InformationWeek Stories by Rob Preston

Down To Business: How Indian CIOs Stack Up

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

IBM thinks they're more progressive than CIOs elsewhere in the world, given their emphasis on innovation, customers, and other strategic matters.

Down To Smarter Business: People Want Technology Focused On Results, Not ''Solutions''

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST

Sensors, wireless, cloud computing, machine-to-machine networks--they're all coming together to change how people get their jobs done.

Down To Business: How Do You Define Prosperity?

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

In its measure of the "wealth and well being" of 104 countries, a U.K. think tank provides ample food for thought as we consider the attributes that truly matter in this connected global economy.

Down To Business: Tech Patents Revisited: Alternative Approaches

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

The fact that patent reform has repeatedly died in Congress shows there are no pat answers. But here are a few strong ideas.

Down To Business: Tech Patents Run Amok

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:00:02 EDT

Let's remember the original purpose of the patent system: to encourage innovation and its broader benefits, not to make people rich.

Down To Business: The Tech Economy Data Tells Us Only So Much

Sat, 3 Oct 2009 00:00:01 EDT

Wallets are starting to open, but it's too early to draw definitive conclusions about the prospects for jobs and growth.

Down To Business: IT Pros: Don't Count On The Government

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 00:00:03 EDT

There are simply no federally orchestrated "solutions" when customers ultimately are dictating the terms of global commerce.

Down To Business: Do You Have Boardroom Chops?

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT

How comfortable would you be in articulating the business value of the technology you build or oversee? The answer should tell you a lot about your value to your organization.

Down To Business: Outsourcing's Next Big Thing

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EDT

'Outcome-based' contracts are all the rage, but there's often a big gap between what CIOs say they want and what they're ready to do.

Down To Business: Just What The IT Industry Needs -- More Regulation

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 00:00:01 EDT

Perhaps one way out of the recession is to create a cottage industry of lawyers, consultants, and other advisers with CYA appended to their titles.

Down To Business: Are Some CIOs Wearing Too Many Hats?

Sat, 1 Aug 2009 00:00:02 EDT

There's no right or wrong approach to setting CIOs' responsibilities, but anecdotal evidence suggests we could be stretching them too thin.

Down To Business: The Backlash Against Science And Math Education

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:00:02 EDT

Just because tech jobs are more scarce in the U.S. doesn't mean we should pull back from STEM education. It's so much more than vocational training.

Down To Business: When National IT Pride Devolves Into Stereotypes

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:00:04 EDT

Americans excel at this, Indians fall down at that. Well, we all have our strengths and weaknesses independent of perceived "cultural" predispositions.

Down To Business: This 'Gateway Recession' Must Transform IT

Sat, 6 Jun 2009 00:00:01 EDT

Today's economic environment calls for a much deeper and more disruptive self-evaluation than business technology leaders are used to.

Down To Business: Is IT Innovation Dead?

Sat, 30 May 2009 00:00:02 EDT

Even in a tech economy dominated by vendor consolidation and customer cost cutting, plenty of innovation is still happening.

Down To Business: What If Major League Baseball Had H-1B Caps?

Sat, 9 May 2009 00:00:03 EDT

Employer demand for foreign workers isn't just a function of greed, even if the system is far from perfect.

Down To Business: Are Execs Twittering Their Time Away?

Sat, 2 May 2009 00:00:04 EDT

Clearly, the rules of social networking engagement are still evolving. Either these tools are shedding light on business issues, or they're just a distraction.

Q & A: Gen. Colin Powell On Leadership In Times Of Change

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:15:00 EDT

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell speaks with InformationWeek about "commander's risk," cybersecurity, H1-B visas, Facebook, and his most immediate concerns for the United States.

Down To Business: Get Serious About Going Green

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 00:00:06 EDT

InformationWeek takes steps toward making the planet greener. For the first 5,000 times our May 4 issue gets downloaded on PDF, a Douglas fir will be planted.

Down To Business: Health Care IT: Not What The Doctor Ordered

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 00:00:05 EDT

Cost and complexity are overwhelming many practitioners, and security and privacy remain big concerns. But the industry must march forward.

