Archive for Industry

Five Ways Generation Y May Reinvent IT

Five Ways Generation Y May Reinvent IT

Perhaps, instead of wreaking havoc, their different working styles might cause foundational changes in the way enterprises run, especially when it comes to IT. Here are five ways that Generation Y could pull up the roots of information technology in favor of something new.

Reinvent IT, I like the sound of that. While I think the authors are premature on what they are saying, I think we will see some very positive changes in how technology is used in organizations because Generation Y simply sees technology differently.

24 March, 2008 | No comments

Which way are we heading?

Two articles came across my desk today causing me to wonder about the direction we are heading. As an MIS Professor I am very aware of the employment data as well as the prospects for future employment. I’ve read many articles saying that things are bad and others that say they are good and getting better. But the bottom line is technology continues to have an impact on business (why I like MIS in the first place)…anyway, these two articles show how things are changing.

The first one alarms me a bit. It seems IBM is starting to bypass the CIO and work directly with the business units:

CIO Insight Article

The second one shows how the IT people are becoming more involved in the business:

Computer World Article

So what do we see? What does the future look like? The encouraging thing is that technology first american cash advancemagnum cash advance,advance cash faxing magnumadvance cash loan payday,advance cash cash loan loan payday quick,advance cash loan payday todayadvance cash company,scams on cash advance companyhow to win at blackjackcasino online gambling guidebest online casino gambling site,best online casino gamblingadd casino link onlineinternet roulettefree online slots game,play free online slots gamevideo poker machinefree casino game no download,casino software download,casino downloadfree online video pokerfree on line video pokerno download casinovirtual casino gamblingonline bingocomputer black jackplay slots,play free slots game,free slots play for freeinternet slotsbest craps onlinefree backgammon download,free backgammon,free backgammon game downloadfree casino game,free casino,free casino moneyfree casino game no downloadplay blackjack online,blackjack money online play,play blackjack online freeonline casino gambling siteduces wild video pokeronline casino slots gamblingonline black jack gamefree triple play video pokerbest gambling online roulette,online roulette gamblingfree roulette,free online roulette,free roulette gamefree craps game online,free craps game,free online casino game crapsmultiplay video pokerinternet blackjack,free internet blackjack,blackjack internet casinoblack jack game,black jack game download,black jack casino gamevideo poker downloadsplay roulette onlineinternet casino gambling online,online casino gambling,casino gamblingfree no deposit casino bonusblack jack tournament,black jack tournament ultimate,winning black jack tournamentinternet video pokerfree black jack gamedownload rouletteplay free casino gameonline casino wageringno download video pokerplay craps,how to play craps on the internet,play craps freelearn to play roulette,play roulette,play casino roulettevideo poker tips is closer to the users. The discouraging thing is that if there’s no plan, each unit does what it wants, what happens? Some don’t see MIS as a “functional area” of business. But it is. Can each of the other functional areas do their own marketing? Certainly, with today’s software they could. So why do we still have marketing departments? To leverage marketing opportunities. The same is true for MIS, organizations need to leverage technology opportunities too.

What do you think?

17 March, 2008 | No comments

How to Tap ITs Hidden Potential

How to Tap ITs Hidden Potential - WSJ.com

Simply put, top executives at most companies fail to recognize the value of IT. It can help a company transform data from its operations, its business partners and its markets into useful competitive information. It can be the source of profitable innovations in the way a company interacts with its customers and suppliers. But there is still a tendency to think of IT as a basic utility, like plumbing or telephone service.

Great article in the Wall Street Journal!! MIS professors have been preaching the alignment between business and technology for years. We have been telling students there is a need to translate between both worlds. Preaching strategy. Business + Computers, what a concept

11 March, 2008 | No comments

Net Neutrality

CNN has an interesting article on Net Neutrality. For the most art it is the musicians’ perspectives. But the interesting thing is it is not what you might think. They actually make some really good points and Net Neutrality is a very big issue. If companies/governments begin controlling it in any way it will impact the future of the web. At first the control may seem logical, but in reality the end result will be changed. The article is worth checking out:

CNN on Net Neutraility

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29 March, 2007 | No comments

How IT Is Putting You Out of Business |

CIO Blogs - How IT Is Putting You Out of Business |

And what happens is the information technology people are collecting a lot of stuff that’s easy to collect, because we’ve got our fingers on it. But who’s out there digging up all the external information and organizing it in such a way inside the company that people can actually put it into their plans and into their thinking and put it into the very mechanics of how they run a company?

