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News Newsletters 2007 Newsletter for Q1 2007
Filled with relevant information about the rapidly evolving IT landscape, the Simpler-Webb newsletter is a must-read.
Newsletter for Q1 2007
Release date: 1/1/2007
WELCOME LETTER
Hello!
This newsletter, I’d like to talk about IT Infrastructure Optimization (IO). We find the subject important to today’s organizations and their need to effectively manage the existing IT infrastructure while also looking to improve capabilities. IO was the topic of our most recent monthly webinar.
A large portion of a company’s average IT budget is spent on infrastructure components. Managing the variety of devices from servers, storage, and network hardware to handhelds and applications presents a complex set of challenges. Infrastructure Optimization – as a model – looks at the current maturity of your IT operations and helps outline a path for making infrastructure a strategic and agile asset.
In the Partner Technology Spotlight below, we present a conversation between two Cisco experts about aligning IT with Business. This is a conversation we at Simpler-Webb often have with our clients. Aligning IT capabilities to support core business goals is a continual challenge. The article discusses the future of the IT department and how the focus is changing from containing operations cost to driving business value. As this transformation occurs, it will be increasingly important for organizations to adopt a maturity framework allowing achievement of system reliability, availability, supportability, and manageability.
If you have any questions about Infrastructure Optimization or Cisco’s new product releases, please call us (512-322-0071). This month’s service offering below is for a free Infrastructure Optimization assessment. We’d love to sit down with you and take a look at how your infrastructure currently operates, your challenges, and discover ways to move your organization into a more dynamic stage. Take a look at the assessment in the Useful Links section of the newsletter.
I’d like to thank you all for taking the time to read my long-winded letter and for partnering with Simpler-Webb. We are looking forward to helping you put business enabling IT solutions in place.
Warm Regards,
Jeff Simpler
SWINC NEWS & EVENTS ::
Webinar Series-Upcoming Events
Securing Your Network: Cisco’s New Product Releases on March 8th, 2007 at 1:00 PM Cisco recently announced the upcoming release of its latest security innovations: IPS 6.0, CSA 5.2, CSM 3.1, CS-MARS 4.3, and ASA 5500 8.0. These exciting releases allow for more intelligent and efficient information threat control and mitigation across your entire network. We will explore these new products and highlight benefits for your firm including how they collaborate to lower overall risk while raising the value of your security systems.
Join us for this exciting new webinar, click:
https://www.gotomeeting.com/register/834145255
Simpler-Webb Names Chris Cooper Sales Manager
Simpler-Webb, Inc announced Chris Cooper’s promotion to National Sales Manage. Cooper joined the organization in July 2006 as an Account Executive, bringing seven years of market experience selling security related solutions in the credit union space. The promotion reflects a strategic effort to grow national credit union clients and enhance the customer experience.
"I am honored to serve in this capacity," says Cooper. "Simpler-Webb is a growing, vibrant, value-driven organization. We are focused on helping credit unions across the nation maximize member satisfaction, while controlling costs and ensuring highly available, highly secure IT operations. I look forward to continuing our long history of providing cutting edge technology solutions and bringing new customers to the Simpler-Webb family."
Jeff Simpler, CEO and Co-founder, commented "Chris represents the values of Simpler-Webb: dedication, integrity, teamwork, and outstanding customer service. We look forward to bringing our managed services to more credit union clients nationwide as a result of this change."
Simpler-Webb Renews Microsoft Gold Partner Status
In January 2007, Simpler-Webb renewed its Gold Partners status with Microsoft. Simpler-Webb has been a partner with Microsoft for many years having achieved Certified Partner in 1995 and Gold Partner in 2006. Partner program levels are reached by proving expertise and customer satisfaction in certain solutions competencies such as ISV/Software Solutions, Information Worker Solutions, Networking Infrastructure, and Advanced Infrastructure.
Simpler-Webb Turns Fourteen!
