Blogs
Times Still Tough for Software Vendors, Though Less so for SaaS
When I interviewed Saugatuck Technology CEO Bill McNee back in July, following the release of second-quarter financial results, most enterprise software vendors were suffering but . The numbers: top-line revenue growth of 3.7 percent and a contraction of 14.6 percent in new license revenues for...More >
Rob EnderleUnfiltered Opinion
“When a company is hiring as fast as Google has been, there is a tendency to focus on a cookie-cutter process that is closer to triage than the custom process that it should be. ”
All Blogs
Insights on enterprise software markets to help define smart strategy
11.19.09
Is Your Walk Down Enterprise Software Memory Lane Bittersweet?
Doing some research to check facts on this May 5 blog post on Technology Solutions Corp. (see ), I came across an index of the stories that ran in Computer Business Review in September 1997. It’s a revealing view of the changes in the enterprise software and IT markets in the past decade. ... More >
11/14/2009 8:11:00 AM
In Enterprise Software News, the Holiday Season Starts Early
During a slow news week for enterprise software, it’s tough to be a blogger. There’s nothing interesting to comment on. The trade press must be having the same problem because this is what I found in googling “enterprise software” filtered by “news” and “past week.” The No. 1-ranked story about... More >
From regulatory compliance to corporate governance structure, everyone is involved
11.20.09
What's Wrong with Selling Facebook Fans?
Facebook is threatening to unleash its legal team on social media marketer USocial unless it stops selling fans to those who maintain Facebook pages, according to BBC News . In a cease-and-desist letter, Facebook accuses USocial of violating its terms and conditions by "sending spam, using... More >
11/20/2009 1:16:00 PM
House Subcommittee Weighs Data-Collection Trend Against Consumer Privacy
On Thursday, the U.S. House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection heard testimony from business representatives and consumer privacy advocates who met to "explore the collection and commercial use of consumer data." World Privacy Forum's Pam Dixon and Zoe Strickland,... More >
Data center and networking architecture to keep your data safe and moving
11.20.09
The Hot-Swappable Data Center?
Resource consolidation, whether it is server, storage or networking, is usually viewed in terms of hardware acquisition costs and operational expenses like power and cooling. But the ability to do more with less is also leading to significant changes in the physical architecture of the data... More >
11/19/2009 11:50:00 AM
Fibre Channel for the Masses?
Isn't it interesting how the ever-shifting sands of technological development can turn long-held assumptions on their heads? Take the case of Fibre Channel. For years it was the gold standard of storage networking, embraced by top-tier enterprises as the only solution capable of providing the... More >
Observations about Microsoft, the world’s largest software vendor
11.03.09
Add Lower Prices on Microsoft Cloud Apps to CIO List of Criteria
Prices for Microsoft's Business Productivity Online Suite and for Exchange Online are lower, as of today, as outlined in this InformationWeek article . At the same time, Microsoft announced both a list of large clients that have recently adopted one or both of the products, as well as expanded... More >
10/20/2009 3:59:00 PM
Business Communications and the Sidekick User
As the first data restoration becomes available today to T-Mobile Sidekick users who lost contacts, photos and other information stored on their mobile devices, Microsoft execs are applying the lessons learned more broadly to enterprise offerings. Is a cell phone data loss problem actually... More >
The real truth about technology and IT
11.19.09
Google and How Bad Hiring Practices Can Kill a Company
One of the annoying things I get to do is watch successful companies that should know better design in failure. I could argue that many of the problems Microsoft has faced this decade go back to bad hiring and internal job placement decisions it made last decade. I’m picking on Google today because... More >
11/16/2009 3:39:00 PM
Gift Ideas: Two Books Every Executive Should Read Plus One for Marketers
We are starting the final countdown toward Black Friday, the huge shopping day after Thanksgiving here in the States, and I thought I would do a series on gift ideas for different groups of people. After reading how Bill Gates praised Steve Jobs today , three important books written by tech... More >
Begin with business processes and then progress into leading-edge technologies
11.20.09
Is Integration Key to Microsoft's Success in the Cloud?
