Volume III, Issue 5 The Newsletter of the National Procurement Institute September 2012

NPInsights

C’mon over to Houston! Let’s talk about it!The great recession continues to impact what we do in public procurement and how we do it in a huge way! The importance of working together to brainstorm ideas and sharing best practices has never been greater. Many agencies are experiencing a loss of senior staff members through retirements at the same time training budgets are being trimmed. This results in decreased in-house expertise and experience at a time when performance expectations are rising.

Intelligent use of resources is at a premium. It begins with knowing what resources are available and relevant to the situation being addressed. It continues with choosing which of those identified resources serves our needs and objectives best. For example: A need is identified. Should we compete the service or product ourselves? What process would be best? Should we use an existing cooperative contract? Should we team with other agencies to compete it?

NPI’s 44th Annual Conference and Products Exposition in Houston in October will provide an ideal environment and structured program for all of us as public procurement professionals to explore the burning issues affecting us all individually and collectively. So c’mon over!

NPI is looking to develop strategic relationships that effectively enhance

opportunities for our members and sponsors to benefit from interactive and participative opportunities. Collaboration is one of the most important components of our individual and group success. Your participation is invited and valued!

Also, BIG congratulations to the 169 agencies who earned the 2012 Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award! In 1995, NPI established this award to recognize organizational excellence in public procurement. This prestigious award is earned by those organizations that demonstrate excellence based on criteria designed to measure innovation, professionalism, productivity, e-procurement and leadership. In addition to NPI, the AEP is sponsored by CAPPO, FAPPO, NIGP, NASPO, NAEP, and TxPPA. Associate sponsors include Airport Purchasing Group, US Communities, National IPA and UPPCC.

The Houston conference will include an award ceremony featuring those successful recipient agencies in attendance in addition to featuring workshops designed around the award criteria.

Harold (Hal) Good, CPPO

Points of Interest

44th Annual Conference and Products Exposition ............... 2

Delegate Registration Form ....................... 3

AEP Recipients ....... 5

Cloud Computing.... 5

Professional Development ........... 9

News and Notes ......10

September 2012 NPInsights Page 2

Houston, We Have Lift-Off!The Board of Directors for the National Procurement Institute, Inc. (NPI) invites you to attend the 44th Annual Conference and Exposition. It will be held October 21 through October 24, 2012 at the Westin Galleria Hotel in Houston, Texas. Please join us to participate in current professional development activities, listen to knowledgeable and informative speakers and to visit the exhibitors at the Product Expo.

This year’s conference will offer sessions focused on leadership topics, AEP related topics and other professional development courses geared to help you achieve procurement excellence. NPI is also proud to have four former NPI Presidents presenting sessions!

The conference program is designed to facilitate numerous networking opportunities such as a Welcome Reception, Opening Ceremony, Presidential Gala Dinner and the Buyer/Supplier Roundtable Luncheon.

The conference is an excellent opportunity to obtain continuing education hours as well as make learning fun and exciting.

I encourage you to participate and take advantage of this professional growth opportunity. If you have questions or need assistance with conference registration, please contact Craig Rowley, NPI Executive Director, telephone 702-989-8095, or email executivedirector@npiconnection.org. You may contact me by telephone at 940-349-3143 or email scott.arledge@dentoncounty.com.

You can register online at https://www.npiconnection.org/eventbuilder/registration/index.asp or use the registration form on the next page.

I look forward to meeting each of you in Houston!

Sincerely, Scott Arledge

NPI membersConference fee is $575.00. A discounted rate of $525 is offered for early registration up to September 7, 2012.

Nonmembers Conference fee is $675.00. A discounted rate of $625 is offered for early registration up to September 7, 2012

DELEGATE REGISTRATION FORM44th ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND PRODUCt EXPOSItION

hOUStON, tEXAS • October 21-24, 2012

Name (last, first) _______________________________________________________________________ Certification(s)_____________________________

Name to be printed on badge _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

title _________________________________________________ Agency/Organization ________________________________________________________

Guest Name _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mailing Address _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Phone ( _____________ ) ___________________________________________ Fax ( _____________ ) ____________________________________________

E-mail Address ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Any special dietary needs or special accommodations you may require? _________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Is this your first NPI Conference? Yes No

CONFERENCE FEES: these fees cover all scheduled sessions and events, per person, if received by September 7, 2012. Fees increase by $50 if received after this date. the non-NPI member full conference fee includes membership benefits in NPI (if eligible) from time of registration through January 15, 2013.

Fee if Received Early Registration Fee after September 7th

NPI member conference fee .................................................$525.00 .......................$575.00 .............................................. $ __________

Affiliate/NPI Chapter member fee* ....................................$525.00 .......................$575.00 .............................................. $ __________

Non-member fee .....................................................................$625.00 .......................$675.00 .............................................. $ __________

*this rate applies to non-NPI members who are members of an NPI chapter, ISM affiliate, or Recipient of Achievement of Excellence in Procurement.

