thinks

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

Employers looking for the ROI

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 08:00:00 -0400

It may be hard to believe, but despite the virtual world that we live in, the CIO's job is not always protected. There is plenty of unemployment in the IT industry, despite the continued growth in the field and new firms are popping up all the time. The IT industry is still relatively young, and it is now facing the growing pains that many other industries have faced in the past. Nevertheless, only an uninformed company thinks that it can go it alone, without the experience of a hands-on player who can fix a computer system when it crashes and teach employees how to get the best and most efficient return on a piece of technology.

Still, it will take time before IT becomes a necessary part of every organization's map and the topsy-turvy state of the employment market may discourage employers from providing on-the-job training and retraining, according to Ron Hira, assistant professor of Public Policy at the Rochester Institute of Technology and author of a report just issued by the nonprofit Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology. "Companies are less willing to pay for training and professionals development," Hira said. "In the past, they expected that you'd be with the company for a long time, so they'd be willing to pay tuition reimbursement or for other training. Now, employers, rationally, don't think they'll be getting the return on that investment [ROI], so they're not offering it. They know that the worker may jump ship, or they might lay them off," he told CIO Insight. It might be about time to show your employer that you're worth the investment. -Judi

ALSO NOTED: The fourth dimension of the CIO; IT departments spend too much on maintenance;

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 20:01:38 -0400

> The fourth dimension of the CIO. Blog

> IT departments spend too much on maintenance. Article

> What VMware thinks about security. Article

> State technology chief endorses IT audit recommendations. Article

> Will your next CIO be a business analyst? Article

> Survey: IT security, budget top feds' concerns. Article

> Intel details new chips and innovations. Article

And Finally… Keeping your talent pools well stocked. Article

The next generation of IT leaders

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 20:01:39 -0400

There is a growing awareness that the skill set of the IT managers has to change. A new book, Five minds for the future, by Harvard professor Howard Gardner, explains how the next generation of IT leaders will be chosen. Gardner says that tomorrow's IT leaders must exhibit the ability to use what he calls the five minds: the disciplined mind, which shows a mastery of technology; the synthesizing mind, which will collate information from many sources to make decisions; the creating mind, which comes up with new ideas; the respectful mind, which understands different personality types and cultures; and the ethical mind, which thinks of the wider needs of society.

Learn more about the five minds of the future:
- read the article at vnunet.com

ALSO:
- read this on deconstructing the successful IT leader
- this on the makings of a true leader
- this on why being a leader and a techie is a balancing act
- and this on skills that make for a great leader

Climbing the corporate ladder

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 19:01:39 -0500

CIOs aren't the first executives the board thinks of when looking for someone to replace an outgoing CEO. Instead, they usually turn to the CFO or COO. But that doesn't have to be the case. CIOs with the right business understanding, leadership and skills can be good candidates for the top job. By far, leadership qualities are the most important skills for CIOs hoping to make the leap, according to a survey from Silicon.com. It's about earning the right to have an opinion in the boardroom. Other important skills are commercial awareness, exposure to legal and contract issues, and having the respect of your colleagues and employees.

To read more about making it to the top rung:
- read the article at Silicon.com
- check out this article about clawing your way to the top

Related Articles:
It's open season on CIOs. Report
Forging a good CIO-CEO connection. Report
Reaching the pinnacle of success. Report

New device promises better wireless management

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 20:01:37 -0400

Enterprises are still avoiding the move to wireless network connectivity for more than a just few reasons--for example, security and data protection are daunting obstacles. But, one vendor thinks that the maintenance costs in supporting and running a WLAN are also a deterrence, so it's pushing out a new device to make management easier. The Cisco Catalyst 3750g lets a company merge wired and wireless networks to improve management and also boost security factors.

For more on the new wireless network tool:
- check out this article at Vnunet

New type of bounty for finding Microsoft bugs

Mon, 20 Feb 2006 19:01:36 -0500

One security vendor clearly thinks that a good reward is a good way to entice PC bug discoverers into sharing info and potential vulnerabilities when it comes to "critical" Microsoft flaws. It's not the first time that iDefense is using the bounty system, and the vendor is confident that offering researchers $10,000 will help both users and their own client base. But it's put some unique rules on the reward program, which closes at the end of next month.

For more on the new bug bounty effort:
- read this article at TechWeb