Stories about: Citibank

Terry Paulson, the widely-acclaimed author and motivational speaker once said, "Don't struggle against change; learn to use it to your advantage." North Delhi Power Limited (NDPL) did just this when it took over from the ailing Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB) about four years ago. The shift is a lesson in change management - and for NDPL, it has brought down its aggregate technical & commercial (AT&C) losses from over 50 to 22 per cent.

IT professionals need to develop business and service orientated skills in order to understand, and get closer to, the businesses they work in. IT service management (ITSM) and its related industry has been advocating this for 20 years or more, but it is only recently that this issue has become top of the agenda within many organisations.

Keeping track of bids, vendor performance, previous contract terms, alternative providers and technology differences was taking too much time for Bernard "Bud" Mathaisel as he settled in as CIO of electronics manufacturer Solectron in 1999

By 2003, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer found itself with a costly business problem: Paper. Reams of paper. Mountains of paper. Pfizer was up to its neck in the stuff

Take an example from the famed leadership consultant Ram Charan.

Suppose you're sitting on a little cash. Should you put some in a term deposit? Sock it away in a money market account? Now imagine you can visit your bank's Web site to figure it out. Using an online tool, you can move the money around and examine how your earned interest and rates will change, depending on where you put it. Coloured bar charts representing the amount of interest earned in a year shift up and down depending on your choices. When you decide on the right mix, you can open a new account with a few key strokes.

With a corded phone clutched in one hand and a spatula in the other, the man gazes anxiously at a piece of meat sizzling on his stove. He's on the line with his credit card company, but instead of speaking with a live human, he's stuck in a series of automated prompts. Even as his dinner bursts into flames, he's unwilling to let go of his phone for fear he'll miss a chance to speak with the next available agent. He tries to put out his flaming dinner with a broom, only to have the broom catch fire.

Take advantage of the latest security tools and keep your users informed if you want to achieve wire-free bliss.

Like it or not, cybercrime is here to stay . . .

Sure, you can save money by working with an outsourcing vendor in a faraway land. But don't trust the outsourcer to install the right security protections. Follow these best practices to verify that your relationship is cost-effective and safe.

Richard Clarke gave up his post as President Bush's top advisor on cyberthreats, but he hasn't given up the fight for better IT security.