IT is finally making the transition from cost center to business enabler according to more than 300 Asian CEOs who participated in a seven country survey.
For many CEOs, the pressure to manage costs while delivering IT initiatives to support business objectives and capitalize on new growth opportunities continued from 2009 into 2010, and is expected to prevail through 2011. As a result, many are already applying IT demand management strategies for better control and prioritization of work. Some of these strategies include chargebacks or cost allocation approaches or even service catalogs with project based portfolio management. These findings in particular pointed to a strong future for managed services, outsourcers and cloud computing service providers.
Key findings in the report:
1.) Asian CEOs articulated several roadblocks to achieving desired business innovation and growth outcomes. For example, these included spending too much time on systems and infrastructure maintenance, late involvement in the decision making process, a lack of opportunity to demonstrate innovation, and a corporate culture that did not favor IT innovation;
2.) Most of the survey respondents had short tenures in their organizations -- nearly half the respondents have been in their positions between one and five years only. This can help leaders have fresher perspectives on how IT can be applied to the business, increasing the willingness to embrace newer technologies and deployment models;
3.) The role of CEO in Asia is becoming much more aligned with business drivers and corporate imperatives. Over 50 per cent of respondents listed "strategizing and big picture planning" as their top activity, followed by 49.2 per cent who listed "designing/optimizing business process";
4.) All CEO respondents agreed strongly that the business environment is increasingly complex with 72.1 per cent finding it difficult to make clear IT decisions, perhaps impacting their ability to assess and understand the potential value of social media or cloud computing;
5.) At the same time, 38.5 per cent of respondents listed cloud computing as the trend in their Top 5 priority list, indicating CEOs are preparing for cloud computing.
Comment from Tarek Robbiati, Group Managing Director, Telstra International: The healthy trade volumes and strong growth forecasts to be expected in many Asian countries highlight how important it is for international businesses to have access to critical information about the Asian business environment. Whether it is exporting into Asia, being present in Asia or working through Asian partners to drive demand for products or services, companies with global aspirations who understand what Asian CEOs need and value, stand to gain a competitive advantage.
About the survey: The fifth annual survey by CIO Asia Magazine, released jointly by Fairfax Business Media and Telstra International, was conducted in July, August and September 2010. The survey sought to identify key IT priorities, business needs and intentions of senior business and IT executives from seven countries in Asia Pacific, including Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and India. A total of 301 executives participated this year with the majority representing the CEO function in their companies.
Contact: http://www.telstrainternational.asia/CEOsurvey2010/
Contact: http://www.telstrainternational.co.uk
Friday, November 26, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Half Of All Businesses Fail To Erase Sensitive Data
Less than half of businesses regularly deploy a method of erasing sensitive data from old computers and hard drives, according to a survey.
Of the 49 percent of businesses that are systematically deploying a data eraser method, 75 percent do not delete data securely, leaving most organizations highly susceptible to data breaches, which plague businesses at least once a year and cost an organization an average of $6.75 million per breach according to the 2009 Ponemon Cost of Data Breach Study.
Four in 10 businesses gave away their used hard drive to another individual and 22 percent do not know what happened to their old computer. In total, more than 60 percent of all old business computers are fully intact with proprietary business data in the second hand market.
Only 19 percent of businesses deploy data eraser software and fewer, 6 percent, use a degausser to erase media. When asked if and how businesses verify their data has been deleted, very few (16 percent) reported relying on a product or service report to confirm all of their data had been wiped. Aside from businesses that "do not know" (34 percent) how they ensure their data has been erased from an old device, the next most popular response, reported by 22 percent of businesses, was "reboot the drive" to see if the data is still there.
Comment from Jim Reinert, vice president of product development, Kroll Ontrack: Three-fourths of businesses are deleting files, reformatting or destroying drives, or 'do not know' how they are erasing sensitive data. Deleting files from a hard drive only marks the files to be rewritten, which may never occur. Furthermore, reformatting the drive only removes the entries in the index or table of contents that point to the data. And, physically destroying a drive is not a guaranteed method of protection, as Kroll Ontrack has been recovering data from severely damaged drives, such as the Columbia space shuttle, for more than 25 years. None of these methods ensure that sensitive information is no longer on the drive. A certified data wiping software that overwrites all the data on the hard drive or a degausser, which wipes the data using a strong magnetic force rendering the device no longer usable, are the two safest methods to ensure private data is wiped and does not fall into the wrong hands. In addition to helping companies achieve compliance with laws and regulations regarding data retention and privacy, data wiping is fundamental to reducing the risk of security breaches. It is a must -- regardless of the size of the organization -- and needs to be incorporated into overall data security and business continuity plans. Reports that verify or confirm what the tool and/or service did are critical. Not only do they inform you of what has been wiped, but they should identify the serial number as well as the make and model information of the wiped hard drive, the date and time of when the information was wiped, and a listing of how much information was wiped.
About the survey: Ontrack surveyed more than 1,500 participants from 12 countries across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific regarding their data wiping practices.
Contact: http://www.krollontrack.com/eraser-solutions/
Of the 49 percent of businesses that are systematically deploying a data eraser method, 75 percent do not delete data securely, leaving most organizations highly susceptible to data breaches, which plague businesses at least once a year and cost an organization an average of $6.75 million per breach according to the 2009 Ponemon Cost of Data Breach Study.
Four in 10 businesses gave away their used hard drive to another individual and 22 percent do not know what happened to their old computer. In total, more than 60 percent of all old business computers are fully intact with proprietary business data in the second hand market.
Only 19 percent of businesses deploy data eraser software and fewer, 6 percent, use a degausser to erase media. When asked if and how businesses verify their data has been deleted, very few (16 percent) reported relying on a product or service report to confirm all of their data had been wiped. Aside from businesses that "do not know" (34 percent) how they ensure their data has been erased from an old device, the next most popular response, reported by 22 percent of businesses, was "reboot the drive" to see if the data is still there.
