Lawson blog

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Compensation Conjecture for 2012
posted: 31 January 2012 by Diana Van Blaricom
 

Climbing the Mountain of Talent Management
posted: 20 January 2012 by Diana Van Blaricom
 

See more articles in the Lawson blog

CIBER and Lawson understand your challenges with keeping your Lawson applications current and supported. We also understand that one type of upgrade does not fit all. So  we established the Lawson Upgrade Program, which provides Lawson clients with resources dedicated to performing all types of upgrades including a technology-only upgrade to stay supported, an upgrade with business process improvement, an upgrade with organization restructure, or an upgrade combined with implementation of new modules. 

CIBER can provide a complete upgrade solution including project planning, project management, change management, installation services, application training and consulting, business process calibration, knowledge transfer services, upgrade execution, security consulting and server technology upgrades.  CIBER’s broad experience in upgrades spans more than twelve years and we are certified by Lawson to perform all aspects of an upgrade project.

CIBER has successfully completed hundreds of Lawson upgrades since 1996, making us the most experienced Lawson systems integration firm in the industry. We have a strong history of providing superior Lawson services in all areas of the upgrade process from upgrade planning and application differences consulting, business process and technical analysis, to implementation support and hardware consultation. Our past and present upgrade process and partnership responsibilities include:

Upgrade Software Development—As a Lawson Certified Upgrade Partner, we worked with Lawson (from 1996-2002) to develop all Lawson upgrade software.  Today, CIBER continues to develop new strategies, enhancements, and tool sets to continually improve the upgrade process and ensure effective, efficient implementations.

Flexible Upgrade Consulting Staff—Whether your operation requires on-site service or you have the staff to handle upgrades in-house, CIBER provides exceptional Lawson upgrade expertise. During our initial evaluation, we will work with you to determine which consulting plan best meets your needs.

Certified Consulting Staff—CIBER is dedicated to providing well-trained and experienced resources for all of your upgrade consulting needs.  We maintain a staff of certified consultants in all areas of Lawson, including Lawson Business Intelligence, Lawson Security, LSF9 Installations, ProcessFlow, and all suites of Lawson Software including Financials, Procurement, and Human Resources.

Expanded Upgrade Service Offerings

Lawson Software and CIBER’s unique partnership can dramatically improve the way you do business.

Our upgrade service offerings include:

• CIBER’s Upgrade Planning Assessment
• Upgrade Planning and Project Management
• Change Management and Quality Assurance
• Data Conversion and Testing
• Customizations and Interface Programming
• Product Support and General Maintenance
• Lawson Software Security
• Data Verification Process
• Technology Consulting Services
• Knowledge Transfer Services
• Business Process Improvement

CIBER's Upgrade Planning Assessment

"I am not sure how to start planning my upgrade project and I have no idea how long it is going to take."

Software upgrades are a way of life today, and yet, knowing where to begin and what to expect from your upgrade can be a challenge. Taking the time to plan before you begin will ensure the smooth and timely execution of your next upgrade.

CIBER can help with your advanced planning through our Upgrade Planning Assessment. Offered as a stand-alone service or as part of the project planning process for your upgrade, our upgrade specialists will meet with your staff to review your current Lawson system and to discuss your long-term plans and objectives. We will then help you answer the major questions surrounding your upgrade, and clearly explain the impact an upgrade can have on your organization.

Based on information gathered during these sessions, CIBER can provide specific upgrade recommendations and an upgrade project plan and timeline. With the assessment, you will have a better idea of what an upgrade project will involve, and can, therefore, budget and schedule resources appropriately.

CIBER's Upgrade Planning Assessment can help you answer such questions as:

• When should I upgrade?
• What hardware/system resources will the upgrade require?
• Can I perform the upgrade myself?
• What user involvement will be required?
• How will an upgrade to Lawson’s current release affect my existing Lawson system?
• Will I need to upgrade my database or my operating system to work with the most current release?
• Would it be useful to purge the database before doing the upgrade?
• Should I upgrade my environment and applications at the same time or separately?
• Should I implement the new Lawson Security model during my upgrade?

Upgrade Planning and Project Management

"My agenda is full, so I need a comprehensive plan for my upgrade project, including time, effort required and budget, so I can integrate it with all the other demands on my time."

To help you manage the project, CIBER provides consulting services including project charter, project plan, cutover, readiness assessment, issues/task tracking, change management, resource management and scope management. The result is a well-planned, effectively executed project that minimizes downtime.

Change Management and Quality Assurance

“We’ve experienced so many changes in our organization and processes lately that I’m concerned about introducing yet another change with an upgrade.”

CIBER understands that your organization's willingness and ability to accept the changes that accompany an upgrade are critical to project success.  To assist you with the changes an upgrade brings, we offer our proven CAFE (Change Acceptance through Facilitated Effort) program. This program, coupled with our structured and objective Quality Assurance Review process, eliminates project delays and overruns, ensuring successful completion of your project.

