This white paper focuses on two types of services that should be explored instead of direct cost reduction measures. Those that: 1. Bring in value through better realization of benefits 2. Take measures to reduce costs through optimization channels
Investing in such services, especially during these times, will allow service providers to better position themselves in the challenging competitive arena.
Taking a Performance-Based Services Approach to Improve the Effectiveness of ...Alan McSweeney
Performance-Based Services Contracting (PBSC) is concerned with the structured of the results and measurable outcomes to be achieved rather than the manner by which the work is to be performed.
Performance-Based Services Contracting approach is about defining what the required results of a service will rather than how the contractor will perform the tasks.
For many organisations there is an ever-increasing need to reduce cost.
Still, it’s as important as ever not to overreact. Failure to understand the impact of choices made now will squander an opportunity to add real value. It will also risk inflicting lasting damage that will make recovery needlessly difficult, and all amid a crisis of unknown duration.
This e-book from Hudson&Hayes provides a pragmatic approach to optimising operational costs in times of radical change and uncertainty. Amid the unusual conditions created by COVID-19, this approach is especially valuable.
For further information, please visit https://www.hudsonandhayes.co.uk/pragmaticcostreduction
La Dove Associates -- CRM/Customer Care Consulting Overview LaDove Associates
The deck represents a sample of work product from a selection of projects. Of course the real value of our consulting services are the decisions we help to inform.
Even with the maturity of outsourcing, one of the most important yet often overlooked or minimized aspect of an outsourcing transaction continues to be the relationship management and governance model. The objective of the relationship management model is to ensure the anticipated benefits of an outsourcing relationship are realized in the most efficient manner. It must be based on the terms of the agreement and link the management processes of the two parties in order to govern the working relationship and achieve results. This article highlights the governance and relationship management model developed and implemented to support a sourcing strategy is the single most important factor in the realization of success in an outsourcing relationship. It also shares WGroup’s experience in advising on the creation and management of outsourcing relationships and governance and guiding clients in the development and implementation of sourcing strategies for existing contracts.
Taking a Performance-Based Services Approach to Improve the Effectiveness of ...Alan McSweeney
Performance-Based Services Contracting (PBSC) is concerned with the structured of the results and measurable outcomes to be achieved rather than the manner by which the work is to be performed.
Performance-Based Services Contracting approach is about defining what the required results of a service will rather than how the contractor will perform the tasks.
For many organisations there is an ever-increasing need to reduce cost.
Still, it’s as important as ever not to overreact. Failure to understand the impact of choices made now will squander an opportunity to add real value. It will also risk inflicting lasting damage that will make recovery needlessly difficult, and all amid a crisis of unknown duration.
This e-book from Hudson&Hayes provides a pragmatic approach to optimising operational costs in times of radical change and uncertainty. Amid the unusual conditions created by COVID-19, this approach is especially valuable.
For further information, please visit https://www.hudsonandhayes.co.uk/pragmaticcostreduction
La Dove Associates -- CRM/Customer Care Consulting Overview LaDove Associates
The deck represents a sample of work product from a selection of projects. Of course the real value of our consulting services are the decisions we help to inform.
Even with the maturity of outsourcing, one of the most important yet often overlooked or minimized aspect of an outsourcing transaction continues to be the relationship management and governance model. The objective of the relationship management model is to ensure the anticipated benefits of an outsourcing relationship are realized in the most efficient manner. It must be based on the terms of the agreement and link the management processes of the two parties in order to govern the working relationship and achieve results. This article highlights the governance and relationship management model developed and implemented to support a sourcing strategy is the single most important factor in the realization of success in an outsourcing relationship. It also shares WGroup’s experience in advising on the creation and management of outsourcing relationships and governance and guiding clients in the development and implementation of sourcing strategies for existing contracts.
Everyone "knows" that B2B customers buy products when you show them the economic advantages of buying your offering. Often, you can develop a strong economic argument without collecting massive amounts of data, installing enterprise software systems or spending a ton of money. In this webinar, Jim Geisman of Software Pricing Partners shares his extensive experience working with companies to sharpen their value propositions.
Jim Geisman provides practical advice and tips that have helped B2B marketing and sales professionals in companies ranging in size from global companies to start-ups.
Microsoft Accounting Software | Value Proposition AnalysisKashyap Shah
This presentation describes various features of Microsoft's Accounting software for SME & MSMEs in India. It also includes balanced score card and competitive analysis based on the value offerings by Microsoft.
Buyers have a new obsession. It is called 'benefits realization', or alternatively 'benefits delivery'. They have lost faith that promises made before the sale will actually materialize and are determined to intervene to ensure that they do. But if buyers are focused on benefits realization, then sellers must be too. In this article we will show you how you can use this important concept to boost your sales success.
A leading consumer packaged goods company was nearing the end of a five-year term $60 million contact for IT outsourcing. The client needed to determine their strategy and approach for the next generation deal. In this case study, WGroup leveraged its knowledge of the global service provider landscape including capabilities, pricing and service expectations to help ensure a renegotiation is a win-win solution for both a client and provider.
Innovative Data Leveraging for Procurement AnalyticsTejari
This webinar will explore the types of problems and questions faced by procurement executives that can benefit most through the application of analytical solutions (e.g. innovation, strategic cost management, risk mitigation, etc.). In addition, we will cover the different forms of cognitive solutions that are emerging to drive real-time decision-making and predictive sourcing capabilities.
