iTaskX v2.5 Improves MS Project Support
iTaskX v2.5 has be released as an update for the Mac OS X project management software package. New in v2.5 is improved support for Microsoft Project. You can open native Microsoft Project files and exchange data using Microsoft Project’s XML and MPX support. iTaskX cost $106.25 to purchase.
iTaskX provides the support you need for professional project management. iTaskX 2 adapts to your working processes and ensures an overview on your targets, dates, costs and the current status of your projects. iTaskX supports you in making your projects more transparent in terms of organizing, monitoring or administrating your tasks.
Key Features:
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Microsoft Renews The Ultimate Steal Promotion
Microsoft has renewed their Ultimate Steal promotion. It offers students or anyone with a .EDU email address its Office Ultimate 2007 package for $59.95. The retail for this package is $680.
Microsoft will also add Microsoft Visio Professional 2007 design package, Microsoft Office Language Pack 2007 and Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade beginning September 8, 2008.
Software Specifications
Microsoft® Office Ultimate 2007 (USD$59.95): Perpetual license, which includes the following applications:
- Access® 2007
- Accounting Express 2008 *(see Obtaining Software below)
- Excel® 2007
- InfoPath® 2007
- Groove® 2007
- OneNote® 2007
- Outlook® 2007 with Business Contact Manager
- PowerPoint® 2007
- Publisher 2007
- Word 2007
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The 9 Most Desired Skills of Hiring Managers
Are you looking to move up in your organization or move on to a better job? Improving your skill set will benefit you in both situations. There are many skills valued by managers, but which skills do they find most valuable?
Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com recently surveyed 3169 hiring managers. One of the results of this survey identified the skills hiring managers look for most often.
Most Desired Skills
Hiring managers often use electronic scanners to rank candidates using keywords to search resumes. The terms employers search for most often are:
- problem-solving and decision-making skills (50 percent)
- oral and written communications (44 percent)
- customer service or retention (34 percent)
- performance and productivity improvement (32 percent)
- leadership (30 percent)
- technology (27 percent)
- team-building (26 percent)
- project management (20 percent)
- bilingual (14 percent)
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Web Help Desk Launches v9 Cross-Platform Help Desk Software
MacsDesign Studio LLC, developers of the leading cross-platform help desk software solution, Web Help Desk, today announced the availability of Version 9, a major update to its flagship service management solution.
Web Help Desk Software Version 9 adds rules-based voting and approval process for change requests, an extensible plug-in architecture for popular 3rd party asset management tools, and an AJAX enhanced user interface. Version 9 remains truly cross-platform, with server side installers for Mac OS X Server, Windows Server, Linux, and Unix.
“The feature enhancements within Web Help Desk v9 are primarily a product of listening to the thoughtful input from our loyal customer base, and the forward thinking of our savvy development team,” stated Jonathan Lew, President of MacsDesign Studio. “Version 9 exemplifies our commitment to providing organizations with a vendor-neutral IT service management solution without the complex configuration.”
The latest version of the Web Help Desk software delivers numerous new
productivity features, including:
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IronKey The Worlds Most Secure USB Thumb Drive
What do you keep on your USB thumb drive? Project information, company information, client files, personal data? If you have data you want to protect with military grade encryption in a rugged USB thumb drive, take a look at the IronKey lineup of USB drives.
Three Versions
IronKey USB thumb drives come in a variety of sizes from 1 GB to 8 GB. You can pick from three versions depending on your need.
- IronKey Basic is the core technology platform for the IronKey family of secure storage and authentication products.
- IronKey Personal is a revolutionary personal security device designed to protect your data, passwords and online identity on any computer.
- IronKey Enterprise is the world’s most secure hardware-encrypted USB flash drive. IronKey devices are easy to use, and there is no need to install software or drivers. You can remotely administer policies across thousands of IronKey devices with the IronKey Enterprise management service. With its embedded strong authentication capabilities, IronKey Enterprise is also a scalable platform for deploying innovative secure enterprise applications.
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itSMF USA Fusion ‘08 New Speakers Announced
IT Service Management Forum USA® (itSMF USA®), the nation’s leading association focused on optimizing IT operations for companies and organizations in all industries, today announced that Sharon Taylor, ITIL author and ITSM expert, and CIO guru Charlie Feld have been added to an already impressive list of keynote speakers for itSMF USA® Fusion ‘08.
