By Sanjiv Gossain, UK managing director of Cognizant Technology Solutions
Published: October 22 2009 11:42 | Last updated: October 22 2009 11:42
From IT maintenance to CRM and business process automation, outsourcing is firmly ingrained in company culture and is central to the smooth operation of the world’s biggest and most renowned businesses.
The benefits are supposedly clear, with cost-reduction typically the number one goal. However, despite vast sums spent on outsourcing contracts each year – more than $42.2bn in 2008, according to Gartner – it appears many companies are failing to keep track of their outsourcing investments and are subsequently missing out on the major benefits of outsourcing.
Cost saving, of course, is not the only desired outcome when entering into an outsourcing relationship. According to Gartner research, organisations still outsource for “efficiency, access to skills, focus on core business, innovation, modernisation and even business transformation”.
Yet the demand for cost reduction remains high and research recently conducted by Cognizant, in partnership with Warwick Business School, finds that a proven return on investment is required in a very short time.
Over half of more than 250 European chief information and chief finance officers surveyed are demanding ROI within the first 12 months of an outsourcing agreement being confirmed. The current economic situation has no doubt intensified this need, with outsourcing providers under increasing pressure to drive more value with their clients and deliver longer-term business benefits.
Whether an outsourcing agreement has saved money over the short term isn’t too difficult to measure; in the simplest terms, it boils down to whether the new supplier can do the task more cheaply than it was done previously in-house or with an alternative outsourcing supplier.
However, given that many of these relationships can stretch over a considerable length of time – the BBC recently extended one of its contracts for a further nine years – companies expect to profit from the additional benefits outlined above.
It goes without saying, therefore, that every business has a solid methodology and auditing process in place to measure the benefits of their outsourcing investment. Or does it?
Our research suggests that business leaders are failing to get to grips with measuring the full financial impact of the outsourcing contracts they commission. Perhaps the most alarming discovery is that fewer than half of CIOs and CFOs have even tried to quantify the financial contribution of outsourcing to their business.
There is a widespread belief that the long-term value of outsourcing cannot actually be measured. More than a third (37 per cent) admit they do not try to measure the return, while a further 20 per cent do not even know whether they have tried.
This is perhaps unsurprising when considered that only 29 per cent believe that the contribution can be properly assessed beyond the one-time cost saving.
So what methods are being used to track and prove the value of these huge investments? The CIOs and CFOs surveyed provided several answers and in some cases, it seems the methods are vague at best.
Some show a degree of methodology, even if they couldn’t quite articulate what it was. Others amount to little more than “back of an envelope” sums. Examples included “Manual calculation”; “You know what it costs but you don’t really know the value”; “The accountants will use some formula for calculating ROI”.
Just 7 per cent of respondents were very confident that they know what they are spending in terms of time and money on their outsourcing arrangements.
Companies undertake outsourcing initiatives for a wide range of disciplines. So while a one-size-fits-all method for measuring value may not make sense, it is imperative to have some method to indicate what has been gained and at what price.
To measure outsourcing’s impact, businesses require a form of Return On Outsourcing methodology that includes benefits along three dimensions: innovation (the basis of future benefits, valued financially), process optimisation (quantified and valued over time) and total cost of ownership (reflected in IT budgets and IT accountability).
Value along all three of these dimensions should be addressed as part of the planning process and tracked through the life of the initiative. This should enable both the client and the vendor to see the business value and cost advantages from the outsourcing investment, understand the operational conditions and best practices that lead to long-term success, and compare projected financial returns with other companies within an industry peer group and beyond.
The evolution of an outsourcing project can and should, in many cases, begin with cutting operational costs through labour arbitrage. Over time it should gain operational flexibility, adding and subtracting third-party resources as needed, delivering additional cost savings.
As financial performance improves, the cost savings can be reinvested in strategic initiatives that enable even greater operational efficiency and support future growth initiatives.
This insight into outsourcing performance is crucial in determining future decisions. The research suggests that C-level executives are making such decisions on future business and outsourcing strategies without knowledge of the financial benefits: 78 per cent of those who cut back on outsourcing last year cited “unclear value for money”.
Yet many do not actually have any clear evidence or means to quantify this.
Senior executives, therefore, appear to be making outsourcing decisions based upon short-term cost-cutting – which remains crucial – without measuring outsourcing’s impact beyond the initial labour, skills and cost advantages.
Key business benefits such as innovation and transformation are being ignored by many. Given that outsourcing should be delivering significant operational flexibility and business process improvements, its true value is clearly being missed by many organisations given the widespread lack of measurement practices.
Without clear ways of measuring and monitoring their outsourcing arrangements, company executives could, in effect, be tying up costs that could be released to drive additional initiatives.
The practice of outsourcing IT and business processes is mature, yet the research suggests that the way in which companies measure the positive impact of these arrangements needs to be addressed.
More on the Cognizant and Warwick Business School research report on attitudes to outsourcing can be viewed at http://www.quantifyingoutsourcingbenefits.com/
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Print a single copy of this article for personal use. Contact us if you wish to print more to distribute to others.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
De-cluttering IT
By Colin Rowland, senior vice president, operations, for the Emea region at OpTier
Published: September 28 2009 10:47 | Last updated: September 28 2009 10:47
An IT department was once relatively simple. A server, a few computers, perhaps some firewalls, internet connection and a help desk. Staff came to work to write documents, make phone calls and not much more.
Today, work is supported by computing almost every step of the way. In turn, IT departments vary in size, budget and platform but have come to share one striking element – complexity.
As businesses have become ever more reliant on technology, so IT has built an intricate jigsaw puzzle of technologies.
A typical scenario: no business in its right mind is going to install a hugely expensive infrastructure without taking steps to ensure it works properly. So another system has to be installed to ensure the first one is performing.
This layering of solutions and systems to monitor the solutions has spiralled out of control. Our recent research in the UK found that three quarters of businesses admit they are blinded by the complexity of their IT management set up.
But what surprised us more is the estimated cost. Almost two thirds of respondents admitted that complex and ineffective IT management is costing their company £4.64m each year in downtime and staff time, on average.
So how has it come to this?
It is partly because there is no holistic, end-to-end picture IT that its managers need: CIOs have been forced to take a segmented approach to performance management by implementing partial solutions that monitor individual technology silos. We found that almost one fifth of companies were using more than five tools to monitor the performance of IT.
This partial approach is financially draining and does not give businesses the support they require.
For example, when a performance issue hits online banking, often the first time the IT department knows about it is when customer complaints flood in. In spite of the five monitoring tools, pinpointing the problem will still be like trying to find a needle in a haystack – or multiple haystacks. Industry analyst group Enterprise Management Associates estimates that more down time (54 per cent) is spent finding problems than fixing them.
In seeking to protect investments and ensure they deliver, IT departments have ended up with information overload that hinders resolution efforts.
What businesses need is for their IT departments to be able to assess quickly where the problems are, and avoid them.
IT is made up of many applications and systems each performing small tasks to get user transactions completed. By generating visibility into these transactions IT management can be simplified.
Each transaction from a user “travels” through the system. By capturing and tracking all transactions, across all IT tiers, all the time, organisations can see the impact that transactions have on the business.
But most importantly each business transaction provides clear evidence to how an application is performing and if there is trouble on the horizon.
Another advantage is that transactions also tell the cost side of the IT story; they make it easy to identify and resolve performance problems swiftly but also to optimise the cost of performing those transactions.
An approach that was fit for purpose 10 years ago, simply no longer cuts the mustard. Businesses have to be leaner and meaner – they cannot afford to have a reactive technology infrastructure where the systems manage the business rather than the other way around.
Simplifying IT management is, in many ways, akin to clearing out your wardrobe. It might be painful to part with that tan leather jacket from the 1980s but you know it has to be done.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Print a single copy of this article for personal use. Contact us if you wish to print more to distribute to others.
Published: September 28 2009 10:47 | Last updated: September 28 2009 10:47
An IT department was once relatively simple. A server, a few computers, perhaps some firewalls, internet connection and a help desk. Staff came to work to write documents, make phone calls and not much more.
Today, work is supported by computing almost every step of the way. In turn, IT departments vary in size, budget and platform but have come to share one striking element – complexity.
As businesses have become ever more reliant on technology, so IT has built an intricate jigsaw puzzle of technologies.
A typical scenario: no business in its right mind is going to install a hugely expensive infrastructure without taking steps to ensure it works properly. So another system has to be installed to ensure the first one is performing.
This layering of solutions and systems to monitor the solutions has spiralled out of control. Our recent research in the UK found that three quarters of businesses admit they are blinded by the complexity of their IT management set up.
But what surprised us more is the estimated cost. Almost two thirds of respondents admitted that complex and ineffective IT management is costing their company £4.64m each year in downtime and staff time, on average.
So how has it come to this?
It is partly because there is no holistic, end-to-end picture IT that its managers need: CIOs have been forced to take a segmented approach to performance management by implementing partial solutions that monitor individual technology silos. We found that almost one fifth of companies were using more than five tools to monitor the performance of IT.
This partial approach is financially draining and does not give businesses the support they require.
For example, when a performance issue hits online banking, often the first time the IT department knows about it is when customer complaints flood in. In spite of the five monitoring tools, pinpointing the problem will still be like trying to find a needle in a haystack – or multiple haystacks. Industry analyst group Enterprise Management Associates estimates that more down time (54 per cent) is spent finding problems than fixing them.
In seeking to protect investments and ensure they deliver, IT departments have ended up with information overload that hinders resolution efforts.
What businesses need is for their IT departments to be able to assess quickly where the problems are, and avoid them.
IT is made up of many applications and systems each performing small tasks to get user transactions completed. By generating visibility into these transactions IT management can be simplified.
Each transaction from a user “travels” through the system. By capturing and tracking all transactions, across all IT tiers, all the time, organisations can see the impact that transactions have on the business.
But most importantly each business transaction provides clear evidence to how an application is performing and if there is trouble on the horizon.
Another advantage is that transactions also tell the cost side of the IT story; they make it easy to identify and resolve performance problems swiftly but also to optimise the cost of performing those transactions.
An approach that was fit for purpose 10 years ago, simply no longer cuts the mustard. Businesses have to be leaner and meaner – they cannot afford to have a reactive technology infrastructure where the systems manage the business rather than the other way around.
Simplifying IT management is, in many ways, akin to clearing out your wardrobe. It might be painful to part with that tan leather jacket from the 1980s but you know it has to be done.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Print a single copy of this article for personal use. Contact us if you wish to print more to distribute to others.
A first look at Office 2010
Mary Branscombe reports as Microsoft reveals an improved interface and promises real-time collaboration and web apps
Published: July 14 2009 13:29 | Last updated: July 14 2009 13:29
The technical preview of Office 2010 is an early look at some of the new features coming in the next release. Updates to the desktop apps are welcome if not revolutionary, but the real shift is that Microsoft is embracing the cloud (and the mobile phone), albeit carefully and without undermining the market for the full-featured desktop versions.
There are some users who dislike the “ribbon” interface introduced in Office 2007 but according to Microsoft product manager Chris Bryant “the ribbon has helped people use more of the Office applications in Office 2007 than ever before”.
He compares it to drag and drop, first introduced in Word in 1991: “Now it’s a fundamental part of the productivity experience; we think the ribbon will be very much the same in 10 years.”
Office 2010 extends the ribbon to all the applications and it does an excellent job of it. It also introduces the option to customise the ribbon completely, which should mollify most remaining critics.
The Office menu, which replaced the File menu in Office 2007 is in turn replaced by the Backstage menu which combines useful tools and settings once found in a variety of dialog boxes in one handy place, including file properties, previews of file templates, print preview, advanced printer settings and options for sharing files (by methods such as e-mail, SharePoint or Excel services) and packaging presentations.
Expect the look of Backstage to evolve as it currently takes up rather more space than necessary for many of the features it includes.
Otherwise, the interface of Office 2010 is generally cleaner and more efficient than the previous version, using the space better and presenting appropriate commands more intelligently.
Microsoft has gone back to basics on the core application features such as text formating, copy and paste, printing and integration between the different applications says Mr Bryant, noting that around 20 per cent of all commands used in Office are about copying and pasting.
“The long-term mission of Office is really to deliver that best productivity experience. We spent more energy and more time implementing those essentials and making sure they work the way people expect.”
Integration includes making more features common across applications. Some of that is playing catch-up. PowerPoint 2010 can now compare and merge presentations the way Word lets you compare and merge versions of a document.
But new features such as a preview that helps you pick the right format for pasting information such as tables, instant translations and tools for editing photos inside applications (adjusting the brightness, contrast and colour tone or adding Photoshop-style artistic effects) are in almost all the Office programs.
PowerPoint has basic video editing tools; they don’t replace sophisticated video editing software but if you only need to adjust the contrast or brightness and select a section to play then being able to do it all in your presentation will save a lot of time.
PowerPoint also gets the first connection to the cloud: you can embed videos from online services such as YouTube into slides and upload your presentation to the PowerPoint Live service, send the URL to participants at different companies and control the presentation in their browsers (which can be Firefox or Safari as well as Internet Explorer).
Excel’s new sparklines place mini-charts into tables, highlighting trends and key figures more clearly and new Slicer tools make it easier to explore large PivotTables and PivotCharts.
Outlook has Quick Steps and Mail Tips to streamline common tasks and help you avoid common mistakes, plus a very welcome Ignore tool for dropping out of e-mail conversations that take on a life of their own. Word gets an improved navigation pane for browsing and searching within long documents.
Useful as they are, these features are not compelling reasons to upgrade and that underlines the fact that this is very much a preview version (although it’s robust enough to do real work with).
It doesn’t include the Office Web applications (available as a preview in August) or the new version of SharePoint (expected in beta in October) that will enable collaboration between document authors and allow businesses to host the web apps themselves, suggesting Microsoft still has a lot of work to do.
The real test will come when businesses can evaluate whether the collaborative tools and web apps deliver Mr Bryant’s claim of “the best productivity experience across the PC, phone and browser”.
Most collaboration today is what he calls “linear”: using e-mail to send documents. “Today, not many people co-author in real time, but we think it will be a fundamental expectation of the future.”
Both the desktop and web applications will allow real-time collaboration, and Word will allow desktop and web users to work on the same document; Microsoft is also promoting its note-taking app, OneNote, as a collaborative tool for both storing and sharing information.
Similarly most people expect to use a PC (usually their own) to edit documents but that attitude is changing: “The freedom to work from anywhere is becoming a fundamental expectation.”
For Office to remain a key business tool, Microsoft has to judge those expectations correctly and satisfy them on the platforms business users care about.
The Office web apps need to deliver the same rich features and formats as desktop Office programs rather than the basic tools of most web apps today.
Businesses will welcome the flexibility of hosting the web applications on their SharePoint servers at no extra charge and making those available through an extranet. But apart from the promise that the web apps will be included in the Office Professional Pro edition for enterprise and free to consumers and small business users through the Live service, Microsoft hasn’t finalised business models or what collaboration will be possible across these kind of boundaries.
Those issues will be as important as the features in the desktop or the web apps.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Print a single copy of this article for personal use. Contact us if you wish to print more to distribute to others.
Published: July 14 2009 13:29 | Last updated: July 14 2009 13:29
The technical preview of Office 2010 is an early look at some of the new features coming in the next release. Updates to the desktop apps are welcome if not revolutionary, but the real shift is that Microsoft is embracing the cloud (and the mobile phone), albeit carefully and without undermining the market for the full-featured desktop versions.
There are some users who dislike the “ribbon” interface introduced in Office 2007 but according to Microsoft product manager Chris Bryant “the ribbon has helped people use more of the Office applications in Office 2007 than ever before”.
He compares it to drag and drop, first introduced in Word in 1991: “Now it’s a fundamental part of the productivity experience; we think the ribbon will be very much the same in 10 years.”
Office 2010 extends the ribbon to all the applications and it does an excellent job of it. It also introduces the option to customise the ribbon completely, which should mollify most remaining critics.
The Office menu, which replaced the File menu in Office 2007 is in turn replaced by the Backstage menu which combines useful tools and settings once found in a variety of dialog boxes in one handy place, including file properties, previews of file templates, print preview, advanced printer settings and options for sharing files (by methods such as e-mail, SharePoint or Excel services) and packaging presentations.
