InformationWeek: The Business Value of Technology

Research: 2012 State of Mobile Security
With 65% already allowing personal devices at work, IT's juggling laptop policies and Wi-Fi policies and BYOD policies--and that means security gaps big enough to drive a semi through. Most, 80%, require only passwords for mobile devices that access enterprise data/networks, yet just 14% require hardware encryption, no exceptions. Let's be clear: Mobile security is data security, and we must do better. (Free, registration required)

Research: 2012 IT Spending Priorities Survey
When it comes to justifying new projects, the 453 business technology pros responding to our spending survey are an upbeat lot. We asked about 16 possible initiatives; in every case, the outlook was "spend money to save money." One typical scenario: 59% say a private cloud will cost more short-term, a valid assumption. But fully 86% say it'll yield long-term savings. Maybe, maybe not, but mind your credibility. (Free, registration required)

IT Pro Ranking: Midrange Storage Arrays
IBM and Dell/Compellent are overall leaders in midrange storage, according to IT pros who use or evaluate these products. EMC also ranked highly but was dinged by IT on cost. When it comes to array features, NetApp scored a 4.4 out of 5.0 on data protection, the highest for vendors evaluated. Find out how 399 IT pros compare vendors on features, price and more. (Free, registration required)

Research: The Big Data Management Challenge
The challenge of big data is real, but most organizations don't differentiate "big data" from traditional data, and nearly 90% of respondents to our survey use conventional databases as the primary means of handling data. We'll help you understand what constitutes big data (it's not just size) and the numerous management challenges it poses for enterprises.

Inside OpenFlow
New software-defined networking technologies in general and OpenFlow in particular are poised to disrupt the way we manage load in highly virtualized data centers. In a world where for decades we've relied on Ethernet and TCP/IP standards -- and where big vendors like Cisco and Juniper have made their fortunes based on intelligence in switches -- that's a big deal.

IPv6 Security
IPv6 advocates have long touted the elimination of NAT and the return to a true peer-to-peer Internet. But IT pros who've come to see NAT as an essential network security element are worried, and they have some questions: What are the security implications of a wide-open, any-to-any connection model? Do some features and characteristics of IPv6 make it more secure? For that matter, are the security models we've used for most of our careers still valid for IPv6? We investigate.