As the evasion of consumer tech changes IT, it makes sense that support for consumer devices would start to reflect the retail experience. Think Apples Genius Bar. Mike Burgio of Inergex, an IT services firm, talks about why IT leaders need to think about hitting the bar.
It is still early days in the emergence of software defined networking, so there aren't many users around to share their experiences and expectations, but there are a few. Network World's editor in chief tracked down Steve Wallace, executive director of InCNTRE, Indiana University's Indiana Center for Network Translational Research and Education, which is already using the technology in a production environment. The school is also playing a role in the tech's evolution.
As the IT outsourcing industry is undergoing some fundamental changes, CIOs will need to take their vendor management game to a new level. Forrester vice president and principal analyst John C. McCarthy discusses how CIOs can move from outsourcing procurement to true vendor management.
IT services customers are increasingly looking for onshore delivery options, either to replace or complement their offshore outsourcing relationships. A May 2013 Gartner report predicted continued growth in onshore delivery to satisfy buyer needs for proximity in projects that deliver greater business impact.
Cloud storage, text messaging, poor accountability and the "Bad Leaver" open the doors to data breaches in a BYOD environment, says a cyber-crime expert in this CIO.com interview.
At Energy Future Holdings, CEO John Young emphasizes the human factors behind IT, supports standardization and expects the CIO to work with business partners.
Should you trade your clear-cut written outsourcing contract for a simpler agreement and a handshake with your IT services provider? Thomas Young from Information Services Group (ISG) says you should consider what he calls 'evolutionary contracting'.
As co-president of Oracle, Mark Hurd is tasked with selling an ever-increasing array of new software and hardware products, such as the Exadata database machine and Fusion Applications, while figuring out how to keep the company's vast installed base happy and fending off competition from the likes of SAP.
Emmile Brack leads the IT department at Aspire Public Schools, a nonprofit organization that manages 34 public charter schools throughout California. The system serves 12,000 mostly low-income students in kindergarten through 12th grade, and its goal is to get all graduating seniors accepted into four-year colleges. Brack is Aspire's vice president of technology. She says her department's task is to make sure Aspire's 1,500 employees and its students have the technology needed to transform the students' educational experiences. Brack says one way her team is meeting this goal is by deploying analytics tools. Here she talks about the lessons she has learned from that project.
A "bring your own support" movement is sprouting up within BYOD programs as employees become more self-sufficient. Is this a death knell for the IT help desk? One possible savior: an enterprise Genius Bar.
As any CIO knows, an executive position is enough to fill up one's time. But Greg Taffet, CIO at U.S. Gas & Electric, felt a need to contribute his time and skills to another important IT endeavor: expanding access to technology in his Florida community. Taffet volunteers with the South Florida Digital Alliance, a group of area businesses and charitable organizations working to provide technology and Internet access to people who can't afford them. Here he talks about the digital divide, his work to bridge it, and what he has learned about leadership.
There's no easy path to iPad adoption and a bogged-down iPad pilot program can spell disaster. Apple could be more helpful to businesses, but there are ways to simplify complicated iPad migrations. Here's what a tech services firm learned while helping Cablevision configure 3,000 iPads.
NetSuite is one of the SaaS (software as a service) market's pioneers, having sold its growing family of ERP (enterprise resource planning), e-commerce and other applications since 1998. The vendor's results have been beating Wall Street's predictions, and may yet again in a few weeks, when NetSuite is expected to announce its fourth-quarter and year-end results.
For Dell Software CIO Carol Fawcett, "BYOD" is not about being an expert on every mobile device in the world; it's about giving workers secure access to the apps and data they need on whatever device they are using.
"Faster, better, cheaper," the old adage goes. "Pick two." Indeed, in many areas of IT outsourcing, IT leaders have been pushing for faster everything--RFP processes, transition phases, time to ROI--in an effort to cut costs quickly.
Has the concept of IT outsourcing outlived its effectiveness? KPMG's Cliff Justice says the process that the term was invented to describe has evolved considerably and finding value in IT service providers is taking on new meaning.
Complacency has no takers in IT. Technology, by its very nature, is a sign of progress and that means IT leaders can't rest on their laurels. They need to constantly develop their skills to stay relevant. Shweta Rao spoke to Srinibash Sahoo, SVP and head-technology, DSP BlackRock Investment Managers, to find out how he's doing just that.
Over the last five years or so, more organizations have used social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to communicate with customers. Now many organizations are taking a cue from those sites to deploy more socially minded communication and collaboration tools. Does taking a more social, collaborative approach work?
Orlando Health VP and CIO Rick Schooler talks about how analytics is transforming healthcare. Insider (registration required)
A Dartmouth faculty member suggests that CIOs can get fresh ideas from emerging economies, but it requires a new way of thinking
The formula for collaboration is changing rapidly.