Comment from Jim Reinert, vice president of product development, Kroll Ontrack: Three-fourths of businesses are deleting files, reformatting or destroying drives, or 'do not know' how they are erasing sensitive data. Deleting files from a hard drive only marks the files to be rewritten, which may never occur. Furthermore, reformatting the drive only removes the entries in the index or table of contents that point to the data. And, physically destroying a drive is not a guaranteed method of protection, as Kroll Ontrack has been recovering data from severely damaged drives, such as the Columbia space shuttle, for more than 25 years. None of these methods ensure that sensitive information is no longer on the drive. A certified data wiping software that overwrites all the data on the hard drive or a degausser, which wipes the data using a strong magnetic force rendering the device no longer usable, are the two safest methods to ensure private data is wiped and does not fall into the wrong hands. In addition to helping companies achieve compliance with laws and regulations regarding data retention and privacy, data wiping is fundamental to reducing the risk of security breaches. It is a must -- regardless of the size of the organization -- and needs to be incorporated into overall data security and business continuity plans. Reports that verify or confirm what the tool and/or service did are critical. Not only do they inform you of what has been wiped, but they should identify the serial number as well as the make and model information of the wiped hard drive, the date and time of when the information was wiped, and a listing of how much information was wiped.
About the survey: Ontrack surveyed more than 1,500 participants from 12 countries across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific regarding their data wiping practices.
Contact: http://www.krollontrack.com/eraser-solutions/
Friday, November 12, 2010
Corporate IT Departments Have The Potential To Lead Green Efforts
IT departments as potentially the ideal organizations for companies to lead their sustainability campaigns, according to a new report. Corporate IT departments recognize the business value of adopting sustainability initiatives. Corporations can and should look to their IT departments to lead the charge in their corporate green efforts.
Corporate IT departments have identified clear business initiatives that reduce costs in addition to addressing environmental concerns. At 41 percent of survey respondents, Virtualization remains the top initiative for both sustainability and cost reduction with Server Energy Reduction a close second response at 33 percent. These are tangible actions IT departments have taken to add efficiencies to their lines of business with the secondary consequence of being green.
Comment from TBR CEO Dave Mack: Sustainability continues to be the primary disruptive business challenge we face today. What too many companies have failed to identify is that their IT departments may have already embraced sustainability, not because it made for good press, but because it was a good business decision. What the report demonstrates is the hidden potential within corporate IT departments. They have already demonstrated how being more environmentally friendly is a good business decision. Leading-edge companies need to work with their IT departments to demonstrate the value externally and internally. Currently, 38 percent of our survey respondents stated they were not clear as to the role IT would play in sustainability. Based on the findings, I would say IT has the potential to lead this charge.
About the report: For the 2010 Global Business Sustainability Survey Report, Technology Business Research (TBR) surveyed more than 500 companies across North America and Europe.
Contact: http://www.tbri.com
Corporate IT departments have identified clear business initiatives that reduce costs in addition to addressing environmental concerns. At 41 percent of survey respondents, Virtualization remains the top initiative for both sustainability and cost reduction with Server Energy Reduction a close second response at 33 percent. These are tangible actions IT departments have taken to add efficiencies to their lines of business with the secondary consequence of being green.
Comment from TBR CEO Dave Mack: Sustainability continues to be the primary disruptive business challenge we face today. What too many companies have failed to identify is that their IT departments may have already embraced sustainability, not because it made for good press, but because it was a good business decision. What the report demonstrates is the hidden potential within corporate IT departments. They have already demonstrated how being more environmentally friendly is a good business decision. Leading-edge companies need to work with their IT departments to demonstrate the value externally and internally. Currently, 38 percent of our survey respondents stated they were not clear as to the role IT would play in sustainability. Based on the findings, I would say IT has the potential to lead this charge.
About the report: For the 2010 Global Business Sustainability Survey Report, Technology Business Research (TBR) surveyed more than 500 companies across North America and Europe.
Contact: http://www.tbri.com
Top-Performing Companies Choose Analytics Over Intuition for Decision Making
Top-performing companies are three times more likely to be leading users of analytics, according to a new report.
The survey found a clear connection between users of analytics technology and the ability to achieve competitive differentiation and performance. Top performers are five times more likely to apply analytics rather than intuition across the widest possible range of decisions. They are two times more likely to shape future business strategies and guide day to day operations based on analytics.
The study found that despite popular opinion, organizations today are far less concerned about data deluge issues but rather feel hindered by traditional management practices. Respondents cited the top three obstacles to widespread analytics adoption in their organizations as: lack of understanding about how to apply analytics to improve their business, lack of bandwidth due to competing priorities, and lack of skills in the line of business.
The data shows that many organizations are facing a similar challenge. They are getting better at generating insights from information and analytics, but they face real difficulties in driving those insights to action.
To overcome these obstacles to using analytics in managing, the study identifies a series of steps organizations must take, including:
-- Tackle biggest challenges first: Organizations too often wait for complete data or perfect skills before they take on the opportunity to apply analytics to high-value opportunities. Consequently, they stay stalled in investment mode. Talent, however, flocks to big challenges, which command attention and incite action - increasing the odds of success.
-- Flip the equation in the approach to data and insights: Many organizations start new initiatives by gathering all of the available data on a topic and then extracting whatever insights they can get. Instead, the first step should be to identify what specific insights are needed, and then identify those pieces of data needed for answers.
-- Adopt techniques and tools best suited to business leaders: Respondents identified a strong shift in the types of analytic tools and techniques that would provide the greatest value in the next few years. Data visualization, simulation tools and techniques that help them anticipate the consequences of their decisions, explore alternative approaches and tradeoffs came out on top. Techniques like these do not require superior skills to use and can be applied by business leaders at any point in the organization.
Demonstrating that using analytics to create opportunities is central to growth and success, the study showed that leading organizations are focusing their efforts to enact meaningful and enduring business transformation while reducing the time required to do so. Organizations that use a "selective" approach to analytics are able to focus resources and efforts narrowly - generating insights critical to immediate needs and overcoming the business challenges currently holding them back from driving insights to action.
