IT skills and the mobile workforce
By Bill Murphy, managing director, BT Business
Published: November 25 2008 17:40 | Last updated: November 25 2008 17:40
To make the most of opportunities in the current climate, it is crucial that small and medium enterprises invest more in attracting and retaining talent. Workforces must be equipped with adequate IT skills allowing them to harness technology – in turn increasing productivity and saving money.
But BT Business research shows many small businesses are still not investing as much as they should in IT training.
One area where many small businesses could do better is in introducing new working patterns and places. Studies continually document the business benefits of flexible working – from improved staff retention and productivity, to cost savings and new business wins. At BT, nearly 80,000 of employees have the means to work flexibly. More than 14,500 work from home – which has increased each employee’s productivity on average by 20 per cent and provided huge cost savings.
However, a report we commissioned into IT skills for flexible working suggests a different story. Compiled by the Centre for Future Studies, it creates definitions for three different types of flexible working.
It defines the “first generation” as “time flexibility” – offering part-time or short-term working to employees.
The second generation involves both time and location flexibility; so in addition to offering flexi-hours to staff, technology is provided for employees to work on the move.
The most sophisticated and revolutionary form of flexible working – third generation – involves the emergence of the “virtual office”. Here, employees have total location independence and are given greater autonomy in the way they manage and plan their work.
But does the modern workforce have the IT skills needed to reap the full benefits of these emerging work styles? Our research would suggest not.
Surprisingly, although 62 per cent of small business managers claim to offer their employees some form of flexible working, they feel they lack the IT skills and training to exploit properly their existing technology and therefore achieve the most advanced, or “third generation”, of flexible working.
While many SMEs have successfully adopted first and second generation practices, few are adopting third generation practices – where technology is fully integrated to create a virtual office. They need enhanced skills that will enable them to embrace more sophisticated work styles.
At the root of the problem is a lack of training. At present, 75 per cent of SMEs do not provide specific IT training for remote workers, while 88 per cent of managers have not received any training on how to manage remote workers and are not familiar with the IT requirements. In the current climate, an increasing number of businesses are neglecting investment in training in favour of making short-term savings – something that will inevitably impact on the development of IT skills and adoption of new working styles.
The perceived cost of training is a common barrier to the development of IT skills. However it needn’t be expensive. Free mentoring and advice services are available to businesses online.
Businesses also need to recognise that, when it comes to IT skills, the workforce demographic is changing. For the first time a new generation of younger employees are entering the workforce with more advanced IT skills than their seniors. It seems that older generations in particular often value attendance as much as output, especially when they’ve grown up without computers. Indeed, a lot of employers are still wedded to a culture of office “presenteeism” – the belief that employees need to be present in the office to be working. By contrast, young workers are typically better versed in the business benefits of flexible working, and more disposed to new work styles.
As they reach management level, investment in IT training, development of IT skills and the adoption of new work styles is likely to increase. But it is important that older managers are not forgotten and that there is investment in their IT training.
The emergence of a “new workforce” is going to shake up the workplace in coming years – and employers need to start investing in training to be ready.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Facebook targeted Web 2.0 start-up Twitter (FT.com)
Facebook targeted Web 2.0 start-up Twitter
By Richard Waters in San Francisco and Tim Bradshaw in Oxford
Published: November 24 2008 21:41 | Last updated: November 24 2008 21:41
Twitter, the micro-blogging company that has become one of Silicon Valley’s most closely watched start-ups, recently held talks about an acquisition by social networking company Facebook.
The negotiations, which put a valuation of as much as $500m on the 2½-year-old private company, could throw a fresh spotlight on its rapid growth and prompt other big internet companies to consider bids.
Twitter has become a leading light of the Web 2.0 generation of consumer internet companies, whose services rely more heavily on communication and social interaction than the original dotcoms. Users of Twitter post short messages of up to 140 characters about what they are doing, and the “tweets” are broadcast to anyone who wants to sign up to follow them.
However, its name has also become synonymous with the lack of revenue in the Web 2.0 world. Despite its passionate following among Silicon Valley’s digerati, and an audience that is now growing rapidly, Twitter has yet to make any money.
The talks were first reported by the AllThingsD blog and confirmed on Monday by two people familiar with the situation.
Facebook’s approach to Twitter is set to raise as many questions about the bidder’s value as it does about the target. The social networking site offered to pay for the acquisition in stock, according to one person close to the situation, but putting a value on its shares proved controversial.
Had it used the $15bn valuation at which Microsoft bought a stake in Facebook last year, it would have valued the Twitter purchase at $500m, though that investment was seen as a high-water mark for Web 2.0.
Speaking on Monday at a gathering of internet entrepreneurs at Oxford University, Chris Sacca, a Twitter investor, questioned the valuation. “If Facebook brings $500m of stock to the table to buy Twitter, the first thing you talk about is whether that stock is worth $500m or not,” he said.
However, one person close to the situation suggested that the $15bn valuation for Facebook was the top end of a range of values the two companies talked about, implying that a deal might have valued both Facebook and Twitter at a much lower level.
Biz Stone, Twitter’s co-founder, would not comment on the talks, but suggested that the company wanted to remain independent to build on its messaging service.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
By Richard Waters in San Francisco and Tim Bradshaw in Oxford
Published: November 24 2008 21:41 | Last updated: November 24 2008 21:41
Twitter, the micro-blogging company that has become one of Silicon Valley’s most closely watched start-ups, recently held talks about an acquisition by social networking company Facebook.
The negotiations, which put a valuation of as much as $500m on the 2½-year-old private company, could throw a fresh spotlight on its rapid growth and prompt other big internet companies to consider bids.
