CIO.com - Process Improvement

BMC and VCE Partnership Shows Consortium Is Gaining Power

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Is there strength in numbers? The deal VCE recently struck with BMC suggests that a consortium of companies layering in best-in-class technology might be a more effective approach to win large-scale government and enterprise customers in the private cloud space, writes CIO.com's Rob Enderle.

Rethinking Software Development, Testing and Inspection

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Michael Fagan first found software inspections yielded a massive productivity improvement when working for IBM in the early 1970s. Now, 35 years later, we need to ask certain key questions: Are the dynamics of software development the same, are Fagan's findings still relevant in today's world of agile development and "extreme programming"? And, if so, what should your organization do about it?

IT Outsourcing Deal Size Data Shows Decade-Long Decline

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

The proliferation of IT and business process outsourcing contracts worth less than $100 million is creating governance headaches for CIOs. How are IT outsourcing service providers responding?

The Mobile Enterprise: Killing IT's Sacred Cows

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

CIOs need to break with tradition or risk having IT get outsourced, say modern IT managers. But how do they gain an edge? Don't be a slave to ROI, work with startups, and bring iPads and mobile apps into the enterprise.

Why Today's CIO Must Foster IT Agility

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Dell CIO Robin Johnson explains how a company's lack of agility, the inability of its IT infrastructure to quickly incorporate a new business process that would give it a competitive edge, can be costly. Johnson explains why the price of this lack of agility, what he refers to as the agility tax, is too high to pay.

What Your Cloud Consultant is Trying To Tell You

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Consultants have been a mainstay of IT departments forever. But in the cloud the commercial language is filled with a new set of euphemisms you need to understand. Here are some to look out for.

New on the iPad: The Story of Business Intelligence

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Mobile business intelligence app developer Roambi wants to marry the excitement of a magazine narrative with the dryness of business intelligence data on the iPad. The goal is to tell the story behind the numbers.

Is Your CRM Business Process Really a Workflow?

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT

"If you can't describe what you are doing as a business process, you don't know what you are doing." -- W. Edward Deming

New SCM Deployments Help Food and Beverage Companies Streamline Business Operations

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 04:00:00 GMT

By finding efficiencies and integrating disparate supply chain systems, Tate & Lyle and Maple Leaf Foods are gaining competitive advantages. Could this help your enterprise, too?

How AmEx Disciplined Unruly Software Updates

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT

The company is using repeatable processes to roll out software updates more efficiently

How Managing Applications Is Like Managing a Baseball Team

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Baseball managers know that unless you monitor their health and performance of your players, you aren't optimizing the performance of the team. The same can be said for your applications and how your employees use them. Or as Yogi Berra put it: "You can observe a lot by watching."

3 Steps for Better Data Center Capacity Planning

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT

Capacity planning is no longer just a process aimed at forecasting hardware needs; it's the key to understanding and optimizing the cost of running business services through platform selection. Forrester recommends updating today's capacity planning process with three new steps to account for cost-value analysis, governance, and global planning.

Q&A: Cisco CIO Offers Tips for Talkin' Business

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 04:00:00 GMT

In this Q&A, Cisco CIO Rebecca Jacoby shares advice on how IT pros can translate technology needs into business terms, manage the devices employees bring to the office and make a variety of collaboration tools work together.

CIOs in 2011: The IT Roles and Strategies in High Demand

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 05:00:00 GMT

"Cost reduction" is out for 2011. What's in? Key portfolio and project management roles as well as demand for more consistent delivery of IT services.

How To Let Information Guide IT

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Symantec CIO Dave Thompson shares his thoughts on the importance of information to an organization and the disconnect between how much a company values information yet also seems unwilling to do what is necessary to utilize and secure it.