IT Financial Management: It is Not Just Cost Cutting

Overview: When you talk with most IT Organizations about Financial Management, the discussion quickly turns into one of budgets and cost-cutting. But that is not the way it should be. I have seen an IT Organization receive approval for a $50M increase in the middle of a corporate wide expense reduction. How? Simple, they were able to clearly demonstrate how their IT budget was being spent in support of specific Business Initiatives.

When a new Business Initiative arose that required funding, IT let the Business decide where to cut. Instead IT received additional funds to support the new Business. You will learn the basics on creating a Financial Management system that links IT spending directly to approved Business Initiatives. It will also teach you how to change the discussion from cost-cutting to business functional support.

Why Should you Attend: If you are interested in discovering a better way to negotiate funding with your Business, you should attend this webinar.

• Does your Business Unit keep giving your work without any additional funding?
• Are you constantly being asked to report on how you are spending money?
• Are you unable to obtain funds to maintain your infrastructure at current levels?
• Are you constantly being asked to cut your budget without any reduction in workload?

Areas Covered in the Session:

• Create a Financial Management System based on business initiatives
• Conduct discussions with Business Units based on business requirements and priorities and not just total IT spending.
• Ensure your Organization understands the necessity of accurately recording and categorizing expenses.
• To move from just Cost Cutting to true Financial Management.

Who Will Benefit:

• Directors
• Senior Managers
• Program Managers
• Project Managers

John has spent over three decades in the IT services industry working for industry leaders AT&T, AT&T Solutions and British Telecom. He has led numerous multi-million dollar, multi-year outsourcing and service delivery engagements with dozens of Fortune 500 firms during his career. He has extensive experience and expertise in IT transformation efforts, outsourcing analysis, M&A integrations and service implementations. Prior to his customer-facing work, John spent many years running internal infrastructure operations and serving in senior management roles within AT&T and BT. John is a Managing Partner with The IT Transformation Institute, which is a catalyst for change, transforming the IT industry. Focused on developing leaders and creating sustainable organizations that realize the business value of their technology investments, ITTI provides a set of “transformational tools” designed to change the DNA of IT organizations. Built by practitioners, ITTI’s baselining / feedback tools, on-demand / live workshops and professional development resources give IT leaders what they need to solve today’s problems, break the dysfunctional cycles that cause tomorrow’s, and create Next-Generation IT organizations.

In his role, John works with customers to create the right mix of Seminars, Workshops and Coaching to support their unique needs. He is also responsible for the development of new services to support the ever changing business environment. John serves on the Executive Committee of the NJ SIM Chapter and the Leadership Team of itSMF NJ LIG. He is a regular contributor to CIO Insight Magazine and has been published in IT Business Edge, itSM Solutions and ITSM Portal.

Reference: https://www.eitaglobal.com/control/w_product/~product_id=300133LIVE

SharePoint Best Practices - Webinar By EITAGlobal

Overview: It is easy to use SharePoint but if you don’t follow certain guidelines and best practices you can end up wasting valuable time and resources. This Webinar will teach you the recommended way to work with SharePoint. You will benefit from over a dozen years of SharePoint experience of a Microsoft MVP and consultant to ensure your sites, lists and libraries are properly configured and secured. 

By following the best practices taught in this Webinar, you will be able to ensure that you are using the proper site template that suits your business needs, save time, work faster and smarter, avoid common pitfalls, organize your metadata and content better, enhance security of your data, and speed up the process of searching your content to get a better return on your investment.

Why should you attend: This Webinar is primarily designed for SharePoint Site Owners, Site Administrators, and Power Users but is also helpful for end users who use SharePoint on a regular basis. In this Webinar, a Microsoft Certified Trainer will teach you how to best create and manage SharePoint sites, lists, libraries, which templates to use, when to use a site versus a page, a Web part page versus a wiki page, securing content with proper permissions, when to use a file share instead of a SharePoint library, and a host of other topics.

Because the focus of this Webinar is primarily on the Site Owners and Site Administrators, best practices for installing, configuring, and managing SharePoint Server features and services are not included in this presentation. However, SharePoint Server administrators will benefit from attending this Webinar.

Areas Covered in the Session:

• Templates
• Libraries
• Lists
• Folders & Files
• Permissions
• Columns
• Document Sets
• Document IDs
• Pages
• Browser Support
• Social Networking
• Blogging
• Search
• Content Type
• ……and much more

Who Will Benefit:

• SharePoint Administrator
• SharePoint Architect
• Site Owner
• Site Administrator
• Project Manager
• Power User
• End User

Setting up a Linux Cross-Development Environment

Overview: This webinar shows you how to set up a Linux-based cross-development environment for doing development work on a typical ARM target board. Live demonstrations com-plement the lecture material to show you exactly how the process works. While the examples presented utilize an ARM processor, the basic concepts are applicable to any architecture. 

