We've all heard the line about 'realigning IT with the business', which is sort of like saying we want our 'pivot to make better passes to the shooters' -- duh. But as crazy as that sounds, it's reality -- and it isn't getting better, it's getting worse.
Business thinks IT is slow and unresponsive. IT departments know that the business is totally unappreciative of the fact that while they want to support the business as much as possible, they are effectively doing so wearing handcuffs and chains. IT is like Houdini -- the fact that it can get anything done is magic to me. Every year for 15 years the gap between the two has widened. Now it is about to fracture forever potentially.
The issue du jour is, now, instead of just complaining about IT, business units are making decisions and acting completely outside of IT with regards to information access applications and tools -- and then expecting IT to quickly provision and support those applications. Information access applications include every business facing application -- from Word to a trading system to CRM to e-discovery.
Priorities such as regulatory compliance and legal are especially hot now. Business critical applications -- those designed to extract incremental value from existing information -- are taking a backseat to the application of spit and chewing gum. IT shops are starting to remind me of those poor men in the engine room in Titanic.
The result is that IT is becoming further marginalized in the eyes of the business. IT is forced to say no to business requests, as it simply cannot bring new applications online in any short-term window because of legacy issues. As 'hot' applications are brought online, they further stress IT resources as they tend to be implemented in a stovepipe fashion -- where the business unit only cares about that application but not in context to the impact it may have on other back-end IT operations.
The business unit is therefore acquiring these tools and services, and handing them off to IT to support after the decisions have been made. The situation today is becoming flammable. The business wants to be able to react to requirements quickly without having to be overly concerned for IT and its ability to deliver. The business unit wants known costs for known services in a known time frame -- and the ability to add or delete service levels based on costs and requirements. The business unit believes it is mandated to act, so as IT pushes back, the business unit moves ahead regardless.
IT wants to be able to fulfill all the requirements of the business unit, but it must attempt to do so within the encumbrances it has -- from people to power and cooling to space. IT has been addressing the independent acts of the business unit in one of a few basic ways:
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How to Manage Project Risks, Part 8: Business Risks 04 December, 2007 10:29:23
Analysis of the business risks ensures the project team considers issues the business staff are aware of.Analysis of the business risks ensures the project team considers issues the business staff are aware of. - +
Forget Everything You've Learnt About Project Delivery! 29 January, 2008 11:25:16
Our current project delivery paradigms are flawed. And so are our approaches to solving this problem. The first in a new 10-part series from project management expert Jed SimmsOur current project delivery paradigms are flawed — and so are our approaches to solving this problem. The first in a new 10-part series from project management expert Jed Simms
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Adobe launches hosted services, adds Flash to Acrobat 03 June, 2008 09:02:44
Adobe to launch Web site offering users free hosted services for document creation, sharing and storageAdobe this week is set to unveil the next version of its Adobe Acrobat software, which adds support for the company's Flash multimedia technology. The company also plans to launch a new Web site offering users free hosted services for document creation, sharing and storage. - +
Kernel space: a better btrfs 24 January, 2008 11:00:45
A powerful new filesystem for Linux already supports fast snapshots, checksums for all data, and online resizing--and plans to add ZFS-style built-in striping and mirroring.Chris Mason has recently released Btrfs v0.10, which contains a number of interesting new features. In general, Btrfs has come a long way since LWN first wrote about it last June. Btrfs may, in some years, be the filesystem most of us are using - at least, for those of us who will still be using rotating storage then. So it bears watching. - +
Compliance leaders struggle to change user habits 03 December, 2007 07:14:45
At least there is always one compelling bottom lineA panel discussion on enterprise content management for compliance at IBM's Information on Demand conference this week showed that, while many businesses are still struggling to get their e-mail systems and document management systems under control, they are also making some decent headway into becoming compliance-ready. - +
When you shop for storage hardware, bring a lawyer 10 December, 2007 07:22:46
Thanks to such regulations as the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, choosing your storage hardware may have legal implicationsIs there a worse time to start thinking of what to put in next year's storage budget than just before the holidays? Probably not, but setting aside the nuts and bolts of storage now so that you can focus on the legal implications of next year's purchases will be the best present you can give yourself before the new year. - +
Mandiant releases Intelligent Response discovery tools 29 January, 2008 12:14:35
Mandiant's new set of electronic evidence discovery tools perform post-breach analysis tests to accelerate the response processMandiant introduced new incident response automation technology that promises to perform the first set of post-breach analysis tests the IT security company would provide via its breach investigation services.
Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services. - White PaperJoin Ed Thompson, Research VP, featured analyst firm, Gartner, Inc., and Brad Wilson, General Manager CRM Microsoft Dynamics, for a new webcast, Delivering the Power of Choice with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, available now. Our panel will break down the best practices for getting the most out of CRM and you'll learn key recommendations you can implement in your organization. Additionally, you'll also hear Microsoft's vision for CRM.
- White PaperJoin industry expert Martin Tuip to discover best practice strategy for the archival and removal of .PST files using email archiving. Learn how to ensure long-term email records are there when needed, and reduce the risk to your business and clients.
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Discover how SOA can create smarter outcomes for your business.
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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. - +
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. - +
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. - +
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. - +
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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Excerpt: Counterterrorism Strategies for Corporations 27 November, 2008 12:36:00
Mike Ackerman calls terrorism "the skunk at the globalization lawn party." His new book lays out 10 principles for how businesses can prepare and respond.Mike Ackerman calls terrorism "the skunk at the globalization lawn party." His new book lays out 10 principles for how businesses can prepare and respond. - +
The 10 Ackerman Principles of Counterterrorism 27 November, 2008 12:43:00
Consultant and author Mike Ackerman's 10 counterterrorism principles for business.Consultant and author Mike Ackerman's 10 counterterrorism principles for business. - +
Survey: Despite Risks, Employees Still Holiday Shop at Work 27 November, 2008 10:02:00
As Cyber Monday approaches, research suggests a majority of workers will use their work computer to shop this holiday season. But despite the continued growth in online shopping, employees and business still don't understand the riskAs Cyber Monday approaches, research suggests a majority of workers will use their work computer to shop this holiday season. But despite the continued growth in online shopping, employees and business still don't understand the risk. - +
Why Cybercrime is Thriving 27 November, 2008 11:52:00
A new Symantec report reveals just how large and sophisticated the online underground economy has grownA new Symantec report reveals just how large and sophisticated the online underground economy has grown. - +
Employee Safety in Global Hotspots 27 November, 2008 11:53:00
What risks do employees face in a sour global economy? What countries pose a growing threat of kidnapping for ransom? Is Columbia safer than Mexico? Insights from a former FBI hostage negotiator.What risks do employees face in a sour global economy? What countries pose a growing threat of kidnapping for ransom? Is Columbia safer than Mexico? Insights from a former FBI hostage negotiator.
Virtual magic: HR specialist throws out 40 servers, adds 8TB SAN and saves $100,000 for disaster recovery 01 December, 2008 15:28:00
EXCOM scores back-to-back award trifecta 01 December, 2008 10:46:00
“Just Graphics” isn’t enough any more 28 November, 2008 15:02:00
Why Sealy’s management sleep soundly at nights... 28 November, 2008 11:18:00
Datastor unveils iSCSI Universal Storage Appliance 28 November, 2008 09:56:00
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Learn how provide applications with significantly higher throughput and lower latency for data operations while retaining the appropriate levels of data quality with clustered caching. Read on to improve your application scalability now.
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