At first, when I read this I thought, “oh no, another IT doesn’t matter article” and if you just look at the article you may be right. But take a look at his PPT presentation at the end and you see he has some valid points that have nothing to do with IT. But if you look for solutions to the problems he is describing you see the answers in MIS. Now some have a hard time differentiating between IT and MIS, but there is a difference. MIS is focused on the business use of technology, not just the technology itself. So in this case MIS, the application of the appropriate technology, is the solution to the problems he is identifying. As the above paragraph states, IT right now simply saves and collects data that is easy. We need to start asking the tough questions and look for ways to get beyond the organization. Technology can do that. That’s what digital stakeholders is all about.

1 March, 2007 | No comments

Why tech leaders think Second Life could be a gold mine

Why tech leaders think Second Life could be a gold mine. - Jan. 22, 2007

The company’s backers include some of the world’s smartest, richest, and most successful tech entrepreneurs. The chairman and first big outside investor is Mitch Kapor, creator of Lotus 1-2-3, the spreadsheet application that helped begin the PC software revolution. Other investors include eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, Amazon (Charts) CEO Jeff Bezos, and Microsoft chief technology architect (and inventor of Lotus Notes) Ray Ozzie - each credited with a seminal networked product of our age.

Well yesterday I posted that I wanted more in-depth posts and less links to articles. But when I saw this one I just could not resist. The ability to create 3D worlds and combine multiple aspects of online socialization with real-world organizations creates opportunities that are amazing. Clearly technology leaders are seeing this as well. If you can leverage this with consoles (Xbox, Wii, PS3) the possibilities are endless. Xbox alone has a huge following of gamers who interact online. With corporations stepping up we are sure to see huge impacts on stakeholder relations.

22 January, 2007 | No comments

Hate Deep Linking? Lock the Door, Dummy!

Hate Deep Linking? Lock the Door, Dummy! - Columns by PC Magazine

You have to wonder exactly how dumb the executives at Google, Yahoo!, and even Microsoft are when a case waltzes through a court in Texas that not only directly affects their respective businesses but has the potential to bankrupt at least two of these companies.

Now this seems silly that in this day and time someone would even attempt this case. But that are and the courts are listening. We assume that people are tech-literate in 2007, but the reality is many still are not. Better watch this one.

16 January, 2007 | No comments

The Dotcom Bust? Not As Bad As You Think

FOXNews.com - The Dotcom Bust? Not As Bad As You Think - Small Business

“To say we were surprised at the results is an understatement,” said David Kirsch, professor at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland and a co-author of the study. “We started the business plan archive to study failure and expected our results to reflect a high rate of collapse in the businesses we studied. We had undergraduate research assistants coding some of the material, and when, after the first pass through the material, they came to us and said the survival rate was 45 percent, we made them do it all over again. It set us back six or eight months to have them redo everything.”

This is a very informative article which basically says good business is still good business. And that applies to internet business as well. As Michael Porter said early on, and I paraphrase, “on the internet business strategy is not less important, it is more important.” Those that failed forget to plan. They assumed too much. We certainly learned a lot.

6 December, 2006 | No comments

Forget the day after Thanksgiving. This is … Cyber Monday

The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Forget the day after Thanksgiving. This is … Cyber Monday

JupiterResearch forecasts online shoppers will spend $32 billion this holiday season, an 18 percent increase versus a year ago.The online channel is becoming more important to traditional retailers that sell their wares not only in physical stores but through catalogs and online.

Today would not be complete without a post on Cyber-Monday

27 November, 2006 | No comments

Web reaches new milestone: 100 million sites

Web reaches new milestone: 100 million sites - CNN.com

“There are now 100 million Web sites with domain names and content on them,” said Netcrafts Rich Miller. Watch as the Web gave birth to the virtual self — 2:44″Within that, there are some that are busy and updated more often, and that represents the active sites, which are at about 47 or 48 million,” he said.

