Leadership and strategic planning
Effective leadership and strategic planning skills are the keys to success for any CIO. As more CIOs are expected to speak the language of the business and contribute to the success of the organization, leadership and strategic planning skills are essential. Find information and advice on effective leadership and strategic planning for CIOs, including news, tips and other resources, in this topic section.
Top Stories
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Tip
15 May 2026
6 ways to improve the CIO-CISO relationship in 2026
CIOs and CISOs need to work together for the benefit of the whole organization. To break the mold of hostility, C-suite leaders need to prioritize collaboration and mutual respect. Continue Reading
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Tip
14 Mar 2024
Practical strategies for shadow IT management
Employees might believe that they need tools beyond the organization's scope. Learn how CIOs and their teams can properly manage shadow IT to avoid unnecessary risk. Continue Reading
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Tip
02 Jan 2020
The rise of RPA bots and the role of C-level decision makers
According to new research, there will be 3 million RPA bots running in the enterprise in 2020. As RPA bots proliferate, C-level decision makers must take steps to ensure their RPA programs deliver tactical and strategic benefits. Check out this expert guidance. Continue Reading
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Tip
27 Sep 2019
Squads, pods, cells? Making sense of Agile teams
Workers are now organized in new types of groups as a result of the movement known as Agile at scale. However, to succeed, the changes have to be more than in name only. Continue Reading
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Quiz
17 Sep 2019
Put your composable infrastructure knowledge to the test
Are you up to speed on composable disaggregated infrastructure and technology? Take our quiz to find out if you know how composability works and how it can benefit you. Continue Reading
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Feature
16 Aug 2019
To predict customer buying behavior, stop, look, listen, analyze
Determining customer wants and needs to devise personalization strategies based on that data takes advanced technologies and the old-fashioned direct approach. Continue Reading
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Feature
16 Aug 2019
Customer personalization relies on tools, tactics, metrics
Measuring the success of personalized engagements across multiple channels and making adjustments can help improve CX, differentiate offerings and increase sales. Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Aug 2019
For board of directors, cybersecurity literacy is essential
For boards of directors to meet their business goals, CISOs need a seat at the table. Through her initiative BoardSuited, Joyce Brocaglia aims to pave the way. Continue Reading
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Feature
17 Jul 2019
Words to go: Composable disaggregated infrastructure glossary
Dig into these terms to get a sense of composable infrastructure and what its disaggregated server capabilities can bring to your IT environment and application workloads. Continue Reading
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Guide
07 Jun 2019
Multipronged digital customer experience strategy enriches CX
The digital experience is an everyday facet of life. Learn how businesses are using tools and technologies to engage consumers and devise and manage effective CX strategies. Continue Reading
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Infographic
08 May 2019
Enterprise adoption of hyper-converged storage gains traction
Hyper-convergence may be on the upswing, but concerns about vendor lock-in, integration and the independent scaling of resources, including storage, limit its appeal for some. Continue Reading
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Tip
21 Jan 2019
Free IT mission statement examples for CIOs
These free IT mission statement examples and how-tos can help CIOs and their IT departments identify and refine their organizational goals. Continue Reading
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Tip
09 Mar 2017
The power of positive four-letter words to unlock employee potential
Four-letter words like can't and don't crush an employee's potential and quash creativity. Have the courage to use positive four-letter words and watch what happens. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
22 Apr 2016
Intel's job cuts a sign of PC's metamorphosis; keeping cool during a cyberassault
Intel just announced that it's cutting 12,000 jobs in a restructuring effort that shifts focus away from PCs and onto growing technologies like wearables and IoT. In this week's Searchlight, Site ... Continue Reading
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Tip
23 Feb 2016
8 free IT budget plan templates for CIOs
Creating a reliable IT budget plan is no cinch, especially in today's digital age. Here, we've rounded up free, customizable IT budget templates to help. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
22 May 2015
The logistics of a 'bossless' workplace; dated security practices endanger companies
Imagine never having to report to a boss or supervisor again. Sounds great, right? Well, not all the employees at Zappos think so. The company's controversial new holacracy system enforces ... Continue Reading
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News
04 Dec 2014
Global CIO at Unilever named most influential person in UK IT
Jane Moran, the first woman to top our sister site Computer Weekly's UKtech50 list, is innovating while balancing the tech demands of a global giant. Continue Reading
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News
04 Dec 2014
UKtech50 2014 - The most influential people in UK IT
Our sister site Computer Weekly has announced the fifth annual UKtech50, a definitive list of the movers and shakers in UK IT. Continue Reading
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News
22 May 2014
Leading the digital enterprise: Five tips on how to get there
This year's MIT Sloan CIO Symposium focused on the digital enterprise and how the line between internal and external customers is blurring. Continue Reading
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News
11 Apr 2014
'Heartbleed' bug leaks personal identifiable information
Searchlight: OpenSSL's "Heartbleed" spills personal identifiable information; how to be a better CIO; a new twist on packing tape; and more. Continue Reading
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News
02 Jan 2014
Mobile technology changing India but government must legislate
Mobile technology is changing how Indian government and businesses operate but the regulatory environment must change if the country is to reach its potential Continue Reading
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News
