The Information Age should be renamed the Communication Age. At no time in our history has our society ever been inundated with communication devices and methods and simple ways of staying in touch. Our neighbors are no longer across the hall, but may be a person halfway around the world.
With the opportunities, however, comes a curse. The devices and tools and software required to stay in touch can become overwhelming with cellphones, blackberrys, instant messaging, email, voice mail, web conferencing, Internet chats, and the like. Recently though, a new technology has been gaining wide attention – Voice Over IP or VoIP.
Initially adopted the business to cut rising telecommunication cost, VoIP has become a vital component for unified communication. That is, having email read through the voicemail system or having voicemail readable through an email. The purpose of unified communication is to merge collaboration tools such as calendaring, email, instant messaging with voice technology.
The greatest benefit of VoIP goes to the gains in mobile computing, where from a single device, a person can access their phone, the Internet, email, and almost anything that can be imagined from a simple handheld.
For enterprises, there is one potential pitfall. Traditionally, the IT departments for services unified VoIP were separated and still are. With VoIP, the collaboration between these different departments has become a high priority for the success of the implementation and during operations. This requires the integration to extend to business processes, not just applications. If everyone is not on board with VoIP, than the entire system can fail.
Read Full Post »
Posted in Product Launches on Jun 25th, 2009 No Comments »
The Organizational Behavior and Leadership Management Essentials Toolkit
Organizations today must achieve excellence in human relations, and that success starts with quality organizational behavior. This Toolkit, consisting of 28 files, covers organizational behavioral essentials, the individual and the organization, and key management tasks. Additionally, each key topic includes detailed information, providing hands-on experience.
This masterfully crafted introduction provides balanced coverage of all the key elements comprising the discipline of OB, in a style that readers will find both informative and interesting. This includes not only traditional topics such as personality, motivation, and leadership; but also cutting-edge issues such as Change Management, Trust Building, Reward systems, and KPI’s for people participating in any group or organizational activity.
This toolkit continues to gain popularity and covers the most relevant topics in organizational behavior today, such as TQM, reengineering, technology, empowerment, declining employee loyalty, virtual and boundaryless organizations, and 360-degree performance appraisals are included. Lively and informative, this masterfully crafted introduction to the field of organizational behavior (OB) condenses the essential elements of the field into a tightly focused presentation. Its concise format makes flexible enough to combine with cases, readings, and experiential materials.
Contents:
Toolkit Introduction - Organizational behaviour and leadership.
Provides a detailed and comprehensive introduction to Organizational Behaviour, Organizational Development and Quality of Work Life.
Focuses on building the right team, team concepts, choosing your teams and specific concepts such as the Virtual Team. In addition, this presentation covers the ‘all you need to know’ ten steps of building powerful and influencial teams.
Power, Influence and Persuasion
Focuses on the definitions, arts and ways to work with power, influence and persuasion. You can identify your own managerial style, or those of your manager. There is detailed information on power sources and tactics on how you can use them to your advantage. In addition, this presentation covers tips and ideas on how to deliver a knockout presentation, and ensure you get what you want. Finally there is specific and detailed information on the ethics of power, influence and persuasion – to help you manage your working environment.
Managing Change
Focuses on the types and dimensions of changes and the different approaches taken to deal with changes in the workplace. It helps you identify if your organization is ‘change ready’ and what to do if it is not. There is a clear 7 step guide to effectively and efficiently dealing with change and implementation.
Business Relationship Management
Focuses on the ITIL Service Management process of Business Relationship Management. This process is centered around the alignment of the business with the IT organization, and ensuring that activites take place to ensure a clear line of communication and understanding is present between IT and the customer.
Full list of the 28 included documents and resources:
Below is an itemized list of the supporting documents and resources for easy reference. You can use these documents and resources within your own organization or as a template to help you in prepare your own bespoke documentation.
-
Toolkit Introduction -Organizational behaviour and leadership.