Comment from Fred Balboni, global leader, Business Analytics and Optimization Services, IBM: The correlation between performance and managers who use analytics has important implications for organizations whether they are seeking growth, efficiency, or competitive differentiation. This study shows that when organizations use analytics to tackle their biggest challenges, they can overcome seemingly intractable challenges.
Comment from Michael S. Hopkins, editor-in-chief, MIT Sloan Management Review: Interestingly, the top performers also turn out to be the organizations most focused on improving their use of analytics and data, despite the fact that they're already ahead of the adoption curve. We discovered that the more managers know about analytics-driven management -- and see how it can create value -- the more they know that they want to know more.
About the research: To better understand how organizations are approaching analytics today, the study sampled nearly 3,000 executives and business analysts from 108 countries and 30 industries.
Contact: http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/gbs/thoughtleadership/ibv-embedding-analytics.html
The survey found a clear connection between users of analytics technology and the ability to achieve competitive differentiation and performance. Top performers are five times more likely to apply analytics rather than intuition across the widest possible range of decisions. They are two times more likely to shape future business strategies and guide day to day operations based on analytics.
The study found that despite popular opinion, organizations today are far less concerned about data deluge issues but rather feel hindered by traditional management practices. Respondents cited the top three obstacles to widespread analytics adoption in their organizations as: lack of understanding about how to apply analytics to improve their business, lack of bandwidth due to competing priorities, and lack of skills in the line of business.
The data shows that many organizations are facing a similar challenge. They are getting better at generating insights from information and analytics, but they face real difficulties in driving those insights to action.
To overcome these obstacles to using analytics in managing, the study identifies a series of steps organizations must take, including:
-- Tackle biggest challenges first: Organizations too often wait for complete data or perfect skills before they take on the opportunity to apply analytics to high-value opportunities. Consequently, they stay stalled in investment mode. Talent, however, flocks to big challenges, which command attention and incite action - increasing the odds of success.
-- Flip the equation in the approach to data and insights: Many organizations start new initiatives by gathering all of the available data on a topic and then extracting whatever insights they can get. Instead, the first step should be to identify what specific insights are needed, and then identify those pieces of data needed for answers.
-- Adopt techniques and tools best suited to business leaders: Respondents identified a strong shift in the types of analytic tools and techniques that would provide the greatest value in the next few years. Data visualization, simulation tools and techniques that help them anticipate the consequences of their decisions, explore alternative approaches and tradeoffs came out on top. Techniques like these do not require superior skills to use and can be applied by business leaders at any point in the organization.
Demonstrating that using analytics to create opportunities is central to growth and success, the study showed that leading organizations are focusing their efforts to enact meaningful and enduring business transformation while reducing the time required to do so. Organizations that use a "selective" approach to analytics are able to focus resources and efforts narrowly - generating insights critical to immediate needs and overcoming the business challenges currently holding them back from driving insights to action.
Comment from Fred Balboni, global leader, Business Analytics and Optimization Services, IBM: The correlation between performance and managers who use analytics has important implications for organizations whether they are seeking growth, efficiency, or competitive differentiation. This study shows that when organizations use analytics to tackle their biggest challenges, they can overcome seemingly intractable challenges.
Comment from Michael S. Hopkins, editor-in-chief, MIT Sloan Management Review: Interestingly, the top performers also turn out to be the organizations most focused on improving their use of analytics and data, despite the fact that they're already ahead of the adoption curve. We discovered that the more managers know about analytics-driven management -- and see how it can create value -- the more they know that they want to know more.
About the research: To better understand how organizations are approaching analytics today, the study sampled nearly 3,000 executives and business analysts from 108 countries and 30 industries.
Contact: http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/gbs/thoughtleadership/ibv-embedding-analytics.html
IT Spending Outlook Improving At Local Government Level
Eighty-six percent of government IT decision makers overall expect to replace or install software in the next six months, an increase of nine percentage points since August, according to a survey. This figure is also the highest since December 2007. Hardware outlook: Eighty-four percent of local government IT decision makers plan to replace or install hardware in the next six months, an increase of 14 percentage points since August. Software outlook: One in five IT decision makers at small businesses expect to replace or install software for a significant part of the organization in the next six months - -a record high since December 2007.
Although state and local governments have felt a financial squeeze in the aftermath of the recession, the outlook for information technology investment in the public sector is improving. Local government organizations anticipate greater IT investment in hardware and software heading into 2011.
Eighty-six percent of government IT decision makers anticipate replacing or installing software in the next six months -- an increase of nine percentage points since August 2010 and a record high since December 2007.
Despite a challenging fiscal environment, confidence is strongest among IT decision makers in the local government segment. Eighty-four percent of local government IT decision makers plan to replace or install hardware in the next six months, an increase of 14 percentage points since August. In addition, 85 percent of IT decision makers at local government agencies are planning to replace or install software in the next six months, up 10 percentage points since August 2010.
Comment from Thomas E. Richards, president and chief operating officer, CDW: Many state and local government IT decision makers appear to be prepared to spend money in order to save money in the long run. Newer technologies can help government agencies accomplish more even with reduced staff and reduce costs in key areas such as energy consumption. The uptick in confidence among small businesses that we first saw in August has remained steady in this wave of the IT Monitor. Developments such as the recent passage of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 -- with its tax benefits and lending provisions -- could also be contributing to this stabilizing effect.
In the private sector, the recent uptick in confidence among IT decision makers at small businesses first seen in the August IT Monitor held steady. Almost one in five (19 percent) expect to replace or install software for a significant part of the organization in the next six months--a record high since the inception of the IT Monitor in December 2007. In addition, 39 percent of IT decision makers at small businesses expect to replace or install new hardware over the next six months, up 3 percentage points since August and the second consecutive gain for this measure since this year's low point in June 2010 (34 percent).