27 Nov 2013
HoneyBaked Ham IT and marketing veeps find secret sauce in big data
At The Original HoneyBaked Ham Co. of Georgia, there's no such thing as data for data's sake. Continue Reading
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Definition
26 Aug 2013
Pareto principle
The Pareto principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, is a theory maintaining that 80 percent of the output from a given situation or system is determined by 20 percent of the input. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
08 Mar 2013
As cybersecurity takes the spotlight, CIOs need to step up
From the breakout sessions to the lounges to the main stage, at this week's Fusion CEO/CIO Symposium in Madison, Wis., privacy and cybersecurity were on nearly everyone's mind. Recent high-profile ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
22 Feb 2013
Some extra compensation could prompt innovation
Big tech companies like Apple and Facebook are accustomed to encouraging and fostering IT innovation among their employees and getting results. This week's SearchCIO.com Searchlight finds the ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
15 Feb 2013
It's time to roll the dice with social networking
Attention, businesses that aren't actively making use of social networking sites and tools: Go directly to obscurity, do not pass Go, do not collect market share. For you see, Monopoly game maker ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
01 Feb 2013
Information security breach turned into teachable moment
Technically the public didn't need to know about the recent information security breach at "The New York Times." No customer information was compromised and no damage was done to affiliated ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
25 Jan 2013
Data mining for social solutions
Data mining is often associated with Big Brother-esque marketing tactics: Someone out there is assessing your personal shopping habits and other bits of info in order to sell you something they ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
11 Jan 2013
CES no longer a hot ticket?
As the folks at HowStuffWorks tweeted earlier, it seems like half the Internet is home sick today. Here at SearchCIO.com Searchlight, we're lucky to have a very flexible work-from-home policy that ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
28 Dec 2012
Master list: Information technology news and 2013 predictions
Here at SearchCIO.com Searchlight, there's nothing we like better than a good list -- it is, after all, our stock in trade! So it is our great pleasure to bring you, in these dwindling days of ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
21 Dec 2012
Uniquely naughty threats to information security
It's December 21, 2012 and since we're writing this and you're reading it, looks like that so-called Mayan apocalypse won't come to pass. Well, that's a relief. Now that the world isn't ending, ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
02 Nov 2012
Agile technology a beacon in Hurricane Sandy
It's easy to feel a little jaded about the prevalence of technology these days. The capacity for constant connection means we're never really alone. Sometimes it's too much, but then something like ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
19 Oct 2012
Newsweek is dead, long live digital disruption!
This week's SearchCIO.com Searchlight comes to you from Forrester's Digital Disruption Forum in Orlando, which in turn inspired our findings around the web this week. From the sleepy South, comes ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
04 Aug 2012
CIO lights up Olympics with green tech innovation
Every four years, it's the same thing. We sit and watch the summer Olympics in awe of human physical potential and our minds begin to wander. What if we'd kept up those swimming lessons? If only we ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
29 Jun 2012
A revolutionary idea to promote women in computer science
Who went and put a holiday in the middle of the week? Well, if you're not getting a long weekend out of it, at least the Fourth will break up your week -- goodness knows summer weeks are always ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
23 Jun 2012
Summer brings the heat and cool tech innovation
Don't know about you, but we here in the Boston area have had just about enough heat in the first two days of summer to last all season. They say it helps to think cool thoughts -- it ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
02 Jun 2012
Social media tips and other helpful lists
The Late Show Top 10, Billboard's Hot 100 -- everybody loves a good list. (Except, perhaps, those of the "to-do" variety.) To help satisfy that hankering for digestible order, this week's roundup ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
18 May 2012
Really big deals: Facebook IPO and SEC guidance on cybersecurity
Unless you've been living in outer space (or on MySpace), it's impossible not to know that today is the day Facebook drops its privacy settings and friends the NASDAQ. News and analysis abound, but ... Continue Reading
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Tutorial
03 May 2012
Enterprise CIO project management resources guide
Project management success requires proper planning, a dedicated team and a deft CIO touch. Learn more in this project management resources guide. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
27 Apr 2012
Promoting innovation, from boss-less offices to tweaking big data
Sometimes innovation begets innovation. This week, check out a gaming company that took the rather innovative step of eliminating hierarchy in the workplace and found it led to -- innovation. On a ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
20 Apr 2012
Eco-friendly technology: Green means go, especially in Nebraska
Have you had a "taxing" week? Bad puns probably won't make you feel any better, but checking out our weekly roundup of news bits and analysis just might -- it's totally free. Earth Day is coming up ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
23 Mar 2012
Spring is here, and innovation is in the air
Spring is here, the season of renewal. In honor of this time of all things fresh and new, this week's roundup includes a peek at innovators who inspire an innovator, the ways Best Buy's new digital ... Continue Reading
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News
24 Feb 2012
Silence on business analytics speaks volumes
The next time your CIO pals clam up about business analytics, watch out. They're on to something. You should be too. Continue Reading
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News
21 Feb 2012
Mission-critical systems taking on dual roles
As CIOs take on new roles, they are finding new uses for mission-critical systems -- and that in turn is making their role more business-critical. Continue Reading
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News
15 Feb 2012
Is technology leadership training lacking?
