Alignment, staffing and culture are often more critical than software and apps
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Based on last year's experience, in which the cap for H-1B visas was exceeded on the first day it began accepting applications for them, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is probably dreadi... More >
We journalists tend to be a sucker for stories that we can sum up in cutesy headlines. So I guess it's unrealistic to expect much fact-checking for a news release from outplacement specialist Challen... More >
I blogged back in June about the increasing willingness of SMBs to adopt consumer technologies , a trend that is influencing the product line-ups of vendors like Cisco. Then I blogged in January abo... More >
Ever seen an annual report without a pie graph? Me either. That's because pretty much every company in the world buys into the idea of using visuals to break up reams of dry data. Despite this... More >
AT&T announced in late 2006 its intent to return some offshore technical support positions to the U.S. , a move that, at the time, I blogged should win it some positive public relations and poss... More >
I've had a couple of recent blogs on jargon: why it's bad or, sometimes, not so bad . IT folks who throw out terms like ETL and OLAP, blather about "single versions of the truth" and get bog... More >
I blogged back in June about concerns surrounding the growing practice of federal government agencies employing contract workers . Several studies seemed to indicate that, rather than boosting effic... More >
The list of companies coming out with cloud computing services reads like a who's who of tech behemoths , as I blogged earlier this month. HP, check. IBM, check. Microsoft, check. And then there's ... More >
I blogged back in August about the increasingly fuzzy line between personal and business activities online, noting that Whole Foods CEO John Mackey's anonymous posts on Yahoo financial forums not o... More >
I blogged just last week about Indian outsourcers' pursuit of a global sourcing model , with expansions into far-flung geographies including North America and Europe. Europe is likely to be an... More >
In my recent interview with Forrester Research senior analyst Michael Speyer, he explained that software-as-a-service is showing the typical "S curve" seen in adoption of new technologies. While bi... More >
I've blogged several times about the communication gap between the business and IT and the problems it can cause. In this example of a nightmare quote from an Oracle press release, a Norwegian CIO ... More >
Just last week, I blogged about Google's highly decentralized approach that puts employees in control of their own tech destinies. While this practice seems unusual today, many observers think it w... More >
In business intelligence, there is a lot of emphasis on getting the "right information" into the hands of the "right people" at the "right time." Yet BI's biggest value may be in keeping infor... More >
Most multinational companies today spend a lot of time talking about globalization and its impact on their business. But there is a huge gap between talking the talk and walking the walk, and thus fa... More >
Back in July, I blogged about an alleged internal memo circulating around the Internet that claimed to shed light on what it was like to work for Google , a company that routinely lands at the top o... More >
Even as Big Six outsourcing providers like IBM and EDS increase their operational investments in India , Indian companies like Wipro and Tata Consultancy Services are expanding their operations arou... More >
Though it's tough to remember now, there was a time when going to a Starbucks made you feel kind of special, or at least a little more informed than the rubes who would drink any kind of coffee, even... More >
"Frenemies" are almost as common in business as they are in high school hallways. That is, business partners are sometimes competitors, which certainly keeps relationships interesting -- and c... More >
I always hate to harp on a point, even an important one. But that's what I am going to do in this blog. So if you're the type who never liked hearing from mom that you should eat your vegetables, you... More >
I ' ve blogged a couple of times over the past month about how to cope with a recession, sharing some good belt-tightening tips from CIOs and also a three-pronged strategy from The Hackett Group ... More >
When I last blogged about the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) in October, I noted that many observers were predicting a year of accelerated adoption for ITIL in 2008, especially in North America. ... More >
Back in June, I blogged about a Forrester Research survey that found CIOs wanted an all-encompassing suite of Web 2.0 tools from a single vendor -- preferably a known entity like IBM or Microsoft. ... More >
IT employment appears to be one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dismal job market, with the United States adding 40,000 tech jobs in February and experts predicting continued strength in th... More >
As Google and Microsoft make lots of noise about online productivity software with Google Apps and Office Live, respectively, Zoho has quietly wowed legions of fans with its online word processing,... More >
