VitAL Magazine March-April 2013

it & sUe sK is De ow e ic sh rv rt se po p sU

vital Inspiration for the modern business volume 6 : Issue 4 : March / April 2013

Successful IT projects Keeping it small, focussed and easily understood

IT agility finding a clearer path to greater agility

partnership in the cloud life in the cloud for John lewis partnership’s service management team FEATUrE FoCUS: CMDB IMPlEMEnTATIon: A TAlE oF Two EXTrEMES: 54-57

LEADER

The march of the smartphone Leader

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martphones will make up more than half of all mobile phones shipped worldwide by the end of March, according to new figures from Gartner.

Data from the fourth quarter of 2012 show that smartphone sales hit a high of 44 percent of the overall mobile phone market of 472m and with smartphone sales rising by around 40 percent year-on-year and shipments of ‘featurephones’ fall by 20 percent over the same timeframe, it shows that smartphones are probably overtaking other mobiles even as I type! And this of course doesn’t even start to take into account the volumes of various tablets and pads shipped at the same time.

With this in mind it is no surprise that the implications of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) continue to preoccupy many in our industry. And it is also no surprise that the capacity of our PSTN (public telephony network) is stretched. That said the mooted collapse predicted for the Olympics last summer failed to materialise, and new networks are coming on line (the EE 4G network is in the news for not having generated the bucks it was supposed to for the Government) all the time to take up the challenge.

On a wholly different subject, I have always admired the business model of the John Lewis Partnership ever since I applied for a job working on their staff magazine in the dim and distant past. I didn’t get the job, but I did come away with the feeling that all the Partners in the organisation were pulling in the same direction and the Partnership benefitted greatly as a result. It was recently my pleasure to speak to Simon Skelton the organisation’s IT Service Improvement Manager – see cover story starting on page 10 – he explained how the Partnership Service Management department is pioneering a shift to the cloud within the organisation. What was especially interesting to me was that the move was not primarily – or secondarily – for financial reasons, it was all about the speed and ease with which it could be implemented and updated.

According to Skelton some of the service desk staff are already accessing their cloud solution using smartphones, tablets etc – off their own bats. The lesson is that whether you want it or not, if it involved BYOD, someone in your organisation is probably already doing it, whatever ‘it’ is.

Until next time

Matt Bailey, Editor

If you have any thoughts, feedback, or suggestions on how we can improve VitAL Magazine, please feel free to email me matthew.bailey@31media.co.uk

www.vital-mag.net

March / April 2013 : VitAL 1

vital Inspiration for the modern business

IT & SUE SK IS DE OW E IC SH RV RT SE PO P SU

VitAL : Inspiration for the modern business

vital Inspiration for the modern business Volume 6 : Issue 4 : March / April 2013

CONTENTS

Contents 6 News THE VitAL COVER STORY

10 Partnership in the cloud MATT BAILEY The John Lewis Partnership is a familiar brand in the more upmarket UK high streets and shopping centres and as a ‘Partnership’ all staff have a stake in the company’s success.

Matt Bailey spoke to JLP’s IT Service Improvement Manager, Simon Skelton about how the Partnership is shifting its IT service infrastructure to the cloud.

Successful IT projects Keeping it small, focussed and easily understood

IT agility Finding a clearer path to greater agility

Volume 6 : Issue 4 : March / April 2013

Partnership in the cloud Life in the cloud for John Lewis Partnership’s Service Management team FEATURE FOCUS: CMDB IMPLEMENTATION: A TALE OF TWO EXTREMES: 54-57

Editor Matthew Bailey matthew.bailey@31media.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)203 056 4599 To advertise contact: Grant Farrell grant.farrell@31media.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)203 056 4598 Production & Design Toni Barrington toni.barrington@31media.co.uk Dean Cook dean.cook@31media.co.uk Editorial & Advertising Enquiries Tel: Fax: Email: Web:

+44 (0) 870 863 6930 +44 (0) 870 085 8837 info@31media.co.uk www.vital-mag.net

Printed by Pensord, Tram Road, Pontllanfraith, Blackwood. NP12 2YA © 2013 31 Media Limited. All rights reserved.

VitAL Magazine is edited, designed, and published by 31 Media Limited. No part of VitAL Magazine may be reproduced, transmitted, stored electronically, distributed, or copied, in whole or part without the prior written consent of the publisher. A reprint service is available.

Opinions expressed in this journal do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or VitAL Magazine or its publisher, 31 Media Limited.

VitAL SIGNS – LIFE IN A WORLD WITH IT

13 Not transparency, anti-fragility STEVE WHITE This issue Steve White discusses the need for excellent Problem Management outside of the IT department.

VitAL MANAGEMENT

14 Is it time for Network as a Service?

IAN HARRIS We have Software as a Service, Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service and even Desktop as Service, but has the time finally arrived for Network as a Service. Ian Harris reports.

VitAL COMPANY PROFILE

18 On the right track German tracking system specialist OMNINET is looking to expand its business into new markets including the UK, France, Canada and the USA. VitAL reports.

22 Poor passwords could leave you hacked off DANIEL MITCHELL While companies scramble to put in place ever more sophisticated IT security measures many are still not paying enough attention to something a simple and fundamental as their passwords according to Daniel Mitchell, founder and director of Lifeline IT.

ISSN 1755-6465 Published by:

VitAL Magazine, Proud to be the UKCMG’s Official Publication ITIL® is a Registered Trade Mark, and a Registered Community Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce, and is Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

PRINCE2® is the Registered Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce MSP® is the Registered Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce

26 The cloud: A security perspective PAIGE LEIDIG When your information goes to the cloud, do you really know where it is, who’s hosting it and who has access to it? Ciphercloud’s Paige Leidig provides some pointers on how to make sure your data is protected and secure.

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CONTENTS

Contents 30 Why do we accept IT project failures?

DAVID WALTON At a time when high profile IT failures are a familiar sight in the news we look at how best to ensure success. Keeping the project management technology small, focused and easily understood by everyone is a big part of ensuring a successful IT project according to David Walton.

34 The dummies’ answer to authentication

VitAL EYES ON

49 A prescription for tablets Tablets are becoming ever more ubiquitous, but are they essential or just a hyped-up fad? Jonathan Westlake is on the case.

50 The evolution of the data centre JUSTIN HADLER Although no one ever likes to admit it, the ‘bottom line’ still has considerable sway when it comes to IT choices. Justin Hadler discusses how to simplify network architecture to reduce costs.

VitAL EVENTS

51 The VitAL Guide to the Service Desk & IT Support Show 2013 VitAL looks ahead at what’s on show at happening at the conference during the Service Desk and IT Support Show in April.

DAVE OAKMAN AND ROBERT JOHNSON The onslaught of technology continues and everyone expects the IT department to keep everything running smoothly around the clock.

To meet this challenge, IT needs greater agility, however, agility isn’t well defined and the path to greater agility isn’t clear. Dave Oakman and Robert Johnson share their three steps to agility heaven.

38 The wave of the future Offering both cloud and on-premise solutions, FrontRange specialises in Hybrid ITSM which the company believe is set to be the wave of the future in ITSM.

VitAL PROCESSES

42 Software: the legal dos and don’ts DR MICHAEL SERVIAN The world of software copyright has never looked more complex, with the cloud, Software as a Service and open source software all muddying the waters. Leading information technology and intellectual property lawyer Dr Michael Servian of Freeth Cartwright shares his expertise when it comes to legal matters relating to software copyright.

46 2013 – the year data integration comes of age

54 CMDB implementation: A tale of two extremes ARVIND PARTHIBAN In this feature, Arvind Parthiban, marketing manager – ITSM at ManageEngine, discusses the various ways to successfully implement and deploy the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) and how the rest of the IT organisation can also benefit from its advantages.

64 Secret of my success Pam Maynard, general manager UK & Ireland, Avanade UK.

MIKKO SOIROLA 2013 is set to be the year that data integration grabs the attention of the boardroom and one particular area of focus will be business to business (B2B) data integration says Mikko Soirola. Here he discusses the issue and provides advice as to the steps to consider when looking to implement a B2B data integration strategy. www.vital-mag.net

March / April 2013 : VitAL

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NEWS

‘BIG DATA’ – THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES? “Big data may sound like A emperor’s new clothes but CCORDING TO IBM, 90 percent of data that exists today has been created in the past two years. From social media to digital videos and from internet connected TVs to online credit card transactions, the amount of data being generated each day is mind blowing – 2.5 quintillion bytes of data to be precise. All this information constitues ‘big data’.

“Think of big data as the desk research we had to rely on prior to the advent of ‘the connected world’,” explains James Southgate, Client Services Director, bss digital. “In today’s digitised world, companies have access to information like never before. Finding out what customer’s think about a brand, identifying consumer behaviour or predicting market trends is only a few clicks away. But is ‘big data’ only for companies with big budgets?

you cannot ignore the fact that it does offer businesses – large and small – tremendous opportunities.”

James Southgate No, but up until recently data analysis was expensive – mainly because of the sheer size of the data available. Thankfully organisations with limited resources can now not only buy data from a host of companies including Google and Facebook, open source software is also available to help companies analyse a mountain of information.”

IT struggles to keep up with pace of service demand

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HE RESULTS of a survey of 200 IT professionals that focused on the current state of IT Service Management (ITSM), with a particular focus on what ITIL calls Service Transition have been revealed. In an environment where nearly every business has become application-driven, the survey reveals that IT is struggling to keep up with the resulting pace of service demand. In addition, the survey shows the majority of those polled (92 percent) agreed business groups do not perceive IT as a true partner and in some cases report that IT actually impedes their success.

Further, Development (Dev) and Operations (Ops) blame each other. Three quarters cited operations as a roadblock to agile development, and 72 percent cite development as not supporting the goals of operations. The research shows a clear divide between Development and Operations, helping to explain the aspirational popularity of DevOps this past year.

“There is massive interest in DevOps within enterprises today, as there should be. What our survey revealed, however, is the distance that IT organisations need to evolve to realise the promise of DevOps,” said Amita Abraham, group product marketing manager at Serena Software and the author of the survey report. “This data was telling in that we were able to learn about today’s key ITSM issues, in particular, the need to improve Service Transition, the ITIL set of processes that cover the juncture of Development and Operations.”

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In its simplest form, businesses can even examine the ‘chatter’ taking place on Twitter or Facebook. In fact charities – who have very limited resources – have successfully monitored sentiment on Twitter using software and have intervened to help people.

Similarly businesses can monitor sentiment to identify what consumers may say about a brand or a service.

“Big data may sound like emperor’s new clothes but you cannot ignore the fact that it does offer businesses – large and small tremendous opportunities,” says Southgate.

“With new buzz words, it is easy to feel intimated and dismiss it as nothing more than hot air.

It is not. Big data is certainly not rocket science and as the starting point every business should ask itself: what information do we need? It sounds clichéd but – seek and you shall find.”

Agility is the key to business success B

USINESSES HAVE to consider how the technologies they deploy will help them to create value, support innovation and avoid rigid processes which cannot grow with the business. Research from Forrester shows that in today’s customer-centric age, business requirements keep changing. This means that too often businesses are forced to replace systems that cannot be customised to suit either their organisation or emerging market needs. As a result a new breed of agile applications are required, which can keep up.

James Gay, CEO of ICCM, comments, “Historically, businesses have been forced to choose between two dramatically different approaches. Select an off-the-shelf packaged application which is inflexible, but quick to deploy, or build a more flexible solution on a traditional BPM or ERP platform, which can be slow to deploy and may also prove expensive to update. Neither option is very appealing when market conditions change rapidly and business applications need frequent modification.

The Smart Process Apps approach advocated by Forrester resonates with my experiences in IT Service Management. Most business applications need to provide a mix of collaborative activities and some rigid process governance which should combine industry best practice with specific corporate policies. It is very hard to achieve this using an inflexible packaged application.

“The need for customisation and agility in business applications, as identified by Forrester, is leading many organisations to conclude that they need a new breed of enterprise application platform. The priority must be a platform which provides outof-the-box solutions that can be deployed as quickly as package applications, but which can be easily re-configured and adapted to accommodate specific corporate policies and emerging market needs.”

www.vital-mag.net

NEWS

A £280 million bonus for the UK’s IT industry?

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HE SOFTWARE and IT sector in Britain is missing out on a £280 million boost to its domestic and international prospects, according to Jumpstart, a UK research and development tax credit specialist.

That is the amount which the Edinburghbased company says is unclaimed from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs in R&D tax relief – a sum which could dramatically alter the sector’s business advantage in a brutally competitive global market. The sector’s importance to the UK economy is clear in an

increasingly digital age – the ICT market is worth £140 billion, or 12 percent of GDP, and directly employs in excess of 600,000 staff.

The country is a powerhouse for software development, attracting £930 million a year in software R&D investment from international businesses.

Now Jumpstart is focusing on software and IT enterprises as ideal candidates for R&D recognition. It has calculated that an average initial claim size is likely to be in the region of £97,000 per company. However, as Phill Gillespie of Jumpstart explained,

the ICT sector is particularly challenging since the HMRC guidelines for submissions are unusually complex and contradictory.

“Submissions are complicated by the need for companies to continually update and upgrade to make their own software compatible with advances introduced by major platforms such as Windows and Apple,” he said. “As people in the software industry are only too well aware, the only real consistency is change. It is the nature of these changes which dictate whether projects become eligible for R&D purposes.”

ALMOST HALF OF BUSINESSES HAVE NOT INVESTED IN IT FOR TWO YEARS

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NEW study has revealed that almost half (45 percent), of firms have not invested in business technology for two years, and a third of organisations are choosing to wait until the end of the recession before they implement new IT. The research, from MSM Software, also warns that a lack of IT investment is placing businesses at risk, with 98 percent of IT managers not convinced that their current IT systems are up to scratch, or capable of supporting the business long-term.

Thomas Coles, managing director at MSM Software, says, “While cutting back on IT investment is understandable, it is

a dangerous strategy for organisations to pursue, as no new wave of improvements can be made. This in turn leaves companies vulnerable to being overtaken by competitors and looking outdated in comparison. The recessionary environment has had an impact on many organisations’ approach to IT investment and I believe this is a major reason why doubt is being cast over the suitability of business technology.

“It is extremely concerning that such a vast majority of IT managers believe technology is unfit for the business. This places companies at great risk of system failure, which could introduce turmoil into the organisation,

bringing with it huge repercussions in terms of lost sales, custom and damaged reputation. I urge businesses to re-consider their approach to IT investment; organisations must have systems in place which are robust and fit for the specific requirements of the company.

This is the only way to meet long-term business objectives and ensure competitive advantage both now and when the economic environment improves.”

Meanwhile, Gartner has increased its worldwide IT spending prediction for 2013.

According to the analyst firm IT spending in 2013 will increase 4.2 percent compared with last year, reaching £2.28tn.

Big Data boost for IT jobs

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-SKILLS UK, the Sector Skills Council for Business and Information Technology and SAS have published ‘Big Data Analytics: An assessment of demand for labour and skills, 2012-2017’, which paints a bright future for the big data jobs market, with demand forecast to increase by 92 percent between 2012 and 2017.

With IT employment set to grow by around 2.5 percent per annum on average over the next five years, a rate more than three times higher than that predicted for UK employment as a whole, the big data market has been identified as a particular sweet spot. More specifically, demand for big data staff is forecast to increase by 18 percent per year on average between 2012 and 2017. This would equate to the generation of approximately 132,000 new job opportunities in total by 2017, at which point

8 VitAL : March / April 2013

annual demand for big data staff is forecast to be in the region of 28,000 positions per annum.

The most commonly advertised roles for big data staff in the third quarter of 2012 were developers (42 percent), architects (10 percent), analysts (eight percent) and administrators (six percent). The corresponding technical skills required for big data positions as a whole were NoSQL, Oracle, Java and SQL while the technical process and methodological requirements most often cited by recruiters were in relation to Agile Software Development, Test Driven Development (TDD), Extract Transform and Load (ETL) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).

The value of individuals able to offer a good mix of these skills is recognised by employers, and on average the salaries advertised for big data positions were around 20 percent higher

than that for IT jobs as a whole. A significant pay premium was also observed for all of the major roles demanded by big data recruiters i.e. developers, architects, analysts and administrators.

Karen Price, CEO at e-skills UK, comments: “The rapid growth in demand for big data professionals highlighted by this report is illustrative of the increasing importance placed upon big data and analytics by employers operating both within the UK and throughout the rest of the world. The potential to develop competitive advantage and new business opportunities through the exploitation of valuable data assets is immense, but will only be realised if employers are able to draw upon a pool of high calibre IT specialists offering the required range of technical, analytical and business skills identified by this research.” www.vital-mag.net

COVER STORY

Partnership in the cloud The John Lewis Partnership is a familiar brand in the more upmarket UK high streets and shopping centres and as a ‘Partnership’ all staff have a stake in the company’s success. Matt Bailey spoke to JLP’s IT Service Improvement Manager, Simon Skelton about how the Partnership is shifting its IT service infrastructure to the cloud.

10 VitAL : March / April 2013

www.vital-mag.net

COVER STORY

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HE JOHN Lewis Partnership is a visionary business, boldly putting the happiness of its ‘Partners’ at the centre of everything it does. The 81,000 permanent staff own the 39 John Lewis shops across the UK (30 department stores and nine John Lewis at home outlets), 290 Waitrose supermarkets, an online and catalogue business, johnlewis.com, as well as a production unit and a farm. The business has annual gross sales of over £8.7bn and while many of its competitors are struggling JLP is bucking trends and going from strength to strength.

Keeping the IT infrastructure that underpins this vast business going is no mean feat and until a couple of years ago the service desk was doing it all with a mish-mash of systems and a legacy mainframe backbone that was in need of an update.

