InformationWeek Global CIO Weblog

China Not So Worried About Math, Computer Skills

Chris Murphy — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:28:16 -0500

President Obama's making a new push to encourage and improve math and science education, in order to keep up in the global economy. In China, meanwhile, math and computer skills rank low as a requirement for driving innovation, a surprising Newsweek survey finds.

Encryption Can Get Board's Attention

Chris Murphy — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:07:35 -0500

There are lots of good reasons for IT leaders to pay attention to even the finest details of encryption policies. One of the more practical is that encryption's a board-level concept. As in, the board of directors will feel no hesitation in second guessing decisions not to encrypt data that ends up exposed.Which makes the findings in this week's cover story on encryption all the more surprising.

Google Chrome OS Coming. Got A Netbook Strategy?

Chris Murphy — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:23:47 -0500

The clock�s running. Google expects Web-optimized netbooks running its OS to be on sale before the end of 2010. That gives you about a year to figure out how you want to handle employee use of this next generation of devices. No sense waiting.

One CIO's View On Google Apps And Microsoft Office

Mary Hayes Weier — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:30:14 -0500

Today I chatted with Jeremy Vincent, CIO of Jaguar Land Rover, on his choice of Google Gmail for 15,000 users. You'll read the details of that decision in an upcoming story. But an interesting aside from the Gmail deal is Vincent's interest in Microsoft's plan to put its Office suite in the cloud.

Veterans Day And Our Military

Bob Evans — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:30:00 -0500

Today on Veterans Day, we would all do well to remember, thank, and pray for the courageous and selfless men and women of the United States military who put themselves in harm's way so the rest of us don't have to.

Oracle Says EU Doesn't Get Open Source

Serdar Yegulalp — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:52:18 -0500

What is it that the EU doesn't understand about how open source works? That seems to be a good part of the substance of Oracle's objections to, well, the EU's objections to Oracle acquiring Sun. Never mind that many governments in the EU mandate the use of open source in their own work, and have a slightly better than passing acquaintance with it.

Microsoft Cloud Sales Exceed Expectations

Bob Evans — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:01:00 -0500

Microsoft Business Division president Stephen Elop says he's been pleasantly surprised that enterprise customers' demand for cloud-based versions of Exchange and Office have exceeded Microsoft's expectations.

CIOs Flaunt Risk, Say CFOs

Bob Evans — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:46:11 -0500

A recent panel discussion called "CFO/CIO Straight Talk" revealed that some finance chiefs believe their IT leaders don't have a good grasp on risk management and are still too eager to pursue big-bang projects. Looking inward, those same CFOs say their own lack of imagination is also a problem.

Search, And Failure Of 'Consumer Effect'

Chris Murphy — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:18:00 -0500

We�ve written a lot about the consumer effect, how employees fall in love with consumer tech like iPhones and instant messaging, then demand the same experience at work. So why has this effect failed to drive enterprise search?

HP's Hurd, IBM's Palmisano Agree: Cloud Is Lousy Name

Bob Evans — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:41:00 -0500

Sure, Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd and IBM CEO Sam Palmisano spit nails at each other over most things, but on this they agree: while cloud computing has tremendous potential as a technological approach, the term itself is a lousy name. We're with you, guys, but please: whatever the new name is, no more three-letter acronyms, okay?

Tech Pros Want Security, Healthcare, Green Certifications

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:37:45 -0500

Techies are seeking professional certifications in emerging areas like healthcare and green IT, and especially old standbys like IT security, according to a new survey.

Is Microsoft Bing Fake Search?

Bob Evans — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:08:00 -0500

Discussing Microsoft's new price cuts for cloud apps, my colleague Mary Hayes Weier reported Microsoft VP Ron Markezich said he's seen no evidence that Zoho or others offering "fake Office capabilities" can match Microsoft Office. Counterpunching, Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu asks if that means Bing is fake search"?

IBM Taps SAP For Global Single-Instance Project

Bob Evans — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:49:00 -0500

IBM is consolidating its extensive global collection of individual SAP applications and versions into a single global instance that will deliver greater resilience and flexibility to IBM's operations in 170 countries around the world, revealed IBM CIO Pat Toole in an interview yesterday.