When I first started writing about technology, it seemed to me many companies had neglected one of the basic rules we all learned in kindergarten: Play well with others. Somewhat dishearteningly, it seemed to work for them as a market strategy. Microsoft, Apple, Palm, not to mention the big... More >
11/19/2009 3:57:00 PM
A Fresh Look at SOA Governance
Honestly, I'd rather write about anything besides governance, particularly SOA governance. I'm not sure what it is, but despite my high tolerance for tedious topics – I actually enjoyed covering planning and zoning as a journalist – the very term “governance” causes me to lose focus and drift off... More >
Companies’ communications strategies must be agile in a rapidly evolving market
11.20.09
Unified Communications: Modest Start, Significant Future
Since the deployment of a unified communications (UC) platform is such a complex undertaking, many people assume that it immediately spells big changes – both negatives and positives – to users. That isn't necessarily the case, however. Silicon.com lays out the positives and negatives of... More >
11/19/2009 2:30:00 PM
Smartphone Security: Serious Business, as Usual
There is nothing dramatically new in smartphone security. Quite the opposite: The landscape is growing increasingly dangerous. The growth is more incremental than dramatic, however. The center still holds due to the oft-cited reality that it is harder for crackers to radically up their... More >
Securing your data and network, inside and outside the perimeter
11.20.09
McAfee Releases Q3 Report on Threats
McAfee recently released one of my all-time favorite publications, its quarterly threat report . This report is for Q3 and covers spam, social engineering, Web threats, cybercrime and malware. For the second quarter, spam is up. As a percentage of mail, spam is at an all-time high of 92... More >
11/13/2009 9:10:00 AM
IPhone Worms Begin Their Attack on Modified Devices
It was bound to happen. The first worm has been detected that affects the Apple iPhone . The worm, known as Ikee , really only affects iPhones that are running the Secure Shell utility, where the default password "alpine" has not been changed. Ikee changes the wallpaper on a hijacked phone to... More >
Managing a business in a technology-driven world
11.16.09
I'm Learning to Love My Softphone, and You Should, Too
I have to confess to being originally irritated by our transition here at the home office over to an -- primarily, I suppose, because I tend to be irritated by most all change. Not something to be proud of, but not altogether atypical of most end users, I'd imagine. However, I have started... More >
11/3/2009 2:03:00 PM
I'm Ready to Push Away from the Bandwidth Buffet
Net neutrality is a hot-button issue with folks who like to talk about such topics, particularly since the The thing about net neutrality is that it’s hard to actually pin down what folks are talking about. Most of my journalist-type friends focus on aspects of net neutrality that... More >
Expert tech insight and advice for small businesses with big goals
11.11.09
Rackspace Offers Automated E-mail Migration to the Cloud
Given the it is inevitable that SMBs are turning to cloud computing. Of course, while I would barriers do exist for SMBs that have determined they want to shift to the clouds. Think about it: Just how is a small and medium business supposed to move its existing e-mails from an... More >
11/10/2009 9:52:00 AM
Intermedia Debunks Myths Favoring In-house Microsoft Exchange
Last week, I wrote about how organizations should not and that any decision pertaining to this should ultimately be a business one. I just came across a white paper by hosting e-mail provider Intermedia that discusses some common myths that stop people from moving their Microsoft Exchange... More >
Revealing the Business Value of Innovation
11.20.09
Marketing Management Becomes a Service
The marketing department and the IT organization are frequently at odds on two fronts. The first issue has to do with the fact that the marketing department usually feels they don’t get enough attention from IT compared to the rest of the business. The second aspect of this disconnect has to do... More >
11/20/2009 8:50:00 AM
The Sad State of Security
Every once in a while, a survey comes along that puts things in perspective. Such is the case with a survey published this week by the Ponemon Institute that basically highlights the fact that IT innovations are outpacing the ability of security specialists to keep up. Here are some of the... More >
Securing your data and network, inside and outside the perimeter
11.20.09
Staying Safe on Cyber Monday
Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving that has become the online retailer’s version of Black Friday, will likely be more popular than ever this year, thanks, in part, to concerns about the . In fact, Forrester Research forecasts an 8 percent increase in online retail sales over last year.... More >
11/20/2009 12:04:00 PM
Communicating E-Commerce Security Efforts with Consumers
Forrester Research has found that even though the popularity of e-commerce continues to grow, consumers are leery about doing business online. Forrester discovered that one in 10 consumers have reported a data breach, and coupled with reports like this one about , it’s not hard to see why... More >
11.18.09
Sectors in Which IT Salaries Are Holding Steady
Some industries are more recession-proof than others. In the current downturn, health care and government employment seem to be faring well when compared with other sectors. Back in March when I interviewed folks from online job boards Dice.com, CareerBuilder.com and staffing specialist Robert Half... More >
11.19.09
Google and How Bad Hiring Practices Can Kill a Company
One of the annoying things I get to do is watch successful companies that should know better design in failure. I could argue that many of the problems Microsoft has faced this decade go back to bad hiring and internal job placement decisions it made last decade. I’m picking on Google today because... More >
11.19.09
Fibre Channel for the Masses?
