Those of us old enough still remember the advertising slogan suggesting that ‘no one ever got fired for buying IBM’. And it was largely true. Many IT managers spent a lot of money on IBM systems as it appeared a risk free option – even if they were not always convinced it was the best solution for the business.  

The sentiment is not confined to IBM of course. More recently you could easily replace IBM with names such as Microsoft, Cisco or Dell, for example. The problem is that it is there are usually too many options available. And the same is true when it comes to virtualisation.

With a list of benefits as long as your arm, the decision to adopt a virtual desktop infrastructure in the first place seems a no brainer. But that’s where the easy decisions end. Once committed to virtualising the environment, many organisations quickly become bogged down with the sheer number of options, features and functionalities. 

So, rather than using an unbiased and well-researched approach to the platform selection process, far too many organisations are making snap judgements based on unfounded or irrelevant criteria – or simply on a name.

So who are the front runners? Unless IT managers have been living in the Himalayas for the last five years, they will certainly be aware of VMWare, Microsoft HyperV and Citrix with its XenDesktop. But there are also a number of other suppliers such as Quest and Sun with their own, lesser known offerings that should not be ruled out.

The problem often lies in the criteria organisations use to select their platforms. What they need to do is carefully detail what is required and which platform best meets those needs. After all, the main benefits of virtualisation are achieved in the long term and these will be negated if an unsuitable platform is selected in the first instance.

For example, when deliberating between Microsoft Hyper V and VMWare, it is easy to get caught up in comparisons between up-front cost and perceived compatibility with a current operational platform. HyperV may appear to be cheaper than VMWare at first glance, but this will only be the case for organisations for which it is the fit-for-purpose solution.

There are clearly many organisations where HyperV is the right choice, but elsewhere, while there may be initial savings to be made on up-front cost, these will soon be forgotten once the platform begins to come up short further down the line. Equally, choosing VMWare because of its reputation and positive press will be as costly for organisations that cannot hope to utilise its vast scope within the requirements of their environments – or for those that discover incompatibility issues later down the line when it is too late.

It is surprising how often companies get this wrong. So, before you reach for the cheque book, make sure you have looked carefully at what you are signing up for or take independent expert advice. At the very least you can then blame it on someone else. 

David Cowan, Head of Infrastructure

This is a 6 month+ contract in Dallas, TX.

Type of Project: This type of project secures that IT services and solutions are available in new office environments.

Project description: Office integration projects occurs when new office environments are set up and comprise planning and establishing of workspaces (workstations, terminals), connectivity & access to applications, file servers, print services and voice solutions.

Typically, one project manager can work with more than one office project in parallel.

Skills & Requirements

Competence category:  Project Manager

Languages:  Good skills in written and spoken English language

Technical skills:  General understanding of IT-infrastructure and network solutions e.g.

• networks (LAN, WAN)
• servers, routers, workstations
• routing
• firewalls
• VPN

Other required competences:

• Master/Bachelor of Science, Master/Bachelor of Engineering or equivalent

• Experience with deployments involving multiple service providers
• Experience of projects in complex environments
• Ability to take personal responsibility for the project
• Capable of planning and managing the project to the assigned goals from the initiation to the termination
• Understanding of the enterprise IT infrastructure
• High tolerance for uncertainty, capability to work independently in a volatile environment
• Ability to works with other project managers, program management, line organization and other interest groups to solve problems

Required traveling:  Readiness to travel to customer sites. Some international traveling may also be required.

Job Description

An office integration project comprises the following tasks:

• Make project plan (in cooperation with real estate, business owner and service experts) which covers

1. Workspaces (workstations, terminals)
2. Connectivity solution (WAN, LAN, WLAN)
3. List of applications
4. Office equipment (work stations, faxes, printers)
5. File servers
6. Print services
7. Voice solutions
8. Office move schedule

• Execute the project plan – service realization phase

1. Order needed hardware and service
2. Supervise that realization is taking place according to plan, take corrective actions when needed

• Secure that all needed services are available at office move time
• Verify status of moved people during minimum one week after office move
• Project documentation and reporting according to requirements from project owner
• Communication with various stakeholders

This article briefly explores how Gartner sees the top 10 priorities for IT in 2010. Is Gartner alway right? How does your list compare to theirs?

Google announced on Dec 3rd the launch of a new, free-to-public service – Domain Name System. Link is here.