With 23 years of experience in IT, JLP’s IT Service Improvement Manager, Simon Skelton joined the Partnership in 2001, leading its Strategy and Architecture team for six years before moving to the ‘sharp end’ of the business: managing the Service Desk, providing second line IT support for all JL department stores and johnlewis.com.

After experiencing the difficulties the team faced with outdated tools and undocumented processes, he took the opportunity to join a large IT Transformation Programme, and lead a strategic change to improve ITSM across all IT Service Desks in the Partnership. This work has continued with a year spent in the newly formed Group IT function, and recently his team has moved to the Service Delivery department within the ‘Partnership Services’ division, which is the Business Service Centre of the John Lewis Partnership.

Organic growth Simon Skelton explains the IT service infrastructure he took on when he started the project. “In the service management department we had numerous different existing systems - some mainframe-based, some bespoke, some 20 years old and some ten years old - which had never been upgraded to the latest versions, so we had various little systems accrued along the way. In one team of 25 people there were seven different logging tools for example. These kinds of systems and solutions tend to grow organically when you haven’t got a real overarching strategy. www.vital-mag.net

“We really needed to get into the modern era and get a tool that could work across the whole of the Partnership – the Waitrose supermarkets and the John Lewis department stores – across all our IT support areas,” explains Skelton. “A tool that could work enterprise-wide and could deal with the kind of volume of work we needed to address and consolidate it all.”

Apart from any of these other issues, the existing tools JLP had weren’t a good fit around the ITIL concept. “Incident,Problem, and Knowledge Management, all those things were just bedded into the old mainframe system,” says Skelton. “When I looked back for the oldest incident, it was from 1989! It was still open, which was interesting. It was obviously being held on the system as a bit of knowledge, but was clearly no longer an incident and shouldn’t have been there, but the tools didn’t have the ability to retain knowledge and this was obviously a way of making sure that it stayed in the system.”

The cloud option “We didn’t go out specifically looking for a cloud-based tool,” says Skelton. “When we started sifting through all the 80 to 300 vendors in the market we used advisory services like Gartner’s Magic Quadrant and things like that to help us arrive at a shortlist of key players and ServiceNow really impressed everyone the most. We looked at all the big players, both on premise and cloud and ServiceNow came out as the top rated by all our stakeholders which then presented us with the challenge: ‘Are we ready for cloud?’“ As a potential pioneer inside JLP for cloud adoption, the service desk was a good option. “The steer from our IT directors was that this would be a good toe in the water,” says Skelton. “Within JLP we were the first major cloud-based implementation and that made sense because we are not front line, not customer-facing, we’re behind the scenes. But we are an important part of the company and we are ‘large-scale’ so we are a good place to start with cloud implementation.

“We pioneered the cloud approach within the Partnership and there were a number of questions we had to answer,” says Skelton, “questions about security, resilience, availability, capacity, performance and data ownership. We also tried to compare cost models between cloud and on-premise, but it’s very hard to draw a clear difference

“When I looked back for the oldest incident, it was from 1989! It was still open, which was interesting. It was obviously being held on the system as a bit of knowledge, but was clearly no longer an incident and shouldn’t have been there, but the tools didn’t have the ability to retain knowledge and this was obviously a way of making sure that it stayed in the system.”

March / April 2013 : VitAL 11

COVER STORY

between them when you add in all the factors.

Cost wasn’t the primary factor anyway, it was more about whether it was appropriate.”

The main positive factor was ease of upgrading. “We have had two or three upgrades already in the one and a half years that we have been using the cloud system and while it’s never entirely pain-free, it has taken a very short time to get up and running,” says Skelton. “With many of the other players in the market when we looked at customer references, upgrades were an 18 month project. We’re doing it, including testing, in a few weeks.”

It was also important that the system remained current. “I wanted a tool that wouldn’t stagnate again for another 10 or 20 years,” said Skelton. “If we had the tool on-premise I would have to put a business case together for every time we upgraded. We are currently up to date with the latest version.”

Security In survey after survey, the biggest concern with adopting a cloud approach is security and JLP were no different in this respect.

“The biggest challenge was around security,” confirms Skelton. “We got our IT security team involved and initially they weren’t 100 percent sure what questions to ask because it is a new environment, so they used their set of questions that they would use for any internal system and we let them digest all the information that came back from ServiceNow. They said that it looked as good as what we would do ourselves and possibly better in some areas. But we’re not putting sensitive customer data in the cloud, so from an IT support perspective it seemed like a good balance.”

Change Obviously the move to the cloud was a culture change for the whole department. “The biggest culture change for service desk staff was moving to a situation where Incident, Change, Problem and Knowledge Management are separate but interlinked concepts from the basic ticketing system that had been used 12 VitAL : March / April 2013

before, “says Skelton. “In terms of the system it’s really a question of moving from a full client installed system to a browser-based system, but this is almost part and parcel of everyday life these days, we all use browser-based systems all the time.”

Another major change was telephony integration. “It turned out to be really simple and I wish we’d done it earlier. Now, as soon as somebody calls up we know who they are because of the VoIP directory which brings up the users details in ServiceNow, along with all their previous Incidents and Requests, and this really changes the tone of the conversation.”

The new system also had to integrate with the mainframe batch systems and alerting overnight. “That was one of the core things we had in our old system and we needed to emulate that, so there were some challenges around making the old mainframe system communicate with the new cloud-based one.

We had to negotiate firewalls and various other things. But we successfully managed to do it and now all our alerts from our batch suites and online mainframe CICS transactions all go straight into the cloud system.”

Mobility In theory having your system available through a browser should make it accessible to all ‘smart’ mobile devices. “It’s not something we have actively implemented as yet, but there is a mobile version of ServiceNow and we found that even though we didn’t promote it, people were already logging in on their Blackberries and getting the mobile version and looking at tickets,” says Skelton. “We haven’t really explored it much as yet, but there is definitely an appetite for this and for an iPhone app. You can always use the browser on a mobile device to view it but people tend to prefer an interface that has been designed with a mobile device screen in mind. It is something we would be keen on exploring in the future. The benefits of using a tablet device in store are obvious.”

Pros and cons While the ease of upgrade was a key benefit, the speed of starting up the project in the

first place was a big issue. “Within a week of signing the contract we had our Live and test instances available to us because they were just spinning up their virtual servers and the software was there, says Skelton.

“Obviously we had to tailor and configure it to our needs but really the speed and ease of startup was key.”

While cost wasn’t the primary factor for JLP, the cost savings from cloud adoption are potentially significant. “It’s always difficult to know and because we were previously working with a mainframe system that we only used a part of, you can’t really rationalise that and because the software was bespoke, we weren’t paying for licenses,” says Skelton, “so from that point of view it wasn’t a saving, it was an investment. But we have become more efficient, our old system really was affecting how efficiently we could work.”

When you use the cloud a certain loss of control is to be expected. “To some degree there is a loss of control over the performance aspects,” says Skelton. “Because it’s running through a browser over the net we have had a few small issues with performance and access to the system which were down to a problem with our ISP. But for as much as you lose out because there are more links in the chain, you also gain because we could, if we had a problem, open up our system and allow people access from home. There are upsides and downsides and while I would love to have total control over everything, it does mean we can have our monthly review meetings with the supplier and they sort it out. We also don’t have any problems with capacity.”

As JLP comes to terms with the benefits of cloud adoption Simon Skelton has a list of future improvements and developments to be getting on with. “We are only just starting down the cloud journey and I have an enormous list of things I want to do. We have only just started adopting IT service management and ITIL best practises so we are looking next at asset and configuration management.

We are also looking at really pushing the self-service request portal and posting an online service catalogue.” VitAL www.vital-mag.net

VitAL SIGNS: LIFE IN THE WORLD WITH IT

Not transparency, anti-fragility This issue Steve White discusses the need for excellent Problem Management outside of the IT department.

We have only just started adopting IT service management

T

aleb’s recently published book introduces a mash-up word to express the previously

indescribable concept of ‘Anti-Fragility’. It’s the opposite of fragility, and expresses the idea that

and ITIL best practises

some things get stronger through experiencing just the right amount of stress. Too much stress and the thing is damaged, but no stress at all is

so we are looking next at asset and configuration management. We are also looking at really pushing the selfservice request portal and posting an online service catalogue.”

also harmful as there’s no nudge for Continuous Process Improvement.

Problem Management faces horrible barriers to success, and one of them is the abuse of positional power.

We are re-living the Tenerife Airport disaster of 27th March 1977 every day in workplaces across the country. The death-toll of the deadliest crash in aviation history was 583, and a suspected major contributory factor to the disaster was the unquestionable decision of the very senior KLM Pilot.

The final moments of the flight deck conversation (extracted from www.pbs.org) give an echo of the moment when the Flight Engineer did not speak up: The following messages are audible in the KLM cockpit, causing the KLM flight engineer, even as the plane has begun rolling down the runway, to question the pilot: 1706:25.47 Air Traffic Control: Ah – Papa Alpha 1736 report runway clear.

1706:25.59 Pan Am Radio Transmisson: Okay, we’ll report when we’re clear.

1706:31.69 Air Traffic Control: Thank you.

1706:32.43 KLM Flight Engineer: Is he not clear, then?

1706:34.10 KLM Pilot: What do you say?

1706:34.15 Pan Am Radio Transmission: Yup. 1706:34.70 KLM Flight Engineer: Is he not clear, that Pan American?

1706:35.70 KLM Pilot: Oh, yes. [emphatically] I fully accept that it is conjecture that a contributory cause of the accident is linked to the KLM pilot’s very senior position. Neither the co-pilot nor the flight engineer question the pilot again.

The impact occurred about 13 seconds later.

I also accept that it is my conjecture that a contributory cause of the recent quality of care concerns at the Staffordshire Hospital is an example of positional power interfering with the proper application of Problem Management (as defined in IT support terms, but applied to a non-IT environment).

Staff knew things were wrong and were powerless to take action.

If an industry is to become anti-fragile, it must take failure seriously and let no disaster go to waste. This is not the lip-service of “we’ll learn from our mistakes and make sure they never happen again” as spouted again and again by politicians and leaders of industry. This is deep and dirty, sweating the details in a no-blame culture (an actual no-blame culture, not the no-blame culture that appears only on the HR webpage) to find the root cause and causes of failures and actually put in the work to fix them.

At the time of writing, Boeing 787s are still grounded as the research into the battery failures is ongoing.

The airline industry has a fundamental culture of antifragility – it gains strength through finding errors and fixing errors, and it only gains our trust by conducting its business in this way.

It has been recently said that we have exchanged trust in our national institutions for a need for transparency. This need is misguided by journalists – they can call for transparency because it makes their jobs easier, but it will not build trust in the institutions.

What we actually need in order to trust our national institutions is a fundamental strategy of anti-fragility; learning from disasters and actually putting the fixes in place – or entering into a dialogue with the public about why a fix cannot be implemented.

This demands that the concept as understood in the IT world of Problem Management (including the selection and application of fixes) is applied to businesses, national institutions and Government.

We do not need transparency, we need excellent Problem Management. VitAL Contact Steve White at: stevescolumn@vital-mag.net March / April 2013 : VitAL 13

VitAL MANAGEMENT

Is it time for Network as a Service?

Has the time finally arrived for Network as a Service.

Ian Harris, EMEA system integrators leader at Ciena reports.

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ODAY CONSUMERS and business people prefer to use what they want, when they want. As a result, many ondemand services have been created, from on-demand TV and movies for consumers to on-demand software and printing services for businesses.

Going even further, IT organisations now have access to on-demand data centre services, known as cloud computing Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). On-demand data centre capacity can be organised as a private cloud, either with completely organisation-owned facilities, or with some hybrid combination using privately allocated resources in cloud data centres. Alternatively, public cloud IaaS provides an almost limitless supply of first come, first serve payas-you-go computing capacity.

According to a recent Gartner survey, a growing number of companies are using the cloud for production computing (19 percent) and public cloud storage services (20 percent), resulting in an estimated $109 billion overall cloud market in 2012, growing at 20 percent.

IaaS refers to server computing and storage resources offered by a cloud service provider.

Server computing is typically offered in

14 VitAL : March / April 2013

measured CPU and memory ‘instances’ or virtual machines, on-demand, out of a pool of resources that can rapidly expand or contract. Moving production workloads to the cloud results in savings in infrastructure costs and increased productivity with staff and users. Storage in the cloud includes basic object storage (eg, for files), block storage (eg, for databases), and emerging cloud storage services for archival and data warehouse applications.

Connectivity Since the cloud is only as good as the network that supports it, more attention now is coming to focus on the connectivity between data centres for both access to IaaS services, and for workload orchestration between facilities.

The cloud connectivity requirement results in an on-demand networking capability that matches the on-demand cloud services for compute and storage: the Network as a Service (NaaS).

The promise of bandwidth on-demand has not yet been fully realised, not because of the technology, but more due to the lack of a complete ecosystem offering. Now new technology is becoming available using

software to virtualise the network, and program the network by de-coupling the network control from the topology. At the same time, user requirements and interest are driving the rapid evolution of cloud services to build a complete ecosystem for on-demand compute, storage and network. Together these events now promise to make NaaS a reality.

For example, Ciena recently commissioned a third party survey that found that an increase in bandwidth usage was the top challenge affecting network connectivity planning and requirements. Bandwidth usage was a concern for at least four in ten organisations across all vertical industries such as finance, media & entertainment, utilities and manufacturing.

To help address increases in bandwidth usage and related costs, the survey results showed that more than eight in ten organisations are interested in Network as a Service – a variable network connectivity service that can dynamically adapt to off-peak and peak requirements.

Figure 1 shows how this interest is very high in each country, especially in Germany with 56 percent of the respondents being very interested. www.vital-mag.net

VitAL MANAGEMENT

Service providers are responding by either adding network to their cloud services, or by adding cloud to their network services. Many organisation mergers and acquisitions have

Fig.1 Variable network interest per country

The interest in a variable network connectivity service was also high in each business sector as shown in Figure 2. More than 80 percent of organisations in the Finance, Manufacturing, Logistics, Business Services, Media & Entertainment and Pharmaceutical sectors were very or somewhat interested.

network. The cloud access network is used for workload bursting to a cloud service provider. The cloud backbone network is a high performance connection between cloud data centres for workload balancing. An intelligent, dynamic network for cloud access and backbone would help keep costs in hand

recently occurred and further work is still needed for seamless integration, partnering and service differentiation.

Fig.2 Variable network interest by sector

In addition to the potential for lower costs, these organisations also felt that the ability to tailor network services to specific company requirements was a very important factor.

Service provision Service providers are responding by either adding network to their cloud services, or by adding cloud to their network services. Many organisation mergers and acquisitions have recently occurred and further work is still needed for seamless integration, partnering and service differentiation.

Based on these survey results, these new service providers would be well served by providing variable network connectivity for both the cloud access and cloud backbone 16 VitAL : March / April 2013

while also enabling organizations to tailor network and workloads for peak efficiency and performance.

As a result in-house data centres can be seamlessly network connected to co-location or managed services facilities, and to ondemand cloud data centres for a multi-site, hybrid data centre model. This model supports full mobility and orchestration of workloads so that virtual machines and storage operate in the most efficient data centre location. This ‘data centre without walls’ model enables IT organisations to minimise costs while also providing improved services. Network as a Service, with dynamic capacity, intelligent workload orchestration and on-demand performance is coming soon. VitAL www.vital-mag.net

IncidentMonitor™ Understanding Your Service Desk Needs Over 13 years of customer experience bundled in one solution to help centralise information, prioritise issues aimed to increase control, productivity and improve communication and service excellence.

IT Managers are struggling with the flood of information and questions, making it difficult to prioritise and organise, impacting customer satisfaction and service levels. 81% of IT Managers that excel in customer satisfaction and service level attainment are outperforming their counterparts. IncidentMonitor™ allows you to maximise your capabilities and competencies in customer service, whilst maintaining your profitability.

What our customers say: “The Service desk team keeps our system up to date as IncidentMonitor™ helps minimise admin. An easy overview in combination with automated actions like on screen tips of KB articles, matching tickets and auto categorisation makes working with it fun.”

“The personalised dashboard visualises my workload, while my manager has a high level view and so does not need to ask me for statistics every morning!”

“Monitor 24-7’s service is great. Their approach of developers participating in customer support helps to quickly answer questions and shows a real customer focused approach in new releases.”

Key Features ITIL PinkVerify for 10 processes included Windows, browser, mobile, chat interface included New ticket wizard with onscreen KB tips and matching requests Auto categorising while logging Quick links SLA filters Personalised dashboards and interactive reporting Unlimited process design Easy configuration and administration of back end Happy and loyal customer base and service team Direct access to Monitor 24-7 development team for advanced service

Engage. Manage. Improve.

www.monitor24-7.com

Monitor 24-7 Inc. PO Box 4530 Maidenhead SL60 1GG +44 (0)20 8123.3126

VitAL PROFILE

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On the right track German tracking system specialist OMNINET is looking to expand its business into new markets including the UK, France, Canada and the USA.

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RIGIN A L LY FOUNDED a s a partnership in 1993, German company OMNINET says its primary aim is to satisfy customers by providing qualitative significant products as well as first class service. To achieve these aims the company says it listens to and implements the wishes and requirements of its customers in terms of product content, quality and punctuality.

“Our commitment to our customers does not end with the signing of the contract, it begins with it,” Dr. Joachim Lenzer, CEO of OMNINET, states.

The company has undergone continual and stable growth since it became a GmbH in 1995 and it now has over 100 employees in Europe, in the fields of development, production, sales and administration.

According to OMNINET, all its employees have extensive training and many years of experience in the market at their disposal.

“As a firm providing opportunities for vocational training in the dual system, we also invest actively in the collective future of our business, our employees and our customers,” Michael Geyer, country manager UK, says.

