enterprise systems

Paying attention to the next generation

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 07:00:00 -0400

An article at Networkworld.com tells how IBM is trying to close the IT skills gap, launching a web-based resource to better help prepare college students for job opportunities. IBM says it no longer can afford to spend as much time and money with on-the-job training as it has in the past, and expects young workers to be productive sooner. It hopes that increased collaboration with the university community and making a direct connection with students will help. All this makes a good deal of sense, and the article is worth a close read because it offers insight into the types of skills companies like Big Blue are looking for in their hires. These include service science management and engineering, database technology, Web 2.0 development, web server technology and enterprise systems. Are you prepared for the present, and the future? - Judi

The hottest IT skills, according to Cisco

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 07:59:58 -0400

With so many issues demanding your attention, it's hard to focus on just the skills you need to enhance your job and level of competency. Cisco's Neil Anderson, director of Cisco's Enterprise Systems Engineering, recently outlined the hottest skills for tech executives in a question and answer session for ComputerWorld. Anderson is the co-author of the best-selling book, Cisco Networking Simplified. Here's a list of the skills he thinks every IT professional should have:

Security
Mobility
Unified communications/ VoIP
Video over IP
Application acceleration

For more on Anderson's advice for the IT professional:
- See this ComputerWorld article

For more tech stories from the FierceCIO network:
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> MacBook Air 'PWNED' in 2 min flat. Article
> Motorola to spin off handset unit. Article

Linux start-up launches server provisioning software.

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 07:59:54 -0400

LinMin, a new Linux systems management start-up, was launched earlier this week. Founded by Laurent Gharda, former chief of Open Country, LinMin's main offering is what is called LinMin Bare Metal Provisioning (LBMP). The technology is implemented based on "OCM Provision," a remote provisioning and imaging technology previously developed at Open Country. LBMP packs a mean punch, and according to LinMin CEO Gharda, it supports a staggering 30 flavors of Linux. In addition, LBMP works with existing enterprise systems' management agents from companies like BladeLogic, BMC, HP or IBM. It is easy to create system image on a generic server, which then can be distributed out to remote machines. An annual subscription for LinMin costs $100 for a 10 client system, $400 for 100 clients, and $750 for 250 clients.

For more on LinMin:
- check out this Network World article

Dell set to roll out more AMD machines

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 06:59:57 -0500

Though they might have given us a bit of a scare a few weeks ago, it looks like Dell really is "committed to AMD" after all. When the company started pulling certain AMD-based systems from its website, many feared that Dell was planning to return to Intel exclusivity. However, spokespeople for the company denied the rumors, reiterating Dell's commitment to AMD. Looks like it wasn't just talk: tgdaily is reporting that Dell will be one of the first vendors to launch systems with AMD's new tri-core chips. The new systems will be aimed squarely at IT buyers and will fall under the "Optiplex" business desktop brand when they're announced in the coming days. If that's not enough for the AMD fan in you, you'll be happy to hear that Dell will follow up the enterprise systems with new AMD-based consumer machines later in the year.

For more on the rumored systems:
- see this story from tgdaily

Fix your security before it breaks

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 07:00:00 -0500

If you break it, you own it. That's an old saying for anyone in the wrong place at the wrong time. For CIOs, the trick is to take the lead in dealing with security issues, fixing them before they break. There is no lack of products out there with which to assess a risk and prevent it. But where do you go? And how do you pick the best product for your firm? "We're finding security is the forgotten stepchild in the virtualization build-out," said Stephen Elliott, IDC's research director for enterprise systems management software. Is that true for your firm? Have you figured out the cost of putting up the best security or are you still in a never-never land of keeping your fingers crossed that you will never be attacked? "That's scary when you think about the number of production-level VMs," Elliott said. In 2008, CIOs will have to find a new balance to their work, resetting their priorities and making sure their systems are protected from every kind of attack even before they work on operational excellence. -Judi

Green catching on in the IT department

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 06:59:59 -0400

It might not be easy being green… but IT departments appear to be giving it the old college try. Attendees at this week's Computerworld Infrastructure Management World (IMW) conference indicate that the trend may be as much about good business as it is about good citizenship. Energy costs require IT to take a good, hard look at green technologies, says Jed Scaramella, an analyst with IDC. Ten years ago, 17 cents out of every dollar spent on a new server went to power and cooling. Today, that's up to 48 cents, and if things don't change, that number will eventually grow to 78 cents.

Even big players in corporate America are pursuing green strategies. Home mortgage giant, Fannie Mae, built the first data center in the U.S. to be certified by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). According to Brian Cobb, senior vice president for enterprise systems management and IT at Fannie Mae, the Urbana, Maryland data center recycles water, accommodates bicycles and electric vehicles, and has an air-quality system that removes harmful chemicals. Separately, Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, is planning to invest $10 million to speed up the production of plug-in hybrid vehicles.

For all the details on green computing:
- read the article in ComputerWorld

To learn more about green tech in the enterprise:
- check out the green section at DailyTechRag

New technologies increase security needs

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 20:01:38 -0400

Newer technologies like Voice over IP (VoIP) and instant messaging can raise the risk factor for enterprise systems very fast, and some question whether security can keep up. And that's not just a minority opinion: according to a recent survey by Infosecurity Europe, 93 percent of companies believe that instant messaging and IP use is moving faster than the security necessary to contain them. Because IM allows encrypted data, it could be an undetectable source of data leakage, and VoIP has similar security issues regarding encrypted traffic. It is critical for the information security industry to stay on top of the situation and communicate with policy makers to keep threats at bay.

Read more about the security threats posed by IM and VoIP:
- read the article at Computing

IT trends important to CIOs

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 19:01:38 -0500

Both the migration to service-oriented architectures (SOA) and the introduction of lean-manufacturing principles to data center operations are trends CIOs should keep an eye on, according to a recent McKinsey Quarterly report. According to the survey, nearly half of CIOs are planning to implement SOAs this year to integrate more effectively with external trading partners. The fast spread of SOAs means it will be easier to integrate enterprise systems from different organizations. Applying lean principles to improve data center operations is another important trend, moving out of its traditional manufacturing role into IT services.

Read more about these two important IT trends:
- read the blog at CIO Weblog

Case Study: IT keeps airline on business course

Mon, 20 Feb 2006 19:01:39 -0500

There are a lot of tough industries for a CIO to work in, but few would dispute that the airline industry is one of the toughest given years of mergers, Ch. 11 bankruptcies, layoffs and overall industry decay. So it was more than a formidable task that Joe Beery had in taking on the CIO role at US Airways after its merger with America West Airlines. Not only were there the usual integration issues in melding two different enterprise systems--the quest to get one singular platform up and running--the tech leader was constantly focused on keeping costs down and trying to gain efficiencies wherever and whenever possible. As he explains, the effort to consolidate and get a smooth integration process in place isn't easy when you also have to keep systems and application running at full power.

For more on the new airline's tech efforts:
- read this article at CIO