europe

Dell to replace European Vostro keyboards

Mehan Jayasuriya — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:53:46 -0400

It's already been established that Dell's Vostro lineup for SMBs isn't for everyone, but apparently Europeans have more to dislike about the budget-priced laptops than their friends across the pond. Word is that the company shipped Vostro 1310 and 1510 units to Europe, the Middle East and Africa with non-standard keyboards that were difficult for touch-typists used to the standard QWERTY layout to use. Luckily, it looks like the company is committed to righting the wrong and has promised new keyboards for customers with affected units. If you're one of them, be sure to hit the link below for full info on Dell's replacement program.

For more on the keyboard issue:
- see this Direct 2 Dell blog post

Dell refreshes Vostro laptops

Mehan Jayasuriya — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:16:56 -0400

Sure, old Walt Mossberg might not like Dell's Vostro line of SMB-tailored PCs much, but maybe you do. If you count yourself among Vostro's fans, you'll be pleased to hear that Dell is giving it's Vostro laptops a much-needed refresh. There's a new 13.3-inch model (the Vostro 1310), a new 15.4-incher (the Vostro 1510) and a reworked 17-inch model (the Vostro 1710). All sport a slot-loading optical drive, are thinner and lighter than their predecessors, include 10GB of online storage, are delivered bloatware-free and start at $599. The 1310 and 1510 are available now in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and May 1st in the Americas. The 1710 is scheduled to arrive in mid-May.

For more on the new Vostros:
- see this press release

IT execs fail to embrace SaaS

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:59:58 -0400

A new Forrester survey finds that a minority of IT executives have embraced Software-As-A-Service (SaaS). The survey of more than 1,000 IT decision-makers in North America and Europe found that only 16 percent of had adopted SaaS in 2007, although that represents an increase from 12 percent the previous year. The numbers could actually be much higher because business units often deploy hosted applications on their own, according to Forrester analyst Liz Herbert. "A lot of SaaS is still deployed at the business unit level. [IT executives] might not necessarily be aware of all the SaaS that's deployed in the organization," Herbert says. The survey also found interest increasing in using SaaS: another 46 percent were planning a pilot or are interested in having one. Where are you on this chart? Is SaaS one of your objectives in 2008? Let us know in the comments.

For more on SaaS:
- See this NetworkWorld article

Going green? Cut down on electric bills

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 07:59:58 -0400

If you want to be "green" in your office, you're going to have to do more than use recycled materials. Being green means paying attention to how much your IT shop is spending on electricity and doing something about it. "There's a lack of information, [IT managers] don't know how much power they're using, and there's a lack of incentive for them to save power," Dennis Szubert, principle analyst at Quocirca, told Silicon.com. He said that data center managers would take more responsibility for how much electricity they are using if they are given more information about what their hardware consumes over the course of a 24-hour period. A survey of 300 businesses in Europe and the U.S. found that only 43 percent of respondents said they have a formal carbon footprint reduction policy. Only 35 percent said they pass that policy on to IT departments as a formal objective. If you want to make your data center more environmentally friendly, a company needs to put in incentives to make it happen, according to Quocirca.

For more on IT and electric bills:
- See this Silicon.com article

Dell Inspiron 1525 gets Ubuntu

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 06:59:55 -0500

If you run the sort of IT department that likes to deploy Ubuntu machines to end users, you'll likely be happy to hear that Dell is expanding their pre-loaded Ubuntu program this week with a new laptop. The low-end Inspiron 1525 notebook is now available pre-loaded with Ubuntu 7.10 (aka "Gutsy Gibbon") and DVD-playback to boot. Available now in Europe (the U.K., France, Spain and Germany) and later in the month in the U.S.