SINGLE DAY CONFERENCE REGISTRATIONSCheck Conference Day(s): Monday tuesday Wednesday $190/Day $ ___________

RETIRED NPI MEMBER AND SPOUSE/GUEST FEES:Retired members of NPI and delegates’ spouse/guests may attend the conference and products exposition at no charge, but must purchase tickets for the following functions.

Number of guests

Welcome Reception ..................................................Oct. 21, 2012 .....................$50/person ............ Qty:_______ ................. $ __________

Opening Ceremony and Breakfast ........................Oct. 22, 2012.....................$35/person ............ Qty:_______ ................. $ __________

Presidential Banquet.................................................Oct. 22, 2012.....................$75/person ........... Qty:_______ ................. $ __________

Buyer Supplier Lunch ................................................Oct. 23, 2012 .....................$50/person ........... Qty:_______ ................. $ __________

Installation Luncheon ...............................................Oct. 24, 2012 ....................$40/person .......... Qty:_______ ................. $ __________

Full Meal Package ...................................................................................................$250/person .......... Qty:_______ ................. $ __________

TOTAL: ......................... $ __________

PAYMENT METHOD:

Enclosed is my check or money order, payable to NPI in the amount of $________________________

Charge my VISA MAStERCARD AMERICAN EXPRESS

Amount Authorized: _____________________ Card Number: ________________________________________________ Exp. Date: ________________

Name on Card: __________________________________________________ Signature: ________________________________________________________

PLEASE FORWARD APPLICAtION AND PAYMENt tO:MAIL: National Procurement Institute • Delegate Registration • PO Box 370192 • Las Vegas, NV 89137

FAX: 702-967-0744 • Phone: 866-877-7641

National Procurement Institute Annual Conference and Exposition

September 2012 NPInsights Page 4

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September 2012 NPInsights Page 5

CONGRATULATIONS 2012 AEP RECIPIENTS!The National Procurement Institute congratulates the 169 agencies who earned the Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award for 2012. These recipients include 41 counties, 54 cities, 17 higher education agencies, 17 school districts, 29 special districts and 11 state agencies. The award recognizes organizational excellence in procurement by measuring innovation, professionalism, e-procurement, productivity and leadership attributes of the procurement function. AEP awardees obtain a high application score on a rating of standardized criteria.

In addition to NPI, the Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award is sponsored by the California Association of Public Procurement Officials (CAPPO), Florida Association of Public Procurement Officials (FAPPO), the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), NIGP: The Institute for Public Procurement, the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO), the National Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP) and the Texas Public Purchasing Association (TxPPA).

Visit the AEP section of NPI’s website, www.npiconnection.org, to view the list of winners. Also posted on the website is a sample press release to help your agency promote your achievement and a 17-year history of agency AEP awards. Coming soon to the website – the 18th Annual 2013 AEP Application, a schedule of webinars and Best Practices showing this year’s outstanding submissions.

Christine Green, C.P.M.AEP Chair

Contact Christine at 214-987-5480 or cgreen@uptexas.org.

Agency, meet the CloudAn Introduction to Cloud Computing

One of the latest 21st Century buzz concepts floating around today is “cloud computing.” The term cloud computing has been used a lot lately to describe numerous online services, as well as additional computing capacity that resides somewhere out there, somewhere in the cloud. However, defining this concept is tricky if not impossible. Cloud computing is an evolving term and means different things to different people. As a result, after years of work and

“15 drafts,” the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, defines cloud computing as “a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (i.e., networks, servers, storage, applications and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.”

The cloud model defined by NIST is composed of five essential characteristics, three service models and four deployment models. The essential characteristics are on demand self-service; broad network access; resource pooling; rapid elasticity and measured service. On demand self-services are computer services, such

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as email, that are provided without requiring human interaction. Broad network access means providing capabilities over the network and allowing access through multiple platforms (i.e., mobile phones, tablets, iPads, laptops and computers). Resource pooling allows a cloud computing provider to serve multiple customers from a pool of resources. And since the probability of all customers using the cloud resource at one time is low, the cloud provider can free up resources from an inactive user for use by another active user. This allows providers to keep costs low. Elasticity allows customers to increase and/or decrease cloud computing resources on demand. Measured service means that a customer will be charged only for what they use. So what do these five characteristics all mean. Cloud computing allows a provider the flexibility of delivering content, applications and services to any device, anywhere, anytime on a pay for what you need basis regardless of the size of the organization.

There are three service models to cloud computing defined by NIST. These models are Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS); Platform as a service (PaaS); and Software as a Service (SaaS). None of these models are new to technology. However, cloud computing combines and integrates all models. IaaS reduces the time and money it takes to install and configure the various hardware and equipment needed to provide services. In cloud computing, the service provider is responsible for the housing, running and maintenance of the equipment. PaaS provides virtualized servers on which customers can run existing applications or develop new ones without being worried about maintaining the operating systems, server hardware, load balancing or computing capacity. Building this yourself is a time consuming task and needs to be continually monitored and updated. PaaS eliminates this task from the customer. SaaS is the most basic form of cloud computing and the most familiar. SaaS is providing software over the Internet. The customer does not have to worry about software licenses, since they are handled by the service provider. The provider also handles upgrades, patches, or bug fixes. A well-known example of SaaS is Google Docs.

