MUSCAT -- The Information Technology Authority (ITA) conducted a seminar on 'Operational Excellence' in association with Microsoft Oman -- the second of a series of technical sessions hosted by the authority in conjunction with COMEX 2007. Following a keynote addressed by Abdullah Lootah, Country Manager of Microsoft Oman, the seminar began with the first of four technology presentations by Microsoft.
"Building a more secure, well-managed and dynamic core IT infrastructure can help reduce overall IT costs, make better use of IT resources and make IT a strategic growth asset for the business," said Hilal Bait Fadel, Technical Account Manager, while highlighting the importance of creating people-ready business infrastructure.
Defining Operational Excellence, Azher Hussein, Technical Account Manager, said: "Operational excellence is not about doing things right, Operational Excellence focuses on how to do things well." He went on to point out challenges faced by IT departments and shared several ideas to improve IT business services.
Sa'ed Ghossous, Enga-gement Manager, explained that the Business Architecture allows organisations to describe a map of organisational capabilities and enables one to understand what initiatives support the implementation of these key capabilities. He used 'heat maps' as tools to present the business value and performance aspects of organisational capabilities. He suggested a collaborative effort between IT and the Business components working with a single objective to add value to the organisation in tackling the problem space.
Mo'ayed Zaidan, Middle East IT Director, spoke on the Business of IT @ Microsoft, walking through their three strategic pillars: Empower People, Simplify Techno-logies and Protect Digital Assets. He elaborated on the expanse of Microsoft's global enterprise and the complexity of its IT requirements to cater to worldwide employees and business partners.
"This special seminar is part of the efforts from both ITA and Microsoft to make COMEX an event to look forward to for updating one's knowledge of contemporary IT technologies and best practices of the IT industry," said Dr Salim al Ruzaiqi, CEO of ITA. The event was attended by public sector IT experts and technicians. ITA has organised daily technical sessions at the COMEX ITA stand and also at other venues in association with several international IT companies during COMEX 2007.
By Staff Reporter
© Oman Daily Observer 2007