Down To Business: Health Care IT Gets Dragged Into The 21st Century

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 00:00:08 EDT

Do I like that the government is creating yet another program to teach an industry how to behave? No. But given the lack of a dominant health care industry player to dictate supply chain standards, it needs to get involved.

Down To Business: Mr. Kundra, Welcome To The Fishbowl

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 00:00:01 EDT

An FBI raid on the federal CIO's former offices may be the least of his problems.

Down To Business: Does Business Ethics Make Business Sense?

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:00:09 EST

The best companies define and enforce employee codes of ethics, but in the end reputations rise and fall one person at a time.

Down To Business: What Obama's CTO Should (And Shouldn't) Focus On

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST

Though CIOs and CTOs abound across governmental agencies, President Obama's pick will be able to drive transformational change.

Down To Business: New Federal CTO Must Focus On Substance

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 07:00:00 EST

The Obama administration must sort the populist and special-interest tech issues from those most critical to the country's future.

Down To Business: Hold Governments To Most IT Organizations' Standards

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:00:09 EST

Fiscal responsibility is everyone's responsibility, now more than ever.

Down To Business: Is Satyam Really India's Enron?

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 00:00:09 EST

Having interviewed both companies' chief executives months before their fall, I feel more qualified than most to evaluate that comparison.

Ram Charan On The CIOs Role

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 00:02:00 EST

The business adviser talks with us about how CIOs must take action amid the current economic turmoil.

CIO Tim Stanley To Leave Harrah's

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:49:00 EST

InformationWeek's 2007 Chief of the Year was a model for business technology integration.

Down To Business: Rumble In The Cloud: Salesforce Vs. Microsoft

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST

Two distinct cultures, two different commercial priorities, but a similar message: Amid the economic downturn, the time is now for IT organizations to consider moving their IT resources into the cloud.

Down To Business: Do Tech Employers Value Character As Much As They Say They Do?

Sat, 6 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST

You won't find morals and ethics listed in an IT job board ad, but first-class employers make it a hiring priority.

Down To Business: Google's Schmidt: An Economic Solution Is Within Our Grasp

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST

He calls for bold government-supported R&D and infrastructure programs, starting with energy and extending to other tech sectors. But how far should the government reach -- and meddle?

Down To Business: Does Tech Expertise Matter To Tech Organizations Anymore?

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST

Of course it does -- but employers are looking for well-rounded people, not just a resume of certs.

Down To Business: Consumer Technology And The IT Democracy

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST

Don't be dragged kicking and screaming onto the emerging business technology campus.

Down To Business: Are Tech Employers Breaking Down Gender Barriers?

Sat, 8 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST

Before we go seeking legislative help for the so-called IT talent shortage, let's make sure we're really looking for and nurturing talent where it's now readily available.

Down To Business: Microsoft, Industry Still Hang In The Cloud Ether

Sat, 1 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Many customers still don't understand what "the cloud" is. Vendors don't help when they use the term to describe just about any product--or planned product--delivered from or touching a data center.

Down To Business: Tell IT Like It Is, Not How You Would Like IT To Be

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The industry is going to have to learn how to let its guard down, an especially tall order when communications are sanitized by lawyers, compliance officers, and PR handlers.

Down To Business: The Death Of The CIO (And Other Cautionary Tales)

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The position has never been more critical, but the days are numbered for those execs who act like it's still 1990 ... or even 2006.

Down To Business: Are You Top Management Material?

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:00:10 EDT

Aspiring CIOs and other career fast trackers must consider opportunities outside the IT organization

Down to Business: Goodnight To All: Why Education Is Issue No. 1

Sat, 4 Oct 2008 00:00:10 EDT

This country's economic and social future hinges on its ability to prepare today's kids for the tech-centric rigors of tomorrow's workforce, argues the SAS founder and CEO.

Down To Business: Should Your People Come Before Your Customers?

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 00:00:10 EDT

One school of thought is that if you treat your people right, they'll be far more motivated and equipped to engage with (and maximize returns from) your customers.

