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sample tactics for a small VAR wanting to accelerate DaaS adoption in clientbase

Posted on by ITconnecter Posted in agile, agility, Android, Apple, BYOD, Chrome, cloud, Crosswaves Ventures, DaaS, Desktone, desktop, Google, Help Desk, HVD, iOS, iPad, iPhone, ITconnecter, IVIS, LibreOffice, Microsoft, mobile, Nexus, OpenOffice, reseller, SaaS, smartphone, thinclient, VaaS, VAR, VDA, VDI, VMWare View, VXIaaS, Windows

Hello ____,  here are some tactical ideas:

1. Have your existing customers try a free trial of DaaS and explain to them benefits. Re:them buying, maybe start with them buying a few seats for DR purposes only.

2. If any of your customers have a desktop/laptop HW refresh due, pitch them on DaaS.

3.If any of your customers publish or use software which is not cloud/SaaS-ready, have them try it on a DaaS platform…..timing is right for XP-based apps.

4. Sign up with Microsoft to resell Office365 and understand the benefit to using Office365 from DaaS.

5. Sign up with Google and build a “no-desktop-license-cost openoffice” environment building a DaaS “virtual image” you can easily support as their one-stop support shop….if Google Apps doesn’t cut it for you, consider Apache’s OpenOffice or LibreOffice.  For email, gmail with a Thunderbird front-end is not a bad alternative to Outlook/Exchange given the cost difference per user (gmail/Thunderbird is free and no Windows OS VDA, I think).

6. By doing #4 and #5, you offer your customers choice in best in class office productivity options at varying price points.

7. BYOD?  As a Google reseller, get familiar with Android and Android tablets and smartphones.  Can you resell iPad?  Tread cautiously with Surface unless you see a significant uptick in market acceptance.

PS  To start on DaaS, reach out to a Desktone DaaS partner; dependent upon geography, you will have a few options to get started with NO capex on your end.

Good luck!
Gates

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CMO and CIO, who will lead technology strategy? and with what?

Posted on by ITconnecter Posted in agile, agility, Apptio, big data, BrandIT, business of IT, CCO, CIO, CMO, collaboration, Comsci, CRM, CrossWaves, Crosswaves Ventures, database, Digital Fuel, disruptive, information technology, innovation, inspiration, integration, IT as a business, ITFBM, ITFM, IVIS, leadership, MDM, nimble, process, SaaS, SFA, shadow IT, software, TBM, thought leader, transformation, VaaS, vision

…interesting morning…by 9:30am EST, I had discussed the concept of TBM and CIOs and the role of CMOs and their need for something similar.

From my conversation with a  marketing guru (ex-VP of Marketing at major consumer brand), I surmised that managing “IT as a business” as a CIO rallying point for TBM should really be evolving to managing  “technology as a business.”

While this blog has mentioned the leading TBM / ITFBM platforms such as VMWare IT Business Management (e.g. Digital Fuel), Apptio and ComSci, only a few within these companies seem to understand the shift from “IT spend” to “technology spend.”

If a CMO starts researching their own TBM /ITFBM platforms, they would most likely lead with Salesforce.com and its ecosystem.   Visit http://www.salesforce.com/products/ and http://www.data.com/ and (http://www.relayware.com/solutions/salesforce-com-integration/ ) and you see the makings of  a “next gen CMO ERP system.”    ….and its not only the 800-pound Salesforce.com gorilla driving the movement to integrated “TBM / ITFBM- like CMO platforms; witness http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/parago-announces-acquisition-of-intuitive-group-international-139279853.html .  Sprinkle into this CRM/SFA/PRM mix a IT financial software element for cost transparency and, voila, you have an early version of a CMO-focused TBM / ITFBM platform.  

The parallel question to “CMO and CIO, who will lead technology strategy? ” then becomes “and with what technology will they use to manage their own technology as a business?”  Will it be the CIO-focused vendor platforms?  Will it be the CMO-focused platforms?  Or will it be an integration of both?

