Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Pink Elephant CEO Ranked 14th In Top 100 Canadian Female Entrepreneurs
BURLINGTON, ON – October 31, 2007 – Pink Elephant announced today that Fatima Cabral, CEO, was named one of Canada’s most successful business owners in PROFIT magazine’s W100 ranking of Canada’s Top Women Entrepreneurs. Ms. Cabral, who has appeared consecutively on the W100 since 2001, was listed in the 14th spot based on the annual revenue of 100 female owned and operated firms.
“This achievement serves as a testament to the commitment of our people,” says Ms. Cabral. “Our success is due to superior customer service, strong marketing and sales, and great employees. As a team we strive for continuous growth and improvement, and acknowledgements like this confirm that we are on the right track. We are very proud to be recognized.”
Pink Elephant continued to demonstrate strong revenue growth last year. Notable achievements for the company included the 11th Annual International IT Service Management Conference and Exhibition that attracted a record number of IT professionals from all over the world. Further, Pink Elephant won several large education and consulting contracts to help customers in the financial services and utilities industries improve IT operations and service delivery through the implementation of best practices.
The complete W100 rankings are posted online at PROFITguide.com.
About PROFIT Magazine
PROFIT: Your Guide to Business Success, offers news, strategies, tips, interviews and other resources to entrepreneurs leading Canada’s fastest-growing companies. Each year PROFIT – which currently reaches more than 400,000 readers nationally – hosts a number of events that bring together business leaders in the fast-growth segment and champions the interests of those leaders. PROFIT was founded in April 1982 as Canada’s first magazine geared to entrepreneurs. Visit PROFITguide.com.
ITIL® is a Registered Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce in the United Kingdom and other countries.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Pink Elephant Expands Distribution Of Services Through Exclusive Partnership With Auldhouse
TORONTO, ON – October 26, 2007 – Pink Elephant, the world leader in IT Service Management (ITSM) education and consulting, announced today that it has expanded its partnership with Auldhouse Computer Training. Through the partnership, Auldhouse will now deliver Pink Elephant’s services to customers in Australia, as well as New Zealand, beginning December 1, 2007.
According to Pink Elephant’s CEO, Fatima Cabral, the partnership will not only connect two of the region’s strongest IT services brands, but it will also enhance Pink Elephant’s commitment to customers in the region. “Both Pink Elephant and Auldhouse are recognized as quality education and consulting providers, so this initiative will only build upon that position”, she says. “More important to the marketplace though, is expansion of services. This agreement will provide customers with a more comprehensive portfolio of education, delivered more frequently and in more locations. All-in-all, this development provides benefits for everyone.”
The combined Pink Elephant/Auldhouse portfolio contains a wide range of ITSM education in all three levels of certification – Foundation, Practitioner and Management. This includes ITIL® V3 Foundations, the V2-V3 Foundations Bridging Course and the V2-V3 Service Manager Bridging Course. Additionally, customers can choose from a number of courses that specifically support the ITIL processes.
Cabral says, “After working successfully with Auldhouse in New Zealand for the past two years, we’re very excited to be expanding our arrangement to include Australia. Customers in New Zealand have already experienced how Auldhouse’s team has superbly matched Pink’s high standards. Now our Australian customers can expect the same levels of service!”
About Pink Elephant
Pink Elephant is the world leader in IT management best practices, offering conferences, education and consulting services to public and private businesses globally. The company specializes in improving the quality of IT services through the application of recognized frameworks, including the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL). Pink Elephant has been involved in the ITIL project since its inception in 1987, and was selected as an international expert to contribute to the ITIL V3 project – as authors of V3’s Continual Service Improvement book and through representation on the international exam panel.
About Auldhouse Computer Training
Auldhouse Computer Training is the premier IT training partner for many of New Zealand’s major companies and government departments and delivers over 100 courses from their three training centers in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
ATLAS Configuration Management Demonstration
Listen, while a Pink Elephant consultant will take you through a scenario that illustrates steps for implementing Change Management while referencing ATLAS.
