end users

A document retention program that works

Thu, 29 May 2008 06:59:59 -0400

The 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley securities law has meant that CIOs must formalize document retention policies and keep up to date with a growing volume of information. The result has been a constant to struggle to create policies, get cooperation from end users and manage the technology. Members of the CIO Executive Council recently came up with some basic tips on how to handle this situation.

They include properly defining "document'' to include information of all types--electronic or paper, historical or transient business records; clearly stating who and what function is the relevant retention authority for the most widely used categories of documents; and indicating the specific duration of retaining different types of documents.

To get more advice:
- see this CIO.com article

Take a page from Harvard B-school

Mon, 19 May 2008 06:59:56 -0400

Harvard Business School CIO Stephen Laster is always looking for talented professionals, but when it comes to hiring, he places the greatest emphasis on whether an individual can fit in with his 100-plus person IT team rather than on their technical skills.

In an interview with cio.com, Laster said that building a cohesive IT staff is paramount. Over the years, he has found that to meet the needs of demanding stakeholders, everyone in the IT department has to get along with one another, and must be able to cultivate strong relationships with the end users. So when it comes to hiring, he spends time with candidates outside the office to get a personal feel, and allows his IT staff to play active roles in job interviews with candidates.

To read the full interview:
- see this cio.com article

Spam turns 30

Mon, 05 May 2008 06:59:59 -0400

Spam, the bane of every office and personal email system, celebrated its 30th birthday on May 3 and as every CIO knows, age hasn't stopped the scourge from remaining ubiquitous. Microsoft founder Bill Gates predicted in 2004 that the spam problem would be solved in two years. But Sophos, an email security company, says that 95 percent of all email today is spam, while Symantec says that figure is more like 80 percent to 85 percent. Due to sophisticated solutions, email service providers and the hard work of IT managers, end users only see a fraction of what's out there. But the spammers are an industrious lot, constantly presenting new security risks to company systems and offering an unrelenting array of solicitations for unwary victims. Princeton computer science professor Ed Felten says "there is more spam than ever and no end is in sight."

For more on spam's significant birthday:
- See this InformationWeek article

You can be an IT rock star

Mon, 05 May 2008 06:59:56 -0400

Getting ahead in the IT world is not always easy. Like any work environment, there are internal politics, changing conditions and sometimes few opportunities for advancement. CIOs and IT recruiters say that the basic requirements include technical proficiency, energy, enthusiasm and passion. But there is more to becoming an IT standout. CIO Magazine offers some common sense tips: Be good to your end users, don't make them feel stupid; become business-savvy by understanding how IT fits the end users' work processes; know what the top management values are and what to prioritize; and build trust with your boss by sharing both good news and bad.

For more on succeeding at the workplace:
- Check out this CIO Magazine article

The help desk: Dead end or launch pad?

Thu, 01 May 2008 06:59:59 -0400

It is a widely held belief that getting stuck at the IT help desk is a one-way ticket to Palookaville. An individual gets hired for that job and never leaves, in stove-piped organizations where systems analysts, network managers and other IT professionals are segregated from one another. But some tech pros are rejecting the "old school'' party line, saying that the job can in fact provide a good education and maybe even a career stepping stone. Help desk technicians, they say, can gain valuable experience working with end users throughout the enterprise and learning what makes the business tick.

For more on this unusual career path:
- Check out this Computerworld article

Google expands enterprise offerings

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 06:59:57 -0500

As you will recall, just a few short weeks ago, Google expanded its enterprise offerings with Google Apps Team Edition, a controversial product that would allow end-users to deploy collaboration software without the IT department's blessing or knowledge. While the dust that the company kicked up with that release still hasn't settled, that hasn't stopped the big G from unleashing yet another piece of web-based productivity software on the corporate world. Last week, the company launched Google Sites, essentially a reworking of the JotSpot online service, which Google acquired in 2006. A sort of companion application to Google Docs, Sites allows users to create documents and websites that can then be collaboratively edited and managed by various members of a team. Additionally, the suite allows users to track tasks, create image galleries and organize their contacts. While it might seem like Sites can perform a wide range of functions, as Ars Technica notes, "...many users may feel that Google stripped out far too many of the rich collaboration tools that originally made JotSpot so appealing." Regardless, it seems likely that the company will continue to improve the service as it has with Docs, in order to inch closer toward a full-fledged online collaboration suite.