The four deployment models defined by NIST are private cloud, community cloud, public cloud, and hybrid cloud. Each company chooses a deployment model based on their specific business, operational, and technical requirements. The term private cloud refers to the cloud infrastructure that is operated solely for an organization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party and may exist on site or off site. In the community deployment model, the cloud infrastructure is shared by several organizations with the same policy and compliance considerations. This method is cheaper than the private cloud, as it is shared by larger group. The public cloud deployment model represents true cloud hosting. In this deployment model, services and infrastructure are provided to various clients. This service can be provided by a vendor free of charge or on the basis of a pay-per-user license basis. Last, the hybrid cloud deployment model transfer workloads between public and private hosting without any inconvenience to the users.

Cloud computing is a very comprehensive topic to understand and is still in its infancy. It has been coined as the next evolution of computing. Many see cloud computing as one massive wave sweeping through all aspects of an organization, including procurement. However, there are many different types of clouds. The risks and methodologies needed to address them vary greatly. As cloud computing continues to make information technology headlines, procurement vendors will be aggressively promoting the many benefits it can provide organizations. However, we as procurement leaders must do our homework, evaluate the cloud computing resource and provide leadership and guidance to our organization in the area of procurement.

Joanne Stephens, Ph.D.Director Instructional TechnologyBirmingham City SchoolsBirmingham, Alabama

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Pro-D: The Importance of Professional Development in the WorkplaceEvery organization should be concerned about productivity, profitability and performance. One way for organizations to ensure that they are operating at peak levels is to invest in the improvement and development of their employees. In addition, employees have a responsibility to keep their knowledge and skills up to date. Professional development should be accessible to everyone, and each employee should have the opportunity to enhance skill sets to improve organizational value. Professional development incorporates supervision and mentoring opportunities, on-the-job training, leadership training and organizational structures to ensure the foundation of a culture that provides excellence in the workplace.

Professional development is a huge benefit to organizations and their employees. Additional skills and knowledge become applicable in a wide range of contexts, a benefit to both individuals and organizations. Those organizations that offer and invest in professional development for their employees are more likely to retain their top talent and build a promising future for the organization. Employees who receive and participate in training and opportunities for professional development are more loyal to the organization they serve. When organizations cover the cost of training and education, employees feel more content and valued. Professional development increases job satisfaction and morale, meaning that the organization benefits from highly motivated and productive staff members. Continuous professional development will aid employees who aspire to climb the career ladder and simultaneously supply the organization with fully trained and capable employees.

Organizations should evaluate the role of professional development and ensure that each employee is supported through wise investments in training which produces highly competent employees. The overall investment is priceless considering the loss of productivity, profits, and quality when employing incompetent employees displaying poor performance.

Wendolyn Conner-KnightDirector of Professional DevelopmentBirmingham City SchoolsBirmingham, Alabama

September 2012 NPInsights Page 10

Contact Information

National Procurement InstitutePO Box 370192Las Vegas, NV 89137

Craig Rowley, C.P.M.Executive DirectorPhone: (702) 989-8095Phone: (866) 877-7641Fax: (702) 967-0744E-mail: executivedirector@npiconnection.org

Harold (Hal) GoodPresidentHGood@FrederickCountyMD.gov

Brian GarrityNewsletter Chairbgarrity@orovalleyaz.gov

Kelsie WiebeNewsletter Designkwiebe@marana.com

Past issues are posted at www.npiconnection.org

An Association of Government Procurement

Professionals

News and NotesRetirementCongratulations to Mark Neihart, Director of Procurement, on his recent retirement from the City of Tucson. The National Procurement Institute would like to take this opportunity to thank Mark for his many years of service to our association. Mark has served on the NPI Board in several capacities, including leading the association as the 2009 NPI President. Mark has been an inspiration to many NPI members, and a true professional and trusted colleague. Mark, we wish you the very best on your retirement!

Marcheta Gillespie was named as the Interim Director of Procurement for the City of Tucson following Mark’s retirement.

Spec. LibraryNPI’s sample specification section has been updated! Members can access newly added specifications and solicitations by visiting https://www.npiconnection.org/membersonly/sample_specs.asp. All sample specifications and solicitations are submitted voluntarily by our members in order to provide an additional resource for information. The library is only as good as its content, so please submit your specifications to be added by emailing them to January Cook at january.cook@flower-mound.com.

Call for ParticipationDid you know that there are many ways to get more out of your NPI membership? The association’s biggest asset is you! Please consider getting more involved in NPI by participating on committees, writing articles for the newsletter (who doesn’t like to see their name in print?), submitting specifications or solicitations for inclusion in our library, and the list goes on and on! Many of these activities will gain you points for your AEP application, and all of them will provide you and other members with an enormous benefit – sharing of knowledge!