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Going Corporate

A Geek’s Guide

verfasst von: Shailendra Kadre

Verlag: Apress

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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Über dieses Buch

Going Corporate: A Geek's Guide shows technology workers how to gain the understanding and skills necessary for becoming an effective, promotable manager or sought-after consultant or freelancer.

Technology professionals typically dive deeply into small pieces of technologylike lines of code or the design of a circuit. As a result, they may have trouble seeing the bigger picture and how their work supports an organizations goals. But ignoring or dismissing the business or operational aspects of projects and products can lead to career stagnation. In fact, understanding the larger business environment is essential for those who want a management job, a consulting gig, or to one day start a business. Its also essential for those who have been promoted and find themselves flailing for lack of a business education.

Going Corporate: A Geek's Guide to the rescue! This book is designed to help readers gain management skills, insight, and practical understanding of essential business and operational topics. Readers will learn to develop project and program management skills, deliver service efficiently and improve processes, implement governance, analyze financial statements, and much more. After reading this book, technology professionals will understand such things as enterprise architecture, IT operations management, strategic and financial managementand how each relates to the others. Detailed case studies help cement an understanding of how an IT organization and its workers succeed in the 21st century. This book:

Illustrates how pieces of the business puzzle fit together to form a robust enterprise Prepares readers to get promoted into management Explains the key management skills and knowledge required for a successful IT career

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

IT Operational Issues

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Understanding Enterprise IT

Abstract

The aim of this chapter — and the book — is to enlarge our thinking sphere beyond current assignments and projects. This chapter discusses IT organization in its totality and introduces concepts like Enterprise IT Architecture and Lean IT. This chapter also discusses, in brief, business patterns, which are different from the runtime patterns we use when constructing programs. I will touch upon the concepts while keeping discussions as simple as possible — my approach throughout the book. If you wish to go into detail about any specific topic, refer to the bibliography section at the end of the book or to more advanced material specific to that topic.

Shailendra Kadre

Chapter 2. Project Management

A Different Perspective

Abstract

As an IT professional, when you advance in your career you might find yourself handling modules of software projects instead of the software components that you handled at the beginning of your career. The next logical career step may be to become a team leader, where you may find yourself talking directly to senior managers and clients. Now you may need a formal plan and a schedule for your activities; simply keeping them in your head may not help any longer. You will also need good people- and client-handling skills. And of course managing stress will be even more important for you now. These all are logical acts that you may have to go through in your journey to take the next step — becoming a project manager.

Shailendra Kadre

Chapter 3. Delivery and Program Management

Abstract

The next logical step in your IT career may be to assume the job of a program manager. Many terms are used for this role, including delivery manager, senior manager, and delivery director. The job content also varies from company to company. But this is common: at this level you manage a single, large project that is of strategic importance to the company; or you handle multiple projects in parallel. Either way, it’s a big step above managing a single, lower-level project.

Shailendra Kadre

Chapter 4. Service Delivery Management

Abstract

This chapter is about production support, otherwise known as service delivery management. In the past few years, it has emerged as a major revenue earner for the traditional IT services companies across the world. Service-level agreements (SLAs), process automation tools, and many other things that you need to know about service delivery management are also discussed. The chapter ends with a case study on service delivery in a Fortune 500 company, discussing the company’s service delivery organization (SDO), its real-time SLAs, and much more.

Shailendra Kadre

Chapter 5. Portfolio Management

Abstract

This chapter explains the concepts of project portfolio analysis. It ends with a real-time case from a Fortune 500 company. I have noted frequently in this book that big corporations may have hundreds of legacy applications. Many of these organizations are still using obsolete technologies and outdated business processes that don’t represent fast-changing business realities. Often, nobody in the IT department knows the exact inventory or functionalities of these applications.

Shailendra Kadre

Chapter 6. Presales, Bid Management, and Sales and Marketing

Abstract

This chapter takes you through preliminary concepts relating to sales and how deals get made, and then introduces third-party consultants and their role in large deals. It also discusses the role of onsite relationship managers. The major real-time case study at the end will help you understand how presales efforts affect your world.

