Opinion

Why IT needs strong leaders

Governance systems are no substitute for executives with a penchant for getting things done

Windows 2003 Server branches out

Microsoft has prepped R2 to meet companies' growing remote-office needs

Enterprise storage needs to go green

Sun touts new eco-friendly chip for servers; storage should follow suit to reduce energy consumption

C and C++ give way to managed code

Java and C# are becoming the application languages of choice for enterprise developers

2005 survey spots trends in software development

Java, C#, and modeling gain momentum, while testing and QA are still widely lacking

New Binary XML Standard is a bit of Vindication for Me

Years ago, after the early interest in XML, I wrote an article about the limitations of the XML standard, specifically when it came to the efficiencies of information transfer. Basically it outlined that while self-describing text messages had their

Project management for non-project managers

Dear Bob … HELP!!! They've just put me in charge of a software project. The only problem is, I don't know anything about project management and don't have time to learn. What I need from you is the answer to the question, if I don&#0

Reviving native traditions

As CPUs slow down, virtualize, and chill out, developers must compensate with native applications

Why data synchronization still matters

Centralized, networked applications aren't a cure-all for data management concerns

Software as a service moves beyond the sales force

Outsourcing and partnering are creating a need for easy-to-deploy collaboration solutions

When new software destroys productivity

Joan of Arc in a leather jacket saves the day with a late-night hack

Stopping the arguments

Dear Bob … Not only am I getting "meeting'ed to death," I'm at a loss as to how to maintain some semblance of civility (both on the part of my staff as well as on my part). I'm a CIO in a mid-sized organization with five di

Find and fix 15 performance bottlenecks

Suffering slowdowns? Our experts have the experience to help you find the problem — and offer a little advice on how to fix it, too

Can new executives deliver on Novell’s open source vision?

New CTO Jeffrey Jaffe needs to unify the disparate Suse and Ximian open source teams

How to ask for more work

Dear Bob … Two years ago, I switched from a full-time to a part-time contract with the company I'm still currently working for. This was to pursue a personal project that, unfortunately, didn't turn quite right. Right now, I find myself p

So, are you going SOA New School, or SOA Old School?

It has come to my attention that there are really two kinds of SOA technology vendors out there, old school and new school. And each offers very different approaches to solving the SOA problem. I'm not going to mention any particular vendors, b

Let’s give thanks for the cool, whizzy future

You won't believe what's in store. Nor should you

A call to arms: stop the DATA Act

H.R. 4127 defangs laws requiring companies to alert people when their personal information is stolen

Be prepared for Office 12

Office 12 has a whole new look and feature set, so end-users and admins alike will benefit from training

Moving beyond the SAN

Reducing the cost of storage may require more than standards-compliant management apps

What I’m Thankful for in the World of SOA

There are a few things, here they are:…

The two-way data web

Atom and RSS are evolving into tools for creating loosely coupled databases on Internet scale

Niagara signals shift for business computing

Sun’s eight-core CPU proves that fast equals slow times 32

TOWS instead of SWOT?

Dear Bob … Please let me know how TOWS is superior to SWOT. I HAVE MY EXAMS DAY AFTER TOMORROW. – Student of Strategy Dear Student … I really shouldn't do this – they are, after all, your exams. Even worse, your professor might not agree wit

Moving toward mesh networks

Vendors are working on new technologies to deliver on the promise of ubiquitous broadband

Welcome to management hell

It's easier to train developers than to change corporate culture

Composite Applications Can Be Composite Nighmares

How to survive a doomed project

Sulking about the inevitable won't get you anywhere, but some skillful spinning just might

Novell faces setbacks in its open source strategy

Despite ambitious plans, the server software vendor is still struggling to reinvent itself for the 21st century

Use metrics to prove your IT project’s worth

Is your IT project a dog or a delight? It all depends on how you measure it — and who's doing the measuring

Metrics for IT success

If you can’t measure a project, you can’t manage it — or prove it worked

Put your load testers to work

Don't wait until your Web app is live to gauge its performance and scalability

Strategy vs tactics

Dear Bob … Do you feel that the mantra of Strategic vs. Tactical planning puts organizations in danger of having two disparate destinations instead of one? – Just wondering Dear Wondering … It depends how you're using the terms. According to

Google ESB…It’s a Kick

I was doing some research for a article, when I decided to Google "ESB," here the current sponsored links: Integrate with ESB www.ibm.com/websphere Simplify & Support Change with a Service-Oriented Architecture! Enterprise Service Bus w

Why SOA Fails

I ran across this blog…a recent study that shows that about 1 in 7 SOA projects are not working out. Why? I think I know….

More on fixed-price contracts

The recent Advice Line posting on fixed-price contracts created quite a stir. I encourage you to read the postings that follow it. The sum and substance seems to be, "It looks good in the PowerPoint, Bob." The issue is that contractors who

Trusted computing and DRM: Friend or foe?

Sony’s handling of DRM-related security issues reeks of bad decision making

Microsoft Live may open gates to desktop ads

Redmond adopts new role as systems integrator, while Amazon Mechanical Turk kicks off 'Webshoring'

Murdoch auctions a snack, MSN rejects IE for Mac

Even aging boomers need love — or at least a nice lunch

Is it time to scrap your Big Iron?

Mainframes have a storied history in the enterprise, but today's distributed server environments could herald the final chapter

Storage media security: It’s the OS, stupid

Sony's squabble over DRM proves that blending data security and storage should start at the OS level

Get the most from your host

When considering software as a service, be mindful of the costs and the risks

When mainframes make sense

For some companies, the costs and challenges of migration make sticking with Big Iron a no-brainer

Steps in Evaluating SOA Technology

I've been thinking a lot about the evaluation of SOA technology, specifically those that are selling SOA middleware, such as the "ESB" vendors, application server vendors, integration server vendors, but also considering governance sol

How to pay contractors

Dear Bob … I work for a small manufacturing business. To give you an idea of our company's size, I am the IS Director, and one person, the programmer, reports to me. We write and maintain our own code. When we get backed up, we outsource a chu

RFID is stupid

Forcing RFID into mainstream use will slow development of more capable sensor solutions

Toward swappable Web services

New collaborative tools are needed before outsourced business services can become truly interchangeable

Challenges of Greylisting

The true value of software as a service

Is it a paradigm shift for IT or just another overhyped technology?

When your clients hate IT

Beware bad blood between project managers and users