Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 1
What Is ODP About?
Marcus Steinberg was a self-made man, and he had built his business on
his ability to select a strong team. As he walked into the executive meeting
room, he wished that events had not moved quite so quickly, but he would
be a fool not to take advantage of the current state of the economy. He had
snapped up the PhoneMob, a promising startup with a cash flow problem and
a serious need to automate its working methods. Their business, providing
a complete facilities management package to mobile phone owners, was close
enough in concept to his current camera rescue empire for there to be some
real opportunities for synergy, but PhoneMob would need sorting out first.
Still, this acquisition would give him the platform he needed to make a real
impact as the recovery kicked in.
Marcus knew the IT team he was about to address was technically solid,
but he had begun to think that they needed a new approach. Recent projects
seemed to have taken longer than expected, with too many last-minute snags
and small misunderstandings. He liked a well-oiled machine, and their current
performance grated. He had decided to call in some favours and had, as a
result, been introduced to Alex Wren, a consulting enterprise architect whose
new approach was, he had been told, finding favour in all the right places.
\Good, you're all here." He looked round the room and noticed his people
had grouped themselves, as usual, into the primarily technical and the pri-
marily business oriented. He also noticed the empty seats on either side of
Wren; there was a job to be done there in getting Wren accepted. \You all
know we have a big job on our hands in bringing the PhoneMob up to date,
and I want to make this happen fast and eciently. We need the relaunched
organization to make a mark as a modern outfit, without losing its existing
customers."
\I know you already have a lot on your plate, and it would be unfair to
saddle any of you with the responsibility for coordinating this," | he wished
this was his real reason | \so I have asked Alex Wren here to join us and help
pull things together." He could see from their faces that some of the business
team would happily have done without this help. Eleanor Hewish, his volatile
but ambitious CIO was staring directly at him, while the fastidious compliance
ocer, Ivor Davies, was looking critically at Wren, who still seemed relaxed
and confident. The technical side seemed less threatened. Claire Moss, the
lead system analyst, was still studying her papers, while Trevor Clark, the
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