Project Management, ITIL and BSM

By Linda King, G2G3

The importance of Project Management in IT is starting to gain credence. A recent article on CIOupdate.com claims that implementing Project Management, ITIL and BSM together can decrease IT budgets by 70%. You can read the full article here.

I'd have to question the true validity of this remarkable figure and the potential complicated nature of such a tripartite approach - but break it down, read further and the authors ultimate premise is that basic project management skills across IT will reap significant rewards. It's not just Project Managers that should be skilled in PM disciplines.. but all involved in IT. Combine this with the common sense approach of ITIL and the top-down approach of BSM - and it could be win win.

ISO/IEC 20000 qualification to rival ITIL crown?

By Linda King, G2G3

We've been watching with interest the recent launch of EXIN's new ISO/IEC 20000 series of qualifications. Is the foundation level likely to rival the crown of the ITIL foundation qualification in the ITSM space? It's been an interesting few weeks as far as this is concerned, particularly given that the ITIL V3 exams were withdrawn from Prometric (well-known online certification provider). According to a few other well-respected blogs, these exams will be back up in April, but in the interim, this forces anyone looking to take the exams to have go through a vendor. (Bet the vendors are pleased!)

So, is the ISO/IEC 20000 foundation a sound alternative to the ITIL foundation? (Given that the ISO/IEC 20000 foundation exam IS on Prometric). Only time will tell - but the ISO exams may be unlikely to have the same generic appeal. Mixed reactions abound, with some claiming the ISO exams are highly promising and will make a serious dent in the crown of ITIL, with others more skeptical. One things for certain, the next few months should certainly be interesting from a service management qualification perspective.

IT Change in Financial Services - Ready? or Not?

By David Arrowsmith, G2G3

Collectively, financial services generate more revenues per hour from their IT applications than from any other information intensive sector. When IT systems go down, the impact can have disastrous effects on revenue, reputation and customer service. In today's business environment, financial services organizations cannot survive without reliable IT services. Increased expansion, merger and acquisition activity, increasing customer demands, and rising regulatory and compliance activity (including Sarbanes-Oxley and many other regulations) are driving the industry to place further emphasis on improving technology, service and operational performance. Technology-related change is being driven at an unprecedented rate, and technology skills shortages are abound.

Financial services organizations are fast realizing that getting a system or compliance program ready for go-live is only half the challenge - and it's generally the easy half. The bigger challenge is getting the organization's people ready for change, then using the changes as a springboard for future improvement. This is what G2G3 call Readiness - the ability of an organization to deal with changes and adopt them to the point of acceptance, effectiveness and beyond. For more information on creating Readiness... contact us now.

Wii all like to play!

By Linda King, G2G3

It’s been 16 months now since Nintendo launched their Wii console in the UK, and it's popularity just keeps increasing. Why is the Wii so popular? Well - it filled a gap in the market. It was targeted at people who didn’t normally play computer games. In fact - Nintendo openly admit their key target from a marketing perspective were ‘mums’. Now hundreds of thousands of families crowd around their televisions, frantically punching the air, or swiping unseen tennis rackets - and having a huge amount of fun whilst doing it! Without a doubt, the Nintendo Wii has captured the imagination (and wallets!) of non-gamers across the globe.

The underlying fact here is that everyone likes to play. Games are no longer just for techno-geeks and teenagers. Playing games is great fun and brings people together. And if that passion and energy can be captured and applied to the workplace, just imagine what could be achieved. That’s the premise behind the G2G3 simulations - creating energy and propulsion for business success. The Wii has opened many minds to the power of play - and we at G2G3 believe this trend will continue, not only at home, but also in the business. Industry Analysts Gartner agree, with a recent research note citing that by 2012. high performing enterprises will shift 50% of their development spending from traditional training to simulations and experiential learning. The power of play is definitely on the up!!