Windward IT Solutions Celebrates 15 Years as an IT Cloud Thought Leader
May 17, 2012
Consultant Services Have Evolved With Cloud Innovation and Helped Drive Cloud Adoption
Herndon, VA – May 17, 2012
Herndon based Windward IT Solutions, a leading IT service management and systems engineering firm, is celebrating its 15 year anniversary. Since its incorporation in the Commonwealth of Virginia in May of 1997, Windward has been a trusted partner of Communication Service Providers, the Federal government, and global Fortune 1000 corporations, many running the world’s most sensitive and mission-critical IT environments. Windward marks a decade-and-a-half by having successfully completed more than 1500 projects, each having helped clients align IT operations with real business priorities. Earlier this year, Windward realized a major benchmark, winning its largest military contract.
“Windward has remained strong over the past 15 years despite a volatile economic climate, and the constant change inherent in the technology industry,” says Windward Founder and CEO Sean McDermott. “We began assisting our customers by managing large scale infrastructures in the beginning of the dotcom boom. Since then, we have evolved into well-respected thought leaders. Windward provides the vision and the execution for IT executives who are driving their organizations into the Cloud.”
Windward’s three practice areas are built around a core philosophy of Service-Centric IT, which integrates comprehensive approaches to service strategy, aligns processes, and optimizes products that customers have already invested in. Windward, a pioneer and early adopter of Process Automation technology, has a proven set of technology-independent solutions focused on three core disciplines of Service-Centric IT: Operations Management, Infrastructure Management, and Service Management.
“The goal,” McDermott explained, “is to reduce operational costs, improve agility, re-align IT priorities with business objectives, and increase business value to end-customers.” Concurrent with those strategies, Windward has earned recognition as leader in the area of Service Automation and Cloud computing.
“There is no doubt that the IT industry has changed immensely since our founding in 1997,” adds Windward President Cindy Breed. “What has not changed is our ability to leverage our expertise to help our customers achieve success and remain leaders in their respective business with our deep and vendor-agnostic expertise across all three disciplines of Service Centric IT. Our solid reputation and strategic thinking will secure Windward’s position as the premiere ITSM and systems engineering firm for many years to come.”
Windward IT Solutions Awarded Second 5 Year Program with DISA Program Executive Office for Mission Assurance
April 18, 2012
Windward IT Solutions, the premier IT Service Management and systems engineering firm, was recently awarded a 5-year program to provide Agency-wide consulting, analytical services, and planning and management services for the Defense Information System Agency (DISA) Program Executive Office for Mission Assurance (PEO-MA). Teaming on this endeavor as Windward’s prime contractor is OnPoint Consulting, Inc., of Arlington, Virginia. OnPoint brings over fifteen years of federal IT experience to the team. This new program will include activities in several major areas, including providing the DISA Service Assurance Framework for Enterprise Services and Network Operations Solutions support; designing, developing, and implementing a Network Operations (NetOps) Integration Framework and Architecture and providing a NetOps Program Management Office (PMO) Continuous Process Improvement and Governance Support.
Windward CEO Sean McDermott stated, “This program builds upon Windward’s recent previous 5-year win of the IT Service Management Office (ITSMO) support where we are working to develop and implement the model for Enterprise Service Management development and process improvement across all of the Department of Defense (DoD). This second award to provide the PEO-MA support clearly indicates DISA’s trust and confidence in Windward as an industry leader within the ITSM community and will continue to solidify Windward’s presence as a center of excellence for federal government agencies.” Windward currently supports DISA in a wide variety of IT Service Management areas, including establishing and conducting process convergence for all DISA services, supporting customer interface activities and providing administrative support to the ITSMO division.
Windward was a Platinum Sponsor at the annual DISA Customer and Industry Forum in Baltimore in August 2011. The conference brought together decision-makers and subject-matter experts from the military services, combatant commands, industry and academia to share information and ideas that are critical to helping DoD achieve mission success.
About Us – Windward IT Solutions, is at the forefront of Service-Centric IT. With strategic consulting, unparalleled technical expertise and our proven Windward Business Technology Management RoadMap, we help our clients align the core competencies of process, organization, information and technology to run the most sensitive and mission-critical IT environments in the world. Our headquarters is in Herndon, VA, and we can be found online at http://www.windwardits.com.
