RightStar at the 2012 BMC Public Sector Forum

Posted on February 12, 2012 by dick1stark

By Dick Stark

BMC held its annual Public Sector Forum on Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Center in Washington DC. Chris Wallace, current host of Fox News Sunday and the afternoon keynote speaker, provided a good change of pace to the Forum agenda. He discussed the current political landscape and was up-to-speed on all the latest political jokes such as, “Did you hear that Obama’s 2005 Chrysler Sedan is being auctioned on eBay?  Runs well, but can’t pass anything.” You had to be there…

If you were there, you would have sat in on the opening speech from BMC President and CEO, Bob Beauchamp. Bob addressed the 650+ attendees by saying that BMC is still doing very very well. BMC’s latest quarter results showed total revenue up 7% giving BMC $2.2B in annual trailing revenue. After 30 years, BMC is now the 8th largest independent publicly traded software company in the world.  

Bob’s theme that he echoed throughout his talk, was that although IT is undergoing a transformation, so is BMC. He mentioned that the CIO of ExxonMobil was in the BMC visitor center recently and remarked that BMC’s IT management solution provides the foundation required to “change the game” for ExxonMobil.  In other words, the engine room is relevant. With BMC’s “management system for hybrid IT,” ExxonMobil can plug-in or unplug new vendors into this universal management platform (that is now more than BSM).  That’s significant because just several years ago ExxonMobil considered BMC a software tool provider.

Bob then placed three stakes in the ground:

  • The traditional data center is dead,
  • The PC era is dead (there are now more iPads and Personal Digital Assistants sold than PCs), and
  • Traditional expectations of IT are dead.

He continued by saying that while last year was the year of the Cloud, this year it is all about mobility and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) as users now come to work with their own iPads or cell phones.  IT now makes a difference if it can improve end-user productivity. How? Through self-service, availability anywhere/any-time, the right cloud for the mission, and works great all the time.

Next up was a standing room only presentation from BMC executive Doug Mueller, a Remedy co-founder. Doug discussed the new future Remedy versions, and pointed out that Service Request Management is becoming the centerpiece of the Remedy ITSM solution.

Government CIO’s from DHS, NASA, USDA, and the Army discussed cloud computing in the public sector. Cloud computing is becoming pervasive due to the government’s Implement Cloud First policy, FedRamp certification, data center consolidation efforts, emphasis on budget reduction, and focus on procurement improvement.

It was a very good day for both BMC and RightStar. We had excellent exposure from booth traffic and the RightStar logo on all the attendee bags. We also spent good time networking with BMC executives, sales, pre-sales, and professional service employees. It was a terrific way to start 2012!

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BMC’s Move to the Mid-Market: What Does it Mean for RightStar?

Posted on February 5, 2012 by dick1stark

By Dick Stark

Last Monday, BMC announced its intention to acquire Numara Software, maker of FootPrints and Track-IT! for approximately $300M. This gives BMC a 40% market share in the service management space and provides BMC with a full product offering from the small business to the enterprise. It also gives BMC access to more than 13,000 new customers from which BMC can further accelerate its Service Management SaaS business, primarily Remedyforce, but also Remedy on-Demand (RoD).  This is obviously a good move for BMC, but what does it mean for RightStar and our customers?

Since RightStar’s commercial focus has been the mid-market this acquisition offers us more potential than any other previous BMC acquisition. Charles King, president and principal analyst, Pund-IT described the acquisition this way, “Offhand, I wouldn’t expect much of an effect on BMC’s installed base, though stretching things a bit, it might earn the company some business among its existing customers’ channel partners.  Not sure what the effect might be on Numara’s clients….” So, how specifically can RightStar benefit?

Migration opportunities to Remedyforce.  With the new winter release available soon, Remedyforce is closing in on parity with Remedy on-Demand.  The new release offers an actionable Service Catalog, Service Request Management, with functionally similar to RoD. Additionally, the CMDB now includes the same configuration item classes as RoD.  On Friday, I met with an existing RightStar SDE customer in Manhattan.  They were looking for their first cloud based solution and were very excited about the additional functionality that Remedyforce offered to their service management environment.

