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IT Assessments Why Ready, Fire, Aim Doesn’t Work

Learn why the "Ready, Fire, Aim" strategy isn't effective and explore PDS's IT assessment approach for optimal results and alignment with business goals. Discover the benefits of agility, alignment, and enhanced IT operations.

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IT Assessments Why Ready, Fire, Aim Doesn’t Work

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  1. IT AssessmentsWhy Ready, Fire, Aim Doesn’t Work Mike Barsema, Account Director Tom Moerke, Engagement Manager March 18, 2010 WGFOA Meeting

  2. Agenda Introduction PDS Highlights Ready-Aim-Fire! IT Assessment Approach Example Results – CoO Conclusions WGFOA Meeting

  3. PDS HIGHLIGHTS WGFOA Meeting

  4. PDS Overview • As a leading IT integrator, we architect, supply, implement and manage the infrastructure of medium to large size organizations. • IT Organizations all over the country rely on PDS: • To help them increase their ROI and reduce TCO • To help them compete by providing better agility and flexibility • To help improve their quality of life for them and their end-users • Company Locations • Oconomowoc, WI (Headquarters) • Madison, WI (PDS Technology Center) • Regional Offices Locations: • Brookfield, WI • Wausau, WI • Sheboygan, WI • Kansas City, MO • Minneapolis, MN • Chicago, IL • Columbus, OH WGFOA Meeting

  5. Recent PDS Highlights $130 Million 2009 revenue 270+ employees Headquartered in Oconomowoc, WI With regional offices in Brookfield, Madison, Wausau, Sheboygan, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Columbus, Ohio 140+ consultants and technical resources, over 400 certifications, ISO 9001:2000 registration Intel Corporation names PDS as "Most Innovation Solution for Business in North America" 2008 4 time - Milwaukee Magazine and Business Journal "Best Places to Work" Deloitte & Touche "Wisconsin 75" Award: Top 75 Privately Held Companies in Wisconsin Gartner Summit/VARVision Outstanding Community Service for North America WGFOA Meeting

  6. The PDS ‘Way” TimeToday's IT solution provider must enable, not just augment. By leveraging the PDS Way, we don't just free your staff of the heavy lifting and tactical things within IT, but we help plan, strategize, and see your IT initiatives through to completion - whether it's a data center consolidation project, network redesign, desktop refresh, or business productivity upgrade, PDS helps you get it done. ENABLE ITO’s WITH: KnowledgeThe PDS Way helps our client's grow through education, training, and hands-on experience. By leveraging PDS, your team benefits from our leadership, planning, technical expertise, and vendor relationships. From the data center to the desktop, the PDS Way enables your team to own the process, using PDS as a coach and team of experts to help launch and manage your IT initiatives. WGFOA Meeting

  7. Ask yourself… Ask yourself… Are you inspired by your vendor/partner? Do they positively impact your typical day? Do they positively impact your customers? Have they innovated on your behalf? Do they understand your business goals? Do they help improve your competitive stature? Have they helped you measure your success? WGFOA Meeting

  8. Ready, AIM, Fire! WGFOA Meeting

  9. What is “Ready, Fire, Aim”? Tom Peter’s coined the phrase in his book In Search of Excellence Is the name of an electronica alternative band A Time Management Technique A Teaching Method (finding something compelling) A Strategy for Social Media Success (Feedback) A blog called “ready, fire, aim, APOLOGIZE” Is the title of a rags to riches book An entrepreneurial strategy WGFOA Meeting

  10. “Ready, Fire, Aim” proponents assume: • You have a lack of goals • Planning is an excuse for not getting started • You are stuck in analysis paralysis • That the alternative is “Ready, aim, aim, aim ,aim, aim, fire” which can: • Miss time-sensitive opportunities • Stifle an initiative with bureaucracy • Kill enthusiasm WGFOA Meeting

  11. Why Ready, Fire, Aim Doesn’t Work WGFOA Meeting

  12. Why Ready, Fire, Aim Doesn’t Work • Leaves strategic thinking to hindsight • Little opportunity for consideration of: • alternative strategies • wider context • stakeholder needs. • Results in sub-optimal approaches • While entrepreneurs can make lots of mistakes, risking public funds may not be wise. WGFOA Meeting