About OnPoint – With 2010 revenues of more than $56 million, OnPoint is a fast growing ISO9001, ISO20000, ISO27001 and CMMI-certified technology consulting firm that provides critical thinking, strategic analysis, and thought leadership to improve performance, lower costs, and achieve results for agencies throughout the Federal Government. OnPoint provides client solutions in IT Infrastructure, Enterprise Systems, and Information Assurance. OnPoint’s headquarters are located in Arlington, VA.
Windward IT Solutions Announces Autolaunch™
January 31, 2012
Herndon, Virginia – January 30, 2012
Windward IT Solutions, the premiere IT Service Management and systems engineering firm, announced the release of their innovative Autolaunch™ Program. This objective and low-risk approach enables organizations to accelerate their drive toward IT automation has proven pivotal in helping organizations focus on their priorities and vision while realizing substantial return with minimal impact on existing client resources and priorities. In conjunction with their AutoLaunch™ program, Windward has gone live with a new and completely redesigned website.
“Autolaunch™ is a program that allows Windward to provide our customers an opportunity to increase momentum to drive continued and sustainable value and benefits found in process automation. With rapid implementations, some as little as 4 weeks, Windward has been able to bring ROIs of 3-4x of investment and it doesn’t stop there. The Autolaunch™ program allows for continuous savings from IT Process automation which can include compliance, infrastructure stability and more efficient use of IT labor resources,” said Sean McDermott, Windward CEO and Founder. “This is an exciting time for us. Windward has been at the forefront of Service-Centric IT for over a decade and is now also seen as a trusted advisor in Automation and Cloud Management. It’s important to us that our website reflects where we are in 2012 and where we are going in the future. “
For well over a decade, Windward has been a trusted partner of Communication Service Providers, the Federal Government and global fortune 1000 corporations that run the most sensitive and mission-critical IT environments in the world. Organizational expansions that include Program Service Group to support Federal business operations, Federal Services and Strategic Alliances show Windward’s strength and ability to think strategically and generate real-world results.
In addition to the website, Windward Insights, the company blog, gives customers insight into their areas of expertise such as Change and Operations Management, Service Automation, Cloud Management, ITSM and Service-Centric IT with postings from various members of the Windward team. The content is a mix of original postings and the sharing of opinions and relevant stories in the market. Access to the blog is available on the landing page of the main website that is updated real-time. You can visit the new website at www.windwardits.com.
About Us – Windward IT Solutions, founded in 1997, is at the forefront of Service-Centric IT. With strategic consulting, unparalleled technical expertise and our proven Windward Business Technology Management RoadMap, we help our clients align the core competencies of process, organization, information and technology to effectively address business and mission priorities. Windward offers a proven set of technology-independent solutions focused on the three core disciplines of Business Technology Management – Service Management, Infrastructure Management, and Operations Management – to help our clients plan and deliver high-impact IT services. Our headquarters is in Herndon, VA, and we can be found online at www.windwardits.com.
Windward IT Solutions Achieves Microsoft Gold Systems Management Competency
January 19, 2012
Herndon, VA – January 19, 2012
Windward IT Solutions, the premiere IT Service Management and systems engineering firm, announced today that they have achieved a Gold Systems Management Competency in the Microsoft Partner Network, demonstrating their ability to meet Microsoft customers’ evolving needs in today’s dynamic business environment and Private Cloud offerings. To earn a Microsoft Gold Competency, organizations must complete a rigorous set of tests to prove their level of technology expertise, have the right number of Microsoft Certified Professionals, submit customer references and demonstrate their commitment to customer satisfaction by participating in an annual survey. This distinction places Windward in the top 1% of partners worldwide that have attaining this outstanding degree of proficiency.
Windward provides a full life cycle of Operations Management, with the IT Operational knowledge necessary to tie together the System Center Suite of products. As Windward starts to deploy System Center Orchestrator 2012, they will be focusing on providing process automation by leveraging HyperV to enable their clients with a cost-effective and flexible Cloud infrastructure. Windward brings extensive experience in heterogeneous environment and tools that help deliver flexible and reliable solutions, while optimizing existing IT investments. Process Automation is key to meeting these objectives. For the past 5 years Windward has been focused on building Automation solutions around IT tasks such as: Patching, User & Service Provisioning, Capacity Management, Provisioning/Decommissioning, Software Configuration, and Infrastructure Management.
