PMI Atlanta Chapter - Announcements Test

“The Intersection of HR and Project Management”: The February Dinner Meeting

Announcements March 04, 2014

Presented by Cindy Filer
Written by Steven A. Shapiro, PMP, CSSGB

The city of Atlanta was definitely impacted by the two ‘Snowmaggedon’ events in 2014 and PMI Atlanta was not spared. The February dinner meeting, which was originally scheduled for February 10th had to be postponed; however, those that attended the rescheduled event on February24th were treated to an exceptional night.

The event was once again held at the Westin Perimeter, PMI Atlanta’s new dinner meeting home for 2014 and featured a rare double presentation by Cindy Filer, President of Innovative Outsourcing.

The evening began with the Professional Growth event where Filer spoke on the topic of “Conflict in the Workplace”. Filer has presented the chapter with both the presentation and a ‘Leave Behind’ sheet which will be made available soon. The Professional Growth event was followed by the open networking session and then the dinner meeting.

In the dinner meeting, Filer spoke on an equally interesting topic, “The New Economy and HR Practices for 2014”. She presented best practices for hiring employees, managing employees and employment records, as well as how to best approach employee separations. Some of the key takeaways were…
        • To avoid wrongful hire and discharge suits - document, document, document
        • HR decisions need to be highly documented and kept forever
        • Within 48hours new employees need to be I-9 compliant
        • Millennials need to know every hour on how they are doing
        • Staff lean, staff strategically!
        • If performance reviews are not given to an employee, they cannot be fired

Again for this presentation the chapter will post both the presentation and the ‘Leave Behind’ sheet.

“ ‘Cloudy’ Predictions for 2014" - February Alpharetta Lunch Summary

Announcements March 03, 2014

Presented by David Huseonica
Written by Ronke Oyemade, MBA PMP, CISA, CRISC

David Huseonica, President and CEO of Cloud|AG, was the keynote speaker for the February Alpharetta Lunch meeting. David Huseonica, presented how technology has evolved, shifted, and the forecast outlook for cloud computing in 2014.

The Technology Pendulum
The Technology Pendulum continuously swings due to significant shifts in the computing architecture. Computing started off with the mainframe systems which were built based on the centralized computing architecture. The central computing architecture supports centralized computing and storage with thin clients. Resulting in businesses having high upfront costs for hardware and software.

Later on, there was a shift in computing to the distributed computing architecture. Storage and computing were decentralized with the use of PCs and servers. Leading businesses to acquire perpetual licenses for operating systems and software they used.

Now the technology pendulum is swinging back to centralized computing with the advent of the “Cloud” environment. The “Cloud” technology entails the use of large Data Centers and commodity hardware which are capable of being scaled-out to accommodate the needs of the customers. As a result, businesses obtain technology on a pay-as-you-go basis and only for what they use.

March Technology Forum - “Content is King and Distribution is Queen; Playing the Right Cards in the Next Decade”

Announcements February 26, 2014

Join us Tuesday, March 25th, 5:00 - 7:00pm - Register Today!

Over the last decade, digital content has remained a critical element that has driven some amazing services. This trend is not going to change in the future. The next decade is about personal digital imprints, the analytics behind them, the myriad ways of collecting the data and then distributing focused responses to the content. Everyone is getting into the act, whether it is a pharmaceutical company, the government or the grocery store down the street. If consumers think that they have seen all the platforms for content delivery like tablets, devices, televisions and smart watches, then the next decade will clearly surpass the current distribution mediums. The question to ask is if companies are playing in the right space and how they should capitalize on the right types of partnerships.

Biography:
Neil Sharma has been in the Mobility space since the year 2000. Creating the original joint venture to deliver VCAST solutions with Verizon and Microsoft (first nationwide wireless video streaming solution), he has worked at some very innovative global corporations like Samsung (Vice President and General Manager) and NTT DoCoMo (Senior Vice President) on content, retail distribution and hardware. Because he has an unorthodox background (starting out as an educator and small business owner), Neil approaches topics with both cynicism and optimism to shed light on trends that will shape the future of technological innovations.

Business Analyst World is Coming to Atlanta!

Announcements February 24, 2014

The International Institute of Business Analysts (IIBA) is bringing BA World to Atlanta March 3-3, 2014! Earn up to 12 PDUs while attending focused conference sessions and participating in networking opportunities. As a benefit to our members, IIBA has offered discounted pricing for this event. Use discount code EBGAT to register for a 1-day pass for $500 or a 2-day pass for $755. Visit their website for more information.