- Organizational Behaviour and Leadership
- Organizational Behaviour Survey
- Top Grading
- Mapping Responsibilities
- KPI’s
- Values, Vision and Mission Statements
- Rewards Systems
- Virtual Teams - A New Model
- Myths & Realities of Virtual Teams
- Trust Building & the Virtual Team
-
Power, Influence and Persuasion
- The Power Profile
- The S Curve
- Rewards Systems
- Avoiding Presentation Fright and Common Pitfalls
- Implementation Tools
-
Managing Change
- Managing Change Effectively
- Organizational Behaviour Survey
- Mapping Responsibilities
- KPI’s
- Rewards Systems
-
Business Relationship Management
- BRM job description
- BRM Responsibilities and Skills
- BRM Metrics and Reports
- Mapping Responsibilities.
Read Full Post »
Network Access Control products are another craze for IT departments. The purpose of these new products are to manage access to the network. However, to do so some considerations need to be taken.
First, NAC is policy driven. Each policy has two parts: conditions and actions. Conditions are specific information used to determine the appropriate access and actions allowable on the network. The configuration of the computer and user information are examples of conditions that may be found within a policy.
Actions use conditions to determine the appropriate control of a system. In typical binary fashion, policies have two actions for the conditions covered: accept or denial. For instance, if the configuration matches the minimal acceptance level for the network, the computer is allowed access to the network; if not, the computer can be redirected to a update site or given limited access, usually Internet only.
The purpose of the NAC is to secure the network from attacks. Working in conjunction with common anti-virus, intrusion, and authentication applications, NACs work at the network edge to identify if the computer linking to the network is compatible. Similar to ensuring inoculation before going to foreign counties, the NAC will survey a computer for the right configuration and if it doesn’t exist, recommend the appropriate update. If the user declines the recommendation, they are given restricted access to the network.
So say you were able to access the full functionality of the network yesterday, but today, you seem limited: consider that a security patch was not installed and your NAC is compensating. Just install the patch. The problem is that dozens of patches may be required at any given time. Gone a week? When you come back, connecting to the network may take a few minutes ensuring that all the updates are installed so you can connect.
For the system administrators, the NAC requires management of a number of policies; providing direction for every possible situation that may occur when a computer connects to the network.
NACs are not a bad tool: they are quite useful. They simply are a small product with a big mission.
Read Full Post »
Hi everyone,
To follow up our previous blog entry promoting the entire ITIL V3 certification pathway being available via elearning at our site (www.theartofservice.org), here is sample of recent feedback from our happy elearning clients:
Thank you. Yes, I am using the book and the online online training modules. I had previously bought a self study DVD for $400 from another vendor and found it absolutely useless. The Art
of Service is crisp in delivery
of relevant information. I highly recommend your program.
Passed today with 90%!
A great thanks for your study guide and online course. I only had one weekend (literally day and night…) to prepare ‘coz I need it for a job application. No way could I have done it without your brilliant materials.
Thanks a lot!!!
Hi all
Passed the ITIL V3 Foundation Exam with 98% (39/40), the book has everything you need to ace the exam. The depth and breadth of the book adequately covers the required material for the exam. Do not try and memorise instead study and fully understand the material covered. The book is well written and makes easy reading.
Passed the ITIL V3 foundation exam today morning with a score of 85. I wanted to thank Tim and all the folks who have created the certification guide as well the computer based learning “Art of Service” online learning portal. Read the book and went thru the online learning multiple times and my work experience with software release and change management helped me understand the core principles and concepts.
Passed the exam this morning. The book, quizzes and sample exams were all very helpful.
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to send or post their feedback. We’re glad the the materials we have developed have been valuable to so many clients looking to add another level of ITIL certification to their CV.
Best wishes,
The Art of Service
Read Full Post »
Hi everyone,
Just a quick post to promote our elearning site (www.theartofservice.org), as there has been quite a few questions regarding the programs there. To summarise:
- We offer the ENTIRE ITIL V3 certification pathway online. You can do all the programs required (Foundation, Intermediate Managing Across the Lifecycle) to attain your ITIL Expert certification.
- These programs have been accredited by EXIN, so there is NO extra programs needed in order to gain your certification.
