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With the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention this week reporting widespread H1N1 flu outbreaks in 32 states, many companies are dealing with or anticipating the need for staff to work remotely in the months ahead. This can present a challenge for IT organizations that haven't in the past dealt with large numbers of remote workers.

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IBM has already established cloud computing centers in the Chinese cities of Dongying and Wuxi. In the former, the cloud will serve as a "smarter city" platform for development of services. In Wuxi, it will serve as a collective platform for software development. Now it's on to Ho Chi Minh City.

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Whether your company's data center is a couple of servers stashed in a closet or a gleaming, state-of-the-art climate-controlled facility, you're still facing the same set of challenges: how to keep the IT lights on while controlling costs, take advantage of new technologies to stay competitive, and position your company for an economic recovery in the midst of the toughest times for IT that many of us can remember.

On Wednesday, October 21, 2009, help is on the way.

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Marc Benioff set aside his duties as master of ceremonies at the death of software Tuesday and announced on-demand applications and on-premises applications could work together. His venue was a Yerba Buena Center theater in San Francisco next to Oracle OpenWorld. He still took a swipe at enterprise software, but his talk was titled, "The Best of Both Worlds."

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IBM is wading into online email service, a space where Google, Yahoo and Microsoft already have big presences. Is IBM staging a kamikaze run, giving itself one more place where Lotus Notes will show it's got difficulty competing? Is there a method to this madness? Why does IBM have its head in the clouds?

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AccelOps' latest software release adds new features for network and data center service management, both for premises and SaaS deployments.

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It's no secret enterprises are making heavy use of virtualization in the data center. Market research shows their leading provider is VMware. With Microsoft offering virtualization in Windows Server 2008 and other free alternatives available, it's hard to see how VMware's grip will last. But VMworld offered a glimpse of why it may.

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Cloud computing and virtualization function hand in glove. We knew that. What we didn't know was that there are likely to be efficiencies if the application is built from the ground up for the cloud. The Spring Framework is one of those new development platforms that make it easier to develop Java applications--for the cloud.

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Paglo announced a new service that lets IT send and store logs in the cloud. Logs can be searched and analyzed on demand.

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The IEEE-ISTO (International Standards and Technology Organization) held its first conference on product certification and conformance at their IEEE headquarters in New Jersey. The goal of the IEEE Conformity Assessment Program (ICAP) is to provide support to other IEEE standards groups, test labs, and industry groups in developing conformance tests. It’s a first step on a long road for the ICAP.

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What was interesting about Cisco's entry into blade servers Mar. 16 was the key role that it expects virtualization to play. It trumpeted its convergence of storage and networking data on the blade. But what about its assumption that the blade will be virtualized?

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If IBM acquires Sun, and that prospect becomes increasingly likely with each day that passes without a denial, here's one thing it should consider doing: it should keep Sun intact and operate it as an independent business unit, much like EMC did with VMware.

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Startup Paglo, which offers SaaS-based IT management based on search, now collects Netflow data to help customers monitor bandwidth usage by users, applications and protocols.

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At the Cloud Computing Forum, InformationWeek asked a distinguished panel why it was necessary for every hypervisor vendor to launch its own virtual machine runtime format. If we can see the need to move workloads from one cloud to another, a common runtime format would simplify the process. What will it take, I asked, a user revolt?

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Desktop virtualization is not like what it sounds. It does not start with a one-by-one conversion of each user's desktop from a straightforward piece of hardware to one that runs only a virtual machine.

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Novell's Richard Whitehead is a pretty sharp guy. I tend to tout shiny new startups in the world of VMs; I'm a big fan of up-and-comers. I'm also an open source fan. Well. It is easy to forget that Novell is an open source shop and that PlateSpin offers pretty snazzy Swiss-army knife functionality for physical and virtual server management. Richard, bless his heart, won't let me forget.

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I've noted that the DMTF.org standards body is not working on a spec for a standard virtual machine runtime, one that could be shared by all vendors. Why not? Because among DMTF members, there's no political will to do so. There is, however, a desire to create a standard VM management interface.

