Statera Releases a CRM to SharePoint Cloud Integration Engine

Just recently, Statera went into a Beta phase for their an integration engine called Stratus (http://stratus.statera.com). It’s a really cool idea/product which integrates Microsoft CRM Online with SharePoint Online completely via Microsoft’s Azure Services platform (which means everything is running in the Cloud). Some of the capabilities Stratus provides include:

· CRM users can provision SharePoint sites for Account, Opportunity and Case records, allowing them to store documents in a location where they are easier to collaborate on and in an environment where non-sales employees may be more familiar with
· CRM users can upload documents while in CRM and they are stored directly in SharePoint
· CRM users can view associated SharePoint document libraries and their contents and pull up documents without ever leaving CRM
· SharePoint users can navigate to SharePoint sites that are associated with CRM Account, Opportunity or Case records and access uploaded documents, CRM contacts, CRM activities as well as some other general CRM information
· SharePoint users can create new contacts or activities via the associated SharePoint site that are in turn stored in CRM
· SharePoint users can save CRM contacts directly into their Outlook contacts folder with the click of the mouse

The product also works with the on-premise versions of SharePoint and CRM or any combination of Online and On-premise (e.g. CRM Online and SharePoint on-premise), though the on-premise activation is not yet available.

There are some other cool ideas that will be coming out with in the future. For more information, check out the video or sign up to use the platform at http://stratus.statera.com – it only takes a few minutes to sign up and usage is free!

DoF Abu Dhabi receives two ISO Certifications in Information Security

Here is an interesting article I found on http://www.zawa.com/ and you may read the original on: http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20090616072525

Abu Dhabi 16, June 2009:
The Department of Finance (DoF) - Government of Dubai

Today announced its acquisition of two ISO certifications, ISO20000 and ISO27001 in Information Security. This comes in line with its commitment to adopting the best quality standards at all levels of Governmental practice, especially in information security. DoF is the first local department in Abu Dhabi Government to receive both certifications at once, in appreciation of its ongoing efforts to improve its services and adopt best global practices in Information Security Management.

ISO 20000 is the world's first international standard for IT Service Management, which defines the essential requirements for a service provider to deliver managed services. This certificate allows for effectively conveying the managed services which meet business and customer requirements, therefore implementing the department's strategic plan of 2009-2013.

ISO27001 is one of the global certifications with an elemental purpose of assisting to establish and sustain an effective Information Security Management System using a continual improvement approach. It concentrates on confidentiality, integrity and availability of information and executes the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development values, prevailing security of network systems and information. This certification offers essential security measures to face potential menace.

Salem Al Rumaithi, Head of the IT Directorate at DoF clarified that the international German group TUV Rheinland used a 2-phase-audit process to ascertain DoF's readiness to get both international accolades. During the first phase TUV Rheinland reviewed the existing security measures and documents such as the Information Security Policy and the IT Security Management and Risk System at DoF. In the second phase, the group conducted a scrutinized audit to test the surveillance tools stipulated in the IT security Management System's regulations and supporting documents.

'We are proud of the Information Security team's great achievements. These milestones come in line with the directives of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Chairman of Department of Finance, to enhance the level of IT performance and security" said Al Rumaithi.

Al Rumaithi praised the IT directorate's efforts to build the capacities of staff that have been trained for the international Information Technology Infrastructure Library certification (ITIL). Currently, over 25 employees have achieved this certification which falls under the ISO umbrella. ITIL is a set of concepts and policies intended to assist organizations to develop a framework for IT Service Management and to manage their operations.

DoF adopts the highest quality standards throughout its network which encompasses over 40 governmental entities. DoF strives to enhance its human resource skills and employs the finest IT applications with the aim of supporting the department's different activities. The aim of DoF is to accomplish sustainable economic growth for the Abu Dhabi government and rank it amongst the top five governments in the world.

An overview of the Finance Department
The Department of Finance (DoF) was established in 1962, and plays a vital role in providing all local government entities with the best of breed of financial services. DoF aims at enhancing the prosperity of the Abu Dhabi community by contributing to economic growth and promoting private sector participation. DoF includes 5 main directorates and they are: Budgeting, Customs, Government Accounts, Support Services and Information Technology. DoF is adopting the latest processes and technology to further strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of its services.

UAE Governmental Institutions Strategic Plan encompasses the following 10 priorities:

• 
  Identify efficient ways to finance priority projects of government entities including the concept of public-private partnerships
• 
  Develop a common and standardized financial framework to ensure financial stability of Abu Dhabi Government
• 
  Define decentralized financial-management model and assure its gradual transition
• 
  Establish a fiscal policy unit to develop strategies for efficient government spending and to cooperate with the federal level on all financial frameworks and policies
• 
  Introduce a performance measurement approach to enhance efficient use of government funding
• 
  Establish DoF as the reliable and comprehensive source of Abu Dhabi financial data and analysis by building a process for the collection, analysis and reporting of all financial data
• 
  Enhance world class treasury function to optimize short term cash debt management
• 
  Strengthen and develop DoF employee competencies by state of the art HR management with special focus on nationals
• 
  Enable and maintain state of the art IT technologies to support the future role and activities of DoF
• 
  Protect borders and citizens, facilitate trade, and collect revenues through effective customs

ITIL Assessment

What are the deliverables for one week ITIL Assessment? And how long does it take to complete a typical assessment.

My take is: A Matrix Assessment Report that will assess People, Process and Tools for each discipline under assessment.

=Maturity Score
=Score for each process assessed based upon maturity level
=Risk & Implication Report
=Recommendations

Time wise I would say it is an open ended question, one can do two to three disciplines in a week, i.e., Incident, Problem, Change, Service Management or others but in case of V3 Strategy, Design, Transition, Operation and Continous Service Improvement may take one week each.


