News

6 tips to avoid automation disaster

If your automated DevOps pipeline or robotic process automation is flawed, it can spawn endless headaches, as these hard-learned real-world lessons attest.

By Josh Fruhlinger

Feb 24, 2020 12 mins

BPM Systems Devops IT Strategy

Concordance harmonizes ERP for healthy growth

When three distributors of health care products joined forces, they had to merge IT teams and settle on a common ERP before they could deliver tools for growth.

By Peter Sayer

Feb 24, 2020

ERP Systems IT Leadership Mergers and Acquisitions

Creating a new funding model for product-based IT

Shifting from project-based funding to product team-based funding is a major cultural and operational change u2013 but can result in better relationships with business partners, and less expensive, more efficient ways to deliver higher-quality produc

By Michael Bertha

Feb 21, 2020 10 mins

Budgeting IT Governance IT Leadership

The CIO’s chief of staff: A role to bridge business and IT

The chief of staff role is taking on prominence in companies looking to bolster their IT leadership benches. Amanda Clarke discusses her experience in the role at Newport News Shipbuilding.

By Clint Boulton

Feb 21, 2020 6 mins

Business IT Alignment Careers IT Leadership

The two things customers want from cloud vendors

Cloud vendors could go a long way toward building trust with their customers and differentiating themselves in the market with two key changes in their approach.

By Adam Mansfield

Feb 20, 2020

Cloud Computing

IBM puts Power Systems in SAP’s cloud

SAP and IBM offer a new (certified) home for big databases in SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud.

By Peter Sayer

Feb 19, 2020

IBM SAP Technology Industry

The 12 CIO skills every company wants

How one executive recruiter assesses the talent market

By Martha Heller

Feb 19, 2020

CIO Careers

How to harness the promise of ‘citizen developers’

With talent in short supply, IT is turning to end users to fulfill app dev needs. But turning these u2018citizen developersu2019 into business assets takes foresight and strategy.

By Bob Violino

Feb 19, 2020

Software Development

Winter 2020: Gender gapped

The tech sector has made strides attracting more women and inching closer to equal pay. But a glaring disconnect remains in how men and women view gender diversity progress in IT.

By CIO staff and contributors

Feb 18, 2020 2 mins

CIO Innovation Staff Management

Career ambitions: CIOs create new paths for leveling up

The CIO post is increasingly seen as a stepping stone to other senior operational and excutive roles. So what does it take to move up in the C-suite today?

By Mary K. Pratt

Feb 18, 2020

CIO Careers IT Leadership

Making sense of machine learning

Machine learning and AI enjoy superstar status, yet most people stumble over the basic concepts — let alone obscure algorithms

By Eric Knorr

Feb 17, 2020 5 mins

Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Technology Industry

Catholic Relief Services leverages machine learning to fight hunger

Data collection and machine learning help CRS predict which households will face food scarcity within the next few months, allowing it to respond faster and more efficiently.

By Thor Olavsrud

Feb 17, 2020 6 mins

Artificial Intelligence IT Leadership Machine Learning

New H-1B application process begins March 1

Employers that rely on foreign national talent face new electronic filing system and modified registration timeline for FY 2021 filing period.

By Sharon Florentine

Feb 14, 2020

Careers H-1B Visas Staff Management

Stretch assignments help future IT leaders shine

CIOs tap trusted lieutenants for anything from strategy to applications and infrastructure leadership, ostensibly bolstering the organization's leadership bench.

By Clint Boulton

Feb 13, 2020

Careers IT Leadership

Playing the “long game” of networking to earn a board seat

Landing your first board director role is often a multi-year effort. Be prepared to expand the diversity of your connections while building your breadth of business experience.

By Maryfran Johnson

Feb 13, 2020

Careers IT Leadership

Oracle unleashes cloud-based data science platform

The database giant is leveraging assets from its acquisition of DataScience.com to deliver a new enterprise-grade, cloud-based data science platform focused on collaboration.

By Thor Olavsrud

Feb 12, 2020

Data Science Oracle Technology Industry

Telltale signs of IT dysfunction — and how to fix it

Transformational success can be derailed by a dysfunctional IT culture, the roots of which often can be traced to silos, org structures and little desire or incentive to collaborate.

By Stacy Collett

Feb 12, 2020

Business IT Alignment IT Leadership

10 hidden cloud gotchas to watch out for

The upsides of the cloud are well known. But IT leaders seeking to capitalize on cloud services should beware these cloud-specific issues that can impact your strategy — and the bottom line.

