Project introduction

What does project mean?1. something that is contemplated, devised, or planned; plan; scheme. 2. a large or major undertaking, esp. one involving considerable money, personnel, and equipment. 3. a specific task of investigation, esp. in scholarship. 4. Education. a supplementary, long-term educational assignment necessitating personal initiative, undertaken by an individual student or a group of students 5. to propose, contemplate, or plan. 6. to throw, cast, or impel forward or onward. 7. to set forth or calculate (some future thing): They projected the building costs for the next five years. 8. to throw or cause to fall upon a surface or into space, as a ray of light or a shadow. 9. to cause (a figure or image) to appear, as on a background. 10. to regard (something within the mind, as a feeling, thought, or attitude) as having some form of reality outside the mind: He projected a thrilling picture of the party's future. 11. to cause to jut out or protrude. 12. Geometry. a. to throw forward an image of (a figure or the like) by straight lines or rays, either parallel, converging, or diverging, that pass through all its points and reproduce it on another surface or figure. b. to transform the points (of one figure) into those of another by a correspondence between points. 13. to present (an idea, program, etc.) for consideration or action: They made every effort to project the notion of world peace. 14. to use (one's voice, gestures, etc.) forcefully enough to be perceived at a distance, as by all members of the audience in a theater. 15. to communicate clearly and forcefully (one's thoughts, personality, role, etc.) to an audience, as in a theatrical performance; produce a compelling image of. 16. to cause (the voice) to appear to come from a source other than oneself, as in ventriloquism; throw. 17. to extend or protrude beyond something else. 18. to use one's voice forcefully enough to be heard at a distance, as in a theater. 19. to produce a clear impression of one's thoughts, personality, role, etc., in an audience; communicate clearly and forcefully. 20. Psychology. to ascribe one's own feelings, thoughts, or attitudes to others

A project:

Is a piece of work with a defined beginning and end* Has a specific goal or objective* Takes place within a pre-arranged timeframe. What makes freelancing so appealing is that freelancers are usually hired to work on a project-by-project basis and get the satisfaction of a completed job, rather than work the routine day-to-day slog so many salaried workers complain about.

Examples of projects:

1) A freelance documentary director is hired to work on a one-off documentary about hats.  The objective is the finished documentary.  The project runs from the time the

director is commissioned by the producer, to the day that filming is wrapped (or whenever their services are no longer required).2) A wedding planner is hired by a couple to plan and organise their Big Day: that is the objective.  The project starts when the couple hire the planner and finishes when the wedding day is over (or shortly after if the planner is dealing with the photography albums etc).3) A graphic designer is hired by a company called ‘Kitty-Kat Industries’ to design a logo for the launch of their new product, ‘Eco-Kat’.  The objective is delivering the logo to the required specifications.  The designer’s project would be finished once the logo and any associated material has been delivered. 

Multiple Projects:

Of course, many wedding planners, writers, artists, PR consultants and other freelancers may take on several projects at once.  This is where being able to effectively manage your projects really comes into its own. 

Exercise: Writing a Project Statement

Your project statement can help you focus on what is important and should be agreed by you and your client before you begin.  You should be able to define your project in one sentence.  Keep referring back to your project statement if you are getting bogged down in the details of your project.Unlike in the world of big business, you most likely won’t sign off on the statement, but it will form the basis of your contract.  It is more for you to help condense the project down into its essentials.The project statement defines:

the objective the budget the timeframe the quality expected, if appropriate

Example: The graphic designer’s project statement might look something like this:”The project is to deliver a new logo for KittyKat Industries’ ‘Eco-Kat’ product launch by 1st May 2011 for $500, to the industry standard specifications.”Have a go at defining your project in one sentence.

Marketing Projects

Some of the marketing projects thats can be chosen for MBA:

Customer Satisfaction Survey

Consumer Perception Survey Service Quality Study Service Blueprinting Service Process Mapping – Back stage, on-stage Improving service quality using service blueprinting Competition Analysis Service standards Study on effectiveness of employee’s role in service delivery Effectiveness of channels (distributors/ DSAs) in service delivery Effectiveness of channels (on-line/ Internet) in service delivery Customer Data Analysis Study of Institutional markets Effectiveness of promotion schemes Measurement of Brand awareness and brand perception Customer Loyalty study Study of purchase influencing factors Customer Profiling Advertising effectiveness study

Your topic deprends upon your company and the space it is operating upon. If it is Samsung / LG or SOny you shall try to identify its brand positioning and try to work out growth posibilities in high end market. If you are in Onida / Weston or Videocon you shall try to find out new niche area or growth of no frill TV in rural mkt etc.

so a lot depends in which class you are in tie 1 or tier 2. also give various options that you are considering and dont pm

Your topic is too broad and then it is very difficult to work on profitability as there are many components involved i.e dealer margin, retailer margin, workforce cost, inventory cost, business promotion cost so on so forth, so you can't do that. What you shall ideally do is identify a niche say Plasma TV and then do a brand positioing excercise and parameters which ppl use to buy a plasma TV and how your company is faring in that.

say u r working in LG then first by using a questionnaire, where try to identify key attributes which ppl use to buy plasma TV and once you have worked out attributtes, see how does LG does on those attributes i.e where it scales up.

as far as ERP goes it is good MIS tool but you need to have clear picture like what you need to capture.

comparative field of marketing comparative field of marketingEffectiveness of promotion schemes Measurement of Brand awareness and brand perception

Some of the Marketing Projects  

S.No. Project Name Descripttion Add-on features

1. RURAL MARKETING: CHALLENGE, OPPORTUNITY & STRATEGY

The best jugaad for this project sell to the poor and become rich. There is substantial increase in the purchasing power of the rural communities.

 

2 A to Z of Consumer Buying Behavior

It’s a very good Project for the marketing students to study like Consumer Buying Behavior, Behavior towards chocolates, Behavior towards Reliance fresh ltd.

 

3 Building Brands Marketing This Project describes that Brands create a

perception in the mind of the customer that there is no other product or service on the market that is quite like yours. Like Projectsjugaad.com is the Brand name for MBA Projects.

 

4 MARKETING STRATEGY OF NIKE

A Project Report on the Marketing strategy of Nike made at Nike Shoes Industries Limited. This marketing premeditated graph has been printed observance in brain the Indian operations of Nike Inc.

 

5 Online Advertisement Management Program

Online advertisement is an increasing business at the Internet and it continuously grows together with the expanding use of Internet services. This is Project is very important for Everyone as no company can not ignore the Online marketing strategy.

Email Marketing Online ProjectEasy, Affordable & EffectiveOnline Marketing Tool. Try it Free.

Internet marketing ProjectsReach the precise audience you want with relevant targeted

ads.

6 Web Advertising and Marketing

Web Advertising again the part of online marketing. You must know the tricks for social markeing like twitter, facebook etc. In this Project we will discuss how we do online marketing for Projectsjugaad.com

Online Marketing ProjectsGet Effective SEO/SEM Services andenhance your Online presence Today

Online Marketing - Project Global online marketing experts.Contact us today for great results!

7 Titan Industries TITANS BRAND ACTIVITIES, TITAN- ADVERTISING & PROMOTIONAL TECHNIQUES, TITAN- STRATEGIES, COMPETITORS ACTIVITIES- TIMEX

 

8 Mobile Marketing In this Project that customers hold dissimilar types of prospect for service concert, controllable and unmanageable sources of customer prospect.

