Podcasts & Blogs @ TalkBMC

Listen in while Peter Armstrong, corporate strategist for BMC Software, talks about the needed skills for the direction that Enterprise IT is headed. In this interview, he gives his observations on an interesting opposition he sees forming. Now that IT does not have to run as if having the lights on day to day is their only goal, and instead, running the business efficiently is their goal, what can happen with those efficiency gains? Now that people realize they can run IT more efficiently, saving money, then do they get to do lots of innovation with that money, and how do you innovate a controlled manner? So, the question Peter returns to is this: if you run IT with business goals in the forefront, then how will you resolve your priorities? Peter talks about ways to uncover the mentalities and rewards that will help move your department in the right direction as team members get out of a rut. He even describes his own perfect compensation package, and yes, a driver would be pertinent. Peter travels extensively and has plenty of great stories to go along with the workplaces that are examples of people who really "get" business service management and has a workforce that is enabled to do the same. What story goes along with his ability to recognize the Swiss flag? What's his true definition of hero? Here's a small hint, the definition of a true IT hero is a little different in this podcast than the hero described in his white paper. Take a listen and do talk back. If your experiences or "ah-ha!" moments match any of Peter's, let us know.

Perhaps your service desks are humming along quite nicely, thank you, but you're wondering what challenges or opportunities are around the corner. Maybe you've been listening to media outlets discuss home-based and outsourced service desk workers and want to know a service desk insider's view point. If you are looking towards the future of service desks, you'll want to listen to this conversation with Doug Mueller about how standards and processes have evolved to bring us the service desk of today and tomorrow. Discover what changes in direction surprise even Doug Mueller as he builds architecture for the technologies and directions for efficient service desks both working with internal and external customer service levels. Doug's enthusiasm for taking the service desk to the next level is noticeable in this podcast, and you just might come away with some new perceptions of the service desk of the future. Does that future involve mobile computing, follow-the-sun hours coverage, and flying cars? Find out by listening in to a conversation about the future efficiency and quality levels that the service desk can attain. Bio Doug Mueller serves as Chief Technology Officer, Service Management Business Unit of BMC Software. Doug is responsible for helping drive the architecture and direction of the BSM, Service Support, and Atrium initiatives. He joined BMC in 2002 as part of the acquisition of Remedy where he was a co-founder.

What is Service Automation and how does it go beyond Data Center Automation? What are the benefits? Where do you start? Find the answers to these questions in this interview with Brent Sullivan, Lead Solutions Manager at BMC. Learn how you can deliver IT services faster, safer, and more cost effectively in this 20-minute podcast on Service Automation.

David Savino, Tom Bishop and Ken Jochims - Are you wondering what, exactly, is a configuration management system, or CMS? How is a CMS different from a configuration management database (CMDB)? Why should IT organizations even care? Get some insights on these terms and concepts in this podcast.

Are you wondering what, exactly, is a configuration management system, or CMS? How is a CMS different from a configuration management database (CMDB)? Why should IT organizations even care? While the CMS is not a new concept, it is given considerable focus in the latest release of the IT Infrastructure Library® (ITIL®), an integrated and cohesive set of best-practice recommendations with common definitions and terminology published by the Office of Government Commerce. Listen to this podcast to learn more.

Column Technologies – Podcast Interview with Quentin Mackey, Regional Director of Delivery for Column Technologies, Inc. - BMC Partner. Quentin Mackey looks at both the business and technology aspects of an organization so Column Technologies can provide solutions to better manage their internal and external service delivery. Through Column's approach, a business need is translated into an IT solution to support the needs of the organization. In BMC’s case, that translates to continuous training and certification, project management methodology, and adaptation of business service management.

The value of identity management goes beyond alpha-numeric password protection. The same goes for the identity data itself. Colin Fletcher, BMC Solutions Manager, covers numerous identity management-related topics, including the how you can use identity data in conjunction with proactive incident and problem management to ensure you can get home on-time to pick up the kids, how identity management projects can lead to unanticipated results, why you need to beware of the rogue server sitting under your desk, and how regulatory compliance can become the identity management conversation starter. Join us for a thought-provoking identity management conversation.

Customer churn is "enemy number one for business", according to Adrian Payne, professor at the New South Wales School of Marketing. In fact, in a recent survey in the Asia Pacific region, 6 out of 10 consumers changed suppliers over the past 12 months. Peter Armstrong, corporate strategist for BMC Software, joins this discussion of customer churn in Europe and the Asia Pacific regions. You'll be surprised by the demographics of churn, as well as why people choose other service providers.

Customer churn is "enemy number one for business", according to Adrian Payne, professor at the New South Wales School of Marketing. In fact, in a recent survey in the Asia Pacific region, 6 out of 10 consumers changed suppliers over the past 12 months. Peter Armstrong, corporate strategist for BMC Software, joins this discussion of customer churn in Europe and the Asia Pacific regions. You'll be surprised by the demographics of churn, as well as why people choose other service providers.