FootPrints.  Numara’s FootPrints offers a more complete offering than Service Desk Express, especially for customers that require on-premise and a more standard out-of the box service management work flow. RightStar will move quickly to build its FootPrints sales and implementation expertise.

Training and Consulting.  With three ITIL Service experts, and standardized assessment and training options, RightStar offers an affordable consulting alternative for the mid-market.

Asset Management.  We are already working on MagicWand/ScanStar barcode scanning for Remedyforce, which will provide inventory and reconciliation solutions in a SaaS environment. A ScanStar for FootPrints is another possibility.

Service Assurance and Automation. While these BMC products are targeted more towards, the enterprise, the upper mid-market can benefit with standard integrations between the Remdy-force CMDB and ProactiveNet and BladeLogic, making the entire BSM solution a reality for the upper mid-market.

Score another one for the good guys!  RightStar will move quickly to ramp-up its Remedyforce and FootPrints sales and delivery capabilities.  Whether the need is SaaS or on-premise, RightStar will be well positioned for mid-market success.

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How to Build a Service Catalog

Posted on January 31, 2012 by dick1stark

By Dick Stark

On Wednesday 160 people attended RightStar’s “How to Build an ITIL Compliant Service Catalog,” led by Solutions Consultant, Ron Hill.  This was our best turnout ever for a RightStar webinar and it underscores the importance of a service catalog as the cornerstone of the IT organization.  Service catalogs, which are sometimes referred to as self-service portals, have become mission critical to the entire organization. Properly deployed, a service catalog is the new “face of IT” within the organization providing actionable service offerings normally delivered quickly and efficiently to the requestor.

RightStar offers service catalog consulting and implementation services through BMC’s Remedy and Service Desk Express (SDE) product offerings.  With Remedy’s Service Request Management (SRM) add-on, RightStar recommends designing a service catalog based upon what matters most to the organization and move onward from there.  For example, at a large governement agency, RightStar worked with several systems integrators to implement a Service Catalog for hardware, software, and cell phone requests across the organization.

SRM allows a customer to login and create actionable service requests from a predetermined menu. It only shows services that each customer is entitled to order. A general IT incident service form was also created for customers to directly report an issue. RightStar installed and configured SRM and individual services were created for each type of IT-related request. SRM was highly customized to the environment to reflect the Agency’s organization and operational structure. Requests can be approved or rejected directly in the system. IT and project management staff use the system to receive assignments, track progress and complete requests. By improving efficiency and transparency, SRM has greatly enhanced the Agency customer service experience.

With SDE, RightStar provides static Service Catalog services using SDE application or, when more personalization is required, MagicPortal. At a commercial organization, RightStar installed MagicPortal as a service request portal for their external customers, allowing support requests to be made efficiently without the need to talk to a support technician.

With Remedyforce, an actionable service catalog (and request fulfillment) is now included at no additional charge as part of the winter 2012 release. This latest release brings Remedyforce much closer to parity with Remedy from a functional feature perspective.

IT’s goal should be to make provisioning a laptop or cellphone as easy as ordering a book from Amazon. It is the service catalog that:

  • Defines and communicates standardized offerings, to ensure that every request is not a one-off project.
  • Provides an easy-to-use interface to enable self-service for business users or developers.
  • Facilitates automated provisioning, tracks the lifecycle of the service and captures data for billing or service costing.

In summary, actionable catalogs bring true automation and efficiency and provide IT organizations with improved customer satisfaction and cost savings.

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What End-Users Want from VARs

Posted on January 16, 2012 by dick1stark

By Dick Stark

Vertical Systems Reseller(VSR) Magazine annually surveys end-users to determine their top needs, wants, and selection criteria from their respective Value Added Reseller (VAR) or Solution Providers.  While RightStar strives to always provide the best possible solution that truly meets our customer’s needs, we must always be on the lookout for what RightStar, or other VARs could be doing differently.  Here’s VSR’s annual list of what end-users want from VARs.

