http://www.cioinsight.com Opinion - RSS Feeds en-us Sat, 20 Mar 2010 14:25:00 -0400 Sat, 20 Mar 2010 14:25:00 -0400 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:35:09 -0400 http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/IT-Spending-Strategy-2010-714857/?kc=rss - The word on the street is that IT spending will be flat this year. Due to this limited funding, most CIOs will continue to keep things running but wont advance many strategic projects. This actually represents some positive news, given that half of CIOs say their 2009 budgets were lower than 2008. ...]]> http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/IT-Spending-Strategy-2010-714857/?kc=rss Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:35:09 -0400 http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/CIO-Strategy-2010-139711/?kc=rss - It was like I woke up and found myself back in 2009. When I took over as editor in chief of CIO Insight in December 2008, I looked at the year ahead as an amazing opportunity a challenge, and a time of certain crisis, but still, an opportunity. More importantly. I saw the same thing for IT leaders...]]> http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/CIO-Strategy-2010-139711/?kc=rss Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:40:44 -0500 http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/Building-Leadership-Continuity-399891/?kc=rss - Many people assume that executives are born with leadership qualities. I dont buy that premise. Leaders tend to have different personalities. Look at Michael Jordan. He definitely had some natural talents, but he was the first guy in the gym and the last guy to go home and that had a lot to do wit...]]> http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/Building-Leadership-Continuity-399891/?kc=rss Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:24:05 -0500 http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/IT-Strategy-Assumptions-2010-737124/?kc=rss - IT leaders should expect that 2010 will bring three underlying premises related to strategy execution. First, IT is going to work as hard in 2010 as it did in 2009 if not harder. In 2008 and through the early parts of 2009, many companies laid off IT personnel and asked others in IT to pick up the ...]]> http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/IT-Strategy-Assumptions-2010-737124/?kc=rss Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:32:30 -0500 http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/CAO-The-Next-Logical-Step-for-CIOs--687087/?kc=rss - I had a number of interesting meetings recently with some accomplished CIOs. They have found themselves spending more than 50 percent of their time in nontraditional CIO functions, including real estate, operations management and procurement. So what does this mean? Many of us have forecasted tha...]]> http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/CAO-The-Next-Logical-Step-for-CIOs--687087/?kc=rss Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:32:27 -0500 http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/A-Failure-of-CostBenefit-Analysis-474910/?kc=rss - I am always looking for ways to make the people I work with and for (and myself, of course) more productive. Often, that means looking for and eliminating wasted time. I remember one example of this from quite a long time ago. I discovered that project team members were scattered across many separ...]]> http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/A-Failure-of-CostBenefit-Analysis-474910/?kc=rss Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:32:21 -0500 http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/Why-Tech-Skepticism-Works-758831/?kc=rss - Many of the people I encounter in IT are what I would lovingly call “gadget guys amp; gals.” Think people who feel like kids on Christmas morning waiting for the new iPhone to come out. I personally am not a big tinkerer or fan of toys. I do, however, appreciate new technologies and tools that ca...]]> http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/Why-Tech-Skepticism-Works-758831/?kc=rss Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:32:17 -0500 http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/To-a-New-Beginning-303871/?kc=rss - Back in 2001, CIO Insight launched as something of a journal an in-depth, highly analytical publication aimed at giving IT leaders the tools they need to do their job better. Over the years weve strived to uphold that mission, but from time to time we have strayed moving away from peer-written art...]]> http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/To-a-New-Beginning-303871/?kc=rss Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:39:09 -0500 http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/Buzz-vs-Business-Benefits-891489/?kc=rss - Its rare that you get to see a CIO bring the house down. But thats exactly what happened this spring, when I moderated a panel on cloud computing. Along with a CIO, representatives from three vendors discussed what the cloud is, what it could be and what it should mean for enterprises. Not to kn...]]> http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/Buzz-vs-Business-Benefits-891489/?kc=rss Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:38:27 -0500 http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/Fully-Integrated-649242/?kc=rss - Ive never been a fan of best-of-breed infrastructure approaches. Too many moving parts usually overcome the promised improvements from using the best part in every place. Nor am I a fan of technological monocultures. No vendor is the best at everything all the time. So for most of my career, I ha...]]> http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/Fully-Integrated-649242/?kc=rss Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:38:15 -0500 http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/Prepare-for-Your-Next-Position-Now-557783/?kc=rss - Some colleagues have told me that CIO stands for “Career Is Over.” I dont think so. Of course, if you are just trying to survive in an end-of-career position, that attitude likely will end your career. But it doesnt have to be that way. Its very important for CIOs to see whats coming down the lin...]]> http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/Prepare-for-Your-Next-Position-Now-557783/?kc=rss Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:38:02 -0500 http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/Do-You-Have-Raving-Fans-864188/?kc=rss - We work in a customer-service business. While this may seem obvious, the way I see some IT executives interface with their clients suggests that is not always apparent to them. I have seen CIOs argue with their clients, treat them like idiots and be generally disagreeable in their dealings. Our ...]]> http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/Do-You-Have-Raving-Fans-864188/?kc=rss Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:46:11 -0500 http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/Do-You-Know-Your-Value-Discipline-665901/?kc=rss - How can we have an IT strategy when the business strategy is unclear? Many business strategies have been shattered or delayed in 2009 in favor of survival “until the rebound.” But what happens if what we see now is the new norm? IT is one year older and no better. Whats more, little money has go...]]> http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/Do-You-Know-Your-Value-Discipline-665901/?kc=rss Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:05:12 -0400 http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/People-Your-Best-Investment-449913/?kc=rss - As Ive said on numerous occasions, one of the only real competitive advantages any organization has is its people. Investing in people is one of the soundest investments any organization can make. Yet its one of the first areas to be impacted when budgets get tight. It amazes me how companies wi...]]> http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/People-Your-Best-Investment-449913/?kc=rss Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:00:56 -0400 http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/Testing-Testing-453439/?kc=rss - Ever since I started out writing code in the 1960s, Ive been interested in the processes used to demonstrate that the code always does what it is supposed to do, and nothing else. I even worked with methods that aimed to create correctness proofs for either designs or code based on designs. Even 4...]]> http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/Testing-Testing-453439/?kc=rss