The company’s principal product is OMNITRACKER, a professional helpdesk, service management, CRM and ‘Action and Request’ tracking system, which is applicable to a wide range of different service organisations and applications, and can be adapted very quickly, easily and economically to suit customer’s systems and business processes.

The company’s portfolio of products and services include individual software products and the related service packages alongside the OMNITRACKER eService system using its qualified software and systems engineers, as well as experienced project managers.

OMNINET designs and develops information systems for critical business processes. The company says its strength lies in bringing software of high quality, with cost effective www.vital-mag.net

and punctual delivery, into use within the customer’s business.

Through flexible licensing models, scalability and open interfaces, OMNITRACKER is perfectly suitable for use in businesses of all sizes. Combining the easy installation of OMNITRACKER with integrated efficiency increase leads to a very short amortisation time (ROI) of investment costs. The strategic focus of OMNITRACKER consists in the understanding and optimising of systems and business processes respectively.

VitAL: What are the origins of the company; how did it start and develop; how has it grown and how is it structured?

OMNINET: Founded in 1995, OMNINET GmbH is a privately owned and independent company. The headquarters of the business is in Germany, but there are subsidiaries in Belgium, Russia, Austria, Switzerland, and the USA. Partners are located in Cyprus, the Ukraine, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Canada, Poland, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Nigeria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. OMNINET has over 100 employees worldwide.

VitAL: What is the company’s specialist area or product group? Is that specialisation to make the best use of skills in the company or because it fits the company’s world view or has it simply evolved?

OMNINET: OMNINET’s business is focussed on its core product, OMNITRACKER. OMNITRACKER is business process software that offers a set of ‘out-of-the-box’ application templates based on the same technological platform. OMNITRACKER templates are uniquely adaptable, programming skills are not required.

One of the most recognised out-of-the-box application templates is OMNITRACKER I T S e r v i c e M a n a g e m e n t C e n t e r.

OMNITRACKER is a professional helpdesk,

The introduction of ITIL certification certainly influenced the company’s position in the IT market.

And OMNITRACKER simultaneously answers the demand for integrated business process platforms in addition to IT Service Management.

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VitAL PROFILE

Due to increasing requests from the market for ITIL-compliant tools, the introduction of ITIL certification certainly influenced the company’s position in the IT market.

Service Management, CRM and ‘Action and Request’ tracking system, which is applicable to a wide range of different service organisations and applications, and can be adapted very quickly, easily and economically to suit the customer’s systems and business processes.

OMNITRACKER IT Service Management Center has earned several ITIL certifications including Pink Elephant, APM Group, SERVIEW and ZAO IT-Expert Group. Other standard templates extend OMNITRACKER’s process coverage to areas like Project Management, Requirements Management, Systems Engineering, Stock & Order Management and Risk Management. OMNINET claims to be the only vendor in the IT Service Management market with the ability to cover all core processes of modern IT organisations with one graphic user interface (GUI)-driven workflow environment. The user interface can be operated intuitively and is designed to meet industry standards. This ensures that users can adapt effectively to any new tasks.

T-Systems, Daimler, STRABAG, but there are many more.

Organisation like helpdesks and call centres, sales organisations, development teams and other service-based organisations should really be helped by OMNITRACKER. Businesses that are processing incoming service queries such as fault, problem or error reports, complaints, customer contact and sales requests using a variety of sources and media such as telephone, email, web, that striving to optimise their processes will find that it really helps them.

VitAL: How has this specialisation influenced the way the company does business?

OMNINET: Due to increasing requests from the market for ITIL-compliant tools, the introduction of ITIL certification certainly influenced the company’s position in the IT market. And OMNITRACKER simultaneously answers the demand for integrated business process platforms in addition to IT Service Management.

VitAL: How does the company communicate with vendors and customers? Do you exploit the capabilities of new media when looking for business?

OMNINET: New media channels are playing an increasing role in communicating with our customers. We make use of social media channels like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, XING, Google+, Slideshare and Youtube, as well as posting regular blog entries on our web site. OMNINET also has an online OMNITRACKER users’ forum, where users can log in and share advice and best practise.

There is also our online support portal where registered OMNITRACKER customers have access to the OMNITRACKER Web Gateway and can view the status of support requests of

VitAL: Who are the company’s main customers today and in the future?

OMNINET: Our customers include several hundred prestigious and internationallyoriented organisations including Siemens, Union Investment, German Telecom, 20 VitAL : March / April 2013

VitAL: What is the company’s business model, ie, does it select a market and then design solutions to meet the needs of that market or does it specialise in particular solutions and seek markets where those solutions are needed?

O M N I N E T: G e n e r a l l y s p e a k i n g , OMNITRACKER is not tied to any one industry or business sector. Due to its flexibility it can be adapted to any customers’ needs in any sector or industry.

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their own organisation and submit new queries; while our OMNINET partner portal serves our partners as a platform for supporting them with technical and sales support.

Face to face contact with the user is also very important. We hold an annual OMNITRACKER Customer Day; this year it takes place from the 18th to the 19th September.

VitAL: What does the product range cover?

OMNINET: OMNITRACKER delivers out of the box process templates – ready to use and certified (Pink Verify, OGC, Serview) and is completely customisable (code-free) and scalable according to the need of mid-size to international operating enterprise companies.

Every process in OMNITRACKER can be easily adapted to the individual needs – either by OMNINET staff or by customers themselves.

OMNITRACKER templates cover all core areas of modern IT organisations like IT Service Management, Project Management, Requirements Management, Systems Engineering Center and much more.

OMNITRACKER is multi-client capable, so a helpdesk or service provider, for example, can perform simultaneous services with a single OMNITRACKER system for a number of different customers. The data security is thereby warranted through the system.

Through open and powerful interfaces, OMNITRACKER allows users to integrate easily and flexibly into the existing IT infrastructure.

In this way, it allows data exchange without programming expenditure in different formats. Additionally, through the integrated COM-Automation programming interfaces, OMNITRACKER can integrate easily with nearly all commercially available systems, for example Microsoft Backoffice products.

Additionally, comprehensive analysis, reports and statistics with various forms www.vital-mag.net

of depiction (tables, bar charts and histograms, pie charts, graphs, Gant charts, funnel charts) can be generated directly from OMNITRACKER. OMNITRACKER supports the servicedesk, which guarantees the reachability of the IT organisation. It is the single point of contact (SPOC) for users and keeps them updated.

It coordinates the downstream support organisations and takes on the task of other processes, eg, incident management, change management, configuration management. The service desk is not a process. Among other things, it documents the customer’s queries and monitors their processing.

VitAL: What is your view of the current state of IT Service Management and IT in business and the economy in general, the challenges and the opportunities?

OMNINET: OMNINET has been weathering the economic crisis very well. Indeed, for the past four years, since the beginning of the crisis, the company has undergone continuous growth. Our turnover has grown by more than 20 percent in that time and the number of people in the company and most importantly our customer base have been growing too.

VitAL: Has this grown been ‘organic’, or was it a result of acquisition and how much growth is expected in the future?

OMNINET: The growth we have experienced over the last four years has been 100 percent organic, constant stable growth. We intend to grow the company further by raising international brand awareness in our target markets including the UK, the USA, Canada and France just to name but a few.

New media channels are playing an increasing role in communicating with our customers. We make use of social media channels like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, XING, Google+, Slideshare and Youtube, as well as posting regular blog entries on our web site.

VitAL: OMNINET, thank you very much. www.omninet.de March / April 2013 : VitAL 21

VitAL MANAGEMENT

Poor Passwords could leave you hacked off While companies scramble to put in place ever more sophisticated IT security measures many are still not paying enough attention to passwords according to Daniel Mitchell, founder and director of Lifeline IT.

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www.vital-mag.net

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I

T’S BEEN more than two years since the UK government announced its ambitious multi-million pound plan to tackle cyber crime, yet UK businesses are still failing to get some of the basics right when it comes to IT security.

While companies may have invested in sophisticated firewalls and anti-virus protection, it’s their own employees who may be putting them at risk – an alarming one in five businesses have admitted using ‘password’ as their password, despite ranking security as vital to their work.

This worrying admission is just one of the findings of the Lifeline IT annual trends survey, which questioned companies on their IT and technology practices. The research revealed that over a third admitted using their date of birth as part of their password and a further 15 percent use a family member’s or friend’s name, with 13 percent a family or friend’s birthday.

Cyber crime is a very real and growing threat to businesses, with the government ranking it as one of the top four risks to national security.

A third of the world’s population now uses the internet and it’s key to global commerce, communications and entertainment. But as the world’s dependence on cyber space increases, so are the opportunities for crime.

It’s therefore concerning to see that companies are leaving themselves wide open to cyber criminals by failing to adhere to the obvious safeguards when it comes to online security.

Poor password practice Our research unearthed some shocking password practices amongst employees - 30 percent leave passwords on a post-it note by their desk, making unauthorised access into computers and sensitive information, such as bank details, easier. As well as on their desks, the poll also found that over a third store their passwords in their mobiles and seven per cent with the instructions that came with their PC or laptop.

We know that even strong passwords are becoming vulnerable to hacking, due to factors such as re-use, advances in hardware and software used to crack passwords, and nonrandom distribution of characters. Inadequate www.vital-mag.net

password protection could result in billions of pounds of losses, declining confidence in internet transactions and significant damage to the reputations of the companies compromised by attacks.

Organisations need to establish better password security policies - a lack of rules regarding password expiration, minimum length, use of the full symbol set, and password resets leave systems vulnerable and need to be strengthened. In addition, every organisation should continually monitor its systems for hacking attempts and be ready to respond.

As a company that handles the IT and infrastructure for businesses across retail, finance and property, it’s crucial that we work with our clients to educate and inform them on best practice when it comes to IT security.

How to ensure good password practice From our experience, passwords are often the area where people make basic errors. When it comes to good password practice, there are some simple steps companies and their employees can follow.

It helps to understand that common attempts to ‘break passwords’ rely on dictionary based attacks, ‘brute force’ sequential character attempts or most likely a combination of the two with specialist software.

To defend against brute force attacks, longer passwords are needed, changed with reasonable regularity, perhaps every couple of months. To defend against dictionary attacks, passwords should be free from ‘dictionary words’, names, places, etc. Therefore, best passwords should be a random set of upper and lower case letters, symbols and numbers, but avoid very obvious substitutions such as ‘pa$$word’ or ‘pa55word’.

Aim for a minimum of eight characters for most purposes, but consider using longer more complex passwords to protect really sensitive information. Finally, use different passwords for different applications.

It’s always a challenge coming up with something complex yet memorable, try starting with first letters from words of a phrase, book title or favourite film then mix in

While companies may have invested in sophisticated firewalls and anti-virus protection, it’s their own employees who may be putting them at risk – an alarming one in five businesses have admitted using ‘password’ as their password, despite ranking security as vital to their work.

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VitAL MANAGEMENT

Mobile devices are great ways of enabling flexible working, but they also bring with them risks. Again, it’s often individuals who fall short of some of the basic IT security. There’s no point having belt and braces protection on your work PC or laptop, if you are connecting to public wireless networks with unknown security.

24 VitAL : March / April 2013

a couple of symbols and numbers. Consider hp(atooTP)5 – it looks complex, but if your favourite book happened to be Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth book in the series, then this will be easily remembered, yet very secure, especially with the addition of the two bracket symbols.

Remember also that other methods are frequently used to attempt to learn passwords, including ‘phishing’ type attacks where emails are sent purporting to be from a bank or other service provider. These try to trick victims into providing user names and passwords on a convincing but phoney version of the actual provider’s site. Always be sure you are on a genuine site by entering the website address directly into your browser address bar rather than clicking links in emails.

Key findings from the trends survey Our annual IT trends survey also looked at how organisations are using technology to enhance their business, and the opportunities and threats this presents. Companies from a range of sectors, including finance, retail, education, government and banking, took part in the poll and it’s interesting to see how technology usage has shifted over the last few years. Not surprisingly, nearly two-thirds said the fax was the technology they used the least, with printer usage also declining as more businesses attempt to reduce their carbon footprint and costs.

How we work has also changed. Although the office is where the majority of workers are based, nearly half of those questioned (43 percent) spend a substantial amount of time on the road, working remotely. This supports the increasing use of mobile devices – our research showed that smartphones (44 percent) are starting to overtake landlines (41 percent) in the workplace, backing up the global prediction that shipments of smartphones should exceed one billion this year.

Tablets are also becoming more commonplace in business, with almost a quarter of those surveyed saying they regularly use this device. Mobile devices are great ways of enabling flexible working, but they also bring with them risks. Again, it’s often individuals who fall short of some of the basic IT security. There’s no point having belt and braces protection on your work PC or laptop, if you are connecting to public wireless networks with unknown security.

Another concern when it comes to mobile devices is that it is easy for them to be stolen and, because of their limited processing capabilities the encrypting solution employed may not be as strong as their desktop counterparts.

Home working was another area that the survey looked at, with well over a quarter of us working at home on a regular basis.

Although home working has undoubtedly brought many benefits to both employers and employees, it now means the divide between home and office is blurred, and workers could be using a shared family PC that does not have the same IT safeguards in place as a work computer, which can be a concern.

One of the encouraging findings of our survey was that organisations are acknowledging the importance of IT and technology, with over half rating it as essential. Companies are now even embracing social media as part of their business operations, with LinkedIn being regularly used by 86 percent of those surveyed, and a further 84 percent using Twitter and 76 percent Facebook.

Cause for concern IT security is an area of concern for companies – seven out of 10 ranked it as crucial and more than three-quarters admitted they won’t cut corners when it comes to investing in security measures such as firewalls and antivirus software.

It’s a step in the right direction to see that businesses are placing greater importance on the role of IT, as 2013 is set to bring some major advancements in technology, with the expansion of 4G across the UK and password security being tightened up – perhaps even heading into the sphere of biometrics.

The fast moving pace of technology can be challenging for companies – in fact threequarters of those questioned in our research admitted that they think IT has become more confusing over the last five years, with over half saying they need more help with it.

This is supported by the fact that an increasing number of businesses choose to outsource their IT – over a third of companies in our poll are now using external IT companies to manage their systems and infrastructure.

That’s a trend we have seen over the past few years - our clients come to us needing more support and expertise as they integrate technology into their everyday business. VitAL www.lifelineit.net www.vital-mag.net

VitAL MANAGEMENT

The cloud: A security perspective When your information goes to the cloud, do you really know where it is? Ciphercloud’s Paige Leidig provides some pointers on how to protect it.

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HERE’S NO doubt about it – cloud computing is growing, both as an external business tool, and as a way to better manage IT in the enterprise. But, as we tune into the benefits of this computing paradigm, it is important to understand the potential risks, so that we can protect ourselves against them.

According to research company Gartner, the worldwide market for cloud computing will total $207 billion by 2016. In 2012 alone, it said that the market l grew 20 percent to become a $109 billion industry.

26 VitAL : March / April 2013

Security challenges As we move to a cloud-enabled future, what challenges stand in our way?

Security is a particular issue for cloud adopters. In its 2012 Global Information Security Survey, Ernst & Young found that cloud computing was one of the main drivers for business model innovation and IT service delivery. 59 percent of respondents said that they used or planned to use cloud services. However, 38 percent said that they had not taken any measures to mitigate risks. www.vital-mag.net

VitAL MANAGEMENT

These risks include not only unauthorised access to information including files and sensitive data, but also authorised, legal access which may nevertheless pose potential risks to both companies and their clients. How do these risks work? Let me explain.

One of the biggest issues facing cloud computing customers is data residency. A benefit – and a curse – of cloud computing is that customers are not meant to know much about how their data is stored and processed.

They are paying a company to take that headache away from them, looking after the maintenance of various servers and storage arrays, and simply delivering client information as and when needed, cheaply, and effectively.

But this black box approach to information management can leave companies unsure about where their data is being stored.

Gartner analysts point out that many jurisdictions have regulations that may not allow the storage of sensitive and or personal data in some foreign countries. Even if they do allow it, they may impose security constraints on those companies that do so.

Indeed, the UK’s Information Commissioner has such a rule. The 1998 Data Protection Act says that personal data “shall not be transferred to any country or territory outside the European Economic Area (EEA) unless that country or territory ensures an adequate level of protection for the rights and freedoms of data subjects in relation to the processing of personal data”.

This places the responsibility on a company holding sensitive customer data to make sure that it is adequately protected if moved outside the UK by a cloud computing provider.

Authorised access Not only must companies protect their information against unauthorised access in particular areas outside the UK, but they must also protect against government access, both at home and overseas. Government requests for data stored on cloud computing services are on the rise.

Google produces a Transparency Report, which documents the number of requests that it gets for user data from government law-enforcement agencies across the world.

The most recent report, for the second half of 2012, showed the United States (where many cloud service providers are headquartered) as the most inquisitive nation, with 8,438 requests for user data. It was also a nation where a high www.vital-mag.net

percentage of requests were successful; in 88 percent of cases, the US government received at least some of the data that it wanted. The UK ranked fifth in the number of user data requests, and law-enforcement here was successful 70 percent of the time.

This will worry many companies who rely on important systems such as sales automation, collaboration, content sharing, email and other cloud based services to maintain and organise information and communications internally. In many cases, moving to a cloudbased service would slash the cost of such systems by an order of magnitude. But how many companies would be willing to admit to clients that their sensitive information and communications could be appropriated by government agencies?

Unlawful access Unauthorised access is also a worry. There have been many instances in which cloudbased service companies have reported a breach of their systems, raising the possibility that user data has been lost. In 2009, for example, Google was among tens of companies reporting that their systems had been breached repeatedly and for a sustained period of time in a sophisticated operation known as Project Aurora. A report in the New York Times said that the attackers had also compromised Google’s single signon password system, called Gaia.

As the quest for intellectual property continues, sophisticated, sustained attack against companies will only increase. These attacks are known as advanced persistent threats (APTs), and they are only likely to increase in the future. A successful APT launched against a cloud computing service could potentially compromise the data of many customers simultaneously.

