new business

Technologies for change

Judi Hasson — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:16:27 -0400

It may not be what many CIOs would have imagined, but a revolution is taking place in the IT field. The changes involve the increased need for compliance and minimizing risk on all fronts, new business pressures to reduce costs and requirements to actively support business competitiveness.

It also involves the move away from IT skill groups and professional backgrounds, toward a more customer-centric model. These and other changes still come to mean CIOs must understand the shifts, make constant adjustments, and be ready to adopt new technologies. According to CIOupdate.com, "There are a number of game-changing technologies, most conspicuously CMDB systems..." that can affect the IT workplace. The list also includes Application Dependency Mapping (ADM) capabilities that provide "dynamic insights into where your application services reside across the infrastructure and how configuration changes are likely to impact them."

To read more about these trends:
- see this CIOupdate.com article

Innovation is the name of the game

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 07:00:00 -0500

The name of the game in 2008 is innovation. And that means there is no need to spend scarce dollars on new technology or to recycle old stuff. This is the year to take what you have and make it work for you. It's not a moment too soon to tackle a new way of doing business. IT spending this year is expected to grow between 5 and 6 percent after investment experts pared back their original predictions of an 8 percent jump in 2008. That is not the only change anticipated for CIOs this year. It is expected to be a tough year in the IT market, and a tougher year for CIOs trying to keep the bottom line in the black while keeping customers--both inside and outside their firms--happy.

All this means that CIOs must have sharp instincts to do the best job possible and not be detoured by extraneous issues. If a technology is not working, take it down. If a tool is too expensive, phase it out. It could be the the best of times for CIOs who know their way through the thick underbrush of change. Yet it may be the worst of times, too, for CIOs as they dodge obstacles in their markets. Let us know what you are hearing out there and more importantly, what you are doing. We are on the alert for the trends that are emerging in your backyard. -Judi

Security still an enigma for most CIOs

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 20:01:40 -0400

Among the challenges facing the modern CIO, convincing other executives to commit the same level of funding to security as to strategic, potentially money-making applications that directly advance organizational objectives is one of the most difficult. Still, as the stories in today's technology section illustrate, CIO's who don't integrate and deploy security strategies that pro-actively manage strategic risks do so at their peril. The main problem, as I see it, is that security is still seen by most organizations as an exercise in solid defense. The reason this approach is flawed, is that there are simply too many variables to account for--making security breaches all but inevitable. The InformationWeek article below illustrates a growing awareness among smart CIOs that security should not be viewed in a vacuum, but rather, should be integrated into the early stages of new business process design and application development. Similarly, NetworkWorld's coverage of the threats posed to Domain Name Systems, despite significant efforts and investments by corporate security professionals, illustrates the problems inherent in a defensive approach to security. The best defense, they say, is a strong offense. At any rate, I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on how CIOs can revise their approach to security, so if you have any ideas, please drop me a line. Enjoy the issue. -Patty

Why CIO pay packages are increasing

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 20:01:39 -0400

Along with new business responsibilities come a big increase in pay for CIOs, according to Baseline's ranking of high-paid information-technology executives. This year the list includes 39 millionaires, up from 21 last year. Many of those on the list manage other operations beyond technology, including logistics and customer service. For example Alltel's Jeff Fox, who made $9 million last year, is in charge of technology, but also is president of the company's shared services group. And, he's only 44--one of the youngest on the list. Looking for a piece of this million dollar action? A top-notch CIO needs to know more details about how each part of the company operates than his counterparts have to know about IT, according to John Stevenson, who has been CIO at Sharp Electronics and Avaya and is a former president of the Society for Information Management. "You need to have a dose of knowledge of every other executive position to be successful," he told Baseline.