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I asked, how's progress coming on a neutral VM runtime format that could be recognized by all the hypervisor vendors? Winston Bumpus, president of the DMTF, said: "Nothing is under way at the moment. Nobody's proposed that we undertake that work."

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Want a clue on what's next from IBM in cloud computing? Then take note that Dennis Quan, the guy behind IBM's cloud computing partnership with Google, recently moved into IBM Tivoli's development group. His new assignment tells a lot about the challenges IBM sees ahead.

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These days, many companies are looking to slash their technology budgets any way they can. A new report from Info-Tech Research shows you how to do it the right way, without adversely affecting morale or operations. And the folks at bMighty.com -- InformationWeek's sister site for small and midsize companies -- have arranged to let you download this $2,000 report, FREE!

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Not everybody remembers a little outfit called Wily Technology. It was a Silicon Valley startup that caught my eye because it did something that made eminent common sense: it watched a running Java application the way an end user would experience it on the Internet. In January 2006, CA acquired the eight-year-old company for $390 million.

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PacketTrap, a network management startup with about 40,000 users, is coming out with a new platform that CEO Steve Goodman says will compete with CA Unicenter and IBM Tivoli. You read that right: little PacketTrap versus the two behemoths of systems and network management. Goodman may be crazy, but he's not stupid.

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Kaavo, a startup founded by a former IT professional, has developed a browser interface for managing resources from multiple cloud computing providers. Not yet a year old, Kaavo is moving quickly to address what’s likely to be a growing need as more companies plug into not just one, but a variety of cloud services.

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We reported Jan. 2 that 96% of IT managers polled by Sage Research reported running Windows on their virtualized servers and 52% reported running Linux. Without a lot more information, exactly what that means can be debated, but I think it means Windows runs on a lot of physical servers.

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Maybe It's all in the interview. Cisco recently hired green guru Paul Marcoux from APC. As is typical for a hire like this, which is as much for public relations as anything, Marcoux set out for a round of interviews, and depending on which story you read, his plans lie somewhere between sensible contributions to the green movement or a very unlikely attempt at world domination.

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Microsoft talked a lot about software modeling this week, but it never mentioned the U word, that is, Unified Modeling Language, also known as UML. That may be because Microsoft has always said UML is too complex. Or maybe it's because UML underlies its competitors' best modeling efforts.

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It goes without saying that the entire reason a company invests in technology is to support its business goals. But too often there is a disconnect between corporate operations and the IT organization. This is unfortunate because it prevents businesses from getting the maximum value from their technology resources.

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As the saying goes, if you can't beat them join them. But in the case of ex-hackers who abandon their criminal lives to pursue careers in corporate security, these security wizards often have already beaten the system and are now choosing to exploit it further by profiting from the expertise they gained at the expense of the organizations they once menaced.

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Network security threats seem to be everywhere, but system administrators believe their companies aren't at greater risk than in the past. This potentially false sense of security was expressed by nearly 90 percent than 2,100 companies surveyed as part of InformationWeek 2006 Global Security Study. So where is the bravado coming from at a time when security researchers are warning us that risk has never been greater as cyber criminals cash in on malware's profit potential?

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Coming off the terrible embarrassment of the theft of a Veterans Administration computer containing the personal information of more than 26 million veterans and their family members, the federal government desperately needs to prove it is capable of protecting data. The government is making some efforts to prove it is regaining control but these steps may not be enough.

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In the get-it-done-yesterday world we live and work in, instant messaging may sound like the perfect enterprise communications tool. After all, speed rules these days. Yet in spite of an enterprise push by the biggest IM platform providers, a lot companies are resisting the urge to dive in head first into deploying instant messaging as a corporate application.

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It is human nature to resist change, or at the very least be overwhelmed by it. Yet the phrase adapt or die has never been more relevant than it is to the IT organization where change is the one constant with new devices, systems, and applications constantly appearing in the enterprise either organically or by acquisition. Unfortunately, as many businesses have discovered over time, keeping up with infrastructure changes is an ongoing battle of which too many companies find they are on the losing side because they don't have a baseline understanding of what their network resources are.