The IT Growth Monitor, which measures IT investment expectations, increased six points in the government sector to 69, the highest level since August 2008. The overall CDW IT Monitor index score held steady at 72 for the sixth consecutive reading. For more information about the sentiment of IT decision makers, please .
About the survey: The CDW IT Monitor was created by CDW and research and analysis is conducted by independent polling firm Richard Day Research of Evanston, Ill. Decision makers are invited from two large national panels of IT decision makers built and maintained by E-Rewards and Survey Sampling International. Data reported in this release are based on a survey of 1,079 IT decision makers conducted between October 1 and October 8, 2010.
Contact: http://www.cdwitmonitor.com
Although state and local governments have felt a financial squeeze in the aftermath of the recession, the outlook for information technology investment in the public sector is improving. Local government organizations anticipate greater IT investment in hardware and software heading into 2011.
Eighty-six percent of government IT decision makers anticipate replacing or installing software in the next six months -- an increase of nine percentage points since August 2010 and a record high since December 2007.
Despite a challenging fiscal environment, confidence is strongest among IT decision makers in the local government segment. Eighty-four percent of local government IT decision makers plan to replace or install hardware in the next six months, an increase of 14 percentage points since August. In addition, 85 percent of IT decision makers at local government agencies are planning to replace or install software in the next six months, up 10 percentage points since August 2010.
Comment from Thomas E. Richards, president and chief operating officer, CDW: Many state and local government IT decision makers appear to be prepared to spend money in order to save money in the long run. Newer technologies can help government agencies accomplish more even with reduced staff and reduce costs in key areas such as energy consumption. The uptick in confidence among small businesses that we first saw in August has remained steady in this wave of the IT Monitor. Developments such as the recent passage of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 -- with its tax benefits and lending provisions -- could also be contributing to this stabilizing effect.
In the private sector, the recent uptick in confidence among IT decision makers at small businesses first seen in the August IT Monitor held steady. Almost one in five (19 percent) expect to replace or install software for a significant part of the organization in the next six months--a record high since the inception of the IT Monitor in December 2007. In addition, 39 percent of IT decision makers at small businesses expect to replace or install new hardware over the next six months, up 3 percentage points since August and the second consecutive gain for this measure since this year's low point in June 2010 (34 percent).
The IT Growth Monitor, which measures IT investment expectations, increased six points in the government sector to 69, the highest level since August 2008. The overall CDW IT Monitor index score held steady at 72 for the sixth consecutive reading. For more information about the sentiment of IT decision makers, please .
About the survey: The CDW IT Monitor was created by CDW and research and analysis is conducted by independent polling firm Richard Day Research of Evanston, Ill. Decision makers are invited from two large national panels of IT decision makers built and maintained by E-Rewards and Survey Sampling International. Data reported in this release are based on a survey of 1,079 IT decision makers conducted between October 1 and October 8, 2010.
Contact: http://www.cdwitmonitor.com
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Four In 10 IT Professionals Say Their 2011 IT Budgets Will Increase Over 2010 Expenditures
Forty-two percent of IT professionals reported their 2011 budgets would increase over 2010 expenditures, according to a recent study.
Only 10 percent expected their budgets to decrease from 2010 and 38 percent expected their budgets to remain the same as 2010.
Among those who anticipated that their 2011 budgets would increase over this year's expenditures, 28 percent believed the increase would be between 1 percent and 10 percent, while 34 percent believed the increase would be between 11 percent to 20 percent, 16 percent believed the increase would be between 21 percent and 30 percent, and 16 percent believe the increase would be more than 30 percent.
Although larger companies (100+ employees) were most likely to report expectations of increases, they were less likely than smaller companies to expect increases in expenditures to exceed 30 percent.
Comment from Cassie Murphey-Green, Vice President and Director of Technology Research: It appears IT professionals are cautiously optimistic. Even though for many the small expenditure increase could be primarily maintenance-related, it is still a positive sign for the economy that companies would be willing to spend a little bit more money. However, with two-thirds of IT professionals expecting their budgets to increase over 10 percent, future investing appears to be an objective.
About the survey: Decision Analyst's IT Professionals Survey was conducted online using its Technology Advisory Board (www.technologyadvisoryboard.com). The survey was conducted September 8 through September 22, 2010, and was fielded among a subset of 3,061 panelists. The margin of error was approximately 2.2 percent, plus or minus, at a 99 percent confidence level. Decision Analyst asked if they anticipated their 2011 IT expenditures would "increase compared to 2010," "remain the same as 2010" or "decrease compared to 2010."
Contact: http://www.decisionanalyst.com
Only 10 percent expected their budgets to decrease from 2010 and 38 percent expected their budgets to remain the same as 2010.
Among those who anticipated that their 2011 budgets would increase over this year's expenditures, 28 percent believed the increase would be between 1 percent and 10 percent, while 34 percent believed the increase would be between 11 percent to 20 percent, 16 percent believed the increase would be between 21 percent and 30 percent, and 16 percent believe the increase would be more than 30 percent.
Although larger companies (100+ employees) were most likely to report expectations of increases, they were less likely than smaller companies to expect increases in expenditures to exceed 30 percent.
Comment from Cassie Murphey-Green, Vice President and Director of Technology Research: It appears IT professionals are cautiously optimistic. Even though for many the small expenditure increase could be primarily maintenance-related, it is still a positive sign for the economy that companies would be willing to spend a little bit more money. However, with two-thirds of IT professionals expecting their budgets to increase over 10 percent, future investing appears to be an objective.
About the survey: Decision Analyst's IT Professionals Survey was conducted online using its Technology Advisory Board (www.technologyadvisoryboard.com). The survey was conducted September 8 through September 22, 2010, and was fielded among a subset of 3,061 panelists. The margin of error was approximately 2.2 percent, plus or minus, at a 99 percent confidence level. Decision Analyst asked if they anticipated their 2011 IT expenditures would "increase compared to 2010," "remain the same as 2010" or "decrease compared to 2010."