Project Mobile AdsDelivering Optimized Multimedia AdsOver a Variety Of Mobile Channels.

Mobile Marketing ReportA primer on mobile marketingOutlook of mobile communications

9 Marketing Customer expectations

In this Project that customers hold dissimilar types of prospect for service concert, controllable and unmanageable sources of customer prospect.

 

10 Marketing Pricing Strategies

Project of creating a marketing strategy you must consider many factors for good results.

 

11 Marketing Management Slides Business policy and strategic management,

consumer behavior and customer relationship management, advertising and brand management

 

12 MARKETING MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS - THE IIM WAY

This Project for the students who want to understand and apply the marketing concepts of the IIM.

 

13 Marketing Research Questionnaire of tata-nano

In this Project what is the first thing, which comes into your mind when you think about nano, which feature of NANO attracts you most.

 

14 Marketing mix on Honda city

This is to project on marketing mix with 4p's on Honda city in India after launched their latest model for the Indian car consumers.

 

15 Marketing Research Hero Honda CRM

This Project for the Customer Relationship Management System of Hero Honda which gives very good feedback of their customers.

 

16 Market saturation of Maggi noodles

Project is marketing research, research findings, swot analysis, stp and, differentiation, bcg matrix, michael's 5 force model, mkt penetration strategies, brand recall and future trends.

 

17 Marketing Cadbury: Factors for success

Project gives Factors for success of Marketing strategy of Cadbury and how UK companies give good results in India.

 

18 Launch of Electric Bike - Marketing Management Project

This Project to launch an Eco friendly new innovative product marketing in India, Business strategy, product market, customer analysis.

 

19 Marketing of Digital Products

Project study comprise of three essay that supposedly and empirically examine the marketing of digital products, which are in sequence products such as the media and books sold in both physical and electronic form.

 

 

 

Market Research Project - Executive Education in Middle EastBid on This Project »

Bids 3

Avg Bid$300 USD 3 weeks leftOPEN

Project ID:

1231568

Project Type:

Fixed

Budget:

$30-$250 USD

Project Description:

We need a detailed study of the Middle Eastern Executive Education market. It must include:

- General facts and figures on the size and activity of the regional and national industries- Specific facts and figures on the size and activity in a number of countries (i.e. UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Egypt, as well as India and Hong Kong)- Companies serving the market, including most popular program topics, geographic focus, venues, pricing, clients, public vs. customized breakdown, innovative strategies, etc.- Clients (both public and private sector) buying high-end executive education/training, organized by country and industry, with details on budgets, focus areas, preferred providers, decision-makers (with contact info), etc. (minimum of 50 top clients per country)

Study Goals:

- Look for holes in the market- Competitive advantages we have and how to exploit/market them effectively- Understand key competitors- Identify trends in the market- Determine best marketing methods- Determine proper pricing for both in-house and public programs- Understand what certain types of clients are looking for and how they spend their training budgets

1. Competition

- Who are our main competitors (companies & business schools but ignore low-end training providers)? - Do they have any tie-ups with educational institutions? - How many staff do they have?- Where are they based? - Do they have a regional presence or only UAE?

- In houseo What courses are most popular?o How many courses are they running?o Where are the programs being run? o Who are their main clients?o How are they reaching those clients?o How much are they charging?o Who are the professors?

- Publico How many participants per program (what they say vs. reality)?o What courses are most popular?o How many courses are they running?o Where are the programs being run? o Who are their main clients?o How are they reaching those clients?o How much are they charging?o Who are the professors?

- Partnerso Do they have any interesting strategic partners who we could also tie up with? o What is the nature of the relationships?

2. Clients

- Which companies are doing most training?- Who are the decision-makers in these companies (HR vs. other directors)?- What do they like about certain programs or competitors’ services? - When their training budgets are being fixed for the following year?

3. Market

- What is the size of regional exec ed market? What about the UAE? - What size market share do the main training companies have? - What industries are most actively undergoing management training?- What kinds of companies are focused on what kinds of training?

I investigated whether marketing a project to stakeholders and user groups could improve a project’s chance of success. It turns out that there is not much written on the subject area.

Intuitively it makes sense to me that marketing your new customer management system to sales staff will mean better acceptance by the workforce. And it also seems intuitive that configuring your project scope document around ideas like the marketing mix is a more client centric way of stating your project’s objectives and outcomes that the typical technically focused approach used by most project teams.When you search you will find there are only two types of project marketing out there in the literature, and none of them are to do with the application of marketing principles to make projects more effective.

The types of project marketing that is written about are:

Marketing your professional expertiseYou are a professional services form and you manage projects for clients. You market your business like any other services business. You configure your services to meet the demands of the market place and your price yourself to be competitive and profitable. (Cova 2005)

Your project is creating a product for end-user consumers.This is the closest I could find to marketing your project to stakeholders and user groups. The stakeholders I am referring to are usually staff within an organisation, which has different requirements and options as far as adopting project outcomes. For example customers can very easily ignore your product so you endeavour to cater to their needs. Staff can be instructed to adopt a new system without any alternatives.

This type of project is most commonly found in construction. Even though product engineering and software development also create end user products and services it seems that there is still a gate between the project and end customer which is managed by a product manager or other similar role.End users are not customers and don’t have the option of ignoring the new system your project delivers, but they do have an impact on your success criteria. If for example your new sales support system is difficult to use, or even simply forced on them without consideration of their needs they will rebel in both subtle and unsubtle ways. They can take longer on orders or pay less attention to detail resulting in more failed or reworked orders. They can make things difficult for up and downstream workers.

Just because the staff are paid to turn up and work on your new system doesn’t mean they will like it and marketing the project to them could be the answer.

In the next couple of posts I’ll look at what marketing is and how marketing principles could be applied to projects. I’ll also look at change, or implementation, management and how it is similar to but different from marketing projects to stakeholders.

Marketing Project Managementby Daniel Kuperman on March 29, 2011

How to plan your marketing projects and get things done on time

Over commitment is one of the deadly sins of marketing managers. When pressed to deliver more leads, or to help out with a few extra projects the reaction from senior marketing management is the typical “yes, we can do it!”.  The results, we know well… the marketing team shifts priorities, put whatever they were working on in the back burner and focus on the new fire to be extinguished.

The constantly changing priorities and always imminent deadlines is not new to anyone working in marketing, but often times the new directions are given without much planning behind. That’s when things start to get ugly and new fires are spotted. You know what I mean, suddenly you are in a meeting and someone asks “when was the banner shipped to the show?” only to face blank stares. “What do you mean?” asks the poor soul. “Was I supposed to ship it? I didn’t know we were sending it this time!”.

Missing Deliverables

Where’s the new landing page? What happened to the press release? Who is working on the new copy for the magazine ad?  These are all typical questions that happen because of lack of control over the marketing projects in your organization. By “projects” I mean campaigns, events, trade shows, and those internal tasks that really don’t apply to any other category but still need to be managed.

And these questions not only take time to be answered but add to the level of stress of your whole team. Not knowing what we missed this time can be damaging for morale and productivity. So how do you ensure you don’t miss any marketing deliverables next time?

First, when accepting a new project or coming up with a new campaign, think of it in terms of deliverables. Break it down into big chunks of things that need to get done (not the task itself, but the result of doing the task or tasks). It’s like building a house (to use a familiar analogy). You break down your “house project” into many deliverables, like:

 

 

- Foundation

- Exterior Wall

- Roof

- Etc.

