News

Mobile Startups: Tip of the Iceberg, Say Venture Capitalists

At this week's DEMO Fall 2011, mobile startups trying to bridge the physical and digital worlds often didn't aim high enough and received mixed reviews from venture capitalists and former entrepreneurs.

Cloud Power: How to Save Energy with Cloud Computing

Storing, managing and extracting value from data consumes a great deal of energy, and though the increase in data and energy consumption is somewhat manageable now, at the pace it is evolving it soon won't be. The solution is in the cloud.

Consumerization, Innovation, And The Future Role of Sourcing and Vendor Management

Consumerization, strategic partnerships, and the demand from the business for emerging technologies are quickly becoming the key drivers of the Sourcing & Vendor Management (SVM) agenda. In fact, without SVM making significant changes in how it

CMOs and CIOs Tackle Technology: Q&A with Robert Mead, CMO and Michael Mathias, CIO at Aetna

Recently my colleague David Cooperstein and I had the opportunity to meet with Robert Mead and Michael Mathias, the CMO and CIO respectively at Aetna.

Facebook Lets You Subscribe to Strangers’ Posts…Sort Of

A new Subscribe button lets users follow people's public posts even if they're not friends. Here's what you need to know about the new feature, and how to determine if it's for you.

Easing Security Concerns Associated with Going Wireless

M&a: Second Wave, Or No Wave Ahead?

With companies sitting on record cash amounts, and equity values down, many finance experts expect an acquisition boom looms.

CFOs in a Post-PC World

The recent news of Hewlett-Packard looking to unload its PC division in a spin-off is a clear sign that we are entering a new age of computing.

Social Startups Kick the Tires: Great Spin or Retread?

Social media startups spin their offerings at DEMO Fall 2011. Can they convince people to sign up?

Fed. Government Pays IT Contractors Nearly Twice As Much As Its Own IT Workers

The federal government pays IT outsourcing companies nearly twice as much for computer engineering services as it pays its own computer engineers and 1.5 times more for IT management work, according to non-profit watchdog group the Project on Governm

How to Build a Turnkey Private and Hybrid Cloud

CIOs and data center managers are hesitant to place important data and applications in the public cloud. As a result, turnkey, ready to go, cloud solutions have become very popular. Here are the three essential elements that should constitute any tur

How to Organize Your Office and Boost Your Productivity

The average executive wastes six weeks every year searching for paper, according to certified professional organizer Ellen Delap. Maintaining an organized office where you can find items quickly and easily saves time and makes you more efficient, eff

Windows 8 Unveiled Again: Metro UI Steals the Show

Windows 8 was the hot subject of the Microsoft Build conference keynote, from the ease of creating Windows 8 apps to the OS's ability to run on different devices. But it was the new Metro user interface that generated the most buzz. Here's

Can’t pour old IT into new bottles

Citrix Receiver for PlayBook: Virtualization on BlackBerry Tablet

BlackBerry-maker RIM has released a free, beta version of the Citrix Receiver enterprise virtualization software for the PlayBook tablet. Organizations that use Citrix to host applications can now security check Citrix-based e-mail, view documents an

The Enlightenment still matters

Scientists and engineers rely on evidence and logic. This is usually the superior approach, but it doesn't make the scientists and engineers superior.

Private PaaS: The Convergence of Private Cloud & Enterprise Architecture

Private cloud and enterprise architecture have converged into Private PaaS which will not only change the private enterprise IT landscape, but will lead to the next era of enterprise IT for years to come.

Facebook Privacy: Uncovering 5 Important Settings

Three weeks after Facebook launched new privacy controls, these supposedly simpler settings have some users stumped. Here's where you can find five important settings that you need to revisit today.

Enterprise Startups: A Long Road Ahead

This year's crop of DEMO startups targeting the enterprise space face big challenges.

Fugly BlackBerry “Knight R47/9980” Appears to be Legit ‘Berry of Some Sort

Images and video of what, on first glance, appear to be some sort of ugly, Chinese knock-off BlackBerry may actually be a legitimate upcoming smartphone from RIM–rumors even suggest the BlackBerry "Knight 9980/R47" could be a limited editi

iPad Goes to Hollywood

iPads are fast-becoming a familiar sight on the sets of "Mad Men," "How I Met Your Mother," "The Mentalist," "CSI" and others. Thank the Apple geeks for bringing some excitement to the awkward Silicon Valley-Ho

Cloud Computing for Consumers: The Downsides

Cloud computing services make your digital life easier, but there are shortcomings such as outages, data leaks and vendor lock-in. Here are some ways to get by without the cloud and a few tips on when the cloud makes sense.

One CIO Shares the Secrets to Successful IT Transformation

David Banks, the first CIO ever at Cumberland-Gulf, kept asserting the importance of the CIO role while accelerating the companyu2019s IT transformation.

Android How To: Wipe Device Clean, Restore Factory Settings

In several situations, Google Android users will want to erase all the data on their smartphones and tablets and restore them to default settings. The following four-step process walks you through wiping your Android good and clean.