As this topic moves from the awareness stage to the action stage for leaders, CIOs (as well as their CMO brethren) may want to visit the upcoming FutureM event in Boston in October (www.FutureM.org)…witness the keynote:

” Transformative forces have elevated CMOs to the hottest new technology buying center and advanced them a seat closer to the President in the boardroom. However, the CMO is under pressure. The self-educated customer is driving unprecedented change in the marketing function. Big data, new automation, and an explosion of communication channels all require fundamental new mastery. With these new pressures, the marketing organization cannot act in isolation as it has in the past. An effective CMO+CIO relationship must be created and nurtured.”

Speakers

Kathleen Schaub,Vice President, IDC’s CMO Advisory Practice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Customer Intimacy, Meet Operational Excellence = Innovation – Brad Power – Harvard Business Review

Posted on by ITconnecter Posted in adjacent possible, creativity, CrossWaves, customer, innovation, inspiration, ITconnecter, IVIS, medicine, process, user experience, vision

In his HBR article, Customer Intimacy, Meet Operational Excellence – Brad Power – Harvard Business Review, Brad Power, a former colleague of mine at CSC, shifts the focus from customer intimacy to operational excellence.

In the article, Brad cites a few companies having more expertise in determining what their customers want (and how, when, why, where, etc.).  With this knowledge, they then re-focus on internal operational excellence to better service their customers.

An “excellence in innovation” example is given:  specifically, ThedaCare, a health delivery system, visits with Ariens (power equipment) to learn about lean and its benefits as applied to business processes.  Obviously, processes in the two companies are conceptually very different but the fact that they share a focus on process excellence allowed them to share meaningful experience.

…great example of defining exactly what the “adjacent possible” was and doing a deep-dive to accelerate how to most quickly address it.

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ITconnecter IT Job of the Week – Biogen Idec, Sr IT Mgr and CRM Thought Leader

Posted on by ITconnecter Posted in career, collaboration, CRM, Crosswaves Ventures, Director, employment, information technology, ITconnecter, job, leadership, management, Oracle, pharma, SFA, Siebel, thought leader, VaaS, vision

Senior Manager Information Technology – CRM Thought Leader

Listing Info

About Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) :  Biotechnology leader that discovers, develops and delivers innovative therapies to improve the lives of patients. As a company, Biogen Idec recognizes that cutting-edge science and medicines can change the course of devastating diseases.Founded in 1978, Biogen Idec is the world’s oldest independent biotechnology company. We have one of the strongest late-stage pipelines in the industry and patients worldwide benefit every day from our industry-leading multiple sclerosis (MS) products. In the coming years, we’re working hard to bring new therapies to market for patients with MS, hemophilia, and other areas of high unmet need.

With more than 6,000 employees, Biogen Idec is a truly global organization – generating revenue of more than $5.5 billion worldwide in 2012. In addition to our corporate headquarters in Weston, MA, and our research operations in Cambridge, MA, we have world-class manufacturing facilities in North Carolina and Hillerod, Denmark and offices in Canada, Australia, Japan and throughout Europe. We also have a direct commercial presence in 30 countries, including the US, EU, Brazil and India, and a network of distribution partners in more than 50 additional countries.

Job Description – Sr Mgr IT and CRM Thought Leader

Biogen Idec has one of the most exciting pipelines in the Biotech / Pharmaceutical industry. Over the next five years, the company plans to roughly double in size ($5-10B). Along with this growth comes massive complexity.

Biogen Idec currently supports both a Siebel and Oracle CRM On-Demand SFA platform. Co-existing with these platforms are numerous custom developed and 3rd party integrated desktop and mobile applications. The company has grown extraordinarily fast, and while we have implemented ad hoc components of a CRM platform, we now need to implement the correct architecture and business processes to take full advantage of it.

We are looking for a CRM visionary that sees the benefit of getting to one global toolset where data is integrated, aggregated and available to all user type from the field and HQ to make better decisions and provide superior service.

