This document summarizes an experiment of a collaborative IT management model called NOEMI for small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). The NOEMI model focuses on grouping SMEs into clusters to jointly manage their IT activities through a shared operational team. The model was tested through a case study of an experimental cluster. Results found the cluster had economic benefits from cost sharing. Management of the cluster through a committee worked well, with transparency of costs and activities. Surveys of participating SMEs found high satisfaction with the services provided by the shared operational team. The NOEMI model provides SMEs an alternative to manage IT without dedicated internal staff through collaborative management of IT activities across a cluster.
TEI of IBM Information Management SolutionsIBM Analytics
Originally Published on Dec 11, 2014
In October 2014, Forrester Consulting worked with IBM on a commissioned study to analyze the total economic impact that IBM’s Information Management solutions have on three specific big data use cases to help its customers solve important business problems. Through interviews and data aggregation, Forrester concluded that IBM Information Management solutions have the following financial impact on a representative organization: ROI – 148%; total benefit (PV) - $3.2 million.
TEI of IBM Information Management SolutionsIBM Analytics
Originally Published on Dec 11, 2014
In October 2014, Forrester Consulting worked with IBM on a commissioned study to analyze the total economic impact that IBM’s Information Management solutions have on three specific big data use cases to help its customers solve important business problems. Through interviews and data aggregation, Forrester concluded that IBM Information Management solutions have the following financial impact on a representative organization: ROI – 148%; total benefit (PV) - $3.2 million.
CHANGE MANAGEMENT: IMPLEMENTATION AND BENEFITS OF THE CHANGE CONTROL IN THE I...ijait
In the competitive environment, companies have given increasing importance to the IT sector and the
resources it delivers as strategic. As a result, IT becomes a living being within the company. This sector is
being subject to continuous changes in this scenario. These changes can occur within the own IT sector or
whether IT to other sectors of the company. For both scenarios, it is important to have a good change
control to avoid unnecessary trouble and expense. This paper aims to show through a case study, the
benefits and results obtained with the implementation of a process of managing and controlling changes in
the information technology environment of a large government company in Brazil.
The measurement of maturity level of information technology service based on ...TELKOMNIKA JOURNAL
Institutions are currently progressing on IT development and maximization in order to advance for good IT governance. Lack of comprehensive requirements analysis of IT utilization may lead to hindrances within IT development from achieving effective outcomes. This quantitative study employs control objective for information & related technology (COBIT 5) business framework to assess and identify the maturity level of IT service, primarily within the domain of delivery, service, and support (DSS). Data were obtained through questionnaire, observation, and documentation. The result reveals that the average maturity level of IT service is in level 3 (established); by which the study recommends for enhancements and upgrades in IT performance and service within the scope of compliance and IT service application and support.
The series of presentations contains the information about "Management Information System" subject of SEIT for University of Pune.
Subject Teacher: Tushar B Kute (Sandip Institute of Technology and Research Centre, Nashik)
http://www.tusharkute.com
BUSINESS RULE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK FOR ENTERPRISE WEB SERVICES ijwscjournal
Making a business rule extraction more dynamic is an open issue, and we think it is feasible if we decompose the business process structure in a set of rules, each of them representing a transition of the business process. As a consequence the business process engine can be realized by reusing and integrating an existing Rule Engine. We are proposing a way for extracting the business rules and then to modify it at the runtime. Business rules specifies the constraints that affect the behaviors and also specifies the derivation of conditions that affect the execution flow. The rules can be extracted from use
cases, specifications or system code. But since not many enterprises capture their business rules in a structured, explicit form like documents or implicit software codes, they need to be identified first, before being captured and managed. These rules change more often than the processes themselves, but changing and managing business rules is a complex task beyond the abilities of most business analysts. The capturing process focuses on the identification of the potential business rules sources. As business logic requirements change, business analysts can update the business logic without enlisting the aid of the IT staff. The new logic is immediately available to all client applications. In current trend the rules are modified or changed in the static time phase. But this paper provides to change the rules at the run time. Here the rules are extracted from the services and can be a changed dynamically. The existing
rules are modified and attached to source code without hindering service to the end user which can be achieved with source control systems. When the rules are revised, it provides a path in budding new business logic. This new business logic can be adopted for the efficient software development.
KEY CHALLENGES IMPLEMENTING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN TO VARIOUS FUNCTIONAL AREAS, MIS, MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN BUSINESS, FUNCTIONAL AREAS OF BUSINESS, IT CHALLENGES, CHALLENGES FACED BY MANAGERS, CHALLENGES AND ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH MANAGING INFORMATION SYSTEMS, REENGINEERING BUSINESS PROCESSES, CHALLENGES OF IT TO BUSINESS, BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, MANAGEMENT SCIENCE, EDUCATION AND LEARNING,
8 steps to Successful Accounts System Selection - Xledger WhitepaperXledger UK
Looking at a new Finance or Accounts system?
Perhaps your current system is no longer supported or your business has simply outgrown it and needs something more suitable to support future growth.
What steps can you take to ensure your business makes the right choice and derives all the business benefits associated with a modern finance system?
With over 6,000 successful accounts system implementations behind us we outline our 8 Steps to Successful System Selection.
