ICT Standard Forum maintains and develops the ICT Standard for Management. Its operation is based on the collective creation and development of best practices. Results are available to community members following open source principles. A vast, versatile and active community enables effective utilization of ICT management best practices in both private and public sector organizations. Sharing tools, articles and experience assists ICT managers in gaining competitive advantage that can benefit the whole organization. The home pages and the community of the ICT Standard are part of the international ICT Standard Forum community. By registering at ictstandard.org, you become a member of the international community. The ICT Standard Forum arranges community events as well. The goal is to boost networking among persons responsible for ICT management and sharing best practices. Background and Purpose for Developing the ICT Standard The purpose of a company is to create profit for shareholders and value for customers. ICT supports these objectives. Investments and resources used for implementation and management of ICT vary according to company size, but all organizations have one common objective: ICT management must be well-governed, authorized by company management, and it must produce results as agreed upon with the Business. From the viewpoint of a company’s financials, ICT represents a growing cost item. Often, however, business development using ICT is the most efficient way to increase productivity, create new business opportunities and achieve long-term savings. Thus ICT management requires professionals with good business skills. All ICT tasks must be effective and aligned with the company strategy. ICT management must understand the requirements business sets for ICT tasks. Optimally, ICT management together with the Business has the ability to combine and harmonize business processes. The field of ICT has lacked well-defined and uniform management models. Most established models - for example ITIL, COBIT, PMBOK, and PRINCE2 - have been developed for specific purposes and professions, such as auditing, service management and project management. As a result the models are too detailed and complicated for general ICT management. ICT Standard for Management takes an alternative approach. It considers ICT management as part of general management. As such, the ICT Standard applies very well to business-driven ICT management. The ICT Standard is comprehensive but simple, making use of detailed methods already available from other ICT models and standards. This assumption has kept ICT Standard straightforward and easy to adopt for business management as well. The ICT Standard for Management combines business-driven ICT management with international management models. Challenges faced by corporate ICT management have influenced and guided the development of the ICT Standard. The identified challenges are: • Corporate management finds it difficult to grasp the entire ICT landscape and to understand what ICT and ICT management is all about. • ICT professionals unnecessarily mystify ICT and ICT management, presenting them as complex issues requiring deep and detailed ICT knowledge. • There are no unified models for business and ICT cooperation, decision-making and responsibility sharing. ICT management is not perceived as a strategic asset and consequently is not managed as a strategic function. The list above emphasizes the need and demand for formalized, well-governed and effective ICT management. The ICT Standard was developed with these challenges in mind, and this guidebook provides the solution. The Cornerstone of Hands-on ICT Management The ICT Standard is business-driven and considers ICT management as a part of general management. The standard is, however, based on detailed and active research and application of international ICT management standards, their content and core principles. The ICT Standard strives to be a model specifically applicable to ICT management. ICT Standard fundamentals for versatility and broad applicability include: • A genuinely hands-on perspective to ICT management. • Applicable regardless of the size and nature of company’s ICT operations. • Complete solution, including both the model and supporting tools and methods. Experience has shown that ICT standards serve as a strong foundation for ICT organizations, whether they are internal or fully outsourced, local or global, or any combination thereof. As an example, internal ICT organizations focus their resourcing on service production. Such resourcing does not accommodate the changing needs of the Business and, regarding demand, often leads to over- or under-resourced services. Moreover, resourcing frequently involves skill-related challenges, which in particular increase the pressure to outsource the service production. Still, ICT management tasks must be identified and performed in a formalized manner, regardless of the degree of outsourcing. As the degree of outsourcing increases, the focus changes to sourcing as well as planning and management of operations. In this situation all the functions of the ICT Standard remain, yet the roles, needed competencies and responsibilities change. The ICT Standard is a brilliant tool to understand and plan these kinds of changes. The ICT Standard is industry-independent and scales well to companies with net sales from millions to billions. In addition, the ICT Standard improves cooperation between companies and their ICT service providers by defining roles and providing a formalized model of operation. ICT’s Role in the Company ICT management has two main roles. On one hand, business expects ICT management to develop distinctive