We've blogged several times about the efforts of some companies to establish two-way dialogs with their customers through initiatives such as online forums -- and their mixed results. Continen... More >
Though it's nearly impossible to get a consensus from economic analysts, it's beginning to look as if the U.S. economy is already in the midst of a recession. This post from ChangeWave's HotWire blo... More >
I blogged last month about Google's decision to slash prices for Postini's e-mail monitoring services, a move that seemed to strain relations with resellers of the SMB-oriented services because it ... More >
Software-as-a-service is often pitched as a way for SMBs to gain access to applications they might not otherwise be able to afford , such as business intelligence. But larger businesses are a... More >
Like most journalists working an industry "beat," I find myself throwing out industry-specific jargon with alarming frequency. And yet it's hard to stop -- even knowing that too much jargon can have... More >
I hadn't heard of Gene Marks before I started encountering his occasional columns in BusinessWeek . My lack of knowledge is a little embarrassing, considering that he also authors a syndicated colum... More >
The H-1B visa issue appears to be heating up again. Microsoft's Bill Gates yesterday made his annual pilgrimage to Capitol Hill , to tell the House of Representatives Science and Technology Committe... More >
Much recent ink has spilled about the expected dust-up between Microsoft and Google over control of the online advertising market, thanks to Microsoft's attempt to block Google's purchase of Double... More >
Back in August, I blogged about how companies competing for scarce human resources should consider keeping older workers on the job longer and/or tapping into retirees' talents and skills. O... More >
Back in June, I blogged about an SMB-oriented joint product from Google and Salesforce.com that incorporated Google AdWords with Salesforce Team Edition. At the time, ZDNet blogger Joshua Greenba... More >
A burgeoning Hispanic population in the U.S. has created a strong demand for Spanish-speaking contact center agents. Many American companies find such agents in Mexico. While Mexico's close pr... More >
One of the funniest movies of all time is "Airplane!" and one of its funniest scenes is when Barbara Billingsley (who played the quintessential suburban mom on "Leave It to Beaver") has to help a... More >
Back in January, I blogged about the impact that software-as-a-service could have on outsourcing. Some folks, including Gartner, contend that SaaS gives companies "a viable alternative" to relations... More >
A prominent theme in my recent blog about the growing importance of IT governance is the importance of getting IT and business together on the issue. Among the specific suggestions, garnered from m... More >
Earlier this week, I blogged about a Forrester Research study that seems to indicate that while growing awareness of software-as-a-service is spurring increased adoption among SMBs, it is also causin... More >
The latest statistics on computer science students in the United States, while not wildly encouraging, do contain a glimmer of hope for those concerned about the decline in computer science enrollmen... More >
One of the continuing knocks against business intelligence is that it remains too darned difficult for all but BI specialists. Back in April, for instance, I blogged about Ace Hardware's decis... More >
I've seen two recent reports that were pretty quick -- too quick, in my mind -- to question India's status as a favored offshore destination. The headline on an Inquirer.net story: "India L... More >
With all of the talk about connecting with colleagues via tools like instant messaging, wikis and video conferences, folks tend to forget there's a highly effective -- and inexpensive -- way of getti... More >
I recently blogged about a Robert Half Technology survey in which just 6 percent of respondents said their companies sent work offshore -- a number that struck me and a number of other industry obser... More >
While saving money is always a goal of smart CIOs, it becomes a primary goal when the economy heads south. With that in mind, I've recently posted a couple of blogs offering tips on spending wisely i... More >
How much headway has Linux made into the SMB market? While the open source operating system has made some inroads with SMBs, it still has a long way to go to approach the popularity enjoyed by Micr... More >
I've been a bit hard on Wal-Mart in the past. In this blog, I criticized the mega-retailer's efforts to connect with its customers online as ineffectual. Here, I blasted Wal-Mart for remov... More >
I wrote a quickie blog two weeks ago when Deloitte dropped a new report on outsourcing. While companies are largely realizing their expectations of saving money through outsourcing, says the report, ... More >
I blogged back in November about Comcast's decision to bundle services such as e-mail and document sharing with its high-speed Internet offering in the hopes of winning more business from SMBs. &nb... More >
By all accounts, Lenovo appears to be having a great year so far. Shortly after deciding its PC business was going well enough for it to drop the IBM logo from its machines two years ahead o... More >
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