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The article presents nine ideas to help information technology (IT) managers negotiate with software vendors in the U.S. IT managers need to know their existing contracts, give back shelfware and understand the terms of pricing before signing a contract. They must ask vendors for concessions, determine the software contracts in place and how efficiently software was being used and ensure software maintenance. IT managers must negotiate a software deal toward the end of a vendor's financial quarter. INSET: DRIVE AHARD BARGAIN.

The article focuses on the condition of information technology (IT) professionals in the U.S. It discusses the issue concerning the wages given to the professionals, citing the salary received by Verizon Business solutions architect Walter Scott who had given several contributions to the business. It indicates the results of a survey conducted by "Computerworld" magazine on the salary of IT workers, revealing that the total compensation increased an average of just 3.5% in 2008, compared to 3.7% in 2007. It also cites the increase of the bonuses for the professionals by only 0.2%, compared with 3.4% in 2007. Several charts depicting the results of the survey on salary are also presented.

The article reports on the growth of facilities rebuilding their data centers in the U.S. It states that the move aims to save operating costs as well as enhance efficiency and effectiveness in carrying out information technology (IT) operations. Chief information officers (CIOs) and IT executives points out the significance of redesigning their data centers which will help them reduce real estate, infrastructure, cooling and electric costs. Among the facilities that plan to upgrade their data centers, include Christus Health, OhioHealth, and Newbridge Bank. INSET: Armchair Data Center Management.

Presents a list of software companies who won the contest of the "Computerworld" journal for providing cost-effective technology products or services in the U.S. AmberPoint Inc.; BladeLogic Inc.; EasyAsk Inc.; BlueArc Corp.

Enumerates the winners of Computerworld Smithsonian Awards for information technology which includes LC Technologies Incorporated, Purdue University, Frito-Lay Incorporated and Stanford Medical School.

Explains why several information technology businesses fail. Examples of companies who made major mistakes; Sears Roebuck and Co.; Disk drive companies; Emergence of minicomputers; Customers' negative attitude towards too much technology.

Presents the insights on information technology of some computer industry pioneers in the United States. Jay Forrester; Gordon Bell; Robert Metcalfe; Gordon Moore; Seymour Cray.

The article discusses the potential of cloud computing to be the next big thing in the information technology (IT) world in the U.S. According to the managing editor of the United States Golf Association (USGA), Jessica Carroll, the e-mail continuity component feature of cloud computing appears to be very useful. The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance is also counting on cloud to help with its 30% jump in services demand.

The article provides reasons why business engaging in computers need to deploy virtual servers despite the growth of technology based on a recent survey among information technology (IT) managers polled in the U.S. IT managers said that they have no plans to use server virtualization. The poll's result showed the obstacles and they include the need to train administrators, cost, the lack of vendor competition and concerns about the availability and quality of management tools. They also indicate that companies citing consolidation made them adopt server virtualization.

The article offers information on the certified outsourcing professional (COP). According to experts of the computer industry, information technology (IT) outsourcing professionals require to have expertise in technology, law, negotiation, project, change, and performance management. The new COP designation is a kind of option that differentiates knowledgeable professionals working in outsourcing. According to Godfrey Pinto, director of offshore outsourcing in an IT company, the COP designation means a professional has got a certain level of expertise and his skills are transferable. Some of the universities and colleges in the U.S. offer outsourcing management programs and training for client corporations. INSET: Which Side Are You On?.

The article reports that re-engineering programs to work on multicore chips is expected to get even harder as the processors in the U.S. continues to multiply. Chip multiprocessors (CMP) offer the opportunity to significantly boost performance of applications that are able to share them. However, new skills, techniques and tools for designing, coding and debugging are need to reap the benefits of CMP. Fortunately, both hardware and software vendors in the U.S. are already developing tools and methods to make the job easier.

Presents charts depicting the 2005 Salary Survey of information technology professionals in the U.S. Wages for senior management and middle management positions; Compensation for staff and entry-level positions; Sampling of other job titles.

This article presents the findings of the nineteenth Annual Salary Survey of the journal "Computerworld," which studied the compensation and bonuses of 14,253 information technology (IT) workers in the U.S. IT raises still lagged behind the average for all U.S. workers as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While the majority of respondents said that their 2004 base salary increased from one year ago, 31 percent experienced either no change in salary or had their pay cut. Bonuses increased 2.8 percent in 2005, compared with one percent in 2004. INSET: CHIEF SECURITY OFFICERS: BIGGER RAISES, BUT NOT ALWAYS HIGH PAY.

Looks at the power held by the Gartner Group over the computer industry and its influence over information technology trends. Background information on the company; Key competitive strengths of the company; Decline in quality and buyer confusion as a result of the rapid proliferation of its service. INSETS: Advice & conceit.;Living in fear..