CHANGE MANAGEMENT: IMPLEMENTATION AND BENEFITS OF THE CHANGE CONTROL IN THE I...ijait
In the competitive environment, companies have given increasing importance to the IT sector and the
resources it delivers as strategic. As a result, IT becomes a living being within the company. This sector is
being subject to continuous changes in this scenario. These changes can occur within the own IT sector or
whether IT to other sectors of the company. For both scenarios, it is important to have a good change
control to avoid unnecessary trouble and expense. This paper aims to show through a case study, the
benefits and results obtained with the implementation of a process of managing and controlling changes in
the information technology environment of a large government company in Brazil.
The measurement of maturity level of information technology service based on ...TELKOMNIKA JOURNAL
Institutions are currently progressing on IT development and maximization in order to advance for good IT governance. Lack of comprehensive requirements analysis of IT utilization may lead to hindrances within IT development from achieving effective outcomes. This quantitative study employs control objective for information & related technology (COBIT 5) business framework to assess and identify the maturity level of IT service, primarily within the domain of delivery, service, and support (DSS). Data were obtained through questionnaire, observation, and documentation. The result reveals that the average maturity level of IT service is in level 3 (established); by which the study recommends for enhancements and upgrades in IT performance and service within the scope of compliance and IT service application and support.
The series of presentations contains the information about "Management Information System" subject of SEIT for University of Pune.
Subject Teacher: Tushar B Kute (Sandip Institute of Technology and Research Centre, Nashik)
http://www.tusharkute.com
BUSINESS RULE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK FOR ENTERPRISE WEB SERVICES ijwscjournal
Making a business rule extraction more dynamic is an open issue, and we think it is feasible if we decompose the business process structure in a set of rules, each of them representing a transition of the business process. As a consequence the business process engine can be realized by reusing and integrating an existing Rule Engine. We are proposing a way for extracting the business rules and then to modify it at the runtime. Business rules specifies the constraints that affect the behaviors and also specifies the derivation of conditions that affect the execution flow. The rules can be extracted from use
cases, specifications or system code. But since not many enterprises capture their business rules in a structured, explicit form like documents or implicit software codes, they need to be identified first, before being captured and managed. These rules change more often than the processes themselves, but changing and managing business rules is a complex task beyond the abilities of most business analysts. The capturing process focuses on the identification of the potential business rules sources. As business logic requirements change, business analysts can update the business logic without enlisting the aid of the IT staff. The new logic is immediately available to all client applications. In current trend the rules are modified or changed in the static time phase. But this paper provides to change the rules at the run time. Here the rules are extracted from the services and can be a changed dynamically. The existing
rules are modified and attached to source code without hindering service to the end user which can be achieved with source control systems. When the rules are revised, it provides a path in budding new business logic. This new business logic can be adopted for the efficient software development.
KEY CHALLENGES IMPLEMENTING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN TO VARIOUS FUNCTIONAL AREAS, MIS, MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN BUSINESS, FUNCTIONAL AREAS OF BUSINESS, IT CHALLENGES, CHALLENGES FACED BY MANAGERS, CHALLENGES AND ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH MANAGING INFORMATION SYSTEMS, REENGINEERING BUSINESS PROCESSES, CHALLENGES OF IT TO BUSINESS, BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, MANAGEMENT SCIENCE, EDUCATION AND LEARNING,
8 steps to Successful Accounts System Selection - Xledger WhitepaperXledger UK
Looking at a new Finance or Accounts system?
Perhaps your current system is no longer supported or your business has simply outgrown it and needs something more suitable to support future growth.
What steps can you take to ensure your business makes the right choice and derives all the business benefits associated with a modern finance system?
With over 6,000 successful accounts system implementations behind us we outline our 8 Steps to Successful System Selection.
Proposal of a Framework of Lean Governance and Management of Enterprise ITMehran Misaghi
Technology and Information are vital to the success of companies.
To leverage the successes in IT projects, companies have at their
disposal, references globally accepted as good practices (COBIT,
ITIL, PMBOK, ISO, TOGAF, etc.). In spite of this, it is still great
the magnitude of spending on IT projects poorly designed or
improperly implemented. This paper presents a brief description
of standards and good practices related to governance and
management of enterprise IT, defines the Lean Thinking, Lean IT, the Processes Management, the Portfolio, Program and Project
Management, and the Work System Theory, and highlights the
purpose of them, showing their characteristics and suggests a
Framework of Lean Governance and Management of Enterprise
IT, by demonstrating how the standards and good practices
presented can work together, because it advocates that the Lean
Thinking, the Process, Portfolio, Program, and Project
Management, and the Work System Theory complement the
standards and good practices of Governance and Management of
Enterprise IT with an approach not referenced in these standards
and good practic
The implementation of IT governance is important to lead and evolve the information system in agreement with stakeholders. This requirement is seriously amplified at the time of digital area considering all the new technologies that has been lunched recently (Big DATA, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep learning...). Thus, without a good rudder, every company risks getting lost in a sea endless and unreachable goals.
This paper aims to provide decision-making system that allow professionals to choose IT governance framework suitable to desired criteria and their importance based on a multi-criteria analysis method (WSM), we did implement a case study based on our analysis in a Moroccan company. Moreover, we present better understanding of IT Governance aspects such as standards and best practices.
Our article goes into a global objective that aims to build an integrated generated meta-model for better approach of IT Governance.
