associate at EBG Consulting, assists teams to build the right product through exploring, analyzing and confirming their requirements. Mary has over 25 years experience as a consultant, mentor, trainer, facilitator, process engineer, developer, and analyst. In addition to serving on the IIBA Body of Knowledge Committee, Mary also helped create the certification exam for the Certified Business Analysis Professional™ (CBAP™).

Register below, mention priority code M2120W3BLOG
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/974065696

Google, MLB.com recognized for best on mobile web

According to eWeek, the Yankee Group has reported that some of the best mobile websites come from Google, Yahoo and MLB.com were reported to have some of the best capabilities for their websites when it comes to the mobile web. According to the website, the biggest difference for websites from this year to last is that they have built in functionality to better service users who are using smart phones. Read more about the report here.

IT Leadership Forum Speaker Profile: Dr. Michael Valivullah, CIO, PMP, United States Capitol Police

Dr. Michael Valivullah
PMP, CIO, Associate Director, Office of Information Systems
United States Capitol Police

Dr. Valivullah is a Planning Specialist, Office of Information Systems, at the United States Capitol Police, United States Senate. Dr. Valivullah is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)and GSA and Federal CIO Council certified Chief Information Officer (CIO). He worked as a Program Control Manager for EDS, an Information Systems Integrator and Project Manager for Lockheed Martin and a Consultant for Sabre Systems, US Airways, MCI, etc. He has extensive knowledge in Software, Database and Systems Development, Requirements Management, Enterprise Architecture, Migrations, Configuraion Management, Quality Assurance, Operations and Testing.

Don’t miss Dr. Michael Valivullah's session "How Can I Become A Successful IT Manager and Leader?" at the IT Leadership Forum this November held in Phoenix, AZ.

IT Leadership Forum Speaker Profile: Ed Trainor, CIO, Amtrak

Ed Trainor
CIO
Amtrak

Ed Trainor is Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President, IS for Amtrak. Prior to his return to Amtrak, he held the position of CIO for Paramount Pictures. Trainor has held similar positions with the Southern California Gas Co., and Flying Tigers. He is a new member of the Capital Area SIM chapter but has previously served in several positions on the Executive Committee of the Southern California SIM chapter. After terms as VP, Partner and Service Provider Programs, and VP, Issues Advocacy Trainor served as SIM International’s President in 2003. Trainor has been a participant SIM Advanced Practices Council® and a sponsor of several participants in the Regional Leadership Forum.

Information Week also recently profiled Ed Trainor in which he mentioned that he foresees high-speed rail passenger corridors as a key component of a national transportation policy. You can view the article here.

Don’t miss Ed Trainor's session The Road to CIO & The Future Role of the CIO at the IT Leadership Forum this November held in Phoenix, AZ.

Are CIOs Turning to MSPs for Competitive Advantage?

This latest post on CIO discusses how IBM's Daniel Rabbitt believes that "with the right provider, a medium-sized business can enjoy the same service levels as a Fortune 500 company, without the costs of building and maintaining an in-house solution."

According to research from Nemertes Research's 2009 Spring Benchmark 60 percent of participants are planning on increasing their managed services in 2009 and beyond. Some of the reasoning behind this is falling budgets, lack of specialized expertise, shrinking staff, and a bigger demand to support more complex applications.

IT Leadership Forum Speaker Profile: Charles Thompson, CIO, City of Phoenix

Charles Thompson

CIO

CITY OF PHOENIX


Take a look at Charles’s latest conversation with Biz Journals on how he plans to update Phoenix’s communication systems.


Information Technology Services coordinates the use of information technology across the various departments and agencies of Phoenix city government to ensure that accurate and timely information is provided to citizens, elected officials, management and staff.

The department also manages the city's radio, telephone, and enterprise computer network systems.


Don’t miss Charles’s session IT Governance: Cost Shifts vs. Cost Savings at the IT Leadership Forum this November held in Phoenix, AZ.

Should IT Directors View Enterprise 2.0 as a Process or Solution?

Oscar Berg recently posted on the content economy how he views enterprise 2.0 should be viewed as a process and not a solution. Oscar gives an example of how web 2.0 and social media are built on a core of values including honesty, participation, trust, and openness. But, if we were to just dump the solutions and applications from social media into a corporate setting people would not just start sharing and collaborating. The main reasoning behind this is because the same values that we find outside of work are not found in the corporate environment. Oscar includes a great quote from Gil Yehuda's enterprise 2.0 blog:

I don’t believe “Enterprise 2.0″ is a solution, I believe it is a description. I agree with the bold statement in Sameer Patel’s post: Enterprise 2.0 is a state that Enterprises achieve by employing an appropriate set of social computing concepts. I word it my way: “Enterprise 2.0 describes a transformed organization.”

Do you agree with Oscar that enterprise 2.0 has to been seen as a process instead of a tool?

Ten Great Ways to Crush Creativity

As at IT leader, you know the importance of finding creativity within your staff. Its important to look to them for innovations in processes and ways that can enhance your business environment and your bottom line. But are you actually crushing this enviornment of creativity? Take a look at this recent post by Paul Sloane on Stepcase Lifehack.

If you want to crush creativity in your organization and eliminate all the unnecessary bother of innovation then here are ten steps that are guaranteed to succeed.

1. Criticize

When you hear a new idea criticize it. Show how smart you are by pointing out some of the weaknesses and flaws which will hold it back. The more experienced you are, the easier it is to find fault with other people’s ideas. Decca Records turned down the Beatles, IBM rejected the photocopying idea which launched Xerox, DEC turned down the spreadsheet and various major publishers turned down the first Harry Potter novel. The same thing is happening in most organizations today. New ideas tend to be partly-formed so it is easy to reject them as ‘bad’. They diverge from the narrow focus that we have for the business so we discard them. Furthermore, every time somebody comes to you with an idea which you criticize, it discourages the person from wasting your time with more suggestions. It sends a message that new ideas are not welcome and that anyone who volunteers them is risking criticism or ridicule. This is a sure fire way to crush the creative spirit in your staff.

