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United’s Acting CEO Has Tough Task Ahead
Brett Hart is a high-achieving lawyer who has impressed top executives at two major companies but lacks operational experience that may be important for steering the company to better performance. […]
Posted on 21 October 2015 | 5:38 am

The Case for Humble Executives
Companies increasingly prize humble leaders because they listen well, admit mistakes and share the limelight, recruiters and coaches say. […]
Posted on 21 October 2015 | 12:20 am

HBO Chief Plepler Makes Case for Big Providers to Offer HBO Now
HBO Chief Executive Richard Plepler made a case for big broadband providers to market the company’s new standalone streaming service, saying it would help both sides grow without compromising the traditional pay-television business. […]
Posted on 20 October 2015 | 9:47 pm

The Proof, Not The Hype

First edition; 240 pages
ISBN 0-13-231184-4
( by: Harris Kern, Randy Johnson, Michael Hawkins, and Andrew Law with William Kennedy )

Table of Content

Foreword
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Preface

• IT in the New Enterprise
  IT in the New Enterprise
  The New Enterprise
  Legacy Concepts
  The Network is the Data Center
  Re-Engineering IT
  Personalized Communications
  Those People Issues
  Morale and Compensation
• Production-Quality Enterprise Networks
  Characteristics of an Enterprise Network
  Guidelines for Success
  Cost of Ownership
  A Multidimensional Approach
• Steps Toward a Network Architecture
  Analyzing Requirements
  Key Pieces of the Network Requirements Puzzle
  Design for Success — They’ll tell you
  Functionality, Performance, Reliability
  Key Methods for the Network Architecture
  Standards Issues
  Survey Technologies and Trends
  Logical Network Topology
  Subnets and Workgroups
  Management and Security
• Building a Distributed Network
  Distributed Facilities
  Structured Cabling
  Cabling Types and Standards
  EIA, IEEE, and ANSI Standards
  Connectors and Adapters
  Other Cabling Issues
  The Backbone Network
  Segmented Backbone Networks
  Subnets and Access
  Topographies
  Concentrators and Connectivity
  High-Speed Networking Technologies
  Internetworking and Interoperability
  Wide Area Networking and Beyond
  Internet
  Nomadic Connections
• Networking Platforms, Protocols, and Management
  One or Many Voices?
  Multiprotocol Networks
  Mainframe Connectivity
  Server Connectivity
  Desktop Client Connectivity
  Network Management Platform and Standards
  Network Management Applications
  Special Network Management Tools
  Remote Network Management
  Network Security
  Encryption
  Eavesdropping Protection and Intrusion Detection
  Remote Dial-in Security
  Firewalls
• Network Standards and Procedures
  Organization and Personnel
  Management Standards and Procedures
  Documentating the Network
  Names and Addresses
  Performance and Security
  Centralized Configuration and Management
  Problem Recovery
• The New Enterprise Data Center
  More, Not Fewer
  Data Center Services
  Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability
  Data Center Organization
  Technical Support
  Database Administration
  Computer Operations
  Data Center Standards
  Hardware Standards
  Disk Configuration Standards
  Software Standards
  Database Standards
  Security Standards
• Data Center Processes and Tools
  Managing Change
  Change Management Process
  Change Request Procedure
  Release Distribution/Configuration Management
  Disk Management
  Reliability
  Availability
  Serviceability
  Being Proactive
  Managing Availability
  Preventive Maintenance
  Disaster Recovery
  Scheduling
  Console Server
  Tape Management
  Performance Monitoring and Capacity Planning
  Footprint Request
  Automated Paging
  Problem Management
  Security
• Client/Server Production Acceptance
  Our #1 Priority
  The CSPA Chronicle
  Contents of the CSPA
  The CSPA Process
  There are Four Phases to the Process
  Personalized Communications
  Service Level Agreements
  Roles and Responsibilities
  Production Application Tracking
  What IT Should/Should Not Support
  Tips for Success or Failure
  CSPA Signoff Sheet
• Managing Customer Expectations (Including the Desktop!)
  Mission Critical Desktops
  Dataless Desktops
  Savings Through Centralization
  Desktop System Administration
  Chargeback
  IT-Customer Budget Collaboration
  Our Chargeback Methods
• The Proof: A Case Study in Client/Server Security
  Securing the JIT
  Client/Server Security Architecture
  Server Security
  Application Security

