The CEO Refresher A subscription is required to access
the articles on this page!
  Gradient
    Strength in Unity by Ron Matzov   FEATURES
Current Issue | Archives | CEO Links | News | Conferences | Reading
 
MEMBERS LOG IN
Not a Member?
The CIO Refresher
The CIO Refresher - IT strategies and management methodologies, IT productivity, ERP guidelines, outsourcing, disaster planning, system erosion and more.
       
             
   
  NAVIGATION
  Index of Archives
  Index by Author
   
  INFORMATION
  How to Contribute
  How to Advertise
  Member Benefits
  Customer Care
  About Us
  Contact & Comments
   
   
 

Compass

Best Books

Five Regions of the Future

 

 

The IT Value Stack
by Ade McCormack
Many executives question the value IT delivers. The IT department could very easily demonstrate their value but I wouldn't encourage you to press them on this. Turning the servers off for a few hours would certainly remind you of why you need IT. I have spent the last few years developing a model to maximize the value obtained from one's IT investment and have developed a simple model for measuring it.

The Naked Truth: It’s Time to STOP Educating the CEO About Technology
by Jackie Bassett

Completely contrary to what many have preached for awhile now, the naked truth is that educating the CEO about technology is a waste of time and we need to stop. Why? We’ve just run out of time. Digitization has just met globalization and CEOs of companies that say no to customer demands will lose to those who just say yes.

Information Security: Protecting Your Data is NOT Just a Cyberspace Issue Anymore
by Tim Rhodes

Your office photocopiers and those found at stores like Kinko's can now be added to the list of items that can leak your company's personal data. These multi-function printers usually contain small hard drives that can be removed and accessed by virtually anyone who has a computer and a hard drive data cord.

The Right IT Stuff for Small Business!
by Ilene Rosoff

Do you often feel stuck in the computer abyss when it comes to managing your company's needs for web or information technology services? What's the best way to find a great web or information technology services partner to work with and then get the most out of that relationship?

Disaster Looms! Why Viewing Your IT Systems as a "Utility" is MUST
by Charles L. Nault

What does it take to make your network a continuously fully functional, expeditious, and a safe "utility" network?

Something's in the Air: Is it Your Success?
by Gordon Hurst

There are issues, not always clearly apparent, of certifying wireless products for use globally. Here is a checklist that can help CEOs and their management teams avoid the hidden problems in this process.

Building High-Quality Software - Establishing a Culture of Quality
by Alan S. Koch

Getting Management's, Developers', and QA's roles into proper alignment will lay the foundation for the cultural shifts that are necessary to achieve high quality.

The Maelstrom Effect: The Next Generation
by Dr. James Bowen

The Effect is a set of strategies and tactics that companies are using to thrive in a Maelstrom. We need to see the future as always rushing towards us. In a sense we must always live in the future.

Making "IT" Work for You
by D. Keith Denton

Executives normally do not need more data, technology, or speed. What is needed is technology that helps make sense of endless data so it can be turned into useful knowledge and work.

When Will Outsourcing Grow Up?
by Walter Adamson

Outsourcing is by no means new, and some firms have achieved outstanding results in terms of business improvement. What are the lessons from the firms that have succeeded and from those that have performed poorly?

Why Systems Fail - The Dead-end of Dirty Data
by Olin Thompson

Dirty data causes problems - large and small, catastrophic and insignificant. Maybe now is the time to use your resources to search out dirty data and fix the problem - before your trading partners or auditors find them.

Strategies for Developing and Maintaining a Top Talent Pool
by Dora Vell
Even as experts forecast a future war for talent and reports on talent turnover's high costs further underscore talent's universal importance, one industry stands out in its extreme reliance on this key resource. That industry is technology.

Application Erosion: Eating Away at Your Hard Earned Value
by Olin Thompson

The day any new system goes live, you have created value. You paid for that value in money, time, disruption, frustration and many other currencies. But you will lose the value if you do not do something to avoid application erosion.

Escalating Software Development Costs? Here are Strategies for Containing Them
by Raj Phalpher
In spite of all the automated tools available for requirements management, code generation, testing, etc., software development is very labour intensive. Here are four strategies that can help reduce the cost of running their software development factory.