  13. What is Ready-AIM-Fire? • Ready • Prepare Yourself • Do you have what it takes? • Are you prepared to follow through? • Aim • Assess • Decide which direction you want to shoot • What goals you want to attain • Fire • Execute • Measure • Hit the target WGFOA Meeting

  14. IT ASSESSMENT APPROACH WGFOA Meeting

  15. IT Assessment Services The PDS Technology Assessment is an exercise to get clients from their current state of IT, to a desired state of IT. A desired state solution includes aligning the technology plan to the organization goals leveraging technologies, practices, and people to provide an always on, always supported, agile infrastructure. WGFOA Meeting

  16. Ultimate Goals • Agility • The ability of an organization to sense change and respond efficiently/effectively • Alignment • The coordination of the IT strategy with the business strategy. • Reflects business “reliance” on IT WGFOA Meeting

  17. Purpose of the Assessment • Gauge the current state of IT, establish a technology vision for the future, and help build a clear roadmap to achieving that vision. • Move IT from a “cost center” to a strategic corporate asset that delivers ongoing business value. • Higher IT capability directly correlates with higher revenue growth(23%), reduced expenses, improved security and higher productivity. • Reduce effort associated with IT administration to give your organization the flexibility to grow without hiring additional staff and the ability to focus more on strategic issues. • Investments in technology help differentiate your businesses by enabling your people (your most important asset). 3/18/2010 WGFOA Meeting

  18. IT Assessment Process • Kickoff Meeting • Client completes pre-assessment questions and provides supporting documentation • User Survey • Capacity Planner • Assessment Workshop • Interviews • Infrastructure review • Develop IT Assessment Deliverable • Presentation of Assessment Results to Client • Implementation of Projects WGFOA Meeting

  19. Kickoff Meeting • Understand Assessment Objectives • Gain Consensus on Primary Focus Areas • Review Information Needs (pre-assessment questions and documentation) • Identify Stakeholders and Points of Contact • Determine if user survey will be done. If so, approve questions and send out or place on-line. • Support Needs • Technology Needs • Schedule Assessment and resources WGFOA Meeting

  20. Assessment Workshop • Overview of the Assessment Process and Participant Roles • Business Overview and Strategic Requirements • IT Costs • End User Interviews (group) • Infrastructure Review • Facility Tour and Inspection • Detailed Competency Reviews and Business Requirements Mapping • Service Desk and Service Management (IT support/staffing) • Converged Networks (includes remote access) • Server and Storage Optimization (includes data protection/security) • Computing and Print Architecture (includes IT lifecycle Mgmt) • Focused Summary/Next steps (schedule presentation) WGFOA Meeting

  21. Typical Deliverable (1 of 2) • Executive Overview • Background • Findings (current state) • Recommendations • Solutions by Competency • Current State • Desired State • Solution Approach • Primary Business Drivers • Competencies include • Service Management • Security • Collaboration and Apps • Product Services • Converged Network Infrastructure • Server and Storage • Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity WGFOA Meeting

  22. Typical Deliverable (2 of 2) • Overall Business Case • Timeline (short and long term roadmap) • Investments (cost/benefit) • Project Recommendations • Summary and Appendixes • Summary and Next Steps • User Survey Results • Technology Descriptions • Server Inventory/Performance Analysis WGFOA Meeting

  23. Expectations of Client • Completion of Pre-assessment Questions and Supporting Documentation • Availability of Resources for Assessment • Upper Management • IT Management • Technical IT staff • Sampling of Users • Availability of Facilities for Inspection • Communications to the Rest of the Organization • Availability of Financial Information (Optional) WGFOA Meeting