Expect the look of Backstage to evolve as it currently takes up rather more space than necessary for many of the features it includes.
Otherwise, the interface of Office 2010 is generally cleaner and more efficient than the previous version, using the space better and presenting appropriate commands more intelligently.
Microsoft has gone back to basics on the core application features such as text formating, copy and paste, printing and integration between the different applications says Mr Bryant, noting that around 20 per cent of all commands used in Office are about copying and pasting.
“The long-term mission of Office is really to deliver that best productivity experience. We spent more energy and more time implementing those essentials and making sure they work the way people expect.”
Integration includes making more features common across applications. Some of that is playing catch-up. PowerPoint 2010 can now compare and merge presentations the way Word lets you compare and merge versions of a document.
But new features such as a preview that helps you pick the right format for pasting information such as tables, instant translations and tools for editing photos inside applications (adjusting the brightness, contrast and colour tone or adding Photoshop-style artistic effects) are in almost all the Office programs.
PowerPoint has basic video editing tools; they don’t replace sophisticated video editing software but if you only need to adjust the contrast or brightness and select a section to play then being able to do it all in your presentation will save a lot of time.
PowerPoint also gets the first connection to the cloud: you can embed videos from online services such as YouTube into slides and upload your presentation to the PowerPoint Live service, send the URL to participants at different companies and control the presentation in their browsers (which can be Firefox or Safari as well as Internet Explorer).
Excel’s new sparklines place mini-charts into tables, highlighting trends and key figures more clearly and new Slicer tools make it easier to explore large PivotTables and PivotCharts.
Outlook has Quick Steps and Mail Tips to streamline common tasks and help you avoid common mistakes, plus a very welcome Ignore tool for dropping out of e-mail conversations that take on a life of their own. Word gets an improved navigation pane for browsing and searching within long documents.
Useful as they are, these features are not compelling reasons to upgrade and that underlines the fact that this is very much a preview version (although it’s robust enough to do real work with).
It doesn’t include the Office Web applications (available as a preview in August) or the new version of SharePoint (expected in beta in October) that will enable collaboration between document authors and allow businesses to host the web apps themselves, suggesting Microsoft still has a lot of work to do.
The real test will come when businesses can evaluate whether the collaborative tools and web apps deliver Mr Bryant’s claim of “the best productivity experience across the PC, phone and browser”.
Most collaboration today is what he calls “linear”: using e-mail to send documents. “Today, not many people co-author in real time, but we think it will be a fundamental expectation of the future.”
Both the desktop and web applications will allow real-time collaboration, and Word will allow desktop and web users to work on the same document; Microsoft is also promoting its note-taking app, OneNote, as a collaborative tool for both storing and sharing information.
Similarly most people expect to use a PC (usually their own) to edit documents but that attitude is changing: “The freedom to work from anywhere is becoming a fundamental expectation.”
For Office to remain a key business tool, Microsoft has to judge those expectations correctly and satisfy them on the platforms business users care about.
The Office web apps need to deliver the same rich features and formats as desktop Office programs rather than the basic tools of most web apps today.
Businesses will welcome the flexibility of hosting the web applications on their SharePoint servers at no extra charge and making those available through an extranet. But apart from the promise that the web apps will be included in the Office Professional Pro edition for enterprise and free to consumers and small business users through the Live service, Microsoft hasn’t finalised business models or what collaboration will be possible across these kind of boundaries.
Those issues will be as important as the features in the desktop or the web apps.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Print a single copy of this article for personal use. Contact us if you wish to print more to distribute to others.
Friday, August 07, 2009
Social media are changing the rules for business
Social media are changing the rules for business
By Paul Henri Ferrand, vice president for SMB Marketing at Dell
Published: July 24 2009 12:40 | Last updated: July 24 2009 12:40
Does it seem like the world has gone Twitter-crazy? But crazy or inspired, one thing is for sure – social media have changed the way we do business forever.
For a start, the way reputations are built has changed. Not that long ago, the sum total of how an organisation portrayed itself in public set its reputation over time. Customer opinion was important but conversation was much more one-way. Reaching millions of customers with a message was expensive and time consuming.
Those days are gone. An organisation’s reputation is being altered and formed constantly. Around the globe people are searching for information, buying online, formulating opinions and sharing them. A company may win or lose potential customers based on an online conversation.
With the click of a button, a business can connect with customers in real time, hold conversions and build raving fans. In short – social media is one more thing breaking down the barriers between SMEs and large enterprises.
This means that companies:
• need to adapt or risk losing business;
• cannot overlay traditional marketing on to social media platforms and expect it to work;
• have a tremendous opportunity. SMEs in particular can use social media to leapfrog large competitors.
Get in the game
It can feel risky to open the gates and be so direct with the public. But a company is going to be discussed anyway, and it might as well be part of the conversation. The ease and speed with which customers now share information goes far beyond what we could have imagined even a few years ago.
At Dell, we’ve significantly turned around our approach to social media, from a cautious start years ago. Our Direct2Dell forums allow customers to express freely their experiences of using Dell products and we take the good and the bad into account at a senior level.
These forums, that we do not edit or censor, feed into our future product design and give our company invaluable feedback on what truly matters for consumers, small businesses and large enterprises.
We’ve also launched blogs, Facebook groups and pages, a crowd-sourcing platform called IdeaStorm, and we were one of the first big enterprises to be active in Twitter. Through all this we’re having over 5m conversations per day with potential customers, over 2bn interactions a year!
There are a few different ways businesses can “jump in”:
• Closer Conversations
Blogs are a great sounding board, engaging key audiences in fast and honest conversation. Leave any business-talk offline and make sure to get across personality and opinion. They can attract negative comments – but open and transparent answers can counter that.
Microblogging (ie Twitter) allows companies large or small to send out regular chunks of news or insight easily. Even when expanding a small business and hiring new recruits – Twitter and Facebook can be great ways of putting the word out. I know of SMEs who have got back in touch with old colleagues and head-hunted them.
• Building relationships
Know where customers are talking. Use Google Alerts, Netvibes, Yahoo Pipes and Technorati to adapt campaigns accordingly.
Online dialogue is direct and personal, and requires the highest levels of transparency. Fans know a company’s products and brand, and can be ambassadors for them.
So it is important to have an open exchange. Listening to customers and influencers has always been fundamental to good business, and this is integral to any social-media marketing campaign, and provides real-time insight.
Crowdsourcing lets customers be actively involved in creating new products and services, or solving a business challenge for your company. No one knows better than customers what they want and need. Two heads (or 200,000) are better than one.
Multi-way, Not One-Way
As companies jump in, it’s important to remember that traditional marketing unaltered will rarely work in the social media world, because it is built around one-way conversation.
The message needs to be adapted to prepare for dialogue – which can involve some fun, with the building of a company’s online “personality” in real time as it starts sharing with the world.
SME Leadership
Where is all this heading? Just three years ago we may have struggled to understand the importance of social networking sites. Today, there are hundreds of millions of potential customers engaged in these networks and virtually no barrier or cost to an SME joining and connecting with them.
I would argue that because SMEs are so agile and efficient, they might dominate the social media business landscape before the majority of large enterprises.
While Dell is proud to be a leader in social media, only 12 per cent of the Fortune 500 even have a company blog.
I also think we’ll see far more diversification of social networks aimed at specific interests – for example www.webjam.com allows anyone to set up a social network on their personal hobbies. This will allow SMEs even more chance to target or network with specific customers.
Like most things, the only way to “get” digital media is to jump right in. Start building a brand on social networks now – that’s the key to hiring staff and finding customers that will allow an SME to thrive, whatever the economic climate.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
By Paul Henri Ferrand, vice president for SMB Marketing at Dell
Published: July 24 2009 12:40 | Last updated: July 24 2009 12:40
Does it seem like the world has gone Twitter-crazy? But crazy or inspired, one thing is for sure – social media have changed the way we do business forever.
For a start, the way reputations are built has changed. Not that long ago, the sum total of how an organisation portrayed itself in public set its reputation over time. Customer opinion was important but conversation was much more one-way. Reaching millions of customers with a message was expensive and time consuming.
Those days are gone. An organisation’s reputation is being altered and formed constantly. Around the globe people are searching for information, buying online, formulating opinions and sharing them. A company may win or lose potential customers based on an online conversation.
With the click of a button, a business can connect with customers in real time, hold conversions and build raving fans. In short – social media is one more thing breaking down the barriers between SMEs and large enterprises.
This means that companies:
• need to adapt or risk losing business;
• cannot overlay traditional marketing on to social media platforms and expect it to work;
• have a tremendous opportunity. SMEs in particular can use social media to leapfrog large competitors.
Get in the game
It can feel risky to open the gates and be so direct with the public. But a company is going to be discussed anyway, and it might as well be part of the conversation. The ease and speed with which customers now share information goes far beyond what we could have imagined even a few years ago.
At Dell, we’ve significantly turned around our approach to social media, from a cautious start years ago. Our Direct2Dell forums allow customers to express freely their experiences of using Dell products and we take the good and the bad into account at a senior level.
These forums, that we do not edit or censor, feed into our future product design and give our company invaluable feedback on what truly matters for consumers, small businesses and large enterprises.
We’ve also launched blogs, Facebook groups and pages, a crowd-sourcing platform called IdeaStorm, and we were one of the first big enterprises to be active in Twitter. Through all this we’re having over 5m conversations per day with potential customers, over 2bn interactions a year!
There are a few different ways businesses can “jump in”:
• Closer Conversations
Blogs are a great sounding board, engaging key audiences in fast and honest conversation. Leave any business-talk offline and make sure to get across personality and opinion. They can attract negative comments – but open and transparent answers can counter that.
Microblogging (ie Twitter) allows companies large or small to send out regular chunks of news or insight easily. Even when expanding a small business and hiring new recruits – Twitter and Facebook can be great ways of putting the word out. I know of SMEs who have got back in touch with old colleagues and head-hunted them.
• Building relationships
Know where customers are talking. Use Google Alerts, Netvibes, Yahoo Pipes and Technorati to adapt campaigns accordingly.
Online dialogue is direct and personal, and requires the highest levels of transparency. Fans know a company’s products and brand, and can be ambassadors for them.
So it is important to have an open exchange. Listening to customers and influencers has always been fundamental to good business, and this is integral to any social-media marketing campaign, and provides real-time insight.
Crowdsourcing lets customers be actively involved in creating new products and services, or solving a business challenge for your company. No one knows better than customers what they want and need. Two heads (or 200,000) are better than one.
Multi-way, Not One-Way
As companies jump in, it’s important to remember that traditional marketing unaltered will rarely work in the social media world, because it is built around one-way conversation.
The message needs to be adapted to prepare for dialogue – which can involve some fun, with the building of a company’s online “personality” in real time as it starts sharing with the world.
SME Leadership
Where is all this heading? Just three years ago we may have struggled to understand the importance of social networking sites. Today, there are hundreds of millions of potential customers engaged in these networks and virtually no barrier or cost to an SME joining and connecting with them.
I would argue that because SMEs are so agile and efficient, they might dominate the social media business landscape before the majority of large enterprises.
While Dell is proud to be a leader in social media, only 12 per cent of the Fortune 500 even have a company blog.
I also think we’ll see far more diversification of social networks aimed at specific interests – for example www.webjam.com allows anyone to set up a social network on their personal hobbies. This will allow SMEs even more chance to target or network with specific customers.
Like most things, the only way to “get” digital media is to jump right in. Start building a brand on social networks now – that’s the key to hiring staff and finding customers that will allow an SME to thrive, whatever the economic climate.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Narrowing the digital divide by nurturing a ‘business-ready’ workforce
Narrowing the digital divide by nurturing a ‘business-ready’ workforce
By Chris Miller of CA
Published: June 15 2009 14:40 | Last updated: June 15 2009 14:40
We often hear about the “digital divide” between those connected to the online world and underprivileged sections of society unable to reap the same benefits – but now we are seeing a “skills divide” preventing organisations and recruits from fulfilling their potential.
Today’s stream of employer dissatisfaction over suitability of new recruits is likely to become a torrent of complaint when economic recovery finally arrives and talent is thin on the ground.
Despite data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development showing that an average of 54 per cent of relevant age groups enters tertiary education, country-by-country research questions whether we are producing workforce candidates equipped to take on the challenges of a digital economy.
In the UK, for example, the CBI employers group revealed that two-thirds of employers think graduates and postgraduates still lack business skills necessary for the workplace.
Research shows that multinationals are planning to outsource even more non-core activity to help beat the economic downturn and drive out costs. For the US, UK and mainland Europe, this trend is effectively taking away the need for companies to maintain many core IT development programmes – a situation likely to intensify when cloud computing and software-as-a-service are piped into the enterprise.
As a result, precious IT, project management and business skills are being stripped out of companies and so denied to new recruits. This could harm future development of all types of businesses, especially as studies show that IT is required to perform nearly 80 per cent of all jobs.
With this in mind, we appear to be ignoring the strategic role of technology at the very time we require skilled practitioners to harness the full power of IT to run the 21st century organisation. Economies such as China and India are also experiencing a shortage of IT jobs, as competitor countries offer next-stage “body-shopping” of IT services.
This is all leading to a significant disconnect between the changing needs of an organisation and the ability of different departments to address them with smart technologies.
When competing in the global arena, today’s economies will always require a degree of outsourcing, but they also need personnel with a grounding in both technology and commerce to help drive business innovation.
As senior management pushes the “offshoring button” to drive out costs, the downturn has uncovered a need for workforces with the technology, project management, commercial and communications skills needed to make the case for, and manage, alternatives to large-scale outsourcing of IT.
No wonder organisations baulk at the investment needed to bring new staff up to speed. One multinational estimated that training just one graduate to full productivity in business today costs approximately $200,000.
So employers must find alternatives to nurturing workforce talent in-house. In short, they need to build 21st century business skills into school and university curriculums. In fact, they must set the scene for graduates to absorb a suitable balance of technology, communications and workplace skills to ensure that IT is able to play an enabling role in modern business.
A glimmer of good news is that employers are stepping into the breach, with governments following.
Global enterprises offer work-experience programmes and internships, but these are frequently scaled back when the economic going gets tough. Inspired by reality TV or charities that genuinely understand the younger mindset, governments are moving to establish “finishing schools” for recruits-in-the-making.
Necessary and well-intentioned? Yes. But a long-term answer? Probably not. Today’s businesses need a structured approach to giving young people a wider appreciation of the role of technology in business and society, and inspiring them to work in IT.
Enterprises and universities are therefore starting to combine resources to update the curriculum. In the UK, blue-chip companies, the e-skills UK sector skills body and a number of universities have established degree courses that balance business with technology skills.
Some use webcast lectures from IT executives, face-to-face mentoring and hands-on business exposure to cultivate wider business skills among their students. Undergraduates able to question a chief information officer on his or her role in innovation will have their eyes opened to the commercial potential held by IT in the workplace – and will fire up their career ambitions.
In fact, as global research calls for faster broadband to provide a platform for an integrated and dynamic economy, employers need to do more to connect technology – and the way it shapes business – with school leavers, younger-age groups and the disadvantaged.
Many a parent is surprised by the way a child is able to adopt and integrate technology into their everyday lives. Yet students are perceiving IT as a dull option, so applications to pursue technology courses continue to diminish.
How can this be when technology is so pervasive and such an exciting part of our economy? At the same time, research shows that IT is second only to finance as the most sought-after graduate discipline among recruiters.
Employers need to reach out to school-age youngsters and the disadvantaged in order to channel their seemingly natural affinity with technology into building successful and sustainable organisations. Bosses need to show young people what IT can do for them, and employers have a responsibility – beyond their CSR programmes – to make this happen.
Only when business leaders provide the necessary leadership and open up possibilities within the education system and wider community can they hope to attract IT talent into industry.
This will help close the divide between the beneficiaries of technology and those with the skills to make it work for all sections of society.
Chris Miller is senior vice president and general manager, UK and Ireland, for CA
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
By Chris Miller of CA
Published: June 15 2009 14:40 | Last updated: June 15 2009 14:40
We often hear about the “digital divide” between those connected to the online world and underprivileged sections of society unable to reap the same benefits – but now we are seeing a “skills divide” preventing organisations and recruits from fulfilling their potential.