Week 3 Lesson
IT SHARED SERVICES
IT SHARED SERVICES – OVERVIEW
According to Accenture (2005), shared services is the consolidation of support functions from several departments into a standalone organizational entity whose only mission is to provide services as efficiently and effectively as possible.
So, what is IT Share services?
IT shared service is a strategy in which non-core functions (e.g., tasks, or projects) commonly performed by various units in an organizations are given to a department within an organization to be efficiently executed, providing cost saving, and customer satisfaction value.
IT core functions might include network management/maintenance, desktop management, software management, change management, IT capital planning, user training, help desk/incident management, disaster recovery, and a plethora of other services we sometimes take for granted (Roit, 2009).
In short a centralized model for IT shared service must have some autonomy to strategize and maximize resources utilization, bringing value to the corporation. A shared service model is always centralized; it runs as an independent business unit with their own budget and bottom-line accountabilities to the parent organization; it has a customer-centric mind-set, and its job is to provide high-quality, cost effective and timely service. A shared service could compete for internal or external services. It is called in-sourcing when services are requested from internal users and out-sourcing when requested from external uses.
The goal of this section is to provide the student with insight and understanding on how to successfully establish an IT shared service.
IT SHARED SERVICES - PROS AND CONS
Some of the Pros and Cons from the parent organization's standpoint are presented in the table below:
PROs from an Organization's Standpoint
PROs from an IT Shared Service Unit's Standpoint
· Standardization - Uniformity of Services
· Service improvements and cost reductions
· Functions are focus to the "core competencies" of the shared-service unit
· It has the potential to become a profit center (if organizations decides to offer these services externally)
· Professionalism - due to customer centric model
· Increased efficiencies - due to standardization
· Increased control - due to centralization
· Decreased personnel requirements - due to centralization of operations
· Improved economies of scale - due to concentration of purchasing power, HR, and other specialized functions
· Personnel development targeted toward service management
CONs to the Implementation of an IT Shared Service
· Becoming a disruption of operations flow.
· Instilling an "us vs. them" subculture mentality, deteriorating the provider-customer (i.e., internal user) relationship.
· Moving work to a centralized location (creating time, or resources, waste or duplication)
· Lengthening the time it takes to deliver a service
· Additional cost associated with management bureaucracy and overhead
· Extra ...
The moving force behind IT decisions are variable as to what context.pdfsanjeevtandonsre
The moving force behind IT decisions are variable as to what context can it profit an
organisation or a business. Some of it are as follows-
1) Displacement of labour and capital(ex-ATM)
2)Data repositories, ERP, business intelligence and high-end analytics help decision-makers
discover operational flaws and successes which augments future strategic initiatives.
3)Maintaining the customer relationshio management(CRM) [by providing goods and services
that customers value].
4) Maintaining the supply chain management(SCM).[ex- increase productivity through the most
efficient manufacturing processes available. In the computer industry, Dell Computer has
consistently been a market leader as they have achieved efficiencies through implementing both
CRM and SCM with success.]
General Recommendations
• Develop a three-tiered set of business case methodologies that are scaled to
the size and complexity of an initiative. These methodologies should be
Web-supported. Specific tools should include:
Tier 1 (least complex/cost): Total Cost of Ownership;
Tier 2 (middle/cost): Total Cost of Ownership, Payback Period,
Benefit/Cost Ratio, Internal Rate of Return, and Return on Investment;
Tier 3 (most complex/cost): Applied Information Economics.
• The tier requirements are phased to the initiative’s life cycle, requiring that
business case metrics be completed during the planning phase and refined
as the initiative moves through the various stages of its remaining life
cycle.
• Convene a task group to develop accounting reports/tools to more easily track the
financial metrics identified by the business case methodologies.
• Develop an in-depth training program and technical assistance program for
agency program, business, IT, and legislative staff on the adopted business
case methodologies.
• Develop a training/orientation program for senior department and line/staff
managers that include essential legal, financial/budgetary, IT architectural,
and IT project management issues. This orientation should be offered (possibly required) for all
agencies contemplating an initiative involving an information technology
investment.
Solution
The moving force behind IT decisions are variable as to what context can it profit an
organisation or a business. Some of it are as follows-
1) Displacement of labour and capital(ex-ATM)
2)Data repositories, ERP, business intelligence and high-end analytics help decision-makers
discover operational flaws and successes which augments future strategic initiatives.
3)Maintaining the customer relationshio management(CRM) [by providing goods and services
that customers value].
4) Maintaining the supply chain management(SCM).[ex- increase productivity through the most
efficient manufacturing processes available. In the computer industry, Dell Computer has
consistently been a market leader as they have achieved efficiencies through implementing both
CRM and SCM with success.]
General Recommendations
• Develop a three-tiered set of business .
Understanding IT Governance and Risk Managementjiricejka
Describes IT Governance Holistic Framework for establishing transparent relation between Business and IT environment.
Describes Governance services and Risk Management Methods
Technology Cost Management 4D Framework: A Smarter Way to Manage IT CostsCognizant
A framework for financial services IT cost management optimization based on a 4D approach: defining business vision, documenting current state, delineating business architecture and deciding build vs. buy.
empirical study on the status of moroccan information systems and proposition...INFOGAIN PUBLICATION
Today, the function of the chief information officer (CIO) has become part of the flow charts of many Moroccan companies [1]. Based on this statement, we did an empirical study in the first part of this work on the state of information systems (IS) Moroccan to know their strengths and weaknesses. The aim of the second part is to propose an approach based on the IT (information technology) frameworks helping CIOs to form their own repository of good practices to be applied in order to have good IT governance.