  24. IT Assessment Example City of Oconomowoc WGFOA Meeting

  25. Survey – What we heard • Lack of centralized and/or universal programs and inconsistency across departments in regards to technology and support. • There is a significant need for training. • Outdated platforms and applications cause degradation of responsiveness. There is no regular refresh program in place for upgrading systems or applications. Printer issues were common. • Access and Sharing of information was noted as a major roadblock including technicians who would like to access and update information remotely. No intranet is available. Internet is unreliable. • External website needs significant improvements. • A great deal of self and peer support is used to resolve issues and application questions resulting in inefficient use of employee’s time (2 man-years). WGFOA Meeting

  26. 3/18/2010 WGFOA Meeting

  27. 3/18/2010 WGFOA Meeting

  28. Major Recommendations • Product Services - Establish Best Practice for Workstation Lifecycle Management Including Refresh and Standardization of Software and Hardware to Reduce TCO. • Utilize a Centralized Service Desk • Implement SharePoint and Office Communications Server as a Means to Share and Manage Internal Information • Converged Networks (Network Remote Facilities over Fiber) • Server Virtualization with Redundancy and Consolidated Storage • Standardize on Exchange Email (Municipal Mail to Start) • Enhanced Security WGFOA Meeting

  29. Product Services Analysis of current desktop environment Recommendations on refresh, service catalog, standardization and overall life cycle management Printing WGFOA Meeting

  30. Centralized Service Desk • Provides a SPOC to Offload day-to-day tactical support for end users to free up time for project-based and strategic initiatives by IT staff. • Reduction in peer support and increase productivity of users • Logs and documents support calls in a structured manner to provide valuable information for good decision making. • Can proactively monitor the infrastructure. • Eliminates need to hire additional headcount (with associated hiring, managing and training costs) • Provides one on one training for users • Creates best practices and process documentation • Creates Knowledge Base of solutions owned by Client • Provides ad-hoc access to technical expertise 3/18/2010 WGFOA Meeting

  31. SharePoint and office communications server • Provides Centralized Intranet • Integrates Diverse Applications • Provides Searchable Document Management • Maintains Work Flows • Provides alerts and collaborative tools • User Configurable and Personal Pages • Enables Expertise Location • Office Communications Server • Presence • Sharing • Instant Messaging 3/18/2010 WGFOA Meeting

  32. Converged Networks • Build out fiber MAN to remote sites creating LAN-level performance to all buildings. • Enable inter-departmental access - Eliminate redundancy of data and “fiefdoms” • Productivity gains of all users having access to all resources – eliminates “sneaker-net” moving of data or paper. • Centralization of servers – move servers to single, secured, climate controlled, power controlled environment. Single storage and backup environment enables simpler disaster recovery options. • Cost control of IT resources – fewer, better tools equate to lower cost. • Distribution of human resources – some users no longer necessarily “belong” to a building • Development of advanced collaboration – Phone system, voice mail, messaging, surveillance, and security systems can all run from single core • Secure and Centralized Internet Connection • Future VOIP and Wireless LAN 3/18/2010 WGFOA Meeting

  33. WGFOA Meeting

  34. Server Virtualization • Reduces the number of under/over utilized servers and associated components required to support computing needs thereby reducing future costs and providing higher performance to users. • Reduces hardware support costs and increases efficiencies in IT operations (provisioning, configuration, reconfiguration, and migration, backup) • Improves business continuity (availability) and reduces costs to implement disaster recovery • Reduce facilities costs (data center power, cooling, and floor space) • Enables the building a cost-effective and consistent development and test environments (on-demand computing) • Improves Security • Provides a Scalable and Agile Infrastructure 3/18/2010 WGFOA Meeting

  35. 3/18/2010 WGFOA Meeting

  36. Conclusions WGFOA Meeting

  37. Why Assessments? Makes your lives easier by removing the hassles within IT Reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Helps you compete Improve end-user satisfaction THE PDS VALUE WGFOAMeeting

  38. Shameless PDS Commercial! • Current State of WI contracts (details available on Vendornet): • HP Intel-based PC’s (#15-20453-800) • HP Printers (#15-20477-701) • IT Services Sourcing (#15-92040-501) • WSCA Agreement (#15-20400-905) • PC Power Management Tools-Verdiem (#15-20811-901) WGFOA Meeting

  39. THANK YOU! WGFOA Meeting

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