Simpler-Webb was formed in 1993 by Jeff Simpler and Andy Webb, making 2007 our 14th anniversary.
Simpler Webb Wants to Know
Simpler-Webb is interested in collecting important post-project feedback from customers. A new survey will be emailed to clients after a project is completed to gather your reflections on our performance and satisfaction level.
Simpler-Webb’s Volunteer Team to Take on Habitat for Humanity
Community service is important to us at Simpler-Webb. Our volunteer team, S.W.E.A.T (Simpler, Webb-Employee Aid Team), will be helping Habitat for Humanity with a deconstruction project on April 28th, 2006. Previously, S.W.E.A.T participated in the Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Contest benefitting the Capital Area Food Bank.
TECHNOLOGY NEWS ::
Daylight Savings Time Changes for 2007
As you might be aware, Congress authorized a law expanding Daylight Savings Time to begin three weeks earlier in the spring and end one week later in the fall. This change will be effective for this spring’s Daylight Savings Time on March 11, 2007. Your organization will likely need to be prepared to address a number of crucial issues affecting computer and network environments.
Calendar entries and appointments are the most obvious (and annoying) problems that will occur if all systems and applications are not updated to address this change. As some workstations and portable devices are updated to the correct time, and others are not, people will have appointment entries that appear one hour later than expected. Simpler-Webb can provide guidance to ensure that you are prepared to react to this issue before it becomes a problem. At a minimum, you must patch your server and desktop operating systems so that they automatically update to Daylight Savings Time on the new day. Once this occurs, any application that maintains date- and time-specific information should be upgraded. In most of our customer environments, this means Microsoft Exchange and Outlook. Microsoft has released system patches and utilities to perform these tasks in a planned, automated fashion. Simpler-Webb has prepared guidance for our own resource-booking software, Exchange Resource Manager ™. If you use this, or another method to directly book conference rooms or other resources, please contact us for this documentation.
The beginning point for understanding all Microsoft products that may be affected, and how to obtain the proper fixes, is at Microsoft’s Daylight Savings Time site:
http://support.microsoft.com/DST2007.
Microsoft is also hosting a series of webcasts to guide technology professionals through the process of updating their systems: register at
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/gp/dst_webcasts.
It is important to pay attention specifically to your desktop and server operating systems, Outlook, Exchange Server, and Windows Mobile portable devices. If you use other products, such as RIM Blackberry™ or Goodlink messaging products, Cisco (or other) unified messaging, or PalmOS devices, each of these should be worked into your deployment plan.
One key to successfully reacting to the new Daylight Savings Time rules is to patch everything in quick succession, to minimize the amount of time that different systems are trying to communicate with opposing rules about time. Simpler-Webb is your partner in planning your Daylight Savings Time deployment. Please give us a call us today to schedule a consultation!
PARTNER TECHNOLOGY SPOTLIGHT ::
January 4, 2007
The Future of IT: Aligning IT with Business
Q&A with Lance Perry and David Aungle
www.cisco.com/go/gtf
A recent survey of 300 worldwide executives revealed that business managers and IT professionals perceive the future role of IT departments differently. C-level executives, for example, anticipate that IT’s focus will move away from cost containment to responsibility for revenue generation. IT personnel, however, are skeptical that their cost-control responsibilities will disappear anytime soon. Independent IT industry editor and analyst Joanie Wexler sat down with Lance Perry and David Aungle, both vice presidents in Cisco’s Information Technology Group, to discuss the trends uncovered by the study and how IT professionals might best position themselves for the future.
The survey was conducted by the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) for the Global Technology Forum (GTF), a program for executives co-sponsored by Cisco Systems, Capgemini, SAP, and the EIU that explores the intersection of business and technology.
How realistic is it that IT departments will no longer be held accountable for cost containment when asked to focus on building revenue for their employers?
