6 Levels of Maturing ITSM for a DevOps World

What shape does IT Service Management take in a modern DevOps world?  For your IT department, they might not even know to ask the question.  They likely are stuck thinking of ITSM as ITIL and IT as a centralized function delivered to the business.  How does IT Service Management evolve as IT, or tech, becomes […]

by Nathan Lasnoski Apr 21, 2022

From Silos To Services – Transforming The IT Organization Part 2

It should be recognized that the ITSM transformation needs to operate as an ongoing program, not a one-time project. This describes a program that will start by putting the overall ITSM foundation in place in terms of organization, vision and governance followed by implementation of targeted activities to achieve first short-term wins and then longer-term strategies over time.

by Randy Steinberg Mar 30, 2022

Is Purview the Picture of the Elephant?

We’ve heard the story… five people wearing blindfolds walk up to an Elephant. Each interprets what they feel and experiences a part of the entirety of the elephant. “It’s a tree trunk!”… “it’s a rope”… “it’s a hose”… only when combined together do they arrive at the conclusion of what they are looking at. Most […]

by Nathan Lasnoski Mar 21, 2022

7 Habits of Inspiring Tech Leaders: (7) Agent of People

The final habit of inspiring tech leaders may be the most important… to be an Agent of People. The best tech leaders lead human first. They create organizations that individuals and teams want to be part of. They create engaged, talented, and inspiring workplaces. They make people the best versions of themselves. There is no […]

by Nathan Lasnoski Mar 3, 2022

V.S.I (Virtually Scheduled Interactions)

Camaraderie in the workplace has changed in the last 2 years. Is it for the better? Debatable. But I want to highlight the ways it is different from my perspective.

by Drew Johnson Feb 25, 2022

From Silos To Services – Transforming The IT Organization Part 1

When it comes to providing IT support to the business, a major evolution is on the horizon. The traditional IT operating model of delivering IT to the business in the form of bundled capabilities and assets is wearing thin in an age of cloud computing, on-demand services, virtualization, outsourcing and rapidly changing business delivery strategies. What IT traditionally engineered, built, owned and operated can now be bought from many sources more easily without inheriting the specific risks of ownership, support, building and managing an operating infrastructure. Part 1 of this post discusses key concepts for adapting an IT organization to services.

by Randy Steinberg Feb 22, 2022

Embracing Change: Application of the OCEAN Model

Change is dynamic. Change is hard. Change is Necessary.

As humans, our psyches and bodies are hardwired to not accept change. Developing a deeper understanding of our unconscious and reactions to change (e.g., laughing, complaining, discounting ourselves, etc.) helps us to access our insecurities and fears and face them head on.

by Elizabeth Fleming Feb 21, 2022

Working Together During a Pandemic to Drive Positive Organizational Change

We have all been changed by the effects of Covid-19, from our personal lives, family activities, and work routines.  All projects that propose to change an organization, from technical implementations, to process improvements require strong teamwork and smart Organizational Change Management (OCM) activities for success.  How has this pandemic changed teamwork within your organization?

by Nick Rustad Feb 16, 2022

7 Habits of Inspiring Tech Leaders: (6) Agent of Investment

Most IT leaders know that IT costs run around 3% of revenue for an average company.   The legacy CIO will see their job as keeping the IT costs around that number.  But… did you know that technology investment is actually INCREASING year over year?  The reason it isn’t visible in the “3%” is that technology […]

by Nathan Lasnoski Feb 15, 2022

Azure: Ask the Expert

Loved this session on Ask the Expert. Myself, Lwin Maung (another Microsoft MVP), Chris Blackburn, Swami Venkatesh, and Brandon Hartman had a session to take questions on the modern environment, Azure, cloud, and M365. Love the questions, great discussion, and a great honor to be among these interesting and intelligent gentlemen. Swami certainly wins “best […]

by Nathan Lasnoski Feb 15, 2022

10 Ways Manufacturers Can Do More with Less in 2023 - Part 1

As we enter the new year, manufacturers are assertively focusing on how they optimize their business during uncertain economic conditions.  The goal of most manufacturers is to do more with less, or at minimum optimize their ability to execute their mission for their customers.  Working with many manufacturers, I am seeing a variety of ways that companies can leverage technology to do more with less year. 