In August 2012, hackers broke into the Dropbox online storage service using a list of customer email addresses from an employee account. That same month, a reporter at Wired had his Apple iCloud account hacked by an attacker who gained access by socially engineering its tech support service.

The employees who allowed the Dropbox and Apple breaches to happen were wellmeaning but unwitting. However, there is always the danger of an intentional inside job. If an employee working at a cloud service provider decides to siphon off a client’s data to the highest bidder, it could

According to research company Gartner, the worldwide market for cloud computing will total $207 billion by 2016. In 2012 alone, it said that the market l grew 20 percent to become a $109 billion industry.

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One of the best ways to protect information is by encrypting it. Encrypting involves scrambling information so that it is incomprehensible to anyone unauthorised to see it. Encryption works using a secret pair of digital codes called keys that are used to encrypt the software. Without these keys, the software cannot be decrypted.

result in an expensive and embarrassing data compromise involving that client’s own customers.

Taking responsibility for your data A cloud services client may throw up its hands and claim ignorance, blaming a data breach on its third party provider, but this is unlikely to stick. In the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) recently clarified what many technical and legal experts already knew – that a company collecting data from its customers is responsible for that data, regardless of which third party it enlists for help.

With the responsibility on companies to protect their information in the cloud, what can they do to take advantage of this new computing model while toeing the compliance line? Deperimeterisation is a key concept. In the old days, companies’ IT infrastructures stopped at the firewall. They didn’t need to worry much about anything outside.

Since then, mobility and interconnected applications across different companies have changed the game.

Now, a company’s IT extends well beyond its physical boundaries. Vast tracts of corporate information are stored outside many companies’ own computing infrastructures, if those internal systems exist at all.

It no longer pays to think of security in terms of physical infrastructure alone. Instead, in a world without boundaries, where information can reside anywhere in an amorphous digital cloud, we have to think about corporate security in different ways.

One model is to focus on the information that we are storing and manipulating. This is, after all, what is important, rather than the physical devices on which it resides. Separating the information we are protecting from the physical infrastructure that we are storing it on is crucial when we cannot control that infrastructure any longer.

Encryption One of the best ways to protect information is by encrypting it. Encrypting involves scrambling information so that it is incomprehensible to anyone unauthorised to see it. Encryption works using a secret pair of digital codes called keys that are used to encrypt the software. Without these keys, the software cannot be decrypted.

So, encrypting the software protects it against prying eyes, no matter where it is stored.

Agencies who demand access to information about a company’s client will retrieve little more than a set of scrambled files. Shadowy attackers from halfway across the world sniffing 28 VitAL : March / April 2013

a system for intellectual property will harvest nothing but gobbledygook.

Encryption needs to work seamlessly for business users and their customers, so that they can easily retrieve their information without any extra effort. There is a potential problem here, of course: who controls the keys?

The keeper of the keys In many cases, the encryption keys will be stored by the cloud service provider, if they encrypt the data at all. This brings us back to the same challenge. If an attacker or a rogue employee steals those keys, then they have access to client information, as if the data was not encrypted at all. If a government demands access to the information, it will want the data decrypted before it is delivered, and if the company that receives the request controls the keys to the data, it can deliver. This puts the client in the same predicament as before.

This is why one of Gartner’s key recommendations is for the client to retain and manage the encryption keys locally..

Companies should also ensure that the keys are properly rotated and destroyed to keep them secure over time.

What else should readers consider when embracing a cloud computing strategy?

Firstly, make information a first-class citizen in the cloud. Ensure that it is protected, above all else. Consider regulatory requirements when building strategies to protect your information, and ensure that you cover your bases with regards to data export and residency restrictions.

Managing all of these requirements can be daunting for many companies whose expertise isn’t in cloud or information security.

Working with a trusted third party can help to cover their security needs while benefitting from the innovation and competitiveness afforded by the cloud.

Ideally, companies will look for open third party security platforms that can protect any kind of cloud application, giving them the flexibility to use leading email, sales automation, collaboration, content sharing, email and other cloud services. Security services that can integrate with existing infrastructure and with custom web apps will help to reduce costs, too.

These recommendations will help to give companies peace of mind as they spread their wings and move data and applications into the cloud. The less time they have to spend worrying about security, the more they can dedicate to focusing on business strategies that embrace mobility and agility. VitAL www.ciphercloud.com www.vital-mag.net

VitAL MANAGEMENT

Why do we accept IT project failures?

Keeping the project management technology small, focused and easily understood by everyone is a big part of ensuring a successful IT project according to David Walton, CEO of Bestoutcome.

Y

OU WOULD think, at a time when businesses are tightening their belts, that IT projects running over time and over budget would be a thing of the past. However, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that project failure is not just tolerated by technology directors, but largely expected.

Only a few weeks ago I had what was a pretty typical conversation with a cheerful director who thought his project had gone pretty well “apart from the £8 million budget over-run and the various objectives we won’t meet”.

What was striking was not that a project had burst its budget by some considerable margin, nor that it was going to miss some of its goals – there are countless examples in the press of major IT project failures.

What was of much greater concern was the director’s fatalistic attitude towards project failure; rather than suggesting that the situation was unacceptable, he seemed to imply that his team always went over budget, and rarely delivered the business outcomes that were expected.

The negative approach This negative approach to IT projects is becoming quite a common phenomenon, which is particularly worrying in these times of austerity. If organisations are spending millions of pounds more on IT projects than they plan or need to, then something has to be done about it.

30 VitAL : March / April 2013

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We should not be fatalistic about IT project failure and cost overruns. Projects often hit some turbulence while flying and may well land with a bump.

But we should not simply expect them to crash every time.

As there are invariably many root causes of project failure, there cannot be one solution or silver bullet that prevents projects from meeting their goals or going wildly over budget. However, one thing that is clearly needed is a warning system that flashes danger and ‘intervention required’ at the appropriate moment. Sounds sensible enough, but in fact this is precisely where the problem of IT project failure can be exacerbated when people chose the wrong technology for the job.

A typical warning system is a project, portfolio management (PPM) solution which can be a major project in itself to implement.

PPM systems have become more mature in recent years but have gone in the wrong direction. They have grown into vast, lumbering beasts that must be fed with huge amounts of data.

Once the data is included, the problem is that they can be data mined to show virtually any type of information in any type of report that you could wish for. The size and scale of some of these PPM applications can give an organisation a false sense of comfort or security that everything is being managed properly. In essence, these big systems give Project Managers ample opportunity to hide problems, keeping them out of their reports; which, ironically, is exactly what the technology was supposed to prevent. This is exactly the sort of thing that actually causes project failure and cost over-runs.

In fact, the IT director that I mentioned had one of these large PPM systems in place. It did not prevent or even give a warning that this project would fail so spectacularly. A different approach is clearly needed.

‘Landing’ the project A portfolio manager is responsible for ‘landing’ a number of projects successfully.

If we take the analogy of air traffic control, maybe we can learn something. The air traffic controllers need to maintain information 32 VitAL : March / April 2013

about the planes that they are responsible for guiding in. They have a system that provides key status information about a plane’s journey, eg, altitude, speed, elevation and so on. They are not swamped with so much information that they are not able to focus on the critical indicators and help pilots’ planes fly safely. They do not need to know the names of each passenger, nor the type of luggage that they are carrying.

What they do need is a set of indicators about the plane, engine status, fuel, speed, etc.

These indicators allow the air traffic controllers to monitor the status of a plane and guide it accordingly.

To land projects successfully, you need a similar air traffic warning system that will trigger flags or alerts when there is a problem with a project. Simplicity is the key: Any PPM system worth its salt must be straightforward and easily understood by everyone. Also critical is that the system guarantees honest reporting of key status indictors, eg, progress, team, cost, benefits, etc. These two essential qualities will ensure that problems are spotted early and allow corrective action to be taken quickly.

It does not have to integrate with every other system in the organisation and make the toast and coffee too! What’s needed are clear, understandable indicators that projects are on course to land properly or are about to crash into the control tower. The quicker problems are discovered, the quicker they can be overcome and the less money is wasted.

We should not be fatalistic about IT project failure and cost overruns. Projects often hit some turbulence while flying and may well land with a bump. But we should not simply expect them to crash every time.

Proper, accessible, focused PPM systems could work wonders for project safety statistics.

And in this climate, nobody can afford to accept failure before they even take off. VitAL www.bestoutcome.com www.vital-mag.net

VitAL MANAGEMENT

Three steps to IT agility

Dave Oakman, director of Data Center Solutions, Atrion Networking Corporation.

Robert Johnson, senior director of strategic intelligence, Atrion Networking Corporation.

Agility allows our IT resources to respond to all events in the most efficient manner and with the least amount of business disruption.

34 VitAL : March / April 2013

The onslaught of technology continues and everyone expects the IT department to keep everything running smoothly around the clock. To meet this challenge, IT needs greater agility, however, agility isn’t well defined and the path to greater agility isn’t clear. Dave Oakman and Robert Johnson of Atrion Networking Corporation share their three steps to agility heaven.

A

CCORDING TO Merriam-Webster, agility is “the quality or state of being agile” with agile meaning “having a quick, resourceful, and adaptable character”1.

Gartner states agility is “the ability of an organisation to sense environmental change and respond efficiently and effectively to that change”2. For IT, this is done using a combination of people, process and technology.

Why do I need Agility?

Agility is required so IT can effectively respond to the tasks and events that bombard it on a daily basis. These events can be broken down into two main categories: planned and unplanned events. Keep in mind that these events have a different impact on a business and should be approached with different tactics and resources.

With planned events, IT strives to operate efficiently with minimal business disruption.

With unplanned events, IT needs speed, but this comes with disruption. Think of unplanned events as unexpected fires to be extinguished. Many CIOs redirect their most valuable people to handle these events;

away from more strategic tasks. Agility allows our IT resources to respond to all events in the most efficient manner and with the least amount of business disruption.

Roadmap to greater IT agility Here’s a three-step model to increase agility: 1: Plan for pending business changes, such as acquisitions or new product launches.

2: Inventory departmental skills and capacity; IT processes; and technologies available to manage events.

3: Identify and fill gaps.

Step 1: Planning for change in your business IT must know top business priorities and pending changes to increase responsiveness and agility. Having a ‘seat at the table’ with senior executives helps this greatly. Here are questions to pose to business colleagues: • What’s planned to increase organic growth? Are acquisitions planned?

Will they be merged with existing operations right away, sometime in the future or never?

• What new products and/or services are

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VitAL MANAGEMENT

planned? Are new geographic markets being planned, which and when?

• What processes need improvement and how might automation improve organisational nimbleness?

Answers to these and similar questions will help IT know what’s coming giving the department time to prepare and focus on an operationally efficient approach. During these conversations it is also important to probe the organisation for other initiatives that may require IT involvement. Again, our goal is to be able to move as many events as possible from unplanned to planned.

Once we have insight on planned events, we then can try and get a sense for what else might hit our IT organisation unexpectedly.

For this we can use call ticket history, our own experience and intuition to get a sense of the resources required to support them.

Step 2: IT agility – today and tomorrow With knowledge of what the business is planning, now let’s examine IT’s ability to support those efforts. As Fig 2 depicts, that examination encompasses IT people, process and technologies. Start by looking at the ‘as is’ situation for each; determine the ‘to be’ vision; and conduct a gap analysis. This gap analysis yields the data needed to fill the gaps.

People: Beginning with IT people – examining departmental skills, both technical and soft skills (eg, communications) matched to www.vital-mag.net

current job descriptions or assignments and departmental capacity. Include business knowledge, for example, knowledge of loan origination for business analysts at a community bank. Now incorporate the skills and capacity of others in your IT ecosystem as mentioned above. The Saskatchewan Ministry of Advanced Education has examined several skills assessment tool3.

Process: Moving on, IT process-related questions to answer include: • Are routine tasks automated? How and does it work well?

• How quickly and with what amount of effort are different types of events handled?

• Do you use processes such as ITIL-ITSM to manage events?

• Are your existing processes extensible?

What’s to be done to replace them?

• How are unplanned events handled? How disruptive are they to the organisation ?

• Are unplanned events reviewed in attempts to mitigate in the future?

There are several popular IT process methodologies such as PMI/PMBoK, Agile/ SCRUM, COBiT, and ITIL-ITSM that can increase agility. If you haven’t already, consider implementing one or more of these. If your IT department is small, consider implementing a subset of a single methodology such as ITIL ‘Light’4.

Technology: Even with the best people and processes, your organisation will not be able to respond to changes effectively

Once we have insight on planned events, we then can try and get a sense for what else might hit our IT organisation unexpectedly.

March / April 2013 : VitAL 35

VitAL MANAGEMENT

There are several popular IT process methodologies such as PMI/PMBoK, Agile/ SCRUM, COBiT, and ITIL-ITSM that can increase agility. If you haven’t already, consider implementing one or more of these.

If your IT department is small, consider implementing a subset of a single methodology such as ITIL ‘Light’.

if your infrastructure doesn’t support it.

If you have individual application silos adding a new application stack can be very time consuming and costly thus impacting your ability to respond. Server virtualisation has helped address many of these issues, but to take advantage of this you need to ensure you can rapidly and non-disruptively add the server, storage and network capacity needed.

• Do you have a modular architecture that can easily be adapted or will reengineering/architecting be required for events?

• Does your architecture force you to build a new silo for each event? Since silos are typically an inefficient use of resource is re-architecting your environment possible?

• Do you have enough network ports available to add additional virtualization hosts? Will I have to add or upgrade LAN and SAN switches?

• Will your storage support additional workloads? Can I simply add to existing storage or will it require a forklift upgrade and data migration?

Step 3: Put together a plan and ‘fill the gaps’ Knowing what’s expected today and tomorrow is a good first step. Now you need to assess IT’s ability to meet expected and unexpected events, identify gaps and implement plans to close those gaps. As you conduct this assessment, include key vendors and others, for example super users, since these folks are part of IT’s ecosystem and contribute to IT’s efforts to serve your company.

Next, project future skills required and capacity based on company priorities and plans over the next several years. Keep in mind that this will generate a rough estimate but that’s better than no estimate at all. Consider sharing this with key vendors and others.

After you’ve identified gaps, pose and answer these and other related questions: • What training can occur to enhance departmental agility?

• How do you handle spikes? Is there a better approach you haven’t considered?

• Do you need to hire additional people?

If so, what skill sets will you need?

• Can you increase use of partners for routine tasks to free up strategic resources?

• Alternatively, can/should you be using partners in a more strategic manner?

• How can technology be better utilized to reduce bottlenecks?

For the technology elements, examine the various applications used, your infrastructure and how everything is monitored and managed. How widely are automated tools being used which reduce manual labour?

Other questions to consider include: • Can you consolidate applications? If so, which and with what impact?

• Do you have sufficient capacity to handle expected or unexpected events?

• How long does it take to add additional capacity? Is there a faster way?

• Which, if any, new technology can assist in filling the people and process gaps?

• Are vendor validated and synergistic designs in place to mitigate interoperability issues and enable automation? If not, are they an option?

Increasing agility Most IT departments need to increase agility to meet the present and future demands of their organisation. We’re promoting a model for improving IT agility which has three key steps: 1. Know the organization’s strategies, priorities and pending changes; 2. Conduct a gap analysis of current IT personnel skills and capacity, departmental processes and technologies against future needs; then taking action to fill those gaps; 3. Move to a flexible and modular IT infrastructure.

Following this approach will give you a roadmap to greater IT agility and increase IT’s value to your organisation. For smaller organizations with limited bandwidth, concentrate on knowing the priorities and planned changes of your business which helps IT plan more and react less. VitAL www.atrion.net

References: 1. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agile?show=0&t=1346089664 2. http://www.gartner.com/id=491436 3. http://www.aeei.gov.sk.ca/abe/essential-skills-assessment-tools 4. http://h30507.www3.hp.com/t5/ITILigent-Service-Management/ITIL-LightKeeping-it-simple/ba-p/82413

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VitAL PROFILE

The wave of the future Offering both cloud and on-premise solutions, FrontRange specialises in Hybrid ITSM which the company believe is set to be the wave of the future in ITSM.

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RONTRANGE IS a global leader in hybrid IT Service Management (ITSM) solutions for enterprises of all sizes. The company was founded in 1989 on the simple principle that IT needs to consistently deliver high quality services to end-users to enable organisations to thrive. Today, our vision remains the same - to deliver superior business performance through relentless improvement of service quality.

FrontRange currently has 13 offices worldwide with its corporate headquarters located in Silicon Valley. Over the years, the company has built and refined its suite of HEAT applications starting with basic help desk and building on the platform to develop end-to-end enterprise-class ITSM with a flexible deployment model. The company says it is proud that it is the only ITSM provider in the world that delivers Service Management software with fully integrated Voice Automation and Client Management capabilities onpremise and in the cloud. HEAT manages millions of service interactions a day for 38 VitAL : March / April 2013

more than 15,000 organisations around the world, and the suite enables customers to deliver outstanding service while maximising operational efficiencies with reduced cost and complexity.

VitAL: What is the specialist product area of your company – what new offering are you currently promoting?

FrontRange: HEAT Service Management is modernising the service desk, helping IT deliver more value to the business. It brings together a comprehensive set of service and lifecycle products that are designed to improve service levels and productivity, follow best practices and achieve standardisation, and align IT to the delivery of business value.

Whether you are looking for a basic Help Desk or need to perform more advanced Service Management processes, whether you support internal or external customers or both, HEAT Service Management can easily scale and adapt to meet your specific business needs. www.vital-mag.net

VitAL PROFILE

Our modern approach to service management blends best practices with configurable tools to manage infrastructure and control costs. With HEAT, you have the complete solution you need to costeffectively deliver services that bolster business value. HEAT Service Management can help you Maximise Operational Efficiencies, Reduce IT Costs, and Improve Service Quality and Compliance.

