Compliance Frameworks
Compliance frameworks are the connection between regulatory mandates and software practices. This chapter from Oracle Identity Management: Governance, Risk, and Compliance Architecture explores the nature of compliance frameworks and best practices in an attempt to direct the identity professional toward standards that enable auditable stewardship and governance of identity-related information.
E-mail Management
E-mail is probably the most common means of communication both within organizations and across organizations today. Because e-mails constitute business records, we need to define how we can manage these
business records in terms of retaining e-mails so as to comply with standards and legislation governing an organization's documents and
records. Managing e-mails is a comprehensive topic, worthy of a book on its own. However, this chapter from Document and Record Management
Systems by Azad Adam, discusses the fundamental aspects of e-mail management and how it fits into document and records management.
The Foundation of Global Development Management
Managing global development risks will be the critical skill that project managers (PMs) must master to be successful, essentially having their current skills evolve to become true global development managers (GDMs). Global development will require mastery of core project management principles such as budgeting and estimating, resource optimization, and measuring and tracking productivity combined with cultural awareness. To be successful, GDMs must learn to apply new tools along with the techniques to engage all development team members. Here is a roadmap and tools to help you successfully manage your global development project.
How Much IT Is Enough?
IT is a strategic differentiator. Often, it is a single force that determines the speed and agility of an organization. Decisions
about IT spending are a series of trade-offs. The key to making the right decisions lies in first knowing the compelling needs to achieve
the business strategy. Establishing the strategic enablers generates the focus for planning activities to achieve this desired future
state. Performance is defined differently depending on the strategic enablers critical to the business.
Outsourcing: Single Source vs. Best of Breed
In today's business world with all its complexities and nuances, specialization in operational tasks is really the better way to go. Every
operation requires so much specific knowledge that it's impossible for any one person or even one organization to possess it. While taking
a holistic approach may sound good in theory, in practice it tends to lead more to frustration and disappointment than success. When that
happens, the business almost always suffers, and often a very good supplier for certain things winds up getting judged more for what
it can't do very well than what it can.
New Internet Security Threat Report Reveals Details on Hackers Quest for Private Information
The latest Internet Security Threat Report (ISTR), Volume XIII released today by Symantec concludes that the Web is now the primary conduit of attack activity, as opposed to network attacks, and that online users can increasingly be infected simply by visiting everyday Web sites. The report also found that attackers are seeking confidential end-user information that can be fraudulently used for financial gain and are less focused on the computer or device containing the information.
Data Loss Prevention: Where Do We Go From Here?
Data loss prvention is fast becoming one of the most overused yet misunderstood acronyms in an industry known for its cryptic abbreviations. The popular label for data loss prevention is appearing on a puzzling variety of security products, adding to the confusion and hype. Meanwhile, the debate continues over where DLP should be deployed: on the network or the endpoint? What about stored data? And does it matter whether DLP is deployed as a standalone solution or as a feature in a broader product portfolio? To address those questions, organizations must first understand what DLP is, why it is important, and how it works.
Best Practices for Deploying WAN Optimization with Data Replication: Keys for Successful Data Protection across the WAN
All too often, the Wide Area Network (WAN) link is the weak link in data protection. As data volumes
grow, and as the distance between data centers increases to protect business data from catastrophic disasters, there is
increasing pressure being placed on the WAN. This has heightened the demand for optimization tools that can improve
data replication times across the WAN while maximizing bandwidth efficiency during these processes. By understanding
these requirements and establishing guidelines for addressing them, WAN optimization can be deployed with maximum
effectiveness. As such, WAN optimization can live up to its potential as a key enabler for strategic disaster recovery
initiatives.
Nearshoring: A Smart Alternative to Offshore
If offshoring's days are numbered, it should come as no surprise that household names have set up shop south of the border, nearer than any would have imagined when offshoring began in the 1980s. Look for those numbers to grow exponentially as more companies learn of the nearshoring option.
Millenial Workforce: IT Risk or Benefit?
