This is the ideal opportunity to view a demo of the SMART Suite – a service management portal that leverages the latest cloud technologies. It’s setting the standard for Help Desk IT services, boasting enterprise capabilities at a fraction of competitors’ costs. Additional features include:

• An intuitive, easy-to-learn user interface that reduces training effort and accelerates time-to-productivity

• Integrated ITIL®-compliant incident, problem, change, asset, and knowledge management processes

• An integrated web-based solution designed on Microsoft® .NET platform

• Ability to get up and running in days – not months

In addition to offering demonstrations of the portal, Leap Innovation is hosting a drawing to win a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate. Simply drop off your business card and signup for our newsletter.

What: 2010 Business + IT Expo

When: April 29, 8am to 3:30pm

Where: 100 North Third St, Room West 301, Phoenix, AZ

Register: Click here. Tickets start at $15.

Leap Innovation President Donovan Hardenbrook will cover:

• Identifying the business rationale for implementing ITIL

• Gaining executive commitment and support

• The ITIL implementation team

• Understanding and communicating change

• Developing an implementation roadmap

• Importance of process and technology integration

The catered event will be held from 11:30am to 1pm at Telesphere, located at 9237 E. Via de Ventura, Ste. 250, Scottsdale, AZ 85258. It’s free for members of the Arizona Technology Council. It’s $10 for everyone else. Click here to register.

In Apple’s quest to create a compelling product that no one else could duplicate, it has taken on new headaches related to chip design and manufacturing. While PA Semi appears to have given Apple a jump start on chip design, it remains to be seen if Apple can provide enough R&D resources to keep the performance up to snuff. Even more concerning is whether Apple has the competency to handle the complexities of chip manufacturing. Dealing with contract manufacturers to qualify and ramp manufacturing can cause nightmares and many sleepless nights. These are things it didn’t have to worry about when Intel took care of all the design and manufacturing.

The pundits are taking sides as to whether the iPad will be a market winner. Apple has had much success recently with its new products, and I’m sure it will with the iPad. But what I really want to see is if Apple can successfully manage its new foray into chip design and manufacturing. Right now your guess would be as good as mine.

Hardenbrook Consulting, a high-tech product development consultancy, is re-branding itself as Leap Innovation to better reflect a new business focus. In addition to product development consulting, Arizona-based Leap Innovation has expanded its services into quality management process improvement and IT solutions…

When the economy goes bad, it's hard to fight the natural instinct to conserve cash. That's not the best move to make when it comes to managing your product portfolio however, says Donovan R. Hardenbrook, principal of Hardenbrook Consulting. The end result for companies holding back on research-and-development during a downturn is "they don't have anything new in their product portfolio that is of interest to their customers," when better times eventually return, he notes…

Business owners can chart a course through most situations, but a new consulting field is beginning to flourish as sustainability gains traction in the business world…

Fall 2008: Tech Connect – Green Product Development 101: 5 Issues Every Tech Company Needs to Know (page 29) (PDF Link)

Many companies are rushing into eco-marketing their products and services without evaluating the implications on their brand and customer loyalty. Improper planning can lead to decreased sales and bad press. So before making the sustainable leap, take the time to understand what it truly means to be “green” in today’s marketplace. Here are five issues every technology company needs to address before making that leap...

Five questions Donovan Hardenbrook, founder of Leap Innovation (formerly Hardenbrook Consulting), which focuses on high-tech green and sustainability product development...

Donovan Hardenbrook knows something about bringing a tech product to market, and now he's sharing that information.

Producing more memory with more capacity makes it cheaper for the manufacturer and, ultimately, for the end user. "If you can keep shrinking it, you get efficiencies in everything you do," Hardenbrook said…