Business Manageres look to IT Departments to add value

According to eWeek, an overwhelming 96% of midside businesses see their IT Departments as a strategic part of their business. Managers who are not in IT see that remote access for their workers are more productive. They are also seeing that it is important for a company to be mobile.

Does your company look at IT as a strategic department? Do many employees at your company work remotely?

A Snapshot of IT Budgets in 2009

This article in CIO discusses how recent research taken by Forrester shows us that companies are reducing their IT budgets by not only laying off staff, but by also cutting back on benefits and employee salaries. The research firm took their information from more than 1,250 SMB IT decision-makers between the months of February to May 2009.

According to the report "IT staff salaries and benefits continue to be the largest part of the IT operating budget. Hiring freezes and layoffs top the list of actions that firms expect to take this year as a result of current economic conditions."

How are IT departments expected to innovate when there are so many cutbacks on resources?

How can IT change if the NYPD still uses typewriters?

Cio.com recently wrote an article on why IT change is so hard within an organization, especially with the example they give of the NYPD signing a three year, $1million deal for typewriters. This comes after the magazine covered a story in 2003 on the NYPD and how Jim Onalfo took control of their IT department and made massive improvements in disaster recovery, wireless communication, and network infrastructure.

Even though these massive improvements have taken place in the past couple of years, it is evident that there is still a lot to be done. What are some of the IT issues your company is encountering?

CIO's and Business Strategy

Michael Idinopulos discusses in this post in the Transparent Office that CIOs are still fighting for a seat at the strategy table when it comes to improving the way their company does business. IT is strategically important but most line managers fail to see that IT for more than just back-office support functions.

Enterprise 2.0 has changed all of this. Managers outside of the IT industry are figuring out that blogs, social networks, micromessaging, and other forms of online collaboration are changing the way that people interact with one another within a company. As an IT manager, companies will be looking at you to teach and explain the benefits that these social media outlets can have in an organization. That is why it is every so important to have IT managers on board discussing strategy with teams early on.

Common Misconceptions on Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is a phenomenon that has hit the IT industry with full force. There are many advantages with cloud computing, but as always with new processes come many misconceptions. Cath Everett from ZDNet has recently looked at the 5 most common myths about cloud computing. Here they are:

Myth 1: Cloud equals SaaS, grid and utility computing
Myth 2: Cloud computing will take over the world
Myth 3: You can use competing cloud services
Myth 4: Flick a switch and your IT shifts to the cloud.
Myth 5: Switching cloud vendors is easy

Take a couple of minutes to read through the full post here. Are there any other myths out there?

Windows Vista: An Enterprise Failure

Windows Vista has never been viewed as reliable by the public eye and also by enterprise professionals. So why exactly did Windows Vista fail? I came across this post on ZDNet that lists the top five reasons why Windows Vista was not an enterprise success. Here are the reasons:

5. Apple successfully demonized Vista
Over the past 2 years, Apple has changed the perception of Windows Vista to be buggy, boring, and difficult to use. Only recently has Microsoft responded with the “I’m a PC” campaign to empower the brand image.

4. Windows XP is too entrenched
By the year 2008, over 1.1 billion PCs worldwide and over 70% were running Windows XP. Windows XP was the most widely used operating system in the world and this would prove to be a lot of work for IT departments to consolidate.

3. Vista is too slow
Windows Vista has over 50 million lines of code, and so this software bloat would slow down computers running on Vista even if PCs had the latest and fastest hardware.

2. There wasn’t supposed to be a Vista
After the release of Windows 95 and 98, Microsoft was looking to step away from its traditional business model and start offering subscription services to consumers. It quickly abandoned this business model.

1. It broke too much stuff
Windows XP caught on quick because it was compatible with nearly everything. When Vista was released, a lot of existing hardware and software were not compatible with it.

How to Improve Enterprise Technology Projects

In this complimentary webinar, Jack Bergstrand, CEO, Brand Velocity, and Terry Assink, Group President, Brand Velocity, share Best Practices to Ensure your Enterprise Technology Projects are a Success. This free webinar will take place on Thursday October 2nd from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM EDT. Mention priority code G1M2014W2BL when registering. Here’s the description for the webinar:

Facing such historical economic hard times, senior management is looking to the IT departments and business to work together to produce more measurable and innovative ways to streamline and enhance processes that will make a positive impact to the bottom line. And where IT can not contribute to a positive business outcome, the pressure is mounting to cut costs.