Contact: http://www.decisionanalyst.com
Organizations Fail To Determine How Well They Are Delivering Business Services
Organizations are failing to determine how well they are delivering business services and, as a result, are jeopardizing their customer relationships.
Sixty-eight percent of organizations have not yet adopted a service assurance solution to link real end-user experience, transactions and applications with the underlying systems and network infrastructure supporting them.
Over two-thirds of organizations have not yet adopted a service assurance solution. Asked how they would ensure a continuous user experience whilst adding cloud to the system, 30 percent would "deal with problems as and when they arise."
Comment from Philipp Descovich, VP Service Assurance, CA Technologies Europe: This survey highlights that most organizations appear to recognize the problem confronting them, but not its urgency or magnitude. It will be absolutely critical for these organizations to embrace a comprehensive service assurance strategy quickly. This will determine their ability to deliver business services across physical, virtual and cloud environments in a very competitive market.
Comment from Keith Winnard, Team Leader, Technical Services, J D Williams: Attracting and retaining customers means providing the best possible customer experience, however this can only be achieved if the underlying infrastructure offers high performance and flexibility.
About the survey: 400 senior business and IT decision makers across Europe responded to the CA Technologies commissioned survey, "Service Assurance: Accelerating Growth Through an Exceptional Customer Experience". The survey examined their attitudes towards the quality of the user experience they deliver; the increasingly complex IT platforms needed to deliver an optimum experience, and the impact both have on business success.
Contact: http://www.ca.com
Sixty-eight percent of organizations have not yet adopted a service assurance solution to link real end-user experience, transactions and applications with the underlying systems and network infrastructure supporting them.
Over two-thirds of organizations have not yet adopted a service assurance solution. Asked how they would ensure a continuous user experience whilst adding cloud to the system, 30 percent would "deal with problems as and when they arise."
Comment from Philipp Descovich, VP Service Assurance, CA Technologies Europe: This survey highlights that most organizations appear to recognize the problem confronting them, but not its urgency or magnitude. It will be absolutely critical for these organizations to embrace a comprehensive service assurance strategy quickly. This will determine their ability to deliver business services across physical, virtual and cloud environments in a very competitive market.
Comment from Keith Winnard, Team Leader, Technical Services, J D Williams: Attracting and retaining customers means providing the best possible customer experience, however this can only be achieved if the underlying infrastructure offers high performance and flexibility.
About the survey: 400 senior business and IT decision makers across Europe responded to the CA Technologies commissioned survey, "Service Assurance: Accelerating Growth Through an Exceptional Customer Experience". The survey examined their attitudes towards the quality of the user experience they deliver; the increasingly complex IT platforms needed to deliver an optimum experience, and the impact both have on business success.
Contact: http://www.ca.com
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Healthcare IT Market Will Soon Consolidate Into A Small Handful Of Superstores
The U.S. Healthcare Information Technology market is in the early phases of a massive consolidation that will ultimately devolve into a handful of mega firms that form Healthcare IT superstores -- or "Healthcare Information Networks," according to a recent survey.
The confluence of technologies is at a pivotal point to enable radical changes at relatively reasonable costs. In addition to continuing advancement in the field of medicine, major breakthroughs in telecommunication, data management, infrastructure, and analytics technologies have laid the foundation for more innovative solutions for the industry.
In the not too distant future, a few companies will emerge to lead the healthcare information industry much as Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters lead the financial information technology arena.
A few companies will successfully integrate the key components of a healthcare information network -- and thereby will be in a position to set industry standards. From that position, they will be positioned to provide comprehensive integrated information, analytics, communication, administrative, clinical and revenue cycle management tasks all via a seamless network, accessed through the web or dedicated terminals. The future will involve providers, payers and patients who conduct the majority of their healthcare business through these integrated, seamless, real-time Healthcare Information Networks.
Another prediction: a quickening pace of M&A between administrative (payer and provider sides), revenue cycle management, and analytics businesses. Payers will take a more active part in individualizing medicine in order to avoid becoming commoditized.
There is an increasing trend toward outsourcing, which will lead to the creation of a new breed of BPO companies that will focus on managing the information flow in many of the HIEs (Health Information Exchanges).
Several companies may be looking to build the next generation Healthcare Information Network including incumbents in the healthcare IT industry such as Ingenix (a wholly-owned subsidiary of unitedhealth group), to telecommunication or large technology companies like Verizon, AT&T or Microsoft and IBM.
Comment from Afsaneh Naimollah, partner at Marlin & Associates: The responses reveal that that the social and economic imperatives for a better healthcare system have never been so pronounced. Solving the cost of healthcare from the fringes has never worked. Now, with the healthcare IT mandates in the federal healthcare reform bill, coupled with a stream of superior technologies, we are finally in a position for technology to have a measurable impact on the costs and the quality of care delivery. Payers have to invent new products and pricing such as pay for performance with providers or behavioral based premiums for the consumers. It is the only way that they can stave off the commoditization train. Verizon, AT&T, etc. all have pieces of the puzzle. The question is: Which firm will be first to assemble a truly comprehensive information and transactional healthcare platform? You need vision, money and the right leadership to get there, not a small task if you are creating a comprehensive healthcare platform.
Government standards have been helpful, but ultimately the private sector will set the standards for the industry; just as Microsoft and Intel set technology standards in the 1980s.
About the report: The market commentary was issued by Marlin & Associates, a financial advisory firm specializing in the technology and healthcare industries. "BACK TO THE FUTURE: HEALTHCARE REBOOTED" offers five predictions on the future of healthcare IT.
Contact: Download the report here.
The confluence of technologies is at a pivotal point to enable radical changes at relatively reasonable costs. In addition to continuing advancement in the field of medicine, major breakthroughs in telecommunication, data management, infrastructure, and analytics technologies have laid the foundation for more innovative solutions for the industry.
In the not too distant future, a few companies will emerge to lead the healthcare information industry much as Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters lead the financial information technology arena.