How an integrated management system (IMS) helps companies to remain competitive Etienne Venter
To thrive in global competitiveness and to survive in today's markets, organizations and companies need to look at every aspect of their business processes. While providing quality products and services, they should consider other management standards as well i.e. Quality Management, Environmental Management, Safety Management, Energy Management, Information Security Management, GDPR & Food Safety Management. Thus, an integrated management system will enable organizations to work as a single unit with unified objectives. These management standards can be integrated by embedding them with the core business processes of the organization. With Symbio this is straight forward and easy to achieve.
Your Challenge
Infrastructure managers and change managers need to re-evaluate their change management process due to slow change turnaround time, too many unauthorized changes, too many incidents and outages because of poorly managed changes, or difficulty evaluating and prioritizing changes.
IT system owners often resist change management because they see it as slow and bureaucratic.
Infrastructure changes are often seen as “different” from application changes, and two (or more) processes may exist.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
ITIL provides a usable framework for change management, but full process rigor is not appropriate for every change request.
You need to design a process that is flexible enough to meet the demand for change, and strict enough to protect the live environment from change-related incidents.
A mature change management process will minimize review and approval activity. Counterintuitively, with experience in implementing changes, risk levels decline to a point where most changes are “preapproved.”
Impact and Result
Create a unified change management process that reduces risk and takes a balanced approach toward deploying changes, while also maintaining throughput of innovation and enhancements.
Categorize changes based on an industry-standard risk model with objective measures of impact and likelihood.
Establish and empower a change manager and change advisory board with the authority to manage, approve, and prioritize changes.
Establish easy-to-follow intake, assessment, and approval processes, and ensure that there is visibility into changes across the organization.
Introduction:
RNA interference (RNAi) or Post-Transcriptional Gene Silencing (PTGS) is an important biological process for modulating eukaryotic gene expression.
It is highly conserved process of posttranscriptional gene silencing by which double stranded RNA (dsRNA) causes sequence-specific degradation of mRNA sequences.
dsRNA-induced gene silencing (RNAi) is reported in a wide range of eukaryotes ranging from worms, insects, mammals and plants.
This process mediates resistance to both endogenous parasitic and exogenous pathogenic nucleic acids, and regulates the expression of protein-coding genes.
What are small ncRNAs?
micro RNA (miRNA)
short interfering RNA (siRNA)
Properties of small non-coding RNA:
Involved in silencing mRNA transcripts.
Called “small” because they are usually only about 21-24 nucleotides long.
Synthesized by first cutting up longer precursor sequences (like the 61nt one that Lee discovered).
Silence an mRNA by base pairing with some sequence on the mRNA.
Discovery of siRNA?
The first small RNA:
In 1993 Rosalind Lee (Victor Ambros lab) was studying a non- coding gene in C. elegans, lin-4, that was involved in silencing of another gene, lin-14, at the appropriate time in the
development of the worm C. elegans.
Two small transcripts of lin-4 (22nt and 61nt) were found to be complementary to a sequence in the 3' UTR of lin-14.
Because lin-4 encoded no protein, she deduced that it must be these transcripts that are causing the silencing by RNA-RNA interactions.
Types of RNAi ( non coding RNA)
MiRNA
Length (23-25 nt)
Trans acting
Binds with target MRNA in mismatch
Translation inhibition
Si RNA
Length 21 nt.
Cis acting
Bind with target Mrna in perfect complementary sequence
Piwi-RNA
Length ; 25 to 36 nt.
Expressed in Germ Cells
Regulates trnasposomes activity
MECHANISM OF RNAI:
First the double-stranded RNA teams up with a protein complex named Dicer, which cuts the long RNA into short pieces.
Then another protein complex called RISC (RNA-induced silencing complex) discards one of the two RNA strands.
The RISC-docked, single-stranded RNA then pairs with the homologous mRNA and destroys it.
THE RISC COMPLEX:
RISC is large(>500kD) RNA multi- protein Binding complex which triggers MRNA degradation in response to MRNA
Unwinding of double stranded Si RNA by ATP independent Helicase
Active component of RISC is Ago proteins( ENDONUCLEASE) which cleave target MRNA.
DICER: endonuclease (RNase Family III)
Argonaute: Central Component of the RNA-Induced Silencing Complex (RISC)
One strand of the dsRNA produced by Dicer is retained in the RISC complex in association with Argonaute
ARGONAUTE PROTEIN :
1.PAZ(PIWI/Argonaute/ Zwille)- Recognition of target MRNA
2.PIWI (p-element induced wimpy Testis)- breaks Phosphodiester bond of mRNA.)RNAse H activity.
MiRNA:
The Double-stranded RNAs are naturally produced in eukaryotic cells during development, and they have a key role in regulating gene expression .
(May 29th, 2024) Advancements in Intravital Microscopy- Insights for Preclini...Scintica Instrumentation
Intravital microscopy (IVM) is a powerful tool utilized to study cellular behavior over time and space in vivo. Much of our understanding of cell biology has been accomplished using various in vitro and ex vivo methods; however, these studies do not necessarily reflect the natural dynamics of biological processes. Unlike traditional cell culture or fixed tissue imaging, IVM allows for the ultra-fast high-resolution imaging of cellular processes over time and space and were studied in its natural environment. Real-time visualization of biological processes in the context of an intact organism helps maintain physiological relevance and provide insights into the progression of disease, response to treatments or developmental processes.