A lack of technology leadership training specific to the CIO position leaves the up-and-comers fending for themselves. Continue Reading
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News
14 Feb 2012
No honor-student bumper stickers for Steve Jobs
A roundup of items you might have missed from around the Web, including Steve Jobs' high school GPA and a possible storm over cloud privacy in the EU. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
13 Feb 2012
No honor-student bumper stickers for Steve Jobs
Top o’ the week to you. We're as laden with interesting Web tidbits as Adele is with Grammy awards today. Without further fanfare, here are six stories from around the Internet, the leadoff one a ... Continue Reading
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News
09 Feb 2012
Days are dwindling for successful Windows 7 migration
If you've been hitting the snooze button on Windows 7 migration, it's time to wake up -- you're already late. Continue Reading
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News
07 Feb 2012
Big data is dead? Long live analytics apps?
The view of BI as an enterprise-wide system similar to ERP is giving way to a more tactical, "disaggregated" approach based on analytics apps. Continue Reading
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31 Jan 2012
Enterprise CIO Decisions Ezine
The Enterprise CIO Decisions Ezine offers senior IT executives insights on pressing technology and management issues. Continue Reading
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News
23 Jan 2012
The CIO and the extended enterprise
The CIO role is stretching further into the outer limits of the "extended enterprise." Continue Reading
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News
12 Jan 2012
CIOs proving the value of technology investments
There's no easy way to prove the value of technology investments, but smart CIOs are finding new ones -- and smarter still, being proactive about it. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
05 Jan 2012
Time to re-evaluate need for some endpoint security tools?
Security investments and priorities are a tricky thing to nail down, given that threats are constantly shifting, but one security precaution could be going the way of the dodo bird. Michael Daly, ... Continue Reading
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News
05 Jan 2012
Rosy outlook for services broker model may have thorns
The IT services-broker model might be good for your business, but one CIO cautions against letting the label define your role. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
23 Dec 2011
Bill limiting IT worker overtime pay could put CIOs in a tough spot
With technology boosters like these, who needs Scrooge? That's what many IT folks must be thinking when they take a gander at the sponsors of a bill before the U.S. Senate to limit overtime pay for ... Continue Reading
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News
21 Dec 2011
'IT as a services broker' model will carry beyond 2012
IT leaders are positioning themselves as facilitators or IT services brokers rather than as the managers and mainframe minders of yore. Continue Reading
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News
16 Dec 2011
CIOs have to be passionate and in fighting trim
To be executive material for the CIO job these days, you'll need more than a well-cut suit. Continue Reading
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News
08 Dec 2011
Outlook 2012: Monetizing IT
It's that time of year again, when we and everyone else pull out the crystal IT ball for Outlook 2012. Continue Reading
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News
02 Dec 2011
Will CIOs' role suffer in an IT services organization?