The article reports on issues related to the move of companies to migrate business applications to Linux platforms in the U.S. It tackles the opposition of some companies which concluded that changing their operating system to Linux was a dubious business proposition. It cites the issue that some businesses are not satisfied with the quality of the administrative tools available for the Linux environment and that the system does not work for every application. The perspectives of executives related to the issue are presented.

The article presents the strategies that need to be considered by information technology (IT) companies in moving data centers to a new location in the U.S. It states that the development of networks and utilizing technologies will help in transferring information to data centers which prevents the development of technical problems. The author states that relocating data centers also provides an opportunity for companies to carry out improvements in cabling systems. In addition, it reveals that professionals who have enough skills and knowledge in handling electronic equipment should be employed.

The article reports on the strategies that need to be considered by information technology (IT) companies in the establishment of data centers in the U.S. It states that data centers should feature design that helps companies minimize cooling and electric costs as well as promote effectiveness and efficiency in carrying out IT operations. These include the installation of equipment that works well with servers with effective cooling and heat flow to achieve power efficiency, the utilization of renewable power sources, and using green technologies.

The article provides information on how "Computerworld" identified the top 12 green information technology (IT) companies in the U.S. According to the article, green IT companies are those that are implementing smart, efficient strategies to achieve green IT. The measures taken by the publication include developing a set of criteria to identify the companies with the help of green-IT experts and creating a checklist-style survey and weighing scheme based on the input provided by the experts. It further notes that only those companies that filed verification letters were considered.

The article focuses on the proposal of best practices guidelines for information technology (IT) purchasing by General Motors Corp. (GM) and the Department of Defense in the U.S. Accordingly, the technology buying guidelines helps organizations reduce the risks and costs of projects. The guidelines are spelled out in intimidating document and like with the other Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) process standards, it will also take several years for users to master. The CCMI for Acquisition (CCMI-ACQ) first public released is called Version 1.2 that are based on a draft that GM submitted to the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) in Pennsylvania. Moreover, the CMMI-ACQ document provides a broad overview of process methodologies and details about of IT purchasing procedures.

The article offers information on the best places to work in information technology (IT) in the U.S. The first mentioned is at Cummins Inc., that outsourced many of its lower level and more IT jobs which include programming, help desk and computer operations. Another at General Mills Inc., wherein the firm develop marketing information system for activities like the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest. State Farm Insurance Cos. also qualified for the best places to work in IT, in which the company has huge quantity of data that maintains on IBM z/OS mainframes.

The article reports that Corporate Express Inc. is planning to enable 1,000 of its largest customers to run reports and analyze purchasing patterns using information stored in its internal data warehouse in the U.S. Information technology has commented that such projects can improve customer service, streamline supply chains and let off-site employees access internal business intelligence applications. According to Matt Schwartz, director of business analysis, the company moved quickly early to select a technology that could give its top customers access to purchasing data.

The article focuses on Keri Donahue, a web site and usability specialist in the U.S. Donahue spent her first five years of her career as a human resource manager at Commonwealth Financial Network. After departing Commonwealth, Donahue was offered a full-time position as a web site specialist at the Waltham, Massachusetts-based broker/dealer. Donahue did not have any prior technical experience other than having taken a few information technology (IT) courses at Bentley College during her undergraduate studies.

The article discusses how Corning Inc., a company that provides career development, has helped Jill Baker become a better information technology (IT) professional in the U.S. As a 25-year IT professional, Corning Inc.'s Baker has attended many training programs. However the most profound leadership instruction she has received was from a two-day supervisory effectiveness course she took at the manufacturer's Corning in New York in 2005. Right after she took the course, later that same year, she received an award for effectively nurturing the growth and development of her fellow IT workers.

The article reports on the effects of the increasing demand for information technology (IT) workers on filling up job vacancies in U.S. IT companies. According to Timothy Ramsay, assistant vice president of computer and network services at the University of Miami in Florida, hiring of employees was so difficult because of increased IT hiring activity, specifically in areas of security, database administration and project management. Aside from that, salaries have also become a big issue, where housing prices have increased. Moreover, it has been reported that IT job market is improving in the nation, though ot appears that it is harder for employers to recruit people to fill the job openings they have.

The article focuses on the role of chief information officers (CIO) in information technology (IT) companies in the U.S. When Jean Holley joined the communication equipment provider Tellabs Inc. as CIO, she reported to the executive vice president of corporate services. She was not part of the company's executive committee, but sometimes she would be asked to attend meetings if there was a specific topic where her input might be required. Moreover, the CIO role has brought IT executives opportunities for bigger challenges. CIO are also under pressure to ensure that business units can handle the changes associated with new systems.