 

 

 

Then for each deliverable you come up with tasks that will have to be carried out. For the “Foundation” deliverable you may have tasks like “conduct topography layout study”, “excavate site according to study results”, and “pour concrete”. For the “Roof” deliverable you might have “purchase shingles”, “nail shingles to structure”, etc.

Marketing projects are not different. Your deliverables are likely:

-          Press Release

-          Webinar

-          Email Marketing

-          Presentation

-          Print Ad

-          Etc.

And for each you have specific marketing tasks your team needs to perform, like writing copy, reviewing the new design, sending the artwork to the printer or uploading to the website.

Yes, you may do this break down of deliverables in your head before you distribute work to your team, but by putting it down on paper and showing it to them you will ensure everything is covered. Besides, if they see all elements of your next campaign or project, they will have a better understanding of all components and can point out something you may have missed.

Breaking Down Your Work

This process of breaking down your marketing project into deliverables and then breaking the deliverables into tasks is what project management professionals call a “work breakdown structure”. You are breaking down the project into components that will be assigned to people to work on. The WBS, as it is called, serves not only to tell people what will be done but also shows what will not be done. It is your scope and marching orders.

Reporting on costs, time taken, and even results is much easier when thinking in terms of deliverables. Also, tracking progress from a deliverable standpoint is easier than looking at individual tasks. When you ask the team if the email invitation for the upcoming webinar is done and you get an answer like “oh, Bob is working on the copy and I am still tweaking the design”, you know that the answer is “the webinar invite is not complete”. Focusing on what’s done and what’s in progress from the task level only takes extra time and effort.

If all tasks associated with a deliverable are complete, you can call that deliverable completed. If one task is still in progress, then that deliverable is pending. Simple as that. Once you start talking to your team and managing in terms of deliverables, the deadlines and shifting priorities become easier to manage.

Managing Marketing Deliverables Online

If pen and paper work for you, fine. Use a big whiteboard and layout your next marketing project there, brainstorm with your team and assign them their tasks during your next staff meeting. There is a better way, though, and that’s with Aprix Marketing Manager.

We created a web-based marketing project management solution based on the best practice followed by project management professionals of breaking down your work into deliverables and then into tasks. The system has pre-configured marketing deliverable templates that help you define your project’s goals and allows you to assign tasks to each deliverable before sending them to your team.

By better managing your marketing projects, you can increase productivity and get more done in less time. Think of your projects in terms of deliverables before assigning tasks to your team, and you will be better prepared to handle the next fire.

IT & System Project

The top 100 IT projects of 2009

The top 100 IT projects of 2009 2009 InfoWorld 100 Awards: IT remains the lifeblood of forward-thinking organizations, as this year's recipients of InfoWorld's highest honor attestBy Jason Snyder, InfoWorld November 23, 2009 06:21 AM ET

8 Comments Print

If it ever was a question, 2009 put an end to any doubts about the resiliency of IT.

Navigating severe budget cuts, unanticipated reorganizations, and quickly evaporating revenue opportunities across most markets in the wake of financial turmoil, IT retrenched, pushed ahead, and launched new endeavors to advance company prospects despite the near historic odds stacked against it. And it is in this spirit that we at InfoWorld salute those who continue to drive IT forward.

[ For tips on how to make your IT operations more successful, see "16 ways IT can do less with less" and "20 more IT mistakes to avoid" ]

Every year, the InfoWorld 100 Awards celebrate 100 IT organizations that have implemented and integrated technologies in innovative ways in pursuit of concrete business goals. These 100 real-world projects stand as proof that striking a new path in IT can reap deep organizational rewards. This year has been no exception -- especially in light of widespread layoffs and limited resources.

For some, resiliency has meant moving forward with long-range initiatives aimed at overhauling essential operations. Shifts toward SOA, end-to-end ERP implementations, projects geared at extending the value of IT to the shop floor -- each demonstrates the value of IT when it comes to modernizing business.

For others, retrenchment has spurred efficiency initiatives, with server virtualization, datacenter automation, and green IT projects streamlining operations while ensuring IT is making headway against the permanent energy crisis.

For still others, financial uncertainty has meant doubling down on existing assets, with initiatives geared toward collaboration, knowledge management, and customer relations leading the way.

Open source made further inroads at some organizations, while others brought essential business operations in-house or launched projects aimed at leveraging the potential of cloud computing. Overall, the variety of projects highlighted as part of the InfoWorld 100 Awards testifies to the fact that today’s IT underlies every facet of business, and that those leading the charge are doing far more than keeping the lights on -- they're redefining their organizations.

View the winners of the 2009 InfoWorld 100 Awards

More InfoWorld awards2009 InfoWorld Technology of the Year Awards 2009 InfoWorld Bossies: Best of Open Source Software 2009 CTO 25 Awards 2009 Green 15 Awards

Accenture www.accenture.com Unified Collaboration Initiative Project lead: Frank B. Modruson, CIO Project description: Accenture developed Accenture Client Exchange, a communications and collaboration platform that provides employees and clients presence, secure IM, voice and videoconferencing, virtual desktop sharing, and network-

enabled phone functionality based on technology from Microsoft and Cisco. Industry: Services

Activision Blizzard www.activision.com WAN-Optimized Development Initiative Project lead: Thomas Fenady, Senior Director of IT Project description: Activision Blizzard increased the efficiency of its worldwide development efforts by revamping its network and moving away from MPLS (multiprotocol label switching) and DS3s (Digital Signal 3) in favor of WAN optimization technology from Riverbed. Industry: Entertainment

ADP www.adp.com Client Service Initiative Project lead: Jeff Mullins, Vice President, Field Automation Engineering Project description: ADP developed Workspace Manager, a unified customer service agent desktop built on Microsoft .Net and integrating Web, Java, Win32, mainframe, and legacy applications within a single user interface, while supporting the development of new composite application interfaces and eliminating the need for client service agents to individually log into 17 Citrix Presentation Server infrastructures. Industry: Services

ADP Dealer Services www.adpdealerservices.com Mobile Field Service Initiative Project lead: Doug Karlson, Vice President and General Manager, Field Services Engineering Project description: ADP Dealer Services launched a mobile field service initiative centered around technology from Antenna Software to provide its field engineers access to legacy data and the company’s Clarify CRM app. Industry: Services

Advance Auto Parts www.advanceautoparts.com Energy Management Initiative Project lead: James Curry, Energy and Systems Manager Project description: Advance Auto Parts launched an energy management initiative, integrating technology from Teletrol Systems into its IT infrastructure at more than 500 of its 3,300 auto parts stores, reducing its per-store energy consumption by as much as 30 percent. Industry: Retail

Aflac www.aflac.com Distributed Call Center Support Initiative Project lead: Dominic Cols, Senior Project Manager Project description: Aflac developed a .Net-based rich-client call center application, integrating the IVR-initiated system to several information systems via an SOA. Industry: Insurance

Alvarado Independent School District www.alvaradoisd.net Disaster Recovery Consortium Project lead: Kyle Berger, Executive Director of Technology Services Project description: Alvarado overhauled its educational network, installing LCD projects and Smart Board technology in classrooms, equipping students with hosted electronic portfolios, and establishing a Compellent SAN-based disaster-recovery consortium for allocating backup space to both Alvarado and neighboring school districts. Industry: Education

