Critical.
Authoritative.
Strategic.
Subscribe to CIO Magazine »

Government » Opinions »

  • Patriot Act, not products, ups Cloud risks for CIOs

    The global release of Microsoft’s Office 365 last week has raised a simple, sobering thought about dealing with US Cloud providers – they are subject to the US Patriot Act and the data they manage may be accessed by the US government regardless of where it is stored around the world. Before CIOs shun Cloud services altogether, let’s put the news in context.

    Written by Rodney Gedda • 04 July 11 11:39

  • Earth Hour on election night: Cast a vote for power

    In a chance case of progress versus sustainability, the NSW Electoral Commission will be in the middle of counting electronic votes on the evening of March 26 when everyone else will switch their power off for Earth Hour.

    Written by Rodney Gedda • 17 March 11 12:37

  • Privacy changes could affect Cloud projects

    It is important to plan ahead when hopping into the Cloud. Cloud-hopping companies and their suppliers need to know where their data is going, and should plan for the possibility that they may later wish to hop out, or switch Cloud providers.

    Written by Sophie Dawson and Andrew Hilton • 20 Dec. 10 09:00

  • Public sector still challenged by ICT 'silver bullets'

    Recent experience is showing us that investing in an ICT initiative is one of the highest risk activities the public sector could be involved with. It is surely the case when headlines like ‘millions wasted’, ‘years late’, and ‘minister resigns’ becomes the public’s corporate memory of a complex ICT project. So why does the public sector keep looking for ‘silver bullet’ ICT solutions when the available evidence shows continued under-performance, under-scoping and under-estimation of complexity and risk?

    Written by Paul O'Connor • 15 Dec. 10 09:00
  • 4

    Wikileaks: info-porn for the masses

    The latest Wikileaks release — so-called ‘Cablegate’ — is a demonstration of how the road to Hell is not just paved, but lavishly signposted, Google-mapped, and well-lit at night with good intentions.

    Written by Martin Dart • 01 Dec. 10 13:21
  • 1

    Like the NBN or not, let's make the most of it

    As the 2010 federal election finally came to a close this week technology and political commentators alike have centred their post-poll opinions around the most pivotal policy – the National Broadband Network. With Labor back in the driver's seat the NBN is set to go ahead. It's now time to forget the politics and get behind this advanced technology infrastructure project to make it a success.

    Written by Rodney Gedda • 08 Sept. 10 11:18

  • Modernising government IT

    The recent budget handed down by the federal government offered fairly slim pickings for the IT industry. The e-Health reforms are still on the table, while other projects such as new passport issuing systems, defence data centre upgrades and efforts to combat money laundering and organised crime were also announced. But, generally speaking, in an effort to bring the budget deficit back into the black, the government has taken a pretty conservative approach to IT spend. Which poses the question: Has there been any consideration taken towards modernising legacy IT systems? Could this be one sensible way to cut costs and, at the same time, bring some of these ancient systems — and let’s face it, many government bodies are running on some pretty archaic infrastructure — into the 21st century?

    Written by Bruce Craig • 21 July 10 07:00

  • Pre-Packaged Private Cloud: 4 Questions to Ask

    IT professionals have the basic ingredients to cook up their own cloud-like infrastructure-but there's no recipe, and many ingredients don't combine well. Especially as infrastructure innovation evolves in a way that doesn't necessarily deliver better efficiency and instead, drives up complexity. Yet, the most common answer infrastructure and operations professionals recently told Forrester that what motivates server virtualization adoption was the need for greater efficiency and sharing of the IT infrastructure. Over the years, vendors have tried to accommodate this need, but have often provided solutions that left too much of the burden on their customers-until now. Recent integrated solutions take a big step toward delivering complete virtual infrastructures that just might solve some of the major issues IT professional face.

    Written by James Staten • 17 June 10 04:39

  • Cloud Computing: The Dangers of Irrational Economics

    This weekend saw the publication by Joe Weinman, coiner of the term "Cloudonomics," of a blog post called "Lazy, Hazy, Crazy: The 10 Laws of Behavioral Cloudonomics". Joe has published a great deal analyzing the economics of cloud computing, much of which illustrates that cloud computing can provide significant financial benefits. But this latest post is a must-read, because its implications are crucial to every IT organization.