Unlike many other services provided by Google, such as Google Apps or Google Earth, which are truly unique and new and provide immediate value to its users, the DNS is a system that is at the heart of the functioning of the Internet and it already works well. So why would Google spend its time and effort on something that is not really recognized to be a problem that needs fixing?

Google lists three benefits from this service:

• Better Performance: Google says its has implemented “smart caching” to improve the responsiveness of its DNS system.
• Better Security: Google DNS authenticates responses from other DNS servers to prevent routing to malicious sites and its also helps prevent Denial of Service (DoS) attacks.
• Correct Results: Google Public DNS never blocks, filters, or redirects users, unlike some open resolvers and ISPs.

All in all, this project seems to be driven by Google’s desire to make the Internet safer, better and faster. It will certainly help cement Google’s critical role in the center of all things Internet. It may also help Google collect metrics on the popularity and traffic of websites.

Does this mean it is curtains for companies that provide DNS services for a fee – such as DynDNS, OpenDNS, DNS Made Easy etc.?

Not really.  Google says its free offering is NOT a DNS authoritative name hosting service. So, organizations that use these above mentioned companies will have to continue using them for maintaining their domain records.

2012. If you take the legend behind this year’s Hollywood blockbuster of that name to hold some truth, we’re in for a bumpy ride in a couple of years. Ok, so the major cities of the world are unlikely to disappear into gaping chasms but the Mayan prophecy used as inspiration for the movie which predicts the occurrence of an unspecified major change in 2012 might not be so unbelievable when it comes to IT.

Of course, that isn’t to suggest anything of the apocalyptical nature seen in the big-screen blockbuster is likely to occur, but from an IT point of view at least, 2012, and the period leading up to it, are looking to be a time of great change.

Take Windows XP as an example. 2012 is the year in which Microsoft expects to put an end to supporting its most loved OS, and to leave the world with the option of carrying on unsupported or making the leap to Windows 7. Gartner analysts appear to be pro-migration, advising Vista-traumatised users not to bypass Windows 7 like they did with its predecessor. Early adopters have given it positive feedback but perhaps more importantly, there do not seem to be too many other options – the scent of change is in the air.

So with that in mind, many of you will be asking “what’s the rush?” A compelling event in 2012 means it’s a long time before an OS migration becomes first priority you might think. However this way of thinking could be a mistake. According to Gartner, the process of a full-scale migration takes, on average, 12-18 months. With this in mind, suddenly 2012 doesn’t look that far away.

An interesting example of the timescales involved can be found by examining the plans for the IT Infrastructure of the 2012 Olympics in London. The appointed IT supplier for the games, Atos Origin, has already started to design IT systems and infrastructure for the main site and numerous venues around the UK, and plans to start works in the new year, launching the data centre and software in July 2010.

Atos need to ensure they balance in the sweet spot between a system which is too new, and therefore raw and still not completely understood, or too ancient, and unable to meet the needs which will occur during the biggest sporting event ever seen.

While London 2012 might seem to be on a scale far larger than anything most organisations would need to tackle, the principles remain the same. Money will be saved and problems avoided by anticipating any compelling event and acting accordingly. With that in mind, 2012, apocalyptic or not, should not be too far from your thinking today.

David Cowan, Head of Infrastructure Consulting

Hi,

Here the placement for Project Manager – Abu Dhabi, UAE

Position : Project Manager

No. Of Openings : 1

Experience :8 years

Qualification : MBA

Location : Abu Dhabi, UAE

Required Skill set :

Would you be interested ?

Please send us your latest updated profile with contact nos.
current & expected salary details and joining time required toradha@kbsconsultants.com

You may also suggest this opening to your friends who may be interested.

Further Information:

KBS Consultants

Flat H,Kulothungan Apts,
No, 5 Natesan Road
Ashoknagar,
Chennai 600 083.
India
Phone: +91-44 2489 5341 / 2371 9622

Visit Our Sites:

International jobs: http://www.jobsearchworld.com/
SAP ERP Jobs : http://www.jobsvista.com/
Core Engineering Jobs : http://www.gotachance.com/
Technology Jobs : http://www.kbsconsultants.com/
India Jobs :http://www.kbsconsultants.org.in

Hi,

Here the placement for Quality Assurance Manager – Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Position : Quality Assurance Manager

No.Of Openings : 1

Experience :5 years

Location : Abu Dhabi, UAE

Required Skill set :

•  industry standard (IT infrastructure implementation)

Would you be interested ?

