corporate world

From the C-level suite to the boardroom

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

CIOs who are really serious about senior management, and who might be positioning themselves for the ultimate brass ring at the helm of an enterprise might want to take a page from the book of Doreen Wright, CIO of the Campbell Soup Company. She is on the front end of what may prove to be a key trend in the strategic positioning of the CIO role: She has been sitting on the board of directors of several companies for the past decade and a half.

In the process, Wright has made a ton of influential contacts, and developed a perspective on business that you just don't get from the network operations center. But the benefits don't just run in one direction. Most people invited to sit on independent boards are veterans of the corporate world, who have been brought in to share their decades of wisdom with the companies that they advise and oversee. With the average age well over 60, the boards do not often get a chance to get a first hand account of the role technology plays in the strategic operations of a company, and the impact that investments in IT can have on shareholder value.

For more on whether you should consider a board seat:
- read the article in CIO

Thriving in a changing world

Wed, 02 May 2007 20:01:39 -0400

To thrive during the next five years, CIOs must be business leaders first and technology leaders second. Taking on additional business duties is essential to ensuring that you are viewed as a business leader, according to Gartner. But keeping your eyes on the prize may be harder than it sounds. For one thing, CIOs tend to be long-term planners, while CEOs think ahead to the next quarter. And in general, CIOs are more process-focused while CEOs are more outcome-focused. Finally, IT leaders tend to see projects in terms of cost, while business leaders see them through the lens of opportunity. It boils down to this: Focus on only a few things; view projects as opportunities; bring your financial management, sales and marketing, and change management skills to the table as part of your overall IT strategy; make sure you're at the forefront of influence and change; and make sure that you have all of the skills needed to run a top IT organization along with the business acumen to help set strategy for the company.

Learn more about thriving in the corporate world:
- read the article at SearchCIO

Wireless connectivity can breed wireless insecurity

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 20:01:38 -0400

Wireless connectivity is a fact of life in today's corporate world, but leaving wireless devices connected indiscriminately and unchecked can expose your organization's confidential data and critical assets to the outside world. The key is finding a way to quickly discover and eliminate network infrastructure that poses a risk to the organization. The most dangerous are unauthorized devices connected to a wired network. These dangerous wireless devices consist of rogue access points (access points connected to the LAN without acknowledgment from the network administrator) and rogue peers (end-user computers that have both bridging and wireless enabled). Other security concerns come from other unauthorized network devices, such as web cameras connected to a LAN. Organizations should look for solutions that find and eliminate rogue devices that are easy to deploy and manage, not to mention cost-effective. These systems should identify and accurately classify each device and remedy the situation through Ethernet port disabling.

For more on protecting your networks against unauthorized wireless devices:
- read the article at Small Business Computing

Related Articles:
Boosting wireless security. Report
Managing the chaos of mobility. Report

Being an analytic competitor

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

An analytically competitive organization is one that uses analytics extensively and systematically to out-think and out-execute competitors. According to a new book, Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning, the most analytically sophisticated and successful had four common characteristics:

analytics supported a strategic, distinctive capability
the approach to and management of analytics was enterprise-wide
senior management was committed to the use of analytics
the company made a significant strategic bet on analytics-based competition.

The use of analytics will grow in the corporate world, both internally and offered to external customers as a value-added service. The content of analytics also will change from mostly quantitative analysis of tangible entities to analysis and management of intangibles such as human capital, intellectual capital, brand, R&D capability, and other non-financial assets.

For more about the importance of strategic analytics:
- read the article at CIO Insight

Related Articles:
Making the most of web analytics. Report
Defining analytics key to gaining data insight. Report

IM: Not just for kids

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 19:01:36 -0500

Instant messaging (IM) is more useful in the corporate world than you might imagine. To make the most of it, make effective use of collaboration software as one entity, seamlessly using email, IM, voice over IP (VoIP) and discussion groups within a single environment. Also get over the notion that IM is a distraction for workers; it can actually help workers conduct business more efficiently. And finally, manage IM services the way you would manage any other applications, with archiving, authorization, compliance, content inspection, integration capabilities, manageability and security.

Learn more about how to use IM effectively at work:
- read the article at Computing

ALSO:
- read this on the downside of instant messaging

Taking the telecom bull by the horn

Sun, 11 Feb 2007 19:01:38 -0500

Only by CIOs getting directly involved will companies have efficient, cost-effective telecommunications systems that provide everything the organization needs now and in the future. To avoid being burned by your telecommunications vendor, make sure your voice is heard on your company's board. With state-of-the-art technologies like VoIP taking the corporate world by storm, telecom is important enough to warrant a voice in the boardroom.

For more about standing up for telecom:
- check out the Silicon.com report

Related Article:
VoIP will open data doors to phishers. Report

Mobility has its price

Tue, 06 Feb 2007 19:01:38 -0500

As mobile devices become more prevalent in the corporate world, it has become critical to ensure that these devices are fully secure and compatible with the rest of the corporate infrastructure. While the issues for the most common of these devices, such as laptops and Blackberrys, have been worked out, new mobile devices are entering the mainstream, challenging IT departments. Examples include Apple's iPhone and OQO's Model 02 mobile PC--a laptop replacement with a 5-inch display that can run either Windows Vista or Windows XP Professional. CIOs should do what it takes to ensure that the security and compatibility issues that these consumer-oriented devices introduce into the enterprise are addressed.

Read more about consumer-oriented mobile devices in a corporate world:
- read the article at ComputerWorld

SPOTLIGHT: Social networks are proving valuable for HR tasks

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 20:01:34 -0400

It's been a little slow to catch on in the corporate world, but using social networks to investigate potential hires and learn information about competitors is clearly grabbing traction within the business sector. While there are still quite a few hurdles before business networks become a favored connection with corporate leaders, the technology is proving to be a useful tool. Article

PLUS: Why CEO blogging is catching on. Article