A few companies will successfully integrate the key components of a healthcare information network -- and thereby will be in a position to set industry standards. From that position, they will be positioned to provide comprehensive integrated information, analytics, communication, administrative, clinical and revenue cycle management tasks all via a seamless network, accessed through the web or dedicated terminals. The future will involve providers, payers and patients who conduct the majority of their healthcare business through these integrated, seamless, real-time Healthcare Information Networks.
Another prediction: a quickening pace of M&A between administrative (payer and provider sides), revenue cycle management, and analytics businesses. Payers will take a more active part in individualizing medicine in order to avoid becoming commoditized.
There is an increasing trend toward outsourcing, which will lead to the creation of a new breed of BPO companies that will focus on managing the information flow in many of the HIEs (Health Information Exchanges).
Several companies may be looking to build the next generation Healthcare Information Network including incumbents in the healthcare IT industry such as Ingenix (a wholly-owned subsidiary of unitedhealth group), to telecommunication or large technology companies like Verizon, AT&T or Microsoft and IBM.
Comment from Afsaneh Naimollah, partner at Marlin & Associates: The responses reveal that that the social and economic imperatives for a better healthcare system have never been so pronounced. Solving the cost of healthcare from the fringes has never worked. Now, with the healthcare IT mandates in the federal healthcare reform bill, coupled with a stream of superior technologies, we are finally in a position for technology to have a measurable impact on the costs and the quality of care delivery. Payers have to invent new products and pricing such as pay for performance with providers or behavioral based premiums for the consumers. It is the only way that they can stave off the commoditization train. Verizon, AT&T, etc. all have pieces of the puzzle. The question is: Which firm will be first to assemble a truly comprehensive information and transactional healthcare platform? You need vision, money and the right leadership to get there, not a small task if you are creating a comprehensive healthcare platform.
Government standards have been helpful, but ultimately the private sector will set the standards for the industry; just as Microsoft and Intel set technology standards in the 1980s.
About the report: The market commentary was issued by Marlin & Associates, a financial advisory firm specializing in the technology and healthcare industries. "BACK TO THE FUTURE: HEALTHCARE REBOOTED" offers five predictions on the future of healthcare IT.
Contact: Download the report here.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Consumer Devices, Social Media and Video May Be Causing Company IT Policies To Bend Or Break
There is a disconnect between IT policies and workers, especially as employees strive to work in a more mobile fashion and use numerous devices, social media and new forms of communication such as video, a new survey has found. As technology trends alter the way businesses communicate and operate, more than two-thirds of workers surveyed believed their companies' IT policies could be improved, and at least two of every five (41 percent) said they break those policies to meet their needs.
Key findings from the Cisco study:
1. Employee Awareness and Adherence to IT Policies
-- The study revealed that while most companies have IT policies (82 percent), about one in four employees (24 percent) are unaware that such policies exist. An additional 23 percent reported that their companies do not have IT policies on acceptable device usage. When combined, almost half of the workers in the study (47 percent) either do not have an IT policy on device usage or do not know that one exists.
-- For those employees who have an IT policy, 35 percent say IT does not provide an explanation or rationale for why it exists, which can result in apathy, misunderstanding and selective compliance.
-- Among workers aware of IT policy, about two of three (64 percent) feel it could use some improvement. These employees believe policies could be updated to reflect real-world needs and work styles, such as finding an acceptable medium between device usage, social media, mobility and work flexibility.
-- Of those employees who admit to breaking IT policies, about two of every five (41 percent) say it's because they need restricted programs and applications to get the job done -- they're simply trying to be more productive and efficient.
-- One of five (20 percent) employees worldwide said they break IT policy because they believe their company or IT team will not enforce it.
-- This research points to an issue among many businesses worldwide: the need to re-evaluate and update IT policies to align with the growing reality of a workforce that is demanding more enablement to be connected anywhere, anytime, with any device and any information in their work and personal lives.
2. IT Policy Toward Employee Use of Social Media, Devices
-- Social media use is restricted to varying degrees around the world and per company. Although half (51 percent) of the employees surveyed worldwide believe social media, while not work-related, contributes to work-life balance, two of five (41 percent) said they are restricted from using Facebook at their job, and one of three (35 percent) is restricted from using Twitter at work or with work devices.
-- More than one in four (28 percent) workers are restricted from using instant messaging at work or with work devices, and one in five (21 percent) are restricted from doing personal e-mail on work devices and during work hours.
-- Two of every three employees (64 percent) believe their IT teams and companies should loosen up and allow social media use during work hours with work devices, citing work-life balance as a key reason, particularly because many of them can work in a mobile, distributed fashion and put in longer hours as a result.
-- The use of personal devices like iPads and iPhones is also restricted to some degree. Globally, almost one in five (18 percent) employees are not allowed to use their iPods at work, and almost one in five (18 percent) are restricted from using personal devices like employee-owned laptops or phones.
-- The majority of employees (66 percent) believe they should be able to connect freely with any device -- personal or company-issued -- and access the applications and information that they need around the clock. Policy or no policy, many employees will simply do it, raising the question about how effective a policy is and how IT can update, enforce and ensure better compliance.
3. The Rise of Video in the Workplace
-- The use of video is on the rise as a form of consumer and enterprise communication. Globally, more than two-thirds of IT professionals (68 percent) feel that the importance of video communications to their company will increase in the future. This sentiment is particularly true among those in Mexico (85 percent), China (85 percent), Brazil (82 percent), and Spain (82 percent).
-- However, not all employees who wish to use video communications in the workplace are able to do so today. About two in five employees (41percent) said they cannot use video as a communications tool at work, with more than half of employees in the United States (53 percent), the United Kingdom (55 percent), Germany (55 percent) and France (60 percent) not having the capability of using video for workplace communications.
About the study: The study was commissioned by Cisco and conducted by InsightExpress, a third-party market research firm based in the United States. Cisco commissioned the study to maintain its understanding of present-day challenges that companies face as they strive to address employee and business needs amid increasing mobility capabilities, security risks, and technologies that can deliver applications and information more ubiquitously -- from virtualized data centers and cloud computing to traditional wired and wireless networks.
