Best of the blogs: It’s a topic nearly everyone in IT has to handle at some point, in fashions large or small, and it’s always a matter of some concern: Vendor relationship management. As one reader explains, “it has to do with the ugly reality of vested interests and marginal or even improper relationships.” You know the situation. Sporting event tickets, bogus training trips and the such. “My interest in the topic is the degree to which these types of actions prevent the IT organization from reaching its potential,” the reader writes to Bob Lewis. Mr. Lewis answers that crawling into bed with a particular isn’t necessarily wrong. “Given what it takes to make major changes to IT architecture, strong relationships with strategic providers make all sorts of sense.” Vendor relationship management concerns. “IT execs cross the line when the relationship stops being businesslike and starts turning into obligatory perks. Whether solicited by a client or encouraged by a vendor, it generates conflicts of interest and is bad business.” Security: If you’re planning to rollout last Tuesday’s patches from Microsoft, heed this advice: Be sure to run a full test of IE on internal Web applications, Sean Gallagher explains. IE patch causes crashes. “You may get a rash of helpdesk calls from users confused about why their applications aren’t working.” Related news: IE, Gmail bugs allow hijacking of accounts. The news beat: And again NetSuite raises the estimated price of its IPO, now expecting $19 to $22 per share in the auction, where earlier this week it hoped for $16-$19. The worm wiggling through Google’s Orkut appears harmless but it does demonstrate the social networking site’s vulnerability, as well as that of Web applications in general. And in something of a surprise, oil giant Chevron applies to the 700Mhz wireless spectrum auction, along with AT&T and Verizon. Technology Industry