This podcast will cover four major points:
- The challenge
- Four Step Improvement Model
- ATLAS
- Bringing them both together
Take advantage of this podcast if you are interested or in the process of implementing Change Management in your organization. View slides while listening to Pink Elephant’s consultant to maximize your learning experience.
Approximate Running Time: 16.0 minutes
Please Note: This is a .MOV file and is best viewed with QuickTime.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Sussex HIS & Pink Elephant Form ITSM Training Alliance
Reading, UK – October 24, 2007 - Today, Sussex Health Informatics Service, a National Health Service (NHS) organisation, announced an IT Service Management training Alliance with Pink Elephant, the world’s leading specialists in IT Service Management Education and Consulting.
NHS organisations in Sussex all receive their Information Technology (IT) support from the Sussex Health Informatics Service (HIS). This shared service was established in July 2004 primarily to facilitate the implementation of the National Programme for IT (NPfIT).
The Sussex ITSM Consortium is a unique model whereby Sussex HIS and Pink Elephant offer ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) courses to any organisation in the region of Sussex and the surrounding areas.
Alan McCarthy, Director, Pink Elephant, commented, “Sussex HIS has a significant requirement for ITIL training, but also had the vision to identify that there are a number of other organisations in the South of England with the same requirement. Sussex HIS also have a very progressive Training Department who have the ability to organise venues throughout the region”.
Pink Elephant were approached for an innovative training solution and proposed the idea of forming the Sussex ITSM Consortium. McCarthy continues, “First and foremost Sussex HIS need high quality, cost effective ITSM training for their staff. The Consortium idea developed through, firstly finding a solution for Sussex HIS, but also to open up Sussex HIS’s ITSM training to other organisations in the region. This aligns perfectly with the concept of joined up services. We see it as a Win, Win, Win situation: Sussex HIS get their high quality, cost effective ITSM training, other organisations in the region get access to the same, and Pink Elephant can run a regular, well supported schedule of courses in the South East of England.” McCarthy finishes off by saying that this model is totally portable and can be offered to other progressive organisations in other regions throughout the country.
Marion Pavitt, Operational ITIL Manager for Sussex HIS comments, “We went out to the market looking for an innovative and imaginative approach to providing high quality, cost effective training for our workforce. What we have achieved here is a way to use our rich resources to provide a flexible solution to ITIL training for us and our neighbours, both public and commercial sector alike.”
Sussex HIS and Pink Elephant have scheduled a series of ITIL V3 Overviews, and ITIL v3 Foundation courses which began delivery in September 2007.
For further information, please contact:
Caroline Wyatt
Marketing & Services Manager
Pink Elephant EMEA
Phone: + 44 (0) 118 903 6822
E-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Friday, October 19, 2007
ATLAS Change Management Demonstration
Listen, while a Pink Elephant consultant will take you through a scenario that illustrates steps for implementing Change Management while referencing ATLAS.
This podcast will cover four major points:
- The challenge
- Four Step Improvement Model
- ATLAS
- Bringing them both together
Take advantage of this podcast if you are interested or in the process of implementing Change Management in your organization. View slides while listening to Pink Elephant’s consultant to maximize your learning experience.
Approximate Running Time: 14.0 minutes
Please Note: This is a .MOV file and is best viewed with QuickTime.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Pink Elephant’s ITIL V3 Foundations Participants Exceed Industry Pass Rate By 8%
TORONTO, ON – October 18, 2007 – Pink Elephant today announced that since launching ITIL V3 Foundations on May 30, 2007, the company has taken over 300 IT professionals through the course and 92% passed the examination leading to the Foundation Certificate In IT Service Management, compared to the global industry average of 84%.
The data is based on information supplied by the two independent examination institutes (EXIN and ISEB) that have marked the majority of the ITIL exams and awarded the certifications.
A similar trend is apparent for Pink Elephant’s other V2-based courses, such as ITIL Essentials and Service Manager. For example, 13% more ITIL Service Manager participants receiving their education through Pink Elephant pass the two rigorous exams.