As a leader in our Commercial IT function and as a strategic business partner to our senior global business leads, this Thought Leader” will be the authority on visioning and delivering a globally coordinated strategy needed to support an ever more sophisticated global operation.

Key Responsibilities

  • Partner with key business users in the US, EU+, and Emerging Markets sales, Commercial Effectiveness, Medial Affairs, Market Access, Patient Services, and Marketing organizations to understand their challenges and figure out how to address them using industry-proven methods enabled by a coordinated CRM eco-system
  • Design and implement a CRM strategy – leveraging the Salesforce.com and Veeva suite, as well as Best-of-Breed tools to fill gaps in the Salesforce.com and Veeva footprint. — by adopting industry trends and leading practices and putting together a roadmap on how to reach the strategic goal.
  • Infuse the company with CRM practices that allow us to rethink” fundamental ways of executing work, e.g. sales force automation, account planning, patient case management, non-promotional interactions, intelligence and analytics, customer marketing
  • Construct, articulate and enroll senior Commercial leadership in a strategic vision and ensure change management is woven into any and all change initiatives.
  • Co-Design an operating model with our Shared Services Solution Delivery team for a robust Support Model ensuring sustainable training and support of all aspects of the CRM footprint.

Location US-MA-Weston

Job Category IT

Requisition Number 21076BR

  • Deep knowledge and expertise of the HCP interaction processes of selling, servicing, educating, learning and adapting, and influencing, and most importantly, how they are enabled by a CRM tool (what works, what
  • Be able to articulate how content and insights provide competitive advantage over the tool and
  • Previous leadership role in transforming companies from an un-coordinated CRM eco-system to one that deploys CRM processes and systems that fully arm customer-facing personnel with everything they need to maximize impact — understanding all opportunities, challenges and changes that go along with
  • Previous leadership role in the turn-around/rescue of previously failed CRM implementations with an awareness of why CRM projects fail and how to ensure success with People, Process, and
  • A strong and vibrant external network of
  • Experience with the Force.com and Veeva platforms.At Biogen Idec we focus not only on results but also on how we achieve our success. As part of our
    Culture of Excellence we stress the value of collaboration as we strive to Care Deeply, Work Fearlessly,
    and Change Lives.

The Successful candidate will demonstrate the following:

  • A dynamic, yet humble leader who doesn’t mind being in an individual contributor role with enormous influence over the direction of a fast-growing company. Someone who is confident can clearly communicate and take a stand for things that matter will do well in our
  • Someone who understands and is open to working with outsourced/offshore resources and feels comfortable influencing without direct control over shared services
  • Someone who comes to work every day passionate about improving the way people work and the use of technology to make a real difference

Career Opportunities Advancement

While the role of a Thought Leader is designed to be an individual contributor role that relies on others to execute against his/her plan, this role is being reserved for a high potential candidate who has the potential to take on significant line responsibility in future assignments within either the IT or the Commercial organization. With a company that is growing at our pace, many future senior leadership opportunities will exist for top talent.

Education: A graduate degree, MBA or other post graduate degree is helpful but not necessary.

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Case Study on how cloud changes IT svc provider world – Windows Azure Helps Small Partner Score Huge Deal — Redmond Channel Partner

Posted on by ITconnecter Posted in Azure, cloud, disruptive, government, IaaS, industry, information technology, innovation, integration, IVIS, medicine, Microsoft, pharma, reseller, transformation, VaaS, VAR, vision, Windows

For anyone still questioning the power of the cloud to significantly change IT, both the demand chain and the supply chain, read this…amazing….

Windows Azure Helps Small Partner Score Huge Deal — Redmond Channel Partner.

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IVIS-31, Ease your way now into TBM / ITFBM

Posted on by ITconnecter Posted in agile, agility, Apptio, business of IT, CIO, Comsci, CrossWaves, Crosswaves Ventures, Digital Fuel, elasticity, information technology, innovation, inspiration, integration, IT as a business, ITDM, ITFBM, ITFM, IVIS, nimble, TBM, transformation, Uncategorized, VaaS, vendor, VMTurbo

IVIS-31, Ease your way now into TBM / ITFBM

Next Step – If a full-blown TBM / ITFBM methodology seems daunting to try to launch this calendar year, implement at least one tool that will at least help you get started.