Isn't it interesting how the ever-shifting sands of technological development can turn long-held assumptions on their heads? Take the case of Fibre Channel. For years it was the gold standard of storage networking, embraced by top-tier enterprises as the only solution capable of providing the... More >
11.19.09
IT Hiring in Health Care About to Heat up
Yesterday I wrote about how IT salaries in sectors receiving federal stimulus funds, notably health care and education, while other IT salaries are falling. (They are actually flat, according to Computerworld 's 2009 Salary Survey, but reductions in bonuses and other benefits are eroding... More >
11.18.09
The Harsh Economics of Cloud Computing
With every major vendor lining up to provide cloud computing services, the feeding frenzy is well under way. The only question is how many of them will survive what promises to be a rapid vetting process that should lead to another major round of industry consolidation. For all the talk about ... More >
11.19.09
Smartphone Security: Serious Business, as Usual
There is nothing dramatically new in smartphone security. Quite the opposite: The landscape is growing increasingly dangerous. The growth is more incremental than dramatic, however. The center still holds due to the oft-cited reality that it is harder for crackers to radically up their... More >
11.18.09
Room for Improvement in Twitteracy of Fortune 100
Though a growing number of Fortune 100 companies are tweeting, few of them can aspire to be a member of the Twitterati , the ranks of "the Tweet elite, whose feeds attract thousands of followers and whose 140-character spews capture the attention of the rapt who doggedly monitor them." (Thanks,... More >
11.19.09
Can't CFOs, CIOs Just Get Along?
Is it any wonder CIOs and CFOs often find themselves at loggerheads? CIOs spend money, while it's the CFO's job to save it. Granted, CIOs purchase and implement technology that helps companies achieve their business goals. But it's still a classic "spend-vs.-save" scenario. Last week I wrote... More >
11.19.09
Key Stakeholders Debate Necessity of Net Neutrality Law
If you missed the live webcast of Tuesday's as part of the Web 2.0 Expo, you can watch the archived version at Blip.tv . Organized and moderated by Tech-Debate.com founder Jason Schwartz, the debate occurred in two rounds. The first consisted of prepared opening statements from each of... More >
11.18.09
Mutual Need Drives SAP-Microsoft Alliance
Although any time that Microsoft and SAP cooperate on anything it leads to idle speculation about a possible merger, every now and again even these two giants actually wind up doing something that is just driven by the requirements of mutual customers. Such is the case with the latest cooperative... More >
11.11.09
Online Security: Free Wi-Fi Isn't Really Free
Google has announced that it will begin to offer free Wi-Fi to travelers in 47 airports across the country . Google has partnered with Time Warner, Boingo Wireless, Advanced Wireless Group, and others to deliver wireless service. Wi-Fi will be offered free for a time at the following airports:... More >
11.12.09
Should the Entire Legal System Be Web-Based?
Last week, about his business and how small-business owners and consumers alike could benefit from Web-based legal services. They save money when they can take advantage of the legal forms RocketLawyer.com offers so they can do the work themselves, they save money when they can find an... More >
11.19.09
Learning the Many Facets of Compliance
Wednesday, Lumigent Technologies CEO John Capobianco wrote a piece for IT Business Edge about his company's compliance IQ quiz . The 25-question, multiple-choice quiz is designed to be a reality check for those who take it, he says, regarding their awareness of the impact compliance can... More >
11.20.09
What's Wrong with Selling Facebook Fans?
Facebook is threatening to unleash its legal team on social media marketer USocial unless it stops selling fans to those who maintain Facebook pages, according to BBC News . In a cease-and-desist letter, Facebook accuses USocial of violating its terms and conditions by "sending spam, using... More >
11.20.09
Unified Communications: Modest Start, Significant Future
Since the deployment of a unified communications (UC) platform is such a complex undertaking, many people assume that it immediately spells big changes – both negatives and positives – to users. That isn't necessarily the case, however. Silicon.com lays out the positives and negatives of... More >
11.20.09
McAfee Releases Q3 Report on Threats
McAfee recently released one of my all-time favorite publications, its quarterly threat report . This report is for Q3 and covers spam, social engineering, Web threats, cybercrime and malware. For the second quarter, spam is up. As a percentage of mail, spam is at an all-time high of 92... More >
11.20.09
Is Integration Key to Microsoft's Success in the Cloud?
