A recent debate between professionals from major desktop user organisations discussed strategies for handling large numbers of desktops in both country specific and global environments. The key points discussed were: [Read more →]

A recent Forum workshop looked at how Business Intelligence was being handled within large organisations. The workshop was attended by 15 large organisations covering automotive, construction, central government, finance, manufacturing, power generation & supply, publishing, recruitment, transport infrastructure and travel sectors. The main points from discussions fell into the three areas below: [Read more →]

The shortlist for the Forum’s Real IT Awards has been announced. You can read the full list at the awards website. The awards ceremony will be held at the Grand Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden on the 26th November. 

This will be a night to remember. The Grand Connaught Roomsare located on 61 -65 Great Queen Street just a two minute walk from Holborn tube station and five minutes from Covent Garden tube station. In the heart of theatre land and surrounded by the buzz of Covent Garden.

There will be an atmosphere of celebration with project teams from a host of household name businesses. The great and the good of British IT professionals gathered in one room with the single aim to recognise the extraordinary achievements of the IT user community and the contribution that is made to overall business success.  You can book your place on-line at tif.co.uk/awards.

The workshop covered many aspects of the Project Management Office (PMO). It addressed issues such as what is a PMO, whether it is useful, what do the rest of the company think of it? Of major importance is how to measure success and with which parameters.

The authority of the PMO in an organisation was raised. Points discussed included whether it is a board level function and do PMOs have the authority to stop projects. Some of the members attending the workshop did not have experience of PMOs and therefore attended in order to obtain firsthand experience from those that were already using it.

Towards the end of the workshop members detailed the tools that their organisations
were using for project management. These ranged from Microsoft Project and ‘CA Clarity
PPM’ to much simpler tools such as PowerPoint and Excel. Valuable advice was shared from those delegates that had implemented a PMO. One example was not to go for a ‘big bang’ when introducing but to decide what to tackle first, possibly some small but nonetheless significant issues. Another useful tip was to treat the formation of the PMO itself as a project in its own right.

19 Delegates attended the event representing major companies in airlines, central government, FMCG, healthcare, national infrastructure, manufacturing, retail and utilities. 

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It’s quite possible to suggest that the social networking genie is long since out of the bottle. For most organisations, it’s not a question of if you adopt social networks but when.
Marketing and the business are agitating for greater access to Facebook and LinkedIn and various in-house flavours of the same. And for many IT shops, trying to prevent the clamour is akin to Canute trying to hold back the tide. No matter what the security and privacy risks, IT is now at the sharp end when it comes to social networking; either in facilitating access; monitoring usage (in the name of HR); or trying to ensure security.

Many cyber-criminals now consider social networking to be a better bet for success than email. So how are IT specialists coping with demands to deliver corporate access to social networking sites? This Forum discussion for members set out to determine what are the current issues for IT departments in facilitating access to social networks, discussing along the way four pilot projects set up by forum members.

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22 delegates from 16 organisation gathered in Birmingham this week to talk about the measurement and communication of Benefits realisations. Key points from the event can be found below. [Read more →]