      Track Record/Market Expertise. Our customers must trust that our intent is compatible with their best interest and that we have the experience to design and deliver a system that meets their needs.  We’ve completed more than 500 successful implementations since RightStar began in 2003.

      Relationship with Software Vendors. As an elite BMC Solution Provider, RightStar has been BMC’s top public sector partner for the past two years and remains in the top two worldwide in terms of total software license sales.  RightStar has relationships at all levels within BMC: Sales, Support, Management, and Professional Services.

      Systems Installation Expertise. At RightStar, we’re not just “software guys with screwdrivers.” As hired experts, we need to demonstrate thought leadership in every situation and the best way to do that is through the use of a standardized methodology based upon the ITIL framework.  Although we’re licensed for BMC’s Rapid Results Methodology, we’ve modified and personalized it to deliver a solution in less time and with less effort.

      Training, Service, and Support.  RightStar offers both on-site and class-room ITIL training as well as end-user or administrator training to complement an on-going implementation. RightStar is an a BMC authorized L1 support provider which means RightStar continues its excellent support long after the implementation is completed.

      Integration of Hardware/Software. RightStar developed products, like MagicMobile (mobility) and MagicWand (barcode scanning), extend the functionality of SDE far beyond what BMC offers.  In addition, with Remedy’s ubiquity at the DOD, RightStar offers CAC enablement and single-sign on with our  PKI CAC integration product.  We also sell ADSynch as a better way to automatically integrate to Active Directory and other data sources.

      Ability to Collaborate with Other VARs. BMC has a very broad product line meaning it is difficult to be an expert in everything.  RightStar collaborates with other BMC VARs, for example, for ITBM implementation work. 

      Price.  Oh, and did I mention price?  End-users are placing a higher value than ever before on low price.  This puts RightStar (and other VARs that value service over price) in somewhat of a conundrum.  That’s why it’s more important than ever to offer solutions with high value and rapid return on investment.

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My 2012 Top Ten List for BMC/Business Service Management

Posted on January 9, 2012 by dick1stark

As we end 2011, a transitional year in the business service management/BMC space, what can we take from 2011 and apply towards 2012? Plenty!  Here are my top 10 current focus areas. 

10. Business Intelligence. Although both SDE and Remedy have separate business intelligence offerings—Crystal Reports and Analytics and Dashboards, it is rare that either is implemented properly to provide the expected benefits—continuous improvement.

9. Cloud Life Cycle Management is the hottest thing going now at BMC.  But does it play in the federal or mid-market space?  Right now, we are in the early stages of a private cloud/storefront opportunity for a large civilian agency.  Hopefully the first of many…

8. Datacenter Automation.  BMC Capacity Optimization teamed with nlyte seems to be an unbeatable combination, yet despite our focus, we only have two new customers.  Our pipeline looks good for a successful 2012.

7. Service Assurance/Automation.  BMC has moved way up the Magic Quadrant grid with its BPPM and ADDM offerings.  We made real progress in 2011, but what about 2012?

6. Consulting and Training.  I think there is untapped potential here, especially with three ITIL Service Experts at RightStar.

5. Service Catalogs/Storefronts.  This should be huge and is another major focus area at BMC. Who wouldn’t want to implement a service catalog providing actionable service offerings delivered quickly and efficiently to the organization?

4. Remedy 7.6 and SDE 11 Upgrades.  Many Remedy customers have upgraded to 7.6 but lots of customers still haven’t.  Likewise, opportunity remains for SDE customers to upgrade to version 10 or 11.

3. Asset Management/Barcode Scanning.  According to Forrester, there is a relatively low adoption rate of customers implementing an asset management/CMDB solution.  This should be a key focus area for RightStar in 2012.

2. SaaS Powered Service Desks, Remedy onDemand and Remedyforce are growing faster than plan.  At RightStar we’ve been involved in more than five Remedy onDemand jobs, and are currently balancing 15 Remedyforce jobs at the same time.

