InformationWeek: The Business Value of Technology

15 Green Tech Innovations
Cost-savings and energy efficiencies go hand-in-hand. The poor economy and a collective awareness of the finite resources available to the world are encouraging businesses to invest in green technologies. In fact, 60% of companies now have green criteria for their technology purchases, a Forrester Research study found. Cutting costs is the primary motivator, while real or anticipated regulatory issues and pressure from buyers also ranked high, the report said. Only 30% were driven by their desire for environmental stewardship, Forrester said. Economic realities and environmental commitments have spurred businesses to invest in green technologies and practices to boost the bottom line and appeal to increasingly eco-conscious customers. These 15 leading green technologies that have big potential or are already making an impact.
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Obama's Tech Tools
As a candidate, Barack Obama benefited greatly from the power of the Internet, tapping Web tools to reach, motivate, and collect funds from millions of people across the country. As president, Obama has cemented his role as the nation's most connected president to-date, incorporating technology as a cornerstone of key initiatives from healthcare reform to education. Taking a page from corporate America, Obama hired a chief technology officer to oversee the nation's IT direction. And, though he has publicly claimed ignorance about iPads, iPods, and popular gaming systems, Obama has long been known for his reliance on a BlackBerry, an addiction that required approval from the Secret Service for security reasons.
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Top 15 Data Visualization Tips
"Excellence in statistical graphics consists of complex ideas communicated with clarity, precision and efficiency," writes information visualization guru and author Edward R. Tufte. Preaching simplicity and offering practical advice, expert Stephen Few decries distorted 3D pie charts and graphics that are too hard to read. This image gallery offers best-practice examples, advice, free resources and insight from experts on the best of data and information visualization. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then clear and effective data visualizations are worth more than a stack of spreadsheets or reams of reports. Learn from the New York Times, Gapminder, Zillow, Many Eyes, Google, Wordle and other successful practitioners of advanced data visualization.
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Top 10 Mobile Stories Of 2010
As the workforce became increasingly mobile, developers hustled to ensure their phones, tablets, and notebooks were the products of choice for these increasingly dispersed employees. The smartphone wars heated up, as Apple, Google, Research In Motion, Nokia, and Microsoft battled for dominance. In addition to facing-off over hardware features and capabilities, many phone operating system developers competed over retail outlets and handset manufacturers. They also lured developers to build applications -- both commercial and free -- for their platforms, resulting in tens of thousands of apps addressing everything from business to entertainment to the absurd. The world of mobile computing was on a roll this past year, as vendors vied for unfettered consumers and workers through a slew of increasingly sophisticated devices. Here's are 10 of the biggest mobile stories of the past year.
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Top 10 Healthcare Stories Of 2010
Changes to the healthcare insurance status quo won and lost elections, revised and created business plans, and kept harried CIOs and their overworked staffs up at night. But it also generated opportunities for IT professionals in the healthcare industry to save their organizations time and money, reshape burdensome workflows, and improve patient care. When he was elected, President Barack Obama pledged to change healthcare insurance -- and this year marked months of debate and political hijinks that ultimately resulted in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; soon after, it was renamed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. In addition, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 includes the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), which strongly encourages medical providers large and small to use technology. In a carrot-stick approach, the federal government first rewards those who invest in solutions such as electronic health records and then penalizes those that do not do so.
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Top 10 Apple Stories Of 2010
Apple makes news every year, and ever since Steve Jobs returned to the company in 1997, the news has mostly been good. But any big company will make a few missteps, and Apple is no exception. No company can escape the occasional misstep, but with Apple, the stumbles get the same kind of "generous" coverage that the successes do. Apple is hardly a shy, retiring company that prefers to hide from the spotlight -- even people who've never owned an Apple product can probably name several, whether because of the clever ads, the generous news coverage, or just word of mouth. Here's the 10 Apple moments that made big news this year.
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Top 10 SMB Stories Of 2010
Many small and midsize businesses are champing at the bit to ring in 2011, with expectations of improving economic conditions and smoother sailing ahead. But before we count down the clock just yet, it's often prudent to take a quick look back at where we've been. Therein lie the lessons learned -- and hopefully a few causes for celebration, too -- that can build the foundation for future success. Although we may have to wait until next year -- or 2014, even -- to see how all of that political activity shakes out for SMBs. So before you pop the cork for 2011, take a few minutes to ponder 2010.
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Top 10 Software Stories Of 2010
In any year, there are winners and losers, those that successfully rode--or shaped--the tide, and those smashed by the waves of change. As virtual battles raged on Xboxes, Kinects, and other platforms, software developers waged war over market share and steadily loosening budget dollars. Eagerly awaited new products and beta versions made their debuts, jockeying for position and sales. The past year was, of course, no exception. In the rapid-paced world of social media, granddaddy MySpace all-but conceded defeat, rolling over into a partnership with longtime rival Facebook. Software developers of all ilk incorporated social media capabilities into their solutions, looking to partner or integrate with Facebook, Twitter, and location-based sites. Here are 10 of the top software stories of 2010.
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Top 10 Cloud Stories Of 2010
Everybody's head was in the cloud, or so it seemed in 2010. Both well established and startup vendors developed solutions and strategies designed to extend their reach or provide entry into this booming market. After all, IDC estimated the cloud market will be worth $55 billion by 2014; Gartner predicted the cloud world could be valued at $148 billion at that time, in part because Gartner included Google AdWords advertising revenue in its figures, said Gregor Petri, adviser, lean IT and cloud computing, at CA Technologies. Whether cloud computing reaches $55 billion, $148 billion, or a completely different figure, all research firms appear to agree that public and private sector organizations increasingly are adopting the technology. With each proven test site, cloud implementations also are expanding in scope and complexity, as businesses depend on the technology to support their multi-national operations.