PERRY: I think it’s completely unrealistic. We will see continued IT focus on cost containment. What will get added is looking across the business for opportunities to simplify business processes and to make it easier for customers to work with your company.
AUNGLE: I think that the CEO and other business leaders expect IT to be led cost effectively, but that will be merely the price of entry for IT professionals going forward. There’s a generation of business leaders now who have grown up with technology in a way that the previous generation didn’t. Those business leaders understand instinctively that there’s a significant role that IT can play beyond being just a cost center—one that involves bringing value to the front office and to cross-functional process integration.
If IT professionals do remain responsible for cost containment, how they can organize themselves to juggle both jobs effectively?
PERRY: IT professionals need to gain more business acumen in the function that they support. So, if you’re going to be a professional in IT for the finance organization, you and your company will be much better served if you have a finance background. Potentially, a degree in finance would allow you to come to the table regarded as a trusted advisor—someone who not only can offer technology solutions, but strategic business solutions, as well, and who will be fluent in how the technology marries that business solution.
AUNGLE: The other piece is to stay on top of how well we are managing our utilization of capacity [for compute and networking resources]. How cost- effectively are we getting a return from that capacity? Do we have the right metrics to know if we are getting good utilization of the high spend on disk storage? Are we monitoring and measuring how effectively we’re using network bandwidth? That kind of day in, day out operational focus will help an organization ensure that it’s meeting the baseline business expectation for cost effectiveness.
That having been said, how do you think the traditional IT department is likely to evolve organizationally over the next few years?
PERRY : There will be more development happening within the different business units. But that creates an interesting challenge: Who’s going to be the cross-functional "glue?" At Cisco, we’ve formed a group called the Business Process Operations Council, which looks at the cross-functional needs of the company. The CIO sits on its board, as well as members of each named business line. Together, we determine the biggest priorities for the company and how IT can deliver end-to-end business process benefits. In the past, IT has been asked to deliver more 'stovepipe' functions.
AUNGLE: IT needs to guide [the cross-functional discussions] in a way that enables these top business priorities, identifies some of the interdependencies between them, and determines tradeoff decisions that might have to be made. IT might also lend sequencing advice; for instance, you might not be able to begin your CRM initiative until you’ve addressed certain foundational priorities.
Will all IT personnel be absorbed into business units?
PERRY: I don’t think so. Think about it: If there were no organization to handle the change management of your networks or data centers, it would be chaos. So there really needs to be a group that manages capacity and services, and I see that remaining the traditional part of IT. Groups may decide to outsource that function, but I would certainly recommend that they continue to focus on architecture and never give that away.
AUNGLE: There’s a point of view that says that IT might 'disappear.' I don’t believe that’s the case. I think that the complexity of the integrated technology platform that any company runs on must be managed with professionalism. But there is an increasing movement towards breaking down barriers between the business and IT. So there would be a core IT group, either in-house or outsourced, that would make decisions about corporate IT standards and architectures.
Then, there would also be IT folks out in the business units getting very close to the business problems that need to be solved?
PERRY: Yes, the developers would be very much part of the business units. They’ll have to collaborate with each other, and the infrastructure group will, in turn, need to understand their business drivers to deliver technology solutions.
AUNGLE: Going forward, it will be very important that IT leaders not operate as if we’re waiting for an invitation [to participate in business decisions]. You have to come to the table with an end-to-end perspective of how a transaction crosses every part of the company, from the time that a customer first expresses interest in a product through product shipment. Similar requirements exist for service-oriented businesses.
In that vein, do you think that the CEO’s vision for the IT department is in sync with the CIO and IT manager’s vision of their roles?