We'll begin by reviewing the basic cross-development paradigm and describing a typical toolchain. We'll configure the workstation's network interface to support the Network File System (NFS). We'll also need a simple serial terminal emulator for talking to the target board's boot loader. A typical ARM-based target single board computer (SBC), the Mini2440, will be intro-duced. We'll configure the board's network interface to connect with the workstation when it boots up.

Then, after reviewing the Linux notion of "mounting" file systems, we'll use NFS to mount the target board's root file system. Eclipse will be introduced to illustrate the value of an Integrated Development Envi-ronment (IDE). Eclipse is a popular Open Source project that has been adapted by several commercial tool vendors as the basis for their own IDEs. We'll demonstrate how a network-based target file system, together with Eclipse, speeds up the ed-it/compile/debug cycle.
Having built and tested a simple application program, we'll move on to review several Open Source build systems that aim to simplify the process of setting up a development environment. These packages encompass all of the elements of the environment in-cluding: tool chain, libraries, utilities in the form of BusyBox, Linux kernel, and boot loader.

Want to use Windows? Well, if you must. While it's a little more involved, it is possible to set up a usable Linux development environment in Windows. One of the problems is that Windows doesn't ship with an NFS server. We'll wrap things up then, by taking a look at a Windows-based cross-development platform.

Why should you attend: Any task is accomplished faster, easier and more efficiently with the right set of tools. Thus, when developing embedded devices with Linux, good practice requires that you have a well-structured development environment. While it may be possible to do develop-ment on the target device itself, it's usually not the most efficient or productive environment. The preferred alternative is a cross-development environment on a workstation class PC.

How or where do you get a cross-development environment? You can go to a commercial tool vendor and pay a lot of money. Or you can set one up yourself. The goal of this presentation is to show you that it's not that difficult, especially if you use one of the popular Open Source build systems. Even if your target does not use Linux, a proper Linux-based cross-development envi-ronment is still a good investment in productivity. You can just as easily use other target operating systems or program to the bare metal.

Especially if you're new to embedded development, this webinar will get you started on the right track toward greater productivity and quicker time to market.

Areas Covered in the Session:

• Cross-development tool chains
• Configuring the workstation for NFS
• The target board
• Mounting the target's root file system over the network
• Eclipse
• Open Source build systems
  • Yocto
  • OpenEmbedded
  • Buildroot
  • Linaro
• What about using Windows?

Who Will Benefit:

• Embedded engineer
• Software engineer
• Firmware engineer
• System architect
• Engineering Manager

The Big Deal with Big Data and Predictive Analytics

Overview: While I fully expect each enterprise to add its own flavor to the mix, here's one way to get the big data and predictive analytics conversation started: Big data is a collection of data from traditional and digital sources inside and outside your company that represents a source for ongoing discovery and analysis. 

Some people will constrain big data to digital inputs like web behavior and social network interactions; however most CMOs and CIOs agree that we can't exclude traditional data derived from product transaction information, financial records and interaction channels, such as the call center and point-of-sale. All of that is big data, too, even though the volume of digital data that's now growing at an exponential rate may dwarf it.

Why should you attend: Terabytes, Petabytes, Exabytes. Who can keep track? These strange terms have just begun to enter the business lexicon, but the hype surrounding them has reached a fever pitch. Big data is important because it will transform how we manage our enterprises. Like any new technology, there is a lot of confusion surrounding big data. There are endless debates about what is and isn't big data.

Senior Fellow and Chief Strategist, Melvin Greer provides clarity around big data and predictive analytics and shows how enterprises are transformed by their use. There is a growing divide between organizations' who use data effectively and those who don't. Big data means much more than a change in technology, it represents a structural transformation is how we will manage our enterprises.

Areas Covered in the Session:

• The Big Deal with Big Data
• Using predictive analytics to transform business
• Big Data, Analytics And The Future Of Marketing And Sales
• Big Data and Predictive Analytics
• The Cloud and Big Data
• Big Data Success Stories
• Strategic Recommendations: What Should I do Now?

Who Will Benefit:

• Chief Marketing Officers
• CIO's
• IT Architects
• Sales Executives
• Web Content Developers
• Bank Executives
• Venture Capital Analysts
• Educators

Artificial Intelligence –advanced, yet a long way to go

Artificial Intelligence –advanced, yet a long way to go

This phrase has been around for a few years now. Artificial Intelligence is fairly self-explanatory. In very highly simplified terms, what it means is to equip machines with the intelligence needed to perform tasks on their own, without human intervention. When a machine has Artificial Intelligence, it is capable of carrying out tasks that it would not have, earlier.