Twitter has become a leading light of the Web 2.0 generation of consumer internet companies, whose services rely more heavily on communication and social interaction than the original dotcoms. Users of Twitter post short messages of up to 140 characters about what they are doing, and the “tweets” are broadcast to anyone who wants to sign up to follow them.
However, its name has also become synonymous with the lack of revenue in the Web 2.0 world. Despite its passionate following among Silicon Valley’s digerati, and an audience that is now growing rapidly, Twitter has yet to make any money.
The talks were first reported by the AllThingsD blog and confirmed on Monday by two people familiar with the situation.
Facebook’s approach to Twitter is set to raise as many questions about the bidder’s value as it does about the target. The social networking site offered to pay for the acquisition in stock, according to one person close to the situation, but putting a value on its shares proved controversial.
Had it used the $15bn valuation at which Microsoft bought a stake in Facebook last year, it would have valued the Twitter purchase at $500m, though that investment was seen as a high-water mark for Web 2.0.
Speaking on Monday at a gathering of internet entrepreneurs at Oxford University, Chris Sacca, a Twitter investor, questioned the valuation. “If Facebook brings $500m of stock to the table to buy Twitter, the first thing you talk about is whether that stock is worth $500m or not,” he said.
However, one person close to the situation suggested that the $15bn valuation for Facebook was the top end of a range of values the two companies talked about, implying that a deal might have valued both Facebook and Twitter at a much lower level.
Biz Stone, Twitter’s co-founder, would not comment on the talks, but suggested that the company wanted to remain independent to build on its messaging service.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
Advice from a CIO on skills that breed success in IT (FT)
Advice from a CIO on skills that breed success in IT
By Sam Coursen, VP and CIO of Freescale Semiconductor
Published: November 24 2008 18:41 | Last updated: November 24 2008 18:41
In the current climate, all departments, including IT, are being affected by labour cuts and the job market is becoming an increasingly aggressive place. Possessing the right job skills has never been more important.
So what does a CIO look for when hiring?
When I am searching for employees for the infrastructure side of Freescale, I look for people well-versed in technologies such as end user productivity services (eg e-mail), voice and data networking, data centre processing and storage, and remote monitoring/management.
Additionally, they need to be able to recognise not only how technology is changing, but how the company can easily adopt it. If I were delivering these services directly, I would require deep skills in these areas. However, we have outsourced these infrastructure services, like many companies, to take advantage of economies of scale and lower costs of services providers. In this case only, a general knowledge of these skills is important (in order to develop and drive strategies with the outsource partner).
On the application side, the most critical skill I look for in IT is the ability not only to understand the technology well but also recognise the extent to which it can affect business processes. People who can translate how a technology or infrastructure change will impact a business function are an invaluable asset not only to IT, but to the overall business. Their role becomes that of an IT business analyst, one who can then work with business executives to create solutions that will benefit the business for both the short term and the long term.
A good example of this is someone who can look at a business function, such as human resources, and visualise how technology can be applied to improve this function, eg automate a process that was previously handled manually. Although this will increase work for the IT department in the short term, it reduces the business’s overall expense in HR.
It is easier to find a person who has an abundance of IT knowledge or business knowledge, but it is more difficult to find someone who possesses a balance of both skills. CIOs will first look internally within both IT and business departments for likely candidates. In my experience, these people will usually grow from either the IT side and learn the business operations or they will start on the business side and learn the IT functions. If a likely candidate does not emerge internally, management consulting companies, such as Accenture and Bearing Point, are another good resource for this type of candidate. These companies produce some of the best candidates for internal IT positions.
On the reverse side, the ability to focus concurrently on making sure IT is running as efficiently as possible while simultaneously driving solutions for other business processes within the company has been the single most critical skill in bringing success to my own career. In the 10-plus years that I’ve served as a CIO, I’ve learned that adopting both of these as the overall IT objective escalates the value of the company’s IT programme to the business operations.
Technology is changing at an increasingly fast pace. New technology is being developed every day and new ways to deploy existing technology is continually being expanded. The growing sophistication of the internet makes it easier for people to keep track of what’s going on with technology. It puts the world of information at your fingertips, but there is no substitute for finding the next position as soon as possible to keep your experience and your skills fresh. With sites such as Monster.com and social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook, the internet makes establishing your own network and finding a job much easier.
In summary, IT departments are feeling the pressure to reduce costs. With the outlook on the economy uncertain, it’s critical to continue to recognise what’s important for the company you are currently working for, or if you are looking for a job, recognise the skills that prospective companies deem important.
Remember that IT is a function that enables all other parts of the company, so there are opportunities for it to help lower costs by automating processes, eliminating redundancies and reducing mistakes. IT professionals should always be thinking about how they can optimise costs and drive solutions for other processes in the company, thereby adding value not only to the larger business strategy, but ultimately to the bottom line.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
By Sam Coursen, VP and CIO of Freescale Semiconductor
Published: November 24 2008 18:41 | Last updated: November 24 2008 18:41
In the current climate, all departments, including IT, are being affected by labour cuts and the job market is becoming an increasingly aggressive place. Possessing the right job skills has never been more important.
So what does a CIO look for when hiring?
When I am searching for employees for the infrastructure side of Freescale, I look for people well-versed in technologies such as end user productivity services (eg e-mail), voice and data networking, data centre processing and storage, and remote monitoring/management.
Additionally, they need to be able to recognise not only how technology is changing, but how the company can easily adopt it. If I were delivering these services directly, I would require deep skills in these areas. However, we have outsourced these infrastructure services, like many companies, to take advantage of economies of scale and lower costs of services providers. In this case only, a general knowledge of these skills is important (in order to develop and drive strategies with the outsource partner).