Benefits realization management - how to do it right - Wovex and Trevor Howes...Wovex Limited
Benefits realization management is important and hard to do it right.
Understand more about areas of importance and expand your ability to be more successful with benefits realization management.
Wovex is software for Value and Benefit Realization Management at https://www.wovex.com/
Switching Relocation Providers: Seven Steps for Surviving the TransitionXONEX Relocation
Economic fluctuations, turmoil abroad, cost-cutting efforts and a need for greater service, has led many of companies to seek out new relocation partnerships. But, deciding on a new partner is only half the battle. There are still many decisions to make, and processes to set in place, in order to implement a successful switch. Download for seven steps that you can take to ensure a smooth transition.
Presentation on lessons of Finance Shared Service Centre implementation at BAT Russia delivered at Marcus Evans conference in Amsterdam, March 2008. I was the Project Manager for this change programme.
Benefits Management: the essential ingredient for change, 10 Jan 2017. Southampton
Transformational change is here to stay.
We are living in an era of continuous transformation where standing still is simply not an option in today’s ultra-competitive and constantly changing business environments.
This presentation describes the key drivers and management imperatives for successful transformational change in organisations. It shows how placing Benefits Management at the heart of change management directly addresses and enables success.
In the main there are two key attributes of the Benefits Management methodology that help deliver successful business change.
The first is a flexible framework which can be easily embedded across the entire organisational change structure. This provides powerful change management capabilities that focus on delivering the desired end results and outcomes for the business.
Secondly and arguably most importantly, is the need to focus on the decision makers and data owners within the organisation. They are responsible for driving the change and associated benefits forward. This applies equally to; the senior responsible owner, the business change manager and benefit owners.
Benefits Management done well will naturally draw people into the change process and can achieve game-changing results. It does this by fostering in people; joined-up thinking, good communications, readiness for change and a culture of shared goals and objectives.
Today’s market drivers for constant business change don’t offer the luxury of choice.
If there is new technology or a threat to our current or aspired market objectives, then organisations must rise to the change challenge or accept the inevitable consequences such as reduced market share or business failure.
If directed to cut costs or do more for less, it should be done intelligently. Benefits management is essentially about making sure that the organisation has an unrelenting focus on delivering business value and not just traditional time, cost and quality outputs.
In the real world, it’s about people and winning the hearts and minds of the people, that will deliver true success.
On the theme of benefits management, the presentation impressed the need for measurable improvement but not at all costs. One of the challenges of benefits management is to identify which benefits are the ones to address, and not just because they happen to be measurable!
Several useful frameworks and tools are recommended and referenced in the presentation.
The presenters were Neil White, Chair of APM Benefits Management SIG and Merv Wyeth, Secretary.
See also: http://bit.ly/2iykbXX
Purchasing, Procurement, Vendor, Contract and RFP Process Management with Sha...Optimus BT
Using the Document management, Collaborative and Self service features of SharePoint to implement a turn key procurement management business solution, that will streamline the procurement process, help you comply with regulations, enable you manage contracts, empower self service and participative procurement, aid in informed procurement decisions, in executing an effective procurement strategy and make your procurement function hassle free. Optimus BT is a leader in providing Procurement software and other turnkey solutions using SharePoint.
This ISG white paper, co-authored by a senior IT leader at Boeing, discusses how an effective sourcing strategy requires a comprehensive and regimented process to address business needs, ensuring that decisions to renegotiate, renew or rebid contracts in a multi-sourced environment are made for the right reasons.
Wonder how some businesses are getting value out of social media? Wonder how to calculate the ROI of social media? This paper will walk you through some of the fundamentals of looking at how to evaluate how social media changes a business and the resulting value it brings to the whole organization. If you want more information, go to www.drnatalienews.com
Mit Benchmarking zu standardisierten IT ServicesWerner Feld
Benchmarking von Outsourcing Verträgen erlaubt die Aufdeckung von Ineffizienzen, die typischerweise auf marktunüblichen IT Serviceanforderungen des Kunden beruhen.
Everyone "knows" that B2B customers buy products when you show them the economic advantages of buying your offering. Often, you can develop a strong economic argument without collecting massive amounts of data, installing enterprise software systems or spending a ton of money. In this webinar, Jim Geisman of Software Pricing Partners shares his extensive experience working with companies to sharpen their value propositions.
Jim Geisman provides practical advice and tips that have helped B2B marketing and sales professionals in companies ranging in size from global companies to start-ups.
Microsoft Accounting Software | Value Proposition AnalysisKashyap Shah
This presentation describes various features of Microsoft's Accounting software for SME & MSMEs in India. It also includes balanced score card and competitive analysis based on the value offerings by Microsoft.
Buyers have a new obsession. It is called 'benefits realization', or alternatively 'benefits delivery'. They have lost faith that promises made before the sale will actually materialize and are determined to intervene to ensure that they do. But if buyers are focused on benefits realization, then sellers must be too. In this article we will show you how you can use this important concept to boost your sales success.
A leading consumer packaged goods company was nearing the end of a five-year term $60 million contact for IT outsourcing. The client needed to determine their strategy and approach for the next generation deal. In this case study, WGroup leveraged its knowledge of the global service provider landscape including capabilities, pricing and service expectations to help ensure a renegotiation is a win-win solution for both a client and provider.