Data Conversion and Testing

"I have a fairly large database and I have a small window that my system can be down as a result of running the upgrade.  I do not really want to use the upgrade-while-active approach."

CIBER's unparalleled experience in upgrades across all industries means you will be working with a partner who can handle all data environments, ensuring quality testing and conversion strategies. We will assist you in setting up test environments, testing upgrade software, executing upgrade programs, designing custom upgrade programs, transferring and re-mapping data, testing and verifying data, as well as assisting you with parallel testing and issue resolution.

Customizations and Interface Programming

"We want to upgrade to the current release; however, we also want to make changes to our company structure."

CIBER can help you take advantage of the latest Lawson releases, even in the most dynamic and complex environments, by modifying your current system or creating interfaces, as necessary. We use a variety of tools to document client-added tokens, client database structure changes, and client-added indexes. These tools document any conflict in naming or usage with the Lawson supplied features in the new release.

Product Support and General Maintenance

"An upgrade, required by Lawson or not, does NOT fit into our schedule or our budget right now.  We need options."

CIBER offers product support services to those customers remaining on, and upgrading from, non-supported versions of Lawson Software and general maintenance to all Lawson customers, regardless of platform or release level. We can provide this support by providing a frontline team of Lawson certified consultants with application and technical expertise to handle all calls. If required, they have immediate access to a secondary team of consultants to assist with issue resolution.

Product support and general maintenance includes, but is not limited to:

• Web site for logging issues, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
• Weekday support hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Eastern time
• Guaranteed call back times within 24 hours for standard issues and within 2 hours for critical issues
• Lawson system administration and environment support
• Average response times of 40 minutes for critical issues and 3 hours for standard issues
• Online issue tracking
• Answers to “how-to” questions
• Program abort issue resolution
• Monthly preventative maintenance
• Technical fixes and modifications, as needed
• Access to certified application and technical resources.
• Monthly preventative 10-point inspection and tuning process
• Upgrade support and assistance

Lawson Software Security

“We’ve suffered security breaches in the past.  I need to be sure that our integrity will not be compromised during or after the upgrade.”

Lawson’s new role-based security model is a marked improvement from a feature and functionality perspective over its predecessor, LAUA. Those new features and functionality also mean that more time and effort are required to implement the new security model.

CIBER's consultants include certified Lawson Software system technical experts and CISSP security consultants.  Our team can assist with all phases of the security implementation including planning and project management, security pilot, business process analysis, security design and testing, quality assurance and ongoing security support and monitoring. We will help you keep all of your data secure. 

CIBER delivers comprehensive proactive solutions that blend technology, processes, and people to reduce your security risk. Companies bombarded by vendor-driven point solutions will appreciate CIBER’s enterprise risk management perspective and vendor-neutral approach. We tailor security solutions to meet your needs, fix security issues at the root cause, and deliver cost-effective security with minimal disruption to your business.

Turn to CIBER for:

• Application security
• Security technology and process integration
• Independent verification and validation
• Security policy and procedure development
• Remediation of security deficiencies
• Security training and knowledge transfer
• Disaster recovery and business continuity planning
• Security incident response
• Identity theft management and protection

Data Verification Process

Lawson's Data Verification Process (DVP) process helps match detail inventory levels with inventory levels for item locations, ensuring that data corruption is not an issue.  In addition, the DVP process removes orphan records and matches warehouse demand quantities with order information.

Successful upgrades of the purchasing and procurement modules of Lawson version 7.2 to 8.x and 9.x require the successful execution of the DVP process.  CIBER is fully certified by Lawson to execute these DVP procedures, which are required by Lawson to correct data integrity issues that can occur due to variance in data sources in 7.2, and stricter controls in version 8.x and 9.x.

Technology Consulting Services

“I can’t spend the time and effort to source everything I need for my upgrade separately.  My time constraints require one-stop shopping.”

In addition to reselling multiple server platforms and peripheral products, CIBER performs Lawson application benchmarking on iSeries (AS/400,) UNIX, and NT equipment. We can offer you a total upgrade solution, including network and server configurations, managed by a single partner throughout the upgrade process. Technology services include IBM iSeries, pSeries, and xSeries servers, IBM storage, Hewlett-Packard 9000 servers, Networking/LAN/ WAN Connectivity, data warehousing/mining, server sizing, performance analysis, and Internet solutions.

Knowledge Transfer Services

“When a new employee joins our organization, it seems like I have to come up with Lawson training materials each time.  I need a better on-going process to update my training materials even as our business processes evolve.”

From the very beginning of your project, CIBER will provide a structured knowledge transfer program for all levels of your organization. And you can select the level of support you require. Our services include customized differences training, end-user courseware development, Executive System Overview Workshop, and “Train the Trainer” Workshops. The CIBER program is designed, developed, and delivered by recognized worldwide leaders in information systems’ education and training.

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