interoperability

UK tech agency files complaint against Microsoft

Paul Mah — Tue, 20 May 2008 06:12:56 -0400

The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) has filed a complaint with the European Commission against Microsoft. The root of the issue has to do with the lack of native support in Office 2007 for interoperability with the rival OpenDocument Format (ODF)--a standard developed by the Open Office XML technical committee and originally implemented by the OpenOffice.org office suite. It also is a format largely supported by governments and educators.

Instead, Microsoft has released a converter that lets Word users open and save documents in the OpenDocument format, which Becta says is not good enough. A company statement from Microsoft failed to answer the complaint, simply noting that, "We have funded the development of tools to promote interoperability between Office 2007 and products based on the ODF file format. We will continue to work with Becta and the Commission in a cooperative manner to resolve these issues."

For more on the complaint against Microsoft:
- check out CNET's News.com article

NAC and the mobile worker

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Vendors, of course, would like to close the gap between NAC interest and acquisition. To that end, Aruba Networks, a wireless switch manufacturer is talking up enhancements it has made to its NAC offerings, by specifically focusing on the security risks posed by mobile devices. The key to securing NAC acceptance with enterprises that field large numbers of mobile workers is taking an open approach to NAC. Aruba says that interoperability with third-party network access control solutions can reduce risks and address vulnerabilities, and hopefully stimulate NAC sales. Aruba has established interoperability with the three leading NAC solutions, including Microsoft's Network Access Protection (NAP), Juniper's Unified Access Control (UAC), and Cisco's Network Admission Control (NAC).

For more on NAC and the mobile worker:
- see the article in TechWorld

802.11n Products, Test Suite Coming Soon

Sun, 03 Jun 2007 20:01:38 -0400

Representatives of the Wi-Fi Alliance recently said that products based on the faster 802.11n wireless standard will be available within a few months, along with a new test suite to speed up the certification process. Testing of the 802.11n draft 2.0 spec is set to begin in June, with final ratification expected by early 2009. While questions of interoperability with legacy clients persist, the Wi-Fi Alliance says that it will perform backward compatibility tests.

For more on 802.11n:
- see this DailyTechRag article
- and this article from Network Computing

Customers to Microsoft: Play Nice with IBM and Cisco

Wed, 30 May 2007 20:01:39 -0400

As part of its Interoperability Executive Customer Council, Microsoft recently got some much-needed feedback from its enterprise-level customers. The customers stressed the importance of Web Services in the context of defining a standards-based implementation for supporting interoperability and said that they want Microsoft to work more closely with IBM and Cisco Systems. "They basically told me, pretty directly, that while Microsoft's implementation was in great shape, IBM's and others were not, and that Microsoft needed to do a better job helping them do a better implementation," Bob Muglia, Microsoft's senior vice president for the Server and Tools division, told eWeek.

For more on the story:
- see this article in Baseline

Effective SOA governance

Sun, 13 May 2007 20:01:39 -0400

Most organizations start down the road to a service-oriented architecture with a pilot project, but it's a long way from the success of an isolated SOA project to a major initiative that spans departments. Moving beyond the pilot means involving more cultures, and that changes everything. It's not the technical parts of a major IT initiative that are the most difficult, it's the economics and politics--which is where good governance starts. Governance deals with patterns of interaction, acceptable standards, and the creation of communication channels. Done right, governance also aligns the incentives in the organization with the goals of SOA and sets up SOA support structures. Don't think of SOA governance in terms of project planning and funding, but rather, in terms of technical governance--policies, interoperability frameworks, and reference architectures. The most important thing to get right in the governance process is to establish the communication patterns that will create, approve, and propagate these artifacts. That involves using the appropriate governance tool at every phase. And the enforcement mechanisms you build into governance are crucial. Finally, the governance process you create must match the culture of your organization.