FrontRange specialises in Hybrid ITSM which we believe is set to be the wave of the future in ITSM. This assertion is supported by analyst forecasts, particularly those of Gartner who predict that 30 per cent of companies that are currently using cloudbased ITSM tools will go back to a premisebased solution by 2014 (How to Decide Whether SaaS ITSM Tools Make Sense for Your Organisation).

A major advantage of a hybrid ITSM model is protection against unforeseen changes in an organisations’ business. For example, a merger or acquisition that suddenly introduces new remote offices that need ITSM support for instance may quickly want to capitalise on the speedy deployment offered by the cloud model. However, once consolidation following an M&A occurs, a longer-term strategy may favour an on-premise based solution supported by the incumbent organisations’ technical support resources. In short, a hybrid model supports short and long-term objectives much more effectively than the ‘one size fits all’ approach.

VitAL: What sets your offering apart from the competition and why?

FrontRange: We are the only ITSM provider in the world that delivers Service Management software with fully integrated Voice Automation and Client Management capabilities onpremise and in the cloud.

There are other ITSM vendors that offer their application either solely in the cloud or on-premise. They force their delivery model onto the customer without taking into account the customers’ needs. With FrontRange we take the time to listen to our customers and www.vital-mag.net

provide them with a unique combination that fits directly with their business needs.

The reality is that there are situations where the cloud may not be the best fit, for example with unreliable internet connectivity, security implications, extensive configurations, required data/business process integration and where the operating expense (opex) economic model is not feasible.

Hybrid, therefore, is a much better model for getting key capabilities like mobility, self service, voice and service catalogue into the business. Based on our research with industry analysts and feedback from our customers, organisations want the flexibility a hybrid deployment model provides. Businesses are looking to standardise on a single ITSM platform that gives them the flexibility to move, without having to do a rip and replace, between a cloud solution and on-premise solution and between different vendors.

VitAL: Explain how the product works FrontRange: With HEAT ITSM, the IT organisation is able to manage the complete lifecycle of business services. This can be categorised into six steps: • Request a service or change; • Automatically approve and authorise the request; • Plan for appropriate remediation measures; • Automatically deploy the changes to the end users; • Monitor compliance and service level agreements; • Control your services portfolio on an ongoing basis.

HEAT Service Management allows you to take control of your infrastructure with end-to-end change release configuration management workflows and best practice templates, so you can monitor and manage your assets from a single location.

VitAL: Who is a typical user of your product?

FrontRange: FrontRange’s HEAT platform manages millions of service interactions a day for more than 15,000 leading organisations March / April 2013 : VitAL 39

VitAL PROFILE

Once consolidation following an M&A occurs, a longer-term strategy may favour an on-premise based solution supported by the incumbent organisations’ technical support resources. In short, a hybrid model supports short and long-term objectives much more effectively than the ‘one size fits all’ approach.

40 VitAL : March / April 2013

globally. Every customer benefits because we can tailor the application to their specific business requirements. Additionally, they are looking for the flexibility to deploy a cloudbased ITSM solution where appropriate and an on-premise deployment where the cloud doesn’t work. This type of hybrid deployment model, from a single vendor, future-proofs the customer against any unforeseen changes to their business.

With large enterprise customers, where they have sufficient server capacity and IT resources on site, the on-premise model works well and is cost-effective, but its remote locations are better served with a cloud model. On the other hand, some of our small to midsize customers do not have enough resources in-house to deploy on-premise, so a cloud application is beneficial.

Too often, with other vendors, it is an either/or proposition. Companies are forced to choose a cloud tool that does not really do everything they require it to, or a premise-based solution that may not be able to cover their entire organisation. What they need is a single solution that works in either a cloud-based or on-premise model, but sharing a common centralised console that gives them the same look and feel.

Such a model protects the company against unforeseen changes in their business. If the organisation acquires another company for instance, maybe one with lots of far-flung branch offices, it can quickly bring them on board using the cloud model. But over time if the company opts to consolidate offices, perhaps it would be better served with an on-premise based ITSM solution. A hybrid model gives the organisation the flexibility it needs to meet its short-term needs after the initial acquisition as well as its longer-term requirements.

VitAL: How do your products help a typical user attain greater business focus?

FrontRange: The arrival of cloud-based ITSM has the ability to transform the end user experience, such as enabling service desk staff to provide anytime, anywhere support. However, with other ITSM vendors a migration to the cloud or vice-versa to on-

premise can cause major service disruption.

FrontRange Hybrid ITSM solutions ensure greater consistency in IT service consumption by reducing the disruption when migrating between on-premise and cloud-based service desks.

The other problem that customers have historically faced with their service management implementations is that they have often purchased solutions that are not fit-for-purpose. For example, some vendors sell solutions based on how big the company is; meaning that if you are a larger organisation you end up being sold advanced capabilities whether you need them or not. On the other hand, if you are a smaller company, you will be sold solutions that have limited capabilities, even if your service management needs are advanced. This is why we first spend the time to diagnose where our customers are with their service management maturity and we will discuss later the HEAT solutions that may be appropriate for your situation.

With our HEAT solutions we have the broadest set of integrated offerings that map to every stage of ITSM maturity. When a customer comes to us, our first step is to walk through our Maturity Model Methodology and determine which technologies from our application suite are most appropriate for their needs.

VitAL: How does your product help the user to address specific service management challenges?

FrontRange: With over 24 years in the service management industry, we have been able to see and grow with technology and current trends. We work closely with our customers to define the specific ITSM challenge and map our solutions offering against key business objectives. With HEAT, customers have reduced service desk call volume by up to 80 per cent, reduced downtime due to unplanned or unapproved changes by up to 75 per cent and reduce number of status calls received by up to 80 per cent.

One government research lab, for example, required a lot of customisation because it had more than 750,000 inventory items to www.vital-mag.net

VitAL PROFILE

track under its ITSM tool. At the same time, as part of its move to adopt ITIL best practices, the organisation wanted to consolidate some 25 service desks that had cropped up over time, each serving some silo of the organisation.

After implementing incident management, configuration management and voiceresponse self-help tools, the lab saw its call volume shoot up from an average of 1,700 calls per month to 7,500 calls. Yet, it was able to manage the increased volume with only an 18 per cent increase in help desk staff because the ITSM tool was so effective in helping them do their jobs.

Another customer opted for a cloud-based ITSM tool to help manage its data centre outsourcing business. It also needed a flexible tool, one that would integrate with the many tools that comprise its internal operational support system (OSS). That’s a good example of how a hybrid ITSM tool should work – cloud where you need it but integration with in-house tools where appropriate.

VitAL: Are there any specific support services that you offer for these products, if so what makes them better than the competition?

FrontRange: With more than 15,000 customer implementations, FrontRange is uniquely qualified to help customers simplify and automate IT infrastructure and processes so IT can help add more value to the business. Our Global Services teams support through the complete project lifecycle – from project planning, through design and implementation, to on-going operations.

Our engagements are mapped to specific business objectives and range from architecture and project planning to process and organisational transformation.

FrontRange’s Global Support offers a variety of support options to ensure customers receive optimal support that fits the needs of the organisation. We are committed to providing complete customer support, from the moment our customers invest in our products through the entire relationship. This includes access to telephone support, online www.vital-mag.net

self-service, and email support as well as online resources.

With our HEAT solutions

VitAL: What overall are the benefits of your product compared to the competition?

FrontRange: FrontRange has been serving the IT industry for over 20 years, delivering the most comprehensive solutions with industry best practices. With its suite of HEAT applications, the FrontRange service management solution is the most: Flexible: Standardise on a single service management solution with “fit-for-purpose” cloud and on-premise deployment models that allows for the use of both operating and capital expense budgets (including a hybrid option that leverages both).

Advanced: The most advanced service automation solution in the world with fully integrated voice-enabled capabilities that enhances efficiency and reduces service resolution costs by up to 70 per cent.

Complete: With end-to-end, integrated client management capabilities that enables the standardization of business processes across the enterprise and improves the mean time to repair (MTTR) by up to 75 percent.

Additionally, FrontRange is the only ITSM provider in the world that delivers Service Management software with fully integrated Voice Automation and Client Management capabilities on-premise and in the cloud.

we have the broadest

VitAL: Do you have any plans to develop the product in future, if so, how?

FrontRange: As the only provider of Hybrid ITSM solutions, and our expertise in working with customers for over 20 years, we plan to aggressively capitalise on this differentiator in the market. With our heritage in the service management industry, we have learned thing or two about what our customers want and need. We will continue to listen to them and deliver on industry trends that are driving the business of our customers. We’re certainly excited about the future and what’s to come.

set of integrated offerings that map to every stage of ITSM maturity. When a customer comes to us, our first step is to walk through our Maturity Model Methodology and determine which technologies from our application suite are most appropriate for their needs.

VitAL: FrontRange, thank you very much.

VitAL

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VitAL PROCESSES

Software: the legal dos and don’ts Leading information technology and intellectual property lawyer Dr Michael Servian of Freeth Cartwright shares his expertise when it comes to legal matters relating to software copyright.

T

HERE ISN’T a business around today that doesn’t use software in one form or another on a daily basis, and many companies commission or create their own software for use in the workplace.

However, with the increasing popularity of Bring Your Own Technology schemes and the prevalence of mobile devices and open source software, it is also increasingly difficult to keep a handle on exactly what software is being used in your workplace, by whom and in what way. However, the pitfalls of losing track of software usage could lead to legal infringements and expensive litigation.

By and large, it is copyright which governs what you can and can’t do with software.

As a key area that is becoming ever more fraught with new complications, it’s crucial to understand what software copyright actually covers, how to get these rights and what can and can’t be copied.

Someone who creates a piece of work will not necessarily own any rights in it, far less any absolute right against the work being copied.

First off, copyright only protects specified works. This is, however, a very long list, ranging 42 VitAL : March / April 2013

from music to paintings. So far as software is concerned, the list can include: • What the user sees on screen – the GUI (and this might, in turn, cover static images, frames and movement); • The functional specification (the written record of what the software is meant to do); • Preparatory design materials (for example, diagrams showing how the software will hang together); • Algorithms (the logical steps that will be taken by aspects of the software, perhaps written out algebraically); • Source code (the instructions to the computer written out in a way that a person can understand, and written in one or other of the ‘languages’ understood by computers); • Object code (the computer’s translation – ‘compilation’ – of source code into long lines of binary numbers); • Databases; • Means to prevent software from being copied (as the law says, ‘circumventing’ this is a no, no); www.vital-mag.net

VitAL PROCESSES

• Manuals; • Computer generated works (again, from music to paintings!).

Nothing lasts forever The second thing to understand is that copyright doesn’t last forever. However, with the rapid development of software and a copyright term lasting until 70 years after the death of its author, it may as well. Computer generated works are discriminated against here, since they only enjoy 50 years protection.

Copyright only protects ‘original’ works.

However, the threshold is modest. The work must merely have involved a degree of skill, labour and judgment, and not have been copied from another work. Finally, copyright arises automatically when a relevant work is recorded, and this is without the need to register, pay or do anything more.

The most important thing to understand is who owns software copyright. The starting point is that the person who puts fingers to keyboard will own the copyright in the software they write. However, unless this person is writing software speculatively on his own account, things are seldom that straightforward.

If the software writer is an employee, then (unless the contract of employment says otherwise) the copyright will belong to the employer if the software was written in the normal course of the employee’s duties. There might be issues here about, for example, the extent to which the employee had already written the software before his employment, whether software written ‘out of hours’ also belongs to the employer, and whether an employee’s duties extend to software writing.

Marking software with © symbol stating the owner and year it was written helps to prove ownership and establishes rights in some countries.

Unless there’s a written transfer of the rights, a consultant (eg, an external software designer or software house) will be the first owner of the copyright in any functional specification, source code or other works that he writes. If there is something in writing about the uses to which the commissioner may put the software, for how long, etc, then www.vital-mag.net

that will normally apply. However, if he is paid for the work, the consultant will be deemed to have granted an ‘implied licence’ to the commissioner to use the work for the purposes for which it was commissioned. It goes without saying that the latter approach leaves room for serious dispute: eg, whether the commissioner is allowed to use the same software for other projects.

Joint copyright Another area to watch out for is where software is developed by two or more people. If the respective contributions can be easily separated then each will own the copyright for his own input. However, where the contributions can’t be separated out in this way, the works will be jointly owned.

If there is no agreement on how things will pan out, then each of the authors can use the software and sue if it is found to be being misused.

However, each author will need the consent of the other/s if he wants to allow third parties to use the software or if he wants to sell his copyright. If one of the joint authors dies, then his share of the copyright passes not to the other author/s, but to his heirs.

Finally, whilst software writers generally keep hold of their ownership of their software and give others permission to use it to a limited extent, software copyright itself can be sold either outright or in part (eg, for a particular period of time).

Copyright infringement Once ownership is established, the key thing to understand is what constitutes software copyright infringement?

An owner can sue someone who copies his software. Copying covers a multitude of sins ranging from photocopying manuals to rekeying code. Even ‘transitory’ copying is caught, eg, running or storing the software.

Translating source code from one computer language to another infringes, as does (apart from one exception that we’ll come back to) decompiling object into source code.

Other types of prohibited copying includes getting round code designed to prevent the software from being copied!

The most important thing to understand is who owns software copyright. The starting point is that the person who puts fingers to keyboard will own the copyright in the software they write. However, unless this person is writing software speculatively on his own account, things are seldom that straightforward.

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A licensee may study the way his software works. He may make a back-up of his copy of the software and, unless his licence forbids this, he may correct errors in the software. Whatever his licence says, he may also ‘decompile’ the software (translate the computer-readable object code into human-readable source code), but only to the extent that this is required for him to link this software with some other software.

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One key area is the difference between literal and non-literal software copying. In another field of endeavour, there’s quite a difference between ‘copying’ a chef’s recipe by photocopying it or by watching the chef carry out the recipe and making notes of your own.

There is also another type of activity that infringes software copyright, and this is where someone knows that they are holding an infringing copy of the software (say on a CD-ROM), and distributes that copy without the owner’s permission. In fact that, and also knowingly copying software, can also amount to a criminal offence.

What doesn’t infringe software copyright?

A copyright owner can give one or more people the right to use his software under the terms of a licence. There may be rules on the period of use, number of users, place where the use can take place, payments, and so on.

Under such an arrangement, a licensee may study the way his software works. He may make a back-up of his copy of the software and, unless his licence forbids this, he may correct errors in the software. Whatever his licence says, he may also ‘decompile’ the software (translate the computer-readable object code into human-readable source code), but only to the extent that this is required for him to link this software with some other software.

The more senior an employee, the more likely that a job specification which does not expressly mention software writing will be read to include writing software. It is possible to sell software copyright even before it is written so long as this is done in writing.

How ‘free’ is open source software?

Some open source software can be used as you like with little significant obligation to its publisher beyond, perhaps, only redistributing it on the same basis as you received it (maybe acknowledging its author and offering royalty-free use maybe linked with a request for a donation to its author).

More normally, however, open source software is subject to a bundle of serious can and can’t dos. As we have seen, software is subject to copyright, and any use of another’s software (however ‘free’ it is expressed to be) will be subject to some limited form of

licence. Some open source software can be used for developing other software.

This might be fine if you are only using that open source software to develop applications for your own use. However, if you want to on-sell or license the developed software, there could be issues that need tackling.

Some open source software is made available on the basis that if you use it to develop other software, then you must make that developed software available for the world to use on the same terms as the original software.

In other cases you are allowed to charge for the use of the developed software, but only if you make it possible for the user to separate out the open source software and give him the same permissions to use that open source element as you had when you used it.

While open source software writers do not generally offer access to that software in order to trap users into accepting financial commitments to them, the terms of use of open source software are increasingly consolidating around a number of standard forms. This, in turn, might be expected to create common interest amongst writers of open source software encouraging joint action to object to unlawful use.

Whether or not that happens in practice, a software writer will likely be making actual (or implied) promises to his licensees that they have the right to use his software without complaints from others (including complaints from the writers of embedded open source software). Any company thinking of investing or perhaps buying the software writer’s business will be concerned to see it is not picking up responsibility for promises that could not be kept. A possible investor will also think twice if the writers’ software portfolio is based upon the use of open source software the subject of inappropriate open source licences.

If you are writing software for use by others, it would be helpful if you could always identify any open source element in your software. If needs be, for example if you want to change your licensing strategy, it will be invaluable if you can easily pinpoint the open source coding in issue and rewrite that aspect yourself (or use some less restrictive open source software). VitAL www.freethcartwright.co.uk www.vital-mag.net

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2013 - the year data integration comes of age 2013 is set to be the year that data integration grabs the attention of the boardroom and one particular area of focus will be business to business (B2B) data integration says Mikko Soirola, director for Liaison Technologies. Here he discusses the issue and provides advice as to the steps to consider when looking to implement a B2B data integration strategy.

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UTTING COSTS and improvements in efficiency have been the watch words for businesses over the past four years of economic hardship. And as 2013 gets under way this growing quest for improvement continues, and issues such as increased level of process automation, improved connectivity and business visibility, both internally and across the supply chain, are attracting attention as means to reduce costs and increase efficiencies. One of the latest trends to develop is a focus on data integration and specifically business to business (B2B) integration.

Rubbish in rubbish out However in many organisations data is treated with scant regard and the term ‘rubbish in rubbish out’ is particularly pertinent. There are few businesses which have a dedicated position of corporate data manager and while some degree of data management may occur at a departmental level, it is not enough. After all if no one has strategic responsibility or ownership how can it improve?

46 VitAL : March / April 2013

Despite falling storage costs allowing organisations to capture every single piece of transactional data, only a select few are using it to benefit the organisation. The sad fact is that if you have poor data to work with from the start, you will never maximise your return or achieve best practice.