Comment from Marie Hattar, vice president, Borderless Networks, Cisco: The time spent between work and personal lives has blurred. Employees expect to access networks, applications and information anywhere, at any time, on any device. With the expansion of diverse devices in the workplace, along with the growth of video as a favored mode of communication, IT organizations are facing many policy and management demands on their networking infrastructure. The good news is that IT departments can allow employees to be productive and satisfy their desire to socially network on consumer or company-issued devices through the agility and flexibility provided by a Cisco Borderless Network Architecture.
Comment from Nasrin Rezai, senior director, Cisco Security: While most companies have IT policies, employees are not always aware of or knowledgeable about them. For those employees who are cognizant, policies are not always considered up-to-date or reflective of real-world business and lifestyle expectations, and as a result they are broken many times. The Cisco Connected World Report spotlights the disconnect between IT, employees and policies. As workforces become more distributed and the consumerization of IT becomes a fact of mainstream life, the importance of updating appropriate policies to accommodate employee needs while balancing risk and security becomes critical.
Contact: http://www.cisco.com
Key findings from the Cisco study:
1. Employee Awareness and Adherence to IT Policies
-- The study revealed that while most companies have IT policies (82 percent), about one in four employees (24 percent) are unaware that such policies exist. An additional 23 percent reported that their companies do not have IT policies on acceptable device usage. When combined, almost half of the workers in the study (47 percent) either do not have an IT policy on device usage or do not know that one exists.
-- For those employees who have an IT policy, 35 percent say IT does not provide an explanation or rationale for why it exists, which can result in apathy, misunderstanding and selective compliance.
-- Among workers aware of IT policy, about two of three (64 percent) feel it could use some improvement. These employees believe policies could be updated to reflect real-world needs and work styles, such as finding an acceptable medium between device usage, social media, mobility and work flexibility.
-- Of those employees who admit to breaking IT policies, about two of every five (41 percent) say it's because they need restricted programs and applications to get the job done -- they're simply trying to be more productive and efficient.
-- One of five (20 percent) employees worldwide said they break IT policy because they believe their company or IT team will not enforce it.
-- This research points to an issue among many businesses worldwide: the need to re-evaluate and update IT policies to align with the growing reality of a workforce that is demanding more enablement to be connected anywhere, anytime, with any device and any information in their work and personal lives.
2. IT Policy Toward Employee Use of Social Media, Devices
-- Social media use is restricted to varying degrees around the world and per company. Although half (51 percent) of the employees surveyed worldwide believe social media, while not work-related, contributes to work-life balance, two of five (41 percent) said they are restricted from using Facebook at their job, and one of three (35 percent) is restricted from using Twitter at work or with work devices.
-- More than one in four (28 percent) workers are restricted from using instant messaging at work or with work devices, and one in five (21 percent) are restricted from doing personal e-mail on work devices and during work hours.
-- Two of every three employees (64 percent) believe their IT teams and companies should loosen up and allow social media use during work hours with work devices, citing work-life balance as a key reason, particularly because many of them can work in a mobile, distributed fashion and put in longer hours as a result.
-- The use of personal devices like iPads and iPhones is also restricted to some degree. Globally, almost one in five (18 percent) employees are not allowed to use their iPods at work, and almost one in five (18 percent) are restricted from using personal devices like employee-owned laptops or phones.
-- The majority of employees (66 percent) believe they should be able to connect freely with any device -- personal or company-issued -- and access the applications and information that they need around the clock. Policy or no policy, many employees will simply do it, raising the question about how effective a policy is and how IT can update, enforce and ensure better compliance.
3. The Rise of Video in the Workplace
-- The use of video is on the rise as a form of consumer and enterprise communication. Globally, more than two-thirds of IT professionals (68 percent) feel that the importance of video communications to their company will increase in the future. This sentiment is particularly true among those in Mexico (85 percent), China (85 percent), Brazil (82 percent), and Spain (82 percent).
-- However, not all employees who wish to use video communications in the workplace are able to do so today. About two in five employees (41percent) said they cannot use video as a communications tool at work, with more than half of employees in the United States (53 percent), the United Kingdom (55 percent), Germany (55 percent) and France (60 percent) not having the capability of using video for workplace communications.
About the study: The study was commissioned by Cisco and conducted by InsightExpress, a third-party market research firm based in the United States. Cisco commissioned the study to maintain its understanding of present-day challenges that companies face as they strive to address employee and business needs amid increasing mobility capabilities, security risks, and technologies that can deliver applications and information more ubiquitously -- from virtualized data centers and cloud computing to traditional wired and wireless networks.
Comment from Marie Hattar, vice president, Borderless Networks, Cisco: The time spent between work and personal lives has blurred. Employees expect to access networks, applications and information anywhere, at any time, on any device. With the expansion of diverse devices in the workplace, along with the growth of video as a favored mode of communication, IT organizations are facing many policy and management demands on their networking infrastructure. The good news is that IT departments can allow employees to be productive and satisfy their desire to socially network on consumer or company-issued devices through the agility and flexibility provided by a Cisco Borderless Network Architecture.
Comment from Nasrin Rezai, senior director, Cisco Security: While most companies have IT policies, employees are not always aware of or knowledgeable about them. For those employees who are cognizant, policies are not always considered up-to-date or reflective of real-world business and lifestyle expectations, and as a result they are broken many times. The Cisco Connected World Report spotlights the disconnect between IT, employees and policies. As workforces become more distributed and the consumerization of IT becomes a fact of mainstream life, the importance of updating appropriate policies to accommodate employee needs while balancing risk and security becomes critical.
Contact: http://www.cisco.com
Three-quarters Of IT Departments Are Working To Reduce Energy Use
Three-quarters of U.S. organizations are working to reduce energy use in IT operations, from the desktop to the data center, a survey has found. Two-thirds of respondents say understanding best practices in energy efficient IT is critical to their profession.