AmerisourceBergen Specialty Group www.absg.com Rapid Call Center Integration Project lead: Greg Glaser, Program Manager for CRM solutions Project description: AmerisourceBergen Specialty Group overhauled its call center operations, replacing six

legacy systems in eight business units with a new platform based on technology from Salesforce and Cast Iron. Industry: Pharmaceuticals

Apptix www.apptix.com Unified Hosted Services Delivery Platform Project lead: John Kersse, CTO Project description: Apptix consolidated numerous service delivery platforms accumulated via acquisitions into a unified provisioning, billing, and management platform for all its hosted services. Industry: Service provider

Arrow Electronics www.arrow.com ERP Initiative Project lead: Ash Brooks, Vice President of IT, Enterprise Computing Solutions Project description: Arrow launched an Oracle-based ERP initiative within its Enterprise Computing Solutions business unit, implementing 34 modules, including functionality for CRM, lead management, finance, order processing, and SCM, integrating the SOA platform with several internal warehouse management and export compliance systems, as well as external partner interfaces via EDI and RosettaNet. Industry: Retail

Aspect www.aspect.com Unified Communications Initiative Project lead: Jamie Ryan, Senior VP of IT/CIO Project description: Aspect completed an enterprise-wide Microsoft OCS-based unified communications implementation, integrating voice, voice mail, audioconferencing, Web conferencing, IM, and presence technologies online. Industry: Manufacturing

AT&T www.att.com Knowledge Management Initiative Project lead: Pam Parisian, Senior Vice President, Consumer IT Project description: AT&T developed the Atlas Knowledge Management system for call center representatives, replacing several regional KMSes with a unified, AJAX-derived Web app, based on a flexible in-house built architecture and third-party search. Industry: Service provider

Avnet www.avnet.com Supply Chain Automation and Inventory Management Project lead: Bob Pischke, Vice President of IT Applications Project description: Avnet overhauled its supply chain and inventory management operations, integrating seven systems, including BI, quoting, and ERP, into its Software AG-based SOA. Industry: Distribution

Batesville Casket www.batesville.com Quality Improvement Initiative Project lead: Robert Shane, Programmer/Analyst Project description: Batesville Casket automated its metal fabrication operations, integrating its ERP and manufacturing systems and implementing touch screens and scanning technology to reduce human intervention with manufacturing equipment. Industry: Manufacturing

BMC Software www.bmc.com Datacenter Process Automation Project lead: Mahendra Durai, Vice President, Infrastructure & Operations Project description: BMC Software automated its server rebooting and certification processes, integrating automated system alerts generated by monitoring tools with Run Book Automation scripts employed to manage and remediate server degradation and outages. Industry: Technology

Booz Allen Hamilton www.boozallen.com Enterprise 2.0 Implementation Project lead: Walton Smith, Sr. Associate Project description: Booz Allen Hamilton developed an enterprise 2.0 platform, integrating open source, commercial packaged, and custom-developed applications, including Confluence, B2evolution, Scuttle, and Simple Machines, to serve more than 23,000 employees. Industry: Services

Central Iowa Power Cooperative www.cipco.net Smart Metering Initiative Project lead: Don Chaon, Manager of Data Systems Project description: CIPCO rolled out a smart metering system to 13 rural electric cooperatives based on technology from Wilson, Sierra Wireless, and Verizon Wireless. Industry: Utilities

Chapdelaine & Co. www.chapdelaine.com SOA Initiative Project lead: Ken Torres, CIO Project description: Chapdelaine built an SOA infrastructure for its trading data exchange based on WSO2 middleware. Industry: Financial services

Choctaw Casinos www.choctawcasinos.com Large-Scale Video Surveillance Initiative Project lead: Jason Pritchard, Integration Manager Project description: Choctaw Casinos completed a large-scale video surveillance project tapping cameras from Axis Communications, video management software from Genetec, and Pivot3 severless clustered storage. Industry: Entertainment

Cisco Systems www.cisco.com Operational Security Oversight Dashboard Project lead: Michael Machado, Manager of Security Engineering and Operations, Cisco Collaboration Software Group (WebEx) Project description: Cisco built a RedSeal software-based security oversight dashboard to continuously analyze the configurations of its Cisco Collaboration Cloud firewalls and routers, as well as the results of daily vulnerability scans, identifying patching priorities, validating the enforcement of corporate network security polices, and ensuring compliance with PCI and other regulations. Industry: Technology

City of Richland www.ci.richland.wa.us Enterprise Content Management Initiative Project lead: Jon Amundson, Assistant City Manager Project description: The City of Richland, Wash., streamlined its operations, launching an ECM initiative in partnership with ImageSource, integrating technology from Oracle, Abbyy, Cardiff, and Ilinx to automate workflow and transitioning the city away from paper-based processes. Industry: Government

Clearent www.clearent.com Cloud-Based Development Project Project lead: Mark Peck, Senior Vice President of Technical Operations Project description: Clearant built a .Net-based credit card payment processing system tapping high-performance cloud-based services from Appistry. Industry: Financial services

Cleveland Indians www.indians.com Video Capture and Archiving Platform Project lead: Whitney Kuszmaul, Network Manager Project description: The Cleveland Indians established an advanced video capture and archiving platform to serve at-bat video clips of nearly 2,600 games per year via touch-screen systems, expanding the system to its

spring training facility, while upgrading its datacenter and adding a disaster recovery site, leveraging technology from Microsoft, VMware, CommVault, and NetApp. Industry: Entertainment

Cognizant www.cognizant.com Web 2.0 Collaboration Platform Project lead: Sukumar Rajagopal, Senior Vice President/Chief Knowledge Officer Project description: Cognizant developed a Web 2.0-based collaboration and knowledge management platform based on Microsoft SharePoint, combining structured and unstructured data in the form of blogs and wikis to service more than 5,000 projects among its 64,000-plus employees, clients, and business partners. Industry: Services

Con-way www.con-way.com Freight Network Rationalization Using Network Simulation Tool Project lead: Jackie Barretta, VP/CIO Project description: Con-way developed a Web-based simulation tool for analyzing the effects of proposed changes to its existing linehaul network, based on C++, PL/SQL, and Access. Industry: Transportation

ConvergEx www.bnyconvergex.com Complex Event Processing for Trading Intelligence Project lead: Joseph Weisbord, Managing Director Project description: ConvergEx launched a complex event processing initiative for its financial trading operations centered around technology from StreamBase. Industry: Financial services

Credit Solutions www.creditsolutions.com Enterprise CRM Project Project lead: David Janecek, Vice President of IT Project description: Credit Solutions developed a customized CRM solution using .Net technologies such as DevExpress, Plinqo, and ASP.Net, as well as Cisco VoIP integration, SQL Server, and Faxcore. Industry: Financial services

Cricket Communications www.mycricket.com Datacenter Infrastructure Initiative Project lead: Doug Bird, VP of IT Operations and Security Project description: Cricket Communications overhauled its datacenter infrasctructure to provide high-speed switching, 10Gbps throughput, and disaster recovery, tapping technology from Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, and F5. Industry: Service provider

Culpeper County of Virginia web.culpepercounty.gov Cybersecurity Initiative Project lead: Todd Frazier, Systems Administrator Project description: Culpeper County shored up its Net-based and wireless operations, integrating technology from ForeScout, Panda, McAfee, and Cisco into its security infrastructure. Industry: Government