Please send us your latest updated profile with contact nos.
current & expected salary details and joining time required toradha@kbsconsultants.com

You may also suggest this opening to your friends who may be interested.

Further Information:

KBS Consultants

Flat H,Kulothungan Apts,
No, 5 Natesan Road
Ashoknagar,
Chennai 600 083.
India
Phone: +91-44 2489 5341 / 2371 9622

Visit Our Sites:

International jobs: http://www.jobsearchworld.com/
SAP ERP Jobs : http://www.jobsvista.com/
Core Engineering Jobs : http://www.gotachance.com/
Technology Jobs : http://www.kbsconsultants.com/
India Jobs :http://www.kbsconsultants.org.in

This position is an Application Administrator to support operations within our client’s department. This position has a critical role in delivering our services to clients and ensuring successful ongoing operation of our applications and services. It services a highly interactive software development build/release process as well as a rich operational environment with many interrelated applications/database services. The candidate should be self-motivated, detail oriented, adaptable to change and must work well in a flexible team environment with developers, QA, operations staff, system administrators and managers.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Application and database support

• Provide on-going database administration in both back-end and front-end with application infrastructure support for our client’s administration systems, including the deployment of new applications.
• Review the physical design of existing databases for optimal database structures, database performance tuning, security, database backup/recovery strategy, implementing high-availability, and pro-active and reactive performance analysis, monitoring, troubleshooting and resolution of issues, capacity planning, monitoring data growth and system utilization, trend analysis and predicting future database resource requirements.
• Install web-base applications from ground up to full-ballooned implementation and support, including configuration at Unix/Linux/Windows system level, back-end integration with database, front-end integration with user-interface, final delivery to users to fulfill users’ requirement and on-going maintenance.
• Take the lead in ensuring that application and web services are configured and tuned according to application needs; provide troubleshooting as needed.
• Work with System Administrators to ensure test and production boxes conform to the software application configuration needs.
• Support the department-wide infrastructure application for database management, system monitoring and notification, job scheduling, deployment, provision and patching automation, application topology and service level management for campus-wide system performance.

Build/release activities

• Manage the build, tagging and release processes for a number of interdependent Java web applications and background processes in the QA and production environments. Ensure the build and release process is scalable and repeatable.
• Work with the development team to ensure efficient and understandable build procedures are adhered to and conform to a standard process for configuration and release management
• Develop and maintain tools that automate the building of software releases for an Agile-based development process. This is one of continuous integration, where the automated build process can be run many times a day if necessary.
• Work with and support the QA team to ensure automated test suites run as part of the continuous integration build process.

REQUIREMENT FOR SKILL AND COMPETENCIES:

• Expert hands-on with shell scripts, other scripting languages, preferably Perl, and tool automations
• Minimum 2 years database administration experience in Oracle and 3 years Application administration experience in Unix/Linux infrastructure environments is required.
• Hands-on experience of Oracle databases 10g for 24/7 database operations and tool automation in installation, configuration, backup/recovery, startup/shutdown, data refresh, and application integrations.
• Experience with OEM/Grid Control is highly desired.
• Knowledge and understanding of large scale ERP implementation and support like Oracle Financial and PeopleSoft systems.
• Expert knowledge of Apache and Tomcat, and other web/application servers such as JBoss
• Strong Unix and system administration skills with basic network and security knowledge
• Strong experience and ability in web applications deployment, configuration and integration from both OpenSource and Commercial based systems with or without sophisticated vendor support.
• Java/J2EE based programs
• Java/servlet/JSP based web applications
• Experience with Subversion, PVCS or similar source code repository
• Experience with Maven and familiarity with automated build processes
• Experience with the Agile development methodology and concepts of extreme programming and continuous integration
• Understanding of the layers/tiers of web applications and the communication protocol between the tiers with networking protocols (TCP/IP, HTTP, SSL, DNS, FTP, etc.)
• Ability to multi-task and work in a team environment is critical and should have excellent communication skills in both verbal and written forms.
• Ability to manage multiple competing priorities and work under pressure in high stress situations
• Excellent communication skills in both verbal and written
• Ability to work under pressure and to deliver results in a complex and dynamic operational environment

Qualifications

Minimum 5 years as an IT professional in build/release and application/database administration, plus one or more of the following areas: IT infrastructure operations 24/7, systems analysis and design, or application development.

