iPuzzlebiz Consulting Services combine technology expertise and strategy capabilities. Streamline Business Administration Processes and Online Business Optimization. At iPuzzlebiz, we believe in providing the best IT & business consulting services Worldwide. We work with you to provide the solutions you need at a price you can afford. We partner with you to improve your company's efficiency, productivity and bottom line. Serving you effectively is our top priority, Please check out our Consulting service lines. What Is Your Small Business Model? Whether you are transitioning to the cloud or advancing to the next level of outsourcing process (ITO), iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting offers practical insights that can help you make the most of your IT investment choices.    At iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting, We Provide: Quality Service To Match Your Schedule & Work On Your Budget Consulting Services for Medium and Large Enterprises Now is the time to get the best out of your IT infrastructure and investment by letting us help you how to manage service-oriented architecture (SOA) and business process management (BPM).  Let us deliver full lifecycle outsourcing advisory services including development of BPO/ITES, SOA and BPM strategies through contract negotiation and transition for information technology and/or business process outsourcing. Explore the linking of your organization's business goals with SOA strategies Identify potential pilot projects Develop a set of high level plans that can form the basis for later implementations The creation of an iPuzzlebiz Service Contract in Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO), is also a process and responsibilities primarily would include: Building the outsourcing advisory practice Developing new outsourcing advisory business opportunitiy Leading client engagements Managing project teams iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting with outsourcing advisory background (consulting and industry) provides deep subject matter expertise and manage projects within the following areas: Outsourcing strategy Business case development Vendor evaluation Governance design Service level development Benchmarking Contract negotiation Transition Contract audit Ongoing support We deliver the following consulting practices and management qualifications Full cycle of project management accountabilities Project problem diagnosis, solution development and communications Decision making, documentation, project profitability and team leadership Training programs, reviews and ongoing feedback  Consistent support to Partner's team members Continuous improvement initiatives with internal and external audits Knowledge of ISO 9001:2008 standard Let iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting help you build long–term relationships at a senior client level and work closely with the Technology and BPO Partners in exceeding your expectations while identifying and mitigating business risks associated with projects.  IT Advisory iPuzzlebiz helps you manage your IT Financial Resources through developing IT budgets for the utilization of resources in consultation with your company leadership team and/or IT Advisory Committee. We may introduce "Associate Consultants, Consultants, Senior Consultants, Managing Consultant and/or Principal Consultants as part of our team. The leaders of today's organizations need to know how to maximize value from their IT investments. IT advisory professionals should work with commercial and public sector organizations to provide independent advice on how their IT operations can support their business strategy and its execution. Identifying SOA priorities Aligning business or mission goals and SOA priorities Isolating a pilot project to demonstrate the alignment of business or mission goals and an SOA strategy approach They have to provide insights into organizational culture and help align a client's people, processes and technology. Estimating IT Project A Senior Consultant at iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting,  may help you to develop and maintain cost control budgets with independent forecast completion costs based on information technology trends specific to the  IT an/or outsourcing project that  includes : Software productivity measurement earned value IT labour rate analysis Contract  commitments Change Management Schedule impacts and material cost variances Implement IT System Strategies Fundamental implementation strategy methods dependent to each systems delivery life cycle methodology. Process has to get started  directly with business representatives to gather requirements and define  IT solutions. A Principal Consultant at iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting facilitates agreement on system strategy for projects and work with others to select the operating alternatives that form the overall operating strategy and business architecture. An organization develops a high level plan to identify its SOA priorities and plan for a set of concrete tasks regarding such issues as: Critical business goals, Relevant business processes to support, Goals (new processes as well as processes that need to be changed), Legacy assets, Technology base, Human resource base, Business case and Complementary strategic effects. We also ensure that the requirements tie back to the established customer requirements and performance goals and that the technical direction is consistent with long-term strategy. IT