CUNA Mutual Group www.cunamutual.com Voice Signature Initiative Project lead: Rick Roy, CIO Project description: CUNA Mutual launched a voice signature initiative, developing the Web services necessary to integrate in-house data with third-party voice signature technology, as well as a wide array of legacy apps, such as sales and marketing, order fulfillment, and policy administration. Industry: Insurancey

Data Center Inc. (DCI) datacenterinc.com Storage Consolidation and Server Virtualization Initiative Project lead: Robert Ross, CSO/VP of Network and Technical Services Project description: DCI partnered with ISG Technology to implement a consolidated virtual server infrastructure based on technology from NetApp, Sun, Oracle, and VMware. Industry: Financial services

Dell Computer www.dell.com Multsite Virtualized Training Solution Project lead: Scott Purcell, Technical Training Advisor Project description: Dell created a virtualized learning infrastructure to provide enterprise Linux OS training to students at geographically remote sites, tapping technology from Red Hat, Dell, and EMC. Industry: Technology

Deutsch, Kerrigan & Stiles www.dkslaw.com Infrastructure Overhaul and Disaster Recovery Project lead: Don Champagne, Director of Administration Project description: Deutsch, Kerrigan & Stiles revamped its IT infrastructure, transitioning its Microsoft-based operations from a single server location to collocation with disaster recovery technology provided by Neverfail. Industry: Legal

Direct Energy www.directenergy.com Billing Platform Project lead: Joe Abidaoud, Director Project description: Direct Energy launched Project Gibraltar, a semi-SOA-based billing platform developed using agile methodologies, Tibco enterprise middleware, and .Net. Industry: Utilities

East Grand Rapids Public Schools www.egrps.org Secure Networks and Campus Access Project Project lead: Jeff Crawford, Manager of Networking and Security Project description: East Grand Rapids Public Schools built out its campus network, tapping Cisco technology for WLAN and firewall funcationality, Avenda for network access control, and Enterasys switches to support a blended Apple, Novell, Linux, Windows, and OS2 server environment. Industry: Education

El Centro Regional Medical Center www.ecrmc.org Operations Overhaul Project lead: John Gaede, Director of IS Management Project description: El Centro Regional Medical Center has launched a campaign to overhaul its operations, complete with a secure Aerohive wireless network, hands-free voice communication from Vocera, RFID tracking, and Symbian devices and tablet PCs in advance of a campus-wide electronic health records implementation. Industry: Health care

EMC www.emc.com Datacenter Efficiency Project Project lead: David Scheffler, Director IT Data Center Operations; Paul Divittorio, Director of Enterprise Systems and Application Hosting; Sadasiva Prathab, Director of Global Information Infrastructure Services Project description: EMC launched a power- and resources-efficiency effort across its six datacenters, increasing its use of server virtualization and tapping hot and cold aisles, hot air ceiling plenums, and cabinet filler panel management to decrease overall energy expenditures and carbon emissions. Industry: Technology

Emerson Electric www.emerson.com Product Lifecycle Management Initiative Project lead: Steve Rhodes, PLM Project Manager Project description: Emerson Electric launched a global product lifecycle management initiative centered around technology from Siemens. Industry: Technology

Federal Health Architecture, Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, Department of Health and Human Services www.connectopensource.org Open Source Health Information Exchange Gateway Project lead: Vish Sankaran, Program Director Project description: Twenty federal agencies combined efforts to build the Connect health information exchange gateway, tapping open source infrastructure technologies such as the Glassfish application server, Open ESB, and NetBeans. Industry: Government

FedEx Services www.fedex.com Multichannel Shipment Visibility Initiative Project lead: Arnie Matson and Kelly Pringle, Manager of IT Project description: FedEx extended its shipment tracking system to include real-time visibility via the Web, desktop, and the iPhone using Adobe Flex and AIR, as well as native Objective-C for the iPhone. Industry: Distribution

Fiserv www.fiserv.com Datacenter Consolidation Project Project lead: Jim Walker, Senior Technology Analyst Project description: Fiserv consolidated its datacenter operations in the wake of its iTech acquisition, migrating iTech’s virtualized server environment to Fiserv’s existing virtualized datacenter. Industry: Services

The George Washington University www.iss.gwu.edu University Wireless Internet Deployment Project lead: Dave Steinour, Interim CIO Project description: George Washington University launched a wireless campaign across its three campuses, deploying more than 2,000 wireless access portals to support 28,000 users. Industry: Education

Globant www.globant.comTalent Information and Management System Project lead: Nestor Nocetti, VP Innovation Labs Project description: Globant developed Glow, an SOA-based talent information and management system built on an array of open source technologies, including Java, Spring, Lucerne, PostgresSQL, Jasper Reports, JFreeChart, Apache Axis, and JSP and DWR. Industry: Services

Goodwin Procter www.goodwinprocter.com Electronic Records Initiative Project lead: Andrew Kawa, Senior IT Manager Project description: Goodwin Proctor launched Closing Binders Online, an electronic records initiative based on .Net, Adobe PDF files, and Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal to consolidate business documents in a centralized repository accessible through a corporate knowledge management and collaboration portal. Industry: Legal

GreenBank www.greenbankusa.com Storage Initiative Project lead: Jason O’Dell, AVP/IT Manager Project description: GreenBank transitioned its backup operations

from a tape-based system to a disk-based system tapping technology from ExaGrid and CommVault. Industry: Financial services

Halifax Health Systems www.halifaxhealth.org Wireless Infrastructure Initiative Project lead: Tripp Sills, Network Architect Project description: Halifax Health equipped its state-of-the-art medical extension facility with wireless telephony, EMR-enabled mobile medical carts, bedside bar code scanning, remote video interpreting, and 802.11n wireless, integrating technology from Motion C5, Siemens, Vocera, Nortal, and Meru Networks. Industry: Health care

Harvard Medical School hms.harvard.edu High-Performance Computing Initiative Project lead: Marcos Athanasoulis, Director of IT Project description: Harvard Medical School built an internal compute cloud to ensure compute resource availability to 500-plus researchers around the world, tapping Platform LSF, IBM hardware, Isilon and EMC storage, and biomedical software solutions such as MatLab and SAS. Industry: Education

Hay Group www.haygroup.com Private Cloud Initiative Project lead: Tuan Ngo, Director, Worldwide Network Operations Group Project description: Hay Group migrated its EMC VMware-based virtualized operations to a vSphere-based private cloud that virtualizes and centralizes all of the company’s Exchange, SharePoint, and SharePoint Server systems across 85 offices in 47 countries. Industry: Services

HD Supply www.hdsupply.com Open Source VoIP Initiative Project lead: Nigel Saldanha, Vice President and CTO Project description: HD Supply developed an Asterisk-based open source VoIP system for a newly established disaster-recovery warm site. Industry: Distribution

HealthTrans www.healthtrans.com Data Warehouse Initiative Project lead: Duane Green, Vice President, Systems Operations Project description: HealthTrans built a 100TB data warehouse for managing pharmacy benefit programs, centered on technology from Sybase. Industry: Health care

Hovnanian Enterprises www.khov.com Integrated ERP and CRM Initiative Project lead: Lori Fraticelli, Director of Development Project description: Hovnanian consolidated 20 separate legacy ERP and CRM applications into an Oracle-based system running on virtualized Hewlett-Packard servers. Industry: Construction

International Game Technology www.igt.com Automated Manufacturing Operation Project lead: Richard Hardcastle, Business Process and Implementation Manager Project description: International Game Technology automated its manufacturing operations, extending existing SAP systems to manufacturing via an interactive AES layer, tapping RFID and bar code technology, as well as xDDI functionality from Acsis. Industry: Manufacturing

