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Data Center Consolidation — Centralized IT Pays Off
Wednesday, September 8, 2010 at 4:00 PM EDT
In the last few years, many enterprises have considered, planned and/or implemented
the consolidation of their data centers. Security, standardized processes, and business
continuity require greater attention due to the importance of these matters for
IT in today’s socioeconomic environment.
The major drivers for consolidation include:
- Cost reduction and competitive advantage
- Improved overall security
- Better processes, uptime and accreditations
- New and more effective disaster recovery
In this case study webinar, TAC Expert Renato Crocetti will draw from his personal
experience in stating, promoting and getting accepted the business case for data
center consolidation, and designing and successfully executing the consolidation,
which achieved and surpassed all objectives.
Renato Crocetti, TAC Expert, has more than 30 years experience in IT executive management
positions. Renato has designed IT strategies, and brought leadership and successful
execution to all facets of IT including development, infrastructure, data center
engineering and operations, technology procurement, and enterprise security. He
has successfully delivered many major programs with substantial financial impact
and competitive advantage, most recently: the consolidation of multiple data centers
into two tier-4, energy efficient scalable centers; ISO 9001 and 27002 certification;
promotion, identification and usage of “green” technology and virtualization; championing
and leading a new corporate initiative on enterprise security and risk mitigation;
and the design and deployment, in partnership with the Wharton Institute, of an
IT executives development program to maximize personal and business value. In his
recent consulting activity, he has been engaged to develop the long-term IT strategy
for a major technology institute.
http://www.tacadvisory.com/teleconf.asp?strEvent=T100908A
The Sun Maintenance Dilemma — Oracle’s New Support Policy
Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at 4:00 PM EDT
The world of Sun maintenance and support changed drastically in March 2010, when
Oracle changed the support policy on Sun hardware and Solaris operating system software.
Oracle's new policies have created a disturbance in the market, causing confusion,
and leading many Sun customers to consider migration plans off of Sun platforms
in favor of other hardware and OS platforms that are more consistent with their
long-term goals and budget.
The major drivers for these migration plans include:
- Oracle’s punitive policies toward self maintainers and those using independent
service providers (ISPs)
- Restricted service offerings which may impact system restoration and uptime expectations
of the end user community
- Increased costs
- Reduction in service options
In this case study webinar, TAC Expert Randy Henniger will draw from his personal
experience in the ISP environment including his current role as chair of the Service
Industry Association’s Restrictive Trade Practices Working Group. Mr. Henniger has
participated successfully in the definition of service solutions which eliminate
the confusion and resolve the issues raised by Oracle’s new support policies, leading
to the successful implementation of service programs and equipment migration plans
valued in the tens of millions of dollars.
Randy Henniger, TAC Expert, has more than 30 years experience in technology executive
management positions. Mr. Henniger has designed IT support strategies, and brought
leadership and successful execution to all facets of IT service and support including
development of ISP partnering agreements, contracts, and SLA achievement planning
for mission critical enterprise IT environments.
http://www.tacadvisory.com/teleconf.asp?strEvent=T100921A
Benefits of IT Benchmarking
Wednesday, October 6, 2010 at 4:00 PM EDT
Economists may say the recession is over, but many IT budgets are still severely
constrained. To respond effectively, IT managers must truly understand their cost
structures to know which areas can and should be further reduced, and which areas
represent serious exposures due to under-spending relative to competition.
Many enterprises use benchmarking to help answer these questions, minimize risk,
and maximize results from IT decisions. Using IT benchmarking, businesses can see
comparative cost measurements relative to peer organizations.
This webinar, presented by TAC Executive Consultants Charlie Ambuhl and Michael
Bitterman, will provide two case studies of the real-world benefits of benchmarking.
The case studies will cover (1) a large IT organization looking to find where costs
are excessive, and (2) an organization looking to confirm that outsourced IT costs
are within market norms. Hot issues to be addressed include:
- What are the challenges facing today’s CIO/CTO in understanding IT infrastructure
costs and efficiency?