One example is VMTurbo, which has an excellent white-paper to help frame the concept of dynamic (“agile”) operations of virtual services.  They use a construct of an IT Service Supply Chain (see below image).  Conceptually, this can help start an operational model for a virtualized infrastructure, which will be key to a successful TBM / ITFBM implementation.

The below image is from a VMTurbo whitepaper entitled “Applying an Economic Model to IT Management,” which can be downloaded from White Papers & Briefs | vmturbo.com.

VMTurbo_Service Supply Chain Model of the IT Stack

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Help IT Departments Run Like a Business l CIO.com

Posted on by ITconnecter Posted in agile, agility, Apptio, business of IT, CIO, Comsci, CrossWaves, Digital Fuel, information technology, innovation, IT as a business, ITBFM, ITconnecter, ITFM, IVIS, TBM, transformation, VaaS, vision

Actually entitled ” Apptio Helps IT Departments Run Like a Business ,” this article touches on the emerging SW platform choices in the TBM, or ITBFM, space.  Apptio was early out, along with Digital Fuel*, and has since been joined by firms which are still still around (e.g ComSci) or those who aren’t (e.g. Costnomics).  

Regardless of which software is used, per the ex-CIO of Hilton, “Fundamentally, the vision…to leverage cloud-based services to run IT as a business is absolutely critical for all CIOs these days.”

That’s why TBM-readiness and TBM-maturity assessments are so valuable; they can help a CIO start defining their “next steps” and prepare for a short-term POC to understand what value they should expect from TBM.

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93% of leaders believe cloud-based collaboration stimulates innovation l Forbes Insight

Posted on by ITconnecter Posted in agile, agility, business, business of IT, CEO, CIO, cloud, CMO, collaboration, creativity, CrossWaves, Crosswaves Ventures, customer, disruptive, innovation, inspiration, integration, IT as a business, ITconnecter, ITDM, IVIS, leadership, nimble, process, transformation, VaaS, vision

In this Forbes Insights study from the end of last calendar year, there were significant benefits reported by business executives from the use of “cloud-delivered” collaboration.  Of the survey population, only 15% had CIO titles; the remainder included titles such as CEO or COO (23% between the two).

Most impressive were the comments around resultant innovation benefits, internally including process-wise, but more interestingly with customers.  Keeping with the leadership being provided by CMOs in the evolution of IT is that, per this report, the two lead influencers in introducing cloud collaboration internally are sales and marketing.

Specific to innovation, from the report in regards to “consider the ways cloud-based collaboration can…

…Generate profound—or even disruptive—innovation. Fifty-nine percent of executives—93% of “leaders”—believe cloud-based collaboration stimulates innovation. Think of enhanced collaboration as a means of harnessing an ever wider range of functional and geographic resources. Thanks to cloud delivery, collaborative tools are now more ubiquitous. So more pure innovators are now more connected to others who may be more process-oriented, and so on. As more connections are established and nurtured, as greater understanding is achieved, better ideas germinate, with greater chances of reaching those in the best position to make things happen.”

Download (PDF, 587KB)

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part of a TBM focus – Path to a Successful ITFBM Initiative: Part 1 of 3 – Getting Started | ComSci IT Finance Blog

Posted on by ITconnecter Posted in Apptio, business of IT, CIO, Comsci, CrossWaves, Crosswaves Ventures, industry, information technology, innovation, IT as a business, ITconnecter, ITDM, ITFBM, ITFM, ITIL, ITSM, IVIS, SaaS, software, TBM, VaaS, vision

The Path to a Successful ITFBM Initiative: Part 1 of 3 – Getting Started | ComSci IT Finance Blog is the first blog in a three-part series from Jeff Yoder, VP at ComSCI, an IT Financial and Business Management (ITFBM) SaaS provider.