Innovative Data Leveraging for Procurement AnalyticsTejari
This webinar will explore the types of problems and questions faced by procurement executives that can benefit most through the application of analytical solutions (e.g. innovation, strategic cost management, risk mitigation, etc.). In addition, we will cover the different forms of cognitive solutions that are emerging to drive real-time decision-making and predictive sourcing capabilities.
Benefits realization management - how to do it right - Wovex and Trevor Howes...Wovex Limited
Benefits realization management is important and hard to do it right.
Understand more about areas of importance and expand your ability to be more successful with benefits realization management.
Wovex is software for Value and Benefit Realization Management at https://www.wovex.com/
Switching Relocation Providers: Seven Steps for Surviving the TransitionXONEX Relocation
Economic fluctuations, turmoil abroad, cost-cutting efforts and a need for greater service, has led many of companies to seek out new relocation partnerships. But, deciding on a new partner is only half the battle. There are still many decisions to make, and processes to set in place, in order to implement a successful switch. Download for seven steps that you can take to ensure a smooth transition.
Presentation on lessons of Finance Shared Service Centre implementation at BAT Russia delivered at Marcus Evans conference in Amsterdam, March 2008. I was the Project Manager for this change programme.
Benefits Management: the essential ingredient for change, 10 Jan 2017. Southampton
Transformational change is here to stay.
We are living in an era of continuous transformation where standing still is simply not an option in today’s ultra-competitive and constantly changing business environments.
This presentation describes the key drivers and management imperatives for successful transformational change in organisations. It shows how placing Benefits Management at the heart of change management directly addresses and enables success.
In the main there are two key attributes of the Benefits Management methodology that help deliver successful business change.
The first is a flexible framework which can be easily embedded across the entire organisational change structure. This provides powerful change management capabilities that focus on delivering the desired end results and outcomes for the business.
Secondly and arguably most importantly, is the need to focus on the decision makers and data owners within the organisation. They are responsible for driving the change and associated benefits forward. This applies equally to; the senior responsible owner, the business change manager and benefit owners.
Benefits Management done well will naturally draw people into the change process and can achieve game-changing results. It does this by fostering in people; joined-up thinking, good communications, readiness for change and a culture of shared goals and objectives.
Today’s market drivers for constant business change don’t offer the luxury of choice.
If there is new technology or a threat to our current or aspired market objectives, then organisations must rise to the change challenge or accept the inevitable consequences such as reduced market share or business failure.
If directed to cut costs or do more for less, it should be done intelligently. Benefits management is essentially about making sure that the organisation has an unrelenting focus on delivering business value and not just traditional time, cost and quality outputs.
In the real world, it’s about people and winning the hearts and minds of the people, that will deliver true success.
On the theme of benefits management, the presentation impressed the need for measurable improvement but not at all costs. One of the challenges of benefits management is to identify which benefits are the ones to address, and not just because they happen to be measurable!
Several useful frameworks and tools are recommended and referenced in the presentation.
The presenters were Neil White, Chair of APM Benefits Management SIG and Merv Wyeth, Secretary.
See also: http://bit.ly/2iykbXX
Purchasing, Procurement, Vendor, Contract and RFP Process Management with Sha...Optimus BT
Using the Document management, Collaborative and Self service features of SharePoint to implement a turn key procurement management business solution, that will streamline the procurement process, help you comply with regulations, enable you manage contracts, empower self service and participative procurement, aid in informed procurement decisions, in executing an effective procurement strategy and make your procurement function hassle free. Optimus BT is a leader in providing Procurement software and other turnkey solutions using SharePoint.
This ISG white paper, co-authored by a senior IT leader at Boeing, discusses how an effective sourcing strategy requires a comprehensive and regimented process to address business needs, ensuring that decisions to renegotiate, renew or rebid contracts in a multi-sourced environment are made for the right reasons.
Wonder how some businesses are getting value out of social media? Wonder how to calculate the ROI of social media? This paper will walk you through some of the fundamentals of looking at how to evaluate how social media changes a business and the resulting value it brings to the whole organization. If you want more information, go to www.drnatalienews.com
Mit Benchmarking zu standardisierten IT ServicesWerner Feld
Benchmarking von Outsourcing Verträgen erlaubt die Aufdeckung von Ineffizienzen, die typischerweise auf marktunüblichen IT Serviceanforderungen des Kunden beruhen.
Most sourcing organizations focus on direct procurement, potentially overlooking indirect procurement and missing key opportunities to reduce spend. As indirect purchases increasingly become a larger percentage of overall spend, for many organizations, indirect procurement can be a diamond in the rough. This article makes the arguement that the value of indirect procurement should not be overlooked.
Next generation IT outsourcing and the global enterprise model (GEM)WGroup
Disruptive technologies such as cloud computing and the “as-a-service” model for software, infrastructure and platforms have led to fundamental changes in how IT services are organized, managed and delivered—whether they are outsourced, insourced or a combination. The reality that IT services can be delivered to anywhere on the globe via the “Cloud” has accelerated the commoditization of IT. Ubiquitous access to IT services has lessened business units’ dependency on internal IT and shifted the IT organization’s prime role from process excellence to technology and service innovation. This article discusses through WGroup's perspective how outsourcing can create value through changing the way business is done.
Winning Finance Transformation: How to Add Value to the Finance FunctionRenoir Consulting
With finance transformation, your stakeholders can get better strategic insights and achieve a higher standard of decision-making.
But what does it take to unlock the full potential of your #finance function?