    Written by Bernard Golden • 10 June 10 05:43

  • Practical strategies for an effective government CIO construct

    Public sector CIOs are being challenged by one of the sector’s greatest operational reforms. Here are some practical strategies for an effective approach to government CIO.

    Written by Bruce Carlos • 03 June 10 10:34

  • A government CIO 2.0 construct

    Public sector CIOs are being challenged by one of the sector’s greatest operational reforms. The Victorian Government will face significantly greater and continuing challenges unless there is some consistency in CIO roles in departments and agencies (D&As) and a robust governance framework to manage CenITex, the Government Services Division (GSD) and D&As’ expectations.

    Written by Bruce Carlos • 03 June 10 10:21

  • Cloud TCO, Private Clouds and Cloudwashing

    I attended Interop last week for the first time to participate in its cloud computing track (I spoke on cloud computing total cost of ownership). Several things stood out for me:

    Written by Bernard Golden • 06 May 10 04:10
  • 2

    IT outsourcing: 3 reasons your vendor won't innovate

    Internal IT organizations choose to outsource for any number of reasons: to cut costs, improve service, increase efficiency. Increasingly, they're seeking innovation from their IT outsourcing partners, even though many don't have a clear picture of what innovation means in the context of outsourcing. Consequently, those IT departments are not getting much innovation from their service providers.

    Written by Stephanie Overby • 06 May 10 06:28

  • Cloud Computing: It's the Economics Stupid

    The question of costs associated with cloud computing continue to be controversial. You may recognize in this blog's title, an homage to the motto of Bill Clinton's 1992 Presidential campaign: "It's the Economy, Stupid." The motto referred to the decision by the Clinton campaign to focus relentlessly on how the U.S. economy was doing in 1992, sidestepping other issues and always, always circling back to the economic outlook for the US. I was reminded of this by some recent discussions on Twitter that discussed the importance of economics in terms of cloud adoption.

    Written by Bernard Golden • 29 April 10 03:16

  • The number cruncher's guide to delivering IT value

    I'm a qualified accountant. I even sometimes read the Accountants Journal - there, I've said it!

    Written by Owen McCall • 11 March 10 08:14

  • Four Steps to Redefining the Economics of IT

    CIOs need to drive more economic value from their IT investments and projects than ever before. A four-pronged approach is key.

    Written by Brenton Smith • 05 Aug. 09 11:07
  • 1

    NSW a silent success in e-health

    When will some really good health news get some coverage? While the media has recently been fixated by the world financial crisis, political backstabbing, or the misdeeds of the latest rogue doctor, real progress has occurred in NSW e-health that will bring far-reaching benefits to everyone in the state.

    Written by Bryn Evans • 25 Feb. 09 10:38

  • Career Transition: From Public Sector to Private

    Moving from the public sector to a private sector security job can be a huge leap. In this book excerpt, David Quilter points out the strengths you'll bring along with the skills you may need to develop.

    Written by J. David Quilter • 18 Feb. 09 07:14

  • Satyam fraud has ramifications for outsourcers

    The financial fraud perpetrated by Satyam Computer Services executives could trigger near-term disruptions across the outsourcing and IT industries. Ramalinga Raju, the company's founder and chairman, resigned last week. He has admitted to inflating Satyam's cash balances and the credit amounts it was owed while understating its liabilities. This scandal has many ramifications for Satyam's customers as well as those of other outsourcing companies.

    Written by Shaalu Mehra • 14 Jan. 09 09:34

  • Marketing IT Effectively to the Government

    In today’s rollercoaster economic times, it becomes more urgent – and more challenging -- to find new customers, even for the best solutions. There’s one customer that companies can count on that isn’t going to stop buying – that’s the government.

    Written by Sandy Evans Levine • 27 Nov. 08 10:26
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis.
Recent comments