AUNGLE: Well, I think that quite often the CEO’s vision for the company is not closely connected to the IT organization’s strategy. And that doesn’t mean that either one is wrong. What it means is that the IT organization needs to work on expressing what an IT strategy enables in terms that resound with the business managers and the CEO. It’s also true that business expectations about what IT can do are very high. It’s a great opportunity for IT professionals to step up to that expectation. We have to do it in a way in which we are making sure the expectations, of course, can be met. Sometimes that means challenging ourselves in how we look at managing risk. Quite often, the expectation can be met if you’re willing to accept a certain level of risk. The risk-reward tradeoff is something CIOs and other IT leaders need to be clear about. CEOs seem to think acquiring new technologies will be a big contributor to aligning IT with the business goals going forward. Can you think of any practical examples of this?
PERRY: One would be rich media: tying voice, video, and data all together in a seamless offering so that employees can collaborate remotely. I think a big criterion determining whether employees stay at companies has become work-life balance. If you can provide the ability for employees to do their jobs from home and other locations, you’ve empowered your company to get more from employees, both from a performance and loyalty perspective. Lance, you mentioned work-life balance and quality of life a few times.
Do those issues qualify as strategic business goals for companies?
PERRY: Yes, I think the most important thing IT professionals need to care about is their people and quality-of-life issues. Employees are our number one asset, and if you can keep your attrition rates low, you don’t have to continually reinvest in new employees. It’s a win for everyone.
Going forward, what experience would you advise being on a CIO’s curriculum vitae? Are the skill sets and roles going to change significantly?
PERRY: Yes, I think the roles will change. In the past, IT has played three roles: saving money, getting new technologies in place, and being a leader. The fourth role I see being added is that of business expert: being able to understand your company’s business, influence business processes, and bring in technologies that support those new business processes.
AUNGLE: We will increasingly see IT leadership having direct business operations experience on their resumes. I think those with traditional IT responsibilities have sometimes been narrower in scope than they need to be going forward. Network engineers are much more capable of adding value, for example, if they understand the value of the applications riding over the network. Database administrators add value if they understand how their decisions affect how storage is bought and provisioned. Then there’s also a breadth of perspective that we want in each technology area, because the technologies are all coming together.
How will professionals gain all this expertise? Corporate training? Special certification classes?
AUNGLE: Yes, but there’s also a lot of power in career development; in being proactive about rotating people into different areas. There’s also a lot of power in involving people in a decision for which they may play a supporting role. For instance, here at Cisco, we have a virtual team of our senior architects. And those senior architects review all the top projects that could potentially impact our infrastructure, whether or not it directly impacts their domain. In doing so, they learn to broaden their perspective. Sometimes we hire, but a lot of the time we nurture.
Will we see the CIO joining corporate boards anytime in the near future?
PERRY: I see many CIOs on corporate boards today. I think that trend will expand greatly, because think about where CIOs sit: in a position where they see all the business functions of the company. They’re very much in the catbird seat and can bring tremendous value to a board. There seems to be a bit of expectations gap between how CEOs view IT’s role in the future versus how IT views its ongoing role.
How should IT resolve this?
PERRY: During the [2000-2001 economic] downturn, there was so much focus on cost containment that many CIOs began to consider that their primary job. That was a point in time when we needed to save money, and we did. Now, the CEO is saying we need more business value from IT. This is the most exciting time ever in the industry for a CIO. Sure, you’re going to be doing your job saving money, but you’ll also be shaping your company and actually driving growth. This is not a place where CIOs have sat before.
Any advice for success?
PERRY: The one characteristic you have to display more than anything else is courage. I think the survey spoke for itself when it said that CEOs are counting on their CIOs and the IT department to help drive growth and innovation. So be courageous, have ideas. Accept that not all of them will be adopted. But really drive those ideas that you think are most important for your company. Consider creating a council that helps you look across all the business functions to help prioritize your work.
AUNGLE: There are many leading companies that bring this kind of collective perspective and decision making to the table. They are companies that are very successful in their industries, global players or not. Many of these trends that we’ve discussing emerged from a survey taken for the Global Technology Forum by the Economic Intelligence Unit.
What was the biggest takeaway from the survey for you?