In this webinar we give an overview of advanced applications of the IVM system in preclinical research. IVIM technology is a provider of all-in-one intravital microscopy systems and solutions optimized for in vivo imaging of live animal models at sub-micron resolution. The system’s unique features and user-friendly software enables researchers to probe fast dynamic biological processes such as immune cell tracking, cell-cell interaction as well as vascularization and tumor metastasis with exceptional detail. This webinar will also give an overview of IVM being utilized in drug development, offering a view into the intricate interaction between drugs/nanoparticles and tissues in vivo and allows for the evaluation of therapeutic intervention in a variety of tissues and organs. This interdisciplinary collaboration continues to drive the advancements of novel therapeutic strategies.
Earliest Galaxies in the JADES Origins Field: Luminosity Function and Cosmic ...Sérgio Sacani
We characterize the earliest galaxy population in the JADES Origins Field (JOF), the deepest
imaging field observed with JWST. We make use of the ancillary Hubble optical images (5 filters
spanning 0.4−0.9µm) and novel JWST images with 14 filters spanning 0.8−5µm, including 7 mediumband filters, and reaching total exposure times of up to 46 hours per filter. We combine all our data
at > 2.3µm to construct an ultradeep image, reaching as deep as ≈ 31.4 AB mag in the stack and
30.3-31.0 AB mag (5σ, r = 0.1” circular aperture) in individual filters. We measure photometric
redshifts and use robust selection criteria to identify a sample of eight galaxy candidates at redshifts
z = 11.5 − 15. These objects show compact half-light radii of R1/2 ∼ 50 − 200pc, stellar masses of
M⋆ ∼ 107−108M⊙, and star-formation rates of SFR ∼ 0.1−1 M⊙ yr−1
. Our search finds no candidates
at 15 < z < 20, placing upper limits at these redshifts. We develop a forward modeling approach to
infer the properties of the evolving luminosity function without binning in redshift or luminosity that
marginalizes over the photometric redshift uncertainty of our candidate galaxies and incorporates the
impact of non-detections. We find a z = 12 luminosity function in good agreement with prior results,
and that the luminosity function normalization and UV luminosity density decline by a factor of ∼ 2.5
from z = 12 to z = 14. We discuss the possible implications of our results in the context of theoretical
models for evolution of the dark matter halo mass function.
Observation of Io’s Resurfacing via Plume Deposition Using Ground-based Adapt...Sérgio Sacani
Since volcanic activity was first discovered on Io from Voyager images in 1979, changes
on Io’s surface have been monitored from both spacecraft and ground-based telescopes.
Here, we present the highest spatial resolution images of Io ever obtained from a groundbased telescope. These images, acquired by the SHARK-VIS instrument on the Large
Binocular Telescope, show evidence of a major resurfacing event on Io’s trailing hemisphere. When compared to the most recent spacecraft images, the SHARK-VIS images
show that a plume deposit from a powerful eruption at Pillan Patera has covered part
of the long-lived Pele plume deposit. Although this type of resurfacing event may be common on Io, few have been detected due to the rarity of spacecraft visits and the previously low spatial resolution available from Earth-based telescopes. The SHARK-VIS instrument ushers in a new era of high resolution imaging of Io’s surface using adaptive
optics at visible wavelengths.
A brief information about the SCOP protein database used in bioinformatics.
The Structural Classification of Proteins (SCOP) database is a comprehensive and authoritative resource for the structural and evolutionary relationships of proteins. It provides a detailed and curated classification of protein structures, grouping them into families, superfamilies, and folds based on their structural and sequence similarities.
Comparative structure of adrenal gland in vertebrates
Noemi, a collaborative management for ict process improvement in sme experience report
1. Abstract
This paper relates to an R&D project – called NOEMI
1
The model developed in the project focuses on the usual IT activities of the SME’s, which are
classified in five domains: infrastructure, support, management, security, and documentation.
The NOEMI model has been successfully experimented with PME partners for validation pur-
pose.
– aiming to propose to SME’s a col-
laborative management of their respective information systems in terms of quality, reliability
and cost. The targeted SME are those without IT dedicated internal staff.
This paper insists on the experimentation of the NOEMI model. The results are discussed and
compared with other classical solutions usually encountered within IT practices of SME’s. The
last part of the paper draws the perspectives opened with the model according to the results of
its experimentation.
Keywords
IT Service Management, collaborative management, SME, process assessment, process im-
provement.
1
Nouvelle Organisation de la Maitenance et de l’Exploitation Informatiques
NOEMI, a collaborative management
for ICT process improvement in SME:
experience report
Bernard DI RENZO, Christophe FELTUS, Sylvie PRIME
2. Session I: Management of the failure correction process
1 Introduction
It sounds obvious that SME’s competitiveness is more and more linked to the quality and the reliability
of their information systems. Nevertheless hiring an IT dedicated staff is often discouraged due to the
small size of the IT infrastructure of the SME’s. The NOEMI project addresses this critical issue for the
SME’s and has developed a relevant solution to bridge the gap between the mandatory need of quality
in IT infrastructure of the SME’s and the dramatic lack of internal skills. The solution is based on the
creation of clusters of SME’s aiming to increase IT infrastructure volume. The global IT activities within
the clusters is then manageable in a collaborative way, which can lead to higher quality and reliability
as larger IT departments would provide.
