Computerworld Enterprise News

IT's new concern: 'Bring your own cloud'

rmitchell@computerworld.com (Robert L. Mitchell) — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:00:00 GMT

As personal and professional clouds converge, IT's mission to improve productivity while protecting corporate apps and data is getting tougher.

The Grill: NFL CIO uses analytics to improve player safety

rmitchell@computerworld.com (Robert L. Mitchell) — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Michelle McKenna-Doyle, CIO for the National Football League, is driving innovation with analytics, using sensors to track players on the field and monitoring player health and safety with lab analysis of helmets.

How to prevent IT department overload

(Minda Zetlin) — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Managing the flow of an infinite supply of worthwhile projects through a finite IT operation takes finesse. Here's how to avoid the backlog and the chaos.

IT on the fly: The art of quickly building, then dismantling, IT operations

markmary1@verizon.net (Mary K. Pratt) — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:00:00 GMT

The CIOs for the London Olympics, President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign and other short-lived but intense operations know how to run successful IT shops in extraordinary situations -- and their insights can be applied in even the most ordinary of conditions. Insider (registration required)

eBay's CIO Succeeds by Innovating and 'Connecting the Dots'

(John Gallant) — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:01:00 GMT

eBay CIO Scott Seese says he and his team are using technology and innovation to drive the company's mission of connected commerce. He explains how the ecommerce giant taps into the power of social and mobile to help customers find and purchase exactly what they seek from among millions of sellers. Seese also discusses his strategy for success and why it's important to connect the dots.

SAP builds out HANA platform and ecosystem

(Chris Kanaracus) — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:35:00 GMT

Anyone remotely within the orbit of SAP lately knows that its number-one focus is the HANA in-memory database and development platform. At this week's Sapphire conference in Orlando, the vendor sought to show the progress it is making in both building out HANA's capabilities as well as attracting developers and partners to HANA.

11 Tips for Deploying ERP Applications

(Jennifer Lonoff Schiff) — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:24:00 GMT

In a global mobile environment, organizations are looking for ERP systems that do more than integrate with a legacy system. But with so many solutions available, how do you choose the software that's right for your enterprise? IT executives and ERP experts offer 11 tips to get a return on your software investment.

ESB Persists As Application Integration Tool

(John Moore) — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:50:00 GMT

The tried-and-true enterprise service bus--long the foundation of now-dated service oriented architecture deployments--is back in style thanks to the increasing need to integrate disparate applications. The secret to ESB's future success, some say, is a close tie to API management tools.

Mobile management morphs

rmitchell@computerworld.com (Robert L. Mitchell) — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Customers are pushing the limits of the software -- asking it to manage and do many more things than it was originally created to do -- and vendors are happy to oblige.

NetSuite to increase focus on ERP for manufacturers

(Chris Kanaracus) — Tue, 14 May 2013 17:03:00 GMT

Capitalizing on apparent demand from customers, NetSuite is adding new capabilities aimed at manufacturers to its cloud-based ERP (enterprise resource planning) software.

Block rogue apps with Windows Server -- for free

(Jonathan Hassell) — Mon, 13 May 2013 10:00:00 GMT

It is a lot of work to set up policies; it takes trial and some error, too. But the payoffs are huge.

How Cloud Computing Changes Enterprise IT Economics

(Bernard Golden) — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:27:00 GMT

The rapid rise of cloud computing means corporate IT may no longer be the cheapest purveyor of application hosting, infrastructure, storage and other services. The sooner IT leaders come to terms with this, the better.

SAP unveils HANA Enterprise Cloud service

(Chris Kanaracus) — Tue, 07 May 2013 19:15:00 GMT

SAP is set to offer customers the option of running their applications on top of a cloud-based version of its HANA in-memory database technology.

How to nab a data scientist job

julia_king@computerworld.com (Julia King) — Mon, 06 May 2013 10:00:00 GMT

How exactly do you make it to the data scientist big leagues? As it turns out, there is no one right path. Instead, it's largely a scramble out there on the big data field. Insider (registration required)

Free (with strings attached): Keeping track of open source code

markmary1@verizon.net (Mary K. Pratt) — Mon, 06 May 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Many IT organizations aren't applying good governance practices to open-source software. Experts say the software should be documented and tracked to ensure it always runs smoothly.