The Proof, Not The Hype

First edition; 240 pages
ISBN 0-13-231184-4
( by: Harris Kern, Randy Johnson, Michael Hawkins, and Andrew Law with William Kennedy )

Preface

In our first book, Rightsizing the New Enterprise we presented our real-world experiences — the proof, not the hype-transitioning Sun Microsystems’ corporate production-computing systems from a central mainframe to a distributed client/server environment. We talked about the new technologies and the role of Information Technology (IT) in this new computing paradigm. The goal is to “rightsize” the enterprise; to get the right information to the right people to support business requirements.

In this book, Managing the New Enterprise, we expand on the themes of the first book Rightsizing the New Enterprise and discuss how to build and manage a heterogeneous client/server environment. We describe in detail the key technology support infrastructures, including networking, data centers, and system administration. We also explain how IT must change to manage the New Enterprise.

What is this New Enterprise? It’s what businesses or corporations must do to survive in the 1990s. Businesses are changing and so must IT to meet the new business requirements. Global competition is becoming more intense, profit margins are falling. To remain competitive, the New Enterprise must diversify and focus on products and services that provide a competitive advantage, all this while reducing costs.

When we were “volunteered” to transition Sun’s production systems to client/server distributed computing in late 1989, most of our issues dealt with the new technologies. We had to invent, develop, and implement new technologies to meet IT goals in the new environment. Our goal was to provide the same reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS) that we delivered in our mainframe environment. If we didn’t, our customers — the users — would blame you know what? That’s right: the new technologies! Even at Sun, which was in the vanguard promoting the new computing paradigm for businesses.

In today’s world, the tools and technologies that help IT build, implement, and deliver RAS-disciplined mission-critical applications are now commercially available and mature. Managing the New Enterprise is no longer a technology problem. It’s all about change. It’s a cultural issue. IT must change the way they do business to survive. And the key to success is to re-engineer IT. We had to re-engineer ourselves while re-engineering business practices to be successful and to survive. We had to deal with executives who were advising that we “blow up the glass house.” They felt there was no longer a need for any centralized IT functions like a data center. We proved them wrong! How? Read this book and find out.

Who Should Read This Book Managing the New Enterprise is intended for the chief information officer (CIO), vice president of IT, chief technologist, architects, and line managers within IT (applications developers, networking specialists, telecommunications professionals, and computer operators) who are facing the challenges of building and managing the New Enterprise. This book is a survival guide. It’s about how you must change to be successful.

Dennis Horgan is a consultant with Sun Microsystems specializing in enterprise architecture and IT transformation. Prior to joining Sun, Horgan held several IT management positions at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He has degrees in electrical engineering from UC Davis and MIT, and an MBA from UCLA.

Published Works

• Building The New Enterprise: The Proof, Not The Hype

Architecture and Implementation

First edition; 288 pages
ISBN 0-13-080902-0
( by: Mark Humphries, Michael Hawkins and Michelle C. Dy )

Table of Content

I. INTRODUCTION.

1. The Enterprise IT Architecture.

The Past: Evolution of Enterprise Architectures. The Present: The IT Professional’s Responsibility. Business Perspective. Technology Perspective. Architecture Migration Scenarios. Migration Strategy: How Do We Move Forward?

2. Data Warehouse Concepts.

Gradual Changes in Computing Focus. The Data Warehouse Defined. The Dynamic, Ad Hoc Report. The Purposes of a Data Warehouse. A Word about Data Marts. A Word about Operational Data Stores. Data Warehouse Cost-Benefit Analysis / Return On Investment.

II. PEOPLE.

3. The Project Sponsor.

How Will a Data Warehouse Affect our Decision-Making Processes? How Does a Data Warehouse Improve My Financial Processes? Marketing? Operations? When Is a Data Warehouse Project Justified? What Expenses Are Involved? What Are the Risks? Risk-Mitigating Approaches. Is My Organization Ready for a Data Warehouse? How Do I Measure the Results?