They are here ... the Millennials that is. And according to a new Symantec study,
"Millennial Workforce: IT Risk or Benefit," this should be a real wake-up call to CIOs. Trying to implement IT risk
management policies with a millennial workforce--one that has been labeled as risk takers--is very problematic. The
study was conducted with 200 respondents each from the millennial workforce (born after 1980), the older workforce
(born before 1980), and IT executives and professionals, to better understand this problem and the potential IT risk
issues surrounding the emergence of this new tech savvy workforce. Clearly, the study reveals there is potential for
huge risk exposure: data loss, compliance issues, legal implications, and other problems.
The People IT Needs Don't Want to Work in IT
Both Enterprise IT and outsourcers can still attract hard-core computer nerds because working with computers and technology is all the fun they need - at least for a few years. I have nothing against computer nerds, but having too many computer nerds in IT is one of the main reasons why many enterprises think IT is not doing a good job of supporting their business and competitive initiatives. If enterprise IT wants to attract and hold onto more non-nerds, it is going to have to make some fundamental changes in its work environment. Here are four action items on making enterprise IT a more attractive career option.
Mobile Devices and Centralized Computing Redefine the Desktop
If access to corporate data via a mobile device hinges upon a PC-like model for security and management, we might
just be out of luck. Thankfully, an emerging computing architecture that is beginning to
make waves in the enterprise space offers an alternative. Not only does this new paradigm offer a way to effectively
leverage mobile devices, making them a useful part of the IT infrastructure, it also mitigates many of the cost and
management burdens identified earlier. This seismic shift that is altering the enterprise computing landscape is known
as "centralized computing" or "virtual desktop infrastructure."
Why Flexibility Is Key to a Successful Data Migration
Data migration has rapidly risen from distant acquaintance to the CIO's very best friend. This article explains why data migration is the new hot topic of 2008 and examines what can be done to ensure migrations are delivered on time, to budget and aligned to business need."
Respect the Iron Triangle
Organizations need to perform and deliver projects under certain constraints, which traditionally
include scope, time and cost. Another way to refer to these three constraints is the "iron triangle," with each side
representing a constraint. A passing familiarity with geometry tells us that one side of the triangle cannot be
changed without impact on the others.
Four Steps to Ensure Adoption of Project Management Software
Not surprisingly, the way businesses manage projects is changing rapidly and in some cases dramatically. Often,
however, project managers and team members lack appropriate tools allowing them to adapt to this new reality. Just as
it has transformed the way we shop, the way we travel and the way we stay connected, the Web has reshaped the ways we
collaborate and make decisions. Businesses can help ensure adoption of PM software by considering four steps that will promote buy-in from staff and
higher productivity by instilling more efficiency throughout the organization.
The Wiki Way to Better IT Managed Services
Rather than settling for a hard set of capabilities based on the knowledge and abilities of the suppliers internal
development team, taking a Wiki-like approach means using a much larger set of brains to create an application or service
that is more flexible than in the past. This flexibility gives it the ability to satisfy a much larger set of demands, and
to do it without waiting for the next major revision. Adopting a Wiki-style mentality could help suppliers get used to
taking and incorporating customer input. This will not only satisfy the needs of a particular customer, but should also
benefit an entire customer base. In other words, the ideas and improvements that Company A wants to implement are seen
and improved upon by other customers. Together the customer base helps drive the way service is delivered. The goal is a
business model that becomes the reality that customers can all agree on.
When Do I Turn on Project Management?
Introducing program management before an IT implementation can be a time-consuming activity. But wouldn't your organization
prefer to have this information at hand before the technology is unwrapped and the meter starts running on the hours of
effort your employees, vendors, and subcontractors put into costly rework? In either case, there is no free ride. But, as this article explains, the
upfront ride involving careful planning is ultimately cheaper, smoother and less painful than jolting ride involving
brutal back-end rework and cost and schedule overruns.
Naked Truth about Enterprise IT Value
There is no magic formula for proving IT value because enterprise IT has only limited ability to actually create value. Enterprise IT is a service provider and its services produce little or no real value for the enterprise. Value is created by enterprise IT's customers using IT resources and capabilities to improve the overall performance and profitability of the enterprise. Based on his own experience and research, Bruce Skaistis is convinced a customer-driven approach is the best way to get maximum value from enterprise IT resources and expenditures. Instead of chasing after magic formulas for proving IT value, CIOs and IT leaders need to work with their customers to ensure IT produces maximum value for the enterprise. He advocates creating a customer-driven, value-based enterprise IT governance framework. Here are three key components of the framework.