Today’s stream of employer dissatisfaction over suitability of new recruits is likely to become a torrent of complaint when economic recovery finally arrives and talent is thin on the ground.
Despite data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development showing that an average of 54 per cent of relevant age groups enters tertiary education, country-by-country research questions whether we are producing workforce candidates equipped to take on the challenges of a digital economy.
In the UK, for example, the CBI employers group revealed that two-thirds of employers think graduates and postgraduates still lack business skills necessary for the workplace.
Research shows that multinationals are planning to outsource even more non-core activity to help beat the economic downturn and drive out costs. For the US, UK and mainland Europe, this trend is effectively taking away the need for companies to maintain many core IT development programmes – a situation likely to intensify when cloud computing and software-as-a-service are piped into the enterprise.
As a result, precious IT, project management and business skills are being stripped out of companies and so denied to new recruits. This could harm future development of all types of businesses, especially as studies show that IT is required to perform nearly 80 per cent of all jobs.
With this in mind, we appear to be ignoring the strategic role of technology at the very time we require skilled practitioners to harness the full power of IT to run the 21st century organisation. Economies such as China and India are also experiencing a shortage of IT jobs, as competitor countries offer next-stage “body-shopping” of IT services.
This is all leading to a significant disconnect between the changing needs of an organisation and the ability of different departments to address them with smart technologies.
When competing in the global arena, today’s economies will always require a degree of outsourcing, but they also need personnel with a grounding in both technology and commerce to help drive business innovation.
As senior management pushes the “offshoring button” to drive out costs, the downturn has uncovered a need for workforces with the technology, project management, commercial and communications skills needed to make the case for, and manage, alternatives to large-scale outsourcing of IT.
No wonder organisations baulk at the investment needed to bring new staff up to speed. One multinational estimated that training just one graduate to full productivity in business today costs approximately $200,000.
So employers must find alternatives to nurturing workforce talent in-house. In short, they need to build 21st century business skills into school and university curriculums. In fact, they must set the scene for graduates to absorb a suitable balance of technology, communications and workplace skills to ensure that IT is able to play an enabling role in modern business.
A glimmer of good news is that employers are stepping into the breach, with governments following.
Global enterprises offer work-experience programmes and internships, but these are frequently scaled back when the economic going gets tough. Inspired by reality TV or charities that genuinely understand the younger mindset, governments are moving to establish “finishing schools” for recruits-in-the-making.
Necessary and well-intentioned? Yes. But a long-term answer? Probably not. Today’s businesses need a structured approach to giving young people a wider appreciation of the role of technology in business and society, and inspiring them to work in IT.
Enterprises and universities are therefore starting to combine resources to update the curriculum. In the UK, blue-chip companies, the e-skills UK sector skills body and a number of universities have established degree courses that balance business with technology skills.
Some use webcast lectures from IT executives, face-to-face mentoring and hands-on business exposure to cultivate wider business skills among their students. Undergraduates able to question a chief information officer on his or her role in innovation will have their eyes opened to the commercial potential held by IT in the workplace – and will fire up their career ambitions.
In fact, as global research calls for faster broadband to provide a platform for an integrated and dynamic economy, employers need to do more to connect technology – and the way it shapes business – with school leavers, younger-age groups and the disadvantaged.
Many a parent is surprised by the way a child is able to adopt and integrate technology into their everyday lives. Yet students are perceiving IT as a dull option, so applications to pursue technology courses continue to diminish.
How can this be when technology is so pervasive and such an exciting part of our economy? At the same time, research shows that IT is second only to finance as the most sought-after graduate discipline among recruiters.
Employers need to reach out to school-age youngsters and the disadvantaged in order to channel their seemingly natural affinity with technology into building successful and sustainable organisations. Bosses need to show young people what IT can do for them, and employers have a responsibility – beyond their CSR programmes – to make this happen.
Only when business leaders provide the necessary leadership and open up possibilities within the education system and wider community can they hope to attract IT talent into industry.
This will help close the divide between the beneficiaries of technology and those with the skills to make it work for all sections of society.
Chris Miller is senior vice president and general manager, UK and Ireland, for CA
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Ears burning? Autonomy reveals who is thinking of you
Ears burning? Autonomy reveals who is thinking of you
By Geoff Nairn
Published: June 16 2009 09:48 | Last updated: June 16 2009 09:48
Autonomy, the UK search specialist, has unveiled Autonomy Interwoven Social Media Analysis to help businesses follow “conversations” about their company or products in the Web 2.0 world.
It consists of a series of connectors for its Autonomy Interwoven web content manager system that let businesses eavesdrop on social networking sites such as YouTube, Twitter or Facebook.
By Geoff Nairn
Published: June 16 2009 09:48 | Last updated: June 16 2009 09:48
Autonomy, the UK search specialist, has unveiled Autonomy Interwoven Social Media Analysis to help businesses follow “conversations” about their company or products in the Web 2.0 world.
It consists of a series of connectors for its Autonomy Interwoven web content manager system that let businesses eavesdrop on social networking sites such as YouTube, Twitter or Facebook.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
The world connected: Society’s new highway roars up the agenda
The world connected: Society’s new highway roars up the agenda
By Paul Taylor
Published: May 28 2009 21:39 | Last updated: May 28 2009 21:39
Expanded access to fixed and wireless broadband connections is beginning to transform business communications and corporate processes while driving a new round of innovation that could have profound implications worldwide.
“Today, broadband is at the turning point with infrastructure widely available,” said Carl-Henric Svanberg, Ericsson’s chief executive, speaking at a recent event.
“However, we have not realised the full impact and potential for society.
“Over the next 20 to 30 years, it will stimulate innovation across society and will lead to the deployment of completely new solutions,” he said.
Mr Svanberg predicted that broadband would be the society's new highway, with telecommunications contributing to sustainability through innovations such as telepresence, video links which can reduce the need to travel to meetings, for example.
The potential of broadband to streamline business processes and cut costs has also ensured that investment and providing access for individuals and companies has remained top of the political and business agenda.
“The sector is receiving growing attention worldwide as governments recognise the crucial role it will play in economic recovery,” says Dianne Northfield, analyst at Yankee Group, a connectivity research firm. “The emerging ‘Anywhere Network’ – a powerful, pervasive digital network that can connect all people, at any time, in any place – presents an opportunity to create more jobs, increase productivity and develop solutions for healthcare, education, transportation and energy.”
Recent research, including a study commissioned by Nokia Siemens Networks and conducted by LECG, a consultancy, on the economic impact of broadband adoption in Europe and the US over the past 10 years, suggests this emphasis is fully justified.
The LECG Broadband Study directed by Professor Leonard Waverman of London Business School, found that in countries where diffusion and use of information and communications technologies (ICT) were at medium or high levels, the economic benefit from improved penetration was significant.
For example, the study predicts that adding 10 more broadband lines per 100 individuals across the US, or a total of 30m new lines, would raise US GDP by more than $110bn.
Significantly, the LECG study also found that in countries where ICT deployment had been relatively low, broadband has generally been adopted more slowly and has not had a noticeable positive effect on productivity.
It suggested that in these countries, while it may just be a matter of time before the benefits are evident, governments should be active in helping to speed up its adoption.
Another conclusion is that there is a significant role for “demand-side” policies which create incentives for, or lower the costs of, adopting broadband and computing technologies. “Governments and businesses could look at providing training in using ICT and raising awareness of the potential benefits,” it suggests.
But like other studies, the LECG report also suggests that even where broadband has had an impact, there are lessons and warning signs.
First, providing there are no diminishing returns, policies that promote it are policies that promote productivity, innovation and economic growth.
“Innovative ability” is an important source of comparative advantage for advanced economies – thus policies that promote innovation and encourage investment in advanced infrastructure are to the good.
However, it must not just be about infrastructure because the same infrastructure in different, more skilled hands can yield far higher returns.
Second, even within countries such as the US and the UK there is an internal digital divide. This has sometimes been portrayed in terms of access to infrastructure, but many argue there is also a divide in usage and skills.
“Many countries are looking at how to provide universal access to broadband as an assumed driver of economic productivity,” says Prof Waverman. “But far too little attention is given to other key factors. For instance, a US stimulus package that addresses affordable access would have a far greater impact when complemented by emphasising provision of computing devices, ICT training and education.”
The lesson for policy makers, he suggests, is that there needs to be a greater focus on the users of future infrastructure, enhancing the “demand side” of access.
Specifically, for broadband to become a more effective way of enhancing productivity, countries need to invest in improving skills and lowering the costs to businesses of adopting technology and restructuring business models around technology.
Ilkka Lakaniemi, head of global political dialogue and initiatives at Nokia Siemens Networks, says: “The models must take into account the digital divide between northern and southern Europe.” He adds, however, that even in advanced countries, policies that call for universal broadband access should also address issues of skills and awareness.
The LECG study agrees: “useful connectivity” depends not just on the number of people connected to a network or infrastructure, but on how those connected use the network or infrastructure.
Although it is convenient for governments and the telecoms industry to focus on the “supply side” (access), policy makers cannot ignore usage, skills and technological know-how among businesses and consumers.
Ovum, the technology consultancy, reaches similar conclusions in its recent report, “Bridging the broadband divide: challenges and solutions”. Divisions in developed economies are linked to lack of demand and complex interfaces more than limited availability, Ovum suggests.
Globally, overwhelming evidence that broadband is “good for the economy and good for the nation”, has made connecting society an important government goal. In many developed markets, penetration is well above 50 per cent; although growth is slowing. This, says Ovum, is due to a significant minority of people either not being interested in broadband or facing significant barriers.
The report outlines strategies that could help bridge such divides. It says many people are put off by complex devices and interfaces that cater to the technically literate. In addition, users with disabilities are largely under-served. Inclusive design needs to play a much greater role.
It argues that strategies to promote internet use need to work as part of wider inclusion efforts – embedding broadband in education, employment, care and other programmes designed to empower the socially excluded – and connectivity needs community relevance.
In most cases, operators will play a key role in inclusion activity, but this will be in partnership with other commercial companies, public agencies, non-government organisations and user groups.
For example, efforts to target elderly people can involve charities, targeted media coverage, local care agencies and companies specialising in products designed for elderly users.
The debate over the role of government in promoting access continues. For example, a report from the International Telecommunications Union noted that several of the top ICT countries have higher ICT levels than expected, given their income levels. For example, South Korea is outstanding.
“This illustrates how a strong and targeted ICT policy can drive the development of the information society in countries with relatively lower income levels,” the ITU concludes.
What LECG, Ovum and other commentators agree on is that the provision of access, either by private entity or government, will not, on its own, ensure that the full potential of broadband internet access to transform lives, companies and economies is realised. For that, a more holistic approach is needed that transcends all divisions.
ITU: ”Measuring the Information Society – The ICT Development Index, 2009 Edition”, http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/publications/idi/2009/material/IDI2009_w5.pdf
NSN/LECG Connectivity Scorecard, http://www.connectivityscorecard.org/images/uploads/media/TheConnectivityReport2009.pdf
Ovum: Bridging the Digital Divide – less technology, more understanding, contact Maria Di Martino on +44 20 7675 7529 or maria.dimartino@ovum.com.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
By Paul Taylor
Published: May 28 2009 21:39 | Last updated: May 28 2009 21:39
Expanded access to fixed and wireless broadband connections is beginning to transform business communications and corporate processes while driving a new round of innovation that could have profound implications worldwide.
“Today, broadband is at the turning point with infrastructure widely available,” said Carl-Henric Svanberg, Ericsson’s chief executive, speaking at a recent event.
“However, we have not realised the full impact and potential for society.
“Over the next 20 to 30 years, it will stimulate innovation across society and will lead to the deployment of completely new solutions,” he said.
Mr Svanberg predicted that broadband would be the society's new highway, with telecommunications contributing to sustainability through innovations such as telepresence, video links which can reduce the need to travel to meetings, for example.
The potential of broadband to streamline business processes and cut costs has also ensured that investment and providing access for individuals and companies has remained top of the political and business agenda.
“The sector is receiving growing attention worldwide as governments recognise the crucial role it will play in economic recovery,” says Dianne Northfield, analyst at Yankee Group, a connectivity research firm. “The emerging ‘Anywhere Network’ – a powerful, pervasive digital network that can connect all people, at any time, in any place – presents an opportunity to create more jobs, increase productivity and develop solutions for healthcare, education, transportation and energy.”
Recent research, including a study commissioned by Nokia Siemens Networks and conducted by LECG, a consultancy, on the economic impact of broadband adoption in Europe and the US over the past 10 years, suggests this emphasis is fully justified.
The LECG Broadband Study directed by Professor Leonard Waverman of London Business School, found that in countries where diffusion and use of information and communications technologies (ICT) were at medium or high levels, the economic benefit from improved penetration was significant.
For example, the study predicts that adding 10 more broadband lines per 100 individuals across the US, or a total of 30m new lines, would raise US GDP by more than $110bn.
Significantly, the LECG study also found that in countries where ICT deployment had been relatively low, broadband has generally been adopted more slowly and has not had a noticeable positive effect on productivity.
It suggested that in these countries, while it may just be a matter of time before the benefits are evident, governments should be active in helping to speed up its adoption.
Another conclusion is that there is a significant role for “demand-side” policies which create incentives for, or lower the costs of, adopting broadband and computing technologies. “Governments and businesses could look at providing training in using ICT and raising awareness of the potential benefits,” it suggests.
But like other studies, the LECG report also suggests that even where broadband has had an impact, there are lessons and warning signs.
First, providing there are no diminishing returns, policies that promote it are policies that promote productivity, innovation and economic growth.
“Innovative ability” is an important source of comparative advantage for advanced economies – thus policies that promote innovation and encourage investment in advanced infrastructure are to the good.
However, it must not just be about infrastructure because the same infrastructure in different, more skilled hands can yield far higher returns.
Second, even within countries such as the US and the UK there is an internal digital divide. This has sometimes been portrayed in terms of access to infrastructure, but many argue there is also a divide in usage and skills.
“Many countries are looking at how to provide universal access to broadband as an assumed driver of economic productivity,” says Prof Waverman. “But far too little attention is given to other key factors. For instance, a US stimulus package that addresses affordable access would have a far greater impact when complemented by emphasising provision of computing devices, ICT training and education.”
The lesson for policy makers, he suggests, is that there needs to be a greater focus on the users of future infrastructure, enhancing the “demand side” of access.
Specifically, for broadband to become a more effective way of enhancing productivity, countries need to invest in improving skills and lowering the costs to businesses of adopting technology and restructuring business models around technology.
Ilkka Lakaniemi, head of global political dialogue and initiatives at Nokia Siemens Networks, says: “The models must take into account the digital divide between northern and southern Europe.” He adds, however, that even in advanced countries, policies that call for universal broadband access should also address issues of skills and awareness.
The LECG study agrees: “useful connectivity” depends not just on the number of people connected to a network or infrastructure, but on how those connected use the network or infrastructure.
Although it is convenient for governments and the telecoms industry to focus on the “supply side” (access), policy makers cannot ignore usage, skills and technological know-how among businesses and consumers.
Ovum, the technology consultancy, reaches similar conclusions in its recent report, “Bridging the broadband divide: challenges and solutions”. Divisions in developed economies are linked to lack of demand and complex interfaces more than limited availability, Ovum suggests.
Globally, overwhelming evidence that broadband is “good for the economy and good for the nation”, has made connecting society an important government goal. In many developed markets, penetration is well above 50 per cent; although growth is slowing. This, says Ovum, is due to a significant minority of people either not being interested in broadband or facing significant barriers.
The report outlines strategies that could help bridge such divides. It says many people are put off by complex devices and interfaces that cater to the technically literate. In addition, users with disabilities are largely under-served. Inclusive design needs to play a much greater role.
It argues that strategies to promote internet use need to work as part of wider inclusion efforts – embedding broadband in education, employment, care and other programmes designed to empower the socially excluded – and connectivity needs community relevance.
In most cases, operators will play a key role in inclusion activity, but this will be in partnership with other commercial companies, public agencies, non-government organisations and user groups.
For example, efforts to target elderly people can involve charities, targeted media coverage, local care agencies and companies specialising in products designed for elderly users.
The debate over the role of government in promoting access continues. For example, a report from the International Telecommunications Union noted that several of the top ICT countries have higher ICT levels than expected, given their income levels. For example, South Korea is outstanding.