1. Customer Support/Remote Admin. Gary Vaynerchuk’s book/concept, The Thank You Economy is real and every one of us is doing business in it every day, whether we choose to recognize it or not.  At RightStar, our mantra is and will continue to be every customer a reference.  Indeed, valuing every single customer is mandatory now and for the foreseeable future.

 

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BMC Podcast Summary

Posted on December 13, 2011 by dick1stark

By Dick Stark

I spent last Thursday afternoon at BMC in the BMC TV studio video recording two RightStar overviews, one for the BMC partner website and another for a future BMC TV release.  I also did a short podcast with BMC’s Tom Parish, also for the BMC Website.  Here’s an abbreviated version of that Podcast:

Tom: In your whitepaper you mention that citizen demands for accountability and transparency in the public sector will continue to grow.  How does IT fit into this picture?

Dick:  There is a new report just out from the GAO, entitled, OMB Needs to Improve Its Guidance on IT Investments.  What’s mind-boggling is the total amount of money spent on IT, $78B, not counting the intelligence agencies, but also the amount of redundant systems—for example, there are 781 ERP, 15,000 IT management, and 661 HR systems.  The conundrum is how to consolidate data centers without consolidating applications.

Tom: Wow! Where do you recommend public section IT pros start?

Dick: In my whitepaper I’ve highlighted five focus areas: data center consolidation, cloud first, do more with less, IT transformation, and maintain accountability.

Tom: Of these five steps, how does IT decide which steps to tackle first?  Any that you feel are more important or cost effective right out of the gate?

Dick: Well, data center consolidation and cloud first are getting most of the attention now. Eliminating 800 data centers promises to offer huge savings.  At RightStar, we’ve already talked to several agencies about how nlyte, a datacenter performance management solution (and BMC MarketZone partner) for space, cooling and power management can better optimize a data center consolidation effort.

Additionally, the government is making terrific progress with their cloud first initiative with lots of SaaS systems already in production.  I attended a Cloud symposium last month where many solutions were presented that promised to “dramatically alter the way government does business.” One panelist asked the attendees if anyone thought five years from now whether any applications would still be delivered in an on-premise version.  No one raised a hand.

Tom: Do you have any real life examples of how a government entity has accomplished cost savings, efficiency, and accountability?

Dick: Yesterday I was in San Antonio where we have several people working on site at MCiS, an organization that supports the Military Health System, the largest health care organization in the world. I asked about a new rollout of BMC’s BladeLogic Server Automation (BBSA).  Although not yet complete, the expectation is that BBSA will automate server compliancy reporting and management that currently require several full time systems analysts.

Tom: Anything else?

Dick: Only that I’m very bullish about RightStar’s future with BMC.  I’m especially excited about BMC’s SaaS offerings and look forward to a continued strong partnership.

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20 Mile March

Posted on December 5, 2011 by dick1stark

By Dick Stark

20 Mile March? Turns out that’s what it takes to become a 10Xer. But make sure you have a SMaC….

To really understand what I’m talking about, you should read Jim Collins’ latest book Great by Choice. For those not familiar with Jim Collins, he is the author of two other business classics: Good to Great and Built to Last. In Great by Choice, co-authored by Morton Hansen, the authors studied several great companies, like Southwest Airlines and Microsoft, over a 10 year period to understand what makes them great.  Concepts like thriving in uncertainty, 10Xers, 20 mile march, Fire Bullets, then Cannon Balls, and SMaC are introduced.  The authors relate plenty of interesting stories, but how do these concepts apply to a small company like RightStar?  What is a 20 Mile March anyway?

The authors borrowed the 20 Mile March concept from Joe Brown CEO at Stryker, a medical equipment maker who set a 20% net income growth objective every year.  In other words, make a steady amount of progress every day, quarter, and year regardless of external circumstances. The most interesting part is the importance of not doing more when external conditions seem good… but just doggedly sticking to the plan.