This paper reviews briefly the NOEMI collaborative model developed by the Centre Henri Tudor, its
validation by a case study, its positioning regarding alternative solutions and at last, as conclusion and
perspective, the transfer of the research results to the market.
2 The NOEMI model
The NOEMI model relies on partners, gathered in clusters. A common dedicated operational team
performs their IT activities and is managed on a regular
basis by an IT Coordination Committee (the CCI).
Figure 1 illustrates the organisational frame of the
model.
This chapter explains the references used to create the
model, the openness of the cluster and its manage-
ment.
2.1 The baseline and the refer-
ences
The NOEMI model is built on 5 areas:
1. Management,
2. Service Support,
3. Infrastructure,
4. Security,
5. Documentation.
These five areas include 20 processes tailored for use a SME environment [1]. For each area, a set of
activities are defined, performed by the operational team and controlled by the CCI.
Development has been partially inspired by ISO/IEC TR 15504 [2] and ITIL [3, 4, 5 and 6].
2.2 Constitution of SME’s clusters
The NOEMI model allows the increase or decrease of the number of SME partners in a cluster. Before
a new SME joins the cluster, a capability profile of each area is defined according to a specific as-
Figure 1: Organisational frame
of the NOEMI model
3. Session I: Management of the failure correction process
sessment method developed in the NOEMI project [7].
The NOEMI assessment method is directly inspired by ISO/IEC TR 15504 [2].
This assessment analyses in depth the weaknesses and the strengths of the 20 processes defined in
the model and defines a capability profile of the 5 domains. A list of pragmatic improvement actions to
take according to urgency and impact is proposed.
The results of the assessment are used as a reference for the IT operational team for the first steps
when the new SME is entering the cluster.
2.3 Evolution of the IT Infrastructure
Following the recommendations, a lot of
changes and manpower are required to imple-
ment the most urgent and important activities.
This phase, called “Up To Date Phase” will take
from 6 to 9 months.
The stabilization phase will then start.
It is to notice that, in this phase, the number of
incidents will decrease in opposition with the
number of requests, which will get higher.
Figure 2 illustrates the main phases in the
model implementation.
2.4 Management of the SME
Clusters
After assessment and depending on the improvement actions agreed with the SME, the operational
team will handle all activities and the 20 defined processes. A particular focus is put on incident man-
agement, change management and configuration management assumed as the most critical IT proc-
esses in SME’s [8].
The operational team provides manpower for the activities needed to improve the capability level of
each area. The size of the team is linked to the global IT infrastructure of the cluster and includes both
technical staff and project leader. Team members are qualified (IT or project management), can act
autonomously, and have strong relationship skills.
The operational team is managed the CCI where a representative manager from each SME stands.
The main objectives of this committee is to ensure:
• the coherence between the cluster and the own objectives and strategy of each SME,
• the convergence of IT improvements,
• the evaluation of preventive and corrective actions.
The committee bases its management action on a balanced set of indicators within financial, partner’s
satisfaction, activity efficiency, and people skills [9].
Moreover, the capability profile of each SME is followed up on the basis of the assessment and re-
viewed on a regular basis (6-12 months).
Figure 2: Implementation phases
of the NOEMI model
4. Session I: Management of the failure correction process
3 Case study and validation
The model NOEMI, as shortly described above, has been validated through a case study. This chapter
focuses on this experimental validation according to three perspectives: economic health of the ex-
perimental cluster, its management and the satisfaction of the SME’s of the cluster.
3.1 Economic health of the cluster
The financial management of the IT activities within the cluster is based on the balance between the
costs and the charges. The total cost is the sum of the IT staff charges, travel costs of the IT staff,
training, equipments (laptop, mobiles, etc.), and miscellaneous charges (phone call, Internet access,
etc.)
In the case study, no benefit is down because the cluster is the ownership of the SME.
This total cost is transparently financed by each SME of the cluster and is apportioned to their IT infra-
structure, according to an empirical calculation. Each server has a 10 points value, each PCs has a 1
point value on which 20 points are added to enter the project. The point represents a certain financial
value. With this simple and clear calculation, the SME’s know exactly how much their IT service will
cost on a monthly basis and on an annual basis. Here under, the main advantages related to the eco-
nomic health of the cluster:
• budgeting becomes very easy,
• hardware and software investment gets also easier as the inventory helps efficiently in making
the decision,
• the workload related to IT activities has been reduced for the staff of the SME’s, they can fo-
cuses more efficiently on their business,
• business productivity of the SME’s increases according to the better resolution of end-user in-
cidents,
• some of the SME’s of the cluster invest more in the IT activities than before.
3.2 Management of the cluster
All SME partners meet together – through the CCI – with the project team, on a monthly basis, to dis-
cuss the results of the past month, projects in the coming weeks and months. This monthly meeting is
a core activity in the project. This tight relation, the confidentiality of the activities and the complete
visibility on the cost (who is paying what) is a very strong point in the success of the project.
A tool is used to follow the incidents during their whole life cycle. Changes are tracked as well as as-
sets; reports on the activities are available on-line. The planning is also published so any one knows
where operates the IT team. This openness positively drives the trust among the partners.