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Something about the mere mention of a Trojan virus is chill inducing. Of course, the idea of malicious code surreptitiously stealing onto the network and wreaking havoc with precious data should cause alarm. And unfortunately it looks like rather than easing, the threat from Backdoor Trojans is actually becoming an increasingly virulent one in Windows environments.

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Admit it; today's 6-6-06 date got you thinking that it might not be a bad day to avoid black cats, sidewalk cracks, and ladders. If you aren't superstitious, talk of the opening of the remade horror film "The Omen" and media musings on whether the triple sixes will bring another bad day on Wall Street may make you a little more cautious than normal. And heck, a little extra caution can't be a bad thing at a time when we are so incredibly dependent on access to secure and reliable technology to communicate and do our jobs, and threats to the continuity and integrity of these systems seem to be everywhere.

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Since the theft of a disk containing names, social security numbers, and birth dates for more than 26 million veterans from the home of a Veterans Affairs data analyst was made public last week, the outcry over the agency's failure to guard the privacy of what are effectively its most valued customers has continued non-stop. VA Inspector General George Opfer confessed at a Senate hearing last week that supervisors of the VA data analyst were unaware the employee had the file containing the veterans' personal identifying information in his possession. Last week, I railed against the lack of plain old common sense with regard to data privacy and physical security. And though I find myself still confounded by this incident, I think there are some good lessons that can be learned by all of us - both from the perspective of protecting customer information and guarding our own data as consumers.

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Here we go again. Yesterday the Veterans Administration (VA) disclosed that vital identifying information for more than 26 million former military personnel and some of their spouses including social security numbers was stolen when a VA data analyst's laptop was taken from his suburban D.C. home during a burglary. VA officials say there is no evidence now that the thieves know what they have in their possession or that any of that the data analyst, who did not have permission to take the laptop home, was involved in a plot to steal the data. However, it is clear the information is very much in jeopardy. It is also clear that even after so many other high-profile incidents, organizations are still not learning the importance of protecting their clients' most vital assets- their identities.

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In less than a week, Systems management vendor CA has lost not one but two of its C-level executives, leaving investors to speculate on what the coming financials will show and customers to wonder what impact, if any, this will have on them. The planned departures of CA's CTO Mark Barrenechea and its CFO Robert Davis come just weeks after Sanjay Kumar, the company's former CEO, pled guilty to charges related to an elaborate accounting scheme designed to artificially inflate the company's earnings numbers. Another executive, the company's former head of sales, entered his plea at the same time.

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In his keynote speech at Symantec's Vision conference in San Francisco earlier this week, Symantec CEO John Thompson said the security challenge businesses face today is that hackers are effectively professional criminals with the very focused goal of making a profit at the expense of the companies they are attacking. As such, these hackers bring sophisticated skill sets and often a wealth of experience that puts some businesses at a disadvantage and all companies on the defensive.

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Virtualization is unquestionably hot. With a host of vendors rolling out hardware and software solutions boasting a long list of benefits and lots of talk about optimizing IT resources what is not to like? Well, as tremendous as the technology can be, managing it requires some very special considerations.

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In recent months, CA has made great efforts to put the company's very troubled past behind it and move forward with a new chief executive and a new vision. The company went so far as to abandon its old Computer Associates moniker in hopes, I am guessing, of also shedding its tarnished image with the name. CA's moves were welcomed by its customers, industry observers, and by partners - who often described having a strained relationship with the systems management software giant.

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A few years ago, in another life, I was presenting some research related to brand identity and the delivery of IT services to a tech-savvy group in Paris. I asked the attendees what they thought of when they heard the IBM brand name. Though the attendees gave a number of answers, the common consensus was that IBM represented quality, stability, and market superiority. In essence, IBM was a company these consumers of IT solutions trusted. Well, judging from the results of the Systems Management poll on which vendor you trust the most, little has changed.

