IT Roadmap: Three IT execs share stories of simplification
By
Cara Garretson
,
NetworkWorld.com
, 06/28/2006
- Share/Email
- Tweet This
- Print
CHICAGO -- Three IT executives from very different industries are leveraging technologies, such as provisioning, knowledge
databases and virtualization, to help reduce complexity in their organizations.
Speaking at Network World’s IT Roadmap conference held here Tuesday, the three executives participated in a panel discussion
about the technical and managerial issues they face today and going forward. The three speakers were among the 50 Network World Enterprise All Stars of 2005 – companies recognized for exceptional use of technology.
One area where all three speakers said technology has made an impact on their organization is in automating or simplifying
tasks that would otherwise fall on staff shoulders.
Coppin State University in Baltimore manages roughly 6,000 user accounts, including students, faculty, and employees. Adding
new accounts and managing existing ones are mundane tasks that are best done by automation, not staff, says Ahmed El-Haggan,
vice president of IT and CIO of the university.
“We found provisioning systems helps us; we set the rules and it just works,” El-Haggan says. By building intelligence into
the system, the university removes the need for staffers to get involved, he says.
At Nook Industries, a manufacturer of linear-motion components based in Cleveland, learning the company’s product portfolio
well enough to be able to sell to customers can take up to one-and-a-half years for new employees, says CEO Chris Nook.
To help shrink that window, the company is building knowledge databases that act as learning tools for products such as screw
jacks, which have 45,000 basic configurations and millions of potential combinations.
Kyle Ohme, director of information technology with Freeze.com in Waite Park, Minn., which hosts a number of Web sites for
downloading desktop software, says the virtualization of his company’s server structure has helped reduce complexity significantly.
Three years ago, the company embarked on a project to design and build an on-demand structure to support its growing Web sites.
Today, the company can roll out or swap-out a server or storage component in a matter of minutes. This model has allowed Freeze.com
to reduce at least two full-time server administrator positions to focus on other issues, says Ohme.
Network World’s next IT Roadmap conference will be held in Dallas on Sept. 13.
Partner Content
Blue Stripe Software
www.bluestripe.com/
Improving Application Performance Troubleshooting
Diagnosing why an application is slow is hard, at times taking days or weeks to isolate and resolve. This paper explains the challenges involved using current management tools, provides a 'wish list' for application management and analysis, and explains the need for an application system-wide approach that monitors entire applications, not components.
Download Whitepaper
Virtual Vigilance: Managing Application Performance in Virtual Environments
This paper highlights the impact of virtualization on application performance. "Managing Application Performance in Virtual Environments" states: "Best-in-Class organizations are predominately taking actions around improving visibility across both physical and virtual systems, assessing the business impact of application performance and understanding interdependencies of applications in virtualized environments."
Download Whitepaper
Application Service Requests: The Missing Link for Pragmatic ITSM
Forrester Research analyst Glenn O'Donnell and BlueStripe co-founder Vic Nyman discuss a breakthrough approach to application problem management. Learn the new approach for ITSM problem management, which provides: Rapid isolation of application slow-downs to specific components for quick problem resolution, 24/7 monitoring for proactive notification of potential issues before end users are impacted and much more.
Register for Webcast
Comment