Search

Early adopters of new information technology and customers of startup vendors can win competitive advantages and many other benefits if they are careful in selection. Strategies for successfully selecting and adopting a new technology are presented.

The need for a central office on comprehensive technology innovation policy for United States in the context of technology threats from Asia is examined.

Peer-to-peer (P2P) networking technology, which has caused much controversy between Napster and the recording industry, is the focus of increasing attention by chief information officers (CIO). Essentially, P2P is a decentralized approach that lets every server and workstation on a network function as a server to all other users. Information and resources, such as applications, files and storage devices, can be shared, enabling efficient collaborations. An industry exec says P2P represents the dawn of a new networking era.

Despite the Asian economic crisis, Asian companies are pulling ahead in the technology race. Issues concerning the criticism that Australia no longer has the innovative, competitive edge in the technological market are presented.

Internet2 aims to explore the development of fundamentally different technologies that can be used to upgrade existing Internet protocol infrastructure. Coordinated by the University Corp for Advanced Internet Development, the project is a giant test bed for research initiatives that explore how new technologies can accelerate the development of middleware, protocols and applications that improve on face-to-face interaction.

AMP changed itself from a mutual insurance company to a financial services firm through radical operational change. The CEO of AMP, George Trumbell, realized his company was not well equipped to deal with the change alone. By forming an alliance with Andersen Consulting, AMP's innovative information technology model produced a new organization AMPlus.

Byline: Serdar Yegulalp The creator of Kel, a devops-focused PaaS for Web applications has released an open source edition of its platform. Kel is based on the container-cluster management system [...]

Companies that develop state-of-the art IT solutions sometimes find themselves with a valuable entity. The search to transform a cost center into a revenue center began in 1988 at BHP when the company spun-off its IT department into a organization to improve internal deliverability.

Some IT organizations are being driven to take on application development projects. They attempt to justify their rising budgets, which can consume 3% of total revenues. Measuring software developer productivity involves establishing a way to judge the increased productivity the software delivers.

The European Union's DESIRE Project adopts a developing technology that seeks to promote continental-scale information services. The technology is specifically intended to create a European scenario in which information is obtained from a wide array of providers and is dispersed to a large and discerning collaborative community. Implementation of the technology in the DESIRE project has proven its effectiveness in addressing concerns associated with the establishment of continental-scale information services.

In this article I am concerned with five closely related issues. First, I discuss how we need to approach the definition of records, which I perceive to be the main [...]

Information technology has benefited much from the advancements of video systems. Large amounts of information which used to be inaccessible for storage can now be captured in digital interactive video. Innovations in video technology has not only integrated live multi media functions with effective information management, but has also provided high-quality, cost-effective method of communication. Digital interactive video has also been employed in software and product training and such has been proven to yield positive results.

More and more information systems departments are partitioning their applications on client/server architectures to come up with 'thin clients,' which entails the stripping of application logic off desktop computers for placement on other servers. The practice improves performance, decreases cost and enhances the application's ability to scale. However, the new setup has several technology and political trade-offs, including questions of ease-of-development and end-user friendliness.

There are several forces acting simultaneously in the records management profession. Each has an impact on the others. Some forces are societal. These stem from the explosive expansion in the [...]

Rail transport providers have adopted information technology innovations in providing faster and efficient transportation of cargoes. However, these innovations require the coordination of various companies. The Association of American Railroads has developed several projects to standardize operations, including an automatic equipment identification system, an Integrated Billing System and the Interline Service Management database for the scheduling of shipments.

Guidelines are presented for developing a process for organizations to introduce and assimilate knowledge-based information systems (KBSs). Lack of a developed management strategy can result in projects involving knowledge-based systems to be established haphazardly and clandestinely. Among the factors for ensuring successful adoption of KBSs are choice of knowledge sources, the support and commitment of management, and domain selection decisions. Alternative KBS assimilation paths are described.

Electronic-mail systems have advanced to the point where they are now used to transmit more detailed information aside from the traditional text-based files. There have also been breakthroughs in interconnecting networks of electronic-mail systems such as local area network-based systems. These technological advancements are expected to maximize the potential of electronic-mail systems as information management resource.