2. Ban brainstorms

Treat brainstorming as old-fashioned and passé. All that brainstorms do is throw up lots of new ideas that then have to be rejected. If your organization is not holding frequent brainstorm sessions to find creative solutions then you are not wasting time on new ideas. Instead you are sending a message to staff that their input is not required. If people insist on brainstorm meetings then make them long, rambling and unfocused with lots of criticism of radical ideas.

3. Hoard problems

The CEO and senior team should shoulder the responsibility for solving all the company’s major problems. Strategic issues are too complicated and high-level for the ordinary staff. After all, if people at the grass-roots knew the strategic challenges the organization faces then they would feel insecure and threatened. Don’t involve staff in serious issues, don’t tell them the big picture and above all don’t challenge them to come up with solutions.

4. Focus on efficiency not innovation

Focus solely on making the current business model work better. If we concentrate on making the current system work better then we will not waste time on looking for different systems. The current business model is the one that you helped develop and it is obviously the best one for the business. After all, if the makers of horse drawn carriages had improved quality they could have stopped automobiles taking their markets. The same principle applied with makers of slide rules, LP records, typewriters and gas lights.

5. Overwork

Establish a culture of long hours and hard work. Encourage the belief that hard work alone will solve the problem. We do not need to find a different way of solving a problem – rather we must just work harder at the old way of doing things. Make sure that the working day has no time for learning, fun, lateral thinking, wild ideas or testing of new initiatives.

6. Adhere to the plan

Plan in great detail and then do not deviate from the plan regardless of circumstances. ‘We cannot try that idea because it is not in the plan and we have no budget for it.’ Keep to the vision that was in the plan and ignore fads like market changes and customer fashions – they will pass.

7. Punish mistakes

If someone tries an entrepreneurial idea that fails then blame and retribution must follow. Reward success and punish failure. That way we will reinforce the existing way of doing things and discourage dangerous experiments.

8. Don’t look outside

We understand our business better than outsiders. After all we have been working in it for years. Other industries are fundamentally different and just because something works there does not mean it will work here. Consultants are generally over-priced and tell you things you could have figured out anyway. We need to find the solutions inside the business by working harder.

9. Promote people like you from within

Promoting from within is a good sign. It helps retain people and they can see a reward for loyalty and hard work. It means we don’t get polluted with heretical ideas from outside. Also if the CEO promotes people like him then he can achieve consistency and succession. It is best to find managers who agree with the CEO and praise him for his acumen and foresight.

10. Don’t waste money on training

Talent cannot be taught. It is it a rare thing possessed by a handful of gifted individuals. So why waste money trying to turn ducks into swans? Hire our kind of people and let them learn our system. Work them hard, keep them focused on our business model and do not allow them to fool around with crazy experiments. Workshops, budgets and time allocated to creativity and innovation are all wasteful extravagances. We know what we need to succeed so let’s just get on with it.

Ten Great Ways to Crush Creativity

5 Basic Reaons Why Enterprise 2.0 Projects Fail

Michael Krigsman recently posted on ZDNet that organizations can follow a simple guideline in order to avoid enterprise 2.0 failure. Here's a quick recap of his 5 points.

1.What’s in it for me’. Not just ‘What’s in it for us’ - Most failures occur at the initial planning phase where the typical business focus is on organization benefits and personal incentives. An example of this is how a sales rep would act in an online community as opposed to an engineer who would want to collaborate, learn, and share information.

2.Social software plays an important but limited role towards Enterprise 2.0 design - Another big stepping stone is premature technology selection. It's best to think of the performance objectives you're trying to affect and then deciding whether a best of breed solution is best of if you can stick with a general purpose platform.

3.Fix the True Break points in Your Organization - You must carefully think through inputs and outputs of enterprise 2.0 design before deploying anything.

4.Figure out the Optimal Ownership Structure - It can be quite confusing to figure out for this broad functional set in the enterprise. Do this instead, identify which benefits most closely support your performance objectives. This should help you figure out the right home for it in the enterprise.

5.There’s Metrics and then there’s Performance Goals - Explain to superiors that metrics for new media is different. You should measure your business based on conversations, engagement, affinity, frequency of sharing, and other such points.

Do you have any more reasons to add to this list?

Service Provides Immediate Threat Response and Support for Businesses Worldwide

The Nation reports that TippingPoint has introduced the TippingPoint Emergency Response Service, to help organizations immediately address the impact posed by cyber attacks, viruses and various other risks that continue to threaten network security without warning. For organizations that are experiencing a network security breach or feel they may be under attack, this complimentary service will provide network managers with access to TippingPoint's intrusion prevention system (IPS) to immediately stop threats from impacting the business.


TippingPoint Launches Industry's First Emergency Response Service

ETS to Provide Recovery Audit Services for Dept of Veterans Affairs

Enterprise Technology Solutions LLC, a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business and Health Net Federal Services LLC, the government operations division of Health Net, Inc., today announced they have been awarded a contract by the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Administration Center to provide recovery audit services of VA payments made for non-VA hospital care to veterans. As the prime contractor for this agreement, ETS will provide program management, and Health Net Federal Services, the prime subcontractor, will provide technical and operational expertise.


Enterprise Technology Solutions and Health Net Federal Services Awarded Department Of Veterans Affairs Recovery Audit Services Contract