Down To Business: IT Priority No. 1: Free Up Money For New Projects

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 00:00:10 EDT

If you think you can lay low under the corporate radar or continue to argue that the 80-20 rule is an immutable law of IT physics, then you're due for a wake-up call.

Down To Business: What IT Pro Has Time To Think About The Business?

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Well, only the most valuable ones. Strategic thinking is everyone's business, even if your organization's culture and hierarchy are holding you back.

Down To Business: Are Technology Leaders Focusing Too Much On The Small Stuff?

Sat, 6 Sep 2008 00:00:10 EDT

If you're still preoccupied with aligning IT and business and operating, maintaining, and deploying systems, you're a decade behind the curve.

Your Views On Education: It's Everyone's Business

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Judging by the thoughtful e-mail I received, the responsibility for transforming teaching methods, academic curriculums, and delivery tools falls to us as a society, not just to the education establishment.

Down To Business: Core Businesses Are Changing: Are You Ready?

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 00:02:10 EDT

IT and globalization stand to shift the center of almost every organization, and the jobs of almost every technology professional.

Down To Business: When Good Corporate Deeds Yield Good Returns

Sat, 9 Aug 2008 00:00:10 EDT

How is your company practicing its corporate social responsibility?

Down To Business: The Mind-Set Of The Indian IT Exec

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 00:00:10 EDT

After a week of meetings with a few dozen locals in three Indian cities, a clearer picture emerges.

Down To Business: Dare To Think Differently About U.S. Education

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 00:00:10 EDT

A new book makes the case for a more tech-centric, individualized approach to teaching. Given the current product and the future stakes, we better start shaking the system up in some way.

Down To Business: St. Louis Gets Serious About Tech Talent

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 00:00:10 EDT

Employers are regularly criticized for overstating the IT labor problem, or for doing little to rectify it. But give some credit where it's due.

Down To Business: Customers Fire A Few Shots At Cloud Computing

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 00:00:10 EDT

Security, regulatory compliance, and long-term vendor commitment are among the chief concerns.

Down To Business: Meter Starts To Tick On Internet Access Pricing

Sat, 7 Jun 2008 00:00:10 EDT

Is Time Warner abusing its monopoly and whoring for profits, or just going after its fair share?

Down To Business: Smell Opportunity, Not Just Upheaval, In Globalization

Sat, 31 May 2008 00:00:10 EDT

If there's such a thing as a business technology profession of the future, it's in developing, building, managing, and cultivating global supply chains.

Down To Business: To SaaS Or Not To SaaS? Not A Simple Question

Sat, 24 May 2008 00:00:10 EDT

Some vendors want to engage in a debate about the merits of premises-based vs. single- and multitenant vs. hosted software architectures. Customers will decide which make the most business sense.

Down To Business: HP-EDS A Strong Move, Even If It's Uninspiring

Sat, 17 May 2008 00:00:10 EDT

Is the merger another Compaq economies-of-scale play? HP should be so lucky.

Down To Business: As IBM Reaches For Cloud, Where Next Microsoft?

Sat, 10 May 2008 00:00:10 EDT

IBM's alignment with Google around Linux and Internet standards should have its longtime rival sweating sans Yahoo.

Down To Business: Let Go Of The Past And Embrace Change

Sat, 3 May 2008 00:00:10 EDT

It can be unsettling, but those who seek out change will find that it creates more career paths than it cuts off.

Down To Business: U.S. A Broadband Leader? Or Just A Poseur?

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:00:10 EDT

As new World Economic Forum ranking suggests, racing to extend the fattest pipes to the most people doesn't necessarily make you a world-class networked economy.

Down To Business: It's Past Time To Elevate The Infosec Conversation

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:00:10 EDT

At the RSA conference, the security discussion was about helping customers innovate and deliver business value.

Down To Business: Don't Succumb To The Recession Noise

Sat, 5 Apr 2008 00:00:10 EDT

Every IT manager must anticipate an economic slowdown and plan accordingly, but don't go so far as to make recession a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Down To Business: New Book Chronicles The Future Of Innovation

Wed, 2 Apr 2008 12:30:00 EDT

C.K. Prahalad and M.S. Krishnan portray a future where businesses will innovate by "co-creating" value with their customers and by tapping resources from specialized third parties worldwide. Join the conversation.