- We offer package discounts to clients wishing to customise their pathway towards their ITIL Expert certification.
- All programs come with narrated flash presentations (for content), additional resources and exercises + exam preparation resources.
Have a look now at www.theartofservice.org to see what is on offer and view the preview program to see how the programs are delivered.
So far we have helped over 2000 clients achieve their ITIL certification via this site, and it definately feels good to give people a cost-effective option in the current economic climate.
Best wishes,
The Art of Service
Read Full Post »
Hypervisors are small bits of code that enable the creation of an abstract layer within computing. This is the basis for most efforts in virtualization. The greatest critique to virtualization is security and hypervisors are the first agents to providing security. Below are some notes on hypervisors and security concerns:
Not every hypervisor is created equally. VMware is a completely proprietary, meaning that it is developed and tested inhouse before being released for use. Xen utilizes an open-source community to vet and test the product. Because of the open collaboration, the Xen product has fewer lines of code which will result in fewer potential problems with the code.
Hyperjacking is the worst problem with using hypervisors. The term refers to the subverting the hypervisor to plant malicious software within the abstract layer which can potential provide access to the entire virtual platform which may be utilized by several customers in the form of guest OSs. The trick is to maintain hypervisor integrity while making each guest OS ‘think’ they are the only system that has access to the physical layer. Most of this is done through a series of privilege checks, specifically on transactions between the abstract layer and the physical layer. A widely adopted standard for building trust between the abstract and the physical layers is TPM, or Trusted Platform Module.
The abstract layer has most of the same security issues as a physical LAN or SAN. More so in some ways. Most threats come from internal traffic because they don’t pass through external firewalls where many of the security checks are perform as traffic enters the network. Fortunately, the risks are manageable with a little extra physical capacity, performing migration drills on virtual services and maintaining patches and updates.
A virtual machine is still a machine. Though obvious, it’s not as easy to put this fact into practice. A few rules applied in this context can reduce the amount of exposure given to threats. Disable emulated devices that are unnecessary, including virtualized features and services on the host and guest platforms. They can be made available when required and turned off at disconnect. Find where critical components like third party device drivers reside – within the hypervisor where they performance increases but are slightly more vulnerable or at a higher layer. Adopt ‘least privilege’ rules to who has access to virtual network segments, thus reducing the attack surface exposed.
Bottomline: A hypervisor is simply a tool for IT – understanding what it can and cannot do will assist in fulfilling any security plan you should already have in place.
Read Full Post »
Posted in Product Launches on Jun 20th, 2009 No Comments »
This toolkit is truly unique and like no other. It provides step-by-step guidelines on how to actually do BPM projects. The framework gives confidence that all aspects will be addressed during a project.
“The content addresses precisely the type of issues which my company is struggling with at the moment. This kit is very pragmatic, highly recommended and filled with useful tools and checklists. “
Many organizations are looking to improve their understanding with regards to aligning their business processes, and as a result are looking to implement/improve the Business Process Management process, as an overall improvement to the structure and quality of the organization.
This is where the Business Process Management toolkit comes in.
The Toolkit is designed to answer many of the questions that Business Process Management raises and provides you with useful guides, templates and essential, but simple to follow assessments.
There are a total of 28 documents in this toolkit:
6 Presentations:
Presentations can be used to educate or be used as the basis for management presentations or when making business cases for implementation.
- Presentation 1: Toolkit Introduction Business Process Management
- Presentation 2: BPM & Workflow Software
- Presentation 3: Avoiding Disaster – Your first BPM Project
- Presentation 4: Value & Benefits – Make your Case for BPM
- Presentation 5: BPM & ROI
- Presentation 5: BPM Continual Improvement
These presentations provide detailed and comprehensive guides through different aspects of Business Process Management. Starting, with an introduction to the concept, and a closer look at the Governance involved with BPM, and then following your progression in the implementation of BPM, avoiding disasters and risks, how to make a good business case for BPM – using the benefits and ROI opportunities, and finally a focus on continual proces improvement.