CIOs continue to buzz about building an IT services organization and running IT as a business. But is it a demotion in the making? Continue Reading
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Tutorial
01 Dec 2011
Managing business processes: A guide for enterprise CIOs
With Agile and lean methodologies and a focus on innovation, organizations are succeeding in managing business processes and achieving their goals. Continue Reading
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News
30 Nov 2011
A strong BYOD policy should be SOP
The desire for device flexibility is now a scary fact of life for IT managers. Now's the time to take control, before it becomes a beastly problem. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
31 Oct 2011
How to be a strategic leader in the IT industry
What happened in the IT world last week? Here's the scoop on what you might have missed, including how IBM set an example for strategic leadership, Hewlett-Packard Co.'s recent decision and cloud ... Continue Reading
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News
31 Oct 2011
A cloud strategy requires a good offense and defense
CIOs are finding that a little game play goes a long way toward putting them at the helm of the enterprise cloud computing strategy. Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Oct 2011
A CIO's time is expensive; not every vendor relationship deserves it
Managing vendor relationships is something most CIOs are not taught. Rule No. 1: They don't all deserve your time. Continue Reading
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Feature
21 Oct 2011
Technology priorities of CEOs not lining up with those of CIOs
The top technology priorities of CEOs as they move into 2012 are not focused on the latest or coolest technology, but on good old standbys. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
11 Oct 2011
What can we learn from the Steve Jobs Way?
There have been many timelines, retrospectives and other examinations of Apple founder Steve Jobs' career, aka the Steve Jobs Way, and it would be a waste if we don't learn lessons from him about ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
10 Oct 2011
Be more effective by increasing your business storytelling
It's been a busy week around the Web, and chances are you missed some things. Between the news of the iPhone 4S and Steve Jobs' death, it seems like the Web was absolutely sticky with Apple juice ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
27 Sep 2011
SIM CIO survey: IT budgets trend up, BI reigns as top CIO investment
When asked, "Are you better off than you were three years ago?" most IT organizations answer in the affirmative. IT budgets, hiring and salaries are on the rise at the majority of companies, ... Continue Reading
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Feature
15 Sep 2011
Going Google? Follow these steps, consultant says
Going Google is like any big app conversion in some respects: lots of politics and the need for funding over multiple years. Continue Reading
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Feature
26 Aug 2011
Steve Jobs and the consumerization of IT
No one needs to tell CIOs about the impact of Steve Jobs. All they have to do is look around at the consumerization of IT in their own enterprises. Continue Reading
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Feature
18 Aug 2011
Jettison relational database management systems for BI
Relational database management systems have never been a perfect fit for business intelligence, according to Forrester. Here's what's in your future. Continue Reading
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Feature
17 Aug 2011
Leave room for error with desktop virtualization
Desktop virtualization calls for a contingency plan to give CIOs and users peace of mind. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
22 Jul 2011
Comic-Con: IT innovation lessons from dudes in Stormtrooper suits
There are a few annual events I adore even though I'll never ever go to any of them: Burning Man, SXSW, TED, and this time of year, Comic-Con. When you're hyper-focused on IT innovation, you ... Continue Reading
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Feature
22 Jul 2011
Comic-Con: IT wisdom from dudes in Stormtrooper suits
The freaks and geeks gathered at this year's Comic-Con have a mantra applicable to IT innovation: Don't settle. The coolest stuff is still out there. Continue Reading
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Feature
15 Jul 2011
Building an innovation pipeline that's not a pipe dream
A CIO builds an innovation pipeline of people that's aimed at taking new ideas from concept to pilot stage to industrial-strength. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
16 Jun 2011
Does your business know the enterprise can't be run on rogue IT?
The question to Warren Ritchie, CIO at the Volkswagen Group of America, was pretty standard: What was the biggest surprise he faced when he came into the IT world? Ritchie was speaking at the ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
07 Apr 2011
Are CIO leadership skills moot if the business has you pigeonholed?
Are you lacking in CIO leadership skills, or do you lack CIO leadership qualities because the business has boxed you in, pigeonholed you as the IT guy? The question came up at a private dinner for ... Continue Reading
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18 Mar 2011
The Q factor in IT transformation
Forget about Scotty. Never mind about James Bond. For CIOs all about IT transformation, it's all about the Q factor. Continue Reading
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11 Mar 2011
IT innovation isn't new, but essential to maintain a competitive edge
IT innovation is as perennial as the grass, but public cloud computing and the recovering economy demand transcendent ideas from IT leaders, as well as from the rank and file. Continue Reading
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17 Feb 2011
Egypt's CIO lesson: We use IT tools in ways unintended by toolmakers
Humans adapt tools, including IT tools, to suit their purposes and in ways the toolmaker never intended. That's Egypt's lesson for CIOs. Continue Reading
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10 Feb 2011
Debate continues over the definition and strategy of private clouds
IT executives agree to disagree on the definition of private clouds. Continue Reading
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03 Feb 2011
What's Tiger Mom got to do with IT innovation at Chevron?
