Optimal Connections, LLC 

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HDI
Certified Instructor

 


itSMF Member
IT Service Manager
ITIL V3 Expert

 



HDI Support
Center Auditor
 



Officer - HDI Orange County

 


Member
Association of
Support Professionals

 

New Focus Book!

HDI has just published a new Focus Book authored by Paul M. Dooley:

 "Building a Web Support Portal: Keys to Success"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



About Us

Vision

Our vision is to be an innovative, quality provider of IT training and support services, enabling  organizations to optimize the operation of their support centers, resulting in stronger relationships with employees and customers, a high level of support center performance, and greater return on investment.

Mission

Our mission is to deliver quality, cost-effective training and consulting services to organizations that boost support center and IT performance, enable optimized connections with employees and customers, and deliver exceptional return on investment.  We do this by providing:

bulletInformative and results-oriented support center training, IT consulting and certification services
bulletQuality web design, development and search engine optimization services
bulletCost-effective survey and market research services

President and Founder

Paul M. Dooley, MBA
ITIL Service Manager and V3 Expert
President,
Principal Consultant 

With over 30 years of experience in the high technology and software development industry, Paul has held numerous positions in customer services, support and marketing.  Experience includes front line technical support (levels 1, 2 and 3), support team lead, international support manager, manager of service business development, marketing manager and director of solutions marketing.

Experience and expertise includes set up of support policies and procedures, support center consolidation, selection & development of Knowledge Management Systems, implementation of sophisticated Service Management Systems, support marketing strategy and collateral development, new service development and launch, and general service and support management.

Paul has held positions with leading high technology companies, notably Motorola, FileNET, and most recently with QAD, Inc.  Recent clients have included the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB), Oregon Software Association, MCTSSA (Marine Corps. Support Center), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - National Help Desk, and many others (see our Testimonial page for recent quotes. Paul's background also includes:

bulletBoard Officer - Education Chair of ITSMF LA Chapter.  Paul was elected as Education Chair of the Los Angeles Local Interest Group (LIG) of the IT Service Management Forum (ITSMF) in Dec., 2010.  He serves the LA ITSMF chapter as the advisor and coordinator for education and training events.
 
bulletContributing member - Help Desk Institute (HDI).  Paul was a team leader in updating the HDI Support Center Certification (SCC) standards in 2004. In 2005, Paul also led the team to update the HDI Customer Support Specialist (CSS) and Help Desk Analyst (HDA) Standards. 
 
bulletPast President and Advisor to the Help Desk Institute (HDI), Orange County Chapter
Paul acts as Advisor to the local chapter of HDI, as well as Newsletter Editor.  For more information please visit the Orange County HDI web site at www.hdioc.org.

 
bulletCertified HDI Auditor.  Paul is one of the few individuals certified by HDI as a Support Center Auditor.  Recent organizations certified by HDI through Paul's efforts include Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC), T-Systems, The National Help Desk (U.S. Customs and Border Protection), MCTSSA (Marine Corps. Support Center), and QAD - HDI's first Global Support Center Certification. 
 
bulletAuthor of industry publications.  Paul has authored a number of articles and white papers, including "How to Market the Value of Your Support", "7 Steps to Exceptional Customer Service", and others.  His latest book, published through HDI in Dec. 2007, is entitled "Building a Web Support Portal: Keys to Success".  Recent publications include:
 
bullet "Welcome to Your New Career in Technical Service & Support" - SupportWorld - Sept/Oct 2010
bullet "Transforming Your People Resources: A Continual Learning Approach" - SupportWorld,
Nov/Dec 2010

 
bulletRegular speaker at Industry Events.  Paul has been a featured speaker at industry and local service & support events:
bulletHDI's 2005 Conference in Las Vegas, presenting on two topics: "HDI's Support Center Certification (SCC) Program", and "How to Market the Value of Your Support".
bulletHDI 2006 Conference:  panel speaker on Support Center Certification
bulletHDI 2008 Conference, Dallas Texas:  "Building a Web Self-Service Portal-Keys to Success", and "Easy to Use Financial Tools for Effective Decision Making"
bulletITSMF 2008 'Fusion' Conference, San Francisco - Sept 2008 "Building a Web Self-Service Portal-Keys to Success".
bullet ITSMF 2009 'Fusion' Conference: "Transitioning to a Knowledge-Powered Service Desk", part of "Track 3 - Service Operations with a Side of Change".
bulletITSMF 2010 'Fusion' Conference in Louisville, Kentucky: "Transforming Resources:  A Continual Learning Approach"