The authors relate the 20 Mile March to a group of hikers walking from San Diego to Maine at a pace of 20 miles per day, no more no less every day, regardless of weather or conditions.  They even go a step farther, and describe the race to the South Pole in 1911 between Scott and Amundsen.  Amundsen, a “20 mile per dayer” methodically planned the entire trip making progress every single day.  He made it to the South Pole within a day or two of his plan and returned safely home also as planned.  Scott did not plan with the worst case scenario in mind, did not have enough food stockpiled, and went all out on good days and did not attempt any amount of hiking on bad days.  Guess who perished and did not make it back?

What’s RightStar’s 20 Mile March? We all know that RightStar has seen some remarkable revenue growth since 2003 when RightStar was founded.  Service revenue, what really matters, has grown much slower about 25% per year, which should be attainable every year in the indefinite future.

What’s not attainable is to continue growing our resale revenue faster than the market is growing and when BMC is funneling more and more of that revenue to their GSA aggregator.

But since service revenue is more profitable (and more reliable), a 20 Mile March of 20% year over year growth seems doable and desirable. What’s required is a recipe or SMaC. SMaC stands for Specific, Methodological, and Consistent. A SMaC recipe is a set of durable operating principles and practices that create a replicable and consistent success formula. That’s what the RightStar management team will focus on when we meet in early next year to plan the new year.  Get ready for our own 20 Mile March in 2012!

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Penn State Scandal: A Matter of Ethics and Morals

Posted on November 21, 2011 by dick1stark

 

Editor’s Note: As many of you know, I encourage guest contributors to the Weekly Star (and my Blog).  Here is an article written by RightStar Senior Systems Consultant, Leo Garcia to encourage good ethics and values.  Leo is a Penn State graduate and wanted to share his thoughts.

 By Leo Garcia

As a Penn Stater, I am both Angry and Sad.  I am angry at how grown men can ignore and turn a blind eye to such atrocities against children, in the name of an institution.  Angry at how a man with such an evil past was allowed to roam freely up until last week at Penn State.  Angry at the mere thought that people could put football before a child’s welfare.

But I am also sad at the crumbling of what Penn State stood for and at all the good that was previously done by such a fine institution and how it all came crumbling down in seconds.  I am also sad for the victims.  Being the father of a six year old boy and reading the allegations in the grand jury report was upsetting.

We can learn from this by going to the basics: Ethics and Morals.

The mere concept of finding something ethically and morally wrong should be the main driver on how we conduct ourselves and conduct our business. As we all know at RightStar, Ethics is about doing the right thing.  And if we do the right thing, the right things will happen.

Ignoring ethics and moral values caused serious consequences for Joe Paterno and Penn State just like businesses such as Enron, Lehman Brothers, AIG and others have experienced.   Why do so many institutions and companies completely ignore serious problems and fail to act in order to protect their institutions or companies and to make money?   Why didn’t Penn State President, VP’s, Directors and Coaches, all with over 20 to 50 years of service, do more to protect the children?  Were they more concerned about the image of a football program?

Penn State must start from scratch by removing anyone and anybody that had knowledge of what had transpired for the last 15 years and had a duty to act.  I just hope that not only Penn State, but anyone that has been following this scandal, learns that morality and ethics come before any institution.

I hope that none of us will ever have to confront a horrible situation where one of our beloved institutions come into play — but as long as we keep ethics and morals in check when confronting a bad situation and making a decision, we will always be making the right choice.

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RightStar Report from the AFCEA Cloud Symposium

Posted on November 12, 2011 by dick1stark

By Dick Stark

I attended the AFCEA Cloud Computing Technology Symposium in Washington, D.C. this week where RightStar was one of the small business sponsors.  The objective was to update industry on the progress made to date by Government Agencies towards the Federal cloud first policy. The discussion centered around agency cloud road maps, cloud acquisition strategies and contract vehicle considerations.  One thing was clear: cloud computing is gaining tremendous momentum in the Federal space. What wasn’t so clear is the timing and direction of specific cloud initiatives.