On the same area, for all the software’s, email system and configurations, it is tended to use common
procedures in order not to reinvent the wheel with new products, therefore, to avoid new incidents and
new problems or bugs to handle.
On another hand, after sharing IT skills, sharing IT equipments has been mentioned. The issue is that
SME are not ready to have data out of their offices due to a fear of stolen or misused data. Evermore
the price of the leased lines is still very expensive and the SME’s of the cluster can’t afford such an
extra cost.
3.3 Satisfaction evaluation
A satisfaction survey is performed monthly (during the CCI) and a close relation is kept with the
5. Session I: Management of the failure correction process
SME’s.
Monthly, 40 questions about the quality of the intervention, the speed, the feedback, the overall satis-
faction from the users, the feeling from the IT contact in the company, the effectiveness and efficiency
in interventions are asked to the partners.
Activities are quoted “Not”, “Partially”, “Largely” and “Fully” performed. The results from the survey on
the 9 past months give an average for each 14 questions between “Largely” and “Fully”. This overall
satisfaction is very good indicator for driving the experimentation. This indicator has a direct impact on
the number of SME’s in the cluster.
4 NOEMI positioning among other solutions
The positioning of the NOEMI model regarding different way of IT exploitation on the market is made
by a SWOR analysis.
This analysis is based on experience returns within 68 SME’s contacted through different projects
managed by the Centre Henri Tudor.
Solution Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Risks
Sourcing of the IT
activities of a SME’s
cluster to a common IT
team, with a collabora-
tive management
(NOEMI model)
Cost directly bound
with the IT staff
charges and under
control.
Priorities are man-
aged regarding
business needs.
Focus on results.
No direct depend-
ency of IT service
providers.
Issue on being
always up to date
with the new tech-
nologies.
Tooling is mandatory
and is an extra cost.
Other enterprises
resources can be
shared regarding
new business activi-
ties (manpower,
tools, equipment
sharing)
Overload: time spent
by the IT staff can’t
exceed the time
allowed for each
partner
Overcost: time effec-
tively needed for IT
activities is under the
available manpower
Sharing of a common
IT staff in an organisa-
tional structure owned
by a group of SME
(time sharing)
(Synergie project
2
Cost directly bound
with the IT staff
charges and under
control.
)
No direct depend-
ency of IT service
providers.
Issue on being
always up to date
with the new tech-
nologies.
Medium quality of
the service.
Tooling is mandatory
and can get very
expensive (mainte-
nance fees, evolu-
tion, hardware..).
Focus on means,
not on results.
Other enterprises
resources can be
shared regarding
new business activi-
ties (manpower,
tools, equipment
sharing)
Overload: time spent
by the IT staff can’t
exceed the time
allowed for each
partner
Overcost: time effec-
tively needed for IT
activities is under the
available manpower.
Buying a pool of hours
from an external IT
service supplier
Cost limited and
controlled
Strong dependen-
cies with the IT
company.
SME’s generally wait
the last minute to
call and it is often
too late or the con-
IT company not paid
regarding the quality
of its intervention but
accordingly to the
time spend to solve
the problem.
2
“Synergie“ is a project of the CRP Henri Tudor which has lead to a time-sharing of an IT person
within three companies in order to improve efficiency, cost control of their IT infrastructure and
management.
6. Session I: Management of the failure correction process
sequences are
worse!
No focus on result,
only on means.
Contracting with an
external IT service
supplier
Cost limited for pre-
defined activities.
Strong dependen-
cies with the IT
company.
SLA are mandatory
in order to follow the
efficiency – Penal-
ties should be added
if the service is a
core business one.
Irreversibility of the
dependency of the
supplier.
Overcost: time effec-
tively needed for IT
activities is under the
available manpower.
Lost of IT control
Hiring a part-time IT
dedicated person
Cost directly bound
with the IT staff
charges and under
control.
No direct depend-
ency of IT service
providers.
Issue on being
always up to date
with the new tech-
nologies.
Lack of employee
stability.
Quality bound with
the IT person com-
petences.
No focus on result,
only on means.
Conflicts between the
different employers of
the IT person.
Important problem
occurs while staff isn’t
present in the com-
pany.
One-person depend-
ency.
Hiring a full-time IT
dedicated person
Cost directly bound
with the IT staff
charges and under
control.
No direct depend-
ency of IT service
providers.
Issue on being
always up to date
with the new tech-
nologies.
The staff is not
enough exploited.
Most of the SME’s
can’t afford such a
full time IT people.
Overcost: time
effectively needed
for IT activities is
under the available
manpower.
Possibility to de-
velop new business
activities based on
IT innovation.
Job not enough
attracting for It staff.
One-person depend-
ency.
Overcost: time effec-
tively needed for IT
activities is under the
available manpower
Hiring an IT dedicated
person for IT manage-
ment and for an other
activity
Cost directly bound
with the IT staff
charges and under
control.
No IT company
involved, no de-
pendency
Issue on being
always up to date
with the new tech-
nologies.
Quality depending
on the time assigned
to the different activi-
ties
No focus on result,
only on means.
Depending of the
staff, doing two differ-
ent jobs can be inter-
esting or difficult to
manage.
One-person depend-
ency.