On the application side, the most critical skill I look for in IT is the ability not only to understand the technology well but also recognise the extent to which it can affect business processes. People who can translate how a technology or infrastructure change will impact a business function are an invaluable asset not only to IT, but to the overall business. Their role becomes that of an IT business analyst, one who can then work with business executives to create solutions that will benefit the business for both the short term and the long term.
A good example of this is someone who can look at a business function, such as human resources, and visualise how technology can be applied to improve this function, eg automate a process that was previously handled manually. Although this will increase work for the IT department in the short term, it reduces the business’s overall expense in HR.
It is easier to find a person who has an abundance of IT knowledge or business knowledge, but it is more difficult to find someone who possesses a balance of both skills. CIOs will first look internally within both IT and business departments for likely candidates. In my experience, these people will usually grow from either the IT side and learn the business operations or they will start on the business side and learn the IT functions. If a likely candidate does not emerge internally, management consulting companies, such as Accenture and Bearing Point, are another good resource for this type of candidate. These companies produce some of the best candidates for internal IT positions.
On the reverse side, the ability to focus concurrently on making sure IT is running as efficiently as possible while simultaneously driving solutions for other business processes within the company has been the single most critical skill in bringing success to my own career. In the 10-plus years that I’ve served as a CIO, I’ve learned that adopting both of these as the overall IT objective escalates the value of the company’s IT programme to the business operations.
Technology is changing at an increasingly fast pace. New technology is being developed every day and new ways to deploy existing technology is continually being expanded. The growing sophistication of the internet makes it easier for people to keep track of what’s going on with technology. It puts the world of information at your fingertips, but there is no substitute for finding the next position as soon as possible to keep your experience and your skills fresh. With sites such as Monster.com and social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook, the internet makes establishing your own network and finding a job much easier.
In summary, IT departments are feeling the pressure to reduce costs. With the outlook on the economy uncertain, it’s critical to continue to recognise what’s important for the company you are currently working for, or if you are looking for a job, recognise the skills that prospective companies deem important.
Remember that IT is a function that enables all other parts of the company, so there are opportunities for it to help lower costs by automating processes, eliminating redundancies and reducing mistakes. IT professionals should always be thinking about how they can optimise costs and drive solutions for other processes in the company, thereby adding value not only to the larger business strategy, but ultimately to the bottom line.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Bring Your SharePoint Sites Under Control…
Bring Your SharePoint Sites Under Control…
SharePoint has become one of the most popular, fastest-growing products ever shipped by Microsoft®. It’s designed to be easy to deploy and manage without significant IT involvement or expertise.
That’s the good news…the bad news is that the ease and convenience of SharePoint can create a security nightmare, especially if sensitive data winds up on the wrong site.
Key Features & Benefits
Know what SharePoint sites are in use – automatically locate and identify sites.
Determine who has access rights – Identify users and groups with access to the site and evaluate their permissions and access rights.
Identify security issues – Highlight users or groups with access rights that are inconsistent with corporate policy or industry best practices.
Correct deficiencies – Integration with Courion’s compliance solutions provides managers with the ability to quickly and effectively remediate permissions and inappropriate access rights.
Reduce or eliminate potential security risks – Verify that only users with the appropriate permissions have access to SharePoint sites containing sensitive data.
SharePoint Identity and Access Concerns
SharePoint is powerful, flexible and easy to implement, but it has a limited security and governance model.
Given the popularity of SharePoint, system administrators and security personnel have some thorny questions they need to answer:
What SharePoint sites are on our network and who owns them?
Who has access to these sites and what Permissions do they have?
Are sites with sensitive data are being managed using best practices consistent with the organization’s security policies?
How can I fix sites that are exposing the organization to security problems?
Protect Your SharePoint Sites
Courion, a leader in access management and compliance, has responded to customer’s needs by producing Courion Solutions for SharePoint, which gives IT managers the ability to analyze, evaluate and manage an organization’s exposure to risk as a result of inadequate SharePoint governance.
The solution is designed to enable system administrators to identify and reduce risk by remediating inappropriate access to SharePoint sites and bringing them into compliance with corporate policy. Using Courion, you can be assured that SharePoint users aren’t opening security holes and demonstrate to your auditors or industry regulators that you’re in compliance with corporate policy.
Courion Solutions for SharePoint can scan a SharePoint server and identify all the SharePoint sites on the server. For each site, the solution identifies all users who have access rights to the site. If the organization uses Active Directory, Courion also identifies users and groups who have been granted access to SharePoint sites through their Active Directory profile.
If the administrator determines that users have inappropriate rights to access data on a SharePoint site, he or she has the option to initiate a process to remediate those rights.
The administrator examining the SharePoint site can perform the following reviews:
Policy Review
This process allows the IT administrator to review a list of potential policy violations (such as a Finance portal with “Everyone” group access enabled). He or she can select a particular policy violation, evaluate the security implications of the violation and accept or modify the site configuration.
Privileged Access
The Privileged Access review allows the administrator to identify individuals with elevated SharePoint privileges (such as Administrator or Web Designer) and the sites where they are privileged access. If a user is identified as having inappropriate privileged access, action can be taken to either block the individual from accessing the site or reduce their permissions level.
Site Access
This workflow allows the IT manager to review a list of sites. After selecting a site, the manager sees a list of all users with access to the site, sorted by their permission level. At that point, the manager can select individual users and accept or modify their access rights to the site.
SharePoint has become one of the most popular, fastest-growing products ever shipped by Microsoft®. It’s designed to be easy to deploy and manage without significant IT involvement or expertise.
That’s the good news…the bad news is that the ease and convenience of SharePoint can create a security nightmare, especially if sensitive data winds up on the wrong site.
Key Features & Benefits
Know what SharePoint sites are in use – automatically locate and identify sites.
Determine who has access rights – Identify users and groups with access to the site and evaluate their permissions and access rights.