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the more they stay the same. Sure, it is an old adage but it also true. Consider recent talk of increased consolidation in the IT services industry. Companies like EDS are making moves to buy other firms, but this is hardly anything new. Just weeks ago, news surfaced of merger talks between Lucent and Alcatel - two tech vendors with services organizations. This follows the big news of March that the new AT&T, itself the result of the blending SBC and AT&T, plans to buy BellSouth.

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To succeed for the long-term in any industry, a business has to earn its customers trust. Winning customer confidence is especially important in an industry like technology where any investment is essentially an invesment in the future. Companies buy hardware expecting to use it for years on end; sign long-term software licensing deals assured that the software maker will be around to support it; and look for technology suppliers who can deliver the services they need to run their businesses. So naturally, enterprises look for vendors that exhibit the technical superiority, innovativeness, and level of customer support necessary to produce exceptional technology. But companies also look for a vendor they can trust - one that demonstrates integrity, consistency, and dependability.

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Say it one time out loud, and it still doesn't seem real. "George Mason is going to the final four." Say it a few times, and, it still sounds surreal but it is true.

March madness continues with one of the more surprising NCAA Basketball Tournaments in memory. Naturally, the country is riveted, and, though I have no figures to back this up, I am guessing productivity is plummeting. Most companies were antipating some issues with workers spending too much work time viewing games over the Web, and actively discouraging work-time viewing, according to last week's poll.

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The NCAA Basketball Tournament didn't disappoint this weekend, unless of course, you happen to be a North Carolina or Ohio State fan. But as we cruise into the second week of what is inarguably America's favorite March past time, I am wondering how businesses are managing through this productivity drain. And then, of course, there is this question of how businesses are dealing with the drain on bandwidth coming as employees sign up for free streaming Webcasts of the games from CBS Sportsline.

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In an effort to build a more predictable revenue stream from its Software Assurance annuity program, Microsoft is only making the enterprise version of its upcoming Vista release available to those who sign on to that program or have a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement in place. While Microsoft's reasons for playing hardball are certainly understandable, the maneuver feels harsh.

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To say that reports yesterday that AT&T is close to completing a deal to acquire BellSouth brought back memories of a not-so-long ago merger would be an understatement. In a surreal variation on Groundhog Day, the Sunday AT&T disclosure took me back to a day a little over a year ago when SBC declared its intent to snap up its former parent corporation AT&T. So a 12 month-span that also saw Verizon buy MCI is starting to look a lot like 1984 all over again.

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Part of enterprise management vendor CA's revamped corporate strategy is to work more closely with channel partners to sell solutions and support customers. The company has never been known for having particularly warm relations with resellers but there have been recent indications of a thaw in that area. And now the real test begins with CA's announced plan to reduce the number of named accounts it handles directly, and rely instead on the channel to support those clients.

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Small and medium businesses are no longer being left out in the cold my IT management vendors focused solely on the biggeste enterprises. IBM Tivoli is the latest vendor to get smart about delivering IT management solutions designed specifically to meet the cost and complexity requirements of small and medium sized businesses. With its Tivoli Express Portfolio, Big Blue is delivering a suite of products that provide levels of network monitoring, storage management, asset provisioning and user access aimed at smaller businesses that don't require the same escalation tools their larger counterparts need.

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Technology has done much to diminish the barriers geography imposes on business. Wireless is proving to be a productivity-boosting tool for workers in sales and other highly mobile areas. Mature, secure wide area networking technologies give companies a mechanism to improve the effectiveness of employees in branch offices by connecting them to the same corporate resources staff members have in headquarters. Both hardware and software also gives enterprises the means to improve their own cost efficiencies by employing less expensive workers in remote areas, including offshore contractors.

Yet, as much hype as there is about the tremendous benefits offshoring provides business some vendors are finding out that you get what pay for, and, as a result, companies such as Dell are deciding to transfer previously offshored support functions to domestic contractors.

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