Previously-announced keynote speakers include NFL Hall of Famer Archie Manning, best-selling author and business thinker Patrick Lencioni, and Connie Podesta, a leader in the field of human behavior.
Taylor is president of the Aspect Group, a North American-based ITSM practice provider of training, consultancy, assessment and best practice implementation. ITSM, or IT Service Management, is a practice which enables any organization to deliver quality IT services that satisfy customer business requirements to achieve performance targets specified within service level agreements. Her expertise is also in ITIL, or IT Infrastructure Library, which is a specific set of techniques developed for the management of IT.
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BMC First Vendor Awarded PinkVERIFY ITIL v3 Certification
BMC today announced that it is the first vendor to be certified for ITIL(R) V3 compatibility through PinkVERIFY, the world’s only independent IT Service Management (ITSM) tool certification program from leading ITSM education and consulting provider Pink Elephant.
BMC’s leading service desk solutions, BMC Remedy ITSM 7.0 and BMC Service Desk Express (SDE) 9.6, have both received the ITIL V3-based PinkVERIFY certification, providing organizations an easy way to identify tools that will support their ITIL needs.
“Our assessment revealed that BMC’s products and solutions were designed with customer ITIL initiatives uppermost in mind,” said David Ratcliffe, president of Pink Elephant. “Adopting a best practice framework, such as ITIL, simplifies the enormous task of properly aligning IT with the business it supports. Our certification gives customers the confidence that the technology partner they turn to for implementing these initiatives is in line with their strategy.”
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Combining ITIL and Six Sigma to Improve ITSM
There are two approaches that can be used to improve Information Technology Service Management (ITSM): the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and Six Sigma.
Many followers of these seemingly mutually exclusive approaches exhibit a nearly religious zeal in defending their way as being the only way to go. Rather than being opposing approaches, however, Six Sigma and ITIL are complementary.
ITIL Framework
ITIL defines a framework for IT Service Management. It consists of a set of guidelines that specify what an IT organization should do based on industry best practices. It does not, however, define how to do it. For example, ITIL specifies that IT should allocate a priority for each incident that comes into the service desk, but it does not specify how to allocate those priorities. With ITIL, it’s up to the IT staff to flesh out the details of process flow and create detailed work instructions, all in away that makes sense for their organization.
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IT Security Challenges For Small Business
A recent survey conducted by McAfee revealed that 52% of small and medium sized businesses felt they were too small to be of any value to cyber criminals and that they were adequately protected by default security settings.
For example:
- 35% of SMBs are ”not concerned” about being a target for cyber crime
- 52% don’t think they are well known enough to be a target for cyber criminals
- 45% of SMBs do not think they are a valuable target for cyber criminals
- 46% do not think they could make a cyber criminal any money
- 44% of SMBs think cyber crime is an issue for larger companies
Regardless of size, viruses, hacker intrusions, spyware, and spam can lead to lost or stolen data, computer downtime, decreased productivity, and worst of all lost revenue. And just because a business is small, it does not mean they are immune to security threats.
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ITIL v3 and Business Service Management
With the release of IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) version 3 (ITIL V3), it’s clear that your goal as an IT professional has changed. You’re no longer tasked with aligning IT with the business. Now your goal is to integrate IT with the business. The distinction between IT and the business has blurred, and the language of IT has been replaced with the language of the business.
So what does ITIL V3 have to do with BSM?
BSM is now an ITIL best practice. ITIL V3 defines it as “the ongoing practice of governing, monitoring, and reporting on IT and the business service it impacts.” It’s an approach that leverages processes and technology to make the goals of IT and the goals of the business one and the same.
BSM solutions and ITIL practices work together to help you manage IT from a business perspective. Solution developers are working closely with ITIL architects to ensure that ITI L processes and service management solutions continue to converge. Their solutions can put you ahead of the curve when it comes to implementing ITIL best practices.
Integrating IT with the Business
Successful IT organizations should consider IT ’s contribution to business value in every decision they make and every project they undertake. ITIL best practices support this approach to managing the IT infrastructure.