IBM Says Business Analytics Will Outpace ERP Plus CRM

Bob Evans — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:39:00 -0500

Vowing to continue acquiring vendors of analytics and BI software, the head of IBM's business analytics group said he believes "information-driven transformation" will become bigger and more important than the ERP and CRM categories combined.

IBM And HP Seeking $700M Microsoft Outsourcing Deal

Bob Evans — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:12:00 -0500

IBM and Hewlett-Packard are among the finalists for a $700 million outsourcing contract from Microsoft to manage huge portions of its global IT infrastructure, according to a media report from India.

IBM Takes $150M From Sun And HP Accounts In Q3

Bob Evans — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:30:00 -0500

IBM says its Migration Factory service had a busy third quarter as it displaced Sun and Hewlett-Packard Unix servers and storage systems for 235 separate customers, accounting for $150 million in revenue for IBM. For the first nine months of the year, IBM said, the corresponding revenue total is $400 million.

Oracle Fading In Rear-View Mirror, Says SAP CEO

Bob Evans — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:00:00 -0500

Trying to apply some sort of favorable spin to SAP's disappointing quarterly results, CEO Leo Apotheker implied that while things at SAP aren't exactly booming, the situation at Oracle is even worse.

New iPhone App Gives 24x7 Swine Flu Coverage

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:45:34 -0500

Swine flu is permeating everywhere these days--not just the virus, but news about it. But if you're still not getting your fill of H1N1, Harvard Medical School has released a new iPhone app that provides real-time updates while you're on the move.

EMC Adding Big Data Center Plus 400 Jobs: A Cloud Hub?

Bob Evans — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:46:00 -0500

Five weeks ago, EMC said it would add 400 jobs in Research Triangle Park over five years. Three weeks ago, it announced its new Atmos Online Compute Service. And yesterday it bought a 450,000 square-foot warehouse in RTP to serve as a data center and R&D facility. If we triangulate in the Triangle, could that mean that mean EMC will base its new Atmos cloud business there?

Fidelity Sees Surge In Mobile From Gen X And Y Customers

Bob Evans — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:21:00 -0500

A search for "chief wireless officer" shows it's a very exclusive club. One name that'll come up is Fidelity Investments' chief wireless officer Joseph Ferra, whose 10-year advocacy for mobile IT has driven huge growth for Fidelity Anywhere, particularly among Gen X and Gen Y clients.

Wells Fargo's Innovation Balancing Act

Fritz Nelson — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:21:44 -0500

Wells Fargo's Executive Vice President of Information Services, Wayne Mekjian faces all of the challenges most bank IT executives face, like an increasing focus on security and privacy and a move to consumer friendly services like mobile banking. But he's also had to digest the integration of acquisitions. And yet, the bank still manages to focus on innovation. Mekjian shared some of his challenges and innovations in a video interview.

Twitter, Facebook Waste $2B Annually In U.K. Economy

Bob Evans — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:45:00 -0500

Calling the personal use of social media by businesspeople during the workday "a productivity black hole," a British IT services company said more than half of the 1,460 surveyed employees said they spend up to 40 minutes per week on such sites. I'd say that while those numbers might be accurate, the conclusion is astoundingly shallow.

The Top 10 Offshore Nations In The World

Bob Evans — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:45:00 -0500

Which countries around the world are the best choices for your offshoring projects? This study by respected outsourcing/offshoring consultancy Tholons includes some nations that are obvious (India) but also some that are unexpected: will the neighbors of the U.S. to the north and the south both make the list?

SAP Salvages Maintenance Contract With Siemens

Mary Hayes Weier — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:08:19 -0500

When software vendors issue a press release on a deal, it's usually for a new customer win. But after some scuttlebutt last month about souring negotiations between SAP and marquee customer Siemens, SAP decided to put out a different type of release Wednesday: Siemens has renewed its maintenance contract with SAP.

The Top 8 Outsourcing Cities In The World

Bob Evans — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:03:00 -0500

While there's been a lot of talk recently about fundamental upheavals in the global outsourcing industry, this year's list of the top 8 outsourcing cities in the world remains the same as last year's, according to a joint study by experts Tholons and Global Services.