Tech Titans We Will Miss and Ones Better Off Dismissed

In the wake of Carol Bartz's firing from Yahoo, let's take a look at how tech CEOs' personalities and business tactics defined or are defining their companies, for good or ill. Here are 10 dynamic current and former tech CEOs, some we

Facebook Tests New “Auto-Grouping” Friend Lists Feature

Facebook is experimenting with a new Google+-esque "auto-grouping" Friend list feature meant to streamline sharing on the social network, as well as provide users with more sharing controls.

Getting Windows 8 Tablets Right: It’s Kind of a Big Deal

Microsoft is doing a full-fledged unveiling of Windows 8 tablets, which if successful in the real world, could solve a lot of Redmond's problems.

Obama Jobs Plan: How IT Workers Will Benefit

Obama's job creation plan, the American Jobs Act, which he unveiled in a speech to Congress last night, is designed to get people across industries back to work and to put more money in their paychecks. Though it's primarily focused on cons

Define Your Social Ecosystem

One of the many interesting topics of discussion we get into in our Social Business Strategy workshops is around the social ecosystem. This is the name I have given the collection of business capabilities potentially enhanced by one or more social te

The Language of C-Suite Deceit

Fascinating Stanford paper instructs how to tell if a CEO, or a CFO, is lying about the numbers

What Jobs Crisis? CFOs Seek Finance Hires

Despite overall worries about how to reduce joblessness — which President Obama will put on display tonight — the fourth quarter looks like a strong one for finance hiring, CFOs say.

I Create, Therefore I’m a CFO

Half the battle in finance, though, is getting others to see the creative streak in finance — and recognizing it ourselves.

9/11: Stranded on a Ship with 100 CIOs

CIO Executive Council VP Rick Pastore recalls his experience on Sept. 11, 2001 spent with New York-area CIOs trapped and powerless aboard a ship with little communication and no way to return to port.

Assessing the Impact of Application Virtualization

Server virtualization gets more buzz, but application virtualization might provide more significant business benefits in the long run.

Cloud Computing: SaaS ERP Revs Up Auto Parts Supplier

Auto parts supplier Inteva Products opted for a cloud-based SaaS ERP solution over a $15 million SAP project.

10 Best Android Tablet Apps for News Junkies

CIO.com's gadget guru Al Sacco spotlights 10 great applications for your Android tablet that will keep you up to date on news, sports, entertainment, stocks and much more. These apps look great and perform even better–and most are free.

How To Mitigate Risk in an Overheated Outsourcing Market

As global sourcing vendors are being given more responsibility from a technical and business perspective it is more important than ever to continuously evaluate and monitor vendor performance. Forrester has some recommendations on how to mitigate ris

Job Search: Which LinkedIn Connections Are Most Valuable

IT director Henry Hirschel has identified three kinds of LinkedIn connections, and of the three, which one is the most helpful and responsive in a job search.

Google+ Tips: 4 Tools to Boost Your Social Networking Experience

Getting the hang of Google+ and looking for more? Check out these four Google+ tools that let you easily upload photos in bulk, find new people to follow, translate posts and more.

Cloud Computing: What You Need to Know About PaaS

PaaS, or Platform as a Service, development offerings bring tremendous power and productivity to IT departments, along with a host of new challenges. Bernard Golden explains what CIOs need to know about this nascent segment of the cloud computing mar

Spiceworks Spices Up Interactions Between IT Pros

Leaders Have to Learn the Job, Just Like Everyone Else

Newly promoted leaders, and leaders promoted to higher levels of leadership, need to learn new techniques to succeed in their new roles. Fail to give them the opportunity to learn these techniques and you're setting them up for failure.

Behind the Replacement of Yahoo’s Carol Bartz

Yahoo chief financial officer Tim Morse — a veteran of the power General Electric finance-development powerhouse — has been chosen on an interim basis to replace the fired Carol Bartz.

Cases of Ex-CFOs in Legal Trouble Wrapped Up

It has been a relief-filled week so far for ex-CFOs facing difficult legal circumstances — one from New York drugstore chain Duane Reade, and the other a former finance chief at AOL.

Survey: Value of the Cloud, Telecommuting Overstated

In a recent survey of mid-market IT decision-makers, cloud computing adoption and support for telecommuting had surprisingly low scores. Both are still seen as an option and not an answer.

Project Management: A Simple Way to Identify Problems with IT Projects

Identifying problems with IT projects before they get out of hand really isn't that hard. All you have to do is ask project team members where they think the project might go wrong.

IT Outsourcing: What HP’s Latest Strategy Change Means for Customers

Will HP deliver on its promise of bold transformation and innovation in IT services? Its outsourcing customers shouldn't wait to find out, IT analysts say.

Job Search: Why You Should Include Volunteer Work on Your Resume

Bucking conventional career wisdom, LinkedIn says volunteer work is an important — yet often overlooked — component of resumes. To help members showcase their volunteer work, the professional networking site has announced a new profile section wher

A simple way to identify problems with IT projects

Identifying problems with IT projects before they get out of hand really isn't that hard. All you have to do is ask project team members where they think the project might go wrong.

Apple Gets Cozy with SF Police

Like a George Orwell novel, it's getting hard to distinguish between Apple private investigators and police officers.