Improving CEO and CIO Relationships: Focus on eContext not eContent
by D. Keith Denton
Information technology must be combined with a rethinking of both the purpose and meaning of that information. We should begin by focusing on the context of what and how the information is to be used and not simply adding more content.

How the CEO Should Move the Monkey for Major IT Projects
by Walter Adamson

Major IT projects fail, and millions are wasted, because CEOs and senior managers allow themselves to be managed and to carry the monkey for the delivery of these major projects. There is a better approach where the monkey is moved to the back of those most able to explore the risk and recommend the solutions.

Do Applications Really Erode? Diagnosing the True Causes of System Erosion
by Lynne Wardell
The term "application erosion" was recently coined to explain the phenomenon of decreasing value in a system occurring over time. It infers that applications have life. Unfortunately, the term not only misdiagnoses a common problem but also misses the point.

Supercharging Your Information Technology Projects
by Derek F. Martin
It's been three years since you implemented that highly anticipated technology project that promised to free up 20% of employee time for more value-add activities. Walking around the office, you notice that the same people are doing the same job with the same results. Why have the expected benefits from the new technology not been realized?

Securing Technology Products Without a Technology Policy Isn't Secure at All
by Bennett Tavar

Studies show that the computer systems of up to 85 percent of businesses nationwide are vulnerable to breaches of security. There either are no security measures in place, or practices that offer scant protection. The same studies show this threat is an equal opportunity oppressor, and hangs over organizations of every size and description.

Relationship with Change
by Bray J. Brockbank
How businesses manage change is equally as important as how they manage their employees, suppliers, partners, and customers. Because "time-to-change" is as central to business success as "time-to-market."

Data Resource Management at Semantic Software.com: Chaos to Efficiency
by Scott Tavelli & Rajeev Kaula

This case details the data management chaos that existed at Semantic Software.com and the steps the company undertook to improve its management of data and bring efficiency toward its operations.

Data Cleansing: Save $$$ by Getting it Right
by Andrew LaDuke
Businesses are implementing ERP, SCM, & CRM programs to manage their data efficiently. These systems are optimized only when the data they are using is accurate.

Nine Future Catalysts
by Bray J. Brockbank
Study and research of the future or "futures" has emerged as an instrument for governments and business enterprises in identifying and studying emerging trends and envisioning the range of scenarios that they may produce. The author offers nine general 'catalyst' categories that will shape future business activities over the next three to five years - and possibly beyond.

Weathering the Storm
by Gerry Smith
Technology services companies need to focus on cost control and revenue generation, and consider business management software that can have a rapid impact on profitability.

Digital Revolution or the Wild, Wild West?
by David Tibi
The core of the problem is a lack of management processes and centrally available decision support information to competently manage rapid deployment of change to the mission critical technology infrastructure.

Offshore Outsourcing: ‘Nirvana’ for Application Development?
by Raj Phalpher
Outsourcing and especially, IT outsourcing, is not a fad; it is here to stay. IT outsourcing has grown by more than 25% year-on-year in the 1990’s, and the ‘Guru’ of IT outsourcing is India!

Adding Value In Information Systems
by Rick Sidorowicz
CIOs and CEOs that run IS as an integral component of the business and see IT as an ‘enabler’ of opportunity can focus their investment and energy to deliver value and create new business capabilities.

Technology Powers Productivity Benefits in the Auto Credit World, Too!
by Keith B. Stein
At last, we are enjoying the dividends in office productivity that were first promised more than a generation ago.

ERP: Successful Implentation the First Time
by R. Michael Donovan
How can we avoid these costly mistakes? Guidelines to help you with ERP success.

The Balloonist
Anonymous submission
A man piloting a hot air balloon discovers he has wandered off course and is hopelessly lost. He descends to a lower altitude and locates a man down on the ground.

Related Topics: eBusiness | ERP in Logistics & Supply Chain Management

Return to top

 
         
        The CEO Refresher
         
        Copyright 2008 by Refresher Publications. All rights reserved.
         
        Current Issue | Archives | CEO Links | News | Conferences | Reading
         
        Refresher Publications
         
        Terms of Use | Copyright & Trademarks | Privacy Policy | Investor Relations | The Last Word