Tag: Mitch Tulloch

Fresh Links Sundae – April 20, 2014 Edition

http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-image-easter-eggs-image23845596Fresh Links Sundae encapsulates information I have come across during the past week. Often they are from the people whose work I admire or resonate with me. I hope you will find these ideas thought-provoking at the minimum. Even better, I hope these ideas will, over time, help my fellow IT pros make better decisions, be awesome, and kick ass!

Charles Araujo believes that a well-run operation is the strategic pathway to the most important asset of any IT organization: trust. He goes on to explain the three key qualities a disciplined IT shop usually possesses. The Three Attitudes of a Disciplined IT Department (CIO Insight)

Analyzing and displaying data correctly can be very context or situation dependent. Nancy Duarte shows us the questions we should be asking before properly analyzing or visualizing data. The Quick and Dirty on Data Visualization (Harvard Business Review)

The ever-increasing size of data is presenting a challenge for organizations to manage and analyze in order to deliver actionable business insight.  John Haddad outlines an approach of creating a data management supply chain that identifies business goals and deploy the agile infrastructure necessary to achieve those objectives. How to build a big data supply chain (InfoWorld)

Many teams resort to compromise in order to avoid conflicts when discussing or collaborating on important data-based decisions with another group. Michael Schrage believes that is an ineffective approach and suggests that we should demand our teams to demonstrate just how well they understand the other’s viewpoint and position. How to Have an Honest Data-Driven Debate (Harvard Business Review)

For many IT organizations, the changes in the business and technology environments have prompted the examination of the IT as a Service (ITaaS) model. Michael Biddick recommends IT organizations examine three key ITaaS elements as they attempt to transform from a sole service provider role to a service strategist.  Zen & The Art Of Service-Oriented IT (InformationWeek)

Oded Moshe believes that a good IT Asset Management (ITAM) practice can enable IT departments to make smarter decisions, demonstrate their value, and reduce nasty surprises. He goes on to explores nine ways IT department can improve their own effectiveness by leveraging ITAM. 9 Ways ITAM Can Empower IT (SysAid Blog)

An IT Asset Management (ITAM) program is often viewed as a temporary, stop-gap response to audit or compliance exercises, but it can yield long-term benefits if it is done effectively. Anne Watson outlines the elements for an effective ITAM program. Navigating the Political Storm Of ITAM (ITAM Review)

Effective performance can be viewed as a function of the quality of an idea times the employee’s commitment to make it happen. When communicating with direct reports, Marshall Goldsmith recommends that gaining their commitment and enthusiasm should be a priority. Their Commitment Might Mean More Than Our Insight (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)

Something else you might be interested in…

Microsoft has made a free eBook by David Ziembicki and Mitch Tulloch available for download. Free ebook: Microsoft System Center: Integrated Cloud Platform (Microsoft Press)

Fresh Links Sundae – November 10, 2013 Edition

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-image-fruit-sundae-image15278271Fresh Links Sundae encapsulates information I have come across during the past week. Often they are from the people whose work I admire or resonate with me. I hope you will find these ideas thought-provoking at the minimum. Even better, I hope these ideas will, over time, help my fellow IT pros make better decisions, be awesome, and kick ass!

The interactions between customers and brands used to be relatively simple, but today many customers move through multiple channels when interacting with the same company. To put data analytics to work in improving the customer experience, Harald Fanderl, Dorian Stone, Alfonso Pulido recommends three things for companies to consider. Don’t Let Data Paralysis Stand Between You and Your Customers (Harvard Business Review)

Bob Lewis explains why the on-going healthcare.gov problems are nothing new to large-scale IT projects, and the integration and project sponsorship mistakes are entirely preventable. The scandal that wasn’t, but is (IS Survivor Publishing)

Although few organizations have projects as large as healthcare.gov, CEB has found that most organizations regularly run into troubled projects on a more modest scale. Andrew Horne recommends three approaches IT leaders can use to spot troubled projects earlier. How to Spot a Troubled Project (CEB’s IT Blog)

With many organizations assigning people with both project and service request work in a shared services model, ensuring that the resources are optimally allocated for value can be difficult.  Charles Betz suggests having a robust demand management mechanism is crucial to make things work. Is the shared services model dead? (lean4it)

Drawing from personal experience, Julie Montgomery shares her thoughts on customer service and how organization can leverage it to help promote its brand. [Rant] What is Customer “Delightion” And Why IT Should Give a Crap (Plexent Blog)

With the growing adoption of cloud services, some believe that software asset management (SAM) is becoming less relevant. Martin Thompson explains why the core SAM principles remain the same for cloud and why SAM is more crucial than ever. Navigating the cloud: Why SAM is more important than ever (The ITAM Review)

While many organizations believe they need to have always-on-with-no-downtime IT environment, few truly understand what it takes to achieve such high availability. Ryan Ogilvie suggests questions to ask in order to optimize availability while keeping the cost in check. Determining the Value of Bulletproof Availability (Service Management Journey)

While many organizations are becoming familiar with the Enterprise Architecture concepts, relatively few realize the significant value proposition provided by architecture assessments. Stephen Lahanas suggests the skillsets and activities needed for doing such assessment. The Value of Architecture Assessments (Technovation Talks)

From a recent study, Marshall Goldsmith was able to draw the conclusion that today’s ideal leader is a person who builds internal and external partnerships. He explains how successful leaders can do to take on this leadership requirement. Building Partnerships (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)

The business case for using stakeholder management in a business or project can be difficult to justify for many organizations. Still, Lynda Bourne believes there is an excellent business case to be made and articulates the reasons why investing in effective stakeholder analytics is likely to deliver a valuable return on investment. The value of stakeholder management (Mosaicproject’s Blog)

Something else you might be interested in…

Microsoft has made a free Windows Server 2012 R2 e-book by Mitch Tulloch available for download. Free ebook: Introducing Windows Server 2012 R2 Technical Overview (MSDN Blogs)