Strong Signals: Mix and Match
By John Parkinson
Managing a portfolio of IT projects is a great way to spread around the risks and rewards of ongoing work. But what if some of the projects in the mix have less than obvious rewards or maybe no benefit at all? John Parkinson examines three types of projects that fall into this category: extensive infrastructure projects that will eventually benefit many, but initially only a few; projects that will benefit a few users greatly, but others not at all; and pilot projects that may never help anyone.
The Law of the Jungle: Cure for the Common Carrier
By Larry Downes
The Telecommunications Act of 1996, which ostensibly deregulated the telecom industry, was originally thought to be too sweeping and severe a piece of legislation. As it turns out, however, it didn't go far enough. The distinction the law makes between "telecommunications services" and "information services" has, in the past nine years, become obsolete through the convergence of voice, data and video. In today's world, the distinction makes no sense, and Larry Downes proposes a radical solution: Eliminate the common-carrier classification entirely.
Case Study: Social Security Administration
By Elizabeth Wasserman
Whether you agree or disagree with President Bush's proposal to establish private accounts for Social Security, the issue has been thrust into the national spotlight for all to debate. In the meantime, the Social Security Administration is undergoing a lengthy modernization program of its IT systems. All of which begs the question: How does a 65,000 person government agency overhaul its technology while the specter of reform hangs over its head? The answer: very carefully. Business journalist Elizabeth Wasserman delves into the complex challenges facing this agency under fire, illustrating the techniques the SSA is using to prepare for radical change.
Expert Voices: Larry Bossidy
With Dan Briody
Since his retirement from the CEO post at Honeywell in 2003, Larry Bossidy has focused his professional efforts on documenting the management techniques that made him so successful. So far he has produced two books with stunningly simple messages.
Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, became an international bestseller. And his latest,
Confronting Reality: Doing What Matters to Get Things Right, urges managers to ask tough questions about their business in order to make good decisions. As Bossidy told Executive Editor Dan Briody, confronting reality is an ongoing process, and is a lot harder than it sounds. He concedes that there is a place for emotion in business, but not when it gets in the way of the truth.
Trends: Rise of the Blog
By Edward Cone
The tech landscape is peppered with grassroots technologies that have bubbled up into the enterprise. Now, like the Internet itself, blogs are forcing their way, for better or worse, into the fore of the CIO's consciousness. On both sides of the firewall, blogs are making their impact on companies. As a communications tool, blogs have proven their worth in establishing an interactive community with customers. And they are even being used as an alternative to traditional knowledge management software. But there are risks involved in the unrestricted sharing of company information. As Senior Writer Edward Cone demonstrates, blogs need to be understood and managed by CIOs if they are to live up to their potential in the enterprise.
Research: The Role of the CIO
By the editors of
CIO Insight
Improving business processes, updating IT infrastructure and maintaining security are now the top priorities for CIOs, according to our latest study of CIOs and their roles in today's companies. Our survey, which polled 405 CIOs, found cost reduction is waning as a priority, now that companies are looking to standardize processes and platforms in order to achieve profitable growth. The study also found that CIOs are more integrated into the business than ever. Twenty-six percent of today's CIOs have spent half their careers outside corporate IT, one out of three managed another corporate function besides IT, and over half are involved in merger and acquisition decisions.
Strategic Technology: Enterprise Search
By Debra D'Agostino
Suddenly, it seems, everyone is clamoring for an enterprise search tool that works as well as Google. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company has quickly become synonymous with "search," and has changed the way people think about gathering data. Unfortunately, much of the current enterprise search market is built on residual Google hype. Done right, enterprise search can help cut call-center costs and improve knowledge management efforts, but even the best enterprise search applications are no substitute for good content management, says Reporter Debra D'Agostino. Thorough data taxonomies, proper keywording and meta-tagging, and strict policies around who has access to specific types of information, are key to getting the most out of any search tool.
