Carnegie Mellon Software Institute Recognizes Maryland Entrepreneur with Prestigious Award.
(2006 Recipient of GBTC’s Connector Award Receives Exceptional Recognition)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 7, 2007
CONTACT:Entinex

11/07/2007, BALTIMORE, MD -- The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) of Carnegie Mellon University, one of the leading software engineering research and development organizations in the world, announced that Hillel Glazer, Principal and CEO, of Entinex has achieved its Certified High Maturity Lead Appraiser recognition.  The designation, held by just over 100 individuals worldwide, authorizes Glazer to perform appraisals of organizations' processes to the highest two levels of achievement as measured by SEI's Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) framework for process improvement.

Glazer’s Maryland-based company, Entinex, works with companies globally to improve productivity and consistency from their technical workforce.  SEI administers a series of demanding requirements including a 3-hour oral exam for this highly sought certification award, which SEI developed to set standards for process improvement consulting in the complex engineering field.  "This certification recognizes [Glazer's] expertise for determining that an organization has demonstrated the capability to quantitatively manage its projects to produce high-quality, predictable results ... [and is] recognition from the SEI as a member of the select group of individuals who are setting the standards for the lead appraiser community."  said Jeff Welch, the SEI's Certification Manager in an email.

In a field where many of the professionals come from auditing or testing (think: IRS or Sarbanes-Oxley) -- Glazer, the 2006 winner of the Greater Baltimore Technology Council's "Connector"  award, has developed a reputation for expertise in integrating business processes with real-life situations.

"The Carnegie Mellon SEI distinction goes beyond being one of about a hundred people,"  notes Robert Rosenbaum, Managing Director of local investment firm, Nobska Ventures.  "Hillel is actually one of only two or three people in the world that has the ability, and now, the certification to implement, coach, and perform high maturity appraisals of companies that are small, or work on small projects, or using agile or lean software development methods."  Rosenbaum notes, Glazer is a rare find, "when looking for CMMI consulting most of what's out in the marketplace sounds the same.  Hillel and Entinex have a value-proposition no one can touch."  Entinex has been working with Nobska Ventures on several projects.

Karyl Owings is a manager at Arlington-based Creative Information Technlogy, Inc., a technology and project management provider to Federal agencies, and another of Entinex's clients. Owings says, "Glazer’s methods were far and above anything I've seen in this field.  I'm not at all surprised that the SEI saw fit to bestow him with this certification.  I never doubted he'd make it."  When asked about what makes Glazer and Entinex a different consulting experience, Owings was quick to explain that the firm's methods don't expect companies to contort to fit CMMI, rather "... Glazer has so thoroughly internalized the CMMI that he can take an engineering approach to help us construct processes that really do have an immediate benefit."

"We knew hiring Hillel would be both educational and constructive,"  says another client, Jeff Dutton, Chief Engineer at the ITSS segment of Jacobs Technology, Inc., in Huntsville, AL.  "In our first meeting he far exceeded our expectations!  We're quite experienced with CMMI and yet we were stunned at just how much progress he could make in so little time."  Dutton, himself a CMMI Lead Appraiser, explains their hiring of Glazer was precipitated by the Department of Defense's requirement to be appraised by someone who doesn't work for the company, and their choice of Glazer, specifically, was "because he understands the unique needs of small organizations and of those using 'lean' development practices.  In our office, we're both and he's the only guy I know who really 'gets it'."

"They make it sound like there was never a question about becoming [certified],"  Glazer says of his clients and colleagues who gave him moral support throughout his preparation for and in the weeks between taking the certification exam and learning of the results.  "In fact, I had my doubts.  The certification oral exam was very challenging."

Glazer is currently working on solving a process challenge of his own, scaling his company to meet more clients’ needs.  Being one of a handful of individuals in the world has already created issues for the small company.  Although only a narrow few of the firm's clients actually need someone at the table with all of Glazer's experience and credentials, "I can't be everywhere ... for most of our clients it's me they really want on the job."  Glazer describes how he's addressing the challenge using a term appreciated by software developers, "I'm eating my own dog food."  Meaning, he's using his own work to solve his problem: by examining his business processes and working to improve them.

In addition to this CMMI SEI recognition, Glazer, 39, has received several local, regional, and national recognitions and he is active with the Greater Baltimore Technology Council and other associations.

CMMI and SCAMPI are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by Carnegie Mellon University.

###

About Entinex, Inc.
Branded as the technology strategy company, Entinex, Inc. is the premiere software process improvement firm for small-to-medium organizations.  Helping them become world-class companies, Entinex clients know how to get from estimates to actuals predictably, profitably, and consistently.  Entinex clients are improving their productivity and consistency at delivering on their customers' expectations, on time and on budget.  Established in 2001, Entinex’s capabilities draw on over 19 years of experience in engineering, consulting, developing, deploying, and implementing technology.  Entinex is based in the Greater Baltimore-Washington region and has experience with and served clients throughout the region, out-of-state, and internationally.

About the SEI

Since 1984, the Carnegie Mellon® Software Engineering Institute (SEI) has served the nation as a federally funded research and development center.  The SEI staff has advanced software engineering principles and practices and has served as a national resource in software engineering, computer security, and process improvement.  As part of Carnegie Mellon University, which is well known for its highly rated programs in computer science and engineering, the SEI operates at the leading edge of technical innovation.  The SEI works closely with defense and government organizations, industry, and academia to continually improve our software-intensive systems.