Small and midsized businesses experience business issues and challenges that are inherently different from those of larger enterprises. They generally have smaller workforces, lower budgets, and less complex IT environments than enterprise organizations. And yet, small and midsized businesses must meet the same types of demands as enterprise organizations, and optimize service levels to sup…
Software is of tremendous importance to today’s IT-intensive organizations. In fact, the appetite of organizations for software is growing at a faster pace than software budgets—especially in light of current economic conditions. It is therefore more critical than ever for software buyers to get maximum value out of every dollar they spend on software.
For most companies, changing accounting software is a daunting challenge. Not only is transitioning the accounting function to a new software package tricky in itself, but it is usually catalyzed by one or more business challenges that are (hopefully) solved by the new system. As a result, most companies wait until problems have become (or are obviously becoming) insurmountable before initiatin…
When it comes to software implementations, organizations large and small share the common goal of rapid deployment and return on investment. Small and mid-size businesses(“SMBs”) however, face unique issues and challenges that might not be satisfied by vendorsth at typically serve the Fortune 1000 or “Tier I” community. Such vendors may tout specialized “SMB solutions”, but many tim…
As companies mature their IT operations, they know more about the performance of their networks, applications, servers, databases, and mainframe systems. However, reliable information about end-user experience remains elusive. This information is vital to gauge how well IT is adding value to the business. Obtaining reliable information about the end-user experience is just the first ste…
Client Management is the IT discipline of managing the lifecycle of end user systems (including desktops, lap- tops, and handhelds) from initial deployment, through provisioning, upgrade, and patch, to deprovisioning and decommissioning. This entails conflicting requirements from IT – which requires tight control and detailed planning – and the business – which requires flexibility and fa…
This document is a practical guide for integrating software risk management into a software project. The purpose of Risk Management is to identify, assess and control project risks. Identified risks are analyzed to determine their potential impact and likelihood of occurrence. Risk Management Plans are developed to document the project’s approach to risk management, risks, and decisions made …
Systems on which the safety or security of individuals may depend are frequently subject to certification: a formal assurance that the system has met relevant technical standards, designed to give confidence that it has some specific properties—for example, that it will not unduly endanger the public. Today, certification of the dependability of a software-based system frequently relies at l…