Few companies recognize the potentials of high-bandwidth technology in computer communication systems. High-bandwidth networking can be applied in telecommunications that could result in a number of interesting possibilities. This type of networking has an immediate impact on applications that include videoconferencing, multimedia, collaborative computing and communications between local area networks.

The demand for a fundamental three-tier architecture having a Web-facing set of services, a middle tier of application logic and a back-end tier of database servers is pushing information technology architects to learn new techniques of Web applications that are required to adapt to the 21st century. Their chances of success would be much greater if they would plan incorporating new elements such as caching, Internet Protocol traffic management, load balancing and content replication for many large applications.

Desktop technology is on the verge of a dramatic transformation that may alter the balance of power in the computer industry. This transformation will be driven by the shift toward the creation of simple full-function information appliances that can replace the unwieldy PC. The process will also be accelerated by consumer demands for appliance-like functionality from their desktop equipment. Companies that provide content and connectivity are likely to be the biggest beneficiaries of this development, which is also expected to diminish the influence of PC-oriented companies.

The workflow distribution system of the company Winterthur Swiss Insurance in Switzerland is described. A description of the company's focus and information technology operations is presented. Centralizing IT operations has enabled the company to improve workflow processes.

Analysts are looking forward to a technology that will link call centers to the Internet, a technology that will usher in the teleweb. Chief information officers' initiative is paramount in opening the door for a customer-oriented technology. The rise in e-mail orders and customer demands for faster transactions warrants the need for a better technology from the usual computer telephone integration to a Web telephone integration.

Introduction According to Weinberg's Law, 'If builders built buildings the way system developers build computer-based business systems, the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilisation'! A 1996 survey by [...]

As many organizations embrace more comprehensive concepts of information resources management and strive to treat information, data, and records as critical business assets, the 'data warehouse' has risen to a [...]

Growth will return to the IT industry this year. Most industry commentators are in agreement on this, and so, while this is very welcome news, it is not actually tremendously [...]

The founding of the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) was a landmark event for the IT industry. Based on the knowledge of thousands of CIOs, ITIL provided, for the first [...]

Election 2010: Innovative IT companies need help, says the UK Innovation Initiative The General Election provides an excellent opportunity for an incoming government to break away from the destructive status [...]

Information Systems Architectures In this article, the author explains the use of information systems architectures and discusses methods for their planning and development. Any organization today, whether it is a [...]

The Colac Otway Shire Council, one of Victoria, Australia is most progressive councils, is in planning and implementation stages of information technology. The council uses document management applications as business tools to provide customer-focused solutions. It uses ISDN to link the central office with a depot of outdoor staff. Modem links are also used.

IT professionals are now beginning to realize the applicability of browser technology in the development of a client/server model. Web-based applications help in solving significant problems encountered in legacy systems, including their rigid user interface. However, there remain some limitations that will have to be addressed by proponents of browser-based technology, such as slow application response and a lack of security features.

It is believed that technology innovation may be the trickiest game of all to play because rules change with every twist of the economy. It has also been observed that information technology (IT) innovation is inevitably a team effort. The importance of embedding an innovation-seeking mind-set within IT teams is also discussed.

Information about the annual Chief Information Officer (CIO)100 Symposium, which will be held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is presented. Participants will have a chance to hear about some of the most innovative information technology (IT) projects of the past year. The CIOs of Goggle, Kimberly Clark, InterContinental Hotels, and Kaiser Permanente, will attend the event.

I am a great believer in the constructive waste of resources. For one thing, it makes life more interesting. Aristocrats made Europe bearable by building homes with 103 more bedrooms [...]

Grabbing the Bell by the Horns Information systems (IS) departments across the country, in companies large and small, are reshaping their organizations to reflect economic realities. If IS managers are [...]

The PC has initiated three revolutions since the early 1980s. The revolutions were started by the introduction of the PC, online systems, and multimedia PCs. The invention of the PC is as important as the invention of the wheel.

Micrographic systems do not require the electronics needed to create an image from a digital recording. As a result, the learning costs and the acquisition and service costs of micrographic systems are lower than for digital systems. Reader printers are generally sufficient for situations in which no updating of information is required. Considerations in choosing a reader or a reader-printer are whether or not paper output is required, and the amount of paper output. Microfiche is the preferred choice for micrographic work stations where random access is required. Organizations should try to integrate micrographics into newer storage technologies, rather than replacing micrographic systems.