Shailendra Kadre

Chapter 7. Infrastructure Elements

Abstract

You need to appreciate the functioning of infrastructure management services (IMS) in order to claim top IT slots. For readers with only a software background, this chapter will be a quick go through of the challenges faced by IT infrastructure people. The content is general and will be equally useful to both technical and business people. This is an overview; if you want a more in-depth understanding of this topic, you should read books focused specifically on this subject. The list of references at the end of the book in Appendix C will be a good start.

Shailendra Kadre

Chapter 8. The Cloud

Fundamentals, Strategy, and Economics

Abstract

This rather short chapter discusses everything that you might need to get started with clouds. It discusses cloud environment fundamentals and cloudonomics — the economics of cloud computing.

Shailendra Kadre

IT Business Issues

Frontmatter

Chapter 9. The Fascinating World of Finance

Abstract

Many decisions that you make, no matter what level you are in the organization, have a financial impact. For you to grow on the job, and within your organization, you must understand financial data at a basic level. This will enable you to make better decisions in both your professional and personal lives.

Shailendra Kadre

Chapter 10. IT and Business Processes

Abstract

It is the era of business transformation. In an attempt to reduce operating costs, companies are consolidating and streamlining their IT organizations. Efficient processes can help not just streamline IT, they streamline the business as well. Lean and efficient processes are the primary goals, whereas IT is just an implementation tool, as usual. In this chapter, I won—t go deep into the mechanics of how to do business process reengineering (BPR), but I will discuss business transformation from a strategic angle that is very important for business and technology executives — and those who want to rise in the IT ranks.

Shailendra Kadre

Chapter 11. IT and Business Analytics

Abstract

Let’s start with the basics: business intelligence (BI) is about getting usable intelligence from data. It’s been around for a while. Using BI, you can provide the right information to the right people at the right time and through the right channels. Informed decision making leads to competitive advantage.

Shailendra Kadre

Chapter 12. IT and Operations Management

Abstract

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) and supply chain management (SCM) systems now guide operations in many organizations. Where it is in use, ERP software has completely changed the way operations managers operate. After decades of development that created disparate and stand-alone IT systems, integrated ERPs have or soon will become a ground reality in most large and medium-sized organizations. And no IT manager today can survive without working knowledge of ERP and how it affects an enterprise’s functioning and the development and maintenance of other IT systems.

Shailendra Kadre

Chapter 13. Corporate Governance in IT Companies

Abstract

The importance of corporate governance became very clear in 2002 after a series of corporate meltdowns and frauds caused the loss of billions of dollars in shareholder investments as well thousands of jobs. Many companies filed for bankruptcy, and criminal investigations were initiated against many corporate executives. Enron Corporation, Tyco International, and WorldCom were among the names in headlines on a daily basis. Suddenly, everyone started showing an interest in corporate governance. New legislation was passed by the US Congress. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and NASDAQ introduced new standards demanding that companies improve their corporate governance to maintain their listings.

Shailendra Kadre

Chapter 14. IT in Modern Vehicle Development Programs

Guest chapter by Shailesh Kadre

Abstract

A considerable portion of IT efforts in any manufacturing organization goes toward supporting and carrying out engineering activities. IT for engineering is a different world altogether from the one most IT people are used to. Middle-level managers in IT departments need to appreciate the engineering aspect of IT because they are responsible for supporting it as well. In this chapter, you will look at a vehicle development program as an example of the use of IT in engineering. You will learn about the role of IT in rolling out a car, from the initial concept to the dealer’s place.

Shailendra Kadre

Chapter 15. Streamlining IT Using Service-Oriented Architecture

Abstract

This chapter covers the topic of Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) through the route of Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). The objective of this chapter is to cover the different aspects of SOA implementations. You will learn about some of the myths about SOA and its various business benefits. Real-world case studies are presented to demonstrate how SOA helps to dynamically create business processes and provide companies with the flexibility to change.

Shailendra Kadre

Chapter 16. Strategic Thinking and the Evolution of Information Systems

Abstract

Top-level strategic thinking governs information technology decisions. In this chapter, you’ll learn about a medium-sized business that is striving to improve its bottom line. An organization’s strategy and finance, naturally, are closely related. The chapter will gradually take you through various business situations to demonstrate top management’s strategic thinking.

Shailendra Kadre

Backmatter

Titel: Going Corporate
verfasst von: Shailendra Kadre
Verlag: Apress
Electronic ISBN: 978-1-4302-3702-0
Print ISBN: 978-1-4302-3701-3
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4302-3702-0