Unfortunately, most organizations consider their Enterprise project launches unsuccessful and non-technical business issues cause 70 percent of large enterprise technology projects to fall behind or fail completely. It is critical to rapidly identify and overcome these issues.

Executives and board members need a faster path to enterprise technology project success. Enterprise projects can be improved and accelerated using a different approach.

Jack Bergstrand and Terry Assink will share their expertise to help you and your team gain more insight to the following:

• What is the failure rate of large Enterprise technology projects?
• Who are the major players involved in a company’s technology project?
• Why do large technology projects go wrong so often?
• How can board members and CEOs recognize early warning signs that a large technology project will go or is going off track?
• What should the CEO and Board do to steer the technology project back on course?

Register for the free webinar here.
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/625744907

5 Issues IT Want to Address about Enterprise 2.0

The addition of web 2.0 tools and applications in the enterprise has put immense pressure on IT depts that require knowledge of COBOL, C, and other modern technologies. Jeremy Chone lists 5 issues that IT managers and CIO’s should let their staff be aware of before starting a modernization process in this post on ZDNet.

1. There is no history of the code: Since applications have evolved over the years through upgrades and new features, it makes the underlying code behind web 2.0 technologies a bit challenging to fully understand.
2. We don’t know exactly how many applications we have or how they all work together: Applications are being installed, updated, and ran throughout the company without notification of IT. A lot of time is spent maintaining existing codes.
3. We’re actively seeking a new job: IT turnover rate is at an average of 22%. Two factors contribute to a lapse in progress. The younger generation might not be as interested to work on older technologies and 30 percent of the legacy application experts will be eligible for retirement in three years.
4. You can’t prove the ROI: You can not talk in terms such as faster, stronger, and cheaper. You must instead prove that project skills will be enhanced and that the company will save on costs and time by employing before and after metrics.
5. You need to share your vision: IT has front-line knowledge and so being kept in the loop of future plans 5, 7, 10 years down the line can weigh in on strategy.

What other challenges and issues do IT depts face in regards to enterprise 2.0?

Cost of Enterprise 2.0

William Buist, president of BlackStar life community for Ecademy, made this important point as mentioned by this article from WhatPC.

“With the current economic climate, cost will return to the corporate equation. Therefore, finding the right partner at the right cost makes collaboration even more important,” he says. “Big businesses need to understand exactly how to collaborate effectively, both internally and externally.”

Communication is a key ingredient when it comes to collaboration, and as noted by many experts, enterprise networking sites are starting to change the dynamic of the traditional business communication style. As researchers at Forrester Research have already noted, blogs, wikis, rss, and other web 2.0 tools, have become the biggest buzz words in business and it doesn’t look to be just a current craze that will soon die out. Instead it looks to be what will be considered the norm of tomorrow. Oliver Young, analyst for Forrester, made this interesting statement, however, that

“Until now, IT Departments have resisted Web 2.0 tools, often viewing them as consumer grade”

This soon may no longer be an option since as mentioned above, with the current stated of the economy, companies simply may not be able to afford this type of thinking.

IT Department role in Enterprise 2.0

Many organizations have implemented web 2.0 technologies, and while for some companies the idea is new, industry wide these concepts are starting to become a necessity instead of simply a competitive advantage. A new research study from Forrester announced that IT departments have increased their role in implementing these initiatives. As Oliver Young, writer of the Forrester research study, mentioned, in the past marketing as well as communication departments were mostly responsible for the use of Web 2.0 in the workplace since many of the web 2.0 initiatives dealt with communication, however, IT departments are now becoming the leaders of this change in corporations. As the executive summary states

“our recent Web 2.0 survey shows IT departments taking a more active role in the acquisition and deployment of Web 2.0 technologies. Budgetary controls, the need for integration and technical skills, and the growing importance of Web 2.0 tools are all putting IT departments in the driver's seat.”

It will be interesting to see how this change in leadership will affect industry wide practices. Do you agree with IT playing a lead role for the future?

IT Departments Growing Relationship with Web 2.0 Tools

With the proliferation of web 2.0 in the enterprise it comes as no surprise that a study from Forrester Research confirms that IT departments are paying more attention to the potential of these tools. Computerworld reported that of the IT professionals that were surveyed by Forrester, 63% have a firm belief that web 2.0 will have a significant impact on their business in the upcoming three years. The study also revealed that younger IT professionals were the most enthusiastic, where as more seasoned professionals were still a little more cautious about adopting these tools. Forrester analyst in charge of the report, G. Oliver Young, made this statement about the findings.