Start by looking at these five key areas of change.
White paper providing the business case for integrating strategy with finance and operations to achieve superior strategy execution and organization performance
Next Generation Approaches: Why Smart Buyers should Abandon the Traditional A...EightyTwenty Insight
The traditional approach to sourcing, involving only a cursory look at the overall strategy before diving into the transaction (build or buy), is now being recognised as not being ‘fit-for-purpose’. This presentation looks at the new drivers for change, and provides some tips on how to move forward.
For more information, please go to www.8020i.co.uk .
Zero-based Budgeting for You
Zero-based Budgeting concept is applicable in all industries and personal finance. It lets every business management to develop their budget, which includes all their operations and essential expenses to run the business. It is said to replace the traditional approach of budgeting. It enables the efficient allocation of resources based on the needs and benefits of the company by the managers.
Business Process Re-Engineering by ADITI WALIAAditi Walia
For the first time ever, this presentation on BPR has a wide coverage of so many topics regarding BPR, it includes not only definition + issues affecting BPR + about core processes of business + history about BPR + General Model + Role of IT in BPR + its objectives + Outcomes as well as problems related to BPR in a very simple and fluent manner along with interactive diagrams and figures so as to aid even the naive or first time reader.
A Comprehensive Approach to Application Portfolio RationalizationCognizant
A comprehensive approach to application portfolio rationalization will enable organizations to maximize the business value of their applications and focus on strategic opportunities.
Project Execution in Changing Times - Focus on the EssentialsEndeavor Management
Many approaches are being taken to reduce the cost of capital developments as the current performance of megaprojects has not significantly improved over the last decade. There are essential elements that permeate the project execution lifecycle and contribute to improved project performance.
Outsourcing in literal terms, means sourcing from outside. The term is increasingly used to refer to sub-contracting of a set of functions or processes by one firm to another, or to a group of individuals. Outsourcing is being pursued as an active business strategy in the current economic scenario, since it enables a firm to focus on core-competency areas. It also frees the firm from resource and labour intensive functions, which are now performed by trained personnel at much lower costs.
Pushing the limits of ePRTC: 100ns holdover for 100 daysAdtran
At WSTS 2024, Alon Stern explored the topic of parametric holdover and explained how recent research findings can be implemented in real-world PNT networks to achieve 100 nanoseconds of accuracy for up to 100 days.
State of ICS and IoT Cyber Threat Landscape Report 2024 previewPrayukth K V
The IoT and OT threat landscape report has been prepared by the Threat Research Team at Sectrio using data from Sectrio, cyber threat intelligence farming facilities spread across over 85 cities around the world. In addition, Sectrio also runs AI-based advanced threat and payload engagement facilities that serve as sinks to attract and engage sophisticated threat actors, and newer malware including new variants and latent threats that are at an earlier stage of development.
The latest edition of the OT/ICS and IoT security Threat Landscape Report 2024 also covers:
State of global ICS asset and network exposure
Sectoral targets and attacks as well as the cost of ransom
Global APT activity, AI usage, actor and tactic profiles, and implications
Rise in volumes of AI-powered cyberattacks
Major cyber events in 2024
Malware and malicious payload trends
Cyberattack types and targets
Vulnerability exploit attempts on CVEs
Attacks on counties – USA
Expansion of bot farms – how, where, and why
In-depth analysis of the cyber threat landscape across North America, South America, Europe, APAC, and the Middle East
Why are attacks on smart factories rising?
Cyber risk predictions
Axis of attacks – Europe
Systemic attacks in the Middle East
Download the full report from here:
https://sectrio.com/resources/ot-threat-landscape-reports/sectrio-releases-ot-ics-and-iot-security-threat-landscape-report-2024/
Alt. GDG Cloud Southlake #33: Boule & Rebala: Effective AppSec in SDLC using ...James Anderson
Effective Application Security in Software Delivery lifecycle using Deployment Firewall and DBOM
The modern software delivery process (or the CI/CD process) includes many tools, distributed teams, open-source code, and cloud platforms. Constant focus on speed to release software to market, along with the traditional slow and manual security checks has caused gaps in continuous security as an important piece in the software supply chain. Today organizations feel more susceptible to external and internal cyber threats due to the vast attack surface in their applications supply chain and the lack of end-to-end governance and risk management.
The software team must secure its software delivery process to avoid vulnerability and security breaches. This needs to be achieved with existing tool chains and without extensive rework of the delivery processes. This talk will present strategies and techniques for providing visibility into the true risk of the existing vulnerabilities, preventing the introduction of security issues in the software, resolving vulnerabilities in production environments quickly, and capturing the deployment bill of materials (DBOM).
Speakers:
Bob Boule
Robert Boule is a technology enthusiast with PASSION for technology and making things work along with a knack for helping others understand how things work. He comes with around 20 years of solution engineering experience in application security, software continuous delivery, and SaaS platforms. He is known for his dynamic presentations in CI/CD and application security integrated in software delivery lifecycle.
Gopinath Rebala
Gopinath Rebala is the CTO of OpsMx, where he has overall responsibility for the machine learning and data processing architectures for Secure Software Delivery. Gopi also has a strong connection with our customers, leading design and architecture for strategic implementations. Gopi is a frequent speaker and well-known leader in continuous delivery and integrating security into software delivery.
