City News

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are the hub around which virtually every modern business process revolves. As a result there is dramatic growth in demand for specialists able to advise businesses how to achieve greatest efficiency from their IT infrastructure.

Information technology is no longer measured just by its efficiency and quality of service, but by its contribution to a company’s financial goals. To help businesses of every size and type maximise the value of rapidly converging technologies, US computer-giant HP has introduced its OpenView concept.

This approach enables company owners and managers to view their activities and services from the customer’s perspective and can dramatically advance the efficiency and profitability of the business. OpenView helps companies understand the impact IT resource problems can have on their business and guides them to a solution before customer relations and profitability are harmed.

However, the OpenView approach requires trained analysts. Following a highly successful pilot programme, HP has chosen UCE Birmingham’s Technology Innovation Centre (TIC) to be its Midlands partner-academy. TIC will offer training to selected students who will graduate with ready skills to help OpenView clients.

TIC Centre Manager for electronics and software, Parmjit Chima, says: “Every business process needs an IT-core and engineering activity an IT-wrapper to make it work. Companies need technologists able to analyse their needs and apply OpenView effectively, and also ensure the knowledge is shared throughout the organisation. Such specialists are scarce. We are delighted to become HP academy partners to produce graduates with the necessary expertise.”

TIC’s training partner in the new academy is the UK-subsidiary of California-based Bell Microproducts - a leading global distributor of high-technology products, solutions and services to industry and commerce. A well-established HP OpenView support organisation in UK, Bell Microproducts (Europe) will participate with TIC in delivering the intensive seven-week technical and consultative-based OpenView training to selected TIC students.

Director of Partner Services of Bell Microproducts (Europe), Antony Young says:
“I was very impressed by both the facilities and students at UCE Birmingham’s TIC and look forward to working with them through the Technical Academy programme.”

Crucially OpenView leads companies into HP’s Adaptive Enterprise approach which ingrains ‘change’ thinking into a business’s IT resources. This simplifies and standardises the organisation’s information technology to integrate all business and IT processes, making them flexible and easy-to-update. It significantly increases the value of IT to the enterprise, harmonising its business processes. Continuous improvement becomes intrinsic to company culture and staff accept change as ‘natural progression’.

HP OpenView plays a key role in simplifying the way IT can automate processes and align usage and infrastructure with company priorities. HP claims OpenView to be ‘the most complete multi-platform management software suite’ able to account for each enterprise’s specific needs.

Parmjit Chima comments: “The new TIC academy will produce HP OpenView analysts able to help client companies evaluate their IT maturity. Graduates will be enabled to guide clients as to how to pursue IT simplification and standardisation. Bell Microproducts (Europe)’s team of dedicated professionals have unrivalled IT-expertise and may be keen to scoop up the cream of TIC’s OpenView course-graduates.”

Technical Academy Manager for Bell Microproducts (Europe), Georgina Leadbeater, comments: “We have an excellent working relationship with TIC staff and are delighted with the calibre of students we meet there. It is anticipated that we, or our Business Partners, will look to recruit more TIC graduates in 2007.”

Anyone interested in studying full or part-time computer and IT courses at TIC, at undergraduate, postgraduate, professional development or specialist academy level, should phone 0121 331 6400 or e-mail: course.enquiries@tic.ac.uk.