Learning From Industry Leaders
“Pink Elephant’s instructors are highly experienced ITIL-certified members of the company’s consulting team, and they possess the industry’s deepest knowledge on how to lead a successful implementation project,” says Pink Elephant President David Ratcliffe. “This knowledge is a direct result of our vendor neutrality – as well as many years of experience helping many organizations understand the complexities and benefits of process improvement.”
Exploring V3 Education
ITIL V3 Foundations is suitable for anyone working in IT services requiring more information about the ITIL best practice framework, which was recently updated to reconfigure all of the V2 processes, plus several additional best practice concepts, across a service lifecycle model.
View comments from some of our participants in the very first ITIL V3 Foundations course.
Those already V2 certified may also wish to upgrade their knowledge with the three-day V3 Foundations course. Or, for a faster, more condensed overview of V3, and to receive the necessary certificate to proceed into the Intermediate level of V3 certification, Pink Elephant offers the one-day V2-V3 Foundations Bridging Course.
At the Service Manager level, anyone holding a pre-V3 Management level certification can register for the five-day V2-V3 Service Manager Bridging Course and receive the most essential information on V3 from a more advanced perspective. This bridging course prepares participants for the examination leading to the new ITIL Diploma, which is awarded upon accumulating 22 credits under the V3 certification scheme.
For more information about Pink Elephant’s education offerings and contribution to the ITIL V3 project, please visit http://www.pinkelephant.com or call 1-888-273-7465.
World’s Largest V2-V3 Foundations Bridging Course Planned In Partnership With itSMF Ottawa
100+ IT practitioners will be V3 certified in one day
BURLINGTON, ON – October 18, 2007 – Pink Elephant today announced it will be delivering the new V2-V3 Foundations Bridging Course on November 9, 2007 to over 100 IT practitioners in one sitting – a world record-setting event that will be held in conjunction with the IT Service Management Forum (itSMF) Regional Conference taking place in Ottawa, Canada.
Designed to help those who hold a V2 Foundations certificate upgrade their ITIL knowledge and gain the proper certification to progress into more advanced V3 education, the V2-V3 Foundations Bridging Course provides a very intense and focused overview of the new and modified topics in ITIL V3.
View course description for more details on the learning objectives, exam requirements, prerequisites and more.
“With a large proportion of its workforce involved in IT, Ottawa is becoming a hotbed for ITIL best practices,” says Pink Elephant President David Ratcliffe. “What also makes the nation’s capital an obvious target for us to deliver education is that government is one of the top three verticals where ITIL adoption is the most prevalent.”
The regular course fee is $895 CDN; however Pink Elephant is offering special discounts to attendees of itSMF Ottawa’s regional conference, taking place November 8, 2007. itSMF members pay only $475 and non-members pay $555. itSMF members not attending the conference can also take advantage of a special course rate of $525.
To register for the course and join over 100 other IT professionals at this exciting ‘milestone’ educational opportunity, please contact Pink Elephant at 1-888-273-7465. For a listing of all other course dates and locations worldwide, visit www.pinkelephant.com. Please note – the special discounts apply only to the Ottawa course on November 9.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
IT Service Management For 2008 Coming To Beijing & Shanghai
TORONTO, ON – October 17, 2007 – Pink Elephant today announced two educational events that will be presented in China to raise awareness of current IT Service Management trends and issues that are shaping the global IT industry.
IT Service Management for 2008 will take place November 13 in Beijing and November 15, 2007 in Shanghai, and is geared to CIOs and IT directors/managers interested in building and managing a business-focused IT organization, as well as qualified media representatives.
The half-day events will discuss how best practice frameworks and standards such as the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL®), COBIT® and ISO/IEC 20000 are helping enterprises of all sizes and industries set the right controls and quality parameters in IT to meet internal business requirements and tackle external pressures, such as increased competition and legislative compliance.
View schedule-at-a-glance
IT Service Management for 2008 precedes Pink Elephant’s plans for the 1st Annual IT Service Management Symposium in China in 2008, a larger two-day program consisting of multiple tracks and sessions that will provide deeper exploration of the information covered at the two November events.
