Fast Isn't a Given

By their nature clouds have multiple users on the same virtual machine and there’s the rub:  Cloud Performance Isn't Always Stable.  You can get a guaranteed performance in your contract but that clause won't be cheap…and you cost savings may evaporate very quickly.  Make sure you get what you want in writing and if your cloud vendor balks, you walk.
Cloud Computing (August 18, 2011)

Clemson’s Five Year Climb to the Top

Five years age, CIO James Bottom came into a University with, shall we say, a diverse IT environment.  The CIO provided the leadership, encouragement and vision as the Clemson IT Team Embraces Call to be Entrepreneurial and propel Clemson to a showcase for university and college IT departments.
NetworkWorld (August 15, 2011)

A Great Primer

There are only two types of companies that are intimately familiar with BC and DR; those that are and those that will be.  Making a Start on these two very important aspects for your company will mean the difference between survival and death.  If you don’t have a well thought out plan, now is the time to start.
Continuity Central (August 17, 2011)

The Future

Predicting the future in IT is about as sure as winning the lottery; but on the other hand we know the sun is going to come up tomorrow. Likewise some things do make sense and here are Three Technology Trends Your Company Can't Ignore. We like the last paragraph about those individuals that see trends and implement good ideas.
ComputerWorld (August 9, 2011)

USB Devices Pose Huge Problem

USB Devices Pose Huge Problem:  You may be asking how big a problem are USB devices today.  A recent study by the Ponemon Institute of 745 IT and Security Managers found that USB Devices Are The Big Hole in Network Security.  Some of the percentages are downright scary.
NetworkWorld (August 9, 2011)

Safe Startups Is Not An Oxymoron

Safe Startups Is Not An Oxymoron:  HP, Google, EMC and other companies at one time or another were unheard of in the IT environment, so some one must have stepped up to the plate and bought from these unknowns.  Here are some tips on How To Evaluate Storage Products from Startups that will come in handy when you see a new product from a new company that looks interesting.
IT Knowledge Exchange (August 10, 2011)

The Consequences of Decisions

Leadership can be hard to describe but easy to spot. Adrift in the South Pacific is a metaphor for security, knowing when to hold to your beliefs and what happens when you get talked into a different course of action.
CSO Online (August 8, 2011)

Finding Rogues in Advance

Companies don’t usually find out that a trusted insider has gone rogue till after the fact and often with disastrous results. In conjunction with Raytheon, DARPA Expands Insider Threat Research; the problem is the massive amounts of data that must be analyzed and the false positives that must be significantly reduced to make such a solution practical.

NetworkWorld (August 8, 2011)

Know Where You Are Going

More importantly know where you are and what you have to work with are the important steps in heading your career in the right direction. Self examination is tough under any circumstances; developing an IT Career Development Plan is key and these steps will help you determine where you are, your strength, your weaknesses and your motivation.

IT Business Edge (August 10, 2011)

A Shortage of IT Professionals

While the unemployment for the country as a whole may be over 9%, the IT industry is just a little of 3%. That means you need to pay attention to keeping your IT staff happy and constantly asking Are Your IT Staffers Being Poached? The answer is probably yes and the real damage is that the ones that leave are the cream of crop and replacing them usually costs 2.5 times with they make.

InfoWorld (August 8, 2011)

Keep Your Profile Current

There’s good news and bad news about social networking and getting hired. The good news is that a lot of companies use them; the bad news is that a lot of companies use them. Turns out that Social Network Referrals Turbocharge Job Applicants; this means keeping your site up to date and don’t post anything that you would not want you mother to see on You Tube tomorrow.

CIO Insight (August 1, 2011)

An Innovative Way to Cool

One thing is for certain, power costs are going to increase and computer stuff will use more power. A new approach at the University of Texas in Austin as Servers Take Dip to Keep Cool. The pilot system emerged off the shelf servers (disk drives were encapsulated) completely in a non conductive oil providing a significant decrease in the amount of power needed to cool the system.

ComputerWorld (August 12, 2011)

Advantage Green

We know that ‘green’ happens to the politically correct term to use and that some of these ideas are a little outside the box; these Top 8 Ways To Take Advantage of Green IT make sense. The US Government Accounting Office (GAO) put out a report on how the government IT groups can benefit and the benefits apply to any IT environment.

NetworkWorld (August 8, 2011)