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The annual Forecast for Management survey asks local CIOs to identify the three major challenges ahead for them in the next 12 to 18 months [For an overview, see the June issue of CIO]. One of the options presented is ensuring effective use of desktop computing. Each major release of Windows sees this challenge rise through the issue ranks. So it was no surprise when an InTEP member asked if I would convene a lunchtime discussion on upgrading to Windows 2000. He wanted to consult with his peers regarding roll-out strategies, resourcing requirements and see if any lessons had been learned by early adopters.
Seven organisations attended the discussion group. To begin, everyone was asked to outline the business drivers propelling the adoption of Windows 2000 in their organisation. Interestingly, no one really argued that the added functionality was too good to ignore. Rather, it appears that market forces are driving adoption of Windows 2000.
For some in the government there was no choice; it was the mandated standard operating system. Everyone felt upgrading would facilitate the exchange of documents between their organisation and their associates. Those using ERP believed the OS would ensure the compatibility between the client and the server components in these applications. Finally, it was thought that being up-to-date would help when recruiting staff, especially temps.
However, all this came at some expense. Those who had implemented and benchmarked the OS felt it needed a minimum 350MHz CPU with 128MB of RAM and 2GB of disk. In organisations with over 1000 PCs the required hardware upgrade would be a major price to pay for something that offered comparatively little additional functionality.
In addition, it was also seen that the OS will introduce a number of dilemmas that will not be easy to solve. In particular, because of the new directory services in Windows 2000, there was much debate on the choice of the network operating system. Should organisations with satisfied Novell users now abandon it in favour of Windows 2000? Notes users wondered if this functionality might be a better match with Exchange and Outlook for their workgroup and e-mail applications.
The CIOs were also uncertain what to do about training. They wanted training tailored to help users transition from Office 95 or 97 to Office 2000. Instead they found most training assumed users knew nothing. Experienced users felt it a waste of their time. Nonetheless, the group felt that some training commitment was important to ensure some ROI on their Windows 2000 upgrade investment.
In the end the group decided to reconvene in November. One member is rolling out Windows 2000 to 7000 users in phases and by November Office 2000 will be installed across the network. It was agreed that the experience would provide valuable insights and help the roll-out strategies of the others. It will be interesting to see how this organisation addresses the challenges we discussed.
Peter Hind is the manager of User Programs, which includes InTEP, at IDC Australia
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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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Cutting Through the Spin of Recent Vulnerability Disclosures 13 October, 2008 10:53:00
The FUD surrounding the ClickJacking and TCP/IP vulnerabilities has the world seemingly frozen in fear. But once you cut through the spin, the vulnerabilities aren't all that they were made out to be.There are a few highly publicised vulnerabilities at the moment which haven't completely been disclosed and which, it is claimed, could threaten the whole Internet as-we-know-it. Only, when the vulnerabilities are finally disclosed, it seems that the whole incident has been somewhat Chicken Little. - +
PCI app security: Who's guarding the data bank? 13 October, 2008 11:09:00
Compliance strategies for PCI's new application security requirementsWhile Willy Sutton never really said it, the truth is that people rob banks because that is where the money is. Today's criminals don't walk into banks with loaded guns and get-away drivers. Rather they connect from a remote location using a browser and are armed with hacking tools and spyware. - +
Data-center security tools to not overlook 10 October, 2008 11:37:00
With the rise of security suites, it's time to consider some emerging security tools and rethink othersProtecting a corporate data center is like trying to keep an elephant safe from a swarm of flies. Despite your best efforts, bites happen. As the staples of security -- such as firewalls, antivirus software, spam and spyware filters -- come together in suites of products that allow for sophisticated management, there are other security tools either emerging or worth a rethink. - +
IBM, Secret Service, others study identity/cybercrime issues 09 October, 2008 10:09:00
Center for Applied Identity Management Research organization teams experts in criminal justice, financial crime, biometrics, cybercrime and cyberdefense, data protection, homeland security and national defense.IBM, LexisNexis and the Secret Service are among a group of corporations, government agencies and academic institutions that has formed to study and help solve identity management challenges around cybercrime, terrorism and narcotics trafficking. - +
Strange account management at Amazon 09 October, 2008 09:51:00
A careless login led to the discovery of some strange ccount management practices at one of the Internet's largest retailers.Via the RISKS mailing list comes an interesting tale of poor online account management at a major online retailer. According to Graham Bennett, accounts with Amazon display an odd behaviour that doesn't seem to have attracted much attention in the past.
NetStar Networks Calls Brisbane Home 13 October, 2008 12:01:00
New Verizon Business Managed Service Makes Collaboration Easier 13 October, 2008 10:06:00
F-Secure achieves excellent results in Internet security suite comparison 10 October, 2008 14:37:00
Lock It Up With Maxtor BlackArmour, Hardware Encrypted Storage Provides Government Grade Security For Consumers 10 October, 2008 09:04:00
Pitney Bowes MapInfo Launches New Version of AnySite 10 October, 2008 05:58:00
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Radicati Market Quadrant 2008 on Corporate Web Security
An Analysis of the Market for Corporate Web Security Solutions, revealing Top Players, Mature Players, Specialists and Trail Blazers. Read on to discover who makes the grade.
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