Why integrate data in the first place?

A decade of mergers and acquisitions, the proliferation of legacy systems and increasing numbers of suppliers has led to the need to process large numbers of diverse data forms and document types – both internal and external. Many companies still use very basic methods of data transaction processing, which can vary from manual input to simple emailing. It all means poor efficiency and accuracy.

Automation leads to the minimisation of manual input and improves the speed and accuracy of transactions. A professional B2B integration specialist will map out data from internal and external systems speeding www.vital-mag.net

VitAL PROCESSES

transactions through the organisation’s system. This will have tangible benefits in terms of reduced overheads and lower cost of inventory. Information gathered via properly automated and integrated processes can then be monitored and analysed to improve operational visibility. It can then provide insights that may be used to optimise performance.

If managed well, this information provides an edge in today’s highly competitive market and substantial organisational efficiencies improve visibility of integrated supplier performance and ultimately deliver cost savings. Automation eliminates manual input errors and increases the speed and accuracy of both supply chain transactions and stock control.

Integrating the way a business connects, communicates and transacts across extensive global supply and demand chains can have a massive impact on the overall cost of doing business. It can also make and break deals. The recent high profile attempted acquisition of RBS branches by Santander failed because of ‘integration shortcomings’.

And it isn’t just the damage to the bottom line through legislative fines, there is also the cost of a damaged reputation.

A recent report published by analyst house Freeform Dynamics into Effective B2B Integration, indicated that the top tier of B2B performers, ie, those with the best level of integration with their trading partners, are three times more likely to be doing well financially than the bottom tier, and four times as likely to be growing.

The report based on in-depth interviews with senior managers in 120 mid-to-large sized UK companies, revealed that nearly half were dissatisfied with their current integration capabilities. Most of them believe addressing the problem was too much trouble and over a third of them cited internal complacency and inertia as reasons why they never get around to improving their systems and processes.

Surprisingly many are still reliant on emailbased communication and paper based documents to facilitate B2B transactions.

The risk of high profile failure means this www.vital-mag.net

has to change, making 2013 the year of B2B data integration. But what is the best way of achieving this? The best advice is to seek out and work with a data integration specialist which can advise you on the most appropriate strategy for your business. A good integrator will be flexible, knowledgeable and work to understand your business. It will identify the business priorities and its proposals will address those needs. Whether it is onpremises or in the cloud, bespoke or off-theshelf solutions, expert advice will pay dividends in the long run.

Five steps to data integration For those not wishing to lose competitive advantage and explore the advantages B2B data integration can offer, working closely with Freeform Dynamics, we have reviewed the research report findings and developed five key steps the board of a (insert sector) business should be considering if looking to benefit from the efficiencies and cost-savings that optimising its B2B data integration can deliver: 1. Evaluate and understand the business case: The lesson here is to look beyond the obvious and think through the full impact of an optimised B2B integration environment and the improved operational visibility that comes with it. This includes hard cost savings as a result of headcount being freed up or inventory being lowered, more informed business decision making and an ability to act on decisions more quickly, flexibly and mitigate risks.

2. Maintain an inclusive mind-set and collaborative strategy: From the outset, try and achieve harmonious integration with as many trading partners as possible. The broader the scope of your B2B integration activity, the more you can drive efficiency, responsiveness, flexibility and visibility.

3. Lay adequate internal foundations: It is no good trying to automate across the whole order, pick, despatch, receipt, invoice and payment cycle if your internal systems are not open enough. The fundamentals of effective B2B integration boil down to moving information and documents

Anyone involved at the ‘sharp end’ of getting data chains hooked up electronically will know it’s not just about industry standards, middleware, marketplace and new cloud options. As with any project, achieving it depends on setting the right goals, laying the best foundations and making sure you and the board are truly committed.

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VitAL EYES ON

A prescription for tablets around in an automated and properly tracked manner. The ultimate sources and/ or destinations for electronic documents, transaction records and product/service data are the internal applications you use to run your business. These include CRM, ERP, SCM and other core business systems, along with their associated databases and information stores.

4. Assess the appropriate resource and funding levels: Integration is often driven by pressure and incentives from key partners, however, the danger here is that reactive, piecemeal and inefficient investment often leads to some of the systems and information being disjointed.

The way to get around this is to ensure that the ownership of B2B performance is well defined, ensure adequate level of internal skills and knowledge exist and to allocate an appropriate level of resource and funding.

5. Strike the right balance between inhouse vs service provider: The roots of B2B integration lie in custom developments to enable electronic hook up with key customers or suppliers. Whilst this kind of proprietary point-to-point approach can be valuable in the context of a single relationship it is often impractical across the whole of the supplier base. Often the smartest approach is using in-house managed B2B platforms combined with service provider managed platforms, to reduce re-inventing the wheel.

Both internal integration points are dealt with in a more consistent and streamlined manner with differences between systems managed via metadata enabled mapping of information sets and rules-based workflow.

Look for data integration specialists rather than generalist IT suppliers to maximise your return on investment.

At the sharp end Anyone involved at the ‘sharp end’ of getting data chains hooked up electronically will know it’s not just about industry standards, middleware, marketplace and new cloud options. As with any project, achieving it depends on setting the right goals, laying the best foundations and making sure you and the board are truly committed. VitAL www. liaison.com www.vital-mag.net

Are tablets essential or just a hyped-up fad?

Jonathan Westlake is on the case.

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ablet sales continue unabated. I have lost count how many times I have been asked for advice about which tablet to buy – including which one to get as a Valentine’s gift! Apparently tablets were big business for Valentine’s 2013.

Perhaps it is time to reflect on why tablets have become so popular for individuals and for business and whether the acquisition of a tablet satisfies a perceived need. Is a tablet an essential device or just a gadget driven by hype?

To answer this question I can reflect on my own use and my experiences of business and personal use. It is difficult to separate both uses in an age when bring your own device (BYOD) has been much encouraged by business and the growth of use outside working hours for leisure activities such as using the tablet as an eReader.

I’ve had a tablet for two years or so now and I find it ideal as a mobile device with a userfriendly screen size, which is easy on eye (I have a seven inch Wi-Fi tablet and a 10 inch 3G tablet). It is ideal for fairs/meetings where interaction with people is important and beats using my mobile phone with a small screen size and certainly beats lugging my PC laptop or Mac around. So that’s my use ... the tablet is not a replacement for a PC/Mac but is a useful device in my IT stable.

Therefore my advice when asked by friends/ colleagues about which tablet to buy is to say; “what will you use it for? What can it do that you cannot do already?” For businesses I always additionally ask where the tablet will fit into a strategy, ie, look at the tablet from a process/productivity point of view. Strangely,

these questions usually come as a surprise and the questioner seems more concerned with asking me whether they should go for an iOS or Android device running Ice Cream Sandwich or Jelly Bean without any real understanding of what they are asking.

Perhaps there is too much focus on the specification of the device and buzzwords rather than thinking about how the device will be used.

I always get asked which apps are better – the Apple camp? Or the Android camp? This latter point introduces the other popularity driver of tablets, apps. A plethora of apps, some free, some with a charge exist for the tablet market and we will visit this topic in a later ‘Eyes On’.

I feel the evidence to date supports the view that a tablet can be seen a useful/essential work device but its use needs to be thought about prior to purchase. For example, my local council announced last year they were issuing each councillor with a tablet. One has to question the wholesale approach they took and how many of those tablets now sit idle.

For businesses a tablet strategy is advisable and it is promising to see that this topic is getting recognition as the Tab Times link below illustrates.

Finally, regarding the growth in the personal tablet market I predict another flurry of advice questions around the next event in the calendar… a tablet as a mother’s day gift!

Keep taking the tablets! vitAL

Useful reference/resource: http://events.tabtimes.com/tabletstrategy/

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The evolution of the data centre Justin Hadler Hadler, director of engineering at Hardware.com discusses how to simplify network architecture to reduce costs.

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REVIOUSLY WHEN IT professionals discussed network infrastructure and data centre costs, ‘simple’ was not a word they often used. However with the evolution of open standards equipment, virtualisation, and cloud computing, technology leaders are now able to place greater emphasis on simplicity when establishing their network architecture. Through data centre consolidation, coupled with adopting a multi-vendor or standards-based approach to network infrastructure, IT professionals can achieve significant cost, time, and energy savings.

To understand why and how this evolution is happening, it’s important to recognise two of the key drivers in data centre evolution...

Virtualisation According to a survey conducted by the International Data Corporation (IDC), the highest IT priority for chief information officers in 2012 was virtualisation and server consolidation. Originally introduced as a way to achieve higher server density and therefore maximise an organisation’s investment in hardware, server virtualisation quickly became a way for companies to achieve significant cost savings, increase operational efficiency, and conserve energy.

Numerous companies, including Hewlett Packard and IBM, have announced plans to reduce the number of their physical data centres in favour of virtualised servers. In fact server and storage virtualisation projects conducted by IBM in 2011 resulted in an energy-use reduction of over 142,000 MW— and cost savings of approximately $16.5 million (£10.2 million). Similarly in 2007, HP announced that it would cut its global data centres from 85 to 6, saving the company an estimated $1 billion (£622.7 million) annually. In addition 50 VitAL : March / April 2013

to reducing power and cooling costs, such initiatives will lead to savings by eliminating storage space and reducing the amount of staff needed to run the data centres—including facility engineers, operational specialists, and computer operators.

However the benefits of virtualisation extend beyond cost savings. Organisations that virtualise their servers achieve faster network connections, increased data security (as data is stored in fewer places), and increased IT compliance. Furthermore, organisations that reduce their number of data centres free-up staff time, enabling them to focus on more important, strategic initiatives within the company.

The multi-vendor approach A second emerging trend in data centre evolution consists of building network infrastructures using multiple vendors and standards-based technology. Over the last decade or so, leading technology vendors, such as Cisco, heavily promoted the ‘single vendor’ approach to network architecture as an easier, more cost-effective way to build and maintain data centres. Although good in theory, the practice ultimately leads to increased vendor complacency, less competitive pricing, and reduced flexibility between platforms— driving-up data centre complexity and costs for customers.

Today, organisations are realising they are able to control costs and reduce network complexity by adopting a multi-vendor approach. According to research from IT advisory firm Gartner, organisations that introduce additional vendors to their data centres “reduce total cost of ownership by at least 15 to 25 percent over a five-year time frame.” By introducing competition for existing products, organisations will ensure vendors

are continuously vying for their business – keeping costs competitive for both short- and long-term budgets.

While some IT leaders may be concerned that adding technology vendors will only serve to increase network complexity, research from Gartner demonstrates this is not the case.

In their report, “Debunking the Myth of the Single-Vendor Network,” Gartner found that a “surprising benefit from [our] investigation was that for most organisations, the complexity of the network was reduced when they introduced another vendor.”

Multi-vendor networks encourage the use of building infrastructures with standardsbased technology instead of proprietary solutions, giving customers more options and greater flexibility in case of a product upgrade or technology refresh. In today’s rapidly evolving networking industry, avoiding vendor ‘lock-in’ is key to controlling costs and ensuring interoperability.

Back to basics Overall, the progression towards virtualisation and multiple vendors offers organisations an ‘out’ (or at least a break) from today’s often overwhelming IT demands. By significantly reducing the number of physical data centres they operate, organisations can realise significant cost and energy savings while eliminating some of the complexity that comes from managing storage space, staff, and troubleshooting of multiple facilities.

Additionally by retaining their primary vendor’s competing product on the floor and building with standards-based technology instead of proprietary solutions, IT leaders can ensure enhanced, more competitive pricing in the long-term while protecting their investment in hardware equipment. VitAL www.hardware.com www.vital-mag.net

the

VitalGuide italGuide to SITS13 – The Service Desk & IT Support Show 2013 23-24 April 2013 Earls Court, London

SITS13 – The Service Desk & IT Support Show, taking place on 23-24 April in London’s Earls Court, will feature headline Keynotes from Gartner, the world’s leading information technology research and advisory company.

Gartner to

HEADLINE

keynotes at

SITS13

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HE ANNOUNCEMENT that the Service Desk & IT Support Show (SITS), taking place on 23-24 April in London’s Earls Court, will feature headline Keynotes from Gartner marks an exciting new development for the show, which has enjoyed continued support throughout its 19-year history. Having attracted 4,495 ITSM and IT support professionals from thousands of leading UK and European business organisations to its 2012 event, this year’s Keynote Programme is expected to draw world-wide attention as this is the first time that Gartner has exhibited/hosted a session at the show.

Emerging new technologies over the past few years, such as the increasing use of user-owned devices (BYOD) and a greater reliance on cloud 52 VitAL : March / April 2010

computing, have transformed the way that IT services are delivered within the workplace – not just in the UK but all around the world. So for the UK’s IT directors and ITSM professionals, this ‘new and unique partnership’ with Gartner offers the event’s attendees an unparalleled opportunity to gain some valuable first-hand insights from a truly global perspective.

One of the show’s key draws has always been its comprehensive free education programme that combines eight Keynotes, 40 seminars, indepth roundtable discussions, and essential breakfast briefings to provide a broad spectrum of perspectives across a host of hot topics. The Keynote Programme – Featuring Gartner, will include a keynote and panel discussion on each day of the show. www.vital-mag.net

Confirmed panel discussion topics include ‘Culture vs tools – building a perfectly balanced service desk’ on Tuesday 23 April, which will see Gartner’s industry experts debate how service desks can achieve a positive balance between culture and tools, plus outline methods for maintaining a strong, positive, customer centric culture within an IT department. Whilst day two’s panel on Wednesday 24 April, will address the tantalising question ‘Who is murdering ITIL?’. With organisations complaining of ‘death by ITIL’, this lively and insightful debate will explore whether the industry really should say adieu to the most notable of service management frameworks.

Laura Venables, group event manager of SITS, is delighted to welcome Gartner to the show for 2013. Commenting on the new collaborative partnership, she says: “We are thrilled to be able to present our audience with this fresh and inimitable opportunity to engage with, and gain valuable advice from, one of the world’s leading IT research companies. The support and enthusiasm we have received from Gartner so far has been wonderful – we are looking forward to a superb event this April.”

In addition to headlining The Keynote Programme, Gartner will be offering visitors, who participate in a short survey at the company’s stand, the opportunity to receive a complimentary Gartner report (worth £200).

Gartner will also be headlining this year’s VIP Programme.

Exhibitors Confirmed exhibitors for 2013 include Examination and Accreditation Institute APMG-International, IT support solutions provider BMC Software, training and consultancy specialists FGI, online helpdesk system provider Freshdesk, IT recruitment company Global Technology Solutions, remote support solution providers LogMeIn, IT infrastructure monitoring company Nexthink and industry professional body SDI. The full exhibitor list can be found online now at www.servicedeskshow.com.

Early starters This year, the Breakfast Briefings provide a motivating start to each show day, and are designed to leave attendees with plenty of food for thought. The first of this year’s briefings, on Tuesday 23 April at 8.30am, reveals the findings of an exclusive, new industry white paper – ‘Demonstrating service desk value through more meaningful metrics’. Hosted by an expert panel, including representatives from The Service Desk Institute (SDI) and Cherwell Software, the session will look at the metrics that the IT support industry is currently measuring and will offer practical advice on implementing business value metrics to truly drive the business forward. Complimentary copies of this year’s white paper will also be available from the Cherwell Software and the SDI stands during the event.

Momentum builds for SITS Europe launch SITS Europe is the major new trade show for Germany’s IT Service Management (ITSM) and IT Support industry, taking place on 24-25 September 2013 at Messe Berlin, the organiser says that demand for exhibition stands is running high, with many key industry names having already reserved their space, including Bomgar, PLAIN IT AG, USU, Spiceworks, Cordaware, LogMeIn, TechExcel, Ibitech, and BMC. Commenting on the launch of the show, Stuart Facey from Bomgar says: “After having regularly exhibited at SITS in the UK, Bomgar is very excited about the first ever SITS Europe event in Berlin. There is no other event like it for the German ITSM market and we believe it will be such an important event for us.”

It’s a view shared by many other solution providers, including Thomas Gerick from USU AG: “USU is looking forward to the first ever SITS Europe and I have absolutely no doubt that we will benefit from being a part this exciting new event, with our overall portfolio for the IT service management industry.”

The full keynote and seminar programme will be announced in the late spring, followed by an unprecedented marketing campaign aimed at senior service desk managers and IT decision makers at all medium to large companies, as well as in the public sector.

For further information, please contact Bettina Bermuth at bbermuth@divcom.co.uk or visit www.sitseurope.com.

For more information please visit

www.servicedeskshow.com Free visitor registration is now open at www.servicedeskshow.com (please quote priority code SITS152) and SITS13 – The Service Desk & IT Support Show attendees will also benefit from free access to Infosecurity Europe 2013, Europe’s number one information security event, co-located at Earls Court. www.vital-mag.net

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Feature sponsored by

CMDB implementation: A tale of two extremes In this feature, Arvind Parthiban, marketing manager – ITSM at ManageEngine, discusses the various ways to successfully implement and deploy the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) and how the rest of the IT organisation can also benefit from its advantages.

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www.vital-mag.net

VitAL EVENTS

Feature sponsored by

O

NE OF the ‘quality problems’ you might have as your business grows is the challenge of managing all your resources.

As your IT assets expand, it is difficult to ascertain exactly what and where they all are. It is important to get more visibility on what applications and services are running on each asset, how they interact, and the business impact if they are down, responding poorly or slowly, or if they are jeopardised by security threats.

The Configuration Management Database or CMDB is an ITIL process that is predominantly being used in datacentres to manage their Configuration Items (CIs). I have always wondered why CMDB processes can’t be used for managing regular IT assets. As managing the IT network and their resources are becoming harder and harder, it makes sense to adopt CMDB and reap the benefits and get a grip over your IT. Let’s not get started on the number of horror stories I have heard about trying to implement CMDB successfully. Let’s face it, if you don’t know what is in your IT and how all the assets are related, you don’t stand a chance of managing, improving and supporting them efficiently. This feature will discuss more on the easier ways to successfully implement and deploy CMDB, and how you can adopt CMDB for the rest of IT.