“This illustrates how a strong and targeted ICT policy can drive the development of the information society in countries with relatively lower income levels,” the ITU concludes.
What LECG, Ovum and other commentators agree on is that the provision of access, either by private entity or government, will not, on its own, ensure that the full potential of broadband internet access to transform lives, companies and economies is realised. For that, a more holistic approach is needed that transcends all divisions.
ITU: ”Measuring the Information Society – The ICT Development Index, 2009 Edition”, http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/publications/idi/2009/material/IDI2009_w5.pdf
NSN/LECG Connectivity Scorecard, http://www.connectivityscorecard.org/images/uploads/media/TheConnectivityReport2009.pdf
Ovum: Bridging the Digital Divide – less technology, more understanding, contact Maria Di Martino on +44 20 7675 7529 or maria.dimartino@ovum.com.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Skills: Business must learn from the new tribe
Skills: Business must learn from the new tribe
By Jessica Twentyman
Published: May 28 2009 21:39 | Last updated: May 28 2009 21:39
“To read the criticisms about the Net Generation,” writes author Don Tapscott in his latest book, Grown Up Digital, “you might conclude that they are a bunch of dull, celebrity-obsessed, net-addicted, shopaholic exhibitionists.”
Such a bleak view, he goes on to say, belies the fact that the children of the baby boomers – now aged between 12 and 30 and reared in an era of digital technologies – are poised to transform society in profound and largely positive ways.
In the workplace, he adds, their aptitude with technology and willingness to collaborate could provide their employers with a real source of competitive advantage.
But whether they are referred to as the Net Generation, digital natives, Millennials or Generation Y, this new tribe of employees can only make its mark if the businesses they work for are able to accommodate and capitalise on a host of new attitudes, beliefs and ways of working.
“Listen to young people,” Mr Tapscott urges business leaders. “Put them in the driver’s seat alongside you when designing work spaces, processes, management systems and collaborative working models.” In other words, be prepared to make big changes in order to unleash the power of these new employees.
Are businesses ready to heed that advice? In truth, many are not, says James Callander, managing director of recruitment consultancy FreshMinds. “This new generation is well-known for its unrestrained ambition, but its largely unparalleled handle on technology presents a significant management challenge,” he says.
“I think one of the biggest problems is that older members of the workforce feel scared of looking foolish in the face of new technology and are threatened by these younger peers who seem to hold all the cards.”
He observes two common approaches to tackling this challenge. “The first is almost a ‘divide and conquer’ approach, consigning technology to different divisions or units in the business. But the internet and mobile technology is now so all-encompassing ... that separation is all but impossible. The second and better approach is to encourage younger workers to train and enfranchise their older colleagues.”
In principle, that makes good sense, because while they may be reluctant to admit it, older business leaders have much to learn from their younger co-workers, says Urs Gasser, executive director at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University and co-author of Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives.
As principal investigator on the Digital Natives project, an academic collaboration between the Berkman Center and the Research Center for Information Law at the University of St Gallen in Switzerland, he has devoted the past few years to studying how people who grew up immersed in digital technologies interact with the world.
Three characteristics distinguish a digital native in today’s workplace, he says. The first is their relaxed attitude to information disclosure; the second, their aptitude at social networking; and the third, the very different way they process information, as compared with previous generations.
It is this first trait that causes business leaders most concern, according to Prof Gasser. “Digital natives are generally more open about themselves and have fewer reservations about sharing their thoughts and opinions with the world.
“The fear is that this will lead them to share information about their jobs and the organisations they work for, without reflecting on how appropriate it might be to divulge information that might be considered confidential or commercially sensitive.”
Tackling the issue is a matter of education, he argues. Where corporate policies are thoughtfully applied (and observed), that propensity for self-disclosure can be a positive force, building trust between colleagues and opening the door to deeper collaborations.
It also offers organisations a chance to get to know young employees better, to understand what motivates them and the best ways to channel their energies to reap better business results.
But it’s the second and third traits that offer companies the greatest chance to get ahead. “For years, organisations have been investing heavily in knowledge management initiatives to tap into the collective expertise of their workforce, but the results have been mixed.
“Suddenly, the cultural barriers to information sharing are crumbling with the emergence of social networking and the rise of a new workforce that is more than comfortable with working online with their peers to solve a problem.”
This, he says, has huge implications in many aspects of business, such as developing products, identifying market opportunities and generating sales leads.
But the issue of working hours can be contentious, says Claire Schooley, an analyst with IT market analyst firm Forrester Research. “Work-life balance is paramount to Millennials. These young people do not work by the clock – rather, they work by the task. Let them know what they need to do and when assignments need to be done. With mobile technology, they’ll be online at night completing projects.”
As the connected world evolves, it is therefore vital that organisations adapt policies and tools to suit the style of new workers. In economies where the working population is ageing, this may not just be desirable but essential to survival.
Grown Up Digital, by Don Tapscott, McGraw Hill, 2008.
Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives, by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser, Basic Books, 2008
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
By Jessica Twentyman
Published: May 28 2009 21:39 | Last updated: May 28 2009 21:39
“To read the criticisms about the Net Generation,” writes author Don Tapscott in his latest book, Grown Up Digital, “you might conclude that they are a bunch of dull, celebrity-obsessed, net-addicted, shopaholic exhibitionists.”
Such a bleak view, he goes on to say, belies the fact that the children of the baby boomers – now aged between 12 and 30 and reared in an era of digital technologies – are poised to transform society in profound and largely positive ways.
In the workplace, he adds, their aptitude with technology and willingness to collaborate could provide their employers with a real source of competitive advantage.
But whether they are referred to as the Net Generation, digital natives, Millennials or Generation Y, this new tribe of employees can only make its mark if the businesses they work for are able to accommodate and capitalise on a host of new attitudes, beliefs and ways of working.
“Listen to young people,” Mr Tapscott urges business leaders. “Put them in the driver’s seat alongside you when designing work spaces, processes, management systems and collaborative working models.” In other words, be prepared to make big changes in order to unleash the power of these new employees.
Are businesses ready to heed that advice? In truth, many are not, says James Callander, managing director of recruitment consultancy FreshMinds. “This new generation is well-known for its unrestrained ambition, but its largely unparalleled handle on technology presents a significant management challenge,” he says.
“I think one of the biggest problems is that older members of the workforce feel scared of looking foolish in the face of new technology and are threatened by these younger peers who seem to hold all the cards.”
He observes two common approaches to tackling this challenge. “The first is almost a ‘divide and conquer’ approach, consigning technology to different divisions or units in the business. But the internet and mobile technology is now so all-encompassing ... that separation is all but impossible. The second and better approach is to encourage younger workers to train and enfranchise their older colleagues.”
In principle, that makes good sense, because while they may be reluctant to admit it, older business leaders have much to learn from their younger co-workers, says Urs Gasser, executive director at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University and co-author of Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives.
As principal investigator on the Digital Natives project, an academic collaboration between the Berkman Center and the Research Center for Information Law at the University of St Gallen in Switzerland, he has devoted the past few years to studying how people who grew up immersed in digital technologies interact with the world.
Three characteristics distinguish a digital native in today’s workplace, he says. The first is their relaxed attitude to information disclosure; the second, their aptitude at social networking; and the third, the very different way they process information, as compared with previous generations.
It is this first trait that causes business leaders most concern, according to Prof Gasser. “Digital natives are generally more open about themselves and have fewer reservations about sharing their thoughts and opinions with the world.
“The fear is that this will lead them to share information about their jobs and the organisations they work for, without reflecting on how appropriate it might be to divulge information that might be considered confidential or commercially sensitive.”
Tackling the issue is a matter of education, he argues. Where corporate policies are thoughtfully applied (and observed), that propensity for self-disclosure can be a positive force, building trust between colleagues and opening the door to deeper collaborations.
It also offers organisations a chance to get to know young employees better, to understand what motivates them and the best ways to channel their energies to reap better business results.
But it’s the second and third traits that offer companies the greatest chance to get ahead. “For years, organisations have been investing heavily in knowledge management initiatives to tap into the collective expertise of their workforce, but the results have been mixed.
“Suddenly, the cultural barriers to information sharing are crumbling with the emergence of social networking and the rise of a new workforce that is more than comfortable with working online with their peers to solve a problem.”
This, he says, has huge implications in many aspects of business, such as developing products, identifying market opportunities and generating sales leads.
But the issue of working hours can be contentious, says Claire Schooley, an analyst with IT market analyst firm Forrester Research. “Work-life balance is paramount to Millennials. These young people do not work by the clock – rather, they work by the task. Let them know what they need to do and when assignments need to be done. With mobile technology, they’ll be online at night completing projects.”
As the connected world evolves, it is therefore vital that organisations adapt policies and tools to suit the style of new workers. In economies where the working population is ageing, this may not just be desirable but essential to survival.
Grown Up Digital, by Don Tapscott, McGraw Hill, 2008.
Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives, by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser, Basic Books, 2008
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
The world connected: Society’s new highway roars up the agenda
The world connected: Society’s new highway roars up the agenda
By Paul Taylor
Published: May 28 2009 21:39 | Last updated: May 28 2009 21:39
Expanded access to fixed and wireless broadband connections is beginning to transform business communications and corporate processes while driving a new round of innovation that could have profound implications worldwide.
“Today, broadband is at the turning point with infrastructure widely available,” said Carl-Henric Svanberg, Ericsson’s chief executive, speaking at a recent event.
“However, we have not realised the full impact and potential for society.
“Over the next 20 to 30 years, it will stimulate innovation across society and will lead to the deployment of completely new solutions,” he said.
Mr Svanberg predicted that broadband would be the society's new highway, with telecommunications contributing to sustainability through innovations such as telepresence, video links which can reduce the need to travel to meetings, for example.
The potential of broadband to streamline business processes and cut costs has also ensured that investment and providing access for individuals and companies has remained top of the political and business agenda.
“The sector is receiving growing attention worldwide as governments recognise the crucial role it will play in economic recovery,” says Dianne Northfield, analyst at Yankee Group, a connectivity research firm. “The emerging ‘Anywhere Network’ – a powerful, pervasive digital network that can connect all people, at any time, in any place – presents an opportunity to create more jobs, increase productivity and develop solutions for healthcare, education, transportation and energy.”
Recent research, including a study commissioned by Nokia Siemens Networks and conducted by LECG, a consultancy, on the economic impact of broadband adoption in Europe and the US over the past 10 years, suggests this emphasis is fully justified.
The LECG Broadband Study directed by Professor Leonard Waverman of London Business School, found that in countries where diffusion and use of information and communications technologies (ICT) were at medium or high levels, the economic benefit from improved penetration was significant.
For example, the study predicts that adding 10 more broadband lines per 100 individuals across the US, or a total of 30m new lines, would raise US GDP by more than $110bn.
Significantly, the LECG study also found that in countries where ICT deployment had been relatively low, broadband has generally been adopted more slowly and has not had a noticeable positive effect on productivity.
It suggested that in these countries, while it may just be a matter of time before the benefits are evident, governments should be active in helping to speed up its adoption.
Another conclusion is that there is a significant role for “demand-side” policies which create incentives for, or lower the costs of, adopting broadband and computing technologies. “Governments and businesses could look at providing training in using ICT and raising awareness of the potential benefits,” it suggests.
But like other studies, the LECG report also suggests that even where broadband has had an impact, there are lessons and warning signs.
First, providing there are no diminishing returns, policies that promote it are policies that promote productivity, innovation and economic growth.
“Innovative ability” is an important source of comparative advantage for advanced economies – thus policies that promote innovation and encourage investment in advanced infrastructure are to the good.
However, it must not just be about infrastructure because the same infrastructure in different, more skilled hands can yield far higher returns.
Second, even within countries such as the US and the UK there is an internal digital divide. This has sometimes been portrayed in terms of access to infrastructure, but many argue there is also a divide in usage and skills.
“Many countries are looking at how to provide universal access to broadband as an assumed driver of economic productivity,” says Prof Waverman. “But far too little attention is given to other key factors. For instance, a US stimulus package that addresses affordable access would have a far greater impact when complemented by emphasising provision of computing devices, ICT training and education.”
The lesson for policy makers, he suggests, is that there needs to be a greater focus on the users of future infrastructure, enhancing the “demand side” of access.
Specifically, for broadband to become a more effective way of enhancing productivity, countries need to invest in improving skills and lowering the costs to businesses of adopting technology and restructuring business models around technology.
Ilkka Lakaniemi, head of global political dialogue and initiatives at Nokia Siemens Networks, says: “The models must take into account the digital divide between northern and southern Europe.” He adds, however, that even in advanced countries, policies that call for universal broadband access should also address issues of skills and awareness.
The LECG study agrees: “useful connectivity” depends not just on the number of people connected to a network or infrastructure, but on how those connected use the network or infrastructure.
Although it is convenient for governments and the telecoms industry to focus on the “supply side” (access), policy makers cannot ignore usage, skills and technological know-how among businesses and consumers.
Ovum, the technology consultancy, reaches similar conclusions in its recent report, “Bridging the broadband divide: challenges and solutions”. Divisions in developed economies are linked to lack of demand and complex interfaces more than limited availability, Ovum suggests.
Globally, overwhelming evidence that broadband is “good for the economy and good for the nation”, has made connecting society an important government goal. In many developed markets, penetration is well above 50 per cent; although growth is slowing. This, says Ovum, is due to a significant minority of people either not being interested in broadband or facing significant barriers.
The report outlines strategies that could help bridge such divides. It says many people are put off by complex devices and interfaces that cater to the technically literate. In addition, users with disabilities are largely under-served. Inclusive design needs to play a much greater role.
It argues that strategies to promote internet use need to work as part of wider inclusion efforts – embedding broadband in education, employment, care and other programmes designed to empower the socially excluded – and connectivity needs community relevance.
In most cases, operators will play a key role in inclusion activity, but this will be in partnership with other commercial companies, public agencies, non-government organisations and user groups.
For example, efforts to target elderly people can involve charities, targeted media coverage, local care agencies and companies specialising in products designed for elderly users.
The debate over the role of government in promoting access continues. For example, a report from the International Telecommunications Union noted that several of the top ICT countries have higher ICT levels than expected, given their income levels. For example, South Korea is outstanding.
“This illustrates how a strong and targeted ICT policy can drive the development of the information society in countries with relatively lower income levels,” the ITU concludes.
What LECG, Ovum and other commentators agree on is that the provision of access, either by private entity or government, will not, on its own, ensure that the full potential of broadband internet access to transform lives, companies and economies is realised. For that, a more holistic approach is needed that transcends all divisions.
ITU: ”Measuring the Information Society – The ICT Development Index, 2009 Edition”, http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/publications/idi/2009/material/IDI2009_w5.pdf
NSN/LECG Connectivity Scorecard, http://www.connectivityscorecard.org/images/uploads/media/TheConnectivityReport2009.pdf
Ovum: Bridging the Digital Divide – less technology, more understanding, contact Maria Di Martino on +44 20 7675 7529 or maria.dimartino@ovum.com.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
By Paul Taylor
Published: May 28 2009 21:39 | Last updated: May 28 2009 21:39
Expanded access to fixed and wireless broadband connections is beginning to transform business communications and corporate processes while driving a new round of innovation that could have profound implications worldwide.
“Today, broadband is at the turning point with infrastructure widely available,” said Carl-Henric Svanberg, Ericsson’s chief executive, speaking at a recent event.
“However, we have not realised the full impact and potential for society.
“Over the next 20 to 30 years, it will stimulate innovation across society and will lead to the deployment of completely new solutions,” he said.
Mr Svanberg predicted that broadband would be the society's new highway, with telecommunications contributing to sustainability through innovations such as telepresence, video links which can reduce the need to travel to meetings, for example.
The potential of broadband to streamline business processes and cut costs has also ensured that investment and providing access for individuals and companies has remained top of the political and business agenda.
“The sector is receiving growing attention worldwide as governments recognise the crucial role it will play in economic recovery,” says Dianne Northfield, analyst at Yankee Group, a connectivity research firm. “The emerging ‘Anywhere Network’ – a powerful, pervasive digital network that can connect all people, at any time, in any place – presents an opportunity to create more jobs, increase productivity and develop solutions for healthcare, education, transportation and energy.”
