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Kennedy Space Center

Advanced Integrated Solutions, Inc. & LearnQuest Collaborate to Deliver Crucial BigFix Training to NASA

Advanced Integrated Solutions, Inc. is an IBM Premier Business Partner and leader in providing Service Management, Service Delivery, IT Security and IBM Training solutions to customers across the United States and Canada.  AIS aligns with LearnQuest as an Education Partner in order to deliver IBM authorized training to clients who desire private or custom instructional courses.  Advanced Integrated Solutions, Inc. and LearnQuest recently collaborated to assist NASA with a very challenging and time sensitive IBM BigFix training requirement.

The Request

NASA was mere weeks from their IBM BigFix implementation rollout when it was discovered the staff training being provided by their contracted systems integrator was to be delivered through Self-Paced Virtual PowerPoint slide decks.  This was unacceptable as the client had requested onsite, instructor-led, classroom training.  Dates had been selected, classrooms booked and student travel arranged for when this discrepancy was discovered.  The client contacted IBM’s Federal Government team for help.  Based on Advanced Integrated Solutions, Inc. leadership in successful deliveries of customized IBM BigFix training courses, IBM immediately reached out to AIS.

The Challenges

  • Client desired onsite, instructor-led,
    customized, classroom training for 60-students.
    Students from 12 centers across the country with multiple organizations
    at each center required on-site training for their BigFix Operators.
  • Due to the client’s scheduled go-live dates
    required training had to be delivered in less than 5 weeks’ time.
  • Client needed to enhance the IS720 IBM Big Fix Platform Fundamentals
    course with emphasis on Patch, Inventory and Security/Compliance.  Inventory and Security/Compliance are not
    covered in the standard IS720 course so custom content had to be
    developed.

The Solution

Advanced Integrated Solutions, Inc. contacted LearnQuest to see if they could provision labs and student kits for this large group in a short timeframe.  LearnQuest ensured the IBM labs would be available for all 60 students and provided special pricing on the courseware so AIS could submit the most competitive bid possible.  As a result, Advanced Integrated Solutions, Inc. was awarded the contract.

During the time leading up to the course, Advanced Integrated Solutions, Inc. worked with the client to tailor the curriculum and develop custom content not addressed in the standard IBM IS720G course.  LearnQuest provided instrumental, behind-the-scenes, administrative support to Advanced Integrated Solutions, Inc. by adding the private class to the LearnQuest schedule and reserving the IBM labs.  LearnQuest also devised a “work around” solution to register students using numbers rather than names, as NASA was not able to provide student names for registration prior to the course.

Due to the extraordinary class size, the largest single-class enrollment of any LearnQuest class to date, Advanced Integrated Solutions, Inc. structured the delivery of the course using two instructors.  A lead instructor to focus on and deliver lecture content and a circulating instructor to answer student questions and assist with facilitating the IBM labs.

The Outcome

Based on the results of the final evaluations and student feedback, the class was very well received.  Students, client and instructors were exceptionally pleased — so much so, NASA has requested a second run of this class to be taught in December 2016.

NASA

NASA Returns to Advanced Integrated Solutions, Inc. & LearnQuest for Agency-Wide IBM BigFix Training

Advanced Integrated Solutions (Advanced Integrated Solutions, Inc.) and LearnQuest recently teamed up to return to NASA to provide customized IBM BigFix training for all users on an agency-wide basis. Advanced Integrated Solutions, Inc. successfully provided similar instruction to NASA for a large capacity class of 60 students in August 2016, and 15 more students in December 2016.

The Request

Following the completion of their IBM BigFix implementation rollout in 2016, NASA reached out to Advanced Integrated Solutions, in March 2017 to provide customized, onsite, instructor-led, IBM BigFix Platform Fundamentals training for all BigFix users across four (4) of their Space Center locations.

  • NASA desired two (2) onsite class deliveries,
    back-to-back, at four (4) Space Center locations enrolling 20 students per
    class.  The final effort would encompass eight
    (8) courses and 160 students.
  • NASA needed to enhance the IS720 IBM BigFix Platform Fundamentals course with emphasis
    on Patch, Inventory and Security/Compliance.
    Inventory and Security/Compliance are not covered in the standard IS720
    course so custom content was developed and integrated into the standard course.
  • NASA requested class run dates between mid-March
    and end of April 2017 – so time was of the essence.

The Solution

Advanced Integrated Solutions, coordinated with LearnQuest to ensure labs and student material kits could be procured in the short time frame.  LearnQuest ensured the IBM labs would be available and provided special pricing on the courseware given the large and multiple class format.  LearnQuest also provided behind-the-scenes, administrative support to ensure all classes were scheduled properly, the correct amount of labs reserved and changed their Partner Portal website to allow Advanced Integrated Solutions, as their Education Partner, to view final student evaluations directly, in real-time.

Advanced Integrated Solutions then worked with NASA to devise a custom curriculum that fit into a 1-week per location class schedule.  Classes were tailored from the standard 3-day delivery format to a 2.5 day format so both classes could be run during the same week. Advanced Integrated Solutions Senior, Instructor and Principal Consultant, Mark Mooney, was assigned and delivered instruction in consecutive weeks to the following Centers – 1) Goddard Space Flight Center, DC, 2) Johnson Space Center, TX, 3) Armstrong Flight Research Center, CA and 4) Kennedy Space Center, FL.

The Outcome

Based on the results of the final evaluations and student feedback, the class was very well received by all of the NASA Space Center locations.  Average instructor rating
over the course of all eight (8) classes was 4.90 out of 5.0.  In addition to the multitude of positive instructor
reviews, students also particularly enjoyed the tailored nature of this course
as the instructor was able to apply many of the lecture and lab examples
specific to how NASA is currently using IBM BigFix within their environment.

Students, client and instructor were exceptionally pleased with the overall training effort; in fact, Advanced Integrated Solutions, is now in discussions with NASA to deliver a more advanced customized IBM BigFix course for their Master Operators in the near future.

About Advanced Integrated Solutions, Inc.

Advanced Integrated Solutions, Inc. is an IBM Premier Business Partner and leader in providing Service Management, Service Delivery, IT Security and IBM Training solutions to customers across the United States and Canada. Advanced Integrated Solutions, Inc. aligns with LearnQuest to deliver IBM authorized training to clients who desire private or custom instructional courses.