In my previous blog, I explained how COBIT 5 provided a robust framework to understand your users’ expectation for IT services. With this knowledge in mind, we can now depict the value that your IT department should provide going forward and how success will be measured – in other words, we can now build your IT Value Map, which is the second phase of Cisco’s Strategic IT Roadmap methodology.

The IT Value Map is vital for any IT organisation that is transitioning to a new operational model (typically, cloud-driven), and that needs to clearly explain its IT Vision & Strategy to all stakeholders involved: employees, users/customers, partners, etc. The IT Value Map is also the first step towards creating an interactive, real-time CIO dashboard — but this is a topic for another blog post.

Here below, I describe the process of building a typical IT Value Map through the lens of three Operational Directorates, supported by six Governance Pillars.

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Tags: cloud, govcloud, IT value map, sitr

In my previous post, I introduced Cisco’s Strategic IT Roadmap (SITR) methodology, and explained how it can guide Shared IT Services departments on their journey to the hybrid cloud. I’ll now provide some more details on the first phase (out of three) of a SITR engagement, which consists of a series of detailed interviews and/or workshops held with the business stakeholders and end users. Leveraging the COBIT 5 framework, we’ll provide a balanced business view of how IT is perceived from the outside — and ascertain how technology creates value for your clients and what needs evolving.

In this post and in the context of cloud transformation, we look at eight of the most relevant drivers that COBIT 5 identifies in its 17-point list. This delivers a balanced scorecard that covers 
4 key dimensions: financial, internal, customer-oriented and future-oriented. We’ll examine both where your organisation is now and how you would need to evolve.

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Tags: cloud, cobit, sitr

“Community policing is central to the success of the police mission as we provide quality services to, and build relationships with, our diverse communities.”

IACP President Yost Zakhary

I had the privilege of attending the 2014 International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Community Policing awards last Sunday, and I can say firsthand that it was nothing short of awe-inspiring to meet the amazing men and women from the agencies being honored. Their commitment and determination to drive initiatives that make everyone safer is incredible.

Each year since 1998, the IACP Community Policing Committee awards the best community policing practices of agencies around the world. Since the inception of the awards, over 73 agency winners and 132 finalists globally have been recognized for their commitment to community policing and innovation.

Entries are awarded in five population categories and judged on innovative ideas that utilize the power of community policing in order to ultimately make our communities safer. The process involves extremely high standards as well. If none of the submissions in a category meet the established standards set by the Community Policing Committee, no award is given in that category.

The 2014 winners and finalists highlight innovative initiatives that address issues involving such things youth crime and school issues, gun violence, and homicide. It’s an amazing representation of the power of community policing in order to make a difference and to make our communities better.

This year’s IACP Community Policing Award winners and finalists are:

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Tags: #IACP2014, chief of police, Community Policing, IACP, law enforcement, police, Public Safety

From checking bank statements to booking flights, mobile phones have become integral to our everyday lives. In the near future, the number of mobile devices will exceed the world’s population, and by 2017, we expect more than 10 billion mobile devices to be used across the globe.

With this proliferation, public sector organizations are facing increasing pressure to accommodate the growing numbers of users expecting to be constantly connected regardless of who owns the device. The network must dynamically adjust in real-time to an exponentially growing and disparate number of devices and applications that demand immediate and secure connectivity.

In government organizations, comprehensive policies supporting BYOD initiatives are lacking. Many IT leaders still need to shift their strategies to include secure mobility within their security agenda. Read More »

Tags: cybersecurity awareness, NCSAM, secure mobility

It’s an exciting time to be in Government IT. Politicians and executives are constantly re-evaluating how IT services should be governed and delivered to public sector agencies. Their aim is not only to reduce the complexity and cost of technology, but also to sustainably enhance public sector efficiency through modern applications. At the heart of many national digital agendas is the concept of Government Cloud and the re-structuring opportunities presented by Shared IT Services models.

Over the last decade, many public sector organisations have embraced the opportunity to join forces with seasoned experts from Cisco. We offer a blend of business and technology expertise, which enables us to understand your business requirements and link them with tangible IT projects. Across a variety of real-world customer engagements, Cisco has perfected a three-phase methodology that we call “Strategic IT Roadmap” or SITR. Main objective: to connect business and IT strategies.

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Tags: cloud, government, Roadmap, strategic