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Top 10 Security Stories Of 2010
As smartphones and tablets complement and battle with notebooks and PCs as routes to the connected world, as corporate users and consumers turn to both traditional Web sites and newer social networking sites to communicate, share ideas, trade business concepts, and shop, corporate IT professionals and the government organizations overseeing the nation's cybersecurity are all-too aware they must do more. And they must do it fast. Recognizing this, the federal government hopes to create a new wave of cybersecurity educational and certification programs in order to form the next, much-needed workforce. And law enforcement agencies around the world are becoming more adept at working cooperatively to combat the growing number, complexity, and sophistication of cyber criminals that pursue money and power through their creation of malware and network destruction. This teamwork already has brought down some botnet gangs in different nations.
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Top 10 Hardware Stories Of 2010
Partnerships and new technologies dominated the hardware landscape, as vendors battled for market share and dollars from customers slowly shedding budgetary shackles. Buyers -- from IT executives to home-office users and gamers -- had plenty of choices, ranging from the iPad and new competing wares, to the latest in IBM mainframes, and practically everything in between. Not surprisingly, several vendors have followed Apple's lead, quickly offering tablets designed to tap into the iPad's momentum. But so far, analysts agree that Apple has a large lead, with little signs of abatement. Everyone did not focus all their efforts on smaller, consumer-oriented products. IBM took the wraps off a new mainframe, the most notable update to this part of its extensive portfolio in five decades. For its part, HP extended its exploration of a new memory format through a partnership with a memory manufacturer that can make the esoteric world of engineering into the reality of mass production.
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Top 10 Microsoft Stories Of 2010
Odds are, almost every household in the United States bought or used at least one Microsoft-related product in 2010. From smartphones to game consoles, entertainment software to applications, cloud computing infrastructure to expanded search engine agreements, the developer increased its footprint across earth and cyberspace. This year marked one of new beginnings and some endings for Microsoft, which released its long-awaited Windows Phone 7 operating system, the software giant's answer to Apple's iPhone and Google's Android. In plenty of time for this year's healthier holiday season, Microsoft also unwrapped Kinect, a much-lauded new sensor for its already popular Xbox gaming hardware -- and saw it receive rave reviews from technophiles and, more importantly, the kids, tweens, and gamers for whom it was designed. Likewise, the developer rolled out the third leg of its Halo trilogy, a move almost guaranteed to appeal to the game's legion of followers around the world.
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Top 10 Government Stories Of 2010
In 2010, the government turned to technology as a way to cut costs and improve efficiencies, an approach that worked in some cases but backfired in others. Like their associates in the public sector, government executives and IT professionals saw some big wins -- and headaches -- over the past 12 months. In some cases, cities or agencies were able to save money and boost productivity by adopting technologies such as cloud computing, by centralizing contracts, and reducing energy consumption through consolidated data centers. In other cases, contracts-run-amok or a malfunctioning component led to headlines, hand wringing, and late night scrambling to recover data and operations.
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Top 10 Google Stories Of 2010
Google may be the company of the decade -- the previous one, if not the next one. As such, its actions are closely scrutinized, and its steps and missteps make news. What started as a search engine is now a company that's shaping our technological future, with initiatives in mobile phones, tablet and netbook computing, telephony, and TV. Unburdened by decades of legacy tech and customer expectations, it's proven more nimble at exploiting new niches than its competitors. From successful forays into mobile devices to embarrassing breaches of people's privacy, Google was in the news a lot in 2010, most often for its steps but sometimes for its missteps. Here are the ten top news stories involving Google this year.
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17 Leading EHR Vendors
Electronic Health Records can help healthcare providers in the delivery and management of care to patients, including those with chronic conditions. The systems can also bolster decision making by providing clinicians with more comprehensive patient data, as well as help eliminate medical errors and reduce costs associated with unnecessary or redundant tests. Health care providers can access real-time clinical information, such as immediate access to test results, which allows them to initiate appropriate treatment or follow-up, and to anticipate and mitigate potential problems, more easily and much earlier that without access to EHR data. This potential to improve patient care has contributed to more than half of physicians utilizing EHR systems according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics preliminary 2010 estimates. The cost of implementing these systems is significant, however; a CDW Healthcare survey pegged it upwards of $100,000 per physicians. These costs make vendor selection a crucial step in EHR adoption. In this directory, you'll find 17 of the leading vendors along with information about the products they provide and the value to doctors.
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Flock Browses All Your Social Connections
Years before the social networking oriented RockMelt browser there was Flock. Now Flock 3.5 shows that the original social networking browser still has strong features that should interest users looking to integrate social networking into their Web browser. Flock works with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, newsfeeds and, new in this release, LinkedIn. The newest Flock browser is also now based on the Google Chromium engine, providing a faster and more streamlined browsing experience. A social networking sidebar in Flock makes it possible to view status updates from all of your connections on all of your networks and lets users post status updates to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn with a single click.
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40 Tech Gifts For The Holiday Season
When it seems like the techie in your life already has every next-generation gadget and gizmo on earth, just the thought of finding them a good gift can make you wince with expectant agony. But no one actually has everything, and there's bound to be something out there that will tickle their tech fancy. From TVs to smartphones, green gadgets to slightly goofy gadgets, jaw-dropping sound to peaceful wake-up calls, here are 40 ideas for the holidays or any other gift-giving occasion. Prices are rounded to nearest whole dollar and are suggested retail unless otherwise noted. In some cases, there's no wiggle on the price tag; in others, it pays to shop around for the best deal.
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