Identify security issues – Highlight users or groups with access rights that are inconsistent with corporate policy or industry best practices.
Correct deficiencies – Integration with Courion’s compliance solutions provides managers with the ability to quickly and effectively remediate permissions and inappropriate access rights.
Reduce or eliminate potential security risks – Verify that only users with the appropriate permissions have access to SharePoint sites containing sensitive data.
SharePoint Identity and Access Concerns
SharePoint is powerful, flexible and easy to implement, but it has a limited security and governance model.
Given the popularity of SharePoint, system administrators and security personnel have some thorny questions they need to answer:
What SharePoint sites are on our network and who owns them?
Who has access to these sites and what Permissions do they have?
Are sites with sensitive data are being managed using best practices consistent with the organization’s security policies?
How can I fix sites that are exposing the organization to security problems?
Protect Your SharePoint Sites
Courion, a leader in access management and compliance, has responded to customer’s needs by producing Courion Solutions for SharePoint, which gives IT managers the ability to analyze, evaluate and manage an organization’s exposure to risk as a result of inadequate SharePoint governance.
The solution is designed to enable system administrators to identify and reduce risk by remediating inappropriate access to SharePoint sites and bringing them into compliance with corporate policy. Using Courion, you can be assured that SharePoint users aren’t opening security holes and demonstrate to your auditors or industry regulators that you’re in compliance with corporate policy.
Courion Solutions for SharePoint can scan a SharePoint server and identify all the SharePoint sites on the server. For each site, the solution identifies all users who have access rights to the site. If the organization uses Active Directory, Courion also identifies users and groups who have been granted access to SharePoint sites through their Active Directory profile.
If the administrator determines that users have inappropriate rights to access data on a SharePoint site, he or she has the option to initiate a process to remediate those rights.
The administrator examining the SharePoint site can perform the following reviews:
Policy Review
This process allows the IT administrator to review a list of potential policy violations (such as a Finance portal with “Everyone” group access enabled). He or she can select a particular policy violation, evaluate the security implications of the violation and accept or modify the site configuration.
Privileged Access
The Privileged Access review allows the administrator to identify individuals with elevated SharePoint privileges (such as Administrator or Web Designer) and the sites where they are privileged access. If a user is identified as having inappropriate privileged access, action can be taken to either block the individual from accessing the site or reduce their permissions level.
Site Access
This workflow allows the IT manager to review a list of sites. After selecting a site, the manager sees a list of all users with access to the site, sorted by their permission level. At that point, the manager can select individual users and accept or modify their access rights to the site.
Courion Survey: Most Corporations Ignore Microsoft SharePoint Security and Data Risks
Courion Survey: Most Corporations Ignore Microsoft SharePoint Security and Data Risks
Courion Corporation
87% of Companies Cite SharePoint as a Source of Concern for Sensitive Data Leaks; Two Thirds Do Not Have Tools to Monitor and Control SharePoint Usage FRAMINGHAM, Mass., Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ --
WHAT: Courion(R) Corporation, leaders in access management and compliance, releases survey results revealing that while many organizations are adopting collaborative work environments such as Microsoft SharePoint to improve productivity, they are not effectively addressing the considerable security and compliance risks associated with these environments.
DETAILS: A survey of more than 150 business managers reveals that companies are largely unaware of what is happening within Microsoft SharePoint Environments. They do not know if sensitive data is being shared in these sites, who is using these sites, who has access to them and who needs access. And in many cases, companies do not even have acceptable use policies in place for SharePoint, nor is there anyone in the organization responsible for ensuring SharePoint security and compliance.
Key survey results include:
-- The majority of respondents (86.7%) cite SharePoint as a point of
concern for data theft.
-- More than one-third (33.8%) of respondents do not have a policy defining
acceptable usage for SharePoint.
-- More than 36% of companies do not currently monitor their SharePoint
usage.
-- Nearly two-thirds (62.7%) do not currently have tools in place to
monitor SharePoint usage, access or policy compliance
Courion recommends that organizations establish risk-based governance and controls in these environments to ensure long term security and compliance with business policy and industry regulations. System administrators and security personnel need to be able to answer the following questions:
-- What SharePoint sites are on our network and who owns them?
-- Who has access to these sites and what Permissions do they have?
-- Are sites with sensitive data being managed using best practices
consistent with the organization's security policies?
-- How can I fix sites that are exposing the organization to security
problems?
To download a copy of the survey report, please visit: http://www.courion.com/solutions/sharepoint.aspx
To arrange an interview with experts who can discuss SharePoint security and compliance issues, contact:
Brenda Menard
Davies Murphy Group
bmenard@daviesmurphy.com
781-418-2435
Courion Corporation
87% of Companies Cite SharePoint as a Source of Concern for Sensitive Data Leaks; Two Thirds Do Not Have Tools to Monitor and Control SharePoint Usage FRAMINGHAM, Mass., Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ --
WHAT: Courion(R) Corporation, leaders in access management and compliance, releases survey results revealing that while many organizations are adopting collaborative work environments such as Microsoft SharePoint to improve productivity, they are not effectively addressing the considerable security and compliance risks associated with these environments.
DETAILS: A survey of more than 150 business managers reveals that companies are largely unaware of what is happening within Microsoft SharePoint Environments. They do not know if sensitive data is being shared in these sites, who is using these sites, who has access to them and who needs access. And in many cases, companies do not even have acceptable use policies in place for SharePoint, nor is there anyone in the organization responsible for ensuring SharePoint security and compliance.
Key survey results include:
-- The majority of respondents (86.7%) cite SharePoint as a point of
concern for data theft.
-- More than one-third (33.8%) of respondents do not have a policy defining
acceptable usage for SharePoint.
-- More than 36% of companies do not currently monitor their SharePoint
usage.