4. The CIO.

How Do I Support the Data Warehouse? How Will My Data Warehouse Evolve? Who Should Be Involved in a Data Warehouse Project? What Is the Team Structure Like? What New Skills Will My People Need? How Does Data Warehousing Fit into My IT Architecture? How Many Vendors Do I Need to Talk To? What Should I Look for in a Data Warehouse Vendor? How Does Data Warehousing Affect My Existing Systems? Data Warehousing and its Impact on Other Enterprise Initiatives. When Is a Data Warehouse Not Appropriate? How Do I Manage or Control a Data Warehouse Initiative?

5. The Project Manager.

How Do I Roll Out a Data Warehouse Initiative? How Important Is the Hardware Platform? What Technologies Are Involved? Do I Still Use Relational Databases for Data Warehousing? How Long Does a Data Warehousing Project Last? How Is a Data Warehouse Different from Other IT Projects? What Are the Critical Success Factors of a Data Warehousing Project?

III. PROCESS.

6. Warehousing Strategy.

Strategy Components. Determine Organizational Context. Conduct Preliminary Survey of Requirements. Conduct Preliminary Source System Audit. Identify External Data Sources (If Applicable). Define Warehouse Rollouts (Phased Implementation). Define Preliminary Data Warehouse Architecture. Evaluate Development and Production Environments and Tools.

7. Warehouse Management and Support Processes.

Define Issue Tracking and Resolution Process. Perform Capacity Planning. Define Warehouse Purging Rules. Define Security Measures. Define Backup and Recovery Strategy. Set Up Collection of Warehouse Usage Statistics.

8. Data Warehouse Planning.

Assemble and Orient Team. Conduct Decisional Requirements Analysis. Conduct Decisional Source System Audit. Design Logical and Physical Warehouse Schema. Produce Source-to-Target Field Mapping. Select Development and Production Environment and Tools. Create Prototype for This Rollout. Create Implementation Plan for this Rollout. Warehouse Planning Tips and Caveats.

9. Data Warehouse Implementation.

Acquire and Set Up Development Environment. Obtain Copies of Operational Tables. Finalize Physical Warehouse Schema Design. Build or Configure Extraction and Transformation Subsystems. Build or Configure Data Quality Subsystem. Build Warehouse Load Subsystem. Set-up Data Warehouse Schema. Set Up Data Warehouse Metadata. Set Up Data Access and Retrieval Tools. Perform the Production Warehouse Load. Conduct User Training. Conduct User Testing and Acceptance.

IV. TECHNOLOGY.

10. Hardware and Operating Systems.
Parallel Hardware Technology. Hardware Selection Criteria.

11. Warehousing Software.

Overview. Middleware and Connectivity Tools. Extraction Tools. Transformation Tools. Data Quality Tools. Data Loaders. Database Management Systems. Metadata Repository. Data Access and Retrieval Tools. Data Modeling Tools. Warehouse Management Tools. Source Systems.

12. Warehouse Schema Design.

OLTP Systems Use Normalized Data Structures. Dimensional Modeling for Decisional Systems. Two Types of Tables: Facts and Dimensions. A Schema Is a Fact Table and Its Related Dimension Tables. Facts Are Fully Normalized, Dimensions Are Denormalized. Dimensional Hierarchies and Hierarchical Drilling. The Time Dimension. The Grain of the Fact Table. The Fact Table Key Is the Concatenation of Dimension Keys. Aggregates or Summaries. Dimensional Attributes. Multiple Star Schemas. Core and Custom Tables.

13. Warehouse Metadata.

Metadata Are a Form of Abstraction. Why Are Metadata Important? Metadata Types. Versioning. Metadata as the Basis for Automating Warehousing Tasks.

14. Warehousing Applications.

The Early Adoptors. Types of Warehousing Applications. Specialized Applications of Warehousing Technology.

V. WHERE TO NOW?

15. Warehouse Maintenance and Evolution.

Regular Warehouse Loads. Warehouse Statistics Collection. Warehouse User Profiles. Security and Access Profiles. Data Quality. Data Growth. Updates to Warehouse Subsystems. Database Optimization and Tuning. Data Warehouse Staffing. Warehouse Staff and User Training. Subsequent Warehouse Rollouts. Chargeback Schemes. Disaster Recovery.