100 million! That’s a lot of information.

1 November, 2006 | No comments

No guarantees when it comes to Web privacy

CNN.com - No guarantees when it comes to Web privacy - Sep 15, 2006

“All those things you do are chipping away at the edges of the problem, and the problem is still there glaring at us,” he said. “That information is being collected, and the IP numbers are there with varying degrees of ease for tracking down.”

Great article which identifies some ways that we can try to keep things private. But the bottom line, the internet is a public network and as such nothing is private. It is just like talking/searching/looking in a public place. You may think no one is watching, but they might be. You might think you are whispering, but someone could have a listening device. It is best to face reality and know what you are dealing with.

15 September, 2006 | No comments

Is open source getting to Microsoft?

Is open source getting to Microsoft? | CNET News.com

The best thing about this is the fundamental mind shift at Microsoft. A couple of years ago, this would have been unthinkable. Now it is real. This is really a major change in the way Microsoft deals with the open-source community,” said Gerald Beuchelt, a Web services architect working in the Business Alliances Group in Sun Microsystems’ chief technologist’s office.

Humm, MS deserves some credit for this one. This is a briliant move. Hopefully it is a change in strategy and the consumer will benefit.

15 September, 2006 | No comments

Microsoft confirms plan to take on Apple’s iPod

Update: Microsoft confirms plan to take on Apple’s iPod

Microsoft did not give specific information on exactly how the new products will work together, but said it plans to help build a community for connecting customers to new music and other entertainment in addition to offering new hardware and software.”It’s probably safe to say that this project will place Microsoft in path with iPod/iTunes at some points, but Zune is a much broader, holistic project,” the company said via e-mail.

Don’t get me started on this one…oh well, I already started a post so it is too late! What’s the deal with Microsoft? Must they dominate the entire computer world? If they were creating outstanding Operating Systems that would be one thing. But the problems with their OS’s are very well documented. Yet they continue to use their monopoly to exploit other areas. You and I both know what they will do. The products will work seemlessly with Media Player which ships on the OS. So consumers can either purchase their product which is basically preinstalled or one of their competitors which they must install themselves. MS please go back to the business that has gotten you this far. Please give us a dependable, secure Operating System that isn’t bloated and requires huge hardware upgrades. Is that too much to ask?

24 July, 2006 | No comments

Wi-Fi Company to Sell Routers for Five Dollars

FOXNews.com - Wi-Fi Company to Sell Routers for Five Dollars - Business And Money | Business News | Financial News

In exchange for receiving a $5 box, users must agree to share their wireless connections with other FON users for 12 months, the company said. Shipping and taxes are extra.

Now this is really interesting and there are some interesting dimensions. Opponents say it is equal to Napster, but not really. I can have a phone in my house and let you use it without penalty. If I knowingly allow you to access my WiFi is that the same thing? Is it different? The possibilities, if this works, are huge. But what will they do after the first year? Let’s keep watching….

26 June, 2006 | No comments

Why The Web Is Hitting A Wall

Why The Web Is Hitting A Wall

Not John W. Rogers Jr. The CEO of Ariel Capital Management LLC doesn’t use the Internet at work or at home. The 47-year-old Princeton University grad thinks the Net is largely a waste of time. Assistants print out e-mails for him and researchers give him paper copies of Wall Street analysts reports from the Web. He prefers to spend his time reading, talking directly with his staff, working out at the gym, or spending time with his teenage daughter. “If you’re spending all your time on e-mail, you’re not listening and reading,” says Rogers, who rarely took lecture notes while he was a student so he could listen more intently. “I listen and read; e-mail is a huge distraction.”

Very good article that leaves me wanting more. It does a good job of showing that there are reasons why one might not want to have the internet at home. But there are bigger reasons. We are at the point where there are not “technology” barriers, but barriers for other reasons. But that is more in line with my other Blog, Success in Balance so I guess I need to scoot over there and make a post…link.

25 June, 2006 | No comments

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