Think of them as a SaaS platform for implementing the cost transparency required for TBM (Technology Business Management) initiatives.

Since ITconnecter’s singular focus as part of CrossWaves Ventures is on helping CIOs implement TBM, we are now investigating companies such as ComSCI, Apptio and ServiceNow.  Our objective is to learn how they complement each other, or compete with each other and where each “fits” as a TBM technology for CIOs, based upon each IT organization’s specific business requirements and use cases (e.g. ITIL, ITSM, TBM maturity indices).

The rest of Jeff’s blog can be viewed at http://www.comsci.com/it-finance-blog/ .

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ITconnecter IT Job of the Week – College Internships @Verizon (!!!!)

Posted on by ITconnecter Posted in BrandIT, business, career, cloud, CrossWaves, education, employment, industry, information technology, inspiration, internship, ITconnecter, IVIS, job, leadership, Verizon

Given the fairly consistent flow of “bad news” in terms of non-paying internships and lack of jobs for college grads, here is a more positive spin on things.

Kudos to Verizon for this kind of opportunity for college students!!!

———————————————————————————————————————————-

Key Locations: Bedminster/Basking Ridge, NJ; Colorado Springs, CO; Temple Terrace, FL; Alpharetta, GA; Orangeburg/White Plains, NY; Irving, TX; Ashburn, VA; Other Verizon Locations

At Verizon, our people are busy changing the world—tackling the toughest challenges in areas like healthcare, energy, public safety, and education. With an outward focus on our customers and integrity at our core, we’re creating technology solutions that help businesses optimize their operations, families connect from anywhere, and whole communities leave smaller, greener footprints. The result? Widespread impact on the way people live, work and play across the entire globe.

That’s why we need the best and the brightest minds to join our team. People like you— determined to push boundaries, drive real change, and help us create a smarter, better future for all.

A Verizon Information Technology role is a chance to channel your drive and enthusiasm. It will be an experience that puts you front and center, allowing you to be hands-on and contributing your creative energy to high-impact projects from the moment you arrive. You’ll have the opportunity to create and work with new technology that will revolutionize communications.

Our Information Technology (IT) roles offer you the opportunity to be involved in meaningful work/projects. You’ll work alongside the best technical minds in the industry and have a unique opportunity to use your business and technical knowledge and skills in an environment dedicated to maintaining industry superiority. You will be introduced to cutting edge tools and resources that will help you grow both professionally and personally. Verizon is continually recognized for its best in class technical training programs that prepare IT team members to engage on the latest technologies. Your work will influence exciting and challenging projects such as 4G LTE, Machine to Machine communications, Cloud Computing, handset application development, eCommerce, self-service and FIOS.

Internship Opportunities Are Available In The Following Areas

  • Software Development
    • SQL, OLAP, SOAP, SQL Server, Oracle, etc.
    • Java, .NET, C, JSP, Javascript, AJAX, XML, etc.
  • IT Project Management
  • Cloud/Data Center Planning and Operations
    • UNIX, Intel, Mainframe
  • TCP/IP, Network design
  • Quality Assurance Testing
  • Information Security
  • End User and Technical Support

Qualifications

 

  • Currently enrolled in a Bachelor’s/Master’s program in Computer Science (CS), Computer Engineering, MIS or equivalent major
  • Currently enrolled in a full time degree program and returning to the program after the completion of the internship
  • 3.0 GPA or greater preferred
  • Working knowledge of software development methodologies, standards and coding best practices. Java/J2EE, XML, and operational procedures.
  • Strong analytical skills and solid communication skills
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office products
  • Enthusiasm and eagerness to learn
  • Previous related internship/work experience preferred

Candidates are encouraged to apply by going to www.verizon.com/campus. Candidates must create an application and apply in order to be considered. Start dates for these internship opportunities are typically in the spring/summer.

Our recruiters will review your application for available opportunities at Verizon. If a possible match is identified, a recruiter will contact you to further discuss your skills and professional interests.

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