theartofservice

Feedback via email…

We’ve been talking about the joys in our professional lives. As ‘The Art of Service’ is one of mine, I mentioned your company in the conversation. That’s why I am taking the liberty to write this rather familiar email to you…

In my former professional life in the Belgian Defence IT Department, I used some of your products, with great pleasure. That’s why I love to keep in contact with The Art of Service!

I have now retired from the Army, where I built some experience in the field of implementing ITIL and good practices for better governance. As a certified ITSM Manager, I got a wonderful job at CTG. I would like to use your documentation & experience in the field of ITSM implementation, either ‘as is’ or adapted to my real needs on the field.

Regards from Belgium!

A touch of service… an email sent to our client liaison officer…

‘Thanks again. I do have to comment on your professionalism in this matter. Please pass on to your supervisor my gratitude and comments, I think that deserves a raise in pay or promotion.’

A note from one of our partners…

‘I have recieved the partner guide a few days ago, and it is really very professional. I believe we have made the right choice when we have partnered with you’.

And finally, a word from one of our elearning participants…

‘Thanks for the fast reply. I sure appreciate you guys being there for me - you truly are GEMS!!!!!!!!! Thanks a bunch!

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I must confess…

Previously, I talked about how I purchased an iphone – because I am a MAC addict!….. well – I must confess … IT ANGERED ME GREATLY THAT I WAS BEING CONTROLLED BY APPLE OVER WHAT I COULD AND COULD NOT PUT ON IT!

Ahh – now that I have that off my chest – let me share what I did!!!!!

I unlocked it.. jailbroke it… set it free….. emancipated it from the controlling eyes of APPLE and now I love my iphone even more than ever…. It was only after I took the leap of faith and unlocked it that I truly appreciated the true value of my iphone.(though i did have a sleepless night stressing if I made the right decision).

Since taking this leap, I can now make decisions about what I can and cannot put on my phone… for example….

• MMS -  I can now MMS (why cant we do it from the beginning?)
• Video – I can now take videos with my iphone and save to my computer…(soon be able to email) (and they said you couldn’t)
• Visual desktop calendar, email – I no longer have to go into my phone to see my calendar and emails – I now have calendar and new emails sitting on my locked screen for easy viewing and reading.  To me – a much more business interface (ok – maybe a little blackberry like..)
• And so much more…

And my point…. Where do Apple get off setting limits as to how I can use MY phone?  As I read articles etc – many of these decisions are based on reseller agreements with the TELCOS (USA ones in particular).  Since installing these new apps – I have not experienced any issues with my phone – so have trouble seeing why Apple would not approve these apps in the first place – except for the reason stated above….

Ok – today’s Blog is not about ITSM per say – but it is about SERVICE!

I am aware that I can now install an app that will allow me to use my phone as a modem…. BRING IT ON!!!!

Till next time cheers from The Art of Service

Michael

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The Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP®) credential is the global benchmark for information system security professionals. It gives you the technical know-how and full understanding of IS issues to perform information security functions for your organization.

This book provides the full foundation for your CISSP knowledge: Protect and serve your business at your very best.

The Certification That Inspires Utmost Confidence: If you plan to build a career in information security - one of today’s most visible professions - then the CISSP® credential should be your next career goal.

The CISSP was the first credential in the field of information security, accredited by the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) to ISO (International Standards Organization) Standard 17024:2003. CISSP certification is not only an objective measure of excellence, but a globally recognized standard of achievement.

This book covers the following CISSP domains:

• Access Control
• Application Security
• Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning
• Cryptography
• Information Security and Risk Management
• Legal, Regulations, Compliance and Investigations
• Operations Security
• Physical (Environmental) Security CISSP
• Security Architecture and Design
• Telecommunications and Network Security

This guide has an amazing amount of coverage over the concepts ISC2 indicates in their outline of topics that is on the exam. 10-12 Books have been combined into one Guide and Overview , which makes it a lot easier to understand and digest.

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Dramatically increase your chances of passing the exam with this new book. The ITIL V2 managers program may be superseded in a few years in favor of the ITIL V3 intermediate exams. HOWEVER The reason why you should invest in this book NOW and pass your ITIL V2 Managers exam is that this is the path to save time and money and achieve your ITIL Expert status via the ITIL V2 Managers path.

There are various ways to achieve your ITIL Expert status, but the quickest path to get there is via the ITIL V2 Foundation - ITIL V2 Manager - ITIL V2-3 Manager Bridge programs.

Especially when you attend a Fast Track program for the ITIL V2 Manager Certificate. So for these savvy IT Professionals here is your ITIL V2 Manager exam Preparation book, loaded with hints and tips, exam questions and answers and the key points from the ITIL theory to help you in your preparation for the ITIL V2 Manager Service Support and Service Delivery exams.

Preparing for your ITIL Manager’s Exam is a process in itself.

You can try and memorize EVERYTHING from your Course, or you can prepare yourself with this book - specifically geared toward you passing your exam.

Now - based on years of experience in running ITIL Managers Courses, here is the ultimate ITIL v2 Manager’s Exam Preparation Study Guide - so you don’t have to create your own study aid.