The article reports on the C rating received by the federal government based on the 2006 annual information technology (IT) security report provided by U.S. Representative Tom Davis. The rating has showed better performance concerning the government's compliance to security measures as compared to the D grade it received in 2005. However, it reveals that other sectors still got the failing grade of D and F, which did not present any improvement on their security practices. The Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) has recorded a growth in non-compliance to security standards from among agencies. It was inferred that observing software and hardware configuration standards can help agencies comply to the security measures established by FISMA.

Several charts are presented that display a survey of computer storage devices used by information technology executives in the U.S.

The article reflects on the status of information technology industry in the United States. It mentions the challenges facing U.S. business sector such as the ongoing threat of terrorism, high energy and health care costs and the fear of accelerated global warming. It comments on the effects of these problems to IT business and organizations.

The article focuses on the difference between the compensation of the female and male employees in the computer industry in the U.S. Reportedly, the compensation gap between men and women have reached by about $10,000 with the title of vice president and chief information officer of information technology (IT). Average compensation rate for men had reached by $91,464 and $80,781 for women. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics stresses that in 2005, the usual median weekly earnings of the women were about 81% of men. Analyst Diane Morello of Gartner Inc. stresses that IT departments must look beyond gender to the uniqueness and vital characteristics that the women employees that brought high-performance team.

The article reports several issues related to the information technology industry in the U.S. Microsoft Corp. has released 12 security updates for Windows and Office software products. 3Com Corp. CEO and president Scott Murray has resigned after seven months on the job. On the other hand, Cisco Systems Inc. reported an increase in year-to-year jump in revenue.

The article reports on the management and maintenance of voice-over-IP (VoIP) systems installed by various companies in the U.S. The Skanska USA Building Inc.'s maintenance and support of VoIP system relies on combined services offered by Cisco Systems Inc.'s Remote Operations Services unit and Alliant Technologies LLC. In addition, the telecommunications manager at the Museum of Modern Art in New York Bill Moore asserted that providing proper quality-of-service levels for voice calls is complicated, and therefore he realized why companies would outsource quality-of-service work.

This article discusses the weaknesses of U.S. computer industry in terms of forecasting technological innovations. This deficit in foresight follows two patterns, namely the Extreme Tendency in which the technologies and the problems they address are given a status more extreme than is warranted, and the Quiescent Tendency, in which innovations and challenges go unnoticed in public discourse. Companies can avoid these tendencies by looking at the information technologies used by researchers and academics, employees, early adopters in their industry segment, and children.

This article discusses developments in the U.S. information technology and computer industry. Cisco Systems Inc. issued patches for security vulnerabilities in the Internetworking Operating System software and virtual private network concentrators. EMC Corp. profit in the fourth fiscal quarter declined due to charges for downsizing and repatriation of income earned abroad. Avaya Inc. signed on as value-added reseller of Juniper Networks Inc. computer security products integrated with Avaya Internet telephony equipment.

This article examines the factors that caused problems in large-scale software installations in the public sector in the U.S. When it comes to troubled information technology projects, it seems that the public sector is over-represented. But some observers say that it is just that users have a more public forum in which to air their dissatisfaction than users in the private sector. In addition, governments are subject to transparency laws that affect corporations only when chief executive officers deliver quarterly earnings reports. INSET: Cheer Up.

This article examines how the airline industry in the U.S. responded to increased security concerns, rising fuel costs, and depressed fares since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. US Airways Group Inc. and United Airlines Inc. are in bankruptcy. Delta Air Lines Inc. may seek bankruptcy protection, and Northwest Airlines Corp. lost 225 million-dollars in the second quarter of 2005. In response to these challenges, airlines have launched information technology automation initiatives in areas such as customer service, maintenance and marketing. These efforts are cutting costs and helping carriers operate more efficiently. INSET: No-Fault Flight Tracker Keeps Pinnacle in the Air.

This article reports that for the largest U.S. banks, an international regulation requiring tighter operational risk controls is proving to be far more costly than expected for information technology (IT). The new Basel Capital Accord, or Basel II framework, will require that about 20 of the nation's largest banks use IT systems to measure credit and operational risk in order to ensure that they have enough capital on hand to cover their risks. The measure requires that by 2007 all European banks and the largest banks in the U.S. tighten integration of back-office systems and use more sophisticated risk management tools to lower the amount of capital that must be set aside to cover operational and credit risks.

This article reports that corporate purchases of Internet protocol virtual private network (IP VPN) services continue to surge forward in the U.S., a trend that analysts said is being accompanied by a shift away from the use of frame-relay technology to carry network traffic. Information technology executives who are rolling out IP VPN connections said that the networks provide better security than dial-up systems and many other current approaches. They added that VPN can also help keep networking costs in check, allowing them to vastly increase bandwidth to handle new applications.