View more information on the 1st Annual ITSM Conference
“These landmark events will feature the same unbiased, vendor-neutral ITSM knowledge, in-depth analysis and thought leadership that Pink Elephant has become known for the world over,” says Pink Elephant President David Ratcliffe, who is also a featured presenter.
There is no charge to attend the IT Service Management for 2008 events. For more information or to register, please call (603) 2117 5030 (Kuala Lumpur) / (65) 6734 2744 (Singapore) / 1 800 96 8197 (Hong Kong) or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Friday, October 12, 2007
Who Is On Your CAB?
Many companies struggle with the concept of who should be on the Change Advisory Board. There are several factors that have to be considered regarding the makeup of your Change Advisory Board (CAB). Primary questions that need to be answered are what is the size of your company and the complexity of the IT infrastructure? Are you a globally disbursed company or concentrated in a single country? Do you have many different platforms or just a few? The answers to these questions will determine whether a single CAB will suffice or if multiple CABs are necessary. But it really doesn’t matter if you will have one or many CABs. They will all have similar characteristics.
Approximate Running Time: 8.0 minutes
Friday, October 05, 2007
ITIL V3 Overview For IT Executives
Since the release of ITIL V3 in June 2007, organizations have been hearing from many sources, including consultants, tool vendors and the authors themselves, on how ITIL V3 presents a fresh, new perspective towards developing and delivering IT services.
The information presented has mostly been a high-level view; however, many organizations, and particularly IT executives of those organizations, have been asking for a more specific view of V3 that answers questions about the contrast between V2 and V3, and the impact of V3 on their training plans.
In this video PinkPodcast, Executive Consultant Jack Probst will get down to the most essential ITIL V3 information for senior IT managers and directors, including:
• A brief look at ITIL and the new lifecycle approach
• A review of each process and function in V3, allowing you to understand where the V2 processes fit in and what is new
• The V3 certification process and how it may affect the education paths for your staff
• Changes in service management philosophy from V2 to V3
As an organization deeply connected to ITIL’s history and directly involved in its future growth, Pink Elephant remains committed to keeping you informed of what the changes to ITIL will mean to you.
Approximate Running Time: 24.0 minutes
Please Note: This is a 43 MB .MOV file and is best viewed using Quicktime.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Pink Elephant’s Jack Probst & The itSMF Academic Subcommittee Receive Major Industry Award
TORONTO, ON – October 1, 2007 – Pink Elephant today announced that the IT Service Management Forum (itSMF) Academic Subcommittee, including IT Management Consultant Jack Probst, was recognized with the 2007 Industry Knowledge Contribution Award.
The award recognizes outstanding examples of intellectual capital that encourage the adoption and practice of IT Service Management (ITSM), and positively impact the state of the art of ITSM. The subcommittee, of which Jack is co-chair, received the award during the itSMF USA’s annual conference in Charlotte, North Carolina last week (September 17-21).
The award is a reflection of the subcommittee’s year-long effort to develop a broad industry awareness of ITSM, and to instill ITSM curriculum and research at institutions of higher learning in the US, Canada, Latin America and other global regions. Among the key accomplishments to date are:
- Significant elevation and sharing of ITSM knowledge with universities, resulting in interest from over 50 schools – five schools have already begun to implement ITSM within their curriculum, including graduate level programs specializing in ITSM
- The establishment of an annual ITSM Academia Alliance conference, where universities and practitioners can collaborate on how to further expand ITSM into academia and the field – the second conference was held prior to the recent itSMF USA national conference, with 35 schools represented from four continents
“We saw a real opportunity to reach out to an underserved knowledge market,” says Probst. “I’m proud to say that we have managed to support the focus and work of numerous universities as they explore ITSM as a curriculum agenda; most importantly, we have exposed many aspiring IT professionals to the burgeoning field of ITSM, where there are immensely rewarding career possibilities.”
The itSMF is a worldwide consortium of IT professionals who share a collective interest in IT management best practices and specifically, the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL®). Pink Elephant is a co-founder of the organization; Jack Probst served as one of the founding members and as President of the mid-Ohio itSMF local interest group. He is also a certified ITIL Service Manager with over 30 years of experience in IT process development and implementation.