Project Management It is expected to analyze and interpret essential project data, including across inter related projects in programs, to determine the status of the project and actions required to address areas of concern. A Managing Consultant at iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting will try to ensure projects meet the requirements and business rule standards, policy and procedures that all necessary risk assessments and risk assessment processes are carried out at the appropriate time including Architecture Governance, Security Threat Risk Assessment, and Operational Gating. IT project management is not an easy task when it comes to planning resource capacity for project(s)/program. iPuzzlebiz works with business/technology partner's management team to assure continued feasibility of their projects as planned from a resource capacity perspective; ensuring appropriate balance of project time/cost/quality to meet promised project delivery while adhering to portfolio and standards of the client. Deploy IT Infrastructure plans Proven experience developing and implementing administrative and IT infrastructure plans to support company growth and provide guidance to partner teams and peers and meet committed project timelines and budget. A Senior Consultant will interpret tactical infrastructure plans for your telecommunications platforms, and will recommend physical and logical network topology and detailed design specifications, in different platforms (Data/IP, Access, Broadband, ETTS, GPON, Transport, Radio, and Switching). Administer IT Projects Our clients are responsible to provide administrative, operational and project related assistance. This requires having an IT team that takes pride in keeping themselves well organized, running smoothly and to be able to "think ahead" in providing requirements for the projects. You should providing Executive Administrative support to Practice Area Leaders (maintaining schedules, coordinating meetings, preparing meeting minutes, maintaining data base lists and confidential documentation, etc..) and also liaising with other staff members and assisting with project administration (project correspondence, schedules, and confidential documentation, etc..)  IT Help and Support Services Technology Partners will provide the knowledge to our clients constituencies including but not limited to application servers, servers, databases, middleware, web transactions, virtual resources, cloud services, and more,  delivering  timely assistance to clients for second level work orders assigned from the IT Help Desk. Client should understand the defined Service Level Agreements (SLAs), the various user populations and the impact of support issues to help determine the prioritization in relation to existing workloads. Insights into IT Advisory IT Advisory Services help companies (any human-capital-intensive organization) leverage change. iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting can help organizations create business processes and systems that can enhance performance and grow sustainable value.  Our Partner's transaction and restructuring practices help companies grow and enhance shareholder value by providing strategic advice on major transactions. IT advisory services will help management to be protected against critical business risks by building resilience into the organization's systems and processes. Some practices in IT Advisory, provides a suite of services to help clients enhance their platform for success at every stage of the business cycle. An insight into a management consulting group reveals that they are consists of: IT Advisory Business Effectiveness People and Change Finance Management Advisory Enterprise Architecture Professional Services Professional services along with the core advisory skills such as business process analysis, financial analysis, performance assessment, project management and risk assessment,  could be categorized in a focused competency groups, such as : Finance, Customer, Supply Chain, IT Advisory, People & Organization, Program Management or Strategic Direction, etc.. Staffing firms IT  staff works on a wide variety of IT advisory engagement including: Develop business unit strategies for technology divisions Analyze the performance of IT functions Review sourcing alternatives including outsourcing and off-shoring Assess and design governance and delivery frameworks  Complete due diligence on strategic and private equity acquisitions  Review new and existing systems in terms of meeting business needs, adequacy of IS processes, security, operational considerations, conversion issues and project management IT Staff Augmentation iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting helps you design  IT Staff Augmentation Contracts. We may introduce "Associate Consultants, Consultants, Senior Consultants, Managing Consultant and/or Principal Consultants as part of our team. This effort will support a strategic initiative aimed at reducing costs, improving productivity and processes, increasing competition, and providing opportunities for all suppliers, regardless of size and type. This contract is b2b that can be used by executive and cooperative purchasing agencies to procure high-quality information technology (IT) time and materials (T&M) resources with speed and accuracy. For example, There are different unique job titles that incorporate a broad range of experience levels and technologies. Each job title has a  corresponding fixed hourly rate based on current market rates for your specific geographic location. The speed and efficiency of the IT Staff Augmentation contract assures your organization find qualified candidates. Independent Contractors As an independent contractor working with iPuzzlebiz, you have the freedom to run your own corporate or agency. iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting also considers both a per month employment relationship or an independent contractor/consultant (Associate Consultant, Consultant, Senior Consultant, Managing Consultant, Principal Consultant).  