Interstate Transport www.interstate-transport.com Emergency Response Logistics Initiative Project lead: Nathaniel Engelsen, CIO Project description: Working with the

Florida Department of Emergency Management, Interstate Transport developed an emergency resources tracking system, using .Net, IVR, and Web portals to integrate the system with legacy inventory, GIS, and management suites. Industry: Transportation

iQor www.iqor.com Biometric-Enabled ERP System Project lead: Vikas Kapoor, CEO Project description: iQor overhauled its call center operations with TeQ21, a biometric-enabled ERP system that integrates VoIP, human resources management, compliance management, and network and data management, as well as thin client technology from Hewlett-Packard and biometrics from DigitalPersona. Industry: Services

Johnson & Johnson www.jnj.com Social Media Employee Collaboration Platform Project lead: Ryan Mazeffa, IT Manager, Web Services, IT Services Project description: Johnson & Johnson developed a corporate collaboration platform based on technology from Adobe, Microsoft, and Photon Infotech and integrated the platform into a .Net-based SOA layer to leverage existing open source investments, such as OpenFire, Red5, and Drupal. Industry: Pharmaceuticals

Juniper Networks www.juniper.net Web 2.0 Initiative Project lead: Michele Goins, CIO Project description: Juniper overhauled its Web presence with Juniper.net 2.0, a 45-server Web infrastructure based on Interwoven content management, Autonomy integrated search, and Akamai content delivery. Industry: Technology

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. kmbs.konicaminolta.us CRM Initiative Project lead: Nelson T. Lin, VP of IT Services/CIO Project description: Konica Minolta extended the capabilities of its SaaS-based CRM through Web services to automate business processes and account data management, integrating the on-demand platform with numerous back-end ERP systems, as well as third-party apps supported by various business partners. Industry: Manufacturing

Kool Smiles www.koolsmilespc.com Thin-Client EHR Initiative Project lead: Mark Blomquist, Chief Technical Architect Project description: Kool Smiles built out a Wyse-based thin-client infrastructure to support the electronic health records systems at 13 new dental offices across the United States. Industry: Health care

Lathrop & Gage www.lathropgage.com Telepresence Network Initiative Project lead: Ben Weinberger, CIO Project description: Lathrop & Gage revamped its IT communications infrastructure, switching from ISDN to IP and implementing telepresence, tapping technology from Polycom and Riverbed. Industry: Legal

Layered Technologies www.layeredtech.com Automated Server Provisioning Platform Project lead: Terrance Bush, COO/CIO Project description: Layered Technologies automated its server provisioning operations, integrating ordering, billing, inventory managment, and purchasing into the system using SOAP, Java, and Microsoft AX. Industry: Service provider

Lincoln Trust www.lincolntrustco.com Simplified Infrastructure Foundation for Company Spin-off Project lead: Charlie Billings, IT Director Project description: Lincoln Trust launched a greenfield IT infrastructure due to its company spin-off, virtualizing its hardware footprint with VMware on Dell and tapping NetApp storage technology, Lombardi BPM software, Microsoft Office SharePoint, Cisco VoIP, and custom applications developed to follow SOA and WOA designs. Industry: Financial services

Lincoln Trust www.lincolntrustco.com Business Process Management Initiative Project lead: David Neitz, Vice President of IT Project description: Lincoln Trust completed a series of projects using a BPM program approach, developing a data warehouse to support 15 new business processes across 10 business units, as well as a data delivery mechanism based on Microsoft SharePoint Portal, ProClarity, and SQL Server Reporting Services. Industry: Financial services

Lionbridge Technologies www.lionbridge.com IT Infrastructure Overhaul Project lead: Frank Smith, Manager, Corporate IT Core Infrastructure Project description: Lionbridge overhauled its IT infrastructure, tapping Hyper-V server virtualization, FalconStor gateways, and Sun and Hitachi storage arrays to serve a dispersed Microsoft-based enterprise. Industry: Services

Media Innovation Group www.themig.com Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence Project lead: Brian Lesser, Vice President and General Manager Project description: The Media Innovation Group developed an advertising delivery platform based on technology from Netezza. Industry: Media

MetLife www.metlife.comSupercomputing Initiative Project lead: Brian Cartwright, Director Project description: MetLife developed a centralized supercomputing grid for performing actuarial activities based on technology from Microsoft, Oracle, and Cognos. Industry: Insurance

MGM Mirage www.mgmmirage.com Enterprise IT Management Initiative Project lead: Tim Frawley, VP/CTO Project description: MGM Mirage centralized the governance and management of its 100,000-plus IT assets and services using the ITIL best-practices framework on a backbone of asset management solutions from CA. Industry: Entertainment

Mine Safety Appliances www.msanet.com Storage Consolidation and Server Virtualization Initiative Project lead: Scott McCullough, Manager of Technical Operations Project description: Mine Safety Appliances consolidated its datacenter operations, establishing a virtualized environment built on technology from Citrix and NetApp in support of its Oracle-, SAP-, Lotus-, and Windows-based enterprise. Industry: Manufacturing

NetApp www.netapp.com Enterprise Business Intelligence Project Project lead: Dongyan Wang, Senior IT Director, BI & Data Management Project description:

NetApp launched a comprehensive BI initiative, developing an SOA-style framework based on technology from Oracle, Microsoft, and Cisco and a data warehouse built on Oracle 10g to pull in data from several upstream apps, including Siebel CRM, Oracle ERP, and PeopleSoft HRMS. Industry: Technology

The Nord Center www.nordcenter.org Biometric Authentication and E-Forms Initiative Project lead: Chris Rojek, CIO Project description: The Nord Center transformed its documentation process into a fully electronic, biometrically authenticated system based on technology from Microsoft and Digital Persona. Industry: Health care

NYSE Euronext www.nyse.com Datacenter Initiative Project lead: Steve Rubinow, Executive VP/Co-Global CIO Project description: NYSE Euronext launched an initiative to build out and consolidate datacenter operations, switching from a three-tier to a two-tier architecture, integrating the datacenters to legacy systems via Juniper switches and routers. Industry: Financial services

O2 Litmus www.o2litmus.co.uk SOA Initiative Project lead: James Parton, Head of O2 Litmus Project description: O2 Litmus unified its communications network around a software-based delivery platform that embraces WOA and SOA principles blended with native protocols. Industry: Communications infrastructure overhaul

Organic Valley Family of Farms www.organicvalley.coop Storage Consolidation Initiative Project lead: Curt Parr, Technical Services Manager Project description: Organic Valley Family of Farms, in partnership with Mocha Data and VMPowered, launched a storage efficiency initiative centered on NetApp technology in service of its VMware-based server environment. Industry: Agriculture

Peerless Foods www.peerlessfoods.com.au Open Source Business Intelligence System Project lead: Adrian Hamilton, CIO Project description: Peerless Foods developed an ERP system based on open source software from Ingres and Jaspersoft, automating end-to-end business processes, including forecasting, ordering, production, packaging, and distribution. Industry: Retail

Pegasus Solutions www.pegs.com Customer Reservation Initiative Project lead: Peter Ehlke, Principal Systems Engineer, Architecture Team Project description: Pegasus built RezView, a central reservation system based on Oracle RAC, Splunk, and OpenSolaris, migrating more than 8,000 hotels to the system. Industry: Services

