Service-oriented architecture, or SOA, has moved from buzzword of the moment to a concept that has absorbed the attention of CIOs at enterprises large and small (but mainly large). According to our State of the CIO 2007, 19 percent of local respondents were already working on their SOA, 15 percent were planning to start this year and 22 percent defined it as a long-term goal
IT is splitting up. It's not petty squabbling that's causing the break-up. No, this is a sign of maturity. CIOs in larger organizations are dividing their staffs into two major groups: one that negotiates with the business on IT strategy and IT project choices and manages the delivery of those projects (among other management consulting-type duties), and a second group that manages the infrastructure and delivers new applications (among other traditional tactical IT duties)
Innovation in big companies has always been treated like gold - hidden deep inside secret vaultlike labs and protected from everyone except the researchers in lab coats. When products or services emerge from the labs after years of development - and just one in a hundred does - they fail most of the time.
Procter & Gamble is famous for being innovative, but the hard truth is that it had better be. The company spends 3.4 percent of its revenue on R&D, more than twice the average of 1.6 percent in the consumer packaged goods industry. But big spending on R&D does not guarantee success: A study by consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton found no correlation between dollars spent on R&D and profitability. What matters is the productivity of that spend - the "hit rate" of ideas that lead to products.
Kevin Sparks has been trying to get his staff to change the way it monitors and supports the data centre for the past year. But he hasn't been getting anywhere.
We pour some cold water on the hype and answer your questions about why, how and when you should (or should not) start thinking about implementing a service-oriented architecture.
The service-fulfilment model for IT is dying. A new philosophy of innovation and productivity is being born. Here's what CIOs need to do to usher in a new age of IT
Calculating IT spending as a percentage of overall revenue is easy, popular . . . and misleading. There's gotta be a better way.
In fact, there are several
Open source could become a vital piece of enterprise infrastructures. Open source development is becoming a moneymaking proposition. And now understanding the companies that sell and the communities that create open source code is becoming a critical part of the CIO's job.
Old concepts and new technologies have recently converged to generate a new strategy to improve IT responsiveness while reducing integration costs. It's the integration layer, and it may put an end to all those complaints about IT's slowness and inflexibility
Sure, you can save money by working with an outsourcing vendor in a faraway land. But don't trust the outsourcer to install the right security protections. Follow these best practices to verify that your relationship is cost-effective and safe.
Enterprise architecture is not just about mapping and standardizing hardware and software any more. Now it's about services, events and - get this - good old ROI.
Good project management isn't enough; CIOs need a worst-case contingency plan for the business.
US computer makers such as Dell, Motorola and HP are outsourcing not just the manufacture but the design of new products to offshore companies. Could this be the end of America's innovative edge in electronics?
The old dream of dashboards has new life. Here's how to make them work for you.