For more on Google Sites:
- see this Ars Technica article

Google tries to sneak one past IT

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 06:59:58 -0500

During the last year, we've seen Google slowly sneaking into the enterprise, with a series of solutions that bring the company's web-based consumer technologies into a corporate environment. Just this past week, we saw the latest such product from Google, an email security/discovery suite based on Postini technology. Despite Google's best efforts, however, we haven't exactly seen enterprises rushing to deploy Google's software, which has proven quite popular with consumers. So, what's a Google to do? Why, sneak its software into the corporate world, of course.

The company's latest enterprise product, Google Apps Team Edition, is a version of Google Apps that's designed for corporate users but can be used without the IT department's knowledge. "Current business versions of Google Apps are linked to an organization's Internet domain and therefore require IT approval and at least some degree of administration," Ars Technica writes. "Team Edition eschews this approach, and allows end-users to create sharing workgroups so long as the individuals in question have valid e-mail addresses within the employer's Internet domain."

So, what's the big idea? Seems like Google is aiming to use GATE as a sort of Trojan horse--a way of convincing businesses to deploy Google Apps. "Google Apps has been, by definition, an IT project, and now we want to let people use it without IT involvement," Google Apps senior product manager Rajen Sheth said. "The IT department always has the option to sign up for the Standard Edition for free if they want to provide control over this. This is a solid, happy medium."

For more on Google's sneaky new product:
- see this Ars Technica article

Dell to offer'streaming' PCs

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 06:59:59 -0400

The idea of computing power on demand--delivered via thin clients and virtual machines--has long been an elusive target for the enterprise. Sure, it's possible to transition your fleet of high-maintenance PCs to thin clients, but is it a good idea? Dell certainly seems to think so. The Texan PC vendor is rolling out an integrated client PC system, for those too weary to build their own infrastructure from the ground up. Dell's "On-Demand Desktop Streaming" package will include all the hardware, software and services that a business needs to go virtual with end users' PCs. Eschewing the usual thin client/blade model, Dell will offer familiar looking PC towers sans hard drives, which will stream data over the network. Meanwhile, the onboard Intel processor and graphics chipset will assure that network congestion doesn't limit the processing speeds of local machines.

For more on the streaming PCs:
- see this PC Magazine article

Intel taps Web 2.0 for vPro development

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 06:59:59 -0400

Intel is launching an online community to solicit ideas and recommendations from users. Executives speaking at last week's Office 2.0 conference in San Francisco said that they hope to start gaining insight from users within 6 months. The company built the site to help resellers and users share information and best practices for configuring and using vPro technology, which was first introduced by Intel a year ago. But the firm's "online communities" strategist also believes that the more interactive approach to their web strategy will increase the relevance of the Intel site and will drive more traffic to Intel. Intel says the site is already drawing comments from end users.

For all the details on how Intel plans to tap end users:
- see the article in Computerworld

"Spirit of Cooperation" prompts Redmond to revisit desktop search policy

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 20:01:39 -0400

While admitting no wrong-doing, Microsoft plans to change how desktop search works in its Vista operating systems by the end of the year. The move comes in response to an antitrust complaint by rival Google, which charged that Microsoft makes it difficult for end-users to select a desktop search option (the technology that makes it possible to search for items on a computer as quickly as search engines can search for items on the web). Microsoft's changes will allow end users and OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to select a default desktop search program in Vista that's not Windows Instant Search. "Microsoft believes that Google's complaint is without merit," lawyers for the Redmond company wrote in the status report, filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. "Nevertheless, Microsoft worked with the Plaintiffs in a spirit of cooperation to resolve any issues the complaint may raise." While encouraged by the move, Google is still not satisfied. "Microsoft's current approach to Vista desktop search clearly violates the consent decree and limits consumer choice," David Drummond, Google's senior vice president and chief legal officer, said in the statement. "These remedies are a step in the right direction, but they should be improved further to give consumers greater access to alternate desktop search providers."

For more:
- read this article from Infoworld