Who wouldn't like to outgoogle Google? Given the sophistication of today's consumer search tools, many CIOs have users (and maybe even the CEO) banging on the door asking why valuable corporate data is still locked away in various places and unsearchable. Trying to capitalize on this need, a bevy of vendors are introducing or revamping enterprise search offerings.
When Mark Alperin went looking to replace his aging ERP system in 2006, he found himself in the same place as many CIOs of midsize companies - not feeling terribly sought after by software vendors who prioritize large enterprise accounts, and facing few choices. Alperin serves as COO with CIO responsibilities for Vertex Distribution, a manufacturer and distributor of rivets, screws and other fasteners. He wasn't happy with the two main packages for his industry, from Activant Solutions and Microsoft (neither of which he was using, nor did he want to use).
As long as they're meeting their regulatory reporting deadlines, most enterprises don't think a lot about closing their books more quickly. <br /><br />
Maybe they should start.<br /><br />
Increasingly, the speed with which an organization closes its books and reports its financial results is being looked at by practitioners, analysts and investors as a defining metric for evaluating whether the organization possesses the best possible processes and enabling technologies. And it turns out that many companies don't, even those making huge IT investments and supporting equally large IT departments.
It was 1999, and addressing any potential Y2K flaws in all of State Street's computer systems consumed the giant financial services provider's IT attention.
Open source has many allures: no licence costs, a wide range of support venues and the ability to work directly with code for customization or quick repairs. But it can create IT headaches, too: The mantra of open source has been "release early and often", which means IT managers using a disparate group of open-source apps face frequent updates and patches, and must craft rules about how and when to apply them.
CIOs have been cutting costs for years - and not seeing those savings coming back to IT. That's why you have to learn to cut strategically.
To gain the business IT alignment promised by service-oriented architecture, CIOs have to focus on process and architecture - not just technology.
CRM and business intelligence from open source? You bet.
A Special Two-Part Report On IT & Health Care | Part 1: Mobile Medicine
As medical records go electronic, hospital CIOs are finding that wireless networks can get the records to where the doctors and nurses want to use them. CIOs in other industries would do well to watch and learn