UMT Consulting SA, a local enterprise project management (EPM) solution provider, has partnered with global best practice training company Stratsure to develop Prince2 Navigator (P2Nav), a cloud configuration management facility built especially for organisations using the Prince2 methodology. Executives can now track the status of all their projects live on the Web.
P2Nav allows project users to easily navigate, with click-through functionality, within all the processes and sub-processes of Prince2. It is a Microsoft SharePoint-based solution, utilising the power of Visio Services hosted in the Microsoft Office 365 Cloud.
Microsoft Office 365 leverages the cloud to deliver enterprise-level productivity solutions to businesses of all sizes. Unlike many custom-developed project management solutions, which were specifically developed for small businesses, P2Nav is scalable and offers small businesses the full functionality of enterprise solutions.
Stratsure's managing director, Les Clarke, says one of the big hindrances holding practitioners back from freely using Prince2 has been the absence of a simple configuration management software tool that is hosted in the cloud.
“Availability of local support for tailoring, implementation and operational support make this an attractive way of enhancing Prince2's use. It enables a natural extension of the classroom experience.
“Hosting P2Nav in the cloud means project information is accessible from anywhere around the globe using sample templates with familiar scenarios built in. More importantly, there are no hardware or software costs, no periodic software updates and no permanent employees with specialist skills required. For the growing African environment, application of a best practice becomes real,” he says.
Project management methodologies provide organisations with a common language and method of managing projects to their successful outcome. The two most common methodologies in use today are the Prince2 framework, offered through the APM Group, and PMBOK, offered through The Project Management Institute. Prince2 has become increasingly popular and is now a de facto standard for project management across the globe.
UMT Consulting's managing director, Dries van der Colff, says partnering with Stratsure was an obvious choice. “Stratsure delivers services aligned to industry best practice of the UK Office of Government Commerce and the Association for Project Management, primarily in Prince2 and ITIL.”
P2Nav offers onsite implementation assistance, consulting services, training, helpdesk with first-line support, and, as a Microsoft Gold Partner, UMT Consulting SA can resolve any SharePoint or cloud issues.
Clarke says P2Nav ensures no hidden costs, good response times and high-level security. “Besides a nominal implementation fee to ensure that the facility is used correctly, a monthly rental fee will be quoted - based on the number of users gaining access. Experienced programme and project management consultants will provide the assurance that the programme and the projects therein are being managed appropriately and in accordance with any policies and processes that your organisation requires.”
“In order to ensure your organisation is using P2Nav correctly and is getting the full benefit from the methodology you have implemented, our accredited consultants will assess your organisation against maturity models, highlighting areas for possible improvement,” Van der Colff adds.
Companies that adopt cloud computing can reduce energy consumption, lower their carbon emissions and decrease their capital expenditure on IT resources while improving operational efficiency. According to research, most servers are only achieving around 15% utilisation, so by moving to the cloud, organisations will be using shared resources and relying on fewer computers to run the infrastructure. The cost associated with that obviously leads to less internal power requirements.
“One of the tenets of cloud computing is that you use what you need and you pay for what you use. If you can do the same amount of work on fewer computers by having higher utilisation, you save the environmental cost of building those computers. Computers use lots of energy idling, even though you increase single-computer power usage when consolidating, net power decreases as you take other systems offline,” concludes Clarke.
For more information, contact UMT Consulting SA on (012) 345 3518 or e-mail info@umtsa.co.za or visit www.umtsa.co.za.
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