Project completion bonuses may apply based on the contractor status, and overall project schedule status. At iPuzzlebiz, there are business opportunities as an independent contractors. Payment is on a per-job basis. We do not provide any other company or employee benefits. Sometimes daily travel within the operating areas would be required and applicants should have a suitable vehicle and relevant insurances. iPuzzlebiz will provide relevant documentation for identification purposes. Independent Consultants iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting may engage various SME's (Solution Architects, Solution Managers, Delivery consultants, Partners, Resource Managers and Independent consultants including Associate Consultant, Consultant, Senior Consultant, Managing Consultant and Principal Consultant to validate the scope and technical/business requirements of each IT project and/or on-demand opportunity and to ensure the proposed resource has the expertise required by the engagement/customer as well as to indentify a potential escalation path should one be required once the engagement is underway. Information Security Consultants The provision of technical expertise in development and support of activities, processes, procedures and tools related to information security concepts, principles such as Identity and Access Management, Access Controls, DAP, SOD etc.. is a critical task. An Information security consultant should perform the following duties: Review of current Information Security Policies (i.e. stakeholder and/or focus group review, add/subtract/modify as required, and update of related employee awareness material)  Review Information Security Organization and Governance models and investigate options and possible improvements to the applicable information security governance (i.e. planning, allocation of resources, risk acceptance, etc.)  Manage the assessment of security controls and configurations of specific technical environments, products and platforms, along with security management capabilities Manage the provisioning of technical support to clients, management, security operations and network operations Manage the provision of implementation support for risk assessment and data security procedures and products Manage the design and implementation of security management initiatives Competencies Developing Influence and Negotiation competences of decision makers. iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting uses logical persuasion to gain the support and cooperation from stakeholders, superiors, colleagues, subordinates and other parties to achieve a desired course of consulting actions consistent with the enterprise and/or organization’s strategic goals and objectives. Key Behaviours Empower your IT project implementation with a team of Associate Consultants, Consultants, Senior Consultants, Managing Consultants and Principal Consultants Maintains an awareness of goals and objectives and navigates solutions towards desired ends, while maintaining relationships and supporting consensus Uses all available information appropriately to guide decisions and negotiations to meet objectives, while acting with integrity. Practices Too many IT consulting firms focus solely on the technology.  iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting focus on operational factors that are critical to increasing consulting professionalism.  We believe  that consultants and clients alike can take advantage of  use of case studies, interviews, and 'best practice' techniques, etc.. to increase project value. With a span of coverage from marketing to methodology, practice is something for every IT consultant and  IT consultancies at any stage of development. Role of the Consulting Engineers iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting development philosophy is to assemble agile teams of consulting engineers, consisting of Associate Consultants, Consultants, Senior Consultants, Managing Consultants and  Principal Consultants with strong skill sets and a team player attitude. The team’s primary responsibilities are to collectively determine the best solution, commit to a schedule, and deliver. At iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting team, developers, testers, technical writers, and others should work hand in hand and code reviews, unit testing, performance testing, continuous integration etc., are part of their iterative and incremental deliveries. Project Scoping and Planning iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting has proven ability in project scoping with clients, planning and prioritization skills and proposal and presentation development. Project Controls purpose is to support the project management function by providing a timely and accurate gauge of projects progress in terms of quality, cost, and schedule date. The scope of Project Controls activities includes: Planning & Scheduling, Cost Control & Reporting, Purchasing Summaries, Cost (budgeting, estimating, reporting), Performance & Progress (engineering, Procurement) The overall Project Controls system, tailored to the specific requirement of the project, and the needs of the project execution will be implemented to provide the required data support for analysis and control. Project Reporting Documents: iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting has a very effective set of Scoping Development Tools as well as Project Reporting Tools. Information for these Project Reporting Tools and Project Controls overall are an integral part of our consulting services. Industry standard Project Scoping Documents such as:  Project Authorization/Checklist, Design Basis Memorandum(DBM), Project Deliverable List & Man-Hour Estimate,  Project Schedule,  Cost Estimate and major Equipment reporting, Project Execution Plan, Earned Value Report,  Project Schedule Updates,  Scope Modification Summary, Purchase Order Summary, Project Cost Report,  Scope Modifications & Change Management Business Process and System Design Experts in business process engineering and system design work closely with both the Business Units and the IT Development teams providing process design expertise to ensure the timely development and delivery of detailed functional requirements.  They also support the final solution determination, deployment and post-implementation support, mapping and preparing business process documents,  preparing functional analysis and tracking the IT project implementation plan. Who could be interested in our SOA consulting services? An organization considering The development of an organizational wide SOA strategy The initiation of an SOA pilot project The use of intuitive web portals and services to increase information available to business customers The integration of new partners through an environment that features a flexible SOA infrastructure, a very well-described service repository, and clear guidelines for composition The improvement of internal processes through the elimination of redundancy between processes and formation of services that access legacy applications For example, A Process Design Analyst will be involved at the earliest stages of an initiative through to the completion to ensure continuity and effective knowledge transfer to the business Project Management Support iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting assists in generating revenue through business development for new or existing clients by providing project management support and project estimates. The project management support is part of our partnership services. A Service support for providing corporate services support to the partnership, including financial, project management, procurement and human resources services, to ensure the organization and/or enterprise meets its mandate within budget and on time. iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting has a clear vision and leadership for project management across the enterprise and with the partners that are engaged in the work. Our technology and/or business outsourcing partner is accountable for development and enhancements of project management tools, processes and supports project management staff to execute detailed project plans for multiple projects. We expect enterprise-level reporting of project deliverables against quality timeliness, and cost. Training Advisory and Technical skills At iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting, we consider  five different levels of IT advisory training and technical skills to grade each consultant represented to our client or technology partners: Associate Consultant Grade: An Associate Consultant is at the beginning of their consulting career and will typically do work to support the Consultants and Senior Consultants - data collection and analysis, workshop support, etc. Consultant Grade: A Consultant is ‘learning the trade’ within a specific domain of expertise. A Consultant is developing in most competency dimensions and work in different roles on different projects in a specific domain. Senior Consultant Grade: A Senior Consultant has developed a specialisation within a specific domain of expertise. A senior consultant is capable of working independently as well as in teams. A Senior Consultant is often responsible for the completion of a part of a project or activities for which he/she leads a small team. A Senior consultant is more client oriented and explores sales activities. Managing Consultant Grade: A Managing Consultant has started to excel in some of the competency dimensions. A Managing consultant is known for domain expertise and is capable of generating his or her own work and that of others. As such the Managing Consultant is often responsible for business volume, through (add-on) sales and delivering a project. A Managing Consultant can act as a team lead or counsellor for other team members. Principal Consultant Grade: A Principal has a strong business impact and is often part of the company's leadership. A Principal is capable of shaping a piece of business being the leader in a specific domain. A Principal consultant develops high-level business relations and high-impact projects. A Principal is capable of leading large teams. Training Business and Management skills A Business Relationship Manager reports to our IT Partner and is the local point for managing the relationship between the IT Delivery Channel and iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting clients. This includes managing the strategic objectives and planning, in collaboration with IT delivery functions as well as managing cross-functional initiatives. We also manage requirements and delivery to stated service levels and provide the client with key information such as service level metrics, cost allocation and delivery statuses.  