With The Complete ITIL V3 Readiness Assessments, you can put any or all of the assessments to work in your company:

• Service Management strategy and value planning
• Linking business plans and directions to IT service strategy
• Planning and implementing service strategy

• Service design objectives and elements
• Selecting the service design model
• Cost model
• Benefit/risk analysis
• Implementing service design
• Measurement and control

• Managing organizational and cultural change
• Knowledge management
• Service knowledge management system
• Methods, practices and tools
• Measurement and control
• Companion best practices

• Application Management
• Change Management
• Operations Management
• Control processes and functions
• Scaleable practices
• Measurement and control

• Business and technology drivers for improvement
• Justification
• Business, financial and organizational improvements
• Methods, practices and tools
• Companion best practices

How to Manage IT Organization

How to Manage IT Organization
How do you steer your company’s IT organization to deliver high return on their investment.

Everyone realizes the importance of having a motivated, energetic quality work force but when they don’t understand the process they won’t be able to deliver to their full potential. Process, People, and Technology are the major determinants of product, cost, schedule and stakeholders satisfaction.

Three most common challenges faced by IT organization are;
* They know they are delivering the best value but no one recognizes their contribution
* They know all services are delivering best value but when it comes to integration with other services or applications they don’t connect well
* They know something is wrong but cannot pin point where is the organization hurting

How can Statêra help?
Statêra’s Business consulting services has exceptional track record and a proven methodology in improving company’s efficiency, service quality and customer satisfaction levels.

Business & IT Analysis
Workshops or Discovery engagement to enhance governance of a business's process environment to improve agility and operational performance. Define key metrics required to deliver best value to the organization.

ITIL
Help define and develop the baselines and benchmarks against which your IT organization performance can be measured and when you see deviations, it provides focal point what needs to change or exploited.

Project Management
We know the typical tasks, time required, resource skill needed for this type of project and associated project costs. Our experienced project managers will keep you on time and within budget.

Knowledge Management
Quickly and efficiently gather information about your company’s data and records. We help you convert data and information to a knowledge so others can benefit
CMMI
Show you where do you scale on the maturity model and what steps are needed to improve your levels.

Risk Management
Managing risk starts by identifying risk, knowing threats vs. opportunities. Minimizing the threats and exploiting the opportunities.

SOX
No matter what size is your company, you must abide by SOX guidelines to show your stakeholders that company has taken all necessary steps to minimize any objections by finance or IT auditors.

www.statera.com 972-560-1500

ITILSME@Gmail.com

FREE IT Optimization Brownbag session in Dallas

Do you need a FREE brownbag session in any of these areas:

• ITIL Best Business Practices


• Optmizing your Service Desk


• Change Policy that really works


• Developing the right metrics for yor IT organization


• Control Bojectives for IT Organization (COBIT)


• Sarbanes Oxley - How does it apply to you


• ISO 20000


• CMMI


• How does these all fit: ITIL, COBIT, SOX, CMMI, COSO, Prject Management, Business Analysis, Six Sugma, QA, ISO 9000, 27000, 20000, 17799, and Optmizing your IT organization

Please contact Statera Dallas office: http://www.statera.com/ or 972-560-1500

FREE Brownbag in Dallas

Do you need a FREE brownbag session in any of these areas:

• ITIL Best Business Practices
• Optmizing your Service Desk
• Change Policy that really works
• Developing the right metrics for yor IT organization
• Control Bojectives for IT Organization (COBIT)
• Sarbanes Oxley - How does it apply to you
• ISO 20000
• CMMI
• How does these all fit: ITIL, COBIT, SOX, CMMI, COSO, Prject Management, Business Analysis, Six Sugma, QA, ISO 9000, 27000, 20000, 17799, and Optmizing your IT organization

Please contact Statera Dallas office: www.Statera.com or 972-560-1500

How good is your NOC?

If you have stumbled into this blog and would like to know more about the subject, let me clarify what is a NOC and what it stands for; Network Operations Center which is pronounced as; "nock" - it is one or more locations from which control is exercised over a computer, television broadcast, or telecommunications network.

Large organizations may operate more than one NOC, either to manage different networks or to provide geographic redundancy in the event of one site being unavailable or offline.

• NOCs are responsible for monitoring the network for alarms or certain conditions that may require special attention to avoid impact on the networks performance. For example, in a telecommunications environment, NOCs are responsible for monitoring for power failures, communication line alarms (such as bit errors, framing errors, line coding errors, and circuits down) and other performance issues that may affect the network. NOCs analyze problems, perform troubleshooting, communicate with site technicians and other NOCs, and track problems through resolution. If necessary, NOCs escalate problems to the appropriate personnel. For severe conditions that are impossible to anticipate – such as a power failure or optical fiber cable cut – NOCs have procedures in place to immediately contact technicians to remedy the problem. There are two types of NOC that I am familiar with; NOC that is local to a company or an organization or NOC that manages networks for different customers In either case NOC should be secure and process well defined for Incident, Problem, Change, Release, Configuration Management at times Capacity, Availability and Continuity are part of NOC operations.
  
  
  How good your NOC is depends upon what kind of metrics are reported on your NOC dashboard.
  
  
  Few Key ones by each discipline would be:

Incident Management:
- Total number of incident recorded
- Reported by individual/customer
- System generated alerts
- SLA violations/Total number of SLAs committed
- Availability
- Number of FTE / Total number of cases handled

Problem Management:
- Number of Problems reported
- Number of root cause identified and resolved
- Number of problems requiring changes

Other Metrics:

- Workload per FTE

- Operational Expenses vs Revenue Generated

- Customer satisfaction index

For more information on the topic please contact Azim > itilsme@gmail.com

www.statera.com



contact Azim > itilsme@gmail.com