Down To Business: Are You A Complainer Or Part Of The Solution?

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:00:10 EDT

Whichever position you hold on the IT labor shortage--whether it exists or it doesn't -- there are two ways you can approach this critical issue.

Down To Business: Rhetoric Can't Stop The Reality Of Global Business

Sat, 8 Mar 2008 00:00:10 EST

If U.S. companies don't get their way with H-1B visas, they'll get even more aggressive offshore, no matter how much anyone complains about the unfair and unlevel playing field.

Down To Business: Innovation: Get Off The Stump And Get On With It

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST

While driving breakthrough products and processes always will involve trial and error, it can't be just a 'let the chips fall where they may' affair.

Down To Business: Will Cloud Computing Rain On IT's Parade?

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 00:00:10 EST

Apps, storage, and other business technology resources are indeed moving from desktops and company data centers to third-party providers. But don't expect to buy everything from Humongous IT & Telecom anytime soon.

Down To Business: Amid Fears Of Recession, Don't Run And Hide

Sat, 9 Feb 2008 00:00:10 EST

2008 represents something of a perfect storm in terms of economic and political uncertainty. But technology paralysis isn't a viable option.

Down To Business: Big Brother? AT&T Filtering Plan Just A Big Mistake

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 00:00:10 EST

It's one thing for software to skim out spam and identify peer-to-peer traffic patterns on a closed network. It's another thing to expect software to scan a sprawling carrier network and sort contraband movies, music, and other material from the legitimate stuff.

Down To Business: In A World Of Gray, Why Do We Tend To See Black And White?

Sat, 19 Jan 2008 00:00:10 EST

It's not that believing deeply in something is inherently wrong or pigheaded. But don't let your IT predispositions undercut your ability to weigh evidence that supports a different view.

Down To Business: We're Obsessed With The Short-Term View

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 00:00:10 EST

This isn't a call for Soviet-style 15-year plans, but there's a huge difference between being adaptable and having the patience of a fourth-grader.

Down To Business: The Internet Is In Trouble ... Or So Says One Outfit

Sat, 1 Dec 2007 00:00:09 EST

A new Nemertes Research study exhorts U.S. Net providers to spend many more billions of dollars on their infrastructures or risk a major slowdown. Do you believe it?

Down To Business: Software Industry M&A: What's Next?

Sat, 17 Nov 2007 00:00:09 EST

IBM's $5 billion deal to buy Cognos caps a frenetic five or six years of consolidation. But there's plenty more action to come.

Down To Business: Don't Care For Software As A Service?

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 00:00:10 EST

Fair enough--as long as you're not just digging in to preserve budget control and organizational status.

Down To Business: The American IT Pro Isn't An Endangered Species

Sat, 3 Nov 2007 00:00:10 EDT

Just because industries get disrupted and uprooted, whether by foreign competition or domestic ineptitude, doesn't mean they're dead ends.

Down To Business: The Labor Shortage And Other (Changing) Global Dynamics

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EDT

As one retiring tech pro put it: "The new 'Flat World' tilts back and forth and does not stay horizontal for long!"

Down To Business: The Tech 'Talent Shortage' And A Culture Divide

Sat, 20 Oct 2007 00:00:10 EDT

We're seeing a widening disconnect between those who describe themselves as 'workers' and the CEOs, CIOs, and VPs who call the shots.

Down To Business: Note To Tax Collectors: Leave The Internet Alone

Sat, 13 Oct 2007 00:00:10 EDT

Some of the same politicians who oppose a permanent Internet tax ban are the ones who worry about the "digital divide" and how the United States is falling behind broadband-connected economies in Asia and Europe.

Down To Business: Worried About IT Talent Shortage? Do Something About It

Sat, 6 Oct 2007 00:00:10 EDT

Employers must work more closely with universities, invest more in training, and take a chance on workers they deem overqualified or over the hill.