Scott Renda, Senior Policy Analyst, Office of E-Government and IT, OMB, kicked off the sessions by describing how much fun he was having shaping the government’s cloud direction and strategy.  He remarked, “Cloud computing is dramatically altering the way government does business by fundamentally changing the relationships between providers and users.” He pointed out the gains that GSA and USDA have made on two similar cloud based email programs in improving email collaboration, reliability and lowering costs. He was also excited about Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offerings especially as it related to on-going data center consolidation initiatives. Finally, Scott described the role of FedRAMP and NIST in establishing a set of security requirements, processes, and framework for cloud computing.

The first panel discussion was led by Susie Adams of Microsoft with panelists from HUD, DHS, and the VA. She opened by describing three paths cloud computing is taking in the Federal space: IaaS, which provides virtualization, servers, and storage, in the cloud; Platform as a Service (PaaS) which is IaaS plus, the operating system, middleware, and data; and finally Software as a Service (SaaS) which offers cloud based applications delivered from the cloud. The panelists discussed the cloud direction their agencies were taking with most focused on speed and quick wins. One panelist asked the attendees if anyone thought that five years from now whether any applications would still be delivered in an on-premise version.  No one raised a hand.

Next, Casey Coleman, CIO, GSA briefed the attendees on her agency’s successful cloud based email project and provided specific examples of cost savings and productivity improvements. The final panel discussion revolved around selecting the right GWAC to procure cloud solutions with the emphasis on acquisition speed.  I asked what other cloud based applications government agencies were targeting other than email and IaaS.  There was a long silence which told me that the cloud application space is wide open.

Last week RightStar teamed with BMC and Salesforce for a large service management cloud based SaaS opportunity for a government agency.  The agency needed to consolidate several service desks into one and get everything running in the cloud in 90 days or less—a perfect fit for the cloud. We proposed an incident, problem, change, and asset management solution using Remedyforce.  Win, lose or draw, as evidenced by the recent solicitation (and the symposium), Cloud computing is gaining significant traction in the Federal space.

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Go Grandpa, Go!

Posted on November 6, 2011 by dick1stark

By Dick Stark

The Marines got it right last Sunday.  It was a perfect day for a Marathon, cool and sunny and the thirty thousand or so that came to run were raring to go.  It had been ten years since my last Marine Corps Marathon and 20 since I completed my first.  I was excited but apprehensive since I didn’t come close to following the training plan that was required to get me close to my goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon next April.

Dick at the Finish

As a result, I didn’t exactly achieve my best time (nor did I qualify for Boston), but I did finish despite “hitting the wall” and running out of gas at about mile 18.  Also I managed to finish without injury which at my age is a big accomplishment and means I can live to race another one.

If you don’t believe that we’re a human race that’s obsessed with running, you haven’t experienced the mass humanity that is the Marine Corps Marathon. Despite the crowds, what keeps me running? I enjoy the competition and the workout plan leading up to the big race.  Although I’m a slower runner now than 20 years ago, I can still compete within my age group and plan on running as long as I can.  What can I take away from my latest race?  Plenty.

  • First, training and preparation matters.  A successful marathon plan is 18 weeks.  I tried to cram everything into about ten weeks.  My long training run was only 18 miles instead of 20 and I had only one long training run instead of several.  This “shortened” plan didn’t work as well as I hoped and made for a very painful final eight miles.
  • Second, stick-to-it-ness. Long distance running is about dealing with challenges and adversity. It’s about razor-sharp focus on an intended outcome, teaching you how to handle pain without quitting and giving you the satisfaction of completing something that you thought wasn’t possible. Many prospects and customers make us feel like we’re running a marathon, whether we’re trying to close an order or dealing with a difficult situation.
  • Finally, finding your own path. In running, consulting, or sales, you are ultimately responsible for a plan that fits your needs. Make sure that you set achievable goals that will be beneficial.

I’ll keep running as long as I can. Right now I’ve the Cherry Blossom 10 miler to look forward to next April.  Like I told a new customer in their kick-off meeting this week, careful planning and preparation is required for a successful finish.

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