For more on CIO pay packages:
- see this Baseline article

CIOs in Major Cities Forge Ahead with MuniWiFi

Wed, 06 Jun 2007 20:01:38 -0400

Many CIOs from various large cities are moving ahead with their citywide WiFi plans, despite criticisms of high cost and unreliable service. Cities can justify their investment by attracting new business, through support of public safety radio traffic, and by abolishing the digital divide. Bill Oates, chief information officer for Boston, had been running his city's new WiFi network for a month in the blocks surrounding City Hall when citizens began to complain that the Internet service provider used a content filter that blocked certain websites. The number of municipalities with planned or deployed public broadband networks has risen from 122 in July 2005 to 385 in May 2007, according to MuniWireless.

Read more about what other cities are doing:
- See this article from CIO Magazine

Giving business intelligence and analytics their due

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 20:01:39 -0400

CIOs should start factoring strategic objectives and accompanying business intelligence capabilities into their budget and planning cycles. That means an awareness of the business-as-usual operational issues, as well as a newfound focus on strategic goals. IT budgets should focus not only on well-defined business functions but on strategic business initiatives as well. This has significant implications on business intelligence (BI) programs since they often fall outside of operationally focused priorities. If not, business intelligence and analytics get shoved further and further back in the priority queue. As new business requests are made, IT must distinguish between operational needs and those programs that mandate business intelligence. And CIOs should have the right skills and processes in place to distinguish between new, business-driven requests and operational enhancements. While business intelligence might be a fraction of the CIO's overall budget, IT should always ensure that strategic objectives do not routinely draw the short straw.

Read more about BI and analytics:
- read the article at Business Intelligence Network

ALSO:
- read this on how vision and leadership lead to BI success
- this on the basics of business intelligence
- this on intelligent business intelligence
- this on being an analytic competitor
- and this on using analytics to gain insight

ALSO NOTED: Business-focused IT degrees; Is resistance to outsourcing futile?;

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 20:01:38 -0400

> Universities and employers back new business-focused IT degrees. Article

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And Finally… Beware geeks seeking jobs. Article

New business tools promise to increase productivity

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 20:01:38 -0400

A host of new business tools have the potential to change the way that businesses operate and the way that employees work. A new breed of organizational tools, for example, can keep employees organized without regard to their location. Examples include Scrybe, which makes your calendar accessible both on and offline; Tungle, a downloadable plug-in for scheduling meetings with groups of people; and Calgoo, an online and offline calendar syncing product. Similarly, mash-up tools, which combine high-value software services from multiple sources into a single Web-based application, allow users to experiment without affecting traditional IT development. Promising mash-up tools include Longjump's subscription-based marketplace of customizable Web-based applications; Proto Software's drag and drop controls for designing applications and sharing user-created application components; and Teqlo's composite application builder, which allows businesses to integrate several popular Web services with in-house tools.

Learn more about new business tools on the horizon:
- read the article at News.com

CIOs take center stage during mergers and takeovers

Mon, 19 Mar 2007 20:01:39 -0400

When a company is acquired, merged with another, or acquires another company, CIOs often are at the forefront of the change, dealing with combining IT systems, transitioning employees, and evaluating the changes that both will have on the business. If this happens to you, make sure that you understand the compatibility or lack thereof of the IT systems of both enterprises. Craft a plan to communicate the progress of the integration. Put reassurance on top of the communication priorities list and communicate with internal audiences regularly. Work on building new relationships. Take time to get acquainted with the new business units and key players. Ask the other company's CIO whose operations will be most impacted by any change to the IT system, who the key stakeholders in those departments are, what input your IT department needs to have and what adjustments they will have to make. Also, always keep in mind the business implications of technology, realize that you don't know everything, and don't go public before having the necessary internal conversations.

Learn more about how to survive and prosper during difficult times:
- read the article at Optimize

ALSO NOTED: Senate makes pretexting a crime; How mobile devices are helping U.K. law enforcement do a better job; and much more

Sun, 10 Dec 2006 19:01:33 -0500

> Senate makes pretexting a crime. Article

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And Finally... Santa has a chimney trick one man doesn't know about. Article