-- Nearly two-thirds (62.7%) do not currently have tools in place to
monitor SharePoint usage, access or policy compliance
Courion recommends that organizations establish risk-based governance and controls in these environments to ensure long term security and compliance with business policy and industry regulations. System administrators and security personnel need to be able to answer the following questions:
-- What SharePoint sites are on our network and who owns them?
-- Who has access to these sites and what Permissions do they have?
-- Are sites with sensitive data being managed using best practices
consistent with the organization's security policies?
-- How can I fix sites that are exposing the organization to security
problems?
To download a copy of the survey report, please visit: http://www.courion.com/solutions/sharepoint.aspx
To arrange an interview with experts who can discuss SharePoint security and compliance issues, contact:
Brenda Menard
Davies Murphy Group
bmenard@daviesmurphy.com
781-418-2435
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
IT skills: In with the old, out with the new (FT.com)
IT skills: In with the old, out with the new
By Colin Wright, managing director at Veeam Software
Published: November 18 2008 15:45 | Last updated: November 18 2008 15:45
Skills in IT can often be a mixed bag. Some are old, some are brand new. Some are borrowed from outside while others can make their users turn the air blue. Yet the one thing they all have in common is the need to evolve.
Despite the benefits brought by new waves of technology, one of the most obvious downsides is organisations being exposed by the equally new blind spots in knowledge and training. Inevitably there will be a new industry of “experts” formed to help guide managers around the pitfalls. At the same time, or shortly after, there will be a new range of smart and simple-to-use tools developed to make managing the new technology easier and thus reduce the need for such specialised skills.
A prime example of this is the rush towards virtualisation. Virtualisation is one of the biggest technological leaps to hit IT in a long while. The move from easily visible, physical assets to more intangible virtual servers has many benefits but also presents a number of management challenges. To gain the benefits of virtualisation in the long term new skills and management approaches will be needed.
The challenges thrown up by virtualisation are varied. The most evident is the lack of an obvious, physical machine to track and report on. In a poorly managed virtualised environment, a raft of virtual machines can be created with managers none the wiser, while even properly tracked virtual machines can easily multiply swiftly if not correctly monitored and retired, creating an ungovernable sprawl. Innovative management techniques need to be developed to prevent potential flaws appearing in these virtual environments.
Skills that IT managers have developed to deal with physical environments can help with some of the issues surrounding virtualisation technology, but there will still be gaps and inconsistencies that need addressing. How can businesses address these problems before their IT department reaches an impasse?
As with any new technology, the problem lies with finding, attracting and retaining highly skilled people who can manage it. In this respect, parallels can be drawn between the advent of virtualisation and early adoption of Windows as an operating system for servers. When the technology appeared there were only a handful of IT managers who were fully qualified in its use, yet the business benefits were so obvious that a vast number of organisations had to act.
Waiting until the technology became common knowledge would mean losing out on the competitive advantages it could offer. As a result, those with high-level, in-depth skills became incredibly valuable, with businesses swiftly snapping them up at great expense to utilise their skills and, hopefully, educate other employees.
After a few years, it became obvious that these elite employees are still a big company overhead. Eventually, as more members of the IT department advanced to at least a reasonable standard with the new systems, businesses looked for another method to perform many of the tasks associated with the new technology, especially those that were more mundane and could easily be automated.
Using management tools to take over these everyday tasks greatly reduced the amount of work that required multi-skilled staff. Companies no longer needed to hire such a broad skill-set, allowing them to exist with fewer highly skilled workers or a larger pool of specialists. Either way, the cost savings were substantial.
The main mistake companies made previously was waiting to implement these management tools until the new technology had been active for some time. Unless organisations act now, these mistakes could easily be repeated as virtualisation technology becomes pervasive within the IT environment.
IT directors should be looking to bring in new skills to ensure proper governance around the implementation and use of virtualisation technology. However, at the same time they should be looking at management tools that can reduce the need for these skills.
Essentially, they need to balance new skills with management tools to ensure they are dealing with the proliferation of virtualisation technology in the most efficient way. Tools can be used to take care of the everyday mundane, but important, tasks of managing virtualisation, leaving highly skilled professionals in virtualisation to focus on the strategy and governance of this new technology.
As with technologies in the past and technology yet to come, the march to virtualisation appears to be inevitable. Skills need to be developed and modified in order to deal with this, but that shouldn’t require knee-jerk moves to acquire expensive personnel.
By seeking tools to take care of the easily-automated parts of a new skill set, businesses can adapt to new technology at their own pace rather than forging blindly ahead, progressing through small steps rather than giant leaps into the unknown.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
By Colin Wright, managing director at Veeam Software
Published: November 18 2008 15:45 | Last updated: November 18 2008 15:45
Skills in IT can often be a mixed bag. Some are old, some are brand new. Some are borrowed from outside while others can make their users turn the air blue. Yet the one thing they all have in common is the need to evolve.
Despite the benefits brought by new waves of technology, one of the most obvious downsides is organisations being exposed by the equally new blind spots in knowledge and training. Inevitably there will be a new industry of “experts” formed to help guide managers around the pitfalls. At the same time, or shortly after, there will be a new range of smart and simple-to-use tools developed to make managing the new technology easier and thus reduce the need for such specialised skills.
A prime example of this is the rush towards virtualisation. Virtualisation is one of the biggest technological leaps to hit IT in a long while. The move from easily visible, physical assets to more intangible virtual servers has many benefits but also presents a number of management challenges. To gain the benefits of virtualisation in the long term new skills and management approaches will be needed.
The challenges thrown up by virtualisation are varied. The most evident is the lack of an obvious, physical machine to track and report on. In a poorly managed virtualised environment, a raft of virtual machines can be created with managers none the wiser, while even properly tracked virtual machines can easily multiply swiftly if not correctly monitored and retired, creating an ungovernable sprawl. Innovative management techniques need to be developed to prevent potential flaws appearing in these virtual environments.
