Best of the West: Past issues of our bi-monthly newsletter.

West Monroe Partners publishes Best of the West, a bi-monthly electronic newsletter, to address hot topics in the marketplace and to provide our clients, associates, and others with ideas, new perspectives, and examples of how organizations have tackled key business issues successfully.

Read our current newsletter: May 2009.

In this issue:

• Section 111: A tough break or a gem for responsible reporting entities?
• Looking into the Cloud: Financial Services Firms Poised to Take Advantage of Cloud Computing
• Improving Sales and Marketing on a Budget: Seek Continuous Improvement rather than the “Quick Fix”
• Montreal aerospace companies lead in supply chain transformation

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February 2009

• Operational Productivity enabled by aligning Lean 6Sigma with Advanced Planning and Scheduling technology and how it can transform your business
• Creating a NERC CIP Compliant Smart Grid IP Communication Network
• Managing the market data deluge: are you prepared to balance the trade-offs between performance and processing costs?ecember 2008

December 2008

• Customer insight: banks need to turn their focus back to core deposits – and core customers
• Maintaining a high-performing professional services sales and marketing function
• Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles: change agent for the electric utility industry
• Private equity funds: evaluating performance without established benchmarks

October 2008

• Service-oriented architecture: a complex concept with clear benefits
• The benefits of server virtualization
• Preparing for the documentation, data, and collateral requirements of the TARP
• Utility telecommunications systems: to own or not to own?

• Shared Services: An Old Idea Breathes New Life into Cost Reduction and Risk Management
• ETRM Software: Tools to Combat a Volatile Market
• Optimizing Labor Costs in Delivery Operations

June 2008

• Engineered Labor Standards 101: Are today's companies so good that they no longer need to worry about saving money?
• Where did the time go? Energy utilities face a long-term memory loss.
• Customer relationship management for banks
• Network access control: Are the consultants compromising your network?

April 2008

• Green IT: Have you considered the impact of your IT operations on the environment?
• Addressing supply chain risks can yield top-line growth
• Demystifying business process re-engineering
• Business process management: Does your bank have opportunities to improve branch or back-office operations? 

February 2008

• New Year's resolutions for 2008: Managing IT in the face of economic uncertainty
• Microsoft release casts new attention on CRM technology
• The next commodity layer of business intelligence
• Greening the supply chain: Cutting costs while minimizing the environmental impact of businessesDecember 2007

December 2007

• Contact center and customer experience: are they really in sync?
• Mobile banking solutions: account access anytime, anywhere
• Ready, set....collaborate: Microsoft Office Communications Server
• New at West Monroe Partners: Customer Relationship Management Dashboard Suite

• Grid Computing: Divide and conquer
• Reverse Logistics: Minimizing the impact of returned merchandise
• Web 2.0: Enabling the internet, and more
• Seven keys to a successful banking acquisition

June 2007

• Internet usability: Will your site's users find what they're looking for?
• Software as a service: Is it time for a closer look?
• Enterprise risk management: How much risk is too much risk?
• A little preparation goes a long way: Six keys to recovering from a disruption to your business
• Customer relationship management (CRM) roadmap: getting a CRM strategy off the ground 

April 2007

• It's a done deal, so now what? Accelerating the expected benefits of a corporate transaction
• Effort reporting and certification for federally sponsored research: increasing reporting accuracy, without increasing the workload
• Is your organization "customer-centric"?
• Business assessment: a roadmap for prioritizing investments to improve operations
• Business process management: optimize results by optimizing vital processes

December 2006

• Everything old is new again: engineered labor standards (ELS) for the 21st century
• Sorting through the software options: a methodology for aligning vendor selection with business needs
• Five keys to designing a website for optimal user experience
• Achieving business effectiveness and cost reduction through IT demand management
• Strengthening globalization's invisible hand: what matters most?

November 2006

• Building a real-time enterprise
• Managing relationship data from lead through customer lifecycle
• Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0/3.0: are the new features worth the effort to upgrade?
• Five steps to selecting the right enterprise resource planning (ERP) software
• Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007: new capabilities to boost knowledge sharing and collaboration

August 2006

• Message from the President
• Delivering Better Business Intelligence
• Six steps to elevating customer communication and relationships
• Server Virtualization: Managing the cost of IT infrastructure as your organization grows
• Building a better online presence
• Enhanced information security solutions

June 2006

• Message from the President
• Managing: Pre-merger IT and business process due diligence: look before you leap
  In Practice: The Quality of Service Framework
• In Practice: Managing the Cost of Compliance
• New at West Monroe Partners: Geospatial Solutions
• New at West Monroe Partners: Consultants and Alliances