ProcureStaff Technologies www.procurestaff.com Human Capital Business Intelligence Data Warehouse Project lead: Allen Rittscher, President and CTO Project description: ProcureStaff launched a business intelligence and data warehouse initiative geared toward aggregating and cleansing human capital management data for BI analysis, tapping SQL Server, ETL packages based on SQL DTS, and various reporting, OLAP, and analytics technologies. Industry: Services

Purdue University www.purdue.edu Multi-Campus Supercomputing Initiative Project lead: John P. Campbell, Associate Vice President of IT Project description: Purdue built DiaGrid to pool unused compute cycles across several campuses using the open source Condor distributed computing system developed by the University of Wisconsin and CycleServer compute management functionality, pushing the total capacity of its supercomputing system to 177 teraflops. Industry: Education

Qwest Communications www.qwest.com/business Web Portal Project lead: Rick Wertheimer, Program Manager; Betsy Keyes, Director of eMarketing Project description: Qwest, in partnership with EffectiveUI, consolidated 12 portals pulling data from more than 100 legacy systems into a unified online hub for large business customers Industry: Service provider

RCN Metro www.rcnmetro.com Order Management System Initiative Project lead: Christopher Lowe, Senior Director of IS/IT Project description: RCN Metro built a .Net-based order management system that leverages Oracle 11g on the back end and integrates into legacy NOC, trouble-ticketing, alarm-monitoring, material requisition, and billing systems. Industry: Service provider

Reliance Communications www.rcom.co.in Web 2.0/SSO-Enabled Collaborative Platform Project lead: Dr. Sumit Chowdhury, CIO Project description: Reliance Communications developed a Web 2.0-based collaborative platform, unifying multiple, department-focused information architectures through use of SAP ERP, WebSphere, Intel servers, F5 load balancers, LDAP servers, single sign-on, and iGoogle as a design framework. Industry: Service provider

Reliance General Insurance www.reliancegeneral.co.in Mobile Claims Management Initiative Project lead: Sriram Naganathan, Chief Technology and Operations Officer Project description: Reliance General developed a .Net-based claims management system around an SOA framework and extended this CMS in partnership with Vieva Intech to field agents via Web and SMS technologies. Industry: Insurance

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex NYC www.rockannex.com High-Availability Video Surveillance Project lead: David Waggett, General Manager Project description: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex NYC partnered with ADT and All Covered to deploy a leading-edge video surveillance system featuring 48 high-resulotion Mobotix Vision IP network cameras integrated with Overland NAS. Industry: Entertainment

SaveMart www.savemart.com Virtualization Initiative Project lead: James Sims, CIO Project description: SaveMart standardized on VMware-based virtual-server environments as a result of its acquisition of 125 new grocery stores, scripting automated backup to NAS storage devices rather than more expensive SAN boxes. Industry: Retail

SaveMart www.savemart.com Open Source Initiative Project lead: James Sims, CIO Project description: SaveMart migrated its retail operations from proprietary solutions to

an open source-based architecture centered around Ingres and Suse Linux as a result of its acquisition of 125 additional grocery stores. Industry: Retail

Seattle Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center www.seattlechildrens.org Enterprise Architecture Overhaul Project lead: Wes Wright, VP/CTO Project description: Seattle Children's Hospital overhauled its enterprise architecture tapping both virtualization technologies and modern OS and hardware from Citrix, VMware, EMC, Microsoft, Computer Associates, and Symantec, virtualizing more than 300 applications, and eliminating more than 100 physical servers. Industry: Health care

SNC Setao www.semtao.fr Storage Initiative Project lead: Olivier Parcollet, IT Manager Project description: SNC Setao revamped its Semtao transportation network's storage operations to meet expanding data demands, integrating technology from Pillar and Falconstor into its VMware/Oracle-based infrastructure. Industry: Transportation

Sohu www.sohu.com Datacenter Infrastructure Initiative Project lead: Zhou Lin, Senior Director Project description: Sohu built out a next-generation datacenter architecuture based on technology from H3C to support the Sogou search engine. Industry: Services

Southwest Airlines www.southwest.com Automated Flight Disruption Messaging Initiative Project lead: Fred Taylor, Senior Manager of Proactive Customer Service Communications Project description: Southwest Airlines developed an automated flight disruption messaging system based on a communications platform from Varolii, creating a SOAP-based gateway for real-time information exchange, front-end interfaces, and computer telephony integration hooks to call center agent apps. Industry: Transportation

State Street www.statestreet.com Infrastructure Transformation Project lead: Madge M. Meyer, Executive Vice President Project description: State Street overhauled its IT infrastructure, tapping server virtualization, VoIP, virtual tape libraries, high-availability storage, and Linux on the mainframe. Industry: Financial services

Sybase www.sybase.com SOA Initiative Project lead: Jim Swartz, CIO Project description: Sybase transformed its revenue systems into an SOA using a blend of enterprise Java; open source frameworks, such as JSF, iBatis, and Hibernate; and custom frameworks, AJAX, and RosettaNet XML. Industry: Technology

Tata Consultancy Services www.tcs.com Global Lifecycle Talent Management Project lead: Alok Kumar, Vice President/CIO Project description: Tata Consultancy Services developed a talent management system, tapping SOA and BPM engine technology to improve workforce planning, performance, and feedback for its 140,000-employee operations across 42 countries. Industry: Services

Thomson Reuters compumark.thomson.comIntellectual Property Workflow Automation Initiative Project lead: Betsy Hussin, Vice President, Product

Development, Thomson CompuMark Project description: Thomson Reuters developed an AJAX-enabled workflow platform, integrating it into an SSO-enabled unified online environment. Industry: Services

U.S. Army www.us.army.mil Army Knowledge Online Security Monitoring Project lead: Earl Noble, Program Manager, AKO/DKO Project description: The U.S. Army overhauled its approach to securing the Army Knowledge Online/Defense Knowledge Online portal consolidating data from myriad devices and applications and integrating security monitoring technology from ArcSight into a variety of legacy systems. Industry: Government

University of Chicago Medical Center www.uchospitals.edu SOA Records Management and Governance Project lead: Ben Patel, Assistant Director, IT Project description: The University of Chicago Medical Center shifted its records management system to a services-based model, tapping technology from Layer 7 to provide security and governance. Industry: Health care

University of San Diego www.sandiego.edu On-Campus Wireless Security Project Project lead: Douglas Burke, Director of Network and Telecommunication Services Project description: The University of San Diego embarked on a campuswide wireless security project, integrating technology from Aruba, CashNet, and Avenda Systems. Industry: Education

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra www.vancouversymphony.ca High-Availability Ticketing System Project lead: Debbie Marcus, Office Manager Project description: The Vancouver (British Columbia) Symphony Orchestra brought its online ticketing service in-house, centering its new, high-availability system around technology from Tessitura and Neverfail. Industry: Entertainment

Varian Medical Systems www.varian.com Mobile Support Initiative for Medical Devices Project lead: Matthew Morse, Senior IT Administrator Project description: Varian overhauled into mobile support for medical devices, replacing laptops with Zenprise-managed BlackBerry devices and developing a custom mobile service CRM app for the BlackBerry that enables service technicians to access the data necessary to diagnose and repair medical devices in the field. Industry: Health care

Wells Fargo & Co. www.wellsfargo.com Corporate Risk Assessment Automation Project lead: Ross Lillestol, Technology Manager, Enterprise Information Management Operations Project description: Wells Fargo developed an automated AJAX-based risk assessment system, integrating it with 80 .Net-based business apps in compliance with NIST and FFIEC standards. Industry: Financial services