Removing Uninteresting Bytes in Software FuzzingAftab Hussain
Imagine a world where software fuzzing, the process of mutating bytes in test seeds to uncover hidden and erroneous program behaviors, becomes faster and more effective. A lot depends on the initial seeds, which can significantly dictate the trajectory of a fuzzing campaign, particularly in terms of how long it takes to uncover interesting behaviour in your code. We introduce DIAR, a technique designed to speedup fuzzing campaigns by pinpointing and eliminating those uninteresting bytes in the seeds. Picture this: instead of wasting valuable resources on meaningless mutations in large, bloated seeds, DIAR removes the unnecessary bytes, streamlining the entire process.
In this work, we equipped AFL, a popular fuzzer, with DIAR and examined two critical Linux libraries -- Libxml's xmllint, a tool for parsing xml documents, and Binutil's readelf, an essential debugging and security analysis command-line tool used to display detailed information about ELF (Executable and Linkable Format). Our preliminary results show that AFL+DIAR does not only discover new paths more quickly but also achieves higher coverage overall. This work thus showcases how starting with lean and optimized seeds can lead to faster, more comprehensive fuzzing campaigns -- and DIAR helps you find such seeds.
- These are slides of the talk given at IEEE International Conference on Software Testing Verification and Validation Workshop, ICSTW 2022.
Securing your Kubernetes cluster_ a step-by-step guide to success !KatiaHIMEUR1
Today, after several years of existence, an extremely active community and an ultra-dynamic ecosystem, Kubernetes has established itself as the de facto standard in container orchestration. Thanks to a wide range of managed services, it has never been so easy to set up a ready-to-use Kubernetes cluster.
However, this ease of use means that the subject of security in Kubernetes is often left for later, or even neglected. This exposes companies to significant risks.
In this talk, I'll show you step-by-step how to secure your Kubernetes cluster for greater peace of mind and reliability.
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 5DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 5. In this session, we will cover CI/CD with devops.
Topics covered:
CI/CD with in UiPath
End-to-end overview of CI/CD pipeline with Azure devops
Speaker:
Lyndsey Byblow, Test Suite Sales Engineer @ UiPath, Inc.
Elevating Tactical DDD Patterns Through Object CalisthenicsDorra BARTAGUIZ
After immersing yourself in the blue book and its red counterpart, attending DDD-focused conferences, and applying tactical patterns, you're left with a crucial question: How do I ensure my design is effective? Tactical patterns within Domain-Driven Design (DDD) serve as guiding principles for creating clear and manageable domain models. However, achieving success with these patterns requires additional guidance. Interestingly, we've observed that a set of constraints initially designed for training purposes remarkably aligns with effective pattern implementation, offering a more ‘mechanical’ approach. Let's explore together how Object Calisthenics can elevate the design of your tactical DDD patterns, offering concrete help for those venturing into DDD for the first time!
Dr. Sean Tan, Head of Data Science, Changi Airport Group
Discover how Changi Airport Group (CAG) leverages graph technologies and generative AI to revolutionize their search capabilities. This session delves into the unique search needs of CAG’s diverse passengers and customers, showcasing how graph data structures enhance the accuracy and relevance of AI-generated search results, mitigating the risk of “hallucinations” and improving the overall customer journey.
Sudheer Mechineni, Head of Application Frameworks, Standard Chartered Bank
Discover how Standard Chartered Bank harnessed the power of Neo4j to transform complex data access challenges into a dynamic, scalable graph database solution. This keynote will cover their journey from initial adoption to deploying a fully automated, enterprise-grade causal cluster, highlighting key strategies for modelling organisational changes and ensuring robust disaster recovery. Learn how these innovations have not only enhanced Standard Chartered Bank’s data infrastructure but also positioned them as pioneers in the banking sector’s adoption of graph technology.
GDG Cloud Southlake #33: Boule & Rebala: Effective AppSec in SDLC using Deplo...James Anderson
Effective Application Security in Software Delivery lifecycle using Deployment Firewall and DBOM
The modern software delivery process (or the CI/CD process) includes many tools, distributed teams, open-source code, and cloud platforms. Constant focus on speed to release software to market, along with the traditional slow and manual security checks has caused gaps in continuous security as an important piece in the software supply chain. Today organizations feel more susceptible to external and internal cyber threats due to the vast attack surface in their applications supply chain and the lack of end-to-end governance and risk management.
The software team must secure its software delivery process to avoid vulnerability and security breaches. This needs to be achieved with existing tool chains and without extensive rework of the delivery processes. This talk will present strategies and techniques for providing visibility into the true risk of the existing vulnerabilities, preventing the introduction of security issues in the software, resolving vulnerabilities in production environments quickly, and capturing the deployment bill of materials (DBOM).
Speakers:
Bob Boule
Robert Boule is a technology enthusiast with PASSION for technology and making things work along with a knack for helping others understand how things work. He comes with around 20 years of solution engineering experience in application security, software continuous delivery, and SaaS platforms. He is known for his dynamic presentations in CI/CD and application security integrated in software delivery lifecycle.
Gopinath Rebala
Gopinath Rebala is the CTO of OpsMx, where he has overall responsibility for the machine learning and data processing architectures for Secure Software Delivery. Gopi also has a strong connection with our customers, leading design and architecture for strategic implementations. Gopi is a frequent speaker and well-known leader in continuous delivery and integrating security into software delivery.