16. Warehousing Trends.

Continued Growth of the Data Warehouse Industry. Increased Adoption of Warehousing Technology by More Industries. Increased Maturity of Data Mining Technologies. Emergence and Use of Metadata Interchange Standards. Increased Availability of Web-Enabled Solutions. Popularity of Windows NT for Data Mart Projects. Availability of Warehousing Modules for Application Packages. More Mergers and Acquisitions Among Warehouse Players.

VI. Appendices.

Appendix A. R/olapXL? User,s Guide.
Appendix B. Warehouse Designer? User’s Manual.
Appendix C. Online Data Warehousing Resources.
Appendix D. Tool and Vendor Inventory.
Appendix E. Software License Agreement.

VII. REFERENCES & FURTHER READING.

Architecture and Implementation

First edition; 288 pages
ISBN 0-13-080902-0
( by: Mark Humphries, Michael Hawkins and Michelle C. Dy )

Preface

This book is intended for Information Technology (IT) professionals who have been hearing about or have been tasked to evaluate, learn or implement data warehousing technologies.

Far from being just a passing fad, data warehousing technology has grown much in scale and reputation in the past few years, as evidenced by the increasing number of products, vendors, organizations, and yes, even books, devoted to the subject. Enterprises that have successfully implemented data warehouses find it strategic and often wonder how they ever managed to survive without it in the past.

As early as 1995, a Gartner Group survey of Fortune 500 IT managers found that 90 percent of all organizations had planned to implement data warehouses by 1998. Virtually all Top-100 US banks will actively use a data warehouse-based profitability application by 1998. Nearly 30 percent of companies that actively pursue this technology have created a permanent or semipermanent unit to plan, create, maintain, promote, and support the data warehouse.

If you are an IT professional who has been tasked with planning, managing, designing, implementing, supporting, or maintaining your organization’s data warehouse, then this book is intended for you. The first section introduces the Enterprise Architecture and Data Warehouse concepts, the basis of the reasons for writing this book.

The second section of this book focuses on three of the key People in any data warehousing initiative: the Project Sponsor, the CIO, and the Project Manager. This section is devoted to addressing the primary concerns of these individuals.

The third section presents a Process for planning and implementing a data warehouse and provides guidelines that will prove extremely helpful for both first-time and experienced warehouse developers. The fourth section of this book focuses on the Technology aspect of data warehousing. It lends order to the dizzying array of technology components that you may use to build your data warehouse. The fifth section of this book opens a window to the future of data warehousing.

This book also comes with a CD-ROM that contains two software products. Please refer to the readme.txt file on the CD-ROM for any last minute changes and updates.

The enclosed software products are:

• R/olapXL — R/olapXL is a powerful query and reporting tool that allows users to draw data directly into Microsoft Excel spreadsheets from any dimensional data mart or data warehouse that resides on an ODBC-compliant database. Once the data are in Microsoft Excel, you are free to use any of Excel’s standard features to analyze, report, or graph the retrieved data.
• Warehouse Designer — Warehouse Designer is a tool that generates DDL statements for creating dimensional data warehouse or data mart tables. Users specify the required data structure through a GUI front-end. The tool generates statements to create primary keys, foreign keys, indexes, constraints, and table structures. It recognizes key dimensional modeling concepts such as fact and dimension tables, core and custom schemas, as well as base and aggregate schemas.

Also enclosed is a License Agreement that you must read and agree to before using any of the software provided on the disk. Manuals for both products are included as appendices in this book. The latest information on these products is available at the website of Intranet Business Systems, Inc. The URL is http://www.intranetsys.com.

Michelle C. Dy heads the Business Analytics Practice of Intranet Business Systems, Inc. She specializes in methodology consulting, data warehouse planning, and implementation. She is responsible for defining Intranet’s data warehousing methodology.

Published Works

• Data Warehousing: Architecture and Implementation

Mark W. Humphries is President and CEO of Intranet Business Systems, Inc., a professional services firm that specializes in Business Intelligence consulting and implementation. He has over 16 years of experience in management and IT consulting in Europe, North America, and Asia. He has led large, enterprise-wide data warehousing implementations in the banking, telecommunications, and utilities industries. More recently, he has been focused on strategic, multi-company warehousing initiatives.

