Stories by Elana Varon

Big Data in the real world isn't so easy

General Motors' OnStar service, which provides drivers with remote vehicle diagnostics and responds to emergencies, already manages as much as 3 petabytes of data annually. OnStar CIO Jeffrey Liedel knows there is so much more that can be done to exploit that data-for the benefit of drivers and GM's business.

Written by Elana Varon17 April 12 04:10

Use Analytics to Create a Greener Business

Saab Group, a defense and aerospace company with a global supply chain and customers in 100 countries, must comply with a growing set of local environmental regulations and with customer requirements that it run a greener business. Plus, the $3.7 billion company has its own goals: cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 2 percent a year, save energy and water, increase recycling and reduce its use of hazardous chemicals.

Written by Elana Varon01 Nov. 11 04:51

What retailers can teach you about green IT

A recent analysis by Retail Systems Research (RSR) sheds some light on how sustainability fits into corporate strategy at top-performing companies.

Written by Elana Varon25 Feb. 11 07:24

Green IT: Train staff to think about sustainability

Frederic Chanfrau, senior vice president of IT for governance, quality and vendor management with Schneider Electric, wants everyone in the company's IT organization to understand three points about going green. First, that energy demands are increasing at the same time as the company must decrease its greenhouse gas emissions; next, that each employee is responsible for helping address this challenge; and finally, that running a sustainable technology shop doesn't necessarily cost more. "They can put their own stone in the building of a greener IT organization," Chanfrau says. But they have to know how.

Written by Elana Varon25 Nov. 10 02:53

Who You Gonna Hire?

The hottest jobs in IT are for business, architecture and policy experts.

Written by Elana Varon10 Dec. 08 10:38

Blog: Banking Reform and IT Risk

Unless you work in the financial services industry, the proposal Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson issued last week to reform U.S. financial institution regulations won't have much, if any impact on how your business runs. But it could benefit your IT strategy to pay attention as the debate over the proposal unfolds.

Written by Elana Varon11 April 08 14:23

Blog: IT Analysis Paralysis

Do IT leaders struggle with innovation because they're too analytical? A new study suggests that leading too much with one's head might have something to do with why many companies struggle with innovation.

Written by Elana Varon24 Dec. 07 08:25

Blog: JetBlue Gets Email Rollout Right

Kudos to Nate Quigley, the chief executive of LiveTV, which is managing JetBlue's rollout of new email and instant messaging services. Quigley is quoted in today's New York Times: "Sometimes, you just have to put things out there and see what happens when people try to use it."

Written by Elana Varon10 Dec. 07 08:25

Blog: Generation Gap or Innovation Gap?

Alexander Graham Bell was 29 when he received his patent for the telephone. Guglielmo Marconi was a teenager when be began tinkering with wireless technology. Those Google guys? In their twenties when they launched the Search Engine That Changed Everything. So why do we middle- (or almost middle-) aged managers take such a dim view of Gen Y?

Written by Elana Varon23 Nov. 07 10:21

Can't Innovate? It's Management's Fault (Really!)

Business strategy guru Gary Hamel blames obsolete management practices for your failure to establish a culture of innovation. One solution: Stop focusing on efficiency.

Written by Elana Varon02 Nov. 07 11:59

Blog: IT and Wal-Mart's Meta-Story

I just finished working with my colleague Tom Wailgum on our package of articles about how Wal-Mart lost its technology edge. There's a big lesson there about IT strategy, and not just for big companies.

Written by Elana Varon23 Oct. 07 12:42

Blog: A Nobel Prize for Hard Drive Technology

Two scientists, Albert Fert, of France, and Peter Grunberg, of Germany, who pioneered the technology that enabled high-density storage-and subsequently, the MP3 player you have in your pocket-were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics yesterday.

Written by Elana Varon11 Oct. 07 12:55

Blog: Let Your APIs Go Free

Apple's delivery last week of an iPhone patch that disabled unlocked phones along with a bunch of third party software got me thinking about how IT departments could innovate faster.

Written by Elana Varon03 Oct. 07 09:48
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