business partners

Five steps to better security

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 06:59:58 -0400

With the number of data breaches always a concern, CIOs must make sure their IT staffs are efficient and nimble in guarding against those who want to steal or destroy enterprise data and assets.

CIOupdate.com offers some basic tips for ensuring top security that includes collaborating with business partners, defining how internal IT systems are accessed and granting appropriate access permission. It requires developing a strategic plan, assessing current levels of security and picking the right vendors and consultants.

To get the full story:
- see this CIOupdate.com article

For more tech stories from the FierceCIO network:
> Did HP cripple its own BIOS password security? Article
> Intel launches new desktop chipsets. Article
> 2008: Year of nettops and netbooks. Article

The IT motto: Be prepared

Wed, 16 May 2007 20:01:36 -0400

As hurricane season approaches, it's time for businesses to think hard about whether or not their their disaster recovery and business continuity plans are adequate. Anticipate potential problems in advance and create a well-documented, comprehensive plan to address both disaster recovery and continuity of essential business processes. Assess both networks and business models to determine risks, as well as operational and financial exposures. Choose business partners whose resources are readily available for rapid deployment. Inventory critical equipment and applications and assess vulnerabilities. Deploy networks engineered to meet your changing business requirements. Build redundancy to support critical operations. Use network-based services to rapidly restore service. Maintain worker productivity through applications like remote access alert notification services and conferencing. Train and educate your employees to do their jobs in the office, on the road or at home. And finally, continually review, test and refresh your plan.

Learn more about business continuity and disaster recovery:
- read the press release at PRNewswire

ALSO:
- read this on satisfying both sides when it comes to disaster recovery
- this on why disaster recovery isn't enough
- this on best practices for disaster recovery
- and this on current trends in disaster recovery

External innovation: The time is right

Tue, 15 May 2007 20:01:36 -0400

Collaborating and partnering outside of the company, with business partners, customers, consultants and academics, is critical to innovation. But this strategy is far different from what many CIOs are used to, and it might be difficult to give up on internal innovation just yet. Before you go outside, determine if your CEO is on board with the idea, whether or not the company is technologically ready, and whether you and your IT department will feel marginalized.

Read more about external innovation:
- read the blog at CIO

ALSO NOTED: Vista makes headway in the corporate world; Ten tips for technology management;

Wed, 09 May 2007 20:01:38 -0400

> Vista is gaining acceptance among U.S. IT managers. Article

> Ten tips for technology management. Article

> World CIOs talk about common transformation challenges. Article

> The CIO's guide to mobile security. White paper

> Updates to ITIL should benefit IT managers. Article

> Telecom expense management: the bane of the CIO's existence. Article

> Common-sense strategies for lowering TCO. Webcast

> Improve decision-making with spreadsheet optimization. White paper

> Keeping business partners in the loop. Article

And Finally… Careless emailing can cost executives their jobs. Article

How to teach tech to execs

Mon, 07 May 2007 20:01:39 -0400

Many CEOs are confused about technology--more confused than CIOs are about business. CIOs must educate their business counterparts about technology, but that's not easy, partly because CEOs tend to resist the idea. Here's how to teach the business side about technology: First, don't use jargon. Techno-talk creates another language and a set of barriers between you and your business partners. Second, use the budget planning period to help drill in what the business side needs to know about technology. Third, start education at the top of the organization. Once senior executives get it, others will follow. Fourth, plan offsites to set up temporary laboratories with equipment and software to show businesspeople how things actually work. Finally, use a subtle approach. For example, point out that a specific unit has lower customer satisfaction levels or higher people costs and suggest a technology that might help. If that fails, a similar conversation with the CEO might help.

Learn more about teaching tech to executives:
- read the article at CIO

ALSO: read this on teaching tech to your CEO

Security focus shifting away from perimeter defense

Sun, 11 Feb 2007 19:01:39 -0500

With more companies doing business with each other over the Internet, the old 'castle and moat' strategy of perimeter security is becoming increasingly useless. Constant collaboration with business partners has companies poking more and more holes in their firewalls, creating a need for a new approach to data security. As perimeters dwindle away, it would be helpful to focus on developing ways to authenticate and authorize users on your network and monitor all their activities to watch out for malcontents.

For more on this:
- read this article from ComputerWorld

SPOTLIGHT: The transformation of public IT

Wed, 01 Nov 2006 19:01:34 -0500

As one long-term public tech leader recalls, it wasn't long ago that IT was viewed as a utility for government and a threat in the competition for tight budget dollars. But times have changed and today, public IT teams and projects are viewed as business partners within state and federal organizations. It didn't happen overnight and it required a great deal of work by some innovative IT leaders. Article