solutions, which improve competitiveness and support company goals in the best possible way. On the other hand, business expects ICT management to purchase standardized services in the most cost-effective manner. ICT management consolidates demand and supply. To serve as an enabler of corporate business strategy and to bring added value to the company, ICT management must actively help and challenge the Business to identify its needs and to find the best possible solutions. This helps ICT to develop in the right direction. In essence, this is about finding a balance between the demands of the Business and the supply of ICT. ICT management must also inform the Business of the new opportunities arising from the new possibilities in information technologies and information systems. The main goals of ICT management are: • Ensure business continuity with the help of an appropriate service and system architecture. • Improve the profitability and cost-efficiency of the company through automation and effective utilization of information. • Enable business growth through scalable solutions. • Coordinate and resource ICT development effectively. • Ensure quality of ICT services. Overview The ICT Standard describes the entire ICT management area - it is not a representation of the ICT organization. Whether outsourced or internally provided, the ICT management of any organization is responsible for the same tasks. The five streams of the ICT Standard and their respective functions are presented in figure below. The ICT Standard describes the management and the structure of a company’s ICT in four distinct streams (horizontal axis), connected by a common stream (vertical axis). The streams are: • Business Alignment (common stream) • Strategy and Governance • Sourcing and Vendor Relationships • Project Management • Service Management Management streams and functions. The order of the horizontal streams describes top-down transition from strategic long-term planning towards daily operational activities. Similarly, the number of resources increases from top to bottom. When deploying the ICT Standard the same top-down approach applies in most cases. The vertical Business Alignment stream connects all streams. Business Alignment presents the practical ways of implementing cooperation between the Business and ICT management. It also ensures that ICT management supports the needs of the Business. Business Alignment steers the goals and operation of the other streams. ICT Standard – Management streams and functions. echnologically speaking, Myanmar has had it rough. With a history of human rights violations and a military-controlled government, access to technology has been incredibly limited. In the last few years, however, the military has been easing restrictions and for the first time the government is drafting a country-wide ICT policy, building a foundation for the technology sector to grow. With new GSM licenses awarded and a palpable air of excitement around investment potential the country, by many accounts, is a dam ready to burst. But before we’re blinded by the hype, we need to ground ourselves in reality. The country still sits atop a number of divides, socially, politically and technologically. Access to mobile phones, computers and the Internet is drastically limited. Rule of law, the role of the military, corruption, property rights, social tolerance are among the very real challenges facing Myanmar’s leaders. We’ll look at the role of ICTs in framing the discussion and supporting solutions. Our lead discussant is Pwint Htun, a Burmese-American consultant with the World Bank. With a background in telecommunications industry, she is currently focused on fostering mobile financial services in Myanmar and lead us in a discussion seeking answers to these questions: • How can ICTs help address the urban / rural divide? • How can ICTs support healthcare, education and other issues in rural areas? • What opportunities are forming around the recently identified GSM-license recipients? What other kinds of business opportunities exist? • How do we build a new generation of developers in the shortest timeframe possible? • What can we learn from other countries in how they’ve used ICT? • How can the South-East Asian nations’ ASEAN community in general model the EU for economic development leveraging ICT? • What can we learn from Africa’s mobile innovation revolution? • The Future of ICTs in Myanmar • • Myanmar has a checkered past with technology. The country has been under military control since 1962 and has been cited with numerous human rights violations. Trade and other sanctions have made inclusion in the digital revolution challenging, if not impossible, as many of the technologies and markets supporting digital entrepreneurship are simply not available to the general public. Military and government-controlled mobile networks produce SIM cards recently costing upwards of US$2,000 (this number has recently been falling to $250) and digital marketplaces like the Apple and Android app stores are still unavailable due to trade sanctions. The 24th most populated country in the world lags with just 3% mobile and 2% facebook penetration. Even daily newspapers are off limits to the private sector, run instead by the state. • In the past few years, however, this has been easing. The military has been relinquishing control over the government, international relations are improving and doors are starting to open across every sector of the economy. This could prove extremely important for ICT as sanctions are expected to ease, licenses for cellular network operators are about to be issued, new ICT laws are being drafted and the international community is engaging more and more