Down To Business: Simplify Your Software--Though It Ain't Easy

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 00:00:08 EDT

The problem is part inertia, part the lack of confidence in alternative suppliers and products.

Down To Business: Is Customer-Obsessed IT In Your Company's Blood?

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 00:01:00 EDT

How do your internal users, your company's paying customers, your various suppliers view your IT organization? As a can-do partner and service provider? Or as a nitpicking naysayer and excuse maker?

Down To Business: Manage Risk, But Don't Become Paralyzed By It

Sat, 1 Sep 2007 00:00:10 EDT

A company's life can depend on its ability to anticipate technological, financial, regulatory, and other big forks in the road, but heaven help us if we must spend all our waking hours thinking like actuaries and lawyers

Down To Business: SCO Affair: Time To Take Stock (And A Few Shots)

Sat, 18 Aug 2007 00:00:09 EDT

Almost five years, tens of millions of dollars, and several lawsuits have produced what? A few measly lessons.

Down To Business: Global Outsourcing: Not A One-Way Street From U.S.

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 00:00:09 EDT

Wipro's and other outsourcers' expansion moves show a tech industry that's becoming more committed to local markets rather than just touting a ''presence.''

Down To Business: The Sky Isn't Falling When It Comes To U.S. Broadband

Sat, 4 Aug 2007 00:00:09 EDT

We have a way to go still, and much to prove, especially in wireless, but the free market is producing considerable advances.

Down To Business: Debate Over: Let's Get On With Health E-Records

Sat, 14 Jul 2007 00:00:10 EDT

If there already weren't enough maddening fits and starts in digital health care, along comes a journal study that questions whether such records do patients any good in the first place.

Down To Business: Why Our Intellectual Property Is Worth Protecting

Sat, 7 Jul 2007 00:00:01 EDT

Just because it's getting easier for criminals to steal and distribute digital property doesn't argue for giving them a free pass.

Down To Business: 2.0 Mania: The Line Between Pragmatist And Naysayer

Sat, 23 Jun 2007 00:00:10 EDT

Just because a new technology doesn't have a hermitically sealed ROI, bulletproof security, and buttoned-down governance doesn't mean it should be dismissed as trivial.

Down To Business: Who's Really To Blame For Software Insecurity?

Sat, 9 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EDT

When it comes to information security, ignorance is anything but bliss, but too much knowledge is daunting. Applying the latest patches and fixes will help companies keep ahead of software bugs, but developers need to write cleaner code and law enforcement needs to make examples of convicted hackers.

Down To Business: Show That IT Matters, Don't Just Insist It Does

Sat, 2 Jun 2007 00:00:10 EDT

If you can't communicate the business value your organization is delivering, then maybe you're a commodity after all.

Down To Business: Technology Debate On The Campaign Trail

Sat, 26 May 2007 00:00:20 EDT

When you've got border fences and melting ice caps on which to grandstand, who needs tech policy? The country does--or at least some cogent discussion of the issues.

Down To Business: Offshoring Mania Goes To Ludicrous Extremes

Sat, 19 May 2007 00:00:55 EDT

Whether it's tech or journalism jobs we're trying to protect, the public discourse has gone over the top.

Down To Business: Who's In For Innovation? No, Who's Really In?

Sat, 12 May 2007 00:00:10 EDT

Everyone's pro-innovation in theory, but because it can be disruptive and cost gobs of money, innovation wends its way into most organizations slowly.

Down To Business: Show Some Courage

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 00:02:00 EDT

We're becoming too conservative and controlling. Regardless of the reasons, it's high time we started chipping away at our hidebound cultures.

Down To Business: Why Are Higher Standards Of Conduct So Threatening To People?

Sat, 14 Apr 2007 00:00:10 EDT

When Tim O'Reilly calls for civility in the form of a voluntary blogging code of conduct, you'd think, judging from the backlash, that he'd proposed martial law, hit squads, and tribunals.

Down To Business: Are You Part Of The Solution Or Just In Denial?

