Several clients and prospects have said to me that they want to speed up their IT organisations. But speed doesn't come easily, and that's a message none of these organizations has been comfortable hearing. Here's what stands in their way:
A Focus On Big Projects
In every case, the whole structure of the IT organization - from project offices to approval processes - is geared for large projects that last a year or longer. The projects are strictly linear, with business analysts interacting with architecture to produce reference solutions, then development experts converting that into designs, and then specifications being laid down. All this is good for getting a big effort right, but these steps slow down the work.
Hostility Toward New Ways Of Doing Things
These IT organizations won't invest in and experiment with new tools, approaches and methods until there is a project "worthy" of them. Meanwhile, no business client will take a chance on anything new. The result is that yesterday's languages, tools and methods remain today's, and likely tomorrow's.
Silence Rather Than Dialogue On IT Investments
When business people are left in the dark about IT's existing portfolio, they can only wonder about the state of things. Without portfolio feedback, the business can't judge whether to extend what it owns a little longer or to start again for the next decade. More often than not, the business defers to IT, and IT defers to what it already knows.
The Business Side's Commitment Level
Not all the problems are in IT. In every one of these companies, the business does not make IT tech projects a priority. Decision-makers don't come to meetings, and key issues aren't worked out early. Far too often, core questions (e.g. What is a superior customer experience?) aren't asked until late in the game. At project's end, the business won't participate in testing or invest in deployment support.
Corporate Style
Corporate behavior influences what you can do. If your performance evaluation system is too rigid, or if you are required to plan (and then execute according to that plan) with nothing held back for change, your speed will be limited. Here, IT can push against the limits, but it's hard to go any great distance past them.
Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services. Zones provide focussed content from CIO and leading technology partners.- White PaperWhat you don’t know can destroy your business. It’s hard to imagine modern business without the internet but in the last few years it has become fraught with danger. Read on to discover how internet security can give your business a competitive advantage.
- 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 Lee Benjamin, a Microsoft Exchange MVP and Ryan Shipkowski, network administrator for Matthews, to discuss the process and ROI of implementing an email archiving solution, with emphasis on a case study from Matthews International.
Discover how SOA can create smarter outcomes for your business.
Attend and learn:
- How SOA is helping leading companies to become more agile
- Where you should be applying SOA processes in your company
- The top SOA implementation mistakes to avoid
Click here for more information.
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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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TJX Maxx hacker banged up for 30 years 09 January, 2009 11:26:00
Key figure in the infamous TJX Maxx Wi-Fi hack of 2005 has been sentenced to 30-years in prison by a Turkish court.Maksym Yastremskiy, the Ukrainian accused of being a key figure in the infamous TJX Maxx Wi-Fi hack of 2005, has been sentenced to 30-years in prison by a Turkish court. - +
Data breaches rose sharply in 2008, says study 08 January, 2009 08:27:00
More than 35 million data records were breached in 2008, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center.More than 35 million data records were breached in 2008 in the U.S., a figure that underscores continuing difficulties in securing information, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC). - +
Rogue SSL certificate exploit puts VeriSign on the spot 07 January, 2009 11:04:00
Wishes "white hat" researchers had notified VeriSign before public demo.Following the success of researchers last week in creating a false SSL certificate based on VeriSign's RapidSSL brand, the company is scrambling to explain how it happened, how it's preventing it from reoccurring, and whether its other SSL certificate-generation services are at risk. - +
With Gaza conflict, cyberattacks come too 05 January, 2009 08:03:00
Pro-Palestinian hackers have defaced thousands of sites following attacks in Gaza.The conflict raging in Gaza between Israel and Palestine has spilled over to the Internet. - +
5 ways to secure your Blackberry 18 December, 2008 12:58:00
What do Tom Cruise and the McCain campaign have in common? They have both been bitten by the loss of a Blackberry. Mobile expert Dan Hoffman gives advice on how to keep your cherished mobile device safe, even if it's out of your handsWhat do Tom Cruise and the McCain campaign have in common? They have both been bitten by the loss of a Blackberry. Mobile expert Dan Hoffman gives advice on how to keep your cherished mobile device safe, even if it's out of your hands.
IT industry veteran advises caution on outsourcing selection in light of Satyam problems 09 January, 2009 21:45:00
Research software developer appoints Susan Dart to new Business Development Director role 08 January, 2009 09:08:00
Research software developer appoints Susan Dart to new Business Development Director role 08 January, 2009 09:08:00
Anyware Introduce Two Powerful PCI TV Tuner Cards with S5 Power Up and Windows Media Center Remote 07 January, 2009 17:30:00
Fortinet Cures Mobile Phone “Curse of Silence/CurseSMS” Attack 07 January, 2009 16:30:00
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The state of Middleware
Middleware delivers unprecedented visibility and control over your business by making timely information available to decision makers. Organisations are using Middleware to leverage their existing IT investments, while optimizing their IT and business operations, securing their infrastructure and driving compliance. Read on to discover how Middleware can help you increase your businesses profitability.