Another responsibility of this role is to follow-up the portfolio of IT projects and prioritizing these based on both business priorities and global strategies IT Consulting Communication skills Effective resourcing can be especially challenging when you use traditional recruiting methods or large staffing agencies as they often cannot meet all of your unique requirements. One of our technology Partners address this issue; so that our clients are assured they have a deep bench of IT resources they can tap on demand - to meet their needs today and tomorrow, even the unanticipated ones! For example, an employee with IT Consulting Communication skills can provide ongoing relationship management to both customer and on-demand resources engaged on site.  They are the first level contact for all on-demand escalations and are empowered to make decisions to ensure high levels of customer satisfaction. Control IT Consulting Principles iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting applies technical writing and document control principles to all work and complies with safety and security standards of our technology and business outsourcing partners and complying with pre-determined internal control procedures. We also will identify and implement effective process and design control systems to support the development, qualification, and on-going development of software products to meet or exceed internal and external quality and regulatory requirements. We apply documentation control principles and processes to ensure compliance with partners and clients corporate regulations and standards with unyielding integrity. An Internal Audit may design, plan, complete and document the reviews of processes and controls of all operating, functional and financial areas of our contracts. Consulting Discount Rates iPuzzlebiz IT  Consulting is a time and materials based consulting model and service that provides clients with flexible and expert resources for all technologies and solutions available from technology and BPO Partners. It's a broad family of services as we offer a selection of end-to-end, multi-vendor enterprise data center solutions available from different entities. From infrastructure services to hardware and software solutions to applications and professional services to cloud and managed services. Fixed Priced IT Consulting Model Fixed fee IT consulting is for a specific amount of work, within a defined timeframe. This trend is expected to continue as more companies now require delivery of IT Consulting services within a defined time and price structure. Iterative Priced IT Consulting Model iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting works on custom contract strategies based on the unique needs of each customer, and determines/negotiates a suitable pricing model (rates, terms) based on a series of revenue and margin expectations that operates in an iterative and incremental model within a preset approval matrix for margin goals on each engagement and phase of the project. Contracting strategies may also include internal resource identification, the use of the external and/or internal on-demand solutions, external 3rd party recruitment partners and 3rd party service providers.The focus is on locating the best possible contract regardless of source with a secondary goal of profit maximization. Incentive to Complete Assignment Model At iPuzzlebiz IT Consulting, Assignment Incentive Pay (AIP) or incentive to serve in an IT Project Assignment (ITPS) has 4 ways to get designated as an ITPS: Meet the criteria for an IT project assignment Meet criteria for a mission critical security assignment Be a hard-to-fill assignment that can only be filled by an expert Be identified as a “Critical Needs Assignment” (CNA) by the Head of the organization Professionals selected to receive AIP must complete, sign and notarize the iPuzzlebiz “Assignment Incentive Pay Contract Request”  The form must include the monthly AIP amount, the beginning and ending dates, and the designated ITPS. It should be send to: iPuzzlebiz - ITPS,  ATTN: AIP Coordinator 248 - 157 Adelaide St. W Toronto, ON    M5H 4E7  Canada Since this is a pilot program, we will be asking the professionals to fill out a confidential survey to be submitted to us along with “Assignment Incentive Pay Contract Request.” We will review the written AIP agreement. (AIP is taxable) General Open Ended Consultancy Model Open ended consultancy models generally favour the consulting firm, as the consultancy firm is rewarded on a per day basis, there is no incentive to complete assignments within a fixed time. The result often being project overruns and significant cost overrun. Reasons for IT Project Cost Overrun Projects are complex and over-ambitious. The private sector overstates its ability to deliver. Rigorous IT Project Assessments. Clients or ‘consultant agencies’ are under-resourced and/or do not have the required skills and ability to manage projects through an agile process. The well-known agile process becomes a high-risk process, heavily influenced by market forces in respect to who bids, the level of competition and private sector strategies to increase market share. Please click here to contact one of our Consultants.