Sat, 7 Apr 2007 00:02:00 EDT

Business technology pros can be double agents of change--onboard when they're the protagonists, but harsh critics when they perceive themselves as victims.

Down To Business: Buy, Sell, Or Hold These Tech Movements?

Sat, 31 Mar 2007 00:00:10 EDT

Since technology is an investment, let's apply the stock analyst's ratings to the hottest sectors. Let us know where you're bullish and bearish.

Down To Business: Heads Up, Tech Management

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 00:00:55 EDT

Money and people once devoted to initiatives that drive new business now get sucked into operational necessities. Time to move out of maintenance mode.

Down To Business: The Lost Art Of Long-Range Planning

Mon, 19 Mar 2007 00:00:55 EDT

Readers ask: How can we groom a next-generation tech workforce in the absence of a long-term strategy?

Down To Business: Talent Shortage? Employers Must Take Some Of The Rap

Sat, 3 Mar 2007 00:00:20 EST

Many tech pros are demoralized, thanks to knee-jerk offshore outsourcing and the post-bubble malaise. Employers must move beyond the "you should be happy you have a job" mentality.

Down To Business: Engage With Customers, Don't Just Humor Them

Sat, 24 Feb 2007 00:00:10 EST

If your culture insulates departments from creative destruction, discourages risk-taking, and thus resists bringing customers into company decision-making, then your organization faces huge problems.

Down To Business: Outsourcing Customers Send Mixed Signals

Sat, 17 Feb 2007 00:00:10 EST

Some 89% of the customer organizations surveyed by KPMG say they plan to maintain or increase their current level of outsourcing. So why do many of the other survey findings paint such an unflattering picture of these relationships?

Down To Business: The End Of Security As We Know It?

Sat, 10 Feb 2007 00:00:10 EST

The big, acquisitive infrastructure vendors insist that security inevitably will be built into their architectures, but critics rightly warn of the pitfalls of a fully integrated approach.

Down To Business: Business Technology Needs A Youth Movement

Sat, 3 Feb 2007 00:00:10 EST

It's not about replacing seasoned veterans with cheaper talent. It's about cultivating a culture where new technology approaches can thrive.

Down To Business: Another (Unconventional) Look At Executive Compensation

Sat, 27 Jan 2007 00:00:10 EST

To argue against artificial caps and controls isn't to denigrate the millions of hard-working wage earners. Capitalist markets are full of inequities, real and perceived, but in the end their attributes far outweigh their flaws.

Down To Business: Is Executive Pay Excessive?

Sat, 13 Jan 2007 00:02:00 EST

When evaluating compensation, better that we focus on job performance and the scarcity of premier job candidates than on absolute numbers.

Down To Business: Business Intelligence Still In Its Infancy

Sat, 6 Jan 2007 00:00:10 EST

A common measure of a company's BI chops used to be the size of its data warehouse. Now it's the quality and timeliness of its data, and its relative success with content management

Down To Business: Technology Isn't Always The Solution

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 00:00:10 EST

It's ludicrous to suggest that any vertical industry or horizontal process can be transformed with technology alone. Mining data to prevent terrorism may be a case in point.

Down To Business: Attack The Root Of The Health Care Mess

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 00:00:10 EST

We need to rein in costs, not try to hide them. Part of the solution involves getting more advanced IT tools into the hands of health care providers and better information into the hands of patients.

Down To Business: A (Legit) Reason To Take Wal-Mart To Task

Mon, 4 Dec 2006 00:00:10 EST

The company's Black Friday Web site debacle smacks of the rampant outages and slowdowns circa 2000. We expect better from the world's biggest and most influential retailer.

Down To Business: Can The Worthless Regs

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 00:03:00 EST

Some are way too broad. Others have outlived their usefulness. We should be as rigorous in evaluating and retiring IT regulations as we are (or should be) with our IT systems.

Down To Business: Nonpartisan? Let's Keep An Eye On The Watchdogs

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 00:00:10 EST

Blue-ribbon interest groups are waxing impartial on everything from privacy to information policy and systems to online buying trends. But what's their real agenda?