16 Supporting documents:
These supporting documents and assessments will help you identify the areas within your organization that require the most activity in terms of change and improvement. They underpin concepts intitially covered within the presentations, and go into lots more detail to guide you in your Business Process Management maturity.
We have itemized and categorized the supporting documents into a logial order of Plan, Do Check and Act, relating to the stages of planning, implementation, or improvement, where they will be most helpful to you. You can use these documents and resources within your own organization or as a template to help you in prepare your own bespoke documentation.
PLAN
- BPM - The Business Process Model - An introduction to the terminology and icons used in the Business Process Model.
- Business Process Modelling Overview - overview of what Business Process Modelling is all about, and where it fits in an organisation.
- Business Process Modeling Notation – this document explores BMPN and explains howBPMN defines a Business Process Diagram (BPD), which is based on a flowcharting technique tailored for creating graphical models of business process operations.
- Medicare Case Study – A glipse into a large organization who has successfully implemented BPM.
- BPM Benefits Checklist - A checklist that you can review for each of your processes or to get a general sense of the types of benefits you can expect from BPM – great for building a Business Case.
- Example Common Business Objectives – A supporting document from the BRM & ROI presentation, looking at the common business objectives for all organizations.
DO
- The Integration of Knowledge Mapping into Existing Business Processes - The creation, renewal and sharing of knowledge are clearly critical to the delivery of innovative, and cost effective, products and services, this document looks at how Knowledge Management and BPM can work together, to ensure organizational objectives and success.
- Business Process Management-How to Scale your Process Documentation Initiative – This extensive document gives a clear, step by step pathway to a successful documentation initiative – a crucual element of BPM.
- RACI Methodology and BPM - A simple yet powerful methodology that focuses on the “human-side” of BPM is the RACI Methodology – used to identifying roles and responsibilities during a BPM implementation process.
- BPM - Design for Workflow & Rules Management Systems – Definitions and insight into Workflow and Rules Management systems, including characteristics, design considerations and interfaces.
- BPM Architecture Considerations - This document outlines three sets of key architecture considerations required for a successful configuration of an enterprise Business Process Management (BPM) implementation and deployment. These considerations are:
- Deployment Environments
- Architecture Options
- Hardware and Database Sizing
CHECK
- KPI’s - Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are quantitative and qualitative measures used to review an organisation’s progress against its goals. This document explains the concept and application of KPI’s.
- Align Roles and Responsibilities to Make BPM Work - Business units and the IT organization are both responsible for ensuring that business process management initiatives are successfully executed. The more roles and responsibilities for each side that are defined at the onset of a BPM project, the more quickly an organization can reap the benefits. This document identifies the roles and responsibilities required for successful BPM.
ACT
- Project to Program - This document describes how the movement toward broad BPM Programs has changed what companies need in terms of BPM technology and “know how”. It describes 3 steps for establishing a solid foundation for a BPM Program that will enable your organization to scale its process improvement capability in a way that will deliver maximum value to the business.
- Perform Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery via Business Process Management and Other Software Tools – This document is a great aid for organizations wishing to improve their Enterprise Architecture and their Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery capabilities, and explains the way to implement an approach using BPM tools for planning their business processes.
6 Bonus Documents:
In addition, to the supporting documents, we have also provided some ‘bonus documents’ as part of this toolkit. This additional information will enable you to improve your organizations Business Process Management understanding and knowledge base. These bonus documents are focused on the Six Sigma Methodology. As part of this file, you will find:
- Six Sigma Presentation – an introduction to the methodology, including –what it is, history and how and when to use it.
- Six Sigma – Short Overview – a detailed overview including statistics and the ‘six themes’ of Six Sigma.
- Six Sigma – Factsheet – A perfect tool for education –use this to update your own knowledge and understanding of Six Sigma, or as a development tool for your staff.
- Six Sigma Starter Kit – An extensive document, designed to easily guide you through the scary intitial stages of Six Sigma.
- Six Sigma Defining Requirements - The objective of this document is to be a standard/template for the development of Service Level Requirements. The development of Service Level Requirements is the first step to quantify the desired service delivery.