Published Works

• Data Warehousing: Architecture and Implementation

The Sirens’ Song

First edition; 288 pages
ISBN 0-13-035389-2
( by:Mitch Peterson, Steve O’Conner, Harris Kern, Thomas Lah )

Table of Content

Introduction – Why Product Companies Jump In

• The Sirens’ Song of Services
• The Product-Services wheel
• Good Reasons to Offer New Services

Chapter 1: Mapping the Voyage

• Parameters for Success
• Primary Audience
• Chapter Structure
• Secondary Audiences
• Chapter Overview Table

Chapter 2 : Setting the Parameters

• Are you Sure? Four Qualifying Questions
• Mission
  • Format
  • Audience
  • Overarching Objective
  • Mission and the SAR Factor
• Business Model
• Objectives
• Guiding Principles

Chapter 3 : Level of Profitability

• Revenue
  • Revenue Types
  • Revenue Mix
  • Revenue Growth Rate
• References
  • Product References
  • Capabilities References
  • Solution References
  • Industry References
• Repeatability
• Tale of Two Business Units

Chapter 4 : Organizational Overview

• Professional Services Functional Map
  • Selling
  • Delivering
  • Productizing
  • Promoting
  • Operations
• Professional Services O-Map
  • General PS Interfaces
  • O-Map Interfaces

Chapter 5 : Selling

• Supply and Demand in Professional Services
• Warning!
• Function Overview
• Critical Success Factors
• Services Sales Charter
• Identify and Close
  • Identify
  • Quality
  • Propose
  • Negotiate
• Forecast
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Key Interfaces for Sales
• Compensation for Sale
  • Key Variables
• Compensation for Sale
• Key Metrics for Sales
• Organizational Structure and Sizing
  • Target Revenue
  • Rep Quotas
  • Geography Vs. Industry Based
• Sample Organizational Structure
• Sample Budget
• Issues to Watch

Chapter 6 : Delivering

• Function Overview
• Critical Success Factors
• Services Delivery Charter
• Estimate
• Execute
  • Requirements Review
  • Plan
  • Design and Develop
  • Implement
  • Sign-Off
  • Review
  • Follow-On
• Educate
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Key Interfaces for Delivery
• Compensation for the Delivery Function
• Key Metrics
• Organizational Structure and Sizing
  • Revenue Mix
  • Billable Utilization Rate
  • Billable Rate
  • Sample Organizational Structure
• Sample Budget
• Issues to Watch

Chapter 7 : Productizing

• Function Overview
• Critical Success Factors
• Services Engineering Charter
• Capture
  • Project Review
  • Solution Review
  • IP Capture
• Improve
• Solution Development
  • Sample Architecture
  • Sample Project Plan
  • Sample Proposal
  • Engagement Framework and Engagement Activity Forms
  • Resource Profiles
  • Partner Profiles
  • Source Code
  • Training Materials
  • Demonstrations
• Leverage
  • Solution Rollout
  • Sales Support
  • Solution Evaluation
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Key Interfaces for Services Engineering
• Compensation for Services Engineering Staff
• Key metrics for Services Engineering
• Organizational Structure and Sizing
  • Target Mix
  • Number of Solutions
• Sample Organizational Structure
• Sample Budget
• Issues to Watch

Chapter 8 : Promoting

• Function Overview
• Critical Success Factors
• Services Marketing Charter
• Differentiate
  • The Solution Review
  • Solution Rollout
  • Campaign Development
• Validate
  • Demos
  Benchmarking
• Evangelize
  • Sales Training
  • Channel Management
  • Lighthouse Accounts
  • Roles and Responsibilities
• Key Interfaces for the Services Marketing Function
• Compensation for Services Marketing
• Key Metrics for Services Marketing
• Organizational Structure and Sizing
  • Unique Regions
  • Number of Solutions
• Sample Organizational Structure
• Sample Budget
• Issues to Watch

Chapter 9 : Operational Infrastructure

• The Framework
• Critical Success Factors
• Operational Process
  • Legal Support
  • PS Automation
• Operational Reports
  • Funnel Reports
  • Booking Reports
  • Billing Reports
  • Backlog Reports
  • Web Sites
  • Electronic Newsletters
  • Internal Distribution Lists
  • Financial Reporting
  • Executive Dashboard
  • Metrics Reporting
• Project Processes
  • Partner Management
  • Resource Management
  • Solutions Assurance Review
  • Project Accounting
• Project Reports
  • Knowledge Management
• Staff Processes
  • Commission Payments
  • Proposal Generation
  • Professional Development
  • Project Management Certification
  • General training
  • PS Specific Training
• Staff Reports
  • Time Reporting
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Key Interface for Operations
• Compensation for Operations
• Organizational Structure and Sizing