ABCs of CMDB For those who have not heard of CMDB, it is defined as Configuration Management Database. It is the core process of a successful ITIL implementation. CMDB is a repository of CIs (Configuration Items) that contains pivotal information like relationship, ownership and dependencies of business-critical CIs that directly impact uptime, service levels and the end-user experience. The purpose of CMDB is to perform these key functions: • Account for all IT Services and configurations within the organisation; • Provide accurate information about each CI; • Define relationships & dependencies of each CI. Every action performed in IT requires some information to make a decision. In fact, the relationship between information and decisions is also applicable for everything beyond IT. With no information or data, the decision is just a gut feel or guesswork. So the chances of hitting a home run with just a gut feel are www.vital-mag.net

very low. To make the right decisions, you need the right data. To make it more effective you need this information from the right source and that source is CMDB. The whole purpose of CMDB is to give you the right information to make right decisions.

Is Implementing CMDB difficult?

In our recent survey, we found that most organisations are not ready to adopt CMDB. We were somewhat surprised to learn that they have not even heard of it or don’t think it as a priority. Most of the IT guys who tried implementing CMDB have failed or dropped it in the planning stage itself.

It’s true that implementing a CMDB can be challenging at times. But many have implemented and found the benefits to be significant. The reason for failure could be either a poor planning stage or setting the wrong expectations. In my opinion, the best way to implement CMDB is to simplify the process and keep to the basics, first and foremost, capturing the details of the CIs. In other words, define the depth of CI categories you want to discover and maintain in CMDB. Secondly, setting your expectations correctly what is it you want to achieve from the CMDB? Don’t introduce unnecessary workload and pressure; instead set the goals and scope right and work on that which you can manage and achieve. You can always add additional CIs as and when you grow to achieve broader configuration management.

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Feature sponsored by

Simplifying CMDB Implementation

Why is your organisation not implementing a CMDB? (Multiple answers allowed) Step 1 – Forget the textbook processes: The primary prerequisite for a successful journey to CMDB is to forget what the books have taught us and apply common sense.

Do not embark on the road to CMDB just for the sake of adopting ITIL. It is very important to implement processes at the right time; also, the help desk should be mature enough to handle the process, or the journey could jump the tracks.

Defining your CIs – A tale of two extremes What is a CI? Well, anything under the roof of your organisation related to IT is a CI –

56 VitAL : March / April 2013

servers, the applications running on them, and the user details. One of the frequent questions I have encountered in all CMDB implementations is whether even the chairs and desks are considered as CIs. Before I share my opinion, let me share how it is practiced in the market today.

As the CMDB is predominantly used for managing datacentres, only those businesscritical assets that are related to datacentres are defined as CIs. As far as I can tell, including physical assets such as chairs and desks in your CMDB is one scenario and focused CMDB solely on IT and datacentre assets related to business critical CIs is the other.

Finding the balance between these two extremes is what we will discuss later in this feature. Even in our recent survey, when we asked our audience what they want to have in their CMDB, half of our audience wanted all information related to IT in their CMDB.

What information has your organisation put into (or plan to put into) the CMDB? Step 2 – Decide what should be in your CMDB: As more businesses today implement CMDB as a core part of Service Management for datacentres, questions are now arising about the boundaries of the CMDB. Many have felt the CMDB has no role outside datacentres; but a growing number are seeing that the value of CMDB is not limited to just datacentres. The fact is that CMDB is relevant for areas outside datacenters and can be used for the entirety of IT infrastructure.

So, let’s define the contents of the CMDB as: • IT elements that are business critical;

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VitAL EVENTS

Feature sponsored by

The CMDB is the heart of ITIL, which controls every other process and aligns them appropriately.

As discussed, follow • How these elements are related to each other; • How these relationships impacts your business.

A classic example is provided by the Hummer army vehicle, which was later introduced to consumers so that they could enjoy the experience. Similarly CMDB can also fall in the same path and can be later adapted and expanded beyond the datacentre to manage all day-to-day IT Infrastructure.

Scenario: Acme Inc had an Internet outage for nearly half of its business. When analysed, they found that an agent had tried to open and close a few ports in the firewall to use a discovery tool. The part that he missed was that there were two main links connected to the firewall and he had closed those ports accidentally without knowing the business impact.

This small incident turned out to be a disaster where half of the Acme employees were unable to connect to the Internet. However, if with a proper CMDB in place, the agent would have known the business impact of the CI and would have handled the situation better with the right information from the CMDB. Step 3 – Create relationships for businesscritical CIs based on business impact: Everyone knows that personal relationships are always complicated, and so are the relationships between CIs. It is important to know what is running on your machines, how www.vital-mag.net

they are related and the impact it creates if an asset is down or unavailable. One of the core purposes of the CMDB is to know the relationships of CIs so that you can get a clear visibility on your network and make the right decisions.

Scenario: An example that really helps to illustrate the point is when you want to install software on a server and restart the server after installation. Apparently, there is a critical support application running on the same server, which is connected to 20 users who are using the application online. If you don’t have the proper CMDB in place, you will not be aware of the other software running in the server and the relationship with the users.

So a normal software installation could lead to a disaster and create a huge business impact. Hence it is very important to know the relationship between and among CIs.

the three simple rules: forget the complexities, define your CIs properly with just businesscritical assets and get clear visibility on the relationships between

At the heart of ITIL Many may not be aware of the CMDB or it might not be viewed as priority to implement now, however it is important to get most out of the CMDB in a simplistic manner.

The CMDB is the heart of ITIL, which controls every other process and aligns them appropriately. As discussed, follow the three simple rules: forget the complexities, define your CIs properly with just businesscritical assets and get clear visibility on the relationships between CIs – to maximise your business efficiency. VitAL www.service-desk.co

CIs – to maximise your business efficiency.

March / April 2013 : VitAL 57

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BOMGAR Stand number: 515 Contact details Suite 4, Anglers Court, 33-44 Spittal Street, Marlow SL7 1DB, United Kingdom T: +44 (0)1628.480.210 E: info@bomgar.com W: www.bomgar.com Bomgar provides remote support solutions for easily and securely supporting computing systems and mobile devices. The company’s appliancebased software helps organisations improve tech support efficiency and performance by enabling them to securely support nearly any device or system, anywhere in the world — including Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, BlackBerry and more. Bomgar also offers mobile apps that allow service desk technicians to provide support from an iPhone, iPad, or Android phone or tablet. By removing the geographical and technological barriers between technicians and end-users in need of support, Bomgar makes IT support more responsive and effective, improving service levels and customer satisfaction.

Bomgar’s unique appliance-based design ensures remote support security from beginning to end. The Bomgar Box is deployed within your own network and never routes session data and system access through a third-party, giving you complete and centralised control over all remote support activity.

Bomgar also seamlessly integrates with your existing identity management and authentication methods, such as Active Directory, so users can login with secure directory credentials, as well as smart or CAC cards. With 50+ granular permissions for support technicians, Bomgar allows you to give

reps only the privileges they need and no more. Plus, administrators can grant restricted, auditable access to external vendors on a temporary or ongoing basis, giving them access to your systems without compromising security. Finally, the Bomgar solution captures detailed audit trails of session activity, chat transcripts, transferred files and system information, and video recordings of each session, allowing you to monitor who accesses which systems and what actions they take.

Bomgar also increases tech support efficiency by integrating with your existing service desk tools. By enabling technicians to launch a remote support session directly from a ticket and automatically feeding session data back into the incident record, the integrations speed time to resolution and provide a more complete view of the issue. Bomgar offers an open API and SDK for creating custom integrations, as well as pre-built integrations for many leading service desk systems, including ServiceNow, BMC’s ITSM solutions, Dell KACE, HP Service Manager, Hornbill, and Salesforce.com.

More than 6,500 organisations across 65 countries are using Bomgar to rapidly improve customer satisfaction while dramatically reducing costs.

To learn more visit Bomgar at stand #515 or www.bomgar.com.

ICCM Stand number: 509 Contact details T: 01666 828600 E: info@iccm.co.uk W: www.iccm.co.uk/sits13 Press Enquiries: T: 01454 629741 E: iccm@ascentpr.co.uk ICCM Service Management solutions are used by 2 of the 5 largest IT Service Desks in the world. Our clients include BBC Worldwide, British Transport Police, Qualcomm, Telenor and Tesco. ICCM will support you on a journey to Extraordinary Service Management.

Assure for IT Service Management Our new Assure for IT Service Management solution features: • A comprehensive set of ITIL-aligned processes • New social collaboration features • Enhanced mobile support • Improved cloud offering • Improved customisation and integration utilities.

Be unique Assure combines technologies from ICCM and OpenText into a comprehensive platform that delivers more than packaged applications: • Truly customisable processes and components, to meet your unique needs • Enterprise-wide integration, including standards-based interfaces and OpenText and Microsoft connectors

Be extraordinary Deploy Assure to provide: • An industry-leading IT Service Management solution • Solutions outside IT, such as HR, Facilities, Contracts, Project Management and Customer Services • A ‘Smart Process Factory’, to enable the rapid creation of new enterprise services, processes and apps

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KEPNER TREGOE LTD Stand number: 107 Contact details Moorbridge Court, Moorbridge Road, Maidenhead, SL6 8LT T: 01628 778776 E: European.Enquiries@kepner-tregoe.com W: www.kepner-tregoe.com Clear Thinking for a Complex World The key to maximizing service performance effectiveness and efficiency lies in improving the underlying quality and consistency of the thinking processes that individuals and leadership demonstrate.

Daniel Kahneman’s seminal work, “Thinking Fast and Slow” has gained traction and attention from staff in many organisations in the past few months. His research of human thinking patterns and his ‘System 1’ and ‘System 2’ model help explain why KT’s thought processes are both so valuable and immediately applicable.

Kahneman explains that our minds use two modes of thought: the automatic, instant, intuitive, involuntary responses provided by what he terms our “System 1” thinking; and then the more controlled, effortful, analytical and considered thoughts supplied by our “System 2” minds.

Most people use ‘System 1’ thinking wherever possible to minimise effort for, as we know, ‘effort’ is hard work and typically in short supply. This would be of little concern if we could trust our System 1 to deliver the thinking required for high quality problem solving and decision making but as Kahneman argues, such trust would be misplaced. He explains the really scary effect – we cannot tell when our intuitive System 1 responses are based on sound judgement or when our System 1 is simply making things up.

A Major Incident Manager may have a rich experience of the foibles of a complex trading engine, or a Problem Manager may have a deep technical knowledge

of a particular technical discipline. In both these situations, the way in which their “expert” System 1 minds instantly resolve related issues can probably be relied upon because they recognise the specific issue and can access pertinent ideas from directly relevant experience.

The challenge comes when the issue that requires thought goes beyond our direct experience, or requires a team of experts to think coherently and drive actions. Problem Managers may be the conductor of an orchestra, and how that orchestra works together to find the root cause or causes makes a huge difference.

It’s understood that an essential feature of our associative thinking is that it represents only activated ideas, and that information that is not retrieved might as well not exist. System 1 excels at constructing the best possible story that employs currently activated ideas. The amount and quality of data on which the story is based is largely irrelevant, providing the solution feels logical and appealing. The entry point to System 2 thinking is clear, recognisable, learnable and drives a behavioural and cultural change to develop a thinking organisation.

KT’s approach to helping service organisations think more clearly in their complex environments is the ITIL® recognized industry best practice for customer issue handling and Problem Management. We are experts in designing and supporting your deployment of these thinking processes into your organisation.

Come and see us on Stand 107, and let us explore how Clear Thinking can be of advantage to you and your organisation.

Kepner Tregoe operates worldwide.

MANAGEENGINE Stand number: 319, 418 and 420 Contact details W: www.servicedeskplus.com

ManageEngine is the leader in low–cost enterprise IT management software. The ManageEngine suite offers enterprise IT management solutions including Network Management, Help Desk & ITIL, Bandwidth Monitoring, Application Management, Desktop Management, Security Management, Password Management, Active Directory reporting, and a Managed Services platform. ManageEngine products are easy to install, setup and use and offer extensive support, consultation, and training. More than 60,000 organizations from different verticals, industries, and sizes use ManageEngine to take care of their IT management needs cost effectively. ManageEngine is a division of ZOHO Corporation. For more information, please visit www.manageengine.com.

About ServiceDesk Plus ServiceDesk Plus is the flagship product of ManageEngine. ServiceDesk Plus is completely web- based IT help desk software with integrated asset management module. It is built with state- of the art ITIL functionality including Incident Management, Problem Management, Change Management, Release Management, Service Catalog and CMDB. It comes with different editions catering to end users needs.

ServiceDesk Plus is also now available in the on-demand SAAS model.

Online demo: http://demo.servicedeskplus.com/

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NETSUPPORT Stand number: 717 Contact details T: +44 (0)1778 382270 E: corporate@netsupportsoftware.co.uk W: www.netsupportsoftware.co.ukstems.com.

For 23 years, IT support professionals have turned to the NetSupport range of Remote Control and Desktop Management software solutions. Today, in excess of 11 million mission- critical systems worldwide are managed by NetSupport’s technology.

From powerful IT asset management and web-based ITIL service management to market-leading PC remote control, NetSupport’s complementary software solutions deliver the tools needed to support the modern IT infrastructure and maximise your return on investment.

The NetSupport team looks forward to welcoming you to stand 717 where you’ll be able to see the latest enhancements across our product range, including our extended platform support and mobile working capabilities.

ITIL Service Management Three time winner of Network Computing’s Service Management Product of the Year award, NetSupport ServiceDesk helps you deliver fast, effective and measurable IT support. Web-based and fully compliant with ITIL Incident and Problem Management standards, customers can log incidents online and track progress in real time while automated workflow processes backed by a wealth of reporting options improve your helpdesk’s ability to manage and prioritise fault lists.

IT Asset Management If you are to make informed IT purchasing decisions, then information is key. Having an accurate inventory of your IT assets is critical when deciding whether to purchase more assets, redistribute current assets, or retire them

completely. Providing the tools needed to effectively manage the ‘true’ cost of IT, NetSupport DNA is a modular solution that delivers powerful hardware/ software inventory, licence management and more.

NetSupport DNA’s core inventory module also includes, as standard, real-time PC/system alerting and energy monitoring, providing a high-level summary of potential energy wastage across your organisation. To this, you can add internet and application metering, software distribution and, to leverage even more value from your investment, NetSupport’s webbased ITIL helpdesk solution, NetSupport ServiceDesk, and market-leading remote control tool, NetSupport Manager.

Service Desk Remote Control The ideal support tool for the modern business environment, marketleading remote control solution NetSupport Manager provides a single operator console that delivers a unified approach to the connectivity and management of multi-platform computers, including Windows, Mac®, Linux and mobile. Real-time visual thumbnails of all connected computers enable you to identify all activity across the environment and pinpoint where assistance is needed. With one click you can interact with the remote machines and utilise a range of desktop management tools, while a powerful scripting and scheduling suite allows you to automate repetitive tasks, running them at a time most convenient to you.

Visitors to the NetSupport stand will be among the first to see NetSupport Manager’s new Mac and Mobile Controls.

OMNINET Stand number: 603 Contact details E: mgy@omninet.de W: www.omninet.biz Contact: Michael Geyer, country manager UK

OMNINET develops and distributes the OMNITRACKER Business Process Platform, providing a wide range of business process templates as ‘out-of-the-box’ solutions such as IT Service Management (compliant to ITIL v3), Project Management, Requirements Management or Stock & Order Management. Its flexible licensing model, scalability and open interfaces qualify OMNITRACKER as the ideal solution for use in small, mid-size and enterprise organizations. The company was founded in 1995 in Germany and has subsidiaries in Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the USA and Russia. Our customers include several hundred prestigious and internationally-oriented companies, including Siemens, Union Investment, German Telecom, T-Systems, Daimler and many more. OMNINET has recently announced a strategic mobility partnership with Mobile Reach, a leading provider of enterprise mobility software solutions from North Carolina, USA. This year at the Service Desk IT Show in London, OMNINET will organise OMNITRACKER live presentations, sneak previews and much more. At booth 603, OMNINET will be present among the integration of field service on mobile devices, and the redesigned Web-Gateway. Another highlight which will be introduced is OMNITRACKER Version 10.1, which has just been released. The definitive highlight of OMNITRACKER Version 10.1 is the support of Multi-Server Architecture (MSA) in virtualized environments. The major advantages of the native transparent Multi-Server OMNITRACKER cluster, which has originally been introduced in V10.0, – a giant performance gain, horizontal scalability, and resiliency – can now take maximum effect when combined with the flexibility and resource efficiency of virtualization. Additionally, version 10.1 includes various new features in the Web Client, such as the automated object completion through field mappings, tabbed object browsing or breadcrumb navigation.

For a free download version please consult http://www.omninet.de/index.php?id=192

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SUNRISE Stand number: 200 Contact details T: 020 8391 9000 E: enquiries@sunrisesoftware.co.uk Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sunrisesoftwareuk Twitter: http://twitter.com/sunrisesoftware When you choose Sunrise, you are choosing an independently owned software company that has been developing, implementing and supporting Service Management and Service Desk solutions since 1994. Since that time, well over 1,000 organisations have depended on Sunrise’s software products to manage operational processes like IT Service Desk, Customer Service, Shared Service Centres, HR and many others. In fact, wherever service is delivered within an organisation, be it to customers or internal stakeholders and employees, chances are Sunrise’s process-centric software can make a big difference.

As an independent company, Sunrise is not beholden to external stakeholders or ownership when it comes to decision making and direction. Sunrise instead acts on what we believe is best for our customers and we make sure that we allow every opportunity for customers to have their say through multiple communication channels.