- Simple Sigma Calculator – a fantastic tool to aid your Six Sigma understanding and implementation.
Sincerely,
The Art of Service http://theartofservice.com
Read Full Post »
Nearly twenty years have gone by since the World Wide Web was introduced. Only ten years have gone by since the dot.com bubble. Pretty amazing when you consider that the glass mirror was introduced 800 years ago.
Today, the glass mirror is Web 2.0. All the hype may just be a lot of smoke for business. Commercial uses of Web 2.0 technologies are in full swing, but can they or should they be used in business. With proper planning, maybe.
Blogs are extremely useful tools for disseminating information out. The subscription features allow continuous updates to be sent to interested parties whenever the blog is updated. For business, the greatest concern is ensuring that the number of blogs that are supported is limited. Three opportunities seem the most likely uses of a blog: management to employee updates, departments like IT to employees, business to customers. Most other uses may be deemed extraneous and hinder productivity.
Compared to Facebook or MySpace, social networking has little use in business. However, the concepts behind social networking are valuable for creating learning organizations. On the technical side, mashup APIs can prove very valuable in facilitating communications internally and with customers.
Virtual environments are excellent places to host internal meetings that are more interactive than voice or videoconferencing, at a much lower price. The same is true for wikis for knowledge generation.
Web 2.0 technologies can provide interactivity on the web, but should only be used on web pages that change frequently or requesting customer information.
For companies that have already ventured into Web services, Web 2.0 is an excellent next step. For others, develop your strategy before selecting the solution.
Read Full Post »
Posted in Product Launches on Jun 18th, 2009 No Comments »
| The IT Service Management Processes and Activities Roles and Responsibilities Job Description Handbook: All 52 ITIL Tasks, Functions and Job Descriptions Explained, Detailed and Ready to Use |
Complete Handbook of IT service Management and ITIL V3 Roles and Responsibilities. How does your organization match IT roles to ITIL roles?
Many of our clients asked us for help in ITIL v3 role and responsibility descriptions, here is the utterly excellent guide to roles and responsibilities in ITIL v3.
If you have ever worked in, been a partner or managed an IT organization, this book will not only answer a lot of your troubling questions, it will also explain matters that you did not know the questions to - just the obnoxious frustration of something that was not working.
It is with incredible ease, yet depth and understanding that this book ploughs through the important issues that concerns not only HR managers and CIOs, but anyone who wants to climb up the ladder.
It explains how you got to balance your IT staff (process managers and specialists) and why it is so vitally important to mix people on the right combination of processes and projects (brains, grey hair and procedure projects) as this builds up the organization’s human capital, and provides the means and profitability to continue to align with business objectives and grow.
This book is not filled with theoritical babble but practical and useful information, knowledge and experience!
The book is divided into six parts : CSI, Service Design, Service Operation, Service Strategy, Service Transition and ISO/IEC 20000. All in all it comprises of 52 documents.
Read Full Post »
Today’s IT solutions are becoming more imaginative than ever before. But who can really complain? Better allocation of space, performance, and cost savings, the groundwork is being laid for the next generation of applications and systems to appear on the horizon, if they don’t already exist.
Virtualization is probably the most imaginative solution found in IT circles these days. The basis for virtualization is the creation of an abstract layer on top of the physical layer of the computing platform that looks and acts just like the physical layer of computers, applications, and the like. The difference is that the abstract layer can handle 10 times the amount of processing, data storage, transferring and other computing tasks than what can be handled by a purely physical solution. You can’t get rid of the physical layer, but virtualization expands what the physical layer can do on its own.
At the heart of this abstract layer is a small amount of privileged code called hypervisors. Not all virtual machines utilize a hypervisor design, such as desktop VMs and Microsoft’s virtual server offerings, but some of the more prominent virtualization tools do: Vmware ESX, Intel Vpro, Virtual Iron and XenEnterprise.
Not only do these hypervisors provide the foundation for this abstract layer, they provide the initial point of security too. For this reason, some things should be known about hypervisors that can be found in part 2
Read Full Post »
