s system

Blackberry goes down...again

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 06:59:59 -0500

What's going on with BlackBerry lately? RIM's system went down again on Wednesday, starting around 6am on the East Coast. It apparently got progressively worse during the day, too. The outage initially affected about half of all BlackBerry users in the Americas but ultimately, the entire system was wiped out.

The latest episode comes just a week after another outage that lasted for three hours, during which time users were unable to send or receive messages or access the Internet. In January, AT&T BlackBerry users experienced an outage, though it was the fault of AT&T's network, not RIM's. And as you may recall, a major outage in April 2007 left some BlackBerry users out in the cold for days. Are these outages making you reconsider what you and your employees are using to communicate? Do you have a backup device?

For more on the BlackBerry service problems:
- See this ComputerWorld article

How hard is it to secure your data?

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 06:59:58 -0500

CIOs must protect their systems from outsiders as well as insiders. A recent survey conducted last month by RSA found that one-third of those surveyed had to work around their organization's security policies to get the job done. And that means an added vulnerability to anyone's system. These insiders are just as good as outside hackers in finding data that is not secured or exploiting weak security policies. There are plenty of ways to break through security. One of them is sending email attachments with sensitive documents. Another way is accessing work email at a public computer. It's hard to believe that anyone with a technology background would do this. But don't be surprised because it happens.

The survey found that two thirds of people who were surveyed sometimes leave their workplace carrying a mobile device such as a laptop that holds sensitive information relating to their jobs. Is this a nightmare for a CIO? It sure is. Not only that, eight percent of those surveyed reported that they had lost a mobile device with company information on it. By now, every CIO should have rules of the road in place for their employees. If they don't, does that mean the CIO is derelict, too?

For more on protecting your data:
- See this CIO Magazine Article

New spec could help networks communicate better

Tue, 22 May 2007 20:01:38 -0400

If the Service Modeling Language (SML) specification, which was submitted to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in March, becomes a standard, it could make disparate network components communicate better with each other. SML, which is based on XML, provides a common language for communication between systems management software by using a standard vocabulary and common programming language, which could help vendors create ideal configurations and provide ongoing recommendations for maintaining systems in heterogeneous environments. All of this would allow any component on the network to have an ideal configuration model or blueprint as a guide for IT managers to follow. Although SML is not yet a standard, several vendors, including Microsoft and IBM, have already embedded tools based on similar specifications into their products. For example, Microsoft's prequel to SML, the System Definition Model (SDM), is already used in Windows Server 2008, code-named Windows Longhorn. The next version of Microsoft's System Center Configuration Manager, as well as Windows Server 2008, will have the SML standard embedded.

Read more about the forthcoming SML standard:
- read the article at TechTarget

ALSO: read this for more information about SML

Ballmer: Vista brings a new computing era

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 19:01:37 -0500

Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer describes the arrival and impending deployment of Vista as the dawn of a new era in business computing. While he admits that he can't claim the new operating system is perfect, he says it's the most reliable and most secure Windows to date. Vista gives enterprises improved search, document management, workflow, and real-time communications features (such as the integration of voice mail), what Ballmer calls "amazing new capabilities." And he promises that Microsoft's system release cycle will only get shorter in the future.

For more on Ballmer's take on where Vista fits in:
- read the Q&A at InformationWeek

Related Article: Vista's report card scores. Article

The need for back-end security

Wed, 01 Nov 2006 19:01:37 -0500

A new report indicates that many enterprises aren't very focused on, or concerned about, back-end infrastructure security. A key reason is that many tech leaders are relying heavily on product security elements, such as the strong security mechanisms in IBM's System i platform. As the system offers great integrated security, tech teams are lulled into a false sense of security. The opposite is actually true, states a recent PowerTech Group study. It seems that only a minority of enterprises are restricting data access and if that trend doesn't change, we might see even more high-profile security incidents.

For more on the need for back-end security work:
- read the Q&A at ComputerWorld

Building data systems not an elementary effort

Tue, 16 May 2006 20:01:35 -0400

Most people would think that states, given the funding levels and the resources available, would have a grip on pulling and aggregating data, but state educational departments across the country are finding that building data warehouses and data knowledge systems is tough going. Millions of dollars have been spent and more is being funneled into projects despite the crash and burn of quite a few. North Carolina's system is up to $250 million and years over schedule; California has already pushed $60 million and expects to add another $60 million to make its system workable. A major hurdle is integrating hundreds of school district systems to pull together data points. Another barrier is legacy systems that can't make it happen without huge overhauls.

For more on state data systems efforts:
- read this article at the New York Times