Skills that IT managers have developed to deal with physical environments can help with some of the issues surrounding virtualisation technology, but there will still be gaps and inconsistencies that need addressing. How can businesses address these problems before their IT department reaches an impasse?
As with any new technology, the problem lies with finding, attracting and retaining highly skilled people who can manage it. In this respect, parallels can be drawn between the advent of virtualisation and early adoption of Windows as an operating system for servers. When the technology appeared there were only a handful of IT managers who were fully qualified in its use, yet the business benefits were so obvious that a vast number of organisations had to act.
Waiting until the technology became common knowledge would mean losing out on the competitive advantages it could offer. As a result, those with high-level, in-depth skills became incredibly valuable, with businesses swiftly snapping them up at great expense to utilise their skills and, hopefully, educate other employees.
After a few years, it became obvious that these elite employees are still a big company overhead. Eventually, as more members of the IT department advanced to at least a reasonable standard with the new systems, businesses looked for another method to perform many of the tasks associated with the new technology, especially those that were more mundane and could easily be automated.
Using management tools to take over these everyday tasks greatly reduced the amount of work that required multi-skilled staff. Companies no longer needed to hire such a broad skill-set, allowing them to exist with fewer highly skilled workers or a larger pool of specialists. Either way, the cost savings were substantial.
The main mistake companies made previously was waiting to implement these management tools until the new technology had been active for some time. Unless organisations act now, these mistakes could easily be repeated as virtualisation technology becomes pervasive within the IT environment.
IT directors should be looking to bring in new skills to ensure proper governance around the implementation and use of virtualisation technology. However, at the same time they should be looking at management tools that can reduce the need for these skills.
Essentially, they need to balance new skills with management tools to ensure they are dealing with the proliferation of virtualisation technology in the most efficient way. Tools can be used to take care of the everyday mundane, but important, tasks of managing virtualisation, leaving highly skilled professionals in virtualisation to focus on the strategy and governance of this new technology.
As with technologies in the past and technology yet to come, the march to virtualisation appears to be inevitable. Skills need to be developed and modified in order to deal with this, but that shouldn’t require knee-jerk moves to acquire expensive personnel.
By seeking tools to take care of the easily-automated parts of a new skill set, businesses can adapt to new technology at their own pace rather than forging blindly ahead, progressing through small steps rather than giant leaps into the unknown.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Why IT skills need to be sold to girls (FT.com)
Why IT skills need to be sold to girls
By Kate Craig-Wood, managing director of web hosting company, Memset,
Published: November 13 2008 11:33 | Last updated: November 13 2008 11:33
A few weeks ago I became the first woman to tandem-skydive past Everest. Why, you might ask, would any sane person wish to subject themselves to a freefall at 140mph from higher than the world’s tallest peak in temperatures of minus 40C?
My life has taken a different path to most women: I am transexual, which means that during gestation my body differentiated into one gender (male) and my brain differentiated into the opposite (female).
One result of my condition was that I, a female, was brought up and socialised as a boy, and was actively encouraged to take part in stereotypically male activities. Many, such as football, I disliked but I did find a fondness for computing, and from the age of 12 started to learn to program my BBC Master microcomputer. There were not many computer games so I had to write my own, and I enjoyed the creative aspects of the hobby.
My sister, meanwhile, was, if anything, encouraged away from such activities, both at home and at school, even though I believe we are both equally capable. Today I see this same trend being repeated, perhaps unconsciously, by parents and teachers.
I am now a modestly successful IT entrepreneur, and with my brother Nick I have created Memset Ltd, an internet hosting company and I have a powerful conviction that I was advantaged at a young age when compared with my sister: I believe if I had been born in a female body then I would not have been given the same opportunities to develop a successful IT career. Moreover, I believe that a large part of Memset’s success is down to the good gender balance we have at the top.
I therefore think IT is a good career for girls and that girls are good for the IT industry – and that is partly why I jumped out of an aircraft at 29,500ft. I used the Everest skydive to raise money for Computer Clubs 4 Girls, a volunteer-run e-skills initiative which operates after-hours in 2,500 UK schools to encourage 10-14 year old girls to get involved with IT.
The IT industry’s gender balance is in dire shape. Only 18 per cent of technology workers are female, down from 22 per cent in just five years. The gender pay gap (23 per cent in IT compared with 17 per cent in other sectors) and a female-unfriendly culture in many companies are causing many women to leave their IT career, but my focus is on getting more women into IT. There, too, the situation is bad – during my last round of interviews for a technical post a mere 3 per cent of the applicants were female.
Last September, Tim Berners-Lee, known as “father of the web” said: “The IT profession needs more women, greater diversity and to be more inclusive.” I agree. There is a very sound business case for getting more women into the IT profession:
● Improved creativity and innovation. I fulfil, for example, the stereotypically female role of the inclusive/collaborative manager and communicator, which has helped maximise the innovation potential of our staff.
● Access to the widest talent pool. Recruiting girls can help address this shortfall.
● Improved financial performance. Companies with the most gender-balanced top management teams perform over 30 per cent better for both return on equity shareholder return. (Catalyst, 2005)
This matters because the IT sector will be more important to economic prosperity in the next decade.
First, IT is a key enabler of business process efficiency, which enhances national competitiveness. Second, the only way a developed nation such as the UK can compete in exports is to be smarter, and that is the domain of science & technology.
Finally, in the current crisis the previous tax cash-cows (retailing, property and financial services) have been crippled. The IT industry is one of the best hopes to replace those engines of economic growth, and to plug the hole in government tax revenues.