Part 1 of this series outlines the first five ways that manufacturers can do more with less.

by Nathan Lasnoski Jan 17, 2023

10 Ways Manufacturers Can Do More with Less in 2023 - Part 2

As we enter the new year, manufacturers are assertively focusing on how they optimize their business during uncertain economic conditions.  The goal of most manufacturers is to do more with less, or at minimum optimize their ability to execute their mission for their customers.  Working with many manufacturers, I am seeing a variety of ways that companies can leverage technology to do more with less year. 

Part 2 of this series outlines the second five ways that manufacturers can do more with less.

by Nathan Lasnoski Jan 25, 2023

10 Ways Financial Services Organizations Can Do More with Less in 2023

As we enter the new year, financial services organizations are assertively focusing on how they optimize their business during uncertain economic conditions.  The goal of most businesses is to do more with less, or at minimum optimize their ability to execute their mission for their client.  In working with many financial services organizations, I am seeing a variety of ways that organizations are able to leverage technology to do more with less this year.   

by Nathan Lasnoski Jan 10, 2023

Integrating ChatGPT-like Capabilities into Your Business

ChatGPT-like capabilities can make a difference in your business RIGHT NOW.  This is not science fiction, this is science fact and your competitors are reaping the benefits.  Many have felt that AI/ML is an aspirational “someday” goal, but businesses that have invested in targeted efforts are rewarded with real ROI and absolute efficiencies.  This means adopting real-world improvement made possible through commodity AI, data science-oriented initiatives, or even the recently available Open AI service that powers ChatGPT.  Let’s dive in.

by Nathan Lasnoski Jan 26, 2023

Using the Union Operator in KQL

Sometimes it is difficult to use and remember operators in KQL. Today we're going to look at using the "union" operator to combine tables into one space.

by Joseph Dutton Feb 20, 2023

Cultivating an Inclusive Workplace: Best Practices for Ramadan

Having Muslim team members, and being Muslim myself, I have always struggled with how to integrate a productive workday during the holy month of Ramadan. I’ve been lucky to work with some amazing employers who aren’t afraid to ask questions and have been overwhelmingly accommodating during this time and it is my top priority to do the same with my teams!

by Reem Alzubeidi Mar 17, 2023

Modernizing our approach to MFA

Traditional passwords haven’t been sufficient for protecting accounts and assets for some time now.  From simple brute force attacks to spear phishing and pharming threat adversaries continue to develop novel methods for credential theft to add to their toolbox of existing tried and true approaches. Microsoft’s Group Program manager for Identity Security and protection, Alex Weinert,   has previously stated that MFA, when deployed properly, can end up blocking 99.9% of automated attacks.

by Adam Clifford Feb 1, 2023

A Holistic Approach to Zero Trust

Zero Trust architecture isn’t another security fad, and it’s not a technology you can implement, but rather a security model that’s foundational on every step of the journey we at Concurrency help our clients in travel along the path of modern workplace maturity.

by Chris Blackburn Feb 10, 2023

Manufacturing: Building Resiliency to Navigate Market Volatility

Manufacturers have navigated a turbulent environment for several years. Some unlocked exponential growth opportunities due to surging demand while others struggled to stay afloat. Now, most manufacturers are bracing for a recession. In the U.S., 62% of manufacturers expect a recession to start in 2023, anticipating several months of contraction followed by growth. U.S. manufacturers expect to increase revenues by year-end an average of 5.5%, down from 9.3% in 2022.

by Ralph Babusci Mar 2, 2023

OIDC vs. SAML

When trying to set up authentication for an application, you might hear people talk about “OIDC” and “SAML”. This is especially true when you have a lot of different applications that you want the end user to be able to use the same username and password for; for example, inside of a business, you might want your employees to log into an HR application, a task-tracking board, and CRM software with the same credentials. So what do these two four-letter abbreviations mean, anyway? What are the differences between them? And how do they help you authenticate your users? 

by Nick Woods Feb 23, 2023