The article focuses on the increase in the interest of information technology managers in the United States to use the open-source operating system, Linux. Information technology executives who were interviewed at the LinuxWorld Conference and Exposition held in Boston, Massachusetts in the week ending February 21, 2005, said they are running key applications and databases on Linux-based systems, which signifies that the open-source software is penetrating deeper into corporate enterprises. The percentage of Linux users running databases on Linux have increased from July 2001 to July 2004. Al Gillen, an analyst at IDC, said that the first wave of Linux adoption focused on Web servers, network infrastructure and file-and-print servers. INSET: Linus Struggles for Desktop Acceptance.

This article focuses on the impact of the growing use of the computer operating system, Linux, on the information technology sector in the U.S. Linux is gaining ground so quickly that some companies are having a hard time finding enough people to handle Linux-related work. And those they do find charge a premium, according to the Yankee Group, a market research firm in Boston, Massachusetts. Skilled Linux administrators in major metropolitan markets command 20 to 30 percent salary premiums over their Unix and Windows counterparts, a fact that could diminish the cost savings that many companies bank on when they switch to Linux. INSET: What It Really Takes.

This article focuses on two parts of the information technology (IT) industry in the U.S. that have not changed proportionately: IT organizations and the IT services companies that support them. The latter is easier to demonstrate. While many product companies vanished long ago, the same four services firms, IBM Corp., Electronic Data Systems Corp., Computer Sciences Corp., and Accenture Inc., have been the dominant players for as long as the IT services business has existed. Powerful disruptive forces have affected the hardware and software sides of the industry, but there is no such forces that have affected the services sector.

This section presents updates on issues concerning information technology in the U.S. as of April 12, 2004. Nortel Networks Ltd. said the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has begun a formal investigation in connection with a continuing series of financial restatements. Nortel said it fully cooperated with the SEC during an informal inquiry and will continue to do so. Meanwhile, American Management Systems Inc. said it has won a contract valued at up to $24 million to provide finance applications to the Department of Justice. The agency's choice came just a month after it sued to block the takeover bid of Oracle Corp. for PeopleSoft Inc., saying the deal would leave SAP AG and Oracle as the only major vendors of enterprise-class enterprise resource planning applications. In a separate news, First Data Corp., which processes electronic payments, claimed that a computer hardware glitch caused processing errors on approximately 800,000 credit and debit transactions at Wal-Mart stores. Some customers were billed two or three times for a single purchase.

Reports on the prevalence of sending information technology work overseas among companies in the U.S. computer industry, as of March 2004. Motive of Google Inc. for turning to workers from Bangalore, India; Implication of the increase in offshore employment for research and development initiatives; Driver of the offshore move at Google. INSET: Anti-Offshore Groups Band Together.

Presents updates on the computer and information technology industry in the U.S. as of December 22, 2003. Appointment of Mark Gulling to head a global shared-services unit of Eastman Kodak; Information on the hiring of David Clementz by Electronic Data Systems; Details on the outsourcing deal signed by ING U.S. Financial Services with IBM.

Forecasts an increase of information technology (IT) spending by companies in the U.S. in 2004. Factors that will drive the increase in IT spending; IT managers initiatives that will benefit most from the increase in corporate IT spending; Difference in the views of several IT industry analysts on the rate of increase in IT spending.

Focuses on the legal implication of the computer security breaches to the information technology (IT) firms in the United States. Reason for the difficulty to pinpoint the source of computer attacks; Pieces of advice to IT firms.

Presents news briefs on the computer industry in the United States as of April 16, 2001. Features of the Oracle 9iAS Wireless Edition 2.0 software of OracleMobile Inc.; Agreement signed by Educause with the United States Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration; Increase in the proposed 2002 information technology (IT) budget.

Offers a look at the computer companies in the United States on the business-management decisions of information technologists on a certain technological project. Intel Corp.; Avnet Inc.; Autodesk Inc.; Computer Associates International Inc.

Provides update on the information technology sector in the United States as of May 29, 2000. Elimination of a federal excise tax on communications services; Reaction of the Computer Technology Industry Association on the passage of a bill extending permanent normal trade relations with China; Contract secured by EpicEdge Inc. from Reliant Energy Incorporated.

Presents news briefs on computer-related issues in the United States. Upgrade in information technology (IT) infrastructure of Chiquita Brands International Inc.; Domains to be added by the Internet Corp. for Assigned Names and Numbers; Location of the SNIA Technology center launched by Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA).

Presents a roundup of news from the United States computer and information industry as of May 1999. Includes Microsoft's seeking of end to Java injunction; Cabletron Systems Inc.'s possible spinning off of services units; Reorganization of Electronic Data Systems Inc.