Brent Baiotto

Critical Steps for Successful Technology Implementation

With more than two decades of experience at the executive level of top organizations, Brent Baiotto currently serves as the executive vice president of Integrated Holistic Services, a small-business consultancy in Southlake, Texas. In this position, Brent Baiotto supervises aspects of new technology implementation on both large and small scales.

Technology implementation ideally starts with the establishment of the specific needs of users in the context of the organization as a whole. This is sometimes called baselining or current state.

Next, the technology implementation project needs to establish ways that those needs can be met. In other words, what should be the functionality of an ideal solution?

With the answer to that question, team members can begin examining system options. Ideally, a solution will be found that meets all of the business requirements. Once the solutions are chosen and put in place, their effectiveness needs to be verified consistently until they are proven to be adequate.

What Is SaaS and Why It Might Be Good for Business?

Brent Baiotto serves as the executive vice president for Integrated Holistic Services, a consultancy business based in Southlake Texas. In this role, Brent Baiotto assists clients with setting up software-as-a-service (SaaS) to meet their business needs.

SaaS is a cloud computing format that allows businesses to perform several applications ranging from billing/payroll processing to infrastructure and database management. SaaS provides businesses with an easy way to create infrastructure because the program is web-based, as opposed to traditional software that would be licensed to businesses and installed on each computer.

A company pays an annual or monthly subscription fee to access a cloud-based database that performs several tasks (based on the contract and business). SaaS is a more efficient way for small-to-medium-sized businesses to operate because it alleviates many of the responsibilities related to building and maintaining a database.

Integrating SaaS into the company’s operations can help save costs of hiring IT professionals. Since the Saas providers are responsible for the maintenance of the platform, they take care of many of the issues related to keeping the platform up-to-date and operating efficiently. SaaS also reduces the amount of software piracy because the platform is subscription-based one that provides users with access to an online account. Its reliability and quick installation and maintenance translate into more earnings for the business.

Adventures Ahead Program Bridges Illiteracy Gap

Business executive and strategist Brent Baiotto serves Integrated Holistic Services as the company’s executive vice president. Brent Baiotto also volunteers in community works through the Redeemer Community Partnership (RCP).

One of RCP’s concerns is to bridge the illiteracy gap among its students. In 1996, the organization began a program called “Adventures Ahead” to supplement formal classroom instruction.

According to RCP, 85 percent of the students who arrive at Adventures Ahead have performed below their grade levels in reading. At Mack Elementary School and Weemes Elementary School, only 14 percent of the fifth graders are proficient in Math while only 15 percent are proficient in English Language Arts. These ratings are based on California’s standardized tests.

Today, Adventures Ahead provides regular tutoring to 30 students. The students go through an individualized reading curriculum for at least nine hours per week while still taking regular classroom instruction. During summer months, Adventures Ahead offers an academically rigorous program that incorporates science, math, and health education.