Recent research, including a study commissioned by Nokia Siemens Networks and conducted by LECG, a consultancy, on the economic impact of broadband adoption in Europe and the US over the past 10 years, suggests this emphasis is fully justified.
The LECG Broadband Study directed by Professor Leonard Waverman of London Business School, found that in countries where diffusion and use of information and communications technologies (ICT) were at medium or high levels, the economic benefit from improved penetration was significant.
For example, the study predicts that adding 10 more broadband lines per 100 individuals across the US, or a total of 30m new lines, would raise US GDP by more than $110bn.
Significantly, the LECG study also found that in countries where ICT deployment had been relatively low, broadband has generally been adopted more slowly and has not had a noticeable positive effect on productivity.
It suggested that in these countries, while it may just be a matter of time before the benefits are evident, governments should be active in helping to speed up its adoption.
Another conclusion is that there is a significant role for “demand-side” policies which create incentives for, or lower the costs of, adopting broadband and computing technologies. “Governments and businesses could look at providing training in using ICT and raising awareness of the potential benefits,” it suggests.
But like other studies, the LECG report also suggests that even where broadband has had an impact, there are lessons and warning signs.
First, providing there are no diminishing returns, policies that promote it are policies that promote productivity, innovation and economic growth.
“Innovative ability” is an important source of comparative advantage for advanced economies – thus policies that promote innovation and encourage investment in advanced infrastructure are to the good.
However, it must not just be about infrastructure because the same infrastructure in different, more skilled hands can yield far higher returns.
Second, even within countries such as the US and the UK there is an internal digital divide. This has sometimes been portrayed in terms of access to infrastructure, but many argue there is also a divide in usage and skills.
“Many countries are looking at how to provide universal access to broadband as an assumed driver of economic productivity,” says Prof Waverman. “But far too little attention is given to other key factors. For instance, a US stimulus package that addresses affordable access would have a far greater impact when complemented by emphasising provision of computing devices, ICT training and education.”
The lesson for policy makers, he suggests, is that there needs to be a greater focus on the users of future infrastructure, enhancing the “demand side” of access.
Specifically, for broadband to become a more effective way of enhancing productivity, countries need to invest in improving skills and lowering the costs to businesses of adopting technology and restructuring business models around technology.
Ilkka Lakaniemi, head of global political dialogue and initiatives at Nokia Siemens Networks, says: “The models must take into account the digital divide between northern and southern Europe.” He adds, however, that even in advanced countries, policies that call for universal broadband access should also address issues of skills and awareness.
The LECG study agrees: “useful connectivity” depends not just on the number of people connected to a network or infrastructure, but on how those connected use the network or infrastructure.
Although it is convenient for governments and the telecoms industry to focus on the “supply side” (access), policy makers cannot ignore usage, skills and technological know-how among businesses and consumers.
Ovum, the technology consultancy, reaches similar conclusions in its recent report, “Bridging the broadband divide: challenges and solutions”. Divisions in developed economies are linked to lack of demand and complex interfaces more than limited availability, Ovum suggests.
Globally, overwhelming evidence that broadband is “good for the economy and good for the nation”, has made connecting society an important government goal. In many developed markets, penetration is well above 50 per cent; although growth is slowing. This, says Ovum, is due to a significant minority of people either not being interested in broadband or facing significant barriers.
The report outlines strategies that could help bridge such divides. It says many people are put off by complex devices and interfaces that cater to the technically literate. In addition, users with disabilities are largely under-served. Inclusive design needs to play a much greater role.
It argues that strategies to promote internet use need to work as part of wider inclusion efforts – embedding broadband in education, employment, care and other programmes designed to empower the socially excluded – and connectivity needs community relevance.
In most cases, operators will play a key role in inclusion activity, but this will be in partnership with other commercial companies, public agencies, non-government organisations and user groups.
For example, efforts to target elderly people can involve charities, targeted media coverage, local care agencies and companies specialising in products designed for elderly users.
The debate over the role of government in promoting access continues. For example, a report from the International Telecommunications Union noted that several of the top ICT countries have higher ICT levels than expected, given their income levels. For example, South Korea is outstanding.
“This illustrates how a strong and targeted ICT policy can drive the development of the information society in countries with relatively lower income levels,” the ITU concludes.
What LECG, Ovum and other commentators agree on is that the provision of access, either by private entity or government, will not, on its own, ensure that the full potential of broadband internet access to transform lives, companies and economies is realised. For that, a more holistic approach is needed that transcends all divisions.
ITU: ”Measuring the Information Society – The ICT Development Index, 2009 Edition”, http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/publications/idi/2009/material/IDI2009_w5.pdf
NSN/LECG Connectivity Scorecard, http://www.connectivityscorecard.org/images/uploads/media/TheConnectivityReport2009.pdf
Ovum: Bridging the Digital Divide – less technology, more understanding, contact Maria Di Martino on +44 20 7675 7529 or maria.dimartino@ovum.com.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
How safe is your IT security?
How safe is your IT security?
By Graham Fern, director of axon-IT
Published: May 22 2009 09:49 | Last updated: May 22 2009 09:49
The largest challenge facing businesses today is IT security. As business become increasingly reliant on the data in its systems, it faces an ever-increasing threat to the network and data integrity.
Everyone is aware of issues regarding internet usage and the security of electronic data stored or transmitted to third parties. Recently, Microsoft issued a report indicating that 97 per cent of all e-mails sent over the net are unwanted – spam is dominant.
So is IT security really an issue or are we just scaremongering?
The simple answer is yes, security is a big problem if you don’t take reasonable protective measures. So how do you “shut the door” to your PC network?
Simple steps can reduce the risk – data must be protected but without spending very large amounts of money. The solutions differ slightly between home and business users but we’re looking here at business.
IT systems use a multi-layered approach to ensure security, similar to methods used in banks. When it comes to protecting the money, banks place their highest security closest to the money – the vault door with complex alarms, together with the front of house security.
This multi-layered approach allows and encourages normal people into the bank, but in turn discourages the thief, who is faced with a difficult path to the money.
This is similar for IT systems and the data they contain: IT security should be tiered with multiple levels of security from the front door to the bank vault.
So how does this translate into the real world?
First, e-mail, a recent Microsoft study determined that e-mail was the number one use of a PC. So if e-mail is important we need steps to ensure the e-mails received are relevant to the business:
We need a device or a service that “cleans” e-mails of spam, and that removes viruses at the same time, ensuring what arrives in an inbox is relevant and safe.
Such systems are not 100 per cent perfect, therefore any system must be able to learn and needs to be simple to use and administer. This protection then needs to be extended to the PC itself as another layer – in the form of a suite of software that blocks and inhibits spyware, viruses, malware, spam etc.
This software needs to be adaptive to the threats and learn quickly, it also needs to talk to a central system with status information.
Firewalls can also stop the internet from getting inside your computer network. They vary considerably in features and price and one size does not fit all.
Best practice is usually for a relatively simple and fast device to be placed closest to the internet to undertake simple security blocking tasks (like the front door to the bank). Closer to the users you would place a more complex device (like the bank vault) that can undertake a very fine inspection of information flowing in.
These complex devices can also inspect/block what is going out from your network, which can be a useful productivity and security tool if your staff are surfing potentially unsafe websites that could contain spyware and viruses.
The use of professionally written, intelligent and well executed viral code is becoming widespread. These code writers use the same processes and procedures a professional application developer would use to ensure the highest quality virus.
Infections today are less openly destructive than they used to be – yet more damaging – as virus writers now know they can extract useful and valuable data that has a financial worth, such as credit card details. Infected machines have allowed thieves to undertake money laundering, gain remote access to internal database systems, allowed terrorism to be funded, and other criminal activities.
These attacks are not just limited to small time ad-hoc efforts but they can be streamlined targeted affairs for a particular purpose. This type of criminal activity is rapidly becoming mainstream, the number of detected viruses over the past two years is almost equal to all the viruses detected since they started recording such information.
Axon IT is accredited as a Microsoft Gold Partner with a specialisation in security.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
By Graham Fern, director of axon-IT
Published: May 22 2009 09:49 | Last updated: May 22 2009 09:49
The largest challenge facing businesses today is IT security. As business become increasingly reliant on the data in its systems, it faces an ever-increasing threat to the network and data integrity.
Everyone is aware of issues regarding internet usage and the security of electronic data stored or transmitted to third parties. Recently, Microsoft issued a report indicating that 97 per cent of all e-mails sent over the net are unwanted – spam is dominant.
So is IT security really an issue or are we just scaremongering?
The simple answer is yes, security is a big problem if you don’t take reasonable protective measures. So how do you “shut the door” to your PC network?
Simple steps can reduce the risk – data must be protected but without spending very large amounts of money. The solutions differ slightly between home and business users but we’re looking here at business.
IT systems use a multi-layered approach to ensure security, similar to methods used in banks. When it comes to protecting the money, banks place their highest security closest to the money – the vault door with complex alarms, together with the front of house security.
This multi-layered approach allows and encourages normal people into the bank, but in turn discourages the thief, who is faced with a difficult path to the money.
This is similar for IT systems and the data they contain: IT security should be tiered with multiple levels of security from the front door to the bank vault.
So how does this translate into the real world?
First, e-mail, a recent Microsoft study determined that e-mail was the number one use of a PC. So if e-mail is important we need steps to ensure the e-mails received are relevant to the business:
We need a device or a service that “cleans” e-mails of spam, and that removes viruses at the same time, ensuring what arrives in an inbox is relevant and safe.
Such systems are not 100 per cent perfect, therefore any system must be able to learn and needs to be simple to use and administer. This protection then needs to be extended to the PC itself as another layer – in the form of a suite of software that blocks and inhibits spyware, viruses, malware, spam etc.
This software needs to be adaptive to the threats and learn quickly, it also needs to talk to a central system with status information.
Firewalls can also stop the internet from getting inside your computer network. They vary considerably in features and price and one size does not fit all.
Best practice is usually for a relatively simple and fast device to be placed closest to the internet to undertake simple security blocking tasks (like the front door to the bank). Closer to the users you would place a more complex device (like the bank vault) that can undertake a very fine inspection of information flowing in.
These complex devices can also inspect/block what is going out from your network, which can be a useful productivity and security tool if your staff are surfing potentially unsafe websites that could contain spyware and viruses.
The use of professionally written, intelligent and well executed viral code is becoming widespread. These code writers use the same processes and procedures a professional application developer would use to ensure the highest quality virus.
Infections today are less openly destructive than they used to be – yet more damaging – as virus writers now know they can extract useful and valuable data that has a financial worth, such as credit card details. Infected machines have allowed thieves to undertake money laundering, gain remote access to internal database systems, allowed terrorism to be funded, and other criminal activities.
These attacks are not just limited to small time ad-hoc efforts but they can be streamlined targeted affairs for a particular purpose. This type of criminal activity is rapidly becoming mainstream, the number of detected viruses over the past two years is almost equal to all the viruses detected since they started recording such information.
Axon IT is accredited as a Microsoft Gold Partner with a specialisation in security.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
The desktop of the future: centralised and social?
The desktop of the future: centralised and social?
By Laurent Séraphin, senior product director, Centrix Software
Published: May 18 2009 17:45 | Last updated: May 18 2009 17:45
The desktop is one of the most important utilities for many organisations today. It provides a primary point where, in the digital economy, most workers consume company services and resources and access tools that help them carry out their work: transforming data into information up its value chain.
Over the past 15 years, the PC has been the dominant device used by the majority of the workforce, but the inherent challenges of maintaining and managing PCs has become a serious hindrance for IT departments.
Two major technology trends have emerged that will affect this on a wider scale and impact how organisations plan their desktop strategies: IT centralisation and cloud computing.
These trends are pulling desktop strategy in two different directions, so how can organisations make sure that their IT strategy really meets the needs of users, and delivers value back to the business?
The first stage is to look under the hood. The points of provision and points of consumption for IT services are moving apart. Users have more ways than ever to access their applications and services. It means the IT resources underneath – enabling them to access anything from anywhere – is complicated: many-to-many relationships, relying on multiple nodes and multiple infrastructure stacks to deliver multiple applications and resources.
To reduce their costs and make management simpler, IT is facing two choices: either try to centralise the distribution of applications and resources as much as possible or move applications and services on to the internet as part of a cloud computing strategy.
Both approaches aim to cut the time and cost associated with desktops by broadcasting virtual desktops or publishing virtualised applications (similar to the TV broadcasting model) to the user but they move the level of control and management in different directions. Do you look to centralise and lock down, or give the problem to a third party?
The two technologies that have accelerated these trends are virtualisation and now cloud computing.
Virtualisation splits the workload from the IT resource that it is running on, meaning that PCs can be held in the central data centre instead of under every desk. This approach can deliver greater management control over desktops, while also reducing the overheads that are associated with support. However, it requires resources to be hosted centrally, which can drive up cost.
Cloud computing is seen as the future for some facets of IT services. Much like real clouds, IT clouds can come in a variety of different forms: internal or external; trusted or non-trusted; on premises or outsourced; public or private; and web-based applications. What cloud computing can deliver is greater flexibility and over time this translates into greater business agility benefits.
The main impact on users from cloud computing today is the relative complexity of delivering services to users. The value of the applications held in clouds can only be realised when users can use the services quickly and efficiently. While most cloud-based services are simple to access and operate, there is still a lot of fragmentation: information can reside across multiple services, applications and clouds.
What these two overall directions for the future have in common is to make all services available via a browser-based interface. The availability of internet connectivity makes this more attractive to organisations as the entire spectrum of end-point devices, from desktops through to smartphones, laptops or netbooks can be assumed to have a baseline browser capability, and therefore give access to the same services wherever the user is.
However, as the browser becomes the lowest common denominator, the user experience can be greatly reduced. The functionality and richness that the desktop can provide is often sacrificed.
At the same time, users are becoming increasingly difficult to satisfy. Technology is part of daily life, and this has made users acutely aware of how easy using IT resources can be.
The gap between the private digital experience and the professional IT environment is increasing, leading to dissatisfaction. The main risk that organisations face is that, despite being a success from an IT standpoint, projects are not delivering all the value that they can as users either work around services, or don’t use their full potential.
Users want to retain the richness of functionality that they are used to, so centralised approaches such as virtual desktops can be a let-down.
Similarly, web-based approaches are not yet delivering on their promise, as the most common user experience is very crude. Typically, a user will have to navigate through multiple nested and tiled desktop environments, or “walled garden” style applications where information cannot be taken out of the system. This leads to push back from the users, and is the biggest reason behind the slow adoption of new IT services.
While these two trends are pulling desktop strategy in different directions, by focusing on the browser it is possible to design systems that aggregate applications from wherever they happen to be and deliver them to the user in a way that fits in with their working habits.
In order to meet user expectations and encourage them to make the most of their IT resources, IT has to deliver the best of both worlds: the control and support that centralisation can provide, with the flexibility and innovation of cloud. Without this combination, users won’t get the experience that they are used to.
laurent.seraphin@centrixsoftware.com
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
By Laurent Séraphin, senior product director, Centrix Software
Published: May 18 2009 17:45 | Last updated: May 18 2009 17:45
The desktop is one of the most important utilities for many organisations today. It provides a primary point where, in the digital economy, most workers consume company services and resources and access tools that help them carry out their work: transforming data into information up its value chain.
Over the past 15 years, the PC has been the dominant device used by the majority of the workforce, but the inherent challenges of maintaining and managing PCs has become a serious hindrance for IT departments.
Two major technology trends have emerged that will affect this on a wider scale and impact how organisations plan their desktop strategies: IT centralisation and cloud computing.
These trends are pulling desktop strategy in two different directions, so how can organisations make sure that their IT strategy really meets the needs of users, and delivers value back to the business?
The first stage is to look under the hood. The points of provision and points of consumption for IT services are moving apart. Users have more ways than ever to access their applications and services. It means the IT resources underneath – enabling them to access anything from anywhere – is complicated: many-to-many relationships, relying on multiple nodes and multiple infrastructure stacks to deliver multiple applications and resources.
To reduce their costs and make management simpler, IT is facing two choices: either try to centralise the distribution of applications and resources as much as possible or move applications and services on to the internet as part of a cloud computing strategy.