Epistemic Interaction - tuning interfaces to provide information for AI supportAlan Dix
Paper presented at SYNERGY workshop at AVI 2024, Genoa, Italy. 3rd June 2024
https://alandix.com/academic/papers/synergy2024-epistemic/
As machine learning integrates deeper into human-computer interactions, the concept of epistemic interaction emerges, aiming to refine these interactions to enhance system adaptability. This approach encourages minor, intentional adjustments in user behaviour to enrich the data available for system learning. This paper introduces epistemic interaction within the context of human-system communication, illustrating how deliberate interaction design can improve system understanding and adaptation. Through concrete examples, we demonstrate the potential of epistemic interaction to significantly advance human-computer interaction by leveraging intuitive human communication strategies to inform system design and functionality, offering a novel pathway for enriching user-system engagements.
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 4DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 4. In this session, we will cover Test Manager overview along with SAP heatmap.
The UiPath Test Manager overview with SAP heatmap webinar offers a concise yet comprehensive exploration of the role of a Test Manager within SAP environments, coupled with the utilization of heatmaps for effective testing strategies.
Participants will gain insights into the responsibilities, challenges, and best practices associated with test management in SAP projects. Additionally, the webinar delves into the significance of heatmaps as a visual aid for identifying testing priorities, areas of risk, and resource allocation within SAP landscapes. Through this session, attendees can expect to enhance their understanding of test management principles while learning practical approaches to optimize testing processes in SAP environments using heatmap visualization techniques
What will you get from this session?
1. Insights into SAP testing best practices
2. Heatmap utilization for testing
3. Optimization of testing processes
4. Demo
Topics covered:
Execution from the test manager
Orchestrator execution result
Defect reporting
SAP heatmap example with demo
Speaker:
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
In his public lecture, Christian Timmerer provides insights into the fascinating history of video streaming, starting from its humble beginnings before YouTube to the groundbreaking technologies that now dominate platforms like Netflix and ORF ON. Timmerer also presents provocative contributions of his own that have significantly influenced the industry. He concludes by looking at future challenges and invites the audience to join in a discussion.
GridMate - End to end testing is a critical piece to ensure quality and avoid...ThomasParaiso2
End to end testing is a critical piece to ensure quality and avoid regressions. In this session, we share our journey building an E2E testing pipeline for GridMate components (LWC and Aura) using Cypress, JSForce, FakerJS…
Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey 2024 by 91mobiles.pdf91mobiles
91mobiles recently conducted a Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey in which we asked over 3,000 respondents about the TV they own, aspects they look at on a new TV, and their TV buying preferences.
DevOps and Testing slides at DASA ConnectKari Kakkonen
My and Rik Marselis slides at 30.5.2024 DASA Connect conference. We discuss about what is testing, then what is agile testing and finally what is Testing in DevOps. Finally we had lovely workshop with the participants trying to find out different ways to think about quality and testing in different parts of the DevOps infinity loop.
Climate Impact of Software Testing at Nordic Testing DaysKari Kakkonen
My slides at Nordic Testing Days 6.6.2024
Climate impact / sustainability of software testing discussed on the talk. ICT and testing must carry their part of global responsibility to help with the climat warming. We can minimize the carbon footprint but we can also have a carbon handprint, a positive impact on the climate. Quality characteristics can be added with sustainability, and then measured continuously. Test environments can be used less, and in smaller scale and on demand. Test techniques can be used in optimizing or minimizing number of tests. Test automation can be used to speed up testing.
Observability Concepts EVERY Developer Should Know -- DeveloperWeek Europe.pdfPaige Cruz
Monitoring and observability aren’t traditionally found in software curriculums and many of us cobble this knowledge together from whatever vendor or ecosystem we were first introduced to and whatever is a part of your current company’s observability stack.
While the dev and ops silo continues to crumble….many organizations still relegate monitoring & observability as the purview of ops, infra and SRE teams. This is a mistake - achieving a highly observable system requires collaboration up and down the stack.
I, a former op, would like to extend an invitation to all application developers to join the observability party will share these foundational concepts to build on:
Observability Concepts EVERY Developer Should Know -- DeveloperWeek Europe.pdf
Amdocs Value Based Services Wp
1. WHITE PAPER
BRINGING OUT REAL VALUE
INVESTING IN THE RIGHT OUTCOME-BASED SERVICES TO
INCREASE VALUE OF EXISTING ASSETS AND OPTIMIZE COSTS
2. CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1
INTRODUCTION: THE CHALLENGE TO INCREASE VALUE FROM EXISTING ASSETS 2
REALIZING BENEFITS AND OPTIMIZING COST CHANNELS 3
SERVICES THAT REALIZE BENEFITS AND VALUE 3
SERVICES THAT OPTIMIZE COSTS 5
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 6
3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The economic downturn has prompted service providers to look for
measures of reducing costs – which is compounded by a competitive
landscape that is getting tougher every day. Providers are now aiming
to “do more with less” – improve the customer experience and explore
new growth engines while constantly looking at ways to save.
In many cases, direct cost reduction measures result in lowering the
level of service that providers offer which in turn reduce loyalty and
customer spending. Therefore, instead of directly cutting expenses,
service providers should explore other investment approaches – that
will result in higher value and return on investment (ROI).
This white paper focuses on two types of services that should be
explored. Those that:
1. Bring in value through better realization of benefits
2. Take measures to reduce costs through optimization channels
Investing in such services, especially during these times, will allow
service providers to better position themselves in the challenging
competitive arena.
