Abstract: An overview for CIOs of the provision and management of IT services at a level that addresses the risk management issues raised by the Basel Committee's New Capital Accord expected to become effective during 2006. Because of the dependence financial institutions have on IT services, the accord requires adequate provision to assure the availability of these services. Centauri Business Service Manager is presented as the solution: one that allows a CIO to assess current risk levels, measure ongoing risk and support a process of ongoing improvement to reduce this risk. Furthermore, Centauri provides the financial institution with a cost-effective balanced scorecard to improve decision-making.

Abstract: In the past few years, the number of county employees at the Prince William County Government in Virginia (US) has grown significantly, but with few additions to the administrative staff. Prince William County needed a system that would help its agencies process personnel action forms (PAFs) more efficiently, reduce mistakes, limit paper use, and provide a central repository for PAFs.

Abstract: Applications such as SAP provide significant value and perform critical functions inside an organization. However, they cannot be expected to do everything, just as an airplane cannot be expected to drop you off at your door like a taxi. Organizations must plan for multiple systems to handle the various types of business processes they have to manage and improve.

Abstract: A full member of the Barclay’s Group, UK-based FIRSTPLUS Financial Group specializes in personal loans and loan refinancing. As with all businesses that experience rapid growth from the outset, its critical processes had evolved without much structured planning. That’s why FIRSTPLUS needed a strategic business process management (BPM) solution for structural process implementation and automation across different areas and functions.

Abstract: Bernstein AG, established in 1947 and headquartered in Porta Westfalica (Germany), builds and sells components and systems for industrial automation peripherals. In 2002, it began the task of selecting and implementing a flexible, web-based business process management (BPM) system. One of the most important technical requirements was the universal integration of the BPM suite into its existing IT infrastructure.

Abstract: The Biological and Biotechnological Research Council (BBSRC) is the UK’s principal public funder of basic bioscience research. BBSRC needed an automated business process management (BPM) system to handle grant application processes more efficiently. In particular, the chosen solution had to manage the complexities of the grant application and grant round processes, with 6000 applications within a 12-month period.

Abstract: Designing processes for business process management solutions can be daunting, as all flows, rules, and exceptions have to be defined. With Adaptive Discovery from Ultimus, however, processes can be designed on a high level, and exceptions defined after deployment.

Abstract: The Internet has grown from mainly academic and military use into a global, integrated, and sophisticated commercial utility. Not just an “information superhighway,” it now offers voice telephony, video, and mobile communications in a converged network. Connection services have expanded, and Internet service providers (ISPs) are adding value. Explore the challenges and opportunities—and find out what lies ahead.

Abstract: The communications landscape has never been more complex nor offered so many choices and solutions as it does today. As more employees go mobile, companies need to be able to offer better communication capabilities to their people. The convergence of technologies involved, however, can cause service provider issues and create confusion for customers. To solve these issues, several questions need to be asked.

Abstract: The StreamSense platform delivers global, real-time visibility and control over legacy and new converged wide area networks (WANs) and wireless networks, so service providers can manage and provision new network services. Find out how StreamSense records WAN application delivery performance, providing long-term visibility into technical details for operations teams, as well as business-oriented data for decision makers.

Abstract: Organizations are overwhelmed with how to begin implementing identity and access management (IAM) solutions. They are scratching their heads and asking, 'Where do I start?' Even after implementation, security and information protection must be continually improved while ensuring compliance with regulations. Auditors continue to ask: 'Are the right controls in place?' 'Are they effective?' Download this white paper to learn more about defining the steps necessary to understanding and deploying IAM, giving enterprises a roadmap to an effective IAM program.

Abstract: Written for the IT outsourcing community, this document describes an approach for measuring the business value of IT in order to focus service provision activities on areas that are of priority to the client. It introduces a quality improvement process that can decrease the cost of service provisioning without impairing service quality. The intended audience includes those responsible for designing a solution, managers of an existing service, and people bidding for new business looking to differentiate their services. By measuring and reporting on the business value of an IT service, outsourcers' clients see the contribution being made to the success of their clients' business ventures. As a result, the outsourcers' relationships will transition from supplier to partner, they become better placed to exploit new business opportunities, and save money by focusing efforts on areas that are important to their clients.

Abstract: Application Service Provision (ASP).There has been a trend in recent years towards the use of remote software services through application service providers. These are companies who make software applications available via the Internet to users who, rather than buying software, pay rental fees for it. The software does not have to be installed locally, the application being available through any web browser, and all support and maintenance is handled by the service provider. CMMS vendors are not the only ones offering these solutions. CAD modelling, engineering design, finance packages, purchasing, ERP and even your company Intranet can now be rented. This is an expanding sector and the signs are that major growth is about to take place. Earlier problems with slow data transfer speeds, communication costs and data security have largely been eliminated and this has made ASP a very attractive proposition. This is clearly illustrated by the proliferation of systems that have become available over the last three or four years with most of the major CMMS vendors now offering an ASP option.

Abstract: SpectraSite is in the business of making wireless and broadcast communications pervasive. One process it was looking to improve, however, was its in-building antenna approval. The current process was time-consuming, and its faxing technology inadequate. But by implementing a business process management (BPM) solution, SpectraSite dramatically reduced the process cycle, from almost sixty days to a maximum of ten days.

Abstract: Business process management (BPM) is ultimately about people, not technology. While technology enables BPM, it is people who lead, manage, and participate in business processes. However, BPM vendors have not traditionally focused on human-centric needs. A human-centric perspective can transform BPM from a cold automation system into an intuitive, user-friendly tool that eliminates redundancy and accelerates how work gets done.

Abstract: Business process management (BPM)—the discipline of modeling, automating, managing, and optimizing business processes—is one of the hottest market segments in the software industry today. Its rapid growth is driven by the increasing recognition that success is driven by the efficiency of your organization’s business processes. But what exactly is a business process—and how can BPM improve it?

Abstract: To automate processes, business users and IT must work together as a team. The combination of technology infrastructure, process flow, and business requirements all needs to be translated into a process map to enable automation to occur. This process discovery effort, and adjusting the process map to manage change, is the most significant challenge of business process management (BPM) projects.

Abstract: Business process management (BPM) provides adaptability and agility to service-oriented architecture (SOA). The central nervous system in the architecture, it orchestrates the services provided by different applications that excel at what they do. And the more powerful the BPM solution used to manage these processes, the easier and more cost-effective it will be to adapt to unique business requirements.