The more significant differences between the NOEMI model and the other solutions rely on:
• the financial aspects,
• the openness of the activity performance,
• the focus on results.
The sourcing approach and the defined financial rules of the NOEMI model links the objectives and
the motivation of the clients (the SME’s) and the supplier (the operational team), whereas other solu-
tions propose a time-based charging.
7. Session I: Management of the failure correction process
5 Status on the development and perspectives
The NOEMI project leads nowadays to an 8 partners cluster.
The project under the cover of the Centre Henri Tudor reaches its end and is ready to be transferred
to the market. The model has been estimated as a success by the SME’s participating in the project;
they have decided to go on with the initiative. So, it is time for the SME cluster to choose their way for
the future of their IT-sourcing service.
Many solutions are possible amongst which the transfer to an IT service company, the creation of a
dedicated common company, the creation of a spin-off, employment of the IT staff with a back charg-
ing.
A call for tender aiming to take over the “NOEMI cluster #1” operational activities is being written and
not less than 12 large or medium IT companies have shown their interest to be involved in the mailing
for the call for tender.
The success of the model will be directly related to its appropriation by the market. Some indicators to
measure it could be:
• the number of partners still working together in the horizon 2006,
• the number of new clusters created through IT companies or through a GIE (Economic group-
ing from the companies),
• the number of IT companies interested in the NOEMI label we work on (model requirements to
respect…) and the annual renewing of the label,
• the satisfaction survey performed regularly in the clusters,
• the number of amendments to the model.
8. Session I: Management of the failure correction process
6 Literature
[1] Di Renzo B., Feltus C., Development and experimentation of a model of IT collaborative management for use
in SME, in: Proceedings of the International Conference AIM 2003, Grenoble, France, 2003
[2] ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC7, ISO/IEC TR 15504, 1998
[3] IT Infrastructure Library – Service Support, Office of Government Commerce, United Kingdom, 2000 – 2002
[4] IT Infrastructure Library – Service Delivery, Office of Government Commerce, United Kingdom, 2000 – 2002
[5] IT Infrastructure Library – ICT Infrastructure Management, Office of Government Commerce, United Kingdom,
2000 – 2002
[6] IT Infrastructure Library – Security management, Office of Government Commerce, United Kingdom, 2002
[7] Di Renzo B., Feltus C., Process assessment for use in very small enterprise: the NOEMI assessment
methodology, in: Proceedings of the International Conference Eurospi 2003, Graz, Austria, 2003.
[8] IT Infrastructure Library – Practices in small IT unit, Central Computer and Telecommunication Agency, 1995.
[9] Robert S. Kaplan and David P.Norton, The Balanced Scorecard – Translating Strategy into Action, 1996.
9. Session I: Management of the failure correction process
7 Author CVs
Bernard DI RENZO
Bernard Di Renzo graduated as a “Civil Engineer” in electronics and computer science from
the University of Liege (Belgium) in 1989. He first worked as a project engineer in the engi-
neering company of an international industry group. There he managed several projects re-
lated to the IT discipline. From 1993 to 1999, he was the head of the IT-affiliate of a banking
group in Luxembourg. In this function he developed an accurate focus on quality service pro-
vision. Then he joined an international clearinghouse for wireless operators as the Head of
Worldwide Client Support. Since 2001, he has worked in the CITI (Centre d’Innovation par les
Technologies de l’Information) department of the Centre de Recherche Public Henri Tudor
(Luxembourg). He has managed several projects related to quality in the IT discipline with a
special focus on process assessment and improvement, security management, risk manage-
ment, IT clustering… He is a SPICE Qualified Assessor, ITIL Foundation Certified, and Quality
System Auditor certified. He is the coordinator of two project portfolios related to IT quality and
certification and to IT security. He also the head of a research unit related to process assess-
ment and improvement, service management, operational risk management, IT-business
alignment, and new organisation framing.
Christophe FELTUS
Christophe Feltus is graduated as an Electromechanics Engineer from the “Institut Supérieur
Industriel des Art et Métiers Pierrard in Virton, Belgium. He worked for several years in private
companies as: Production Head at Pfizer SA in Jette, Belgium, Project Coordinator at Nizet
Entreprise in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, and Assessor for the Civil Belgium Aviation Admini-
stration in Brussels, Belgium. He joined the Centre de Recherche Public Henri Tudor in the
Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg in 1999 to work in the Centre d’Innovation par les Technologies
de l’Information (CITI). There he has taken part in a project called Prisme Tremplin for the ac-
companiment of SMEs towards the information society. In 2002, he integrated the project
Noemi (Nouvelles Organisation de l’exploitation et de la Maintenance Informatiques) as As-
sessor and he now leads projects IT Cluster and SecurePME.
Sylvie PRIME
Sylvie Prime is graduated as an IT Engineer from The university of Nancy II, France. After a
year of development for a pharmaceutical group, Sylvie began to work in Luxembourg in 1995
at the EIB, then at RTL Group in charge of the IT production, sites abroad included. She be-
gan to work on organization of IT Teams when she joined Arthur Andersen in 1999 and, even
deeper when working at Quint Wellington Redwood. She then passed the ITIL foundation
exam, the Service Manager one. She has been a Service Management consultant for 2 years
and joined the CRP Henri Tudor in 2003 to develop the Service Management activities (ITIL,
training, IT Service Management Forum). Sylvie is also SPICE Assessor.