When I first started writing about technology, it seemed to me many companies had neglected one of the basic rules we all learned in kindergarten: Play well with others. Somewhat dishearteningly, it seemed to work for them as a market strategy. Microsoft, Apple, Palm, not to mention the big... More >
11.20.09
Marketing Management Becomes a Service
The marketing department and the IT organization are frequently at odds on two fronts. The first issue has to do with the fact that the marketing department usually feels they don’t get enough attention from IT compared to the rest of the business. The second aspect of this disconnect has to do... More >
11.20.09
The Hot-Swappable Data Center?
Resource consolidation, whether it is server, storage or networking, is usually viewed in terms of hardware acquisition costs and operational expenses like power and cooling. But the ability to do more with less is also leading to significant changes in the physical architecture of the data... More >
11.20.09
House Subcommittee Weighs Data-Collection Trend Against Consumer Privacy
On Thursday, the U.S. House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection heard testimony from business representatives and consumer privacy advocates who met to "explore the collection and commercial use of consumer data." World Privacy Forum's Pam Dixon and Zoe Strickland,... More >
11.20.09
Staying Safe on Cyber Monday
Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving that has become the online retailer’s version of Black Friday, will likely be more popular than ever this year, thanks, in part, to concerns about the . In fact, Forrester Research forecasts an 8 percent increase in online retail sales over last year.... More >
11.20.09
Communicating E-Commerce Security Efforts with Consumers
Forrester Research has found that even though the popularity of e-commerce continues to grow, consumers are leery about doing business online. Forrester discovered that one in 10 consumers have reported a data breach, and coupled with reports like this one about , it’s not hard to see why... More >
11.20.09
E-mail Policies Should Be Well-Defined and Well-Communicated
We've stressed the importance of e-mail use policies for years here at IT Business Edge, but I renewed my efforts when I read about the case of who was fired from her job with New Zealand's ProCare Health for her lack of e-mail etiquette, but then won a wrongful termination case against the... More >
11.20.09
Sharing Security News with the IT Business Edge Community
I’m excited to begin writing about IT security issues for IT Business Edge in this new blog. I’ve been writing on IT security and related topics for nearly five years, but my interest really took off when my son decided to major in security and risk analysis. From my conversations with him and from... More >
11.20.09
The Sad State of Security
Every once in a while, a survey comes along that puts things in perspective. Such is the case with a survey published this week by the Ponemon Institute that basically highlights the fact that IT innovations are outpacing the ability of security specialists to keep up. Here are some of the... More >
11.20.09
Times Still Tough for Software Vendors, Though Less so for SaaS
When I interviewed Saugatuck Technology CEO Bill McNee back in July, following the release of second-quarter financial results, most enterprise software vendors were suffering but . The numbers: top-line revenue growth of 3.7 percent and a contraction of 14.6 percent in new license revenues for... More >
Hot Topics
Resource Centers
- Applications for Mid-size Businesses
- Tape Storage
- Energy Efficiency
- Data Loss Protection
- Tablet PCs
- Data Deduplication
- Responding to Change
- Data Warehousing for Business Intelligence
- Decision Management
- Mobile Computing Optimization
- Data Management Solutions
- Business Intelligence
- Application Grid
- Information Management
- Data Management
- Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)
- Network Optimization
- Security SaaS Solutions
- Data Center Management
- Enterprise Manager
- Power Supply Solutions
- Security Information and Event Management
- Virtualization & Business Continuity
- Optimized Infrastructure
- Laptop Security
- Cost Cutting through Server Consolidation
- Greening IT with Server Consolidation
-
Business Intelligence
Best-practice tools, strategies and technologies for determining and managing the data you need to make better business decisions.
-
Security Information and Event Management
Best practices, strategies and technologies to help you use security information and event log management efficiently and effectively in order to get business value in terms of increased security, reduced risk, regulatory compliance and increased business agility.
-
Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)
Service-Oriented Architecture is the catalyst that allows today’s companies to respond to business demands faster and more effectively than ever.
-
Optimized Infrastructure
Hardware and software tools to create an enterprise infrastructure for data and business optimization.
Software Forum: Information On Demand Virtual Experience
This interactive virtual forum presents leading IT experts providing the insights you need to turn your information into a strategic driver for innovation, business optimization and competitive differentiation.
Performance Under Pressure: The State of Enterprise Web Application Quality and Availability
This research study finds that Web application issues are an all-too-common problem and examines these Web-based enterprise application issues from two perspectives: that of an online customer and that of a site manager.