Lontra launches "Running IT Like a Business" Executive Seminar Series with high-profile events in Tallahassee, FL and Dallas, TX

Dallas, TX, USA. December 3, 2008 -- Lontra, a leading provider of IT Financial Management education and consulting services, today announced the launch of its “Running IT Like a Business” Executive Seminar Series. These sessions, targeted at IT Executives, will be held at several locations around the US in the coming months, with the next event coming up tomorrow here in Dallas, TX.

Lontra's vision is to use these events to raise awareness of critical IT Financial Management concepts within the IT community, and to spread its message that effective IT Financial Management should be a key component of any cost cutting initiative.

Lontra has been a long-time champion of the concept of “running IT as a business within a business.” “At a time when so many IT organizations are tightening their belts, a robust IT spend management discipline is more important than ever,” said Lontra President Boris Pevzner. “It is not just a nice-to-have, but could be a matter of survival. In the coming years, the idea of running IT like a business -- along with related concepts like cost transparency, consumption-based chargeback, and demand-driven budgeting -- will be key in helping many IT organizations through these tough economic times. Organizations that embrace these concepts will have a significant advantage over those that fail to do so.”

The first seminar in the “Running IT Like A Business” series was held last Thursday, November 13, in Tallahassee, FL. Lontra President Boris Pevzner gave a talk titled “Slashing IT Spend with Service-Based Costing and Demand Management.” The event, organized by the Tallahassee itSMF LIG, drew a number of CIOs and IT executives. Boris spoke about the importance of putting IT on a solid IT Financial Management foundation, particularly in today's down economy. He identified Lontra SUCSESS™ as the best-of-breed methodology for helping IT organizations develop full transparency around IT offerings and their unit costs, and improve their demand management and business scenario planning capabilities.

Lontra SUCSESS™ is a comprehensive ten-step methodology that Lontra consultants have successfully applied to IT organizations at multiple Global 1000 companies.

The next presentation in the “Running IT Like A Business” series will be held during the holiday party hosted by the itSMF DFW LIG tomorrow, Thursday, December 4th. Mr. Pevzner will give a talk entitled “Slimming Down for the Holidays: Slashing IT Spend With Service-Based Costing,” explaining how ITIL® Service Economics can be leveraged to implement service-based costing, demand management, and overall spend management. The event will be held at the Brookhaven Country Club in Dallas, and is expected to draw IT executives from some of the largest organizations in the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area.

Lontra is a leading provider of IT Service and Financial Management education and consulting services. Lontra consultants have worked with some of the world's largest IT and shared services organizations to define services, determine true unit cost, better plan future demand, optimize the IT budget, and improve service delivery. For more information about Lontra, send an email to info@lontra.com or visit www.lontra.com.