By Peter Wayner

Feb 11, 2020 10 mins

Cloud Computing

Security vs. innovation: IT’s trickiest balancing act

An innovative initiative is only as successful as it is secure. Here's how CIOs are balancing risk-taking with risk aversion.

By Bob Violino

Feb 10, 2020 12 mins

CIO Digital Transformation IT Strategy

Eli Lilly AI automates adverse reaction reporting

The 144-year-old pharmaceutical team built a platform that uses AI to process data about adverse events.

By Clint Boulton

Feb 10, 2020

Artificial Intelligence Digital Transformation Healthcare Industry

Is your patience holding you back at work?

Patience as a virtue might have made sense in the u201cFather Knows Bestu201d era, but do those rules still apply?

By Sue Weston

Feb 7, 2020

Careers

Top IT spending priorities for 2020

From data analytics to cybersecurity to customer experience, here's where CIOs will direct their IT budgets this year.

By Sharon Florentine

Feb 7, 2020

Budgeting IT Leadership IT Strategy

Bayer uses digital twins to reshape business strategy

Bayer Crop Science has created 'virtual factories' to provide dynamic digital representations of the equipment and processes for each of its nine North American corn seed manufacturing sites.

By Thor Olavsrud

Feb 6, 2020 7 mins

Data Science Digital Transformation Emerging Technology

Enterprise security in 2020: How to keep attackers out

When every employee is part of the security equation, having a security culture that includes education, collaboration between IT operations and security teams, and security tools is essential. That was the consensus among participants in a recent ID

By Clare Brown

Feb 5, 2020

Data and Information Security Security

8 dark secrets of organizational change management

In the digital era, organizational change management is crucial to business success — far too crucial to be dogged by its misconceptions and false assumptions.

By Bob Lewis

Feb 5, 2020 7 mins

Change Management Digital Transformation Project Management

4 lessons from the Hertz vs. Accenture IT disaster

A tremendous amount of information and specific insight can be gleaned by analyzing projects gone wrong. Here are four lessons IT leaders can apply to any outsourcing agreement.

By John Belden

Feb 5, 2020

Digital Transformation IBM Legal

SAP promises to support S/4HANA through 2040

The ERP vendor seeks to entice upgrades to its latest platform as it also announces there will be no support for Business Suite 7 beyond 2030.

By Peter Sayer

Feb 4, 2020

ERP Systems SAP Technology Industry

7 cloud cost management tips

As cloud budgets rocket skyward, a growing number of enterprises are looking for ways to cap costs. Check out these tips designed to bring cloud expenditures back to earth.

By John Edwards

Feb 4, 2020

Budgeting Cloud Computing

Verizon boosts customer service with NLP

The telecom giant has reduced costs and improved customer service response times by leveraging natural language processing and deep learning to automatically process requests.

By Thor Olavsrud

Feb 4, 2020 6 mins

Data Science Digital Transformation Machine Learning

6 hiring trends that are changing how IT talent is found

Struggling to fill roles? Here's how improved employee experience, internal recruiting, and sophisticated use of AI are giving some companies an IT hiring edge.

By Paul Heltzel

Feb 3, 2020 11 mins

Careers IT Leadership Staff Management

IBM blockchain automates contract labor processes

IBM has leveraged blockchain to resolve discrepancies in its contingent labor contracts. If its global rollout goes well, the tech could soon be available as an product for invoice reconciliation.

By Clint Boulton

Feb 3, 2020 6 mins

Blockchain IBM Technology Industry

6 tips for becoming a better mentor

Being a mentor can be a rewarding experience u2014 not just for those you are advising. IT leaders offer insights on how to establish strong, productive mentoring relationships.

By Sharon Florentine

Jan 31, 2020

Careers IT Leadership Staff Management

Predictive analytics help PPG customers prevent corrosion

The supplier of paints, coatings, and specialty materials has created a new analytics service to help its customers maximize the uptime and life expectancy of their industrial assets.

By Thor Olavsrud

Jan 30, 2020 5 mins

Analytics Digital Transformation IT Leadership

7 digital transformation myths

A successful digital transformation can help you outpace competitive threats. But these conventional beliefs can cause your efforts to fall short.