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4. INTRODUCTION: THE CHALLENGE TO INCREASE VALUE FROM EXISTING ASSETS
For service providers, times couldn’t be more challenging. On one
hand, economic pressures prompt them to massively reduce and
reconsider large investments such as product transformations. On
the other hand, the competitive arena couldn’t be tougher. More
than ever, providers need to offer the best service to their customers –
personalized, focused and efficient, with attractive pricing. They
must keep up if they don’t want to lose the race.
To achieve this, service providers must offer their customers a high
scale of customer experience, position themselves for innovation and
explore new growth engines. The major challenge is to accomplish
all this without expanding costs, reducing revenue options or
delaying programs.
So how can service providers overcome this challenge? How can they
bridge through these times of uncertainty? Is it just about reducing
expenses or can providers pull out more value from their assets?
“Do more with less” has become a common phrase. But what does it
really mean? How do service providers get more from what they have?
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5. REALIZING BENEFITS AND OPTIMIZING COSTS
The instinct to reduce expenses when trying to increase net income For the different stages, such services may include:
is not always the right approach. Although cost cutting is inevitable,
Requirements recognition and analysis
in many cases, taking measures to directly reduce costs may result in
service providers reducing their ability to provide their customers with > Value and ROI Analysis – The current economic climate
the level of service they expect and, in turn, increase churn and reduce demands that service providers take a hard look at potential
loyalty and customer spending. Instead of directly cutting expenses, investment projects and reject those that don’t deliver significant
service providers need to explore the right form of investment. One that ROI – and fast! A structured, consultative and collaborative
will result in higher value and return on investment (ROI) for them. process, supported by the right tools, can provide sound financial
analysis to support budget applications and business case
Recent surveys show that “74% of CFOs admitted that their companies development, as well as enable investment decisions. The impact
often get their cost-cutting priorities wrong by cutting what is easy to of system and process change on key business drivers, including
measure rather than what is most needed.” reduced operating costs, deferred network spend, lower TCO and
Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers enhanced revenues must all be considered. Yet this type of analysis
should not be seen as just a numbers exercise. The ROI analysis
Service providers shouldn’t be tempted to take the easy route, even process helps to foster cross-departmental cooperation across
if short term. They need to explore all avenues of investing in their business and IT functions. It helps to focus all parties on the
existing business and operational support systems (B/OSS) solutions service provider’s business objectives and challenges,
through cost optimization channels and additional value-based, high- demonstrating how solutions address those challenges, and so
end services offered by vendors with the right level of industry, product deliver benefits which may be both qualitative and quantitative.
and service expertise. Two types of services are key to the investments ROI analysis for a potential project also helps with decisions
that will result in optimal monetization of existing assets: Those that regarding project phasing, ensuring that each phase delivers value
bring value by realizing significant benefits, and those that reduce costs in its own right.
through cost optimization methods.
> A wider level of initial analysis is with Business Case
SERVICES THAT REALIZE BENEFITS AND VALUE Development – Accurate data around the current operation
With the need to continue to invest, yet with the call to truly realize together with insight to best practices and correct financial
the value behind each investment, it’s crucial for service providers to modelling techniques bring the right services to bear to form
invest in services that define and materialize each project’s business and deliver a robust business case, which reduces uncertainty
case. An approach based on business outcomes serves as the strongest and risk when engaging in a new project. The right level of
foundation for such services; and allowing for solid and short term ROI business case development is based on specialized operational
will increase providers’ ability to commit to these projects. analytics. With increased scrutiny around expenditures and
pressures on budget reductions, it’s key for service providers to
Services that deliver a deep understanding of the desired business and have accurate data on how operations are performing. These
project benefits help drive all project activities with this outcome in types of services, as the basis of the approach, use specific analysis
mind. Services that accompany the different stages of the lifecycle (see techniques to marry anecdotal evidence around areas of
figure 1 below), have a major impact on the right decision making and inefficiency with statistical confidence in the root cause. Yet,
setting the implementation path to result in success. With the market analytical techniques on their own are not enough; they have to
changing rapidly, services that measure and track results frequently, be combined with a true appreciation of the operational
throughout the project decision and implementation lifecycle, ensure environment (the industry) and the underlying systems and
that benefits constantly reflect a changing business environment, and organizational estate. A generic business case is not enough in
allow for a lower level of risk for failure. this case. Providers need to use an analysis level that brings focus
to improvement initiatives and increased rigor in assessing
where to prioritize resources, as well as more confidence in
FIGURE 1 Requirements achieving maximum benefit for investment.
Recognition Analysis &
Decision
Support
Project
Initiation
Project
Implementation
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6. Throughout project initiation, implementation and support phases HOT SPOT OF COST OPTIMIZATION
Recently, a Tier 1 mobile service provider, invested in a cost
> Benefits Realization Management – Delivering on the outcomes and process assessment to identify hotspot areas of cost
of the business case doesn’t stop once activities get under way. inefficiencies. The project’s goal was to provide an improvement
On the contrary, most challenges arise due to unexpected changes roadmap with defined benefits for prioritization. Objectives
throughout the journey. Investing in a service where specialized of this assessment were to drive significant efficiency
and dedicated resources are aimed at ensuring the entire program improvements in the reduction of operating expenses. ROI
effort is directed at realizing the initial defined benefits will help improvements and reduction in time to market were also
in keeping the project within the defined track. Imperative to this investigated at a wider level.