Down To Business: Change: Much Easier Said Than Done

Mon, 6 Nov 2006 00:00:10 EST

When the world is moving in a new direction, adapt and move with it--even if you have to make concessions and mistakes along the way. Those who really get it count their riches. Those who don't dig ditches.

Down To Business: A Note To Those Tech Pros Who Aren't Driving Jack

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 00:00:10 EST

Ever consider specializing in the law? Almost every major and minor tech decision of our time has a phalanx of lawyers behind it. The profession could use a few good men and women with the tech chops to make a difference.

Down To Business: It's Your Money; Keep A Close Eye On It

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 00:00:10 EDT

Politicians and other public figures are more than happy to spend your tax dollars on tech projects and programs that ostensibly serve the general good. But beware whose good they're really serving.

Down To Business: No 'Small' Problems When It Comes To Ethics

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 00:02:00 EDT

At their tamest, backdating, 'pretexting,' and other ethical violations are a huge distraction. At their worst, they're a sign of deeper trouble.

Down To Business: Europe Tough On U.S. Tech Powers

Mon, 9 Oct 2006 00:00:10 EDT

Brussels is getting hip to the American way: Slow down the richest, most successful companies with legal and regulatory force

Down To Business: What They Didn't Say At The HP Hearings

Mon, 2 Oct 2006 00:00:10 EDT

More important than the details of 'pretexting" and other transgressions are what the three-week saga tells us about the composition and priorities of the board, as well as the stuff of its new chairman

Down To Business: HP Investigation: Two-Ring Circus

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 00:02:00 EDT

With each new allegation of board impropriety, the stakes get greater for the technology company--and for the politicos who aim to extract its full PR value. Get ready for the greatest show on earth.

Down To Business: Are You IW500 Material?

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 01:00:08 EDT

Our annual ranking of the most innovative tech organizations bucks some of the conventional wisdom. Same for the tech leaders behind those organizations.

Down To Business: Tell Us Your IT Disasters

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 00:00:10 EDT

If the tech profession is to stop making the same mistakes, it must share its worst practices. We're all ears.

Down To Business: When It Comes To Cheap PCs, Don't Count On The Bureaucrats

Mon, 14 Aug 2006 00:00:10 EDT

If governments have shown they are good at one thing, it's debating and stalling controversial public policy initiatives that don't show immediate returns. Time for countries to plan for the long haul.

Down To Business: Web 2.0 Not A Game-Changer--Yet

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 00:00:10 EDT

Show us the money--the long-term viability. Then we'll get on board.

Down To Business: Offshore Infighting

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 00:00:10 EDT

Is the U.S. services economy doomed or just adjusting to the times? The answer isn't black and white.

Down To Business: There's No Leader's Manual

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 00:00:10 EDT

The bold and the beautiful don't always make the best CEOs and CIOs. There's far more to leadership than meets the eye.

Down To Business: The Age Of The Control Freak

Mon, 3 Jul 2006 00:02:00 EDT

Control freaks call the shots today. But before you start howling about Big Brother gone bonkers, look in the mirror.

Big Vs. Small? It's Not That Simple

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 00:02:00 EDT

We tend to oversimplify issues like net neutrality, patent reform, and predatory business practices.

Down To Business: When In Trouble, Sue Microsoft

Mon, 12 Jun 2006 00:00:10 EDT

The world's most dominant software company isn't a Boy Scout, but litigation is fast becoming the path of first resort for rivals.

Down To Business: Trust Is Earned, Every Single Day

Mon, 5 Jun 2006 00:00:10 EDT

Customers will forgive the occasional screwup, but don't make a habit of crossing them.

Down To Business: Time To Get Tough On Security Slackers

Mon, 29 May 2006 00:00:10 EDT

The Veterans Affairs Department and their ilk aren't victims. They're enablers and must be held accountable.

Down To Business: Beware The Conventional Wisdom About NSA 'Surveillance'

Mon, 22 May 2006 00:00:10 EDT

Many questions about the government program still must be answered, but let's start basing our viewpoints on the facts as we know them.