PERRY: I’ve always thought that IT was going to evolve into a more strategic partner for the business, and the survey and subsequent roundtable discussions about it really validated that for me.
AUNGLE: I’ve learned that the expectations held by CEOs and other business leaders create an unparalleled opportunity for IT to add value to the business. I think the door is being opened to us to demonstrate what we can do. That can feel like a double-edged sword to a lot of professionals. So my advice to myself and to my peers is to demonstrate managerial courage and a willingness to be clear about risks.
Find more information regarding the Global Technology Forum
Published by Cisco Customized Partner Intelligence
Copyright © 2007 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
SERVICE OFFERING ::
Call Simpler-Webb today for a FREE IT Infrastructure Optimization assessment!
Learn more about the IO assessment here:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/infrastructure/iom_assessment.mspx
EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT & NEWS ::
Employee Spotlight on Jason Matthews, Network Consultant
Jason Matthews returned to Simpler-Webb in January after a tour in Iraq with the National Guard. He started at Simpler-Webb nearly three years ago as a NOC technician. Jason fondly remembers his interview, “When interviewing for the IDS tech position I was asked the requisite logic problem, "How much water exits the Mississippi river?" Luckily, I was a former petroleum engineering undergrad and answered with the correct number of, “32 million gallons a minute when not at flood stage," and skipped what would normally be a long drawn out portion of the interview." The former University of Texas student is now a Network Consultant and recently passed the Lifecycle, Cisco Certified Design Associate, and IPT Express exams. In his spare time, Jason practices jiu-jitsu and was once a two time state games silver medalist in North Carolina. He also enjoys playing Guitar Hero (using skills he honed as a bass player in a Metallica cover band), riding his motorcycle, and dreaming of a vacation to Oktoberfest. Welcome home, Jason!
Jeff Simpler Goes on Tour
Jeff Simpler, CEO and Co-Founder of Simpler-Webb, will be speaking at several conferences and trade shows around the country in 2007. Most recently, Jeff spoke at NAFCU’s Security Conference in New Orleans on February 13th. Jeff will also be speaking at Symitar’s Eastern, South Central, and Northwestern User Group conferences in March and April. If you would like to consider Jeff for a speaking opportunity, please contact jenna.stephenson@swinc.com for a speaker proposal.
Employee Certifications
Simpler-Webb employees are hard at work devoting spare hours to studying for certifications to keep Simpler-Webb on the leading edge of technical capabilities. Some of the most recent accomplishments include the Cisco Certified Design Associate certification, Lifecycle Express and IPT Express exams, two Cisco Certified Network Associate certifications, the Microsoft Exam 70-282: Designing, Deploying, and Managing Network Solutions for SMBs, two Microsoft Desktop Support Technician certifications, two Back Office AT&T certifications, and two Sales Authorization AT&T certifications.
Simpler-Webb Keeps on Growing!
Simpler-Webb welcomes Ana Lopez as a Developer. She will have primary responsibility for testing Simpler-Webb developed software and will also work on development projects. This Puerto Rico native came to Simpler-Webb from the big apple, where she worked for Microsoft. You can see her dancing and singing through the halls of Simpler-Webb on any given day. Ana is an avid student of the salsa, merengüe, waltz, polka, montaña, plena, bomba, jazz, tap, and hip-hop. In her spare time she enjoys reading, video games, biking and learning Japanese.
USEFUL LINKS
Simpler-Webb: www.simplerwebb.com
Microsoft Infrastructure Optimization Journey:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/infrastructure/datasheet.mspx
Microsoft Infrastructure Optimization Assessment Tool:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/infrastructure/iom_assessment.mspx
Cisco Raises Self-Defending Network’s Power to a New Level:
http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2007/prod_020507.html
Microsoft’s Daylight Savings Time site:
http://support.microsoft.com/DST2007 and webcasts: http://support.microsoft.com/mar2007.aspx/gp/dst_webcasts.