Sostenuto BPM (Business Process Management) A ‘blank canvas’ option ideally suited for those looking to go ‘beyond the Service Desk’. This option allows for complete personalisation of your solution allowing you to have a delivered system that has been tailored to suit the needs of your department or business.

Sostentuo Mobile Allows users to take their Service Desk with them wherever they go, accessing their critical support services anytime, anywhere and using their favourite device including Blackberry RIM, Google Android and Apple IOS based devices.

Sostenuto Wallboard

Sunrise takes pride in an highly ethical approach to business and this commitment comes from the top down. We believe our people to be exceptional and Sunrise’s customers regularly take the trouble to let us know, that they think so too.

A web-based portal that enables consolidated viewing of critical Key Performance Indicators providing real-time visibility over the whole Service Desk, and a visual early warning of potential issues that require additional attention or escalation.

At Sunrise we are dedicated to providing a range of applications and solutions designed to improve the performance of your critical business processes including:

Self-Service Portal – Iguana

Sostenuto ITSM (IT Service Management) A highly flexible solution based on ITIL® processes for IT Service Management, suitable for both internal and external facing Service Desks. A ‘gold standard’ choice for Managed Service Providers.

Our Self-Service portal, Iguana, empowers end-users by enabling them to view, log and track their calls, increasing the productivity of the Service Desk team and improving response times.

So; if you want to work with a supplier company that is honest, up-front and highly experienced in what we do and with great products and service, you have found one: Sunrise - and at Sunrise we truly believe that Your Service is our World.

Sostenuto CSM (Customer Service Management) A solution designed specifically for Customer Service Departments, HR Departments, Finance Departments etc.

To learn more about how Sunrise can help you with your business processes please visit us at Stand 200.

WM PROMUS Stand number: 208 Contact details T: 0845 619 3111 E: info@wmpromus.com W: www.wmpromus.com WM Promus offer HP Service Anywhere HP Service Anywhere is the latest HP innovation in ITSM SaaS. It combines the best of both worlds – HP’s leadership in the Service Management space and a modern, nimble and intuitive user experience.

Powerful, Scalable, and Simple.

A SaaS-enabled service desk solution that offers: Service Desk, Incident, Problem, Change, Configuration, Self-service portal, Knowledge Management, Operational reporting, Service Level Management, Event-to-Fix and Monitoring, Service Catalogue, and Release Management, with more to come…

Social collaboration, No-hassle upgrades, Quick implementation, Codeless configuration. Simple graphical interface to modify process flows, No programming knowledge required. Retains custom configurations for seamless upgrades.

At WM Promus, we believe in HP IT Performance Suite – IT executives need a simple way to drive a performance-driven culture within their organization and demonstrate IT’s value to the rest of the business.

IT performance Suite is an approach to IT management and a category of software and services supporting that approach. It aligns the efforts of your IT organisation with your business goals – driving business results and promoting IT efficiency at the same time. Our clients can testify that we work with you to make sure that every pound you invest in IT, every resource you allocate, and every application you have in development or production is aligned to your business goals. We provide the following solutions and services: • IT Service Management (ITSM): ITSM is not about technology. It’s about providing a service and building customer relationships.

• IT Asset Management (ITAM): Ask yourself: “What value are my IT services providing?” Let WM Promus help you find the answer.

There are social service desk features including embedded chat and IM features, context-based real-time collaboration so that you can close activities faster with better success.

• Universal Discovery (UD): You need to understand the relationship between your applications and the underlying infrastructure. WM Promus provide a solution that meets that need.

WM Promus delivers ROI studies, Assessments, ITIL Knowledgebase, Implementation, Consultancy and Training Services.

• Software as a Service (SaaS): WM Promus offer deployment methods best suited to your business goals.

Partnership WM Promus is proud to be a Hewlett Packard Preferred Partner. HP’s IT Performance Suite focuses on simplifying technology experiences for all of its customers from individual consumers to the largest Enterprise.

With a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure, HP is among the world’s largest IT companies.

Products WM Promus is approved for the delivery of solutions based on the HP Performance Suite and has unparalleled capability to sell, design and deliver solutions based on the HP Service Management, Asset Management and Business Service Management.

• Executive Scorecard: At WM Promus, we tackle one of your key challenges – business scorecards and dashboards. Simplify gathering, tracking and informing.

Our core strengths are what differentiate us from our competitors: Our range of services ensures we are there from the beginning to the end. We cover the whole service management lifecycle – we provide ITIL best-practice consultation, business analysis, process

documentation, process design and reconfiguration, documentation of technical and user specifications, software design, software development and implementation, testing scripting and methodologies, technology and process deployment, technical and end-user training, project management, software documentation, technology and service-improvement assessments and software support.

DIRECTORY

HORNBILL SYSTEMS

Ares, Odyssey Business Park, West End Road, Ruislip, HA4 6QD T: F: W: C: E:

020 8582 8282 020 8582 8288 www.hornbill.com sales@hornbill.com info@hornbill.com

Hornbill develops and markets ‘Supportworks’, applications for IT Service Management (ITSM) and business helpdesks. Hornbill’s ITSM & service desk software with a ‘Human Touch’, enables its customers to provide excellent service while benefiting from consolidation on a single technology platform.

INFRAVISION

Delegate House, 30A Hart Street, Henley-on-Thames, Oxon, RG9 2AL T: F: W: C: E:

+44 (0) 1491 635340 +44 (0) 1491 579835 www.infravision.com Nigel Todd info@infravision.com

BMC Software’s #1 partner for Service Desk Express and the Alignability Process Model, delivering rapid implementation of proven ITIL aligned processes, procedures, work instructions and tool settings, and transformation to service-led approach in only 12 weeks!

MONITOR 24-7 INC

PO Box 4530, Maidenhead, SL60 1GG T: W: C: E:

+44 (0)20 8123.3126 www.monitor24-7.com Frank Huitenga frank.huitenga@monitor24-7.com

Over 13 years of customer experience bundled in one solution to help centralise information, prioritise issues aimed to increase control, productivity and improve communication and service excellence.

100% focus on support and development of IncidentMonitor Service Management software, PinkVerified for 10 ITIL processes.

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ICCM SOLUTIONS

Cedar House, Riverside Business Village, Swindon Road, Malmesbury, Wiltshire, SN16 9RS T: F: W: C: E:

+ 44 (0) 1666 828 600 + 44 (0) 1666 826 103 www.iccm.co.uk Kate Springer sales@iccm.co.uk

One of the overriding directives of ICCM Solutions is the simplification of complexity in Service Management environments. ICCM provides a global client base with sophisticated ITIL aligned Service Management Solutions built on Business Process Management (BPM) Architecture, from Metastorm BPM®.

iCore

60 Lombard Street, London EC3V 9EA

T: F: W: E: C:

+44 (0) 207 464 8883 +44 (0) 207 464 8888 www.icore-ltd.com sales@icore-ltd.com Greg Lake

iCore is the largest specialist IT Service Management Consultancy in the UK. ICore has a long & impressive track record in delivering & embedding pragmatic IT service management, solutions, relying on the deep, real world experience of our mature & determined consultancy team.

KEPNER-TREGOE

NETSUPPORT SOFTWARE LTD

Quayside House, Thames Side, Windsor, Berkshire, SL4 1QN T: +44 (0) 1753 856716 F: +44 (0) 1753 854929 W: www.kepner-tregoe.com C: Steve White E: swhite@kepner-tregoe.com

Towngate East, Market Deeping, Peterborough, PE6 8NE

Kepner-Tregoe provides consulting and training services to organizations worldwide.

We collaborate with clients to implement their strategies by embedding problem-solving, decision-making, and project execution methods through individual and team skill development and process improvement. Clients build competitive advantage by using our systematic processes to achieve rapid, targeted results and create lasting value.

T: +44 (0) 1778 382270 F: +44 (0) 1778 382280 W: www.netsupportsoftware.co.uk C: Colette Reed E: colette@netsupportsoftware.co.uk NetSupport provides a range of complementary Remote Support and Service Management solutions that help organisations deliver a productive and cost effective IT support service. Products include multi-platform Remote Control solution NetSupport Manager, IT Asset Management suite NetSupport DNA and web based ITIL Service Management tool NetSupport ServiceDesk.

MANAGEENGINE

SUNRISE SOFTWARE

ZOHO Corp, 4900 Hopyard Rd, Suite 310, Pleasanton, CA – 94588, USA

T: F: W: E: C:

925-924-9500 925-924-9600 www.manageengine.com eval@manageengine.com Gerald A. Raja

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus is highly customizable, smart and flexible Help Desk Software used by more than 10,000 IT managers worldwide in 23 different languages. It helps you to implement ITIL best practices on the go and restore your IT services on-time.

ManageEngine has a suite of software products in Enterprise IT management space like Network monitoring, Desktop Management, Applications, Logs, AD management, et al.

50 Barwell Business Park, Leatherhead Road, Chessington, Surrey KT9 2NY T: F: W: E:

0208 391 9000 0208 391 0404 www.sunrisesoftware.co.uk welcome@sunrisesoftware.co.uk

Sunrise Software provides applications which underpin business processes across its customers’ organisations.

Sunrise has a highly successful track record in IT service management, customer service management and business process management with fully configured applications designed around best practice guidelines. www.vital-mag.net

DIRECTORY

TOPdesk

SITEHELPDESK.COM LTD

APMG

61 Southwark Street, London, SE1 0HL

Eagle House, Lynchborough Road, Passfields , Hants GU30 7SB

Sword House, Totteridge Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, UK

T: F: W: E:

T: F: W: E: C:

T: F: W: C: E:

+44 (0) 207 8034200 +44 (0) 207 8034215 www.topdesk.co.uk info@topdesk.co.uk

TOPdesk Service Management software seamlessly integrates Facilities, HR and IT processes in a single 100% webbased tool. TOPdesk’s affordable and ITIL-compliant software has won several awards for user-friendliness. Secure more time for your colleagues and customers with TOPdesk.

CHERWELL SOFTWARE

+44 (0) 207 419 5174 +44 (0) 870 138 3824 www.sitehelpdesk.com sales@sitehelpdesk.com Bryan Taylor

Sitehelpdesk.com will take you to the forefront of service delivery with a suite of products designed to provide you with low cost web browser based action tracking and self-help, making your services instantly available 24 by 7.

SOLISMA

Lime Kiln House, Lime Kiln, Wooton Bassett, Wiltshire, SN4 7HF T: + 44 (0) 1793 858181 W: www.cherwellsoftware.com/contact Cherwell Service Management delivers ITIL v3 best practice ‘out-of-the-box’ including: Incident, Problem, Change, CMDB, SLA, Knowledge, SelfService and is PinkVERIFY certified. Our unique CBAT development platform empowers users to fully customise screens, workflow processes and develop additional business applications. The Cherwell solution is available via a standard license model or ‘On Demand’ SaaS service.

AVOCENT LANDESK

T: +44 (0) 207 193 2085 W: www.solisma.com E: info@solisma.com C: sales@service-improvement.com Service Improvement Made Simple!

Solisma is a leading global provider of ITIL and ISO/IEC 20000 courseware, training, consulting and assessment services, with a global partner network to help you quickly and cost-effectively improve your ITSM capability like never before. To learn more, contact us today or visit service-improvement.com

IT SERVICE MANAGEMENT FORUM

+ 44 (0) 1494 452 450 + 44 (0) 1494 459559 www.apmg-uk.com Nicola McKinney nicola.mckinney@apmgroup.co.uk

As an accredited ITIL® Examination Institute, APMG offers our training organizations a range of benefits to help them demonstrate the quality and professionalism of their services.

Call us to find out how your business could benefit from our accreditation services.

GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS LTD

T: 01288 355800 W: www.globaltechnologysolutions.com E: info@globaltechnologysolutions.com

“Taking the headache out of recruitment” Specialists in Service Management and Technical resource throughout the UK and globally.

We believe in “quality” not “quantity” when submitting cvs.

Let GTS manage your recruitment process and allow us to become your most valued solution provider.

E-WAREHOUSE

Dukes Court, Duke Street, Woking, Surrey GU22 7AD

.

150 Wharfedale Road, Winnersh Triangle, Wokingham, Berkshire.

RG41 5RG

e-Warehouse Ltd, Hampden House, Hampden House, Monument park, Chalgrove,Oxfordshire , OX44 7RW

T: +44 (0) 1483 744444 F: +44 (0) 1483 744401 W: www.landesk.com C: Sarah Lewis E: sarah.lewis@avocent.com Avocent delivers IT operations management solutions that reduce operating costs, simplify management and increase the availability of critical IT environments 24/7 via integrated, centralized software. This includes Systems Management, Security Management, Data Centre Management and IT Service Management.

T: F: W: C: E:

T: 0845 299 7539 f: 08717143802 w: www.oxygenservicedesk.com c: Victoria Eggleton e: oxygen@e-warehouse.com

www.vital-mag.net

0118 918 6503 0118 969 9749 www.itsmf.co.uk Ben Clacy ben.clacy@itsmf.co.uk

The itSMF is the only internationally recognised and independent organisation whose sole focus is on the on-going development and promotion of IT Service Management ’best practice‘, standards and qualifications. The forum has 14,000 UK members and official itSMF chapters in 44 countries

Oxygen Service Desk is a process automation engine that simply interprets your pre-defined business processes and then mobilises the actual process, pushing work tasks to people and to systems, streamlining how the processes run across your entire department or organisation.

March / April 2013 : VitAL 63

SECRETS OF MY SUCCESS

Pam Maynard general manager UK & Ireland, Avanade UK

VitAL: Name, company and job title?

Pam Maynard: Pam Maynard, general manager UK & Ireland of Avanade UK, a business technology solutions and managed services provider.

a new fire service application. It was my first experience of team leading, analysis and customer management. The sense of achievement when I finally saw the modules go live was tremendous.

VitAL: What got you started in IT? PM: For me, the decision to go into a career in IT started to form whilst I was in university studying for a degree in business studies.

The breadth of the degree meant that I was given exposure to a whole variety of different disciplines throughout the course including marketing, economics, finance and of course technology. The technology module was my first exposure to the sector and coincided with the point at which I was looking for my first job. I decided that I wanted to find a career which gave me the opportunity to combine technology with a business angle and so made the choice to move into a career in consulting.

VitAL: Did you ever make any embarrassing mistakes? What did you learn from them?

PM: I make many mistakes and continue to learn from them. Making mistakes has helped me to learn many lessons, including how to make better decisions, delegate more effectively, and how to better communicate and engage with employees, key stakeholders and my customers.

VitAL: Was there any one person or organisation that was your inspiration?

PM: My old boss, who was in fact the person who brought me in to Avanade, has always been an inspiration to me. He is the one person who always challenges me to push through boundaries – both real and perceived – to get to where I want to go.

VitAL: What was your first IT job, what was your first major IT triumph?

PM: I worked at IBM through the sandwich year of my university course, and really drew upon this experience and the knowledge gained to secure my first job in technology consulting, working at Oracle on the graduate scheme.

The great thing about working with technology is the sense of satisfaction, and feeling of triumph, when you finally see a system you have been involved in implementing being used either by your customers and their customers. One of my first such experiences was many years ago when I worked at Oracle and I was asked to lead the design of some modules for 64 VitAL : March / April 2013

VitAL: What do you like best about your job?

PM: The best thing for me about my job has been all the brilliant opportunities that it has put in my path. I get huge enjoyment out of the variety of work I do on a daily basis, consulting with a range of industry sectors which over the years has included local government, financial services and energy companies to name a few.

This level of variety has given me a large breadth of exposure to different businesses, markets and people and that is what I love about my job.

VitAL: What is your biggest ambition?

PM: Simply put, it’s to become a CEO! VitAL: What are your hobbies or interests?

PM: I would say my main interests at the moment are music and photography. I also really enjoy yoga and cycling.

VitAL: What is the secret of your success?

PM: When I was younger my mum gave my brother, sister and I the book, ‘Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway’ by Susan Jeffers. I will never forget reading it for the first time and it has left a lasting impression which has affected everything I do. The premise of the book is that life is about having a go even though something might seem daunting or uncomfortable, and constantly pushing at

One of my first such experiences was many years ago when I worked at Oracle and I was asked to lead the design of some modules for a new fire service application. It was my first experience of team leading, analysis and customer management.

The sense of achievement when I finally saw the modules go live was tremendous.

the boundaries of what you can achieve.

That tiny book and its message have really stayed with me throughout my career.

VitAL: Pamela Maynard, thank you very much. www.vital-mag.net

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ber / October 2012 Volume 6 : Issue 1 : Septem

VitAL : Inspiration for the modern business

mod ern busi ness Insp iratio n for the

VitAL : Inspiration for the modern business

for the modern business VitAL : Inspiration

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Sponsoring VitAL’s 30 Leading IT Service Management Providers.

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Inspiration for the modern business Volume 6 : Issue 2 : November / December 2012

The future of service automation

Software licensing

Volume 6 : Issue 3 : January / February 2013

Getting your house in order

Making the case for automation from the cloud

Better IT estate management

The Big Data transformation

Unlearning ITIL

How jargon-busting could be your secret weapon with non-IT staff

How it’s changing business in the UK

ctise The benefits of best pra

Inspira tion for the moder n busine ss

Risk management

IT outsourcing

Embracing the mobisocial world lsVitAL canvasses thevalue! ng equaInstant industry about How IT service First amo organisations tor nce in the charities sec IT making a differe

Volume 6 : Issue 3 : January/February 2013

2012 : September/October Volume 6 : Issue 1

Volume 6 : Issue 2 : November/December 2012

The changing world of

what’s hot and what’s not for 2013

UGH YCLING YOUR WAY THRO FEATURE FOCUS: LIFEC

THE EVOLUTION OF

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