Both approaches aim to cut the time and cost associated with desktops by broadcasting virtual desktops or publishing virtualised applications (similar to the TV broadcasting model) to the user but they move the level of control and management in different directions. Do you look to centralise and lock down, or give the problem to a third party?
The two technologies that have accelerated these trends are virtualisation and now cloud computing.
Virtualisation splits the workload from the IT resource that it is running on, meaning that PCs can be held in the central data centre instead of under every desk. This approach can deliver greater management control over desktops, while also reducing the overheads that are associated with support. However, it requires resources to be hosted centrally, which can drive up cost.
Cloud computing is seen as the future for some facets of IT services. Much like real clouds, IT clouds can come in a variety of different forms: internal or external; trusted or non-trusted; on premises or outsourced; public or private; and web-based applications. What cloud computing can deliver is greater flexibility and over time this translates into greater business agility benefits.
The main impact on users from cloud computing today is the relative complexity of delivering services to users. The value of the applications held in clouds can only be realised when users can use the services quickly and efficiently. While most cloud-based services are simple to access and operate, there is still a lot of fragmentation: information can reside across multiple services, applications and clouds.
What these two overall directions for the future have in common is to make all services available via a browser-based interface. The availability of internet connectivity makes this more attractive to organisations as the entire spectrum of end-point devices, from desktops through to smartphones, laptops or netbooks can be assumed to have a baseline browser capability, and therefore give access to the same services wherever the user is.
However, as the browser becomes the lowest common denominator, the user experience can be greatly reduced. The functionality and richness that the desktop can provide is often sacrificed.
At the same time, users are becoming increasingly difficult to satisfy. Technology is part of daily life, and this has made users acutely aware of how easy using IT resources can be.
The gap between the private digital experience and the professional IT environment is increasing, leading to dissatisfaction. The main risk that organisations face is that, despite being a success from an IT standpoint, projects are not delivering all the value that they can as users either work around services, or don’t use their full potential.
Users want to retain the richness of functionality that they are used to, so centralised approaches such as virtual desktops can be a let-down.
Similarly, web-based approaches are not yet delivering on their promise, as the most common user experience is very crude. Typically, a user will have to navigate through multiple nested and tiled desktop environments, or “walled garden” style applications where information cannot be taken out of the system. This leads to push back from the users, and is the biggest reason behind the slow adoption of new IT services.
While these two trends are pulling desktop strategy in different directions, by focusing on the browser it is possible to design systems that aggregate applications from wherever they happen to be and deliver them to the user in a way that fits in with their working habits.
In order to meet user expectations and encourage them to make the most of their IT resources, IT has to deliver the best of both worlds: the control and support that centralisation can provide, with the flexibility and innovation of cloud. Without this combination, users won’t get the experience that they are used to.
laurent.seraphin@centrixsoftware.com
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Stick or twist? Assessing the risks of outsourcing
Stick or twist? Assessing the risks of outsourcing
By Alan Bowling, chairman of the SAP UK & Ireland User Group
Published: May 15 2009 13:15 | Last updated: May 15 2009 13:15
There was a time when organisations would not outsource their core systems. However, outsourcing is back on the agenda for many organisations as they look to outsource entire systems, or part thereof, in an attempt to reduce operating costs.
As an example, outsourcing company Capita reported that it had won £610m of contracts within the first seven weeks of 2009.
It is, however, important that organisations are outsourcing for the right reasons and not simply jumping on the cost-reduction bandwagon. Outsourcing purely for financial reasons can sometimes be a dangerous path.
As such, organisations need to work out what areas of their business they want to outsource and the potential risks of doing so.
Outsourcing can take many shapes and sizes ranging from the manufacturing of a particular product to the management of enterprise software. It is therefore vital that businesses firmly establish what they are outsourcing and develop a well-planned and well-managed risk management strategy to support it.
Is it a commodity that can be easily outsourced, such as a data centre or the hosting of a particular software application, or is it the outsourcing of a particular business process?
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is also changing the current outsourcing model, as organisations can now in effect “outsource” an entire end-to-end software function or process. All of these options carry particular benefits and risks which all need to be properly evaluated.
The movement of company and personal data is, quite rightly, an important and sensitive issue. There have been several high profile incidents over the last couple of years, where organisations have outsourced a particular aspect of their business only for the outsourcer to lose or compromise sensitive data.
It is clear that many organisations need to do more due diligence when it comes to outsourcing. For example, according to Gartner, more than 60 per cent of companies do not conduct any security risk mitigation when outsourcing their development, so there is a clear need for a change in mindset.
Another consideration for many organisations is the geographical location of their outsourcers, so it is important that businesses weigh up the pros and cons of outsourcing their operations overseas.
Undoubtedly, organisations can stand to make considerable savings by outsourcing to India or new emerging locations such as Brazil, but what effect will this have on an organisation’s level of service, particularly as operations and support is thousands of miles away? Are businesses sacrificing long-term prosperity for short-term gain?
There will always be a big human element to outsourcing, so naturally there will be an inherent element of risk. Whatever outsourcing partner an organisation works with, they need to ensure that the people they employ are capable of doing the job.
A good outsourcer should be seen as an extension of the organisation and, as such, should operate as if it was part of the in-house team.
Equally, outsourcers need to be accountable. Therefore organisations should ensure that they include specific and detailed requirements of what they will and will not accept in the contract.
One of the biggest challenges facing organisations is getting the outsourcing contracts shaped to ensure the liability of both sides is clear and that the level of risk is acceptable.
By having credible service level agreements (SLAs) in place, businesses can retain control over the outsourcer and hold them accountable for their performance if problems do occur. It is important that organisations read their outsourcing contracts carefully, and seek amendments accordingly.
While outsourcers will aim to demonstrate high levels of service, organisations should always be clear that the outsourcer views it very much as a commercial arrangement and will aim also to improve the profitability of the contract.
According to the Corporate Executive Programme (CEP), managing risk to protect brand revenue and reputation in the economic downturn is increasingly a legal challenge. This is, however, covering the worse case scenario. If all the planning, knowledge transfer and risk management is properly completed then the scenario will be a successful one.
The lasting message is that outsourcing can work and deliver but organisations must proceed with caution. Like all successful business projects, outsourcing requires meticulous planning and management as organisations need to understand fully what they will get out of it and the risks involved.
Ultimately, outsourcing should form part of a long-term business strategy rather than simply being looked at as a short-term cash-saving fix.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
By Alan Bowling, chairman of the SAP UK & Ireland User Group
Published: May 15 2009 13:15 | Last updated: May 15 2009 13:15
There was a time when organisations would not outsource their core systems. However, outsourcing is back on the agenda for many organisations as they look to outsource entire systems, or part thereof, in an attempt to reduce operating costs.
As an example, outsourcing company Capita reported that it had won £610m of contracts within the first seven weeks of 2009.
It is, however, important that organisations are outsourcing for the right reasons and not simply jumping on the cost-reduction bandwagon. Outsourcing purely for financial reasons can sometimes be a dangerous path.
As such, organisations need to work out what areas of their business they want to outsource and the potential risks of doing so.
Outsourcing can take many shapes and sizes ranging from the manufacturing of a particular product to the management of enterprise software. It is therefore vital that businesses firmly establish what they are outsourcing and develop a well-planned and well-managed risk management strategy to support it.
Is it a commodity that can be easily outsourced, such as a data centre or the hosting of a particular software application, or is it the outsourcing of a particular business process?
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is also changing the current outsourcing model, as organisations can now in effect “outsource” an entire end-to-end software function or process. All of these options carry particular benefits and risks which all need to be properly evaluated.
The movement of company and personal data is, quite rightly, an important and sensitive issue. There have been several high profile incidents over the last couple of years, where organisations have outsourced a particular aspect of their business only for the outsourcer to lose or compromise sensitive data.
It is clear that many organisations need to do more due diligence when it comes to outsourcing. For example, according to Gartner, more than 60 per cent of companies do not conduct any security risk mitigation when outsourcing their development, so there is a clear need for a change in mindset.
Another consideration for many organisations is the geographical location of their outsourcers, so it is important that businesses weigh up the pros and cons of outsourcing their operations overseas.
Undoubtedly, organisations can stand to make considerable savings by outsourcing to India or new emerging locations such as Brazil, but what effect will this have on an organisation’s level of service, particularly as operations and support is thousands of miles away? Are businesses sacrificing long-term prosperity for short-term gain?
There will always be a big human element to outsourcing, so naturally there will be an inherent element of risk. Whatever outsourcing partner an organisation works with, they need to ensure that the people they employ are capable of doing the job.
A good outsourcer should be seen as an extension of the organisation and, as such, should operate as if it was part of the in-house team.
Equally, outsourcers need to be accountable. Therefore organisations should ensure that they include specific and detailed requirements of what they will and will not accept in the contract.
One of the biggest challenges facing organisations is getting the outsourcing contracts shaped to ensure the liability of both sides is clear and that the level of risk is acceptable.
By having credible service level agreements (SLAs) in place, businesses can retain control over the outsourcer and hold them accountable for their performance if problems do occur. It is important that organisations read their outsourcing contracts carefully, and seek amendments accordingly.
While outsourcers will aim to demonstrate high levels of service, organisations should always be clear that the outsourcer views it very much as a commercial arrangement and will aim also to improve the profitability of the contract.
According to the Corporate Executive Programme (CEP), managing risk to protect brand revenue and reputation in the economic downturn is increasingly a legal challenge. This is, however, covering the worse case scenario. If all the planning, knowledge transfer and risk management is properly completed then the scenario will be a successful one.
The lasting message is that outsourcing can work and deliver but organisations must proceed with caution. Like all successful business projects, outsourcing requires meticulous planning and management as organisations need to understand fully what they will get out of it and the risks involved.
Ultimately, outsourcing should form part of a long-term business strategy rather than simply being looked at as a short-term cash-saving fix.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
OpenText übernimmt Vignette
Open Text, Anbieter für Enterprise Content Management (ECM)-Software und -Lösungen, gab die Übernahme des weltweit agierenden CMS-Anbieters Vignette bekannt. Vignette mit Hauptsitz in Austin, Texas, gilt mit seiner über zehnjährigen Erfahrung und mehrfachen Produktauszeichnungen als führender Anbieter innovativer Technologien im Content Management.
Die beiden Unternehmen haben sich bereits über einen Gesamtkaufpreis von 310 Millionen Dollar geeinigt, Vignette-Aktionäre sollen pro Aktie 12,70 US-Dollar erhalten. Wenn Aktionäre und Börsenaufsichtsbehörde ihre Zustimmung zur Übernahme geben, soll diese im zweiten Halbjahr 2009 abgeschlossen sein.
Nach John Shackleton, President und Chief Executive Officer bei Open Text, profitiert das Unternehmen von der Übernahme durch die Möglichkeit das eigene Produktportfolio deutlich zu verbreitern und so zukünftig die Position als führender, unabhängiger Anbieter im ECM Markt zu stärken.
Nach zahlreichen Übernahmen verschiedener Anbieter aus der ECM-Branche in den letzten Jahren, unter anderem Gauss (WCM) 2003, SER (DMS/Workflow) 2003, IXOS (Archiv) 2004 und Hummingbird (WCM, DMS, …) 2006, wäre dies nun der nächste große Coup von Open Text.
Detaillierte Informationen zur Vignette-Übernahme finden sie in der englischsprachigen Originalmeldung unter:
08.05.2009, Contentmanager.de
http://www.contentmanager.net/magazine/news_h35957.html
Die beiden Unternehmen haben sich bereits über einen Gesamtkaufpreis von 310 Millionen Dollar geeinigt, Vignette-Aktionäre sollen pro Aktie 12,70 US-Dollar erhalten. Wenn Aktionäre und Börsenaufsichtsbehörde ihre Zustimmung zur Übernahme geben, soll diese im zweiten Halbjahr 2009 abgeschlossen sein.
Nach John Shackleton, President und Chief Executive Officer bei Open Text, profitiert das Unternehmen von der Übernahme durch die Möglichkeit das eigene Produktportfolio deutlich zu verbreitern und so zukünftig die Position als führender, unabhängiger Anbieter im ECM Markt zu stärken.
Nach zahlreichen Übernahmen verschiedener Anbieter aus der ECM-Branche in den letzten Jahren, unter anderem Gauss (WCM) 2003, SER (DMS/Workflow) 2003, IXOS (Archiv) 2004 und Hummingbird (WCM, DMS, …) 2006, wäre dies nun der nächste große Coup von Open Text.
Detaillierte Informationen zur Vignette-Übernahme finden sie in der englischsprachigen Originalmeldung unter:
08.05.2009, Contentmanager.de
http://www.contentmanager.net/magazine/news_h35957.html
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Autonomy pushes its head into the cloud with bank offering
Autonomy pushes its head into the cloud with bank offering
By Geoff Nairn
Published: May 12 2009 12:22 | Last updated: May 12 2009 12:22
Autonomy, the search specialist based in the UK, has launched a cloud-based compliance solution for banks and others that do business on the web.
The offering takes “snapshots” of the dynamic content served up by websites and so helps firms comply with regulatory requirements.
It stems from Autonomy’s recent acquisition of content management specialist Interwoven and uses Digital Safe, Autonomy’s cloud-based archive service, which is already used by several financial firms.
• Sterling Commerce, specialist in e-commerce software, has jumped into business process integration with the Sterling Business Integration Suite.
This focuses on the business-to-business market and Sterling says it can reduce the cost and complexity of linking IT systems. In one of those unlikely acquisitions made in the dotcom boom, the company was bought by SBC Communications and is now part of AT&T.
• More on the business integration front, this time from Microsoft, which has released BizTalk Server 2009. It sports 25 adapters to connect to the enterprise software suites of rivals such as Oracle and SAP, and supports Microsoft’s Hyper-V virtualisation software. It also embraces the latest standards for data from radio frequency ID (RFID) tags.
• SugarCRM, the pioneer of open-source customer relationship management, unveils Sugar Express, a cloud-based version of its software aimed at small businesses. As well as core CRM features, it has plug-ins for Microsoft Office and “cloud connectors” to link data from sites such as Hoover’s business information. Subscriptions start at $499 a year for up to five users.
• EDS, the services arm of Hewlett-Packard, has struck a deal with Microsoft jointly to sell the software giant’s hosted communication offerings. The Microsoft Productivity Online Suite includes online versions of Exchange and SharePoint as well as Office Live Meeting and Office Communications Online. Unlike rivals such as Google, Microsoft is unwilling to put the full suite of productivity software online so as to protect its packaged software business.
• Sun Microsystems is making some of its open-source software available via the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud. The product families are the GlassFish application server and OpenSSO, Sun’s open-source offering for identity management. With many IT budgets frozen, Sun says EC2’s hosted infrastructure allows IT departments to kick-start projects that would otherwise experience hardware requisition delays.
• IBM has teamed up with MarketShare Partners, a specialist in marketing analytics, to target the media industry.
Based on the Cognos business intelligence software, which IBM acquired in 2007, the offering is designed to help media companies monitor key performance indicators and consumer behaviour across different channels, and so maximise advertising revenues.
• It is not just media folk who need help understanding their business. IBM plans to open a network of analytics solution centres around the world, with the first five about to open in Beijing, Tokyo, London, Washington DC and New York. IBM says economic stimulus measures will drive demand in areas as diverse as financial risk management and electronic medical records.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
By Geoff Nairn
Published: May 12 2009 12:22 | Last updated: May 12 2009 12:22
Autonomy, the search specialist based in the UK, has launched a cloud-based compliance solution for banks and others that do business on the web.
The offering takes “snapshots” of the dynamic content served up by websites and so helps firms comply with regulatory requirements.
It stems from Autonomy’s recent acquisition of content management specialist Interwoven and uses Digital Safe, Autonomy’s cloud-based archive service, which is already used by several financial firms.
• Sterling Commerce, specialist in e-commerce software, has jumped into business process integration with the Sterling Business Integration Suite.
This focuses on the business-to-business market and Sterling says it can reduce the cost and complexity of linking IT systems. In one of those unlikely acquisitions made in the dotcom boom, the company was bought by SBC Communications and is now part of AT&T.
