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Friday | 5 December, 2008
CIO
BlackBerry is a Handheld Dilemma for CIOs
The way organisations introduce new technologies is changing from an instinct-based approach to a choice based on business value, argues Nigel Hughes
Nigel Hughes (CIO (UK)) 30 April, 2008 08:02:34

Software Applications

  • High strategic value, low operational impact. This category includes data warehousing applications such as customer marketing databases. Introducing innovation to these areas is attractive, given the significant potential upside and low cost of failure. These applications have relatively few users, but they are engaged in high-value activities such as business strategy and change.

  • High strategic value, high operational impact. These are mission- critical applications such as the billing functions of a mobile phone operator, a bank's ATM network, or the check-in systems of an airline. They are likely have the highest profile in the organisation and innovation can be rewarding. However, uncontrolled innovation in these areas is usually risky. For example, a credit card issuer will not upgrade its payment approval system without lengthy testing. The cost of innovation will therefore be that much higher.

  • Low strategic value, high operational impact. Examples include payroll, or even general ledger systems. Innovation in these applications will also be carefully scrutinised for risk, and the benefits are likely to be cost reduction rather than increased revenue. For many organisations, this application category is an ideal candidate for commodity software packages, so that the cost of keeping software both up-to-date and reliable can be amortised across the installed base of the software vendor.

  • Low strategic value, low operational impact. These applications might be departmental databases set up for teams of five or fewer, or ancient applications which are still in operation but are no longer relied upon. They provide little value on either scale. Often the most innovative thing to do with these applications is to ditch them as soon as possible.

    Portfolio alignment helps the business to set priorities and plan investments in innovative technologies that will deliver value and increase the productivity gains of existing systems. Used correctly, it becomes a powerful management tool for leveraging the potential productivity benefits of IT and addressing the spiraling demand for IT resources that has been such a feature of the last decade.

    Who knows, with the right measures, it may even provide a framework for assessing who in the organisation really needs that latest batch of BlackBerries.

    By defining the relative importance of each application in terms of strategic value and operational impact, management attention can be focused on areas where it will deliver most value. Because portfolio alignment assesses the IT estate against business priorities, it can help to control demand, decommission redundant systems, and plan investments in innovative technologies that will deliver value and increase productivity gains from existing systems.

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      CIO Live Podcast #79: Brent D Taylor, author of The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires Part II 05 October, 2007 06:00:00

      For his new book, The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires, social researcher Brent D Taylor spent four years of intensive research investigating the psychological make-up and backgrounds of some of the world's richest men and women, including IT luminaries Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs. Taylor discovered that, despite working in different industries and coming from different upbringings, they all have one thing in common -- they are all outsiders.
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      CIO Live Podcast #78: Brent D Taylor, author of The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires 28 September, 2007 17:34:25

      For his new book, The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires, social researcher Brent D Taylor spent four years of intensive research investigating the psychological make-up and backgrounds of some of the world's richest men and women, including IT luminaries Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs. Taylor discovered that, despite working in different industries and coming from different upbringings, they all have one thing in common -- they are all outsiders.
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      CIO Live Podcast #77: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part III 21 September, 2007 07:00:00

      Part three in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance.
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      CIO Live Podcast #76: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part II 14 September, 2007 07:00:00

      Part two in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance.
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      CIO Live Podcast #75: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part I 07 September, 2007 07:00:05

      Part one in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance.
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      SOA What? Why You Need SOA Governance Framework 04 December, 2008 08:32:00

      Adopting services oriented architecture (SOA) in your enterprise without thinking through IT governance can cause something like the Gold Rush in the 1800s; extreme rates of growth and minimal law and order which produce unexpected outcomes.
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      The Myth of Cloud Computing 04 December, 2008 08:25:00

      Why the rapid spread of virtual technology is becoming a security risk
      Why the rapid spread of virtual technology is becoming a security risk.
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      Who Pushed Vendors Toward Better Security? 04 December, 2008 09:38:00

      Hint: It had something to do with pressure from customers and government agencies, writes Oracle CSO Mary Ann Davidson
      Hint: It had something to do with pressure from customers and government agencies, writes Oracle CSO Mary Ann Davidson.
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      CPO & CISO: A Comprehensive Approach to Information 04 December, 2008 08:42:00

      GE CPO Nuala O'Connor Kelly advocates greater CPO/CISO cooperation to place the right value on information assets.
      GE CPO Nuala O'Connor Kelly advocates greater CPO/CISO cooperation to place the right value on information assets.
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      Virtually every Windows PC at risk, says Secunia 04 December, 2008 08:00:00

      Almost all PCs scanned by patch tool have an unpatched app; 46% have 11-plus.
      More than 98% of Windows computers harbor at least one unpatched application, and nearly half contain 11 or more programs at risk from attack, a Danish security company said Wednesday.
    CIO Webcast Innovation #8 - What are the biggest roadblocks to IT's involvement in innovation at your company?
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    CIO Live Podcast #79: Brent D Taylor, author of The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires Part II
    Listen to the latest edition of CIO Live which is now available for download.
    Listen to the podcast
    Sign up to the CIO Live email
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