In it you will find detailed factsheets for all processes, mindmaps/table of interprocess relationship for all processes, exam answering tips, as well as a complete practice ITIL Manager Exam for Service Delivery and Service Support, and answering guide.

So - you reap from our hard work and years of experience - how effective and efficient is that? This book has everything you will need to do and know to prepare yourself for your ITIL Managers exam.

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Although not as epic as the battles between good vs evil, chocolate vs vanilla, or eagle vs shark, the battle between standardization versus customization is one that presents a fundamental challenge to any organization when it comes to managing their IT infrastructure, and in particular, their desktop environment. Ultimately we are making a decision between standardization (which brings with it the potential for a reduced total cost of ownership and consistency in hardware, software, operating systems and drivers etc) and customization (which introduces flexibility in offerings, tailored solutions, and of course, Apple Mac’s into the traditional PC/Windows environment).

Of course recent events have helped those who are pro-choice (Apple or otherwise), such as the release of open standards, virtualization for server environments and cross-platform applications. But when you add the time/effort/resources/$$$ required to evaluate compatibility of IT changes (Change Management anyone?) with all these different platforms, machines, drivers and OS combinations then the conservatives begin to score a return few points in their favour. Similar skirmishes are also being fought on the handheld front, with Blackberrys, iPhones, Windows Mobile variants and Google’s new Android platform all seeking to occupy that valuable real estate in your trouser pockets/handbags.

On a personal note, I will be honest and admit to using an Xbox 360 console to satisfy any gaming cravings I might have from time to time. Despite the many arguments against consoles, the one thing that can’t be argued with is their simplicity in getting the job done. Put in game, pick up controller and away I go. I’ve got the cash to buy the latest and greatest PC to play the same games (using a mouse and keyboard for FPS fans), but what I don’t have is the time and patience to perform hours of investigation and diagnosis into complex and obscure driver/hardware/Vista conflicts that are part of the landscape of PC gaming. Is the modern IT organization any different? (Except for not having the cash..)

While I think competition and choice is a great thing for everyone, with decreasing budgets provided to fund IT (especially IT Service Management) can we really afford the luxury that endless customization provides?

Maybe freedom isn’t free….. (to quote a the song)

Tim Malone

ITSM Educator

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You are excellent! Thank you all for addressing my concerns and questions so quickly

- result of product purchase

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You get what you pay for and no more….Availability Management (as part of the Anti Service Management Framework)

On more than one occasion, I have heard clients complain about availability targets – customer never happy – always wanting more, but not prepared to pay for it….  Normal issues faced by Availability Managers… It’s interesting that the goal of Availability Management is to “deliver a cost effective and sustained level of availability”.  This is where I have issues – I think the last part of that goal should state “based on what you are prepared to pay for”!  If this was part of the goal – it would change the way we see availability:

• Suddenly we “mark-up” cost of services so they can’t afford to pay for the best – and so settle for less… great for us, costly to them
• We start capping availability when it reaches a certain level – if you agree to 95% availability and its end of week – and you are still at 98%… bring it down!!!!! – the last thing you want is the business to get more than they paid for – pretty soon they will start expecting more… without paying for it!
• Or we start pricing based on unavailability…. (though not sure how you would do that… each % of unavailability costs $xx, with a depreciating price scale????)

I know it sounds absurd – but aren’t we the ones who introduced the concept of availability to our customer??? So then aren’t we the ones who has the ability to control how availability is managed?????

Hmmm- I think there is something in that for all of us, don’t you???

Till next time

Cheers from The Art of Service

Michael

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Cloud Computing - The Complete Cornerstone Guide to Cloud Computing Best Practices: Concepts, Terms, and Techniques for Successfully Planning, Implementing and Managing Enterprise IT Cloud Computing

Everything you wanted to know about Cloud Computing but were afraid to ask. This book would be more appropriately titled “The Encyclopaedia of Cloud Computing.” It covers just about every aspect of Cloud Computing you would be concerned about, from high-level overviews of the different technologies that might be appropriate for upper management, to a very nice series of “hands on” chapters that walk you through experimenting with several of the Cloud Computing options.

Whether you need a quick primer on Cloud Computing so you can talk shop with those with more detailed knowledge, or want to get a sense of the benefits of the different technologies and how they fit into the big picture of the data center, this book is an invaluable resource. It gives you the vocabulary and understanding of how all the pieces fit together that websites and technical manuals often miss.

A must-buy comprehensive introduction. This book assumes you know nothing about Cloud Computing and quickly reviews some of the buzzwords that frequently get thrown around. It provides a detailed introduction to key topics including Options, and managing a Cloud Computing Project. For business analysts, there is an informative chapter on cost-benefit analysis and several chapters on best practices and pitfalls.

With energy costs, flexibility and scalability becoming a major factor in IT budgets, Cloud Computing will become even more widespread in the future. This is the best introductory book for practitioners and delivers a great overview of the complex world of Cloud Computing, it provides a broad and comprehensive view of the complex world of Cloud Computing, covering a large amount of territory. All of the major Cloud Computing technologies are discussed, along with the various drivers for implementing Cloud Computing, and how to manage migrating to a Cloud Computing environment.