By Khalid Kark

Jan 29, 2020 5 mins

Digital Transformation IT Leadership

Women IT leaders bring fresh perspectives to corporate boards

Organizations with diverse corporate boards perform better, innovate more, and attract and retain better talent. Women IT leaders are ready and are heeding the call.

By Esther Shein

Jan 29, 2020

Careers Diversity and Inclusion Women in IT

The next casualty of cyberwar could be your business

We seem to live perpetually in a state of heightened alert, and companies need to ensure their security teams are prepared for a nation-state cyberattack and be able to react in a split second.

By Rick Grinnell

Jan 28, 2020

CIO CSO and CISO Cyberattacks

How to assess soft skills before you hire

In the digital era, tech skills are scarce, but soft skills like emotional intelligence, creativity and strategic thinking are the secrets to success. Hereu2019s how to ensure you hire for the intangibles.

By Christina Wood

Jan 28, 2020

Careers IT Skills Staff Management

Anheuser-Busch InBev brews data-driven transformation to lure talent

Brewing conglomerate AB InBev believes it has crafted a winning recipe to attract top Silicon Valley talent: decades of data and a commitment to emerging tech to help solve business challenges.

By Clint Boulton

Jan 28, 2020

Analytics Digital Transformation Staff Management

Engineering the hiring of engineers

Engineering is much more than just writing code u2013 itu2019s about improving a system. By re-engineering our hiring processes, we can bring much-needed efficiency and results to the system.

By Dave Mangot

Jan 27, 2020

Careers IT Jobs Staff Management

Why seek a board seat?

For those who want to go deeper into what it takes to run a company, being on a board can be a natural career progression. What it's not: easy money.

By Maryfran Johnson

Jan 27, 2020

Careers IT Leadership

7 IT restructuring mistakes to avoid

To tackle digital initiatives, IT leaders are having to rethink and reorganize how work gets done. But driving change is about much more than just overhauling org charts and business processes.

By Mary K. Pratt

Jan 27, 2020

Business IT Alignment IT Leadership IT Strategy

How IT can improve the employee experience

Employee experience is as vital as customer experience — but remains an IT afterthought. Here's how to shift your focus and provide employees with the internal IT experience they deserve.

By Mary Branscombe

Jan 24, 2020 9 mins

IT Leadership IT Management IT Strategy

For BMC, internal IT is its own best customer

BMCu2019s shift to vetting its software on the front lines of its own IT department has been a game changer for improving customer experience, says CIO Scott Crowder.

By Sharon Florentine

Jan 24, 2020

IT Leadership ITSM

The stretch assignment: A CIO’s path to burnishing business cred

Transformational projects, culture change, new roles and emerging technologies helped IT leaders from Equinix, Procter & Gamble, 84 Lumber and BP earn credibility from the business.

By Clint Boulton

Jan 23, 2020 7 mins

CIO Careers IT Leadership

Why we need geoengineering now

The notion of humans manipulating the earthu2019s albedo is controversial. It should be. Nonetheless, billions must be invested in developing solar geoengineering right away.

By Eric Knorr

Jan 22, 2020

Technology Industry

AI, automation emerge as critical tools for cybersecurity

Organizations find new ways to relieve some of the burden on security teams while shoring up defenses.

By Anne Taylor

Jan 22, 2020

Artificial Intelligence CSO and CISO Security

Avnet IT sheds operations legacy to support business transformation

Max Chan, CIO of Avnet, is changing IT to support the $19 billion global companyu2019s transformation from a distribution business into an IoT solutions provider.

By Martha Heller

Jan 22, 2020

Digital Transformation IT Leadership

7 common IT mistakes that can spark future success

Failing up: IT pros share hard-earned lessons of early-career stumbles that paved the way to long-term career success.

By Paul Heltzel

Jan 21, 2020 10 mins

Careers IT Leadership

At Barings, IT culture change pays dividends

Sometimes enterprise require a culture shake-up — or at least a culture harmonization, as Barings CIO Andy Lennon learned when he accepted the challenge of unifying up 5 organizations under on tech umbrella.

By Clint Boulton

Jan 21, 2020

Change Management Cloud Computing Digital Transformation

7 traits of successful enterprise architects

In an age of digital transformation, businesses need someone who can plan and build a forward-looking systems infrastructure. Here's how to find that elusive expert.

By John Edwards

Jan 20, 2020

Enterprise Architecture Staff Management System Management