What Supply Chain Management has to do with IT in SaaS Companies – part 1

Working in the Production IT of SaaS companies for some years now,
I have come to realize that there is a strong connection between managing the IT and Supply Chain Management,
In a former post I’ve added the links to a Video introduction to Supply Chain Management course,
Created by the Arizona State University – which I strongly recommend watching  - it’s a total 1 hour and worth your time.

I went through each module and I will try to explain how IT in a SaaS Company should be managed like a Supply Chain.

Module 2 – Buy it: Managing Supply

Like in making a cake – the ingredients used to create the SaaS infrastructure will determined the quality of the service:

• Hardware – which company will you sign with to supply your needed hardware ?
  you will need some if not all of: 
  • Servers – in different configurations to support different functions like web, DB, Propriety applications
  • Switches
  • Routers
  • Storage
  • networking hardware
  • racks to hold all the servers
• you will probably also consider more than one hardware supplier as each company has other supplies to offer
  for each supplier you will need to consider: 
  • quality of hardware
  • delivery speed – and if you work for a Global organization this means different delivery times to different locations
  • supplier flexibility – in delivery time, site, support
  • and of course – cost issues

• Men power – SaaS companies need production personal to run and manage all the servers in the production Farms,
  these are talented, experienced people with the right know how in each field and the will power to invest the time and effort needed to manage support and support a 24×7 Global servers farm who need to be up and available 100% of the time.
  Some of the needed functions are: 
  • Sys admins – for various Operation systems
  • Networking gurus
  • Security experts
  • DB Admins
  • 24X7 Network Operation Center
  • Support
    etc …

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYbtZ0x9_SA

Questions, comments or suggestions are very welcome – post below and I’ll get back to you.

Technorati Tags: saas, Supply Chain Management

HBR – Harvard Business Review Magazine

Lately I’m reading a lot of articles from the Harvard Business Review Magazine,
which publishes Articles and blog posts and case studies that were created to improve the practice of management and its impact in a changing world.

Most of the blog posts are free to read and some of the Articles from the magazine too,
but the most are sold for a price.

The site focuses on topics like:

• Change management
• Information technology
• Leadership
• Operations management
• Strategy
• Systems theory

or on Management Skills as:

• Becoming a manager
• Career planning
• Coaching
• Decision making
• Delegation
• Developing employees
• Improving performance
• Interpersonal skills
• Interviewing
• Leading teams
• Managing people
• Managing yourself
• Team building

And many other topic, all fascinating and important to read for any new or seasoned manager alike.

I warmly recommend reading everything you can read from there, since you can find a case study or an article that discusses almost all the managerial dilemma that you might face through your working years.

And for those who cannot afford buying each article,
in a former post I’ve showed how to find most of them as pdf files available to download in Google.

Technorati Tags: google, Harvard Business Review, hbr, leadership, Management, Online Tools

Supply Chain Management – Each Module

Supply Chain Management – the 12 modules - Each Module can be viewed separately.

The whole list is about 1 hour to watch.

You can view the Supply Chain Management as 1 playlist in this post.

Module 1: What is Supply Chain Management? [8:05]

Module 2: Buy It: Managing Supply [3:46]

Module 3: Make It: Manufacturing and Operations [4:23]

Module 4: Move It: Transportation and Logistics [3:45]

Module 5: Sell it & Service It: Retail Considerations [3:39]

Module 6: Supply Chain Integration [4:41]

Module 7: Global Supply Chain Management [4:07]

Module 8: Socially Responsible Supply Chain Management [4:33]

Module 9: Business Processes [4:13]

Module 10: Measuring Performance [5:17]

Module 11: Quality Management [3:20]

Module 12: Supply Chains and Information Technology [3:53]

Technorati Tags: inspiration, Management, Online Tools, Online Training

Supply Chain Management – Play list

Supply Chain Management – the 12 modules - Viewable as one Playlist.

The whole list is about 1 hour to watch.

You can view the Supply Chain Management each module separately in this post.

The Modules included in this overview are:

1. What is Supply Chain Management? [8:05]
2. Buy It: Managing Supply [3:46]
3. Make It: Manufacturing and Operations [4:23]
4. Move It: Transportation and Logistics [3:45]
5. Sell it & Service It: Retail Considerations [3:39]
6. Supply Chain Integration [4:41]
7. Global Supply Chain Management [4:07]
8. Socially Responsible Supply Chain Management [4:33]
9. Business Processes [4:13]
10. Measuring Performance [5:17]
11. Quality Management [3:20]
12. Supply Chains and Information Technology [3:53]

Technorati Tags: inspiration, Management, Online Tools, Online Training

Volkswagen – The Fun Theory

A very nice initiative from Volkswagen -
of course a successful Viral positive publication initiative as well - and yet very charming.

Volkswagen tested some theories of how to make people co-operate on tasks which usually get lower support,
by making them fun for the participates.

Here is a short example of how fun makes people prefer going through the harder way up

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw&feature=player_embedded

Gaming at work

Another interesting example of this idea is how fun at work improves the working day,
the worker contribution to the work place and productivity,
a couple of articles that I found interesting about this are:

Research proves online gaming at work is good for you – and for your boss

and

Does Gaming at Work Improve Productivity?

Technorati Tags: fun theory, games