The key to cloud/hosted “as-a-service” offerings is ironclad IT support on the back end. Hosters should provide support that is ideally better than what most of their clients can provide in-house. In this fashion they can assure their customers that their programs will be delivered successfully with near-perfect reliability: and rapid and accurate issue management in the hopefully few instances that it is needed.

Verizon is doing just that. It and SAP (News - Alert) America will be jointly delivering the SAP Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM) rapid-deployment solution via Verizon's cloud Computing as a Service (CaaS) offering.

Workers will now be able to access SAP CRM from their desktops or their mobile devices. And to ensure that any IT support issues are handled rapidly and effectively, Verizon (News - Alert) has at the ready a dedicated help desk that uses Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) processes with ITIL trained- and- certified reps.

ITIL, says Verizon: “provides customers with a single point of accountability and a structured management approach for service-related matters.”

Verizon CaaS offers enterprise clients an advanced application delivery system comprising integrated worldwide delivery centers, underpinned by the Verizon global IP network. Clients can leverage the Verizon private network for additional protection. Verizon’s clients also have visibility into the Verizon CaaS-based delivery of SAP applications via a secure Web portal.

By accessing SAP CRM and subsequent applications in the cloud, enterprises can benefit from easier and faster deployments, says SAP and Verizon. The SAP rapid deployment solution offers enterprises a ready-to-use combination of software, pre-defined services and pre-configured content at a pre-defined price: that can be deployed much more quickly, sometimes in as little as eight weeks.

Additionally, enterprises can now integrate their SAP applications with Verizon’s Managed Mobility platform by leveraging the Sybase (News - Alert) Unwired Platform to mobilize applications including the Mobile Sales for SAP CRM application. With this sales representatives will gain access to up-to-the-minute customer information via their hand-held devices, enabling them to make better informed decisions virtually anywhere, anytime.

“Enterprises are truly changing the way they do business,” said Kerry Bailey, group president, cloud strategy and services for Verizon. “Verizon and SAP have joined forces to harness the true potential of the cloud by delivering proven enterprise applications that enable workers to enhance their ability to serve clients and to better business outcomes. Together, we are opening up a whole new world that allows clients to truly work without boundaries.”

So is ITIL. ITIL offers a systematic, efficient and effective support processes that, like arguably cloud/hosting, enables organizations to “do more/with less.”

The RCCSP Professional Education Alliance permits firms to obtain the full benefits from ITIL through a comprehensive set of ITIL certification and training courses. RCCSP’s ITIL certification and training classes take place at various metro areas across the U.S., in Canada and virtually.

Here is the schedule for the ITIL version 3 foundation training course to the end of May 2011. The details are on the RCCSP site as to the exact locations and costs.

March 21-23 - New York, N.Y., Atlanta, Ga.
March 28-30 - Chicago, Ill, Las Vegas, Nevada, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
March 29-31 - Dallas, Texas
April 4-6 - Houston, Texas, Minneapolis, Minn., Sacramento, Calif., Washington, D.C. Also Virtual Classroom
April 5-7 - Herndon, Va.
April 11-13 - Austin, Texas, Columbus, Ohio, Philadelphia, Pa.
April 18-20 - Baltimore, Md., Kansas City, Mo., Oklahoma, Okla.
April 19-21 - Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
April 25-27 - San Antonio, Texas, San Diego, Calif., Washington, D.C.
April 26-28 - Reston, Va.
May 2-4 - Baltimore, Md., Dallas, Texas, Honolulu, Hawaii, San Jose, Calif.
May 4-6 - Herndon, Va., Raleigh, N.C., Toronto, Ontario, Canada
May 9-11 - Atlanta, Ga., Rockville, Md., Rochester, N.Y.
May 16-18 - Dulles, Va., Indianapolis, Ind., Morristown, N.J., Washington, D.C.
May 23-25 - Boston, Mass., Chicago, Ill., Denver, Colo., New York, N.Y.