Technology Companies

IT industry hopeful about Obama

Judi Hasson — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 13:46:59 -0500

The election of Democrat Barack Obama has brought a sense of cautious optimism to many in the technology community who have long felt that they did not get enough attention and were not well understood by the Bush administration. Ed Black, president and chief executive of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, said the Obama camp has tech-savvy advisers who understand the sector and its users.

"There has not been much leadership on technology issues in Washington over the past eight years," Black said. "We don't want special favors. We just want people to understand us."

Paul Gallant, a telecommunications analyst at Stanford Washington Research Group, said Obama may embrace one big priority for the industry: Extending the concept behind network neutrality principles, which prohibit broadband providers from favoring or discriminating against online traffic traveling over their networks, into the wireless arena.

But there also are some notes of caution. Christopher Hansen, president and chief executive of the American Electronics Association, said Obama has not directly addressed a key item on the industry's agenda: Raising the cap on H-1B visas to allow technology companies to bring in more highly-skilled workers from overseas. He also said the industry is worried Obama might seek to discourage the offshoring of operations and jobs.

For more on Obama and IT:
- check out this AP.Google.com article

Also see:
> Obama's Internet connection remade politics. Article
> Obama wants to expand federal teleworking. Article
> Tech lobbyists hope to have Obama's ear. Article

How to keep IT talent

Judi Hasson — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 23:24:46 -0400

Robert G. Fong of Nosal Partners says that if technology companies want to prosper and not lose their best and their brightest, they need to consider introducing talent acceleration programs to retain valuable executives. "More and more companies are only now realizing that, while talent acquisition strategies are important, talent retention is at least as--if not more--critical to a company's long-term success,'' Fong said. "The organizational cost of losing executive talent is well-documented.'' He said studies have shown employee turnover replacement costs have reduced earnings and stock prices, can affect an organization's competitive position, can trigger turnover at other levels throughout the organization, have created a loss of intellectual and developmental resources, and have disrupted and weakened customer relationships. He said talent acceleration programs must be aimed at crafting individualized development plans to ensure that an organization's best executives experience such a sense of professional growth that they are unlikely to leave.

For more on retaining talent:
- Check out this TechNewsWorld.com article

Web crashes take a big toll

Judi Hasson — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 21:29:35 -0400

Everyone, from teenagers constantly on IM to the executives hooked on their BlackBerrys have become dependent on the Internet. Virtually, every enterprise relies on the web to communicate, to transit or find information and to do business in this digital age.

So when there is a glitch or a failure, it seems like a disaster. Everything stops. No one can function. In the past few months, technology companies like Yahoo, Amazon.com and Research in Motion--the company behind the BlackBerry--all have suffered embarrassing technical problems. The New York Times suggests the consequences of such inevitable breakdowns will only loom larger with plans by Internet companies to make us even more dependent.

Companies like Google want us to store not just email online, but also spreadsheets, photo albums, sales data and nearly every other piece of personal and professional information. "That data is supposed to be more accessible than information tucked away in the office computer or filing cabinet," the newspaper said. But the story adds that the problem is that this requires web services to be available around the clock; even the Internet's biggest companies sometimes have trouble making that happen.

For more on our Web addictions:
- check out the New York Times article