Samuel Greengard

By Samuel Greengard It’s no secret that cloud computing has changed the dynamics of business and IT. But along with significant gains, there have been plenty of growing pains. Understanding pricing models and increasingly complex business agreements is at the center of the challenges for CIOs. “Cloud has long been thought as analogous to electricity, […]

By Samuel Greengard Managing global IT issues and interconnected systems is tough enough during the best of times. But a series of natural disasters over the last few years—including the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan in 2011, Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines a few weeks ago—have demonstrated the risks of outsourcing and offshoring. “In many […]

By Samuel Greengard Over the last decade, there’s been growing enterprise interest in wearable electronics, particularly smartglasses. These devices would allow workers—including field technicians, warehouse staff and medical professionals—to do their jobs hands free. Although a small number of organizations have adopted smart goggle and glass technology from vendors such as Lumus and Epson, the field has mostly […]

By Samuel Greengard It has always been the role of the CIO to orchestrate applications and technologies across the enterprise. Finance, operations, supply chain, human resources, sales and other systems have presented both opportunities and challenges. But as the digital age unfolds and an array of sophisticated technologies intersects—including mobility, clouds, social media and big […]

By Samuel Greengard Today, most organizations live under the constant threat of a data breach. Even with stringent multilayered security, it’s next to impossible to ensure airtight protection. At the University of Massachusetts, it’s more than a theoretical concept, however. In 2008, the university suffered a breach that exposed sensitive information about past students and alumni. […]

By Samuel Greengard Times change. IT changes. It turns out that a growing number of organizations are getting serious about social and environmental policies. They are creating the title of chief sustainability officer. There was a time—perhaps a decade or so—when sustainability and green computing were causes best relegated to granola chomping, tree-hugging executives from companies […]

By Samuel Greengard A year after Hurricane Sandy slammed the east coast of the United States, leaving behind somewhere in the neighborhood of $68 billion in damage, organizations are continuing to rethink and reshape the way they approach disaster recovery (DR). Allied Building Products Corp., a distributer of building materials—including roofing, siding, insulation, wallboard, windows and doors—is among […]

By Samuel Greengard There’s no simple formula for operating a specialty chemical company. One thing that’s common to all businesses in the industry, however, is the need to accommodate a large volume of data. Not only is it necessary to store data about various products and formulas, but there’s an ongoing requirement to handle business […]

By Samuel Greengard Over the last few years, cloud computing has fundamentally changed the nature of IT and business. It has created new opportunities and introduced more efficient ways to manage everything from data and software to infrastructure and platforms. However, a new report from 451 Research, in conjunction with the Uptime Institute and the Yankee […]

By Samuel Greengard Over the last decade, global competition, information technology and a lingering recession have forced organizations to focus on cost cutting like never before. However, a new report from Gartner, Five Principles Underpin IT Cost Optimization Success, suggests that the tactical approach many organizations use isn’t adequate. “Simply setting targets such as 5 percent […]

By Samuel Greengard Over the span of a decade, parking lot management has gone from high touch to high tech. Airports, colleges, hospitals and myriad other facilities have deployed technology to manage their parking operations. A company at the center of the revolution is T2 Systems, Inc., an Indianapolis firm that provides technology-focused parking management tools […]

By Samuel Greengard Not long ago, it would have seemed unthinkable for someone outside the IT department to procure and install enterprise hardware, software or services. Although employees have always found ways to bypass IT policies and controls, organizations have traditionally taken a hard-line position about the use of unauthorized devices and software. CIOs and […]