Complex IT environments are even more difficult to understand and synch if your technology includes mainframe and distributed systems. Ron Michael, lead platform administrator in R&D support at BMC Software, wants to help. He currently pens a blog on TalkBMC called "Open for Mainframe" where he uses the topic of open source as the glue linking mainframe and distributed systems. Open source, he says, is an enabling technology that helps bridge the technical gap between the mainframe and distributed worlds. With the rise of Z series Linux on the mainframe and open source continuing to be a hot topic in the distributed world, the idea behind his blog is both timely and wise. But, that's not all there is to know about Ron Michael. Steve Carl recently wrote about teaming up with Ron, saying "he brought to the table years of mainframe experience, diagnostics, and coding, as well as the kind of holistic understanding one gets from being a well rounded geek. What I am trying to say here is that Ron builds lasers for fun. Real ones. Like for 3D holography and stuff. He is also a machinist. And a helicopter pilot.". Listen in for a fascinating discussion about open source, holography, lasers, and Green IT.

Complex IT environments are even more difficult to understand and synch if your technology includes mainframe and distributed systems. Ron Michael, lead platform administrator in R&D support at BMC Software, wants to help. He currently pens a blog on TalkBMC called "Open for Mainframe" where he uses the topic of open source as the glue linking mainframe and distributed systems. Open source, he says, is an enabling technology that helps bridge the technical gap between the mainframe and distributed worlds. With the rise of Z series Linux on the mainframe and open source continuing to be a hot topic in the distributed world, the idea behind his blog is both timely and wise. But, that's not all there is to know about Ron Michael. Steve Carl recently wrote about teaming up with Ron, saying "he brought to the table years of mainframe experience, diagnostics, and coding, as well as the kind of holistic understanding one gets from being a well rounded geek. What I am trying to say here is that Ron builds lasers for fun. Real ones. Like for 3D holography and stuff. He is also a machinist. And a helicopter pilot.". Listen in for a fascinating discussion about open source, holography, lasers, and Green IT.

Offshoring your development and QA efforts has benefits as well as challenges. Ran Gishri, director at BMC Software, explains global sourcing and why it's important. He discusses common challenges many companies face when they decide to offshore these IT services. More importantly, he tells you exactly what application problem resolution has to do with it. There exists best practices for overcoming offshoring problem resolution challenges, and Ran shares these. He also gives concrete examples of companies that automated problem resolution in a globally distributed development environment. Implemented correctly, the benefits of offshoring far outweigh the challenges.

Offshoring your development and QA efforts has benefits as well as challenges. Ran Gishri, director at BMC Software, explains global sourcing and why it's important. He discusses common challenges many companies face when they decide to offshore these IT services. More importantly, he tells you exactly what application problem resolution has to do with it. There exists best practices for overcoming offshoring problem resolution challenges, and Ran shares these. He also gives concrete examples of companies that automated problem resolution in a globally distributed development environment. Implemented correctly, the benefits of offshoring far outweigh the challenges.

The theme of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland is "The Power of Collaborative Innovation". This goes beyond a discussion about disruptive technologies like Web 2.0 to conversations about how technology can be improved and applied to solve the largest and most important world problems (like the rising rate of global poverty). The intent of this meeting is to improve the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional, and industry agendas. Mark Stouse, global communication leader at BMC Software discusses his experience there and the Davos question: "What one thing do you think that countries, companies or individuals must do to make the world a better place in 2008?" Mark talks about BSM's place in the solution to global problems and his opinion of what we should take away from Davos: "Never forget that we, as individuals, have the ability to make a tremendous impact if we choose to. There are a lot of people in this world who need our help. And, as important as what we do at BMC is, it is ultimately the impact we have as human beings, individually and collectively, on the larger world that is the most important thing."

The theme of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland is "The Power of Collaborative Innovation". This goes beyond a discussion about disruptive technologies like Web 2.0 to conversations about how technology can be improved and applied to solve the largest and most important world problems (like the rising rate of global poverty). The intent of this meeting is to improve the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional, and industry agendas. Mark Stouse, global communication leader at BMC Software discusses his experience there and the Davos question: "What one thing do you think that countries, companies or individuals must do to make the world a better place in 2008?" Mark talks about BSM's place in the solution to global problems and his opinion of what we should take away from Davos: "Never forget that we, as individuals, have the ability to make a tremendous impact if we choose to. There are a lot of people in this world who need our help. And, as important as what we do at BMC is, it is ultimately the impact we have as human beings, individually and collectively, on the larger world that is the most important thing."

Identity management has evolved far beyond a simple understanding of who is accessing your applications and data. It is a critical and integral part of business service management and IT best practices, and its automation and integration greatly increases the value of other solutions in your environment. Bronna Shapiro, director at BMC Software, discusses the evolution of identity management systems, describes how business service management leverages its data, and the criteria that this integration should meet in order to deliver maximum value to your IT organization. She ends this podcast conversation with colorful, and real-world, examples of great identity management -- and identity management gone bad.