What makes this book stand out from most other resources on the topic is its tone. You’re helpfully guided through the issues and tradeoffs in making a number of decisions on the what, where, when and how of Cloud Computing. This is extremely helpful for an IT manager who needs to come up to speed in a short period of time. This book is a Well-written technical overview with a great business focus, it is written in a conversational style that contains very clear, succinct conceptual information and technical details interspersed with very pertinent and well-focused stories. The writing style and very well organized structural approach to the topics makes this book very readable by technology analysts, CIOs, and technical project managers who need to be able see the big picture of the “forest through the trees” in order to understand the total corporate ROI issues with Cloud Computing technology.

Conversely, the book is well suited to industry technologist and software engineers who want to obtain a quick basic working knowledge of the “detailed roots” of Cloud Computing technology but otherwise would never have been exposed to the broader applicability and global consequences of this very fundamental approach.

The well-organized structure of the book as independent parts, each containing independent chapters, makes it possible to pick and chose what information or level of technical detail is of interest to the reader while still allowing for interrelated topics to be introduced in the proper logically dependent sequence. Chapters such as “Common Terminology”, “Companies involved in Cloud Computing”, “Why Cloud Computing?”, “Benefits of Cloud Computing”, “Cloud Computing Technologies”, “Components of Cloud Computing”, “Migration to Cloud Computing” and “Contracts, Agreements and Legal Implications” are precisely what CIOs, IT managers, and technologists need to know.

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The opportunities provided by Cloud Computing solutions allowed for significant growth within an industry that continues to mature and develop at a rapid pace.

The primary goal of this book and course is to provide the quality education and support materials needed to enable the understanding and application of Cloud Computing in a wide-range of contexts.

This comprehensive book is designed to complement the in-deptheLearn Cloud Computing Foundation program. The interactive eLearn course uses a combination of narrated PowerPoint presentations and multiple choice assessments which will ultimately prepare you for the Cloud Computing Foundation certification exam.

IT professionals need to know a whole lot more about the various ways of delivering services to the customers and end-users. It is no longer sufficient just to know the differences between Windows based or Linux based architecture. These days, most services will utilize some form of Cloud Computing, be it virtualization or SaaS offerings.

So with the change in computing and IT Service delivery comes a whole new series of qualifications and certification. The Cloud Computing Certification Scheme has been created to support the IT Professional who needs to be a ‘niche generalist’, especially in a rapidly changing area like cloud computing.

First, you need to create the foundation - The Cloud Computing Foundation Program focuses on the fundamentals, general knowledge, terminology and BASIC concepts used in Cloud Computing. This program earns you 2 points toward your Cloud Computing Expert Certificate.

This kit prepares you for the certification exam by offering valuable information on Cloud Computing application and Cloud Computing Certification.

This Kit contains the book and online course access that provides everything you need to prepare for the Cloud Computing Foundation Certification Exam, including in-depth coverage of all exam objectives, scenarios to easily demonstrate the processes in action, and practice exam questions for that last minute test preparation.

This Study Guide and Online Course access provides complete, in-depth coverage of all exam objectives for the Cloud Computing Foundation exam in a systematic approach, so you can be confident you’re getting the instruction you need.

• Real-world scenarios put what you’ve learned in the context of service solutions.
• Thought provoking questions to challenge your thinking and understanding.
• Exam Essentials in each chapter helps you zero in on what you need to know.
• Includes practice exam questions
• A Real World Guide to Cloud Computing Skills.
• Key information and real world examples organized around the actual day-to-day tasks and challenges you’ll face in the field of IT Management.
• Practice what you’ve learned with challenging Cloud Computing Foundation exam style questions.
• Based on specific exam objectives - use this as a lab manual for certification preparation.

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He/she who knows more, stays longest…. (as part of the “Anti”-Service Management Framework)- Knowledge Management.

When we talk Service Management, we are really speaking in general terms about all for the “common good”… we never really talk about the individual and the “what’s in it for us?” aspect… until today…

Knowledge Management – its goal is to enhance the organization’s decision making through ensuring that knowledge is captured, managed  and shared… And why do we want to do that??? So if someone leaves, they don’t take their knowledge with them… Hmmm..  Great business sense – but not so great for the individual…. They say that noone is indispensable… but as an employee, isn’t it in MY best interest to make me as indispensable as possible? – From a job security perspective?  The more I share, the less they are likely to need me… (No – I’m not paranoid… who said I was???)

When I look at Knowledge Mgt from an individual perspective – why would I pass on my wisdom to become someone else’s data/knowledge? What’s in it for me?????. Except the increased likelihood of Retrenchment? The way I see it… in these tough economic times, I am more likely to be retained over someone else who doesn’t have as much knowledge/wisdom as me….

To me, Knowledge Mgt should more reflect the concept of play your cards close, don’t share – make them NEED YOU! – Whether it be individual, or even organizational (spare the thought of outsourcing)…. He/she who knows more, stays longest!!!!

I think there’s something in that for all of us, don’t you????

Cheers Till next time from the team at The Art of Service

Michael

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