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UMT launches EPMO Fusion

By IT Public Relations
Johannesburg, 27 Aug 2010

Local enterprise project management (EPM) solution provider, UMT Consulting SA, has launched its Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO) Fusion Product Stack, a solution that yields optimal project and project portfolio delivery results within an organisation.

The company's CEO, Pieter Meyer, says most organisations believe that merely implementing a piece of software that has “project” in its title, will resolve all problems they are experiencing.

“Experience has shown that this is not at all the silver bullet. A highly functional EPMO is a combination of the correct systems, interfaced and integrated at the correct touch points, surrounded by the effective processes and governance required in each specific environment.”

Although each EPMO differs from the next, as organisational environments differ, there are core best practices that should always be present and adhered to, ensuring that the base from which one's EPMO operates is solid. It is for this reason that UMT Consulting SA has designed its EPMO Fusion stack, which encapsulates best practices within pre-configured toolsets and solutions.

As the toolsets and solutions are pre-configured, any organisation can get out of the starting blocks quicker, with the peace of mind that their base is solid, as it is designed from UMT Consulting SA's years of experience within the project, programme and portfolio management environment.

He says the EPMO Fusion stack of products allows organisations to choose the optimal solution for their environment, fusing this together on the correct touch points, for an optimal result. “A revival in an EPMO is more than just systems, and this is where UMT Consulting SA's extensive experience is the catalyst, to release the optimal energy within an organisations project environment.”

UMT Consulting SA is unrivalled in supplying the needed consulting, training, mentorship and coaching to ensure that all components (systems, processes and governance) are defined and applied correctly in one's environment to create a new sustainable life force within one's EPMO.

UMT Consulting SA will assist in selecting the correct toolsets from its EPMO Fusion stack, implementing these according to world best practices, and adding the needed consulting, mentoring and coaching to deliver an energy wielding EPMO within an environment.

The product stack consists of four core pre-configured products:

* Project Server 2010 Fusion
* Project Lite 2010 Fusion
* SharePoint 2010 Fusion for PRINCE 2
* SharePoint 2010 Fusion for PMBOK

Project Server 2010 Fusion was developed by UMT Consulting SA as a packaged Enterprise Project Management Solution carefully designed to meet generic organisational project management requirements. It places organisations on a quick path to receive business benefits on their investment in project management solutions.

Meyer says this packaged, pre-configured EPM Solution is based on generic project management processes and best practices, and is pivotal in providing you with a quick solution to manage current and forthcoming projects with greater control. “With Project Server 2010 Fusion we put the EPM Basics in place enabling faster adoption and a sound basis for further configuration as the organisation matures.”

SharePoint 2010 ships with standard functionality, which allows users to synchronise project schedules with SharePoint Project Task lists. This allows Project Schedule owners to publish the data to a SharePoint site where other members can access the information and update task progress.

Project Schedule owners then have the capability to synchronise the Project Schedule and SharePoint list on an ad-hoc basis to ensure that changes on the Project Schedule are pushed to the SharePoint site and also to update the Project Schedule with updates made on the SharePoint list. The solution thus allows collaboration on projects by sharing information using a SharePoint site.

“The Standard functionality merely allows the capability to collaborate on individual project schedules, but not for consolidation of projects, tasks, risks or issues, which makes reporting and visibility hard for executives, project managers and team members. Project Lite 2010 Fusion resolves this problem in that it uses custom built roll-up lists, as designed by UMT Consulting SA, to display overall consolidated views on the aforementioned areas,” he explains.

SharePoint 2010 Fusion is a visual click through methodology (PRINCE 2) and methodology framework (PMBOK) system, with its roots centred in core SharePoint 2010. Many EPMO's experience high levels of frustration with the fact that their project managers do not follow the methodology the way that it should be, nor use the correct templates at the correct time, with the correct approval given on document deliverables where required.

“SharePoint 2010 Fusion resolves this problem in that it provides any project manager with a visual interface that will, through click-through ability, ensure that project managers know at any given point in time where they are in the management of their project, what should be done next, who is involved and have access to the correct templates to complete the needed deliverables,” he concludes.

For more information contact UMT Consulting SA on (012) 345 3518 or visit http://www.umtsa.co.za.

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UMT Consulting SA

UMT Consulting SA is the largest project, program and portfolio management solutions implementation partner in South Africa and has serviced more than a 100 of the country's leading organisations with its offerings. UMT Consulting SA recently concluded a BEE transaction whereby the Notsi Group owns a 25% shareholding in the ordinary share capital of the company. The company is equipped with sound staff values, capacity to deliver on its promise, practical knowledge and it has a BEE partner that actively participates and contributes to the company's success.

UMT Project and Portfolio Management Services South Africa (UMT Consulting SA) was formed through the merger of Fulcrum Business Solutions, South Africa's leading provider of enterprise project management solutions, and UMT Portfolio Management SA, the leading portfolio management organisation.

Since 1989, UMT Consulting has pioneered the field of project and portfolio management and devised unique methodologies that, when combined with effective project management, enable an integrated link between strategy formulation and execution. UMT Consulting SA contributes to its clients' success by linking business and IT strategies to execution through day-to-day activities leading to improved performance and tangible projects delivery results.

UMT Consulting SA methodology, training, mentorship and coaching approach assist organisations successfully to deploy practical and essential project, program and portfolio management processes, templates, systems and governance solutions across their multi-disciplinary divisions or departments.

UMT Consulting SA solutions that consistently help its clients build capabilities that support effective business decision-making and enhance business delivery performance. Its objective is to assist its clients in ensuring the operational delivery of their strategy through effective project, program and portfolio management.

UMT Consulting SA is a Microsoft Gold Certified partner and a Microsoft Project, SharePoint and Portfolio Server implementation partner.

According to UMT Consulting SA CEO Pieter Meyer, the time has passed to just improve on your delivery processes, but to introduce a new way of collaborating between team members, program and project managers, senior managers and executives. “Organisations need to enable and revive their processes by introducing a responsibility, accountability, consult and inputs (RACI) formal governance framework to their projects environments and to use work flow that will manage the governance outputs. Role base delivery management methods will become very important in any organisation ensure return on investments in their project delivery space.”

Editorial contacts

Ivor van Rensburg
IT Public Relations
(082) 652 8050
ivor@itpr.co.za