Wells Fargo & Co. www.wellsfargo.com Business Process Management Initiative Project lead: Paul Tazbaz, Enterprise Architect Project description: Wells Fargo has undertaken a BPM initiative in the wake of its merger with Wachovia,

integrating Tibco software with an open source reporting engine and business intelligence and reporting tools. Industry: Financial services

West Virginia University www.wvu.edu On-Campus Net Security Initiative Project lead: Stephen Belcher, Assistant Director of Network Operations Project description: West Virginia University launched a two-tiered on-campus Net applications security initiative blending security technology from Palo Alto Networks and Cisco to ensure availability of vital learning Web apps. Industry: Education

Westmont College www.westmont.edu Cloud Computing Initiative Project lead: Reed Sheard, Vice President, CIO Project description: Westmont College transformed its IT infrastructure to a cloud-centric one, migrating several systems to cloud-based services provided by Meraki, Google, Postini, and Salesforce.com. Industry: Education

This article, "The top 100 IT projects of 2009," originally appeared at InfoWorld.com. See all of InfoWorld's annual awards at InfoWorld.com.

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Five IT Projects That Need Your Attention Right NowYou have only so much funding and time, so don't waste either of them. These projects can make you a hero or at least can save you from one of those terrible "learning experiences."

There's always too much to do. If you had an infinite budget and project schedule, or at least more resources than you have now, you could accomplish impressive things for your company. Performing triage means you need to pick IT projects that can deliver the most bang for the buck. Accordingly, we discuss five projects that deserve a CIO's immediate attention. We chose these projects because they have a measurable impact, contain elements with a relatively fast ROI, and enhance both network security and manageability.

To start with, we discuss identity and access management, to ensure that the right people can get to the right resources. Next is Linux integration. Linux is here to stay, and it's time that you integrate it into your infrastructure. We follow with discussions on patch and change management, both integral pieces in terms of reliability and security for your

network. Finally, we talk about incident management, a hot topic for any organization wishing to control costs and keep users content, whether they're behind a desktop or are business partners.

Manage Identities

Account management has been IT's forgotten stepchild, but today's network complexity highlights its importance. IT managers are now faced with an incredibly varied mix of directory services, platforms and applications. Ensuring that accounts are properly provisioned and, when needed, terminated, has become an onerous task.

Similar to this Article ID Management Definition and Solutions How to Tackle Identity and Access Management The Problems with Patching Software

For example, a small network can have several Windows servers running in Active Directory (AD), several Linux servers using local accounts, and one or two network applications that maintain accounts in an Oracle database. In even this small setting, managing accounts, password resets and access rights is a significant task in itself. Now imagine an enterprise environment, particularly one with legacy applications and Big Iron. Ensuring that users have accounts and the required access in this environment can be both a security and a support nightmare—that is, unless there is a well-defined solution for managing those accounts and access rights.

The Solution

Commit to an identity and access management (IAM) process, which manages account provisioning, password resets, and access rights for accounts on the network and within applications.

Where to Start

There are several approaches to implementing IAM. Some focus on using enterprise directories to house accounts and access rights, but, frankly, this is a very limited approach that does not reach far enough into the enterprise, particularly in terms of legacy applications. Even Microsoft, which touts AD as an identity solution, understands the limitations of an enterprise directory; the company released Microsoft Identity Integration Service (MIIS) to support the broader IAM needs of the enterprise. Keep in mind, however, that an enterprise directory is still a critical element of IAM.

That said, begin by implementing an IAM product, such as those offered by CA, IBM, Novell, Microsoft or Sun, and use it first to manage your enterprise directory. This will give you a very quick win, and it will also give you time to learn both the complexities of the IAM product as well as the overall IAM process. Next, build and implement connectors to specific platforms and applications within your network. Fortunately, many

IAM products come with built-in connectors for enterprise applications (for example, PeopleSoft, Exchange), which allow you to progress from simpler to more complex implementations over time.

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Product Launch Management Compared to Project Management

What is the significant difference between the responsibilities of a product manager and a project manager? Typically, a product manager is concerned with product life cycle management issues, which include sales performance data. Typically a product manager is more concerned with market and business issues than a project manager. A product manager is a primary contributor to a product's pricing strategy.

A product manager may request things that strain the schedule because of a belief that the adjustments will improve future sales. A project manager is likely to favor a strategy that maintains the schedule.

A successful product launch requires contributions from both product management and project management disciplines. Preparation for a product launch is a high stakes activity. Your company's success is often proportional to the success of your next product launch.

Steps to a SUCCESSFUL project and product   launch Filed under: *Best Practices, *Blogging by Chris Salazar — 5 Comments January 4, 2008

Everywhere around me, people talk about being an online community manager and being a community evangelist and how to deploy a successful online community. But, I think they’re (and me too) are getting ahead of themselves. There are some important Project Management skills and knowledge that you must have to be a successful manager.

The 4 Phases for any project/product launch are: Define, Design, Develop, and Deploy. These are critical milestones in every project that must be accounted for and documented in the critical path.

Define

Define organizational and project objectives – LISTEN to goals, EVALUATE and audit, ANALYZE data, RESEARCH solution, create a NEEDS assessment proposal

Define success criteria, project benchmarks Competitive/Industrial Analysis (if required) Define budget and cost Develop communication protocols and expectations

Design

Build prototype or demo to test assumptions Develop architecture and navigation (design and look/feel) Develop technical design and infrastructure Test prototype usability and functionality Review progress in relation to project benchmarks

Develop

Complete design based on client’s feedback Develop main sections and subsections from copy provided by client Test functionality Review progress in relation to project benchmarks

Deploy

Coordinate offline advertising and marketing Deploy statistical tracking software Develop Meta tag code and search engine strategy Launch site line online Provide training and support Monitor success

Now that the phases are set, these should be incorporated with the Project Plan. The typical plan is the critical path, which is the absolute minimum steps to finish the project on time. However, in order for the critical path to be successful it must take into account the following:

The comprehensiveness of the work plan The correctness of the ordering of tasks and lags The accuracy of individual task-duration estimates

Steps to creating a Critical Path:

1. Identify tasks necessary to complete the project.2. Estimate the duration of the various tasks in the network.3. Identify task dependencies.4. Draw a network that depicts the order in which various tasks can be executed.5. Identify the critical path by adding up the duration of the tasks along each path

and determining which path of the network will take the most time to complete.

Some like to not only create a critical path, but an “Adjusted Critical Path” which incorporates a contingency plan as well. This is a great way to help foresee any problems that could arise and allow time for damage control.

Now that all of the planning is out of the way, a project manager must communicate with all members involved (developers, PMMs, Business Owners) via weekly meetings. Meetings are very important because they check the overall status of the project, can identify roadblocks, and ensure everything is on track. Since meetings are very important and should be efficient, here’s some tips…

Tips on running successful meetings:

Planning a meeting o Set objectives for the meetingo Decide how long the meeting will lasto Provide an agenda beforehando Decide who will attend

Running a meeting o Start the meeting on-timeo Manage the meeting efficiently and stick to the agenda (do not introduce

new topics that will confuse anyone)o Assign action itemso Document actionso Summarize key points from the meeting in Meeting Minutes

& for ‘Product launching Projects’ check out this http://mmnpl.wordpress.com/