• More on the business integration front, this time from Microsoft, which has released BizTalk Server 2009. It sports 25 adapters to connect to the enterprise software suites of rivals such as Oracle and SAP, and supports Microsoft’s Hyper-V virtualisation software. It also embraces the latest standards for data from radio frequency ID (RFID) tags.
• SugarCRM, the pioneer of open-source customer relationship management, unveils Sugar Express, a cloud-based version of its software aimed at small businesses. As well as core CRM features, it has plug-ins for Microsoft Office and “cloud connectors” to link data from sites such as Hoover’s business information. Subscriptions start at $499 a year for up to five users.
• EDS, the services arm of Hewlett-Packard, has struck a deal with Microsoft jointly to sell the software giant’s hosted communication offerings. The Microsoft Productivity Online Suite includes online versions of Exchange and SharePoint as well as Office Live Meeting and Office Communications Online. Unlike rivals such as Google, Microsoft is unwilling to put the full suite of productivity software online so as to protect its packaged software business.
• Sun Microsystems is making some of its open-source software available via the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud. The product families are the GlassFish application server and OpenSSO, Sun’s open-source offering for identity management. With many IT budgets frozen, Sun says EC2’s hosted infrastructure allows IT departments to kick-start projects that would otherwise experience hardware requisition delays.
• IBM has teamed up with MarketShare Partners, a specialist in marketing analytics, to target the media industry.
Based on the Cognos business intelligence software, which IBM acquired in 2007, the offering is designed to help media companies monitor key performance indicators and consumer behaviour across different channels, and so maximise advertising revenues.
• It is not just media folk who need help understanding their business. IBM plans to open a network of analytics solution centres around the world, with the first five about to open in Beijing, Tokyo, London, Washington DC and New York. IBM says economic stimulus measures will drive demand in areas as diverse as financial risk management and electronic medical records.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
The Cloud: a leap created from combining existing technologies
The Cloud: a leap created from combining existing technologies
By Alan Ganek, chief technology officer for IBM Software
Published: April 30 2009 15:21 | Last updated: April 30 2009 15:21
Today’s increasingly interconnected environment requires an IT infrastructure capable of handling the massive quantities of digital information being exchanged. The new IT architecture built to handle this highly interactive world is cloud computing.
At its most basic, cloud computing is an approach to a shared IT infrastructure in which large pools of computer systems are linked together to provide IT services. It offers a simplified, centralised platform that can be used as needed, thereby lowering costs and energy use.
Sometimes technology leaps ahead as the result of a specific advancement, such as the transistor. More often major leaps occur when multiple technologies are combined to create something entirely new.
Cloud computing is created by the fusion of a number of existing technologies, including virtualisation, networking, service-oriented architecture and an internet-based delivery model, known as software-as-a-service that charges customers only for actual usage.
As a result, it is creating a flexible, robust infrastructure to serve the needs of today’s economy where knowledge flows to countries and regions where IT infrastructures are reliable and responsive.
Since it accesses “virtual” resources, cloud computing is not limited by the power and capabilities of local or remote computers. Unlike grid computing, which distributes IT for a specific task, cloud computing can be applied across an entire range of activities, and used with a wide variety of devices, including laptops, smart phones and hand-held devices.
Cloud computing uses IT resources more efficiently, requiring less energy and reducing carbon emissions. According to Info-Tech Research Group, most computer servers run full time, but are used at between 10 and 20 percent of capacity. By pooling resources, cloud-computing platforms can scale up or down, saving energy and operating costs.
Some observers say that cloud computing could mean the decline of in-house data centres, but that is not the case. Rather, it allows the data centre to evolve into a more dynamic, interactive function. Cloud computing provides data centres with extreme scale, and most important, fast access to information in the data centre regardless of the type of device a person uses. This is becoming crucial as many new types of mobile devices come on to the market.
Today, the cloud computing platforms getting most media attention are externally hosted services; however, private cloud computing platforms are also developing especially within companies operating globally. Private cloud platforms are able to establish security protocols, which carefully monitor the levels of access to the information that is made available for exchange.
Cloud computing will continue to evolve as it responds to business and market trends as well as new technological advances. Its advantages, however, are already clear.
Cloud computing offers the ability to integrate widely diverse kinds of information, a simpler infrastructure to manage the complexity of intelligent technologies and more efficient computing power to handle massive amounts of data as it keeps costs and energy use down.
It is an IT approach that will serve the needs of our interconnected, interactive world now and in the decades to come.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
By Alan Ganek, chief technology officer for IBM Software
Published: April 30 2009 15:21 | Last updated: April 30 2009 15:21
Today’s increasingly interconnected environment requires an IT infrastructure capable of handling the massive quantities of digital information being exchanged. The new IT architecture built to handle this highly interactive world is cloud computing.
At its most basic, cloud computing is an approach to a shared IT infrastructure in which large pools of computer systems are linked together to provide IT services. It offers a simplified, centralised platform that can be used as needed, thereby lowering costs and energy use.
Sometimes technology leaps ahead as the result of a specific advancement, such as the transistor. More often major leaps occur when multiple technologies are combined to create something entirely new.
Cloud computing is created by the fusion of a number of existing technologies, including virtualisation, networking, service-oriented architecture and an internet-based delivery model, known as software-as-a-service that charges customers only for actual usage.
As a result, it is creating a flexible, robust infrastructure to serve the needs of today’s economy where knowledge flows to countries and regions where IT infrastructures are reliable and responsive.
Since it accesses “virtual” resources, cloud computing is not limited by the power and capabilities of local or remote computers. Unlike grid computing, which distributes IT for a specific task, cloud computing can be applied across an entire range of activities, and used with a wide variety of devices, including laptops, smart phones and hand-held devices.
Cloud computing uses IT resources more efficiently, requiring less energy and reducing carbon emissions. According to Info-Tech Research Group, most computer servers run full time, but are used at between 10 and 20 percent of capacity. By pooling resources, cloud-computing platforms can scale up or down, saving energy and operating costs.
Some observers say that cloud computing could mean the decline of in-house data centres, but that is not the case. Rather, it allows the data centre to evolve into a more dynamic, interactive function. Cloud computing provides data centres with extreme scale, and most important, fast access to information in the data centre regardless of the type of device a person uses. This is becoming crucial as many new types of mobile devices come on to the market.
Today, the cloud computing platforms getting most media attention are externally hosted services; however, private cloud computing platforms are also developing especially within companies operating globally. Private cloud platforms are able to establish security protocols, which carefully monitor the levels of access to the information that is made available for exchange.
Cloud computing will continue to evolve as it responds to business and market trends as well as new technological advances. Its advantages, however, are already clear.
Cloud computing offers the ability to integrate widely diverse kinds of information, a simpler infrastructure to manage the complexity of intelligent technologies and more efficient computing power to handle massive amounts of data as it keeps costs and energy use down.
It is an IT approach that will serve the needs of our interconnected, interactive world now and in the decades to come.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Cloud computing
Cloud computing
Published: April 21 2009 09:18 | Last updated: April 22 2009 00:44
Cold reality has a habit of intruding. The latest fad to feel its chill is the concept of “the cloud”, one embraced by the technology sector. On Monday IBM listed cloud computing as one of its three key initiatives for growth. Cisco, which dominates networking equipment, has been tempted by the prospects to move into making servers. Struggling PC maker Dell, meanwhile, aims to join Amazon in providing cloud-based services.
Nailing down the cloud is difficult because its definition has been expanded to include everything companies wish to sell. But broadly, it entails a business outsourcing technology hardware to a third party and then paying according to usage. In theory, commodity services such as data storage will move into the cloud and then be piped back into the building, as with power and water. Economies of scale will mean vast savings for business and fat returns for those running the clouds.
Outsourcing may be too expensive for most large corporations, however. Research from Mckinsey suggests that moving into the cloud costs much more than staying put. Using Amazon’s web services as a guide, the estimated price per computer per month would be $366 compared with $150 for a typical corporate data centre. The study also puts labour savings at just 10-15 per cent, as Luddite employees still need the help of IT support staff. Instead, the consultants suggest virtualisation – using software to make existing racks of servers run more efficiently – is the best route to saving money.
That may miss the point. Companies are unlikely to outsource entire systems in one go. Instead the cloud allows rapid expansion or cheap testing of new projects. It provides a way to expand without capital investment, and the cost calculation will be different for each organisation. But it does suggest that investors should avoid foggy thinking about the companies vying to provide cloud services.
BACKGROUND NEWS
Cisco Systems, the world’s biggest maker of networking equipment, recently said it would start selling servers, the back-room machines that are the workhorses of corporate computing, setting up a showdown with Hewlett-Packard and IBM.
The maturing of the IT industry and a steep slide into recession provided the immediate impetus for the move. But something else is at work. After a technology era characterised by the rise of the PC, a new centralisation is taking place in computing and the biggest suppliers of technology are being forced to respond. A catchphrase has been coined to describe this new approach: “cloud computing”.
Even Microsoft, a company that came to dominate the PC era, is racing to create one of the world’s biggest computing clouds, although it insists this will co-exist with existing forms of personal computing for years to come.
The economies of scale that come from consolidating computing in fewer places, and the availability of fast internet connections that make it easy to tap into this resource, account for the shift. As a result, data centres – whether run by large companies or by internet services groups such as Google – are assuming an increased share of the world’s information processing workload.
To e-mail the Lex team confidentially click here
OR
To post public comments click here
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_________________________________________
Lex is the FT’s agenda-setting column, giving an authoritative view on corporate and financial matters. It is also one of the few parts of FT.com available only to Premium subscribers. This article is provided for free as an example. A Premium subscription gives you unlimited access to all FT content, including all Lex articles and the FT mobile Newsreader.
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Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Published: April 21 2009 09:18 | Last updated: April 22 2009 00:44
Cold reality has a habit of intruding. The latest fad to feel its chill is the concept of “the cloud”, one embraced by the technology sector. On Monday IBM listed cloud computing as one of its three key initiatives for growth. Cisco, which dominates networking equipment, has been tempted by the prospects to move into making servers. Struggling PC maker Dell, meanwhile, aims to join Amazon in providing cloud-based services.
Nailing down the cloud is difficult because its definition has been expanded to include everything companies wish to sell. But broadly, it entails a business outsourcing technology hardware to a third party and then paying according to usage. In theory, commodity services such as data storage will move into the cloud and then be piped back into the building, as with power and water. Economies of scale will mean vast savings for business and fat returns for those running the clouds.
Outsourcing may be too expensive for most large corporations, however. Research from Mckinsey suggests that moving into the cloud costs much more than staying put. Using Amazon’s web services as a guide, the estimated price per computer per month would be $366 compared with $150 for a typical corporate data centre. The study also puts labour savings at just 10-15 per cent, as Luddite employees still need the help of IT support staff. Instead, the consultants suggest virtualisation – using software to make existing racks of servers run more efficiently – is the best route to saving money.
That may miss the point. Companies are unlikely to outsource entire systems in one go. Instead the cloud allows rapid expansion or cheap testing of new projects. It provides a way to expand without capital investment, and the cost calculation will be different for each organisation. But it does suggest that investors should avoid foggy thinking about the companies vying to provide cloud services.
BACKGROUND NEWS
Cisco Systems, the world’s biggest maker of networking equipment, recently said it would start selling servers, the back-room machines that are the workhorses of corporate computing, setting up a showdown with Hewlett-Packard and IBM.
The maturing of the IT industry and a steep slide into recession provided the immediate impetus for the move. But something else is at work. After a technology era characterised by the rise of the PC, a new centralisation is taking place in computing and the biggest suppliers of technology are being forced to respond. A catchphrase has been coined to describe this new approach: “cloud computing”.
Even Microsoft, a company that came to dominate the PC era, is racing to create one of the world’s biggest computing clouds, although it insists this will co-exist with existing forms of personal computing for years to come.
The economies of scale that come from consolidating computing in fewer places, and the availability of fast internet connections that make it easy to tap into this resource, account for the shift. As a result, data centres – whether run by large companies or by internet services groups such as Google – are assuming an increased share of the world’s information processing workload.
To e-mail the Lex team confidentially click here
OR
To post public comments click here
The Lex column is now on Twitter. To receive our daily line-up and links to Lex notes via Twitter, click here
_________________________________________
Lex is the FT’s agenda-setting column, giving an authoritative view on corporate and financial matters. It is also one of the few parts of FT.com available only to Premium subscribers. This article is provided for free as an example. A Premium subscription gives you unlimited access to all FT content, including all Lex articles and the FT mobile Newsreader.
Subscribe now
If you have questions or comments, please e-mail help@ft.com or call:
US and Canada: +1 800 628 8088
Asia: +852 2905 5555
UK, Europe and rest of the world: +44 (0)20 7775 6248
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
The benefits and risks of implementing software as a service
The benefits and risks of implementing software as a service
By Andrew Hartshorn, partner and head of the ICT practice at law firm Shakespeare Putsman, and member of the Federation Against Software Theft’s Legal Advisory Group
Published: February 27 2009 09:33 | Last updated: February 27 2009 09:33
Software as a service is growing apace. It has moved from revolution to mainstream – McKinsey predicts that SaaS will represent 35 per cent of annual software budgets by 2011. Whether Charles Black, Nasstar’s chief executive, will be proved correct in his prediction – that by 2013 web-based applications in the workplace will make IT departments redundant – is yet to be seen.
However, in the current climate, SaaS is seen as a way to reduce costs and allow future growth without capacity constraints.
My view is that customers should see the SaaS model as being more akin to a managed service or an outsourcing contract than the traditional software licence model. In a managed service model, while the customer might develop their own business requirements and specifications which are priced and delivered by a managed service provider, with SaaS the provider has pre-developed the specification and the software and the opportunity for customisation is limited. As with any system implementation, businesses still need to understand their own processes to ensure that they can map to the SaaS service and gain full value from the implementation.
In the SaaS model, a software application (and particularly complex software such as Customer Relationship Management, HR and accounting packages) is hosted by either the software vendor or a third party and the use of the application is provided remotely to the customer over the internet. The host is responsible for the operational environment including the software and hardware, dealing with upgrades and patches and data storage.
The customer accesses the application using a client side application which may be bespoke or a standard web browser.
Rather than undertaking expensive and time-consuming software development projects, its proponents say that SaaS is ready as an off-the-shelf solution. The standard pricing model is based around annual fees either on a per-user or an enterprise wide basis which enables budgets to be managed on an annual basis without the need for major investment in the initial implementation.
Pricing models vary however with some providers charging for additional storage capacity over a particular level. Training may also be a chargeable item as may any specific configuration requirements of the customer.
With SaaS, the customer is not tied to particular hardware platforms for its installation of the software – instead the provider manages the hardware. If the customer wants to add a raft of new users, it merely ups the user numbers and pays the additional annual fees. Active monitoring of users’ requirements for the software is important to avoid spiralling costs for users who don’t need to use the software.
With the provider responsible for looking after the system, the customer does not need to worry about managing patches and upgrades.
With web access, many SaaS applications are always available from any location where internet access is enabled. Clearly in an era where many businesses are looking to empower mobile working, the provision of remote access to business critical applications such as CRM can be a valuable business tool.
The fact that the provision of a SaaS service does not require the physical presence of the provider at any particular location enables the development of market specific applications. Thus an Australian SaaS provider could develop a CRM application that is particularly suitable for, say, media companies. UK media companies would be equally able to access this application from Australia as they would a UK based application.
However, the benefits SaaS offer can also be interpreted as risks for businesses.
One challenge is the ceding of control to the SaaS provider. By asking the SaaS provider to manage the system, the customer loses control over the system. The customer is reliant on the SaaS provider to respond to faults and to decide when and how to implement upgrades.
In weighing up the pros and cons of adopting a SaaS approach, a customer must understand (as with a managed services contract) the fix times (and consequences of not meeting these fix times) offered by the provider. The customer will have no ability to manage the fix itself.
Nor is the customer likely to have any say over the functionality of new versions of the software implemented by the SaaS provider. With the standard software licence model (and even in managed services contracts) the customer would expect some degree of control over the timing of the implementation of new versions and could decide for itself whether the functionality provided by the new version merited an immediate upgrade or whether to continue on the current version. As with any business change, there are costs other than the pure IT costs of implementation of a new version of software.
A major consideration for any business considering implementing an additional or alternative software application is the cost of integration of the application into the existing ICT infrastructure of the business. This is no less true for SaaS solutions.