- How appropriate are IT costs compared to peer organizations performing the same
type of work?
- How appropriate are IT costs compared to industry peers relative to efficiency?
- How much difference can benchmarking really make for a company trying to gain
control over costs?
Charlie Ambuhl, TAC Executive Consultant, has more than 25 years of experience in
IT benchmarking, with the past 12 years focused on increasing the business benefit
from IT investments. He has designed and implemented innovative approaches to performance
measurement, benchmarking, and alignment of technology for increased effectiveness.
Prior to co-founding the IT Performance Management Group (a TAC affiliate), Mr.
Ambuhl was VP, EMEA benchmarking for Meta Group, VP, North American client services
for Gartner Measurement, and spent 14 years at Real Decisions prior to their acquisition
by Gartner. There he was instrumental in launching several IT benchmarking services
still in use today.
Michael Bitterman, TAC Executive Consultant, has more than 25 years of information
technology experience. He works with senior business and IT executives in performing
high-level engagements focused on establishing current performance baselines, targeting
future performance goals, and implementing the means to achieve them. Prior to co-founding
the IT Performance Management Group (a TAC affiliate), Mr. Bitterman was VP at Gartner,
where he established their IT Transformation and IT Performance Management practices.
Prior to joining Gartner, he held senior management positions within both user and
vendor IT organizations.
http://www.tacadvisory.com/teleconf.asp?strEvent=T101006A
Alignment — The Key to Project Success
Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at 4:00 PM EDT
Too many projects fail. A recent survey showed that 31% of IT projects are cancelled
before completion. One of the key reasons that projects fail is lack of alignment
among the stakeholders on what constitutes project success. The stakeholders often
don’t really know what the project success criteria are, or they have conflicting
success criteria. In either case, the project and the project manager are in big
trouble.
In this webinar, TAC Expert Alan Gopin will provide practical tips for project managers
to help improve the success rate of their projects by gaining alignment among the
project stakeholders. Hot issues to be addressed include:
- How can you identify the real success criteria of the stakeholders?
- How should you deal with conflicting success criteria?
- How can you gain consensus among the stakeholders on what project success means?
Alan Gopin, PMP, TAC Expert, has more than 30 years in IT and business development,
including over 20 years in project management and seven years teaching project management
at the graduate level. He has been certified as a PMP since 1998. He has experience
in several industries, including telecommunications, pharmaceutical, and finance.
Alan has worked in complex system environments, and has hands-on experience as a
software developer, system tester, and systems engineer. He leverages that experience
as an IT project manager. He is an expert at all phases of the project management
process and is a skilled project management trainer with strong organizational,
leadership, and management skills. He has authored two published papers on project
management methodology and has presented at the Lucent Project Management Conference
and the PMI/NJ Symposium.
http://www.tacadvisory.com/teleconf.asp?strEvent=T101019A
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In partnership with Premier Event Management, Inc, The Advisory Council holds CIO
events and roundtables throughout the year. The CIO Forum & Executive IT Summit
was created by CIOs for CIOs. The summit content is driven by regional leaders for
the purpose of benefiting local economies and communities. The forums are by invitation
only and provide an educational interactive environment.
Upcoming Events:
- Pittsburgh, September 14–15
- Washington DC, October 7
- Toronto, October 26–27
- Columbia SC, November 9–10
- Portland OR, November 17–18
- Raleigh, November 30 – December 1
- Orlando, December 14–15
- Chicago, April 2011
- Hartford, April 2011
- Atlanta, May 2011
- Philadelphia, May 2011
- Charlotte, June 2011
- Cleveland, June 2011
To see if you qualify for the CIO Forum please apply here.
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Founded in 2002, TAC (The Advisory Council) provides IT organizations with enterprise-wide access to objective, actionable advice for resolving IT challenges and issues. Through its suite of services, products and workshops, TAC helps IT organizations make decisions more quickly and cost effectively. TAC’s Expert Decision Support Network consists of more than 200 Experts, covering 97% of all IT practice areas. Clients include Fortune 1000 and midsize companies, government, and educational institutions.
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