"It is a growing familiarity of the tools up and down the organization. Just a couple of years ago, a lot of these tools were very foreign. IT departments and professionals are increasingly using these tools for their own use."

While there is a tide shifting towards the utilization of web 2.0, IT departments remain concerned about risks associated with employees using the tools in ways not approved by the company. The Forrester Research study stated that 31% of survey participants said they were very concerned about this, and 48% said that they were slightly worried, while 2% said that they were not at all.

Enterprise 2.0: Where do we stand?

A very common question posed in the business realm, but do we really know the answer? I came across this post on ReadWriteWeb and it summarizes eight attributes that enterprise software champions generally have now. Are we 100% there yet in terms of functionality and collaboration? No, we’re not, but we certainly are getting there. Here’s the list:

1. Software vendors now have monthly subscription fees instead of the dreaded annual contract. This means that the vendor must be good in order for the client to stay subscribed.
2. Adoption is by choice, and it is not set in stone by corporate policies. The software must be beneficial in order for it to get traction.
3. Software is usable within 30 minutes without looking at a manual.
4. SaaS is hosted, vendors don’t have to worry about the different platforms forced by IT department and can instead focus on R&D.
5. Enabling secure communication across firewalls.
6. Compatible with current modules and products.
7. Having beta models, for early experimentation.
8. Fun, relaxed environment.

A 12 Step Guide to the benefits of Web 2.0

In a recent article at CIO Australia, they address the challenge of bringing Web 2.0 tools into Australia. Since this country is showing that they aren’t adapting web 2.0 as fast as the rest of the world, they give tweleve simple steps in order to encourage the adaption.

There are many reasons that CIOs are failing to adopt this process, but the magazine states one very important thing:

Organizations must increase their Web 2.0 awareness and capabilities now to prepare for the storm of innovation to come."

It only takes a few changes in the company in order to bring this huge collaborative machine into the picture, and CIO sees it:

"I believe the most important challenge for the CIO is to make the key decision makers in the company aware and to ensure Web 2.0 becomes increasingly embedded in their current and future strategy," Relihan says.

Training is not difficult, most of the tools used are already in common practice outside the workplace, and are seen as time wasters.

"If you want to find out what tools your staff are finding most useful at the moment, just go and see what your IT department is blocking."

The twelve guide to getting the most out of Web 2.0 into your enterprise are:

1. Wake Up Call at the Top – CIOs need to acknowledge that this is the computing and collaboration of the future.

2. Settle the Ownership question – Who calls the shots? Is it the upper level management or the IT department?

3. Borderless creativity – The value of these tools is still emerging and letting itself be seen. It can foster creativity throughout the organization whether the employees are sitting across the world from each other or on two separate continents.

4. If you’re not blogging how will you know what people say behind your back?

5. Consider the dark blog -- Companies are still figuring out how to control the blogs safely behind the firewalls. But employees can be the most valuable source of the information that flows from the blog

6. Push Co-Creation – According to this article, many CIOs see social networking as a waste of time. With the power of Web 2.0 tools, companies can be aided in inventing, developing and sending to new products to market faster due to the fact that they can communicate with other companies to see what they have done to make their enterprise work.

7. Beware of the stealth attack and stay alert – Know excalty which tool are correct for your business. If the wrong social networking tool is used, it could cause many problems throughout the enterprise.

8. Know what mashups will mess you up – Since two different web sources are combining in order to create one piece of information, the wrong source of information released could cause trouble. This could be a source of security problems, therefore it is important to know exactly what to use in these powerful tools.

9. Use web 2.0 for talent attraction and retention -- Most companies block these tools on the internet because they believe it is a great way for employees to waste time. But, if older generations and younger generations come together to work on these applications together, the possibilities are endless.

10. Use it for green computing—These tools allow people to access information faster, leading to a reduction in the need of power for computers. The carbon emissions dramatically decrease if computers are used right.

11. Use it to fix enterprise search – Many times, employees find it easier to find the information online than on the intranet. These tools can correct that.

12. Accept That Good Governance Reduces Exposure – The board and upper level management are the key to the success of these tools. With the correct guidance and exposure, these tools can lead to massive amounts of collaboration and innovation that could not otherwised be found without web 2.0 tools.