“A Gold Systems Management Competency differentiates us from the competition and establishes Windward as a market leader, further demonstrating our commitment to serving the needs of customers relying on Microsoft-based solutions. This competency just strengthens our ability to deliver Cloud solutions and expand our role as trusted advisor. System Center technologies address top IT priorities through cost savings and the ability to deliver data center and desktop solutions to help our customers make the most of their IT investments,” said Sean McDermott, Founder and CEO of Windward IT Solutions. “We look forward to helping our customers by continuing to focus our areas of technology expertise in response to today’s business needs and leveraging this technology to help our customers increase productivity and improve end-user satisfaction.
The Microsoft Gold Competency signifies to the market that a company has demonstrated the highest level of skill and achievement within a given technology specialization. All 29 Microsoft competencies are designed to help differentiate a partner’s specific technology capabilities, helping customers find solution providers quickly and easily. Each competency has a unique set of requirements and benefits, formulated to accurately represent the specific skills and services that partners bring to the industry to include the ability to deploy, support and optimize IT infrastructures, target specific technologies with a fundamental knowledge of hardware and IT infrastructure software and distinguish themselves by demonstrating in-depth knowledge and expertise.
The Microsoft Partner Network is designed to equip organizations that deliver products and services based on the Microsoft platform with the training, resources and support they need to provide their customers a superior experience and outcomes.
About Us – Windward IT Solutions, founded in 1997, is at the forefront of Service-Centric IT and is a trusted partner of Communication Service Providers, the Federal Government and global Fortune 1000 corporations that run the most sensitive and mission-critical IT environments in the world. With strategic consulting, unparalleled technical expertise and our proven Windward Business Technology Management RoadMap, we help our clients align the core competencies of process, organization, information and technology to effectively address business and mission priorities. Windward offers a proven set of technology-independent solutions focused on the three core disciplines of Business Technology Management – Service Management, Infrastructure Management, and Operations Management – to help our clients plan and deliver high-impact IT services. Our headquarters is in Herndon, VA, and we can be found online at www.windwardits.com.
Windward IT Solutions Awarded 5 Year Program with DISA ITSMO Division
August 9, 2011
Windward IT Solutions, the premier Business Technology Management and systems engineering firm, was recently awarded a 5 year program to provide Agency-side consulting, analytical services, and planning and management services for the Defense Information System Agency (DISA) Information Technology Service Management Office (ITSMO) Division. Teaming on this endeavor as Windward’s prime contractor is OnPoint Consulting, Inc., of Arlington, Virginia. OnPoint brings over fifteen years of federal IT experience to the team. This support will include activities such as: policy analysis and development; project plan development; establishing and conducting process convergence for all DISA services; conducting the registration of all DISA customer and network projects; supporting customer interface activities such as surveys, incident management, and conferences/meetings; developing and implementing policies and processes; providing administrative support to the ITSMO Division; and conducting analyses and technical evaluations of the existing and developed processes.
Windward CEO Sean McDermott stated, “This program will serve as the model for IT Service Management development and process improvement across all of the Department of Defense. This award clearly indicates DISA’s trust and confidence in Windward as an industry leader within the ITSM community and will continue to solidify Windward’s presence as a center of excellence for federal government agencies.”
Windward will be a Platinum Sponsor at the annual DISA Customer and Industry Forum next month in Baltimore. This conference brings together decision-makers and subject-matter experts from the military services, combatant commands, industry and academia to share information and ideas that are critical to helping DoD achieve mission success.
About Us – Windward IT Solutions, is at the forefront of Business Technology Management. With strategic consulting, unparalleled technical expertise and our proven Windward BTM RoadMap, we help our clients align the core competencies of process, organization, information and technology to run the most sensitive and mission-critical IT environments in the world. Our headquarters is in Herndon, VA, and we can be found online at http://www.windwardits.com.
About OnPoint – With 2010 revenues of more than $56 million, OnPoint is a fast growing ISO9001, ISO20000, ISO27001 and CMMI-certified technology consulting firm that provides critical thinking, strategic analysis, and thought leadership to improve performance, lower costs, and achieve results for agencies throughout the Federal Government. OnPoint provides client solutions in IT Infrastructure, Enterprise Systems, and Information Assurance. OnPoint’s headquarters are located in Arlington, VA.