Paul also speaks regularly at local itSMF meetings, HDI local chapter meetings, and at related industry events.
 

bullet Education:  Paul hold's a Bachelors in International Relations from California State University in Fullerton, and a Masters of Business Administration degree from National University, San Diego.
 
bullet ITIL V2 Certifications:  Paul has achieved a number of ITIL V2 certifications, including ITIL Foundations certification, ITIL Practitioner in Service Desk and Incident Management, and ITIL Service Manager
 
bullet ITIL V3 Certifications include: ITIL V3 Foundations, and ITIL Intermediate certifications in:
bullet Service Life-cycle Stream:  Service Strategy (SS), Service Design (SD), Service Transition (ST), Service Operations (SO), and Continual Service Improvement (CSI)
bullet Service Capability Stream:  Planning, Protection & Optimization (PPO); Release, Control and Validation (RC&V); and Operational Support and Analysis (OS&A)
 
bullet ITIL V3 Expert:  Advanced certification as an ITIL V3 Expert
 
bullet ITIL Training Certification:  Paul is a Certified ITpreneurs Trainer in ITIL Foundations V3.  He is also a certified instructor for HDI, as well as ITSM Academy.
 
bullet ISO Certifications:  Information Security Foundation, based on ISO/IEC 27002
 
bullet HDI Certifications:  From the Help Desk Institute (HDI) include Support Center Analyst (SCA), Support Center Team Lead (SCTL), Support Center Manager (SCM), Certified HDI Instructor, and Certified HDI Auditor of Help Desk and Customer Support Operations.

Paul specializes in the following areas of service delivery: 

bulletHDI Certified Instructor Training classes
bulletITIL Foundations Training classes
bulletHelp Desk, Support Center and IT Consulting Services
bulletHelp Desk and Support Center Assessments
bulletHDI Support Center Certification Audits
bulletGeneral IT and Support Center Consulting Services

Denny Mack
Consultant, Service Management

Denny’s experience includes 35 plus years in the high technology hardware and software services business. He has held key positions at IBM, Data General, FileNet and most recently at Vision Solutions Inc.

At Vision Solutions, Mack was Executive VP responsible for implementation services, training and maintenance support. Vision provides enterprise level high availability software solutions, working closely with the major hardware system providers, such as IBM.

At FileNet, Mack was Senior VP for Customer Services and Support and responsible for building the customer support operation as well as growing the services and support business to over $80 million dollars during his ten years with the company.

Prior to FileNet, Mack served as division director for field operations at Data General (the former “DG”) where he managed 1,500 employees and maintained responsibility for $500 million in maintenance revenue.

During his 20 years at IBM, Denny held several field and headquarters’ senior management positions, including serving as a consultant to the chairman of the board regarding IBM’s hardware services and support divisions.

Denny has been actively involved in support industry professional associations:

bulletServing as a board member for the Association for Services Management International;
bulletEnjoying recognition as an SSPA award winner;
bullet Actively participating in the Information Technology Services Marketing Association (ITSMA)

Mack earned his bachelor's degree from Syracuse University and a Master’s in Business Administration from Pace University in New York.

Denny specializes in the following areas of service delivery: 

bulletSupport center strategic business consulting
bulletSupport center best practices - growing support and maintenance revenue
bulletSupport center leadership training seminars

Ron Freedman
Technical Support Services

A principal consultant and partner in the company, Ron has over 25 years of experience in high technology service and support.  Ron is a seasoned customer service and support professional in the high tech large systems marketplace, with many years of experience with such firms as Lucent Technologies, Stratus Computer, and Prime Computer.

 Ron’s skills cover a broad range, from supporting sophisticated hardware to large scale mission critical software systems.  And its not only the delivery of technical support Ron has become an expert at – he’s been responsible for maintaining high customer satisfaction and optimal customer relationships at some of the largest private and governmental organizations.

Certifications include:

bulletMicrosoft Network Specialist Certification, 1999
bulletCertified for all Microsoft OS networking, protocols, and network configurations
bulletCertified DNCP Engineer – Lucent Technologies
bulletSearch Engine Marketing certification - 2004

Ron specializes in the following areas of service delivery: 

bulletGeneral Technical Support Services
bulletSearch Engine Marketing Consulting
bulletSearch Engine Optimization Services
bulletField support workshops and training

Industry Organizations

Service and Support Industry associations we're a member of include the Help Desk Institute (HDI), the Association of Support ProfessionalsIT Service Management Forum (itSMF),itSMF Los Angeles LIG, and HDI Orange County,