Making unintelligent devices intelligent

This is, as we have seen, a rather simplistic definition. In the real world, it is the same as getting a machine that is dumb –really dumb –to do things that we humans would. Why should machines do these jobs? Simple –to reduce the work on humans. So, seen in this perspective; Artificial Intelligence can make life a lot easier. Imagine not having to go to the mall to shop and having someone (or, in this case, something) to do it for you. Or imagine not having to worry about whether you locked your house properly before you left for a tour. Or having a machine that can do the gardening for you so that you laze around. And, best of all: no questions asked! These are the kinds of applications Artificial Intelligence can create for humans.

Very, very long way to go still

But wait a minute. Have we reached a stage where humans will lose control of their destinies? The following should answer this: Machines with Artificial Intelligence can do most of what humans do. But the difference is so great and of such magnitude that even with the highest levels of intelligence a human is capable of filling a machine with; these machines studded with Artificial Intelligence have come just a small distance from where they started.

To relate it to human intelligence, it is akin to see someone evolve from the stage of being incapable of the slightest comprehension to being able to extend a hand for a handshake at the sight of a stranger. We could consider this as a kind of metaphor for the level of development and advancement Artificial Intelligence has made.  This sounds rude and could even appear humiliating to all the scientists who create Artificial Intelligence out of their own intelligence. But then, that is how far Artificial Intelligence has got. This is not to suggest that the optimum level of development has been reached. Far from it. Artificial Intelligence has always had, and continues to have the potential for changing human lives.

References:

http://www.techopedia.com/definition/190/artificial-intelligence-ai

http://ai-depot.com/Intro.html

Cloud Computing on Systems

A description of cloud computing

At its barest, cloud computing refers to having one’s data stored and accessing it online rather than on physical means such as premises and offices. So, why did the term “cloud computing” come into existence, and where is the cloud, if everything was in the Net? Simple: here, the term “cloud” refers to the Net. Then, why call the Net a cloud, when it has its own nomenclature? To find the answer to this question, let us go to those innumerable flowcharts and diagrams we used to make at presentations to drive home a point. To relate a set of distant objects to proximate ones, we used to draw the picture of a cloud to show how this cloud used to house all these smaller sets.

One source, many systems

Believe it or not, this is how the concept of using this word came into the world of cloud computing! Yes, this was considered a very relatable object to describe the way many subsets –here, meaning many individual systems –could be grouped together under an umbrella, or what we may call the cloud. This should give an idea of what cloud computing is: it is the collection of data from various systems into one common location. This location is usually away from the office premises.

Is cloud computing for you?

With the advent of cloud computing, do people need to give up the idea of local hard disc storage, or have they already done it? Not really. Many people still consider local hard disc storage far superior to cloud computing, which many see as essentially unsafe, because it stores the data of many other users along with yours. But then, experts and those in the business of cloud computing say they have put in place many safeguards for ensuring that privacy and security are not breached. Those who are convinced by this see it as a means for hassle free, space-saving storage. Others who have concerns over security despite the best assurances can continue to use local storage. It is all a matter of one’s convenience and practicality, and of course, concerns.

References:

http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/what-cloud-computing-really-means-031

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2372163,00.asp

What are Embedded Systems?

What are Embedded Systems?

Unlike most other concepts or terms in engineering; Embedded Systems as a term is a little difficult to define. The difficulty is not in getting a grasp of the concept per se, but in getting a perspective on the number of tools and products which use Embedded Systems.

A quick look at the micro and macro elements of a software device should serve as a good starting point for our understanding of Embedded Systems. Whenever you come across a device, have you wondered the nuts and bolts of it –that is, the innumerable parts that go into it? If it is a smartphone that we are thinking about, how many of us lay users have given a thought to the parts that coordinate and synchronize with each other to make the product functional? These could be both the hardware and the software that go into the device. This is what may be summarized as Embedded Systems.

A myriad of applications

Embedded Systems can consist of many applications, what are these?  When talking about Embedded Systems, one could think of anything among these:  alarm systems, answering machines, camcorders,  calculators,  automated teller machines,  cell phones,  copiers,  digital cameras,  fax machines,  home security systems,  scanners,  printers,  portable video games,  personal digital assistants,  microwave ovens,  lighting  systems,  washing machines,  and many parts of automobiles, such as transmission control and cruise control, fuel injection, anti-lock brakes, or active suspension. All these devices use Embedded Systems.

References:

http://www.engineersgarage.com/articles/embedded-systems

http://searchenterpriselinux.techtarget.com/definition/embedded-system