Organizations undertake IT energy reduction efforts for two good reasons: cost savings and reduced environmental impact. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that each basic office outfitted with an energy-efficient desktop computer, LCD monitor and multi-function device such as a printer/copy machine can save $365 throughout the life of the equipment. Meanwhile, a 2008 McKinsey & Company study projects that the world's data centers will outstrip the airline industry in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
Energy reduction efforts are paying off. Of those organizations that are already actively managing IT energy use, 56 percent have reduced their annual IT energy costs by 1 percent or more -- up from 39 percent in 2008.
Energy efficiency has increased importance in the purchasing equation, with 39 percent indicating that it is a very important consideration when purchasing new equipment, compared to 26 percent in 2009. In addition, many organizations are taking innovative approaches to reducing IT energy use.
Two-thirds are doing at least one of the following:
-- Deploying more power-efficient core switches
-- Replacing edge and workgroup switches with more power-efficient switches
-- Using the network as a platform to manage and reduce energy use
-- Adopting 10GB Ethernet, Infiniband technologies
-- Reducing storage area network infrastructure by implementing Fibre-channel Over Ethernet (FcOE)
-- Moving to top-of-rack models for access layer switching
Many organizations are pursuing data center consolidation to reduce IT energy costs. Data centers, which deliver IT services such as data storage, communications and Internet accessibility, account for 1.5 percent of total U.S. electricity consumption at a cost of $4.5 billion annually. In June, the EPA projected that amount would nearly double in the next five years.
Seventy-nine percent of organizations have or are developing a strategy to consolidate the servers, storage devices, power management tools and other equipment that comprise data centers. Sixty percent of those say reducing energy consumption is a top driver for consolidation, second only to reducing data center hardware, software and operations expenditures (61 percent).
Comment from Norm Lillis, vice president, system solutions, at CDW: Energy efficiency is no longer an afterthought, but a key requirement in many organizations' IT purchasing plans. Not only is excess energy consumption a drain on budgets, it also limits the ability of IT managers to provide more and better IT services to employees and customers when aging data centers approach the limits of their power sources. Improving energy efficiency is often the only way to enable improved computing performance in a power-constrained environment. In many organizations, the majority of tasks have moved to the IT network -- routine telecommunications, audio and video conferencing, financial transactions and records, document management and more -- increasing demands on the IT department exponentially. Controlling energy use in the data center goes hand in glove with enabling growth of application provisioning, communications infrastructure and data storage in the same physical space.
About the report: CDW LLC's 2010 Energy Efficient IT Report is based on a July survey of 756 information technology (IT) professionals in the public and private sectors who purchase IT equipment. Now in its third year, CDW's annual Energy Efficient IT Report examines where energy efficiency ranks among IT priorities, how organizations are improving efficiency and challenges that hinder the achievement of efficiency goals. CDW surveyed 756 IT professionals in business; Federal, state and local government; and K-12 and higher education.
Contact: http://www.cdw.com/energyefficientIT
Organizations undertake IT energy reduction efforts for two good reasons: cost savings and reduced environmental impact. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that each basic office outfitted with an energy-efficient desktop computer, LCD monitor and multi-function device such as a printer/copy machine can save $365 throughout the life of the equipment. Meanwhile, a 2008 McKinsey & Company study projects that the world's data centers will outstrip the airline industry in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
Energy reduction efforts are paying off. Of those organizations that are already actively managing IT energy use, 56 percent have reduced their annual IT energy costs by 1 percent or more -- up from 39 percent in 2008.
Energy efficiency has increased importance in the purchasing equation, with 39 percent indicating that it is a very important consideration when purchasing new equipment, compared to 26 percent in 2009. In addition, many organizations are taking innovative approaches to reducing IT energy use.
Two-thirds are doing at least one of the following:
-- Deploying more power-efficient core switches
-- Replacing edge and workgroup switches with more power-efficient switches
-- Using the network as a platform to manage and reduce energy use
-- Adopting 10GB Ethernet, Infiniband technologies
-- Reducing storage area network infrastructure by implementing Fibre-channel Over Ethernet (FcOE)
-- Moving to top-of-rack models for access layer switching
Many organizations are pursuing data center consolidation to reduce IT energy costs. Data centers, which deliver IT services such as data storage, communications and Internet accessibility, account for 1.5 percent of total U.S. electricity consumption at a cost of $4.5 billion annually. In June, the EPA projected that amount would nearly double in the next five years.
Seventy-nine percent of organizations have or are developing a strategy to consolidate the servers, storage devices, power management tools and other equipment that comprise data centers. Sixty percent of those say reducing energy consumption is a top driver for consolidation, second only to reducing data center hardware, software and operations expenditures (61 percent).
Comment from Norm Lillis, vice president, system solutions, at CDW: Energy efficiency is no longer an afterthought, but a key requirement in many organizations' IT purchasing plans. Not only is excess energy consumption a drain on budgets, it also limits the ability of IT managers to provide more and better IT services to employees and customers when aging data centers approach the limits of their power sources. Improving energy efficiency is often the only way to enable improved computing performance in a power-constrained environment. In many organizations, the majority of tasks have moved to the IT network -- routine telecommunications, audio and video conferencing, financial transactions and records, document management and more -- increasing demands on the IT department exponentially. Controlling energy use in the data center goes hand in glove with enabling growth of application provisioning, communications infrastructure and data storage in the same physical space.
About the report: CDW LLC's 2010 Energy Efficient IT Report is based on a July survey of 756 information technology (IT) professionals in the public and private sectors who purchase IT equipment. Now in its third year, CDW's annual Energy Efficient IT Report examines where energy efficiency ranks among IT priorities, how organizations are improving efficiency and challenges that hinder the achievement of efficiency goals. CDW surveyed 756 IT professionals in business; Federal, state and local government; and K-12 and higher education.
Contact: http://www.cdw.com/energyefficientIT
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