Mobility is on the agenda for Chevron this year. But even more crucial to IT innovation is upward mobility -- and self-esteem. Ponder that, Tiger Mom. Continue Reading
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28 Jan 2011
Converged infrastructures promise to simplify private clouds
What are private clouds? A. Virtualized environments. B. On-demand metered services. C. Converged infrastructures. D. All of the above. Continue Reading
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21 Jan 2011
Whether public, private or hybrid, it's time to get a cloud strategy
The IT department's New Year's resolution? A cloud strategy for public, private and hybrid cloud computing that mitigates business risk. Continue Reading
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21 Jan 2011
When your CIO career ends, what comes next?
Is the CIO career more vulnerable to age discrimination than other C-suite posts? A reader responds. Continue Reading
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21 Jan 2011
The enduring value of starting cheap in offshore IT outsourcing
Being the lowest-cost service provider of offshore IT outsourcing pays off in ways that go beyond being -- well, the lowest-cost IT service provider. Continue Reading
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21 Jan 2011
Is the CIO job a young person's game -- and what's considered young?
Is the CIO job more vulnerable than other C-suite positions to age discrimination? Continue Reading
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Blog Post
22 Dec 2010
Spreading cheer and good health through a virtual reality game
We got Kinect. For Christmas and the winter ahead, my husband said. For when the house is empty again and the weather outside is frightful. It will be good for our health, he told me. I do not play ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
15 Dec 2010
Can the use of social media skew sales forecasts?
Best Buy uses social media like a pro, or as professionally as a business can, given the newness of the communication mode. The company's Twelpforce service enlists the passion of Best Buy's entire ... Continue Reading
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10 Dec 2010
Budgets, big data and staffing among top CIO concerns
Top CIO concerns for 2011 include wresting back centralized control through virtualization, and retaining staff on flat or slightly increased budgets. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
02 Dec 2010
An old data center infrastructure looks new in a coat of green
Thinking about heading out to Gartner Inc.'s 29th annual Data Center Conference in Las Vegas next week, I'm reminded of how much data center infrastructure has changed since the mid-1980s, when ... Continue Reading
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02 Dec 2010
An old data center infrastructure looks new in a coat of green
Decades-old data center infrastructure appears new again in a coat of green technologies and a modular footprint that saves both money and carbon. Continue Reading
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01 Dec 2010
Social bots by 2015, and other technology predictions from Gartner
The season for technology predictions is upon us. Here is the 2011-and-beyond list from Gartner, including the advent of social bots and tablets for all! Continue Reading
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Blog Post
30 Nov 2010
Social bots by 2015, and other technology predictions from Gartner
Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are behind us. Time to bring out the 2011 technology predictions. Hot off the presses from the Gartner research files are the consultancy's top ... Continue Reading
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24 Nov 2010
Talk like a CFO and boost your CIO career
Next time you sit down and talk turkey with your CFO, try sprinkling on some of these CFO money words. It just might give your CIO career a boost. Continue Reading
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19 Nov 2010
ISVs' software licensing agreements bend with the times
Competition from Software as a Service and the cloud, plus these tough economic times, are all making ISVs more amenable to subscription-based software licensing agreements. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
10 Nov 2010
In the absence of spreadsheet management, horror lurks
Is the spreadsheet dead? Has the cockroach been eradicated? A half-billion people use Excel. For a story this week on spreadsheet management, I not only learned that the spreadsheet is alive and ... Continue Reading
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21 Oct 2010
Gartner Symposium: IT trends you can use -- the sound bite version
The preview: The Gartner Symposium/ITxpo opening keynotes were stuffed with IT trends and the kind of global edicts one comes to expect at such extravaganzas. Continue Reading
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14 Oct 2010
Thanks to IT innovation, 'the check's in the mail' won't cut it
The United States Postal Service CIO makes it clear that IT innovation is bridging the divide between the print and digital world. But will that be enough? Continue Reading
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30 Sep 2010
Is the CIO role 'redundant and glorified?'
A reader's response serves as a reminder that the CIO role is about business outcomes, not product features or technology. Continue Reading
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17 Sep 2010
Business productivity and cost reduction No. 1 concern in CIO survey
Business productivity and cost reduction is the item of top concern for the second year running in the Society for Information Management's annual CIO survey. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
09 Sep 2010
Women in IT band together at VMworld 2010
Navigating the crowded halls of VMworld 2010 in San Francisco last week, I couldn't help feeling drawn to the signage developed for this year's event: "Virtual Clouds, Actual Roads. " The backdrop ... Continue Reading