For more on the new Linux laptops:
- see this Direct2Dell blog post

Warning: cyber-espionage on the rise

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 06:59:58 -0500

Cyber-espionage is just one more item that must be tacked onto a CIO's must worry list this year. A new report by the SANS Institute, one of the world's top IT security training organizations, says that cyber-espionage is moving away from government targets and into the commercial world. The SANS Institute says that the problem will grow this year, as overseas companies look for renegade information to get the upper hand in business deals with large companies in the United States and Europe. "Cyber-espionage is clearly growing across the board. It was much bigger in 2007 than in previous years, and it is expanding slowly into economic espionage involving both businesses and government entities," Alan Paller, director of research for SANS, told Infoworld.

"This really has a lot of significant implications because people who have never thought of themselves as targets for this type of attack have suddenly become a sweet spot, and many are not prepared to defend themselves," he adds. The attack of choice in cyber-espionage is a targeted spear-phishing campaign that tricks workers into opening tainted attachments and then allows the hacker to gain entrance to the system. So be warned--2008 is a year to be on the lookout for dangerous intrusions, and it is a year to make sure they do not occur. For CIOs, it's important not just to keep your guard up, but to implement strategies that will keep the bad guys out of your systems.

For more on cyber-espionage:
- See this InfoWorld article

Microsoft Vista stalls in the enterprise

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 06:59:58 -0500

Businesses are bucking any and every trend to move to Microsoft Vista. Almost a year after its release, sales are still sluggish. And analysts say that won't change anytime soon. "From what we've seen so far, enterprises in the US and Europe have been slow to take it up," said Mike Silver, research vice president at Gartner. Silver said that software vendors have yet to come out with enough software that will work with the OS. And companies don't seem to see much point in using Vista over XP, the operating system it replaces. "Organizations really are not sold on the benefits [of Vista]," Silver said." Nonetheless, Silver still thinks Vista sales will increase in 2008 with the arrival of the first service pack. Microsoft must be keeping its fingers crossed on this one.

For more on Vista's uphill fight for market share:
- See this Silicon article

Standardize the system

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 06:59:58 -0500

Standardization is not a four-letter word in IT. But sometimes it is treated as one. No one is at fault. It is just the way systems have grown. The effort to create a standardized PC fleet is not easy but it is important for IT managers to make sure the hardware can support the software and applications for day-to-day operations. Standardization is an important component of making sure the IT shop runs smoothly, according to a Forrester Research survey of 565 enterprises in North America and Europe. But the reality is that many IT operations buy pieces of a system and patch them together over time.

"Enterprises that can settle on one desktop and one laptop configuration from a single supplier with standard application configurations save big on building, maintaining, and deploying images across their distributed corporate environment," Benjamin Gray, an analyst with Forrester, wrote in the report. Standardization is one of the biggest challenges IT executives face. As systems are refreshed and legacy components are phased out, the important strategy is to have a plan that will make every piece of the pie fit together as a whole.

For more on the importance of standardization:
- See this eWeek article

ALSO NOTED: Indian outsourcing continues to grow despite weaker dollar; R&D spending in Europe increases;

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 06:59:58 -0400

> Indian outsourcing continues to grow despite weaker dollar. Article

> R&D spending in Europe increases. Article

> Alignment still a priority for CIOs. Article

> Microsoft's Steve Ballmer on advertising and SAAS. Article

> Dell sees profits in green computing. Article

And finally... former Microsoft techie puts time and money into building schools and libraries in developing countries. Article

Best Buy CIO spends his day focused on customers

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 20:01:36 -0400

Robert Willett, CIO of Best Buy, says that he spends 80 percent of his time focused on external customer issues, an area that more and more CIOs are choosing to focus on these days. "We've got to look at everything through the lens of customers both internally and externally, and help them get where they need to go with the aid of technology," Willitts writes. CIOs who are not aware of the customer's pain points will only be able to incrementally improve the customer experience. In the article, Willetts discusses how he plans to use technologies like RFID and WiMAX. He also discusses how his focus on the customer will enable Best Buy to grow globally. The company currently operates in the U.S., China, Canada and Europe and plans to expand into Mexico and Turkey in the next 12 to 18 months.

For more from Willitts:
- see this CIO article