Identity management has evolved far beyond a simple understanding of who is accessing your applications and data. It is a critical and integral part of business service management and IT best practices, and its automation and integration greatly increases the value of other solutions in your environment. Bronna Shapiro, director at BMC Software, discusses the evolution of identity management systems, describes how business service management leverages its data, and the criteria that this integration should meet in order to deliver maximum value to your IT organization. She ends this podcast conversation with colorful, and real-world, examples of great identity management -- and identity management gone bad.

According to ComputerWorld, 65% of IT professionals surveys said their IT budgets increased in 2007. The top 3 mission critical technologies that will receive funding in 2008 include software development and upgrades, network infrastructure, and data management and business intelligence. But, if you can’t justify the business value of these IT investments to your boss, you just might be putting your career in IT at risk, says Mary Nugent, vice president of software consulting at BMC Software. Mary explains the correct way to measure business value, provides guidance on the framework that will best help you in your ROI analysis, and answers questions on exactly how to calculate the correct return on your IT investments. If you've ever wondered whether or not you can truly believe in ROI, listen in.

According to ComputerWorld, 65% of IT professionals surveys said their IT budgets increased in 2007. The top 3 mission critical technologies that will receive funding in 2008 include software development and upgrades, network infrastructure, and data management and business intelligence. But, if you can’t justify the business value of these IT investments to your boss, you just might be putting your career in IT at risk, says Mary Nugent, vice president of software consulting at BMC Software. Mary explains the correct way to measure business value, provides guidance on the framework that will best help you in your ROI analysis, and answers questions on exactly how to calculate the correct return on your IT investments. If you've ever wondered whether or not you can truly believe in ROI, listen in.

Software developers everywhere are in a quandary. How do they spend more time doing what they do best -- developing -- and less time in problem resolution? Problem resolution is the time-consuming and often manual process of resolving software defects, bugs, reported issues, or unexpected application behavior. This process of resolving problems is all about getting to the root cause. Once the root cause is identified, the problem can usually be resolved easily. Getting to the root cause is often what confounds developers. Ran Gishri, director at BMC Software, Inc. discusses the critical importance of automating problem resolution and how implementing something like a black box flight recorder for software applications will change your world.

Software developers everywhere are in a quandary. How do they spend more time doing what they do best -- developing -- and less time in problem resolution? Problem resolution is the time-consuming and often manual process of resolving software defects, bugs, reported issues, or unexpected application behavior. This process of resolving problems is all about getting to the root cause. Once the root cause is identified, the problem can usually be resolved easily. Getting to the root cause is often what confounds developers. Ran Gishri, director at BMC Software, Inc. discusses the critical importance of automating problem resolution and how implementing something like a black box flight recorder for software applications will change your world.

“The mainframe is dead!” is a misconception, but a notion that caused many organizations to implement distributed computing environments. Today, the bulk of the world’s most critical business applications remain on mainframes. But, the over-purchase of distributed hardware has caused server sprawl, a huge increase in resources to manage, inefficiency in the computing environment, and pollution. Consider the power consumption, heat dissipation, and carbon emissions for a single mainframe used for multiple applications compared to 100, 200, or 500 single-application distributed servers? Listen in on a conversation with Ralph Crosby, CTO of the mainframe service management business unit at BMC Software, about this topic and what zLinux has to do with it.

The mainframe is dead! is a misconception, but a notion that caused many organizations to implement distributed computing environments. Today, the bulk of the world s most critical business applications remain on mainframes. But, the over-purchase of distributed hardware has caused server sprawl, a huge increase in resources to manage, inefficiency in the computing environment, and pollution. Consider the power consumption, heat dissipation, and carbon emissions for a single mainframe used for multiple applications compared to 100, 200, or 500 single-application distributed servers? Listen in on a conversation with Ralph Crosby, CTO of the mainframe service management business unit at BMC Software, about this topic and what zLinux has to do with it.

Sherrie Woodring, director at BMC Software, explains the value of the Emprisa acquisition, run book automation, and integrating with the BSM strategy.

Sherrie Woodring, director at BMC Software, explains the value of the Emprisa acquisition, run book automation, and integrating with the BSM strategy.

Gary Case, IT management consultant at Pink Elephant discusses Pink's colorful history and their partnership with BMC.

Gary Case, IT management consultant at Pink Elephant discusses Pink's colorful history and their partnership with BMC.

Michael Jannery, president and CEO at Entuity explains discovering business critical network devices and their partnership with BMC.

Michael Jannery, president and CEO at Entuity explains discovering business critical network devices and their partnership with BMC.

Pete Keller, senior marketing manager for RIMM explains why the hardware behing the mobile workforce will make you hungry for a Blackberry.