The Grill: James Turnbull driving change in healthcare IT

markmary1@verizon.net (Mary K. Pratt) — Mon, 06 May 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Jim Turnbull, CIO at University of Utah Health Care, says mobile technology as the next big opportunity for getting patients more involved in managing their healthcare.

Sizing up open source: Not so simple

(Stacy Collett) — Mon, 06 May 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Choosing open-source software is more complicated than picking traditional software. Is your IT department prepared to contribute code fixes to the community?

Data centers under water: What, me worry?

(Arielle Emmett) — Thu, 02 May 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Even most of those hit hardest by Superstorm Sandy are hardening their facilities instead of moving them entirely. In the storm-prone South, however, it's a different story.

Supply chain 2013: Stop playing whack-a-mole with security threats

(Howard Baldwin) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:00:00 GMT

IT can never take all the risk out of a supply chain, but it can help organizations minimize their vulnerability in a world of new threats.

IBM launches appliance for the 'Internet of things'

(Joab Jackson) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 19:22:00 GMT

Preparing its customers to join the emerging 'Internet of things', IBM has released a new appliance built to manage and route a voluminous amount of machine-to-machine small data messages

The Internet of Things gets a protocol -- it's called MQTT

(Joab Jackson) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 19:37:00 GMT

Setting the foundation for what may be a multitrillion-dollar marketplace, OASIS (the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards) has declared MQTT (the Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) as its messaging protocol of choice for the emerging Internet of Things.

Why developers are turning to API services

(Paul Krill) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:18:00 GMT

As application development increasingly hooks into outside services, tools to manage all those APIs are sprouting up

IT's new assignment: Generate revenue

markmary1@verizon.net (Mary K. Pratt) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:00:00 GMT

As tech infiltrates every corner of the business, it's only natural that some IT departments are producing revenue-generating products and services.

Squeezing savings from the cloud

(Nancy Gohring) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Calculating the real ROI of cloud apps requires the analysis of a lot of factors, and cutting corners on that process means you might not save money.

Wanted: IT staffers with vertical industry chops

julia_king@computerworld.com (Julia King) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Fast-changing business processes, tight deadlines, customization demands and ever-growing regulations are complicating day-to-day operations. What's needed now is 'IT-plus' -- a combination of technical skills and business knowledge, plus deep industry expertise.

The Grill: Laura Pettit Rusick

markmary1@verizon.net (Mary K. Pratt) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Working as an interim 'retained' CIO for multiple clients, Laura Pettit Rusick leads IT departments at various small and midsize companies, and that experience gives her insight into the technology challenges and opportunities that exist in a wide swath of U.S. businesses. Insider (registration required)

Give enterprise software a social makeover to attract users

(John Moore) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:25:00 GMT

When it comes to developing enterprise applications, organizations are increasingly realizing that user experience is as important as functionality. In response, vendors are taking a more agile approach to building those apps in order to better meet users' needs.

Open your data to the world

(Neil Savage) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Not having an API is becoming like not having a website, but the interface has got to be easy for outside developers to work with.

Emergency! EN systems alert employees when disaster strikes

(Lamont Wood) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Today's emergency notification technology allows enterprises to send out, and employees to receive, real-time situational advisories.

The Grill: Chris Curran on 'The Year of the CIO'

markmary1@verizon.net (Mary K. Pratt) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:00:00 GMT

PricewaterhouseCoopers principal Chris Curran says CIOs must be ready to harness the power of a slew of technologies if they want to say competitive. Here Curran offers insight into his vision for IT through 2013 and beyond.

Alice Hill: It's time to catch your own wave, people!

(Alice Hill) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Instilling IT pros with the confidence to stir up the labor market by quitting their jobs and moving on in their careers will benefit both job hunters and employers, says IT career expert Alice Hill.

Debbie Madden: Hire slowly and hire well

(Debbie Madden) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:00:00 GMT

IT hiring expert Debbie Madden offers three ways to ensure that you hire slowly and wisely but don't miss out on good candidates.

Tech overhaul for Portland police, fire, 3 years behind schedule, $10M over-budget

(Chris Kanaracus) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 17:31:00 GMT

A sweeping overhaul of systems used by Portland, Ore.'s fire and police departments is three years behind schedule and about $10 million over budget, in part because city officials failed to "effectively use lessons learned" from past technology projects, including a troubled SAP software implementation, according to a new audit report.