Education
Bachelors Degree in Computer Science, Engineering or related field or equivalent experience

If you are interested, please send your resume to tsotelo@mindsource.com.

For a basic primer on configuration management, take a look at this link.

Jason Hiner, one of my favorite writers on TechRepublic.com, pulls it all together in his assessment of business and IT collaboration efforts.

Here is the link to his article:
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/hiner/?p=603

Are you sitting in a hole, deep below the IT sea level, attempting daily to swim against the competition both internally and externally? If the fear of an efficient IT Eco System is prevalent in your mind but you are not getting the budget needed to bring your projects to life. Then now is the time to take a different approach and come out the hero for your organization.

Whatever the case may be, the time is now. You are the integral part that holds it all together. In order for you and your company to remain in the race, it has to grow. Since you have working knowledge of the bones and gristle of the operation it is time to look at this you are one of the teammates and not just the hired gun to handle the dirty work with the Data. Let me ask you this. Are you responsible when something goes wrong with the computers?  Then why not be responsible for taking an active approach in making sure that it never goes wrong?

Quite frankly for those that I have the pleasure of working with, they are taking very active roles to ensure that their organizations are on the forefront of technology usage.  If all 100 of the fortune 100 can adopt technology( Virtualization), that will make them move in the right direction and reduce long-term cost, then why not you?

I know that this is not simple. I know that there are many challenges, both financial and sorry to say emotional. For some companies that I work with, I am aware of the problems that they face and some I may not know what it is entirely. However we must begin, to work together, to figure out, the path least taken.  By beginning now, instead of waiting for the moment the exercise will become easy, and your thinking will become stronger…So to speak. Because from what I have experienced thus far, there is no short cut to the build you are looking for. You have to get down and dirty and feel the initial pain to form the body that produces the results on the court, field, and in this case in your company’s IT infrastructure.

So what is this approach you ask? It is not a simple one, but it can be simplified and broken into task. When you take the approach of attacking small pieces of it and sharing your midnight gripes with a trusted advisor you can become the champion. However you have to team up with your VAR and put aside the thinking that they are the item of the day shops.

I have the privilege to work with an industry leader that not only adds value to the IT industry; we stand behind it for the entire life of the solution. You can bet your bottom on that. Shameless plug and all, I say that to say this. It is important to take a different approach and spend a little more time. You will be lucky to find out what we can offer at CDW. To understand our partnerships with the leading IT brands is work itself, which is our job. I work with you, to understand your goals, to lay each brick one at a time right alongside you; I have a battalion of specialist that are certified to handle the grit of your goals. We handle the complex simplicities to maximize your time. So you can handle the hands on part of your deployments with accuracy.

So I will stop here to say. We work for you even when you cannot see IT. IT is our business, IT is my goal.

Mark Hurd, CEO of HP: “At the end of the day, [the CEO has] gotta get this part [business processes] of the business right to be able to align IT throughout the company. It’s no different than aligning your sales organization, aligning your R&D, aligning any other piece of it.”

So here we have yet another CEO articulating IT alignment with the business. This time, rather than making the CIO the “fall guy”, the tables are turned on the CEO.

Hurd recognizes the importance of translating business processes to IT technology, and furthermore, that the CEO should lead the charge. It’s not always something that has to come from the technology folks. The CEO needs to be astute enough to understand  how to improve overall company performance through the use of technology, and that’s a skill not every CEO possesses.

Traditionally, board-room level people lack an understanding of technology jargon and the latest trends, causing a rift in communication with their IT counter-parts. Watch their eyes glaze over when virtualization, rationalization of data, SAN and SAM are mentioned in presentations by IT leadership. 

Board room executives need to understand that taking the time to educate themselves in IT fundamentals and technology processes will provide a more open communication between the CIO and business unit executives. Core IT services will run better. Applications will be better designed to match company requirements, and ultimately, the end-user customer wins from this collaborative effort.

And, obviously, when the customer wins, the company wins.

It looks like Phil Everson from Deloitte has got it right. In his recent presentation about what the ideal IT Department looks like, post recession, he points out the key objectives of survival for IT.

Do you agree or disagree?

http://tinyurl.com/y9pm8g3

Peter Grant, VP Sales EMEA at Tideway outlines the back-of-envelope business case for Tideway Foundation

This is what the boardroom expects out of IT - infrastructure management and getting a handle on cost reduction.