Chapter 10 : Putting It All Together

• Organizational Parameters
• Organizational Interfaces
  • Interfaces within Professional Services
  • Interfaces with the Larger Company
  • External Interfaces
  • Interfaces by Function
• Technical Staff Vs. Sales and Marketing Staff
• Field Staff Vs. Corporate Staff
• Organizational Structure
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Processes and Metrics
• Compensation
• Business Model and Budget
• Summary

Chapter 11 : Customer Engagement Workflow

• Workflow Overview
• Step 1: Request
• Step 2: Qualify
• Step 3: Bid
• Step 4: Negotiate
• Step 5: Develop
• Step 6: Implement
• Step 7: Sign-Off
• Step 8: Review
• Summary

Chapter 12 : Four Phases of Building PS

• Overview of Phases
• Phase I- Implementation of Services
  • Value Proposition
  • Profitability Triangle Focus
  • Critical Skills
  • Required Operational Infrastructure
  • Target Mix
  • Revenue Growth Rate
  • Target Gross Margin
  • Target Operating Profit
• Phase II- Integration Services
  • Value Proposition
  • Profitability Triangle Focus
  • Critical Skills
  • Required Operational Infrastructure
  • Target Mix
  • Revenue Growth Rate
  • Target Gross Margin
  • Target Operating Profit
• Phase III- Consulting Services
  • Value Proposition
  • Profitability Triangle Focus
  • Critical Skills
  • Required Operational Infrastructure
  • Target Mix
  • Revenue Growth Rate
  • Target Gross Margin
  • Target Operating Profit
• Phase IV- Productized Services
  • Value Proposition
  • Profitability Triangle Focus
  • Critical Skills
  • Required Operational Infrastructure
  • Target Mix
  • Revenue Growth Rate
  • Target Gross Margin
  • Target Operating Profit
• Maturity Time Line
• Services Phases Graph
• Skipping a Phase
• Stalling in a Phase
• Services Market Landscape
  • Hewlett Packard: More than Just an Integrator?
  • Compaq: Buying Its Way Around the Wheel
  • Sun: Not Sure They Want In
  • EMC: Knows the Way to Go
• Management Positioning

Chapter 13 : Unique Issues

• Alignment
  • Vertical Alignment: Aligning Service Solutions and Capabilities
  • Horizontal Alignment: Aligning Service Departments
  • Aligning Skills
  • Overlap
• Partner Conflict
• Product Infrastructure Vs. Service Infrastructure
  • Internal Education and Promotion
• Global Differences
• Closing Comments

Chapter 14 : Summary of Key Concepts

• The SAR Factor
• Four Qualifying Questions
• Ten Parameters for Running a Business
• Key Levers of a Professional Services Business
• Organization Structure, Metrics, and Compensation
• Business Model and Objectives
• Maturity Time Line
• Unique Issues
• Sirens’ Song

Appendix A – Evaluating Your Service Vendors

• Tier I- Solutions and Capabilities
• Tier II- Ability to Execute
• Tier III- Strategic Fit

Appendix B – Key Financial Models

Appendix C – PS Business Review

• Timing
• Attendees
• Agenda
• Sample Review Packages

Appendix D – Sample Project Review
Project Review Executive Summary

• 1.0 Project Overview
• 2.0 Project Team
• 3.0 Project Statistics
• 3.1 Phase I: Detailed Design
• 3.2 Phase II: Interpretation
• 3.3 Phase III: Project Statistics Interpretation
• 4.0 Repeatable Components
• 5.0 Conclusions

Appendix E – Solution Portfolio Management

• Solution Portfolio Graph
  • Solution Revenue
  • Solution Maturity
  • Solution Margin
• Portfolio Ownership
  • Services Marketing
  • Services Engineering

Appendix F – Customer Request and Qualification Form

• Request and Qualification Form
• Customer Qualification Information
Glossary
Glossary Terms
Selected Bibliography
Index