Learn more about SOA and governance:
- read the article at CIO Canada

ALSO:
- read this on SOA governance
- this about taking it slow with SOA deployments
- this on the four stages of successful SOA
- this on getting started with SOA
- and this on getting the most out of SOA

Making the switch to the Mac

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 20:01:38 -0400

It might be an expensive and painful switch from Windows to Macintosh world, especially for smaller businesses, but some businesses believe that the effort is well worth it. Not only is it cheaper in the long run, but security is better, Macs tend to be easier to use, and interoperability is improved. Advancements in the Mac operating system, along with software and hardware compatibility, make this a reasonable time to consider a switch. SMBs are finding that it costs less than expected to switch to Apple and is less disruptive than anticipated. Productivity gains also are significant, far outweighing staff retraining costs and effort. Plenty of business software also exists today for the Mac, a change from years' past. In addition, there are huge libraries of open source programs that work on a Mac.

Read more about migrating to the Mac:
- read the article at TechNewsWorld

ALSO:
- read this on whether Mac OS is ready for the enterprise
- and this on enterprises considering a move to the Mac

Is the Mac OS ready for prime time in the enterprise?

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:01:38 -0400

With its stellar (in comparison to Microsoft) reputation in both security and reliability, more enterprises are beginning to consider moving to Mac OS X. Factors that have helped include Apple's move to Intel architecture, the inclusion of infrastructure and interoperability hooks like directory services in Mac OS X Server, dual-boot (and even triple-boot) capabilities, clustering and storage technology, third-party software and costs that compare more favorably to Windows and Linux-based systems. And Apple's other features are also proving interesting to companies, like Mac OS X Server, which provides file and print, cross-platform management, security and collaboration features; and Apple's Xsan and Xgrid storage networking and clustering options. But enterprises are thinking long and hard--a move to the Mac requires a major shift in technology and resource allocation, not to mention fighting conventional corporate wisdom, which has long held that Macs are more difficult to support.

Learn more about how to evaluate a move to the Mac for your enterprise:
- read the article at CIO Today

ALSO: read this on enterprises considering a move to the Mac

Getting the most out of SOA

Thu, 22 Mar 2007 20:01:38 -0400

The benefits of adopting a service-oriented architecture are well-known: reduced integration costs, greater asset reuse and the ability for IT to respond more quickly to changing requirements. But getting the most out of an SOA implementation requires diligence and thought. First, target systems that people are used to having applications built around. Don't take interoperability for granted, and before committing to a technology platform, identify all information sources and make sure to document how each system defines data. Expect some trial and error, budget realistically, and consider providing incentives to stakeholders for giving it a try. Make sure to have clearly documented policies and procedures for every aspect of the SOA development cycle. And realize that SOA will add to the network load--proper network design also calls for modeling performance.

Learn more about best practices for building an SOA infrastructure:
- read the article at BPM Today

ALSO:
- read this on whether SOA will help or hinder the alignment of business and IT
- this on whether SOA will work in your environment
- this on the basics of SOA
- this on the four stages of successful SOA
- and this on taking it slow with SOA deployments

Microsoft, HP shake on massive partnership

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 19:01:39 -0500

Microsoft and HP have shaken hands for what could potentially be one of the biggest partnerships to hit the IT sector. The two tech giants are heralding a $300 million dollar deal to jointly market their services and products, describing the collaboration as a "milestone" in their business relationship. For IT leaders, it could be the dawn of greater interoperability beyond just server and desktop environments. The two will offer products in four new areas, one of which is likely a big focus for many organizations today--unified messaging.

For more on the tech giants' plans:
- read this article at DailyTechRag

Case Study: Making e-healthcare a reality

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 19:01:37 -0500

A leader in the field of electronic healthcare, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's CIO, Dan Drawbaugh, has already launched an ambitious e-medical record system in all but one of the center's 19 hospitals. The foundation is a service oriented architecture that uses deep Web services. The ultimate goal, says Drawbaugh, is interoperability between the center's disparate IT systems. The task isn't easy though, given that those systems feature tools and applications from more than 120 vendors. Yet Drawbauch is pretty confident in his ability to build an integrated, interactive system for patient information.

For more on making e-healthcare a reality:
- read the case study at InformationWeek

Related Article: Other inroads in e-healthcare. Article