Zycron @ The City of Memphis Uses Innotas IT Governance to Streamline PMO, Better Manage More Than $8 Million in IT Projects

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - November 2, 2009) - Up until a few months ago, it could take an entire year before proposed (and often vitally necessary) IT projects for the City of Memphis were completed. Now, with Innotas on-demand IT Governance, whether they are working on behalf of the police department, city libraries, or parks and recreation, city IT personnel have dramatically reduced the administrative time and red tape it takes to complete projects, which has also dramatically improved budgetary bottom lines.

For example, Capital Improvement Project (CIP) requests from each of the city divisions are now tracked more effectively from the initial request through project execution and completion. In another example, when the city implemented IT software to more effectively track fuel consumption per city-issued vehicle, managers used Innotas to approve the project 40 percent faster than originally scheduled.

"Managing projects with Innotas has helped us accurately track and communicate the status of each project through the Project Life Cycle," said Larry Wilson, PMO director for the city, and PMP at Zycron, an international IT consulting firm that governs and executes the city's IT programs and oversees its 104 IT personnel.

Zycron's Project Management Office (PMO) introduced Innotas to the City of Memphis IT organization in the fall of 2008. The 12-member Zycron team uses Innotas on a daily basis to manage more than $8 million of information technology projects for the City.

"From our perspective, IT Governance means accountability, responsiveness, communication, service and a better focus on finances," said Wilson. "Innotas provides all that and more, including comprehensive visibility into projects at every stage, as well as flexibility and accessibility for every one of our IT staff members," he continued.

Prior to implementing Innotas, the Zycron IT team had determined that it was paramount to find an IT Governance solution that would meet the city's requirements without breaking the bank. Managers were hamstrung by the cost of maintaining and upgrading the legacy on-premise IT Governance and Project Portfolio Management (PPM) solution, but needed increased functionality. By implementing Innotas, Wilson found he could gain increased performance while at the same time decrease costs.

Wilson also found that Innotas augments enhanced accountability, responsiveness and communication within IT, which helps the city and the IT organization meet its commitment to its IT Governance initiatives.

"Innotas dashboards are easy to use and provide the analysis tools needed to make better business decisions based on a more holistic view of all inbound requests, priorities, and metrics associated with key technology initiatives sponsored by the city's operational divisions, and examine the progress of all selected IT initiatives," Wilson said. "And, the Innotas reporting modules and standardized reporting templates also provide a better understanding of the costs, delivery schedules, and work effort associated with all the city's IT projects," he continued.

Innotas on-demand IT Governance is built on a strong foundation in IT Project Portfolio Management (PPM), which is used to manage strategic initiatives, and also includes Application Portfolio Management (APM) capabilities that provide visibility into sustaining IT operations and maintenance activities.

"Innotas allows decision-makers to slice and dice data into usable intelligence that's specific to each project manager's needs. This could be at a tactical level to determine where budgets can be trimmed, or a strategic level to understand which projects are most likely to be approved by city governors. Innotas is the go-to tool for the City of Memphis. It manages, tracks, and presents the information in relatable bites, and provides the analysis tools needed to examine the progress of IT initiatives and make better business decisions," Wilson said.

To learn more about how customers are using Innotas on-demand IT Governance, download the Innotas eBook "The 7 Undeniable Truths of IT Governance: Success Stories from companies that didn't wait until it was too late." Follow Innotas on Twitter at www.twitter.com/innotas.

About Innotas

The Innotas on-demand IT Governance solution is an easy-to-use, rapid-to-deploy, and cost-effective way to manage resources and budgets across an IT department's entire inventory of projects, portfolios, applications, assets, and service requests. With its strong foundation in Project Portfolio Management and Application Portfolio Management, Innotas provides CIOs and IT management with visibility across both strategic initiatives and sustaining operations for improved decision making across the entire IT portfolio. Our customers, including the City of Memphis, Crayola, Forbes, Hamilton Beach, Jo-Ann Stores, The Northwest Company Inc., World Vision and many others, span a wide range of industries including financial services, government, healthcare, retail, technology, telecommunications and energy. For more information please visit www.innotas.com or contact us at +1 415.814.7700.

Contact Information: Contact: Seth Geisler Martin Levy Public Relations 858.610.9860