IT Hire Wire

It’s not everyday that you get to work on an award winning project. For the most part, technology and training projects are the quiet enablers for the business results of major corporations. If your IT is working right, and your staff knows how to use the tools, silent satisfaction from users is often the indicator of success. I was therefore very pleased to hear from Carol Cohen, Learning Program Manager at Hewlett Packard, that a project that she championed and utilized Hudson Learning & Performance consultants for, won an ASTD (American Society for Training & Development) Excellence in Practice Award. This Carol  attended the #ASTD2012 International Conference and Exposition where she received the certificate.

HP Connections and Learn2Connect

Senior executives at HP sought to improve the time efficiency within their vast global sales organization by making it easier to find experts to assist in sales challenges and learn from other team member best practices.
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If you are leading an IT organization that is not currently leveraging cloud services, you should assume that your competitors are already ahead of you in reaping the rewards. So, spread those arms wide and give the cloud a giant hug.

As leaders strive to inject growth and innovation into their companies in the next few years, information technology managers are no longer faced with the choice of whether or not to embrace the cloud as a critical aspect of their strategy. The cloud has already changed every aspect of our approach and attitude toward business applications and the time to act is now.

The flexibility, scalability and affordability of cloud computing combines Software as a Service (SaaS), virtualization and utility computing in a way that makes it practical for companies of all sizes to utilize. Organizations can edit, share and store as little as an individual document, to billions of transactions in cloud databases. As the cloud has been made available to businesses so, too have consumers been empowered with its ubiquitous availability. The wide adoption of Apple’s iCloud is one example of consumer acceptance of “everywhere computing” paid for by a simple monthly fee. The expectations of the functionality, storage and security of what is available to technology users is therefore increasing everyday

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Recently mobile app analytics firm, Flurry, released a report finding the average person in the US spends 9% more time on mobile apps than browsing the web. “In June [2011] users spent an average of 81 minutes daily on mobile apps, compared to 74 minutes on the web,” and users aren’t just playing games and social networking, they are getting directions, reading the news, watching TV and movies, shopping, banking and, even, working. So it’s no surprise mobile apps are now a must have for just about every company out there. Without mobile access to a company’s information and product, they are not reaching a huge percentage of their customers.

So, it’s no wonder that more and more companies are dedicating significant time, budget and resources to hiring IT professionals with specific skill sets in iOS, Android and Windows mobile development.
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PMI Chicagoland Knowledge Sharing Event Hosted by Hudson IT Chicago

Last week, Hudson IT Chicago hosted a PMI Chicagoland Knowledge Sharing event facilitated by Scott Stribrny of Group Atlantic Inc. on the topic of risk. It was an insightful and robust dialogue between an industry expert and a room full of talented project managers. The event’s success was due in large part to Cynthia Andersen, PMI Chicagoland’s Knowledge Sharing Chair.

After the event, Cynthia and I had a chance to catch up and learn more about her career, PMI Chicagoland, the Knowledge Sharing events and what PMI Chicagoland members can look forward to in 2012.

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A Simple Process for Project Management

Sometimes we don’t think one person can make a difference, but sometimes that is all it takes. If you think about the ground breaking potential one man with a shovel can make, we can see the earth moving capabilities that one person can have. If you think someone should be doing something about it, remember you are someone!

The trick is the age old adage that the hardest door to open is your own; first thing in the morning. It is the motivational tactics that get you going that will help you work through any issue. Once you have your own juices flowing, it is the cheerleading, coaching mentality that get the rest of the team moving. Once you have a team with forward momentum and defined target, you can set out to conquer the world. A project is just the beginning.
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At a PMI Chicagoland meeting I recently attended, I met a person who was asking which certifications she should get to make her more marketable in today’s economy. I believe you should decide what you want to be when you “grow up” and then determine what are the “keys” to what you really want to be doing.

Many (Almost Too Many) IT Certification Choices

There are so many certifications, it is hard to know which ones are important. Project Management Professional (PMP®); Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)^® ; Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)^® ; Program Management Professional (PgMP)^® ; Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)^® ; Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL®); Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE®); Cisco Certified Network Engineer (CCNE®) With so many to choose from, which one is right for me and how many do I need? The Project Management Institute web site, PMI.org states, “You need to choose the credential that best fits your knowledge and experience, as well as your future career plans.” I maintain these certifications are all keys and you need to decide which door(s) you would like to open.
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An interesting skills shift is happening as many IT services are moved to the Cloud. Professionals used to managing systems or software installed internally have had to become experts at managing 3rd party vendors. This shift was mentioned in our recent Hudson IT Cloud Whitepaper. 

Cloud computing will not run without people. IT professionals will still need to supply core business functions. The techno-functional person will be most in demand when businesses move into the cloud. Most companies will run some technology elements inside the cloud and others will run outside the cloud. Such models will require strong service management between internal and external teams. For example, organizations will still need to network systems and integrate architectures. Network engineers will still have to solve routing and management challenges. All of these elements of an IT function will not evaporate into the cloud.

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This week I sat down with Susan Hilty, a Hudson IT PMP-certified project manager from our Chicago office, to get an industry veteran’s take on the trends affecting IT projects right now.

Leaders vs. Project Managers

Susan brings a unique background to her project management engagements. For many years she worked in store management roles at retail chains including Kmart and SportMart. Responsible for opening new stores, Hilty developed firsthand experience with the various people and complex processes that need to be setup and managed for a store to operate successfully. Susan said, “In retail, there were so many moving parts from HR, Payroll, and Finance – my favorite part was figuring out new processes on the fly and mentoring my staff to adopt those processes. We were not given exact instructions on how to open a store. We had to find the necessary resources and make sure that the goal was achieved.”

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It can be tough for software development professionals to crack into the Gaming industry. Veteran programmers will tell you that it takes passion for game development and a strong portfolio of gaming projects to even be considered. Job seekers often ask me how they can get the skills and experience they need to get their foot in the door.

It is possible to transfer skills from related industries, like computer simulation to video game development. A good example is Terry Michaels, Sony Online Entertainment, Everquest Developer, who used his experience as flight simulator programmer to land his first gaming job.
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I sat in on the webinar 6 Reasons to Embrace Cloud Computing Now, hosted by Hudson IT on Tuesday April 7, 2010. Here are some interesting insights into two CIO’s views into Cloud Computing via my live tweets.

Mike Whitmer @mlwhitmer CIO of @HudsonIT, and Kirby Miner, CIO of @Trex_Company will speak on experience with #cloudcomputing #WhyCloud

Mid-sized cos. have had significant IT staff reductions, but still have large base of employees to support. Cloud can help. #WhyCloud

Formal def. of Cloud: multitenant shared platform…NOT useful to convince leadership. Go with simple. “Rent from the internet” #WhyCloud

Explaining IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, “ohhh. you mean servers, middleware and apps. Yeah I get it.” via @monkchips http://bit.ly/a497dQ #WhyCloud

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