success is adjusting the resources in parallel to the invariably
changing business environment. Managing benefits realization To achieve these objectives, the provider devised a strategy
also supports the situation where the overall risk and reward to focus on targeted areas of inefficiencies and define an
from a project can be shared between all parties involved in improvement roadmap, as well as find areas of revenue
delivering change. This type of situation is becoming more and protection opportunities. Reaching these goals would involve
more common with the changes in investments. streamlining processes, reducing duplicated and manual activity
that allows faults to be resolved quicker, limiting the amount of
> Workforce Readiness – Tough economic times influence human revenue degradation and improving the customer experience.
capital in various aspects. Dismissal often occurs, remaining
employees are asked to do more, and thus need to be skilled The project is currently in progress and has identified estimated
and prepared accordingly. Business transformation, mergers savings of over EU4.5 million (over US$6 million) per year going
and acquisitions, and organizational changes often shake the forward based on the realization of process-driven efficiencies.
whole organization. An enabled workforce ensures higher
motivation and loyalty, has a significant effect on customer
satisfaction and profitability, and makes a substantial impact
on innovation and new product development – right people, right
skills, right motivation. In search of cost reduction measures,
service providers should look at services that promote and enable
their human capital assets, thereby ensuring a better linkage
between organizational strategy and business results.
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7. SERVICES THAT OPTIMIZE COSTS COST / COMPLEXITY LEVEL FIGURE 2
HIGH
Service providers must set out to achieve better alignment across
the organization in terms of processes and mechanisms to improve –
st ity
performance and therefore reduce costs. This includes process, co ex
ig h pl
hardware and workforce optimization and simplification, using the 20- H com
80 rule. Providers should maximize the benefits of such investments l ow
COST LEVEL
by focusing on simplification and alignment of the 20 percent most
inefficient processes, hardware investments and workforce performance
throughout the organization. This will result in an elevation of
performance and outcomes, therefore reaching a new level of cost
reduction. Cost reduction is achieved this way as a result of investment –
in optimizing existing assets. ity
p lex
m st
co w co
Service areas to explore include: igh lo
H
> Process optimization – Industry specific expertise, track record
LOW
based methodologies and best practices come into play when
dealing with process optimization. Cost and performance LOW COMPLEXITY LEVEL HIGH
based profitability is increased by leveraging all channels to create
operational efficiencies, looking at a specific process or domain and
proposing improvements across process, people and systems. One
approach to process optimization may be an analysis of costs versus
complexity of processes. With the right criteria in place, a
comparison of the level of complexity versus the cost per process > Hardware optimization – In this area, service providers should be
may be created. Processes that rank high on the costs side but low looking into methods of optimization to ensure maximum
on the complexity side should raise a red flag. In some cases, capacity to accommodate new customer growth, and reduce total
those that rank low on the costs side but high on complexity should cost of ownership with unified tools for application deployment,
be looked into deeper. Solving these inefficiencies can provide for operation and management. Services that help providers realize
ongoing cost reduction. the hardware assets they already have for new subscribers and data
may result in large savings in this regard.
Example: A recent, similar approach was taken by a Tier 1
service provider to assess cost efficiencies and look for areas of > Workforce performance optimization – Service providers should
improvement. Steps were taken to asses these cost inefficiencies, look for workforce performance optimization solutions to
including an analysis that measured the cost level of the process in maximize current systems’ benefits. Workforce performance
the context of complexity per process. In order to achieve this, a set improvement solutions on current processes and applications
of industry best practices-based criteria across people, processes and could be executed quickly with rapid ROI. Such tools and services
systems was established. Criteria scoring used a model of ensure the workforce is focused, therefore increase sales,
complexity versus costs as illustrated in figure 2. Two areas of reduce operating costs through increased efficiency, support
inefficiencies were looked at: when costs are high and complexity continuous process adherence and improvements, and increase
levels are low; and when costs are low but complexity levels are customer retention.
high. The first shows cost inefficiencies, where the latter may be a
symptom of shortcuts and incorrect processes used resulting in
non-optimized efforts. Solving these red zones of cost inefficiency
resulted for this service provider in an increase of the return on
investment from the existing products without the need to go
through a product transformation or upgrade process.
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8. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The real challenge is not to succumb to simply reducing measurable
expenses in tough economic times but to be bold enough to invest in
areas that will realize value and ROI, and explore and capitalize on cost
optimization channels. Service providers should also carefully evaluate
the necessity of new product and product upgrade investments to avoid
lagging behind competitors once the financial downturn terminates.
As providers look into the opportunities of outcome-based services,
they should keep in mind the following:
> Service providers should explore services that assist them in
improving their business results by increasing the value of their
existing assets and optimizing costs.
> In order to maximize the business results of any investment in
services and reduce the risk of failure, service providers should select
vendors with deep and focused industry knowledge and a proven
track record.
> Vendors that can also support product-related activities with deep
and specific product knowledge are the right choice for these types
of projects as they can commit to lower risk and full accountability.
> A well planned investment in services can significantly improve a
service provider’s competitive positioning.
“CARRIERS NEED TO FOCUS ON BOTH SIMULTANEOUSLY GROWING VALUE WHILE
OPTIMIZING COSTS.”
(GARTNER, DATAQUEST INSIGHT: IMMEDIATE CARRIER COST SAVING STRATEGIES IN THE CURRENT
ECONOMIC CLIMATE, MARCH, 2009)
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