with the Myanmar government and local businesses. • At Inveneo we specialize in delivering technology solutions in emerging and underserved areas. Haiti, Kenya, Micronesia… These all fit descriptions you’re familiar with: a developing rural market with little access to social or economic resources. We’re very familiar with the deployment of technology and the patterns that follow surrounding adoption, market growth and sustainability. Connectivity starts as a trickle and quickly grows into a stable stream with demand increasing year over year. • Myanmar, on the other hand, is a dam about to burst. • The government has been freed to define ICT policy and an educated IT sector already exists. Local entrepreneurs are eager to catch up with their neighbors so it’s no surprise that this year’s Myanmar’s BarCamp is the largest in the world with everything from Unicode to Ubuntu – from fundamental Burmese language support to the latest in open source – on the table. This rare combination of eager talent, economic potential and budding support at almost every level is unheard of in most underserved areas, boasting huge immediate potential and a long runway for growth. • “The government is drafting ICT policy that will define how cellular networks and ISPs will function,” said Summer. “Everyone is waiting on this because it will decide where the market will go and what opportunities will be available.” • Even without a solid foundation for ICT development, entrepreneurship is rampant. One app developer Summer met built a business around iPhone app deployment without using the Apple App Store or the Internet. The service is USB-based and tracks the number of uploads to the account-holder’s phone, distributes apps at outlets across the country, collects and pays licensing fees – all offline. Examples like this highlight the country’s potential and beg the question: if an App Store business that works without the internet can thrive, what will we see when the floodgates of real connectivity are opened? • “This is probably where you’ll see a lot of other organizations going in,” said Summer. “There’s a large untapped market, really quite like thailand, that’s just now opening up.” • Summer’s goal in attending the BarCamp was primarily to understand the status of the ICT sector and the current environment for ICT4D and development in general. Inveneo’s focus is on bringing technology to underserved populations, and the solutions being developed in Myanmar may provide useful in other areas. It’s also just incredibly interesting to watch a country figure out ICT policy from the ground up. • “It’s important to understand what government and investments will be focused on, so you can look at what the next set of factors in the sector will be. There are even rumors of fibre being brought in,” said Summer. “But the big questions are all around accessibility and the general public.” Knowledge, skills and attributes An ICT business manager needs: • an interest in information technology and telecommunications Working conditions ICT business managers work mostly in an office environment, but may also be required to work in server rooms or other spaces that house large quantities of information technology or telecommunications hardware. These spaces generally need to be cool and dry. ICT business managers usually work regular business hours but may be required to work longer hours at times. They may be required to travel to visit organisations or business locations that are involved in the project they are managing. They also need to be able to provide training sessions, and workshops and presentations and attend meetings. • • the ability to lead and motivate • problem-solving skills • excellent written and presentation skills • the ability to work to deadlines. Education and training/entrance requirements To work in the information technology industry, you usually need to complete a bachelor degree in information technology or computer science. There are a wide range of degree courses available from all Western Australian universities in a range of relevant areas, including Information Technology, Computer Science, Internetworking and Security, Networking Science and Science Communication. You usually need to gain your WACE at Stages 2 and 3 for entry into these courses. Contact your preferred university for further details. Your employment prospects may also be strengthened if you complete a course in project management. A range of qualifications are available in project management, including the Certificate IV and Diploma of Project Management as well as graduate certificates, graduate diplomas and a range of short courses. These qualifications are offered at a range of universities and Registered Training Organisations (RTO). The Australian Institute of Project Managers (AIPM) has endorsed several courses in project management, ranging from short courses to masters degrees. Check the Australian Institute of Project Management website for further details. • ICT business managers plan, organise and direct computer and telecommunications technology-based projects for a range of organisations and businesses. They liaise with other managers to decide on the project plan, ensure that the right equipment and personnel are available and used for the project, schedule tasks, and oversee them from implementation to completion. ICT business managers working in the ICT industry ensure that project goals such as those referring to programming, data generation and network management are met. They also ensure that group and individual performance criteria are met to facilitate the completion of projects on time and within budgetary requirements. Political changes in Myanmar and ICT (Ex-)Soldiers in Parliament It is not just the NLD that is in need of training and young blood, however. At a bustling newsroom of the DVB Multimedia Group in Rangoon, Toe Zaw Latt wonders if his news organization can afford to move all its operations to Burma. “We pay very serious attention on what the new Broadcasting Law will look like,” said the DVB’s Rangoon bureau chief. “Look at the parliament. I doubt many of the parliamentarians know about specific media law, to be frank. They are former soldiers.” Burma’s Constitution reserves a quarter of seats in Parliament for the military, while the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) comprises many former junta leader and retains close ties with the country’s powerful military. In exile, DVB was known as the Democratic Voice of Burma. It had to change its name when it returned home last year. But Toe Zaw Latt said DVB is keeping its Chiang Mai office partly because of legal uncertainty. He said the lawmakers’ lack of knowledge of technology and media freedom is a key concern when the drafting of a new Broadcasting Law. “If there’s a law exerting some control over [a TV/radio station’s] content, we have to think about it. Because for example in your content, how many percentage do you have to cover this and that [issue]?” he said. Toe Zaw Latt said moving DVB operations to Burma could also expose the broadcaster to technological errors and controls. “What if something goes wrong and the pictures on television do not come out? People don’t know the reason behind it,” he added. Nay Phone Latt’s MIDO tries to address the concerns about a lack of knowledge and initiative on ICT and media freedoms among lawmakers and officials by lobbying and holding training workshops in Naypyidaw. And MIDO’s activities don’t end there. “We try to make the connection between the government sector and ICT-related NGOs,” Nay Phone Latt said, adding, “Before 2015, we will try to push some of the IT guys to run for Parliament. … [MPs] want to make the laws and regulations for the ICT sector, but if they do not have enough knowledge, they can’t do that.” Cybercrime Law Still Needed Yet while he promotes free speech and the rights of Internet users, Nay Phone Latt believes in the need to regulate the Web. He is pushing for the passage of a cybercrime law to address hacking, phishing, and online theft. “Cybercrimes will increase in the near future and if somebody committed the cybercrime, there will be victims,” he said. “There are so many people who are online but when they go to the police station, the police will say they don’t know about ICT and they cannot take responsibility. We need a cyber law and cyber police who are very skillful in ICT.” Zaw Ye Naung, broadcast and online media editor of Eleven Media Group, supports the move. He said the Eleven Media website, one of the most popular news sites in Burma, has been hacked at least four times in the past two years. In the past, cyber-attacks were blamed on the state. But now Zaw Ye Naung said he has no idea who has been targeting Eleven Media’s site and Facebook page, with the IPs traced to places as diverse as Hong Kong, the United States, China, and Russia. In late August, The Irrawaddy magazine reported that the so-called Blink Hacker Group attacked Burma’s official Southeast Asian (SEA) Games website, as well as that of Eleven Media, the Iron Cross rock band, Myanmar Gamers, Yatanarpon Teleport, Red Link, and the web store of the Irrawaddy news agency. “What if they hack a payment system?” asked Zaw Ye Naung. “We’re not a payment website, just a news website, but if we were, what do you have to show to your customers? How can we sue the person? Who is he?” On to Self-Regulation But he and other journalists are against government proposals to regulate Facebook to prevent the spread of hate speech amid violence pitting Buddhists against Muslims, and clashes between the military and ethnic groups. Deputy Information Minister Ye Htut said in July, “Our department is willing to develop regulations and public service media training for that. The government has no intention of blocking people, but we are ready to stop people who are diverting from the law.” Nay Phone Latt said he does not like government regulation either. “I want to have the regulation by the people,” he said. “We regulate ourselves. We will check and balance our own society. We will make our own regulation, like a self-regulation system. That is the solution. If we can regulate ourselves, the government need not regulate us.” He paused, then continued: “Actually, the long-term solution is in the education system. If we can put the ICT sector in the curriculum, every student will know about the nature of the ICT and they will know how they can use ICT effectively and for their own development and for society’s development.” Nay Phone Latt knows he has his work cut out for him. As it is, the poor infrastructure and various sectors’ lack of awareness and capacity have limited the Internet into being just a supplement to direct lobbying for now. He and other free speech activists are also aware that like the changes in Burmese cyberspace, the country’s democratic transition is still premature. So even now that he was already running late, he said he would still be taking that bus ride to Naypyidaw. “I worry for the future,” said Nay Phone Latt. “But at the same time, we try to cooperate with the government and the military and the solution is how we can persuade everybody: the hardliners, the military, everybody. The destiny of our country is how we can persuade them to go forward in the democratic society.”
Posted on: Sun, 17 Nov 2013 10:45:33 +0000
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