The UK needs a healthy IT industry and the sector needs more women, therefore we need parents and teachers to be telling their female charges that IT is an exciting and rewarding career that they should seriously consider.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
By Kate Craig-Wood, managing director of web hosting company, Memset,
Published: November 13 2008 11:33 | Last updated: November 13 2008 11:33
A few weeks ago I became the first woman to tandem-skydive past Everest. Why, you might ask, would any sane person wish to subject themselves to a freefall at 140mph from higher than the world’s tallest peak in temperatures of minus 40C?
My life has taken a different path to most women: I am transexual, which means that during gestation my body differentiated into one gender (male) and my brain differentiated into the opposite (female).
One result of my condition was that I, a female, was brought up and socialised as a boy, and was actively encouraged to take part in stereotypically male activities. Many, such as football, I disliked but I did find a fondness for computing, and from the age of 12 started to learn to program my BBC Master microcomputer. There were not many computer games so I had to write my own, and I enjoyed the creative aspects of the hobby.
My sister, meanwhile, was, if anything, encouraged away from such activities, both at home and at school, even though I believe we are both equally capable. Today I see this same trend being repeated, perhaps unconsciously, by parents and teachers.
I am now a modestly successful IT entrepreneur, and with my brother Nick I have created Memset Ltd, an internet hosting company and I have a powerful conviction that I was advantaged at a young age when compared with my sister: I believe if I had been born in a female body then I would not have been given the same opportunities to develop a successful IT career. Moreover, I believe that a large part of Memset’s success is down to the good gender balance we have at the top.
I therefore think IT is a good career for girls and that girls are good for the IT industry – and that is partly why I jumped out of an aircraft at 29,500ft. I used the Everest skydive to raise money for Computer Clubs 4 Girls, a volunteer-run e-skills initiative which operates after-hours in 2,500 UK schools to encourage 10-14 year old girls to get involved with IT.
The IT industry’s gender balance is in dire shape. Only 18 per cent of technology workers are female, down from 22 per cent in just five years. The gender pay gap (23 per cent in IT compared with 17 per cent in other sectors) and a female-unfriendly culture in many companies are causing many women to leave their IT career, but my focus is on getting more women into IT. There, too, the situation is bad – during my last round of interviews for a technical post a mere 3 per cent of the applicants were female.
Last September, Tim Berners-Lee, known as “father of the web” said: “The IT profession needs more women, greater diversity and to be more inclusive.” I agree. There is a very sound business case for getting more women into the IT profession:
● Improved creativity and innovation. I fulfil, for example, the stereotypically female role of the inclusive/collaborative manager and communicator, which has helped maximise the innovation potential of our staff.
● Access to the widest talent pool. Recruiting girls can help address this shortfall.
● Improved financial performance. Companies with the most gender-balanced top management teams perform over 30 per cent better for both return on equity shareholder return. (Catalyst, 2005)
This matters because the IT sector will be more important to economic prosperity in the next decade.
First, IT is a key enabler of business process efficiency, which enhances national competitiveness. Second, the only way a developed nation such as the UK can compete in exports is to be smarter, and that is the domain of science & technology.
Finally, in the current crisis the previous tax cash-cows (retailing, property and financial services) have been crippled. The IT industry is one of the best hopes to replace those engines of economic growth, and to plug the hole in government tax revenues.
The UK needs a healthy IT industry and the sector needs more women, therefore we need parents and teachers to be telling their female charges that IT is an exciting and rewarding career that they should seriously consider.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Why is interest in technology waning in our schools? Does this matter and how can we reverse this trend? (FT.com)
Why is interest in technology waning in our schools? Does this matter and how can we reverse this trend?
By Karen Price, chief executive of e-skills UK
Published: November 10 2008 10:34 | Last updated: November 10 2008 10:34
Today’s young people are tomorrow’s technology specialists, inventors and entrepreneurs; they are tomorrow’s business leaders managing IT-enabled change; and they are tomorrow’s users of technology-based products and services. They will be your company’s competitors, customers and employees.
And it seems fewer and fewer of them want to learn about technology.
IT and telecommunications represent the engine of future growth and are key to increasing productivity and competitiveness. Half of Europe’s productivity gains in recent years can be attributed to investments in IT. IT and telecoms already contribute £51.9bn to the UK economy every year – 5 per cent of the total UK economy – and provide jobs for one in 20 of the UK’s workforce.
The potential for future benefits are even more dramatic. According to recent e-skills UK research, fully exploiting technology is the single most important step the UK can take to improve productivity across the economy, generating an additional £35bn for the UK economy over the next decade.
But the long term strength of the UK’s technology sector, and of increasingly technology-enabled sectors such as financial services and biotechnology, is threatened by two worrying trends: a massive decline in the number of young people choosing to study technology at school and university, and a disconnect between the skills young people learn and the skills employers need.
The statistics make grim reading: the number of people taking the more technical A-level in Computing has fallen by 50 per cent since 2003, and just 9.5 per cent of candidates this year were female. This year also saw a drop of 14 per cent on 2007 in the number of people taking a GCSE in ICT (which focuses on the use of IT). UK applications to IT-related degrees have fallen by 50 per cent in the last five years.
Where is it all going wrong? Technology should be one of the most exhilarating subjects to study. It underpins every aspect of our lives and plays an increasingly pivotal role in everything from healthcare and entertainment to banking and sport. Today’s young generation has grown up with technology: they are “digital natives”. Yet somehow the enthusiasm and excitement young people have for their personal technology such as mobile phones, virtual networks and games consoles is not translating into the classroom.
Research by e-skills UK has revealed two main drivers behind this lack of interest. First, a negative image of the way in which the subject is taught at school, and, second, widespread misconceptions about the reality of a career in IT.
So what can and should be done about this?