Social Media Certifications Prepare Students, Employees for Social Business

(Kristin Burnham) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:22:00 GMT

Using social media to market your business or collaborate internally means more than having a presence on Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Facebook. To teach college students that lesson, Syracuse University adopted HootSuite University's certification program. Syracuse isn't alone: Social media certifications are a growing trend, but is a training course right for you?

Enterprise apps get social

(Bob Violino) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Combining the ad-hoc nature of social media with the more structured world of enterprise apps such as CRM is often the best of both worlds, implementers say.

Social Networking Drives Business Processes at Pandora and Rosetta Stone

(Kristin Burnham) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 20:09:00 GMT

Pandora and Rosetta Stone have embraced social business tools and the cloud to cut costs, increase productivity and improve collaboration. Learn how these two companies overcame security concerns, gained executive buy-in and more.

The Grill: Emmile Brack helps deliver analytics to educators

markmary1@verizon.net (Mary K. Pratt) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Meet Emmile Brack, vice president of technology IT at Aspire Public Schools, a nonprofit organization that manages 34 public charter schools throughout California. She talks about the lessons learned from a recent analytics project.

Storage administrators demand simplicity

kevinjfogarty@yahoo.com (Kevin Fogarty) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 10:00:00 GMT

IT staffers at all levels are now tasked with managing data storage. They demand simplicity (but want power, too). Insider (registration required)

Straight talk on security gets employees to listen -- and comply

(Stacy Collett) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Sure, you want users to comply with security edicts, but would you phish your own employees or share your company's hack history? At least some CIOs say yes.

New storage technologies to deal with the data deluge

(Robert L. Scheier) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Enterprise storage demands are reaching a critical point, and vendors are scrambling to develop new products to deal with the data deluge. We look at how these technologies will help manage the major pain points for storage administrators.

U.S. bills would require police to get warrants for mobile phone location

(Grant Gross) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 18:23:00 GMT

A group of U.S. lawmakers has introduced legislation that would require law enforcement agencies to get court-ordered search warrants before obtaining a suspect's mobile phone location or GPS data, instead of using prosecution-issued subpoenas.

Oracle's new software, cloud revenue dropped 2 percent in Q3

(Martyn Williams) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 22:02:00 GMT

Oracle's total revenue dipped 1 percent and profits remained almost flat in its most recent quarter, as revenue from new software licenses and cloud services dropped by 2 percent.

FAQ: Inside Microsoft's cloud ERP strategy

(Chris Kanaracus) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 20:44:00 GMT

Microsoft has announced some key details of how it will introduce Dynamics ERP (enterprise resource planning) software products to the cloud computing model, from initial release dates to the precise role of partners.

Mobile app dev: Outsource or in-house?

(David Weldon) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Both approaches have their benefits and downsides; just make sure you know what you're getting into before you make a huge commitment either way.

Microsoft targets enterprise with Dynamics AX ERP

(Chris Kanaracus) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 18:42:00 GMT

Microsoft hoped recent updates to its Dynamics AX 2012 ERP software would help it grab enterprise-level deals that would ordinarily be won by the likes of Oracle and SAP. To some degree, the strategy appears to be clicking.

Microsoft set to roll out new mobile Dynamics ERP, CRM apps

(Chris Kanaracus) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:28:00 GMT

Microsoft's AX ERP application will be receiving a set of mobile applications that mix connectivity to back-end systems and processes with a social milieu.

Microsoft boosts Dynamics CRM with marketing, social media analysis

(Chris Kanaracus) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:13:00 GMT

Microsoft is hoping to shove aside rivals such as Salesforce.com and Oracle in the CRM software market by linking its own Dynamics CRM application with new capabilities for marketing automation and social media analysis.

Xerox CEO to CIOs: We'll take your mess and make it beautiful

(John Gallant) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Top exec Ursula Burns outlines Xerox's widening portfolio of IT, business process and document outsourcing services. Insider (registration required)

Cloud services can save you money -- if you're careful

(Nancy Gohring) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Calculating the real ROI of cloud apps requires the analysis of a lot of factors, and cutting corners on that process means you might not save money.

Red Hat rolls FuseSource middleware into JBoss stack

(Joab Jackson) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:10:00 GMT

Expanding its stack of enterprise ready open source middleware, Red Hat has integrated key software from its acquisition of FuseSource last September.