Down To Business: Show Collaboration, Don't Just Expect It

Mon, 15 May 2006 00:00:10 EDT

If all these new tools are really going to improve productivity, they must become indispensable to the masses

Down To Business: Job 1 For The U.S. Economy: Build A Tech Workforce

Mon, 8 May 2006 22:09:00 EDT

That's the unanimous answer from five industry CEOs. Are they on the mark, or just motivated by self-interest?

Down To Business: Job 1 For The U.S. Economy: Build A Tech Workforce

Mon, 8 May 2006 00:00:10 EDT

That's the unanimous answer from five industry CEOs. Are they on the mark, or just motivated by self-interest?

Down To Business: The IT Industry Is Showing Its Age

Mon, 1 May 2006 00:00:10 EDT

The marquee vendors are bringing in new leadership and flailing in new directions. For the most part, the glory days are over.

Down To Business: IT Globalization: Don't Kill the Messenger

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 21:21:00 EDT

Don't try to seal off our borders, either. Employment and pay are up, so we must be doing something right.

Down To Business: IT Globalization: Don't Kill the Messenger

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 00:00:10 EDT

Don't try to seal off our borders, either. Employment and pay are up, so we must be doing something right.

Down To Business: Business Technology Is All About Execution

Mon, 17 Apr 2006 00:00:10 EDT

Former Enron chief Jeffrey Skilling took the stand last week, holding to the old Sgt. Schultz defense: I knew nothing. The man who engineered Enron's rise from a natural gas utility to a Fortune 10 commodities trading juggernaut testified in federal court that he was oblivious to the rampant internal fraud that led to the company's demise in 2001.

Down To Business: The Outsourcing Chronicles, Part II

Mon, 10 Apr 2006 00:00:10 EDT

Companies can save a quick buck by handing over certain IT operations to third parties. But take a good look before you leap.

Down To Business: Offshorers Coming Out Of The Closet

Mon, 3 Apr 2006 00:00:10 EDT

Whether driven by some extrapolation of the Wal-Mart Effect or even the Madonna Effect, companies are starting to make noise about the work they're doing abroad.

Down To Business: The Economics Of Metro Wi-Fi

Mon, 27 Mar 2006 00:00:10 EST

Forget the political and social squabbles. City wireless networks will thrive or falter based on how efficiently they scale and perform.

Down To Business: An Internet E-Z Pass Won't Clog Other Lanes

Mon, 20 Mar 2006 00:00:10 EST

Word has it that we're in danger of stomping on another fundamental human right. Not life nor liberty, but the principle that all Internet traffic is created equal.

Alan Nugent, Computer Associates

Mon, 20 Mar 2006 00:00:00 EST

Nugent quit the technology business for two years in the mid-'90s to play professional poker, winning World Series of Poker bracelets in Limit and No Limit Texas Hold 'Em.

Down To Business: When Fighting The Good Fight Isn't Worth It

Mon, 13 Mar 2006 00:03:00 EST

When you're hauled into court, you don't always get justice. RIM learned that lesson the hard way. Will Microsoft?

Down To Business: Oh, CA: Don't Let Change Dull Your Edge

Mon, 6 Mar 2006 00:04:00 EST

I bumped into computer Associates Communications VP Bob Gordon at the Interop show in Las Vegas. It was 1998, during my first tour with InformationWeek. COO Sanjay Kumar was at the show, and Gordon invited me to interview him later that afternoon.

Down To Business: Time To Regulate The Regulations?

Mon, 27 Feb 2006 00:00:30 EST

Most people never met a regulation they didn't like. A growth company you hold stock in found cooking its books? Make it so that no public company can lift its head without establishing absolute financial accountability.

Down To Business: Independent Analysis? Well, Yes, Quite Frankly

Mon, 20 Feb 2006 00:00:10 EST

There's nothing quite like a bare-knuckled imbroglio to get the adrenaline of a new editor flowing. InformationWeek evidently picked such a fight when we took on the IT research community in a recent cover story ("Credibility Of Analysts," Feb. 6, p. 32). Judging from the range of responses we received, we're either bullies, sissies, or rational thought leaders.