In the first instance, we need a radical review of all technology curriculums. Technology education needs to inform and inspire young people about technology. Young people need opportunities to see cutting edge technology in action in order to discover for themselves the excitement and relevance of a career in IT. This is one area where the new Diploma in IT will make a real and very positive difference.
In addition, technology education needs to help young people develop the increasingly sophisticated blend of technical, business and communications skills they will require for an IT professional or business career. The UK’s IT industry operates in a global labour market. Many IT activities are now being sourced from outside the UK – for example, from countries such as India and China which produce ever-increasing numbers of highly qualified technology graduates – while IT professional job roles in the UK are increasingly focused on highly skilled, business-focused and customer-facing roles. This places considerable demands on the UK’s education system and on what is required from young people entering technology careers.
A technology education benefits all young people regardless of their ultimate career choice – it helps to develop numerate and creative graduates who can add real value in a wide range of roles where logical thinking and problem solving are cherished.
At e-skills UK we are working hard to reverse these negative trends. Through a number of pioneering programmes we are bringing together employers, government and academia to help inspire and invigorate technology education and transform young people’s attitudes towards IT. There are many opportunities for business to get involved.
Young people are our future. We can help to give them the start they need to succeed in a technology-enabled world.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
By Karen Price, chief executive of e-skills UK
Published: November 10 2008 10:34 | Last updated: November 10 2008 10:34
Today’s young people are tomorrow’s technology specialists, inventors and entrepreneurs; they are tomorrow’s business leaders managing IT-enabled change; and they are tomorrow’s users of technology-based products and services. They will be your company’s competitors, customers and employees.
And it seems fewer and fewer of them want to learn about technology.
IT and telecommunications represent the engine of future growth and are key to increasing productivity and competitiveness. Half of Europe’s productivity gains in recent years can be attributed to investments in IT. IT and telecoms already contribute £51.9bn to the UK economy every year – 5 per cent of the total UK economy – and provide jobs for one in 20 of the UK’s workforce.
The potential for future benefits are even more dramatic. According to recent e-skills UK research, fully exploiting technology is the single most important step the UK can take to improve productivity across the economy, generating an additional £35bn for the UK economy over the next decade.
But the long term strength of the UK’s technology sector, and of increasingly technology-enabled sectors such as financial services and biotechnology, is threatened by two worrying trends: a massive decline in the number of young people choosing to study technology at school and university, and a disconnect between the skills young people learn and the skills employers need.
The statistics make grim reading: the number of people taking the more technical A-level in Computing has fallen by 50 per cent since 2003, and just 9.5 per cent of candidates this year were female. This year also saw a drop of 14 per cent on 2007 in the number of people taking a GCSE in ICT (which focuses on the use of IT). UK applications to IT-related degrees have fallen by 50 per cent in the last five years.
Where is it all going wrong? Technology should be one of the most exhilarating subjects to study. It underpins every aspect of our lives and plays an increasingly pivotal role in everything from healthcare and entertainment to banking and sport. Today’s young generation has grown up with technology: they are “digital natives”. Yet somehow the enthusiasm and excitement young people have for their personal technology such as mobile phones, virtual networks and games consoles is not translating into the classroom.
Research by e-skills UK has revealed two main drivers behind this lack of interest. First, a negative image of the way in which the subject is taught at school, and, second, widespread misconceptions about the reality of a career in IT.
So what can and should be done about this?
In the first instance, we need a radical review of all technology curriculums. Technology education needs to inform and inspire young people about technology. Young people need opportunities to see cutting edge technology in action in order to discover for themselves the excitement and relevance of a career in IT. This is one area where the new Diploma in IT will make a real and very positive difference.
In addition, technology education needs to help young people develop the increasingly sophisticated blend of technical, business and communications skills they will require for an IT professional or business career. The UK’s IT industry operates in a global labour market. Many IT activities are now being sourced from outside the UK – for example, from countries such as India and China which produce ever-increasing numbers of highly qualified technology graduates – while IT professional job roles in the UK are increasingly focused on highly skilled, business-focused and customer-facing roles. This places considerable demands on the UK’s education system and on what is required from young people entering technology careers.
A technology education benefits all young people regardless of their ultimate career choice – it helps to develop numerate and creative graduates who can add real value in a wide range of roles where logical thinking and problem solving are cherished.
At e-skills UK we are working hard to reverse these negative trends. Through a number of pioneering programmes we are bringing together employers, government and academia to help inspire and invigorate technology education and transform young people’s attitudes towards IT. There are many opportunities for business to get involved.
Young people are our future. We can help to give them the start they need to succeed in a technology-enabled world.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
SharePoint Proving a Goldmine for Microsoft Partners
About 80 percent of businesses are expected to be using SharePoint by 2010, according to Gartner. That means for the Microsoft channel community, SharePoint is a potential goldmine, a repeat revenue generator, and customer relationship builder – if you get it right.
Monday, November 03, 2008
Autonomy automation (FT.com)
Autonomy automation
Autonomy, the search specialist, has unveiled Autonomy ControlPoint, a compliance solution for organisations running Microsoft Office SharePoint Server. It is designed to automate the otherwise cumbersome process of searching for documents stored in SharePoint and tagging them to comply with corporate, legal and regulatory standards for document retention. ControlPoint can understand more than 1,000 different file types and can search across all the SharePoint servers and other repositories located on a corporate network.
Autonomy, the search specialist, has unveiled Autonomy ControlPoint, a compliance solution for organisations running Microsoft Office SharePoint Server. It is designed to automate the otherwise cumbersome process of searching for documents stored in SharePoint and tagging them to comply with corporate, legal and regulatory standards for document retention. ControlPoint can understand more than 1,000 different file types and can search across all the SharePoint servers and other repositories located on a corporate network.
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