The integration may require use of specialist third party SaaS integration tools or the development of a bespoke solution.
SaaS providers also control the timescale for release of upgrades and new versions of their product. While reputable providers of SaaS solutions are likely to consider backwards compatibility, there is no guarantee that newer versions of SaaS applications will not require further implementation work for customers.
Whilst SaaS is sold as deployed offsite, it is sometimes necessary for the customer to concern themselves with deployment or upgrade of packages such as Java or other “add-ins” to ensure the smooth operation of the SaaS software. The customer will also need to ensure that they are using a consistent and supported version of their internet browser.
As with any offsite managed service, the customer in a SaaS service is reliant on the application provider to manage data security. While a SaaS provider is unlikely to leave a laptop with the customer’s data on the train, both the protection of a business’s reputation and data protection laws require customers to understand exactly how the provider will manage all aspects of data security.
Many of the cost benefits of SaaS are predicated on a “one size fits all” approach and there is likely to be little opportunity to require the SaaS provider to move to a data security regime different from its standard offering without pricing implications. Indeed, for smaller customers, the offering is likely to be on a take it or leave it approach.
As a minimum, the following aspects should be documented:
● Back-up processes
● Any ability of the SaaS provider to send data overseas
● Disaster recover procedures
● Exit provisions (see the section on exit below)
As with an outsourcing, the customer is at risk of diluting the skill set of its in-house team. However, unlike outsourcing, it is unlikely that any employees of the SaaS provider will move to the customer on termination of the SaaS contract, potentially leaving the customer with a skills deficit.
While customers may ask for support on exit (see below), as outsourced customers have sometimes found this does not necessarily equate to in-house expertise. While there is always a challenge and cost of moving applications, the loss of in-house expertise may add to the problems faced by a business looking to migrate away from a SaaS provider.
With a standard licence model exit should not be an issue – the customer is in control of the implementation and data and can carry out all tests that it considers appropriate to provide comfort that, once it switches over to the new application, it will not suffer any unmanageable teething problems. This is not the case with an outsourced service as the customer is reliant on potentially two competing third parties to assist in transition.
Any managed services contract should therefore deal with exit. A SaaS contract is no different. Whether the exit is planned or forced, the customer needs to know that the transition away from the incumbent provider to the replacement (whether in-house or third party) will be seamless and with as little interruption in service as is practicable. It is important to ensure that the SaaS provider is not able to switch off access resulting in the loss of business-critical systems before the business has an alternative solution.
The exit provisions need include the ability of the customer to recover its own data. While one would expect this to be a given, certain SaaS provider terms explicitly deny this right to customers in the event of non-payment by the customer.
Clearly there can be benefits of adopting the SaaS model. The pricing model offered by the SaaS community is clearly articulated and may, on the face of it, provide a clear saving over the equivalent in-house licence model. Some of the obvious benefits of SaaS (such as simple remote access) may also be persuasive.
As with any investment decision, however, businesses need to understand the total cost of ownership including the medium term costs and potential disadvantages such as loss of in-house skills. Understanding the risk allocation in the contract clearly forms a part of this decision.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
By Andrew Hartshorn, partner and head of the ICT practice at law firm Shakespeare Putsman, and member of the Federation Against Software Theft’s Legal Advisory Group
Published: February 27 2009 09:33 | Last updated: February 27 2009 09:33
Software as a service is growing apace. It has moved from revolution to mainstream – McKinsey predicts that SaaS will represent 35 per cent of annual software budgets by 2011. Whether Charles Black, Nasstar’s chief executive, will be proved correct in his prediction – that by 2013 web-based applications in the workplace will make IT departments redundant – is yet to be seen.
However, in the current climate, SaaS is seen as a way to reduce costs and allow future growth without capacity constraints.
My view is that customers should see the SaaS model as being more akin to a managed service or an outsourcing contract than the traditional software licence model. In a managed service model, while the customer might develop their own business requirements and specifications which are priced and delivered by a managed service provider, with SaaS the provider has pre-developed the specification and the software and the opportunity for customisation is limited. As with any system implementation, businesses still need to understand their own processes to ensure that they can map to the SaaS service and gain full value from the implementation.
In the SaaS model, a software application (and particularly complex software such as Customer Relationship Management, HR and accounting packages) is hosted by either the software vendor or a third party and the use of the application is provided remotely to the customer over the internet. The host is responsible for the operational environment including the software and hardware, dealing with upgrades and patches and data storage.
The customer accesses the application using a client side application which may be bespoke or a standard web browser.
Rather than undertaking expensive and time-consuming software development projects, its proponents say that SaaS is ready as an off-the-shelf solution. The standard pricing model is based around annual fees either on a per-user or an enterprise wide basis which enables budgets to be managed on an annual basis without the need for major investment in the initial implementation.
Pricing models vary however with some providers charging for additional storage capacity over a particular level. Training may also be a chargeable item as may any specific configuration requirements of the customer.
With SaaS, the customer is not tied to particular hardware platforms for its installation of the software – instead the provider manages the hardware. If the customer wants to add a raft of new users, it merely ups the user numbers and pays the additional annual fees. Active monitoring of users’ requirements for the software is important to avoid spiralling costs for users who don’t need to use the software.
With the provider responsible for looking after the system, the customer does not need to worry about managing patches and upgrades.
With web access, many SaaS applications are always available from any location where internet access is enabled. Clearly in an era where many businesses are looking to empower mobile working, the provision of remote access to business critical applications such as CRM can be a valuable business tool.
The fact that the provision of a SaaS service does not require the physical presence of the provider at any particular location enables the development of market specific applications. Thus an Australian SaaS provider could develop a CRM application that is particularly suitable for, say, media companies. UK media companies would be equally able to access this application from Australia as they would a UK based application.
However, the benefits SaaS offer can also be interpreted as risks for businesses.
One challenge is the ceding of control to the SaaS provider. By asking the SaaS provider to manage the system, the customer loses control over the system. The customer is reliant on the SaaS provider to respond to faults and to decide when and how to implement upgrades.
In weighing up the pros and cons of adopting a SaaS approach, a customer must understand (as with a managed services contract) the fix times (and consequences of not meeting these fix times) offered by the provider. The customer will have no ability to manage the fix itself.
Nor is the customer likely to have any say over the functionality of new versions of the software implemented by the SaaS provider. With the standard software licence model (and even in managed services contracts) the customer would expect some degree of control over the timing of the implementation of new versions and could decide for itself whether the functionality provided by the new version merited an immediate upgrade or whether to continue on the current version. As with any business change, there are costs other than the pure IT costs of implementation of a new version of software.
A major consideration for any business considering implementing an additional or alternative software application is the cost of integration of the application into the existing ICT infrastructure of the business. This is no less true for SaaS solutions.
The integration may require use of specialist third party SaaS integration tools or the development of a bespoke solution.
SaaS providers also control the timescale for release of upgrades and new versions of their product. While reputable providers of SaaS solutions are likely to consider backwards compatibility, there is no guarantee that newer versions of SaaS applications will not require further implementation work for customers.
Whilst SaaS is sold as deployed offsite, it is sometimes necessary for the customer to concern themselves with deployment or upgrade of packages such as Java or other “add-ins” to ensure the smooth operation of the SaaS software. The customer will also need to ensure that they are using a consistent and supported version of their internet browser.
As with any offsite managed service, the customer in a SaaS service is reliant on the application provider to manage data security. While a SaaS provider is unlikely to leave a laptop with the customer’s data on the train, both the protection of a business’s reputation and data protection laws require customers to understand exactly how the provider will manage all aspects of data security.
Many of the cost benefits of SaaS are predicated on a “one size fits all” approach and there is likely to be little opportunity to require the SaaS provider to move to a data security regime different from its standard offering without pricing implications. Indeed, for smaller customers, the offering is likely to be on a take it or leave it approach.
As a minimum, the following aspects should be documented:
● Back-up processes
● Any ability of the SaaS provider to send data overseas
● Disaster recover procedures
● Exit provisions (see the section on exit below)
As with an outsourcing, the customer is at risk of diluting the skill set of its in-house team. However, unlike outsourcing, it is unlikely that any employees of the SaaS provider will move to the customer on termination of the SaaS contract, potentially leaving the customer with a skills deficit.
While customers may ask for support on exit (see below), as outsourced customers have sometimes found this does not necessarily equate to in-house expertise. While there is always a challenge and cost of moving applications, the loss of in-house expertise may add to the problems faced by a business looking to migrate away from a SaaS provider.
With a standard licence model exit should not be an issue – the customer is in control of the implementation and data and can carry out all tests that it considers appropriate to provide comfort that, once it switches over to the new application, it will not suffer any unmanageable teething problems. This is not the case with an outsourced service as the customer is reliant on potentially two competing third parties to assist in transition.
Any managed services contract should therefore deal with exit. A SaaS contract is no different. Whether the exit is planned or forced, the customer needs to know that the transition away from the incumbent provider to the replacement (whether in-house or third party) will be seamless and with as little interruption in service as is practicable. It is important to ensure that the SaaS provider is not able to switch off access resulting in the loss of business-critical systems before the business has an alternative solution.
The exit provisions need include the ability of the customer to recover its own data. While one would expect this to be a given, certain SaaS provider terms explicitly deny this right to customers in the event of non-payment by the customer.
Clearly there can be benefits of adopting the SaaS model. The pricing model offered by the SaaS community is clearly articulated and may, on the face of it, provide a clear saving over the equivalent in-house licence model. Some of the obvious benefits of SaaS (such as simple remote access) may also be persuasive.
As with any investment decision, however, businesses need to understand the total cost of ownership including the medium term costs and potential disadvantages such as loss of in-house skills. Understanding the risk allocation in the contract clearly forms a part of this decision.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Information is power in closing the energy gap
Information is power in closing the energy gap
By Joe Hemming, chief executive of Logica UK and a member of Logica’s executive committee
Published: February 26 2009 09:52 | Last updated: February 26 2009 09:52
We believe we have just 11 years to revolutionise the way we satisfy our energy needs – or we could be experiencing black-outs in the UK between 2015 and 2020.
As part of this process, the government said in October that all 47m meters in 26m homes and more than 2m business meters will be exchanged for smart meters by 2020.
Smart meters already exist and work well. They allow consumers to see exactly what energy they are using and manage their consumption intelligently. Suppliers get detailed insights into their customers’ behaviour and can offer tailored tariff packages. The suppliers most adept at using meter information will win market share by adding value to their offerings – and many people will try to save money by curtailing energy consumption and using appliances at different times.
Smart meters are a classic example of the power of information.
Information from smart meters and the communications infrastructure behind them could notify of boiler breakdowns, tell carers if a vulnerable person’s energy use changes or could turn on heating remotely. This new set-up will also underpin the shift to power from distributed microgeneration – such as solar panels, wind turbines and ground and air source heat pumps – back into the network, helping to cut the energy shortfall even further.
The sticking point for mass introduction is setting and co-ordinating smart meter communication standards, to ensure that barriers are not created to entry for potential energy suppliers, strangling competition or preventing consumers from changing suppliers quickly and easily.
We need a central body to agree an open information standard, so that the various ways smart meters talk to suppliers and consumers – by broadband, text message, radio or another technology yet to be invented – is irrelevant.
Open standards will transform the energy industry, allowing it to change at the fast pace of the communications industry. It will cease to be a commodity market and instead use meter information to tailor packages to suit the lifestyles of its customers, in the same way that telecommunications companies bundle services today. Energy packages will reflect the way we live and reward changes in consumption behaviour.
To meet the 2020 deadline, the central body will need to be up and running by around 2010, with full support from across the industry – generators, distributors and suppliers. The central function will be an efficient and effective way to focus co-operative efforts and free businesses to compete on value, as past examples ranging from financial clearing systems to the electricity industry’s own balancing and settlement body, Elexon, show.
We fully expect that when the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) publishes the revised benefits case for smart meters, the numbers will prove to be compelling.
Consumer acceptance is not a problem. A Logica survey published in October 2007 shows that 77 per cent of Britons say smart meters are a good idea and 72 per cent would reduce their energy consumption if they knew how much they were using.
If the results of an initiative in Växjö, Sweden using Logica’s web-based technology are replicated, people mean what they say. There, 20,000 people use smart metering of electricity, water and heating. Personal web pages show consumption by the hour, comparing this with neighbours’ and other properties of similar size. Among those taking full advantage of the information they now receive, household energy use has fallen by up to 30 per cent. People are just as comfortable – but they have lower bills.
If, by 2015, around 30 per cent of consumers have committed to taking advantage of what smart meters offer, there will be a sufficient decline in demand to bridge the coming energy gap, to reduce carbon emissions and minimise dependence on foreign energy.
It’s no longer enough to turn down our thermostats by a degree or feel virtuous in the eerie glow of subsidised energy-efficient light bulbs. We need smart meters as a self-sustaining homeland insurance policy.
As national priorities go, few could be more important. We need to establish the central body for smart metering now.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
By Joe Hemming, chief executive of Logica UK and a member of Logica’s executive committee
Published: February 26 2009 09:52 | Last updated: February 26 2009 09:52
We believe we have just 11 years to revolutionise the way we satisfy our energy needs – or we could be experiencing black-outs in the UK between 2015 and 2020.
As part of this process, the government said in October that all 47m meters in 26m homes and more than 2m business meters will be exchanged for smart meters by 2020.
Smart meters already exist and work well. They allow consumers to see exactly what energy they are using and manage their consumption intelligently. Suppliers get detailed insights into their customers’ behaviour and can offer tailored tariff packages. The suppliers most adept at using meter information will win market share by adding value to their offerings – and many people will try to save money by curtailing energy consumption and using appliances at different times.
Smart meters are a classic example of the power of information.
Information from smart meters and the communications infrastructure behind them could notify of boiler breakdowns, tell carers if a vulnerable person’s energy use changes or could turn on heating remotely. This new set-up will also underpin the shift to power from distributed microgeneration – such as solar panels, wind turbines and ground and air source heat pumps – back into the network, helping to cut the energy shortfall even further.
The sticking point for mass introduction is setting and co-ordinating smart meter communication standards, to ensure that barriers are not created to entry for potential energy suppliers, strangling competition or preventing consumers from changing suppliers quickly and easily.
We need a central body to agree an open information standard, so that the various ways smart meters talk to suppliers and consumers – by broadband, text message, radio or another technology yet to be invented – is irrelevant.
Open standards will transform the energy industry, allowing it to change at the fast pace of the communications industry. It will cease to be a commodity market and instead use meter information to tailor packages to suit the lifestyles of its customers, in the same way that telecommunications companies bundle services today. Energy packages will reflect the way we live and reward changes in consumption behaviour.
To meet the 2020 deadline, the central body will need to be up and running by around 2010, with full support from across the industry – generators, distributors and suppliers. The central function will be an efficient and effective way to focus co-operative efforts and free businesses to compete on value, as past examples ranging from financial clearing systems to the electricity industry’s own balancing and settlement body, Elexon, show.
We fully expect that when the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) publishes the revised benefits case for smart meters, the numbers will prove to be compelling.
Consumer acceptance is not a problem. A Logica survey published in October 2007 shows that 77 per cent of Britons say smart meters are a good idea and 72 per cent would reduce their energy consumption if they knew how much they were using.
If the results of an initiative in Växjö, Sweden using Logica’s web-based technology are replicated, people mean what they say. There, 20,000 people use smart metering of electricity, water and heating. Personal web pages show consumption by the hour, comparing this with neighbours’ and other properties of similar size. Among those taking full advantage of the information they now receive, household energy use has fallen by up to 30 per cent. People are just as comfortable – but they have lower bills.
If, by 2015, around 30 per cent of consumers have committed to taking advantage of what smart meters offer, there will be a sufficient decline in demand to bridge the coming energy gap, to reduce carbon emissions and minimise dependence on foreign energy.
It’s no longer enough to turn down our thermostats by a degree or feel virtuous in the eerie glow of subsidised energy-efficient light bulbs. We need smart meters as a self-sustaining homeland insurance policy.
As national priorities go, few could be more important. We need to establish the central body for smart metering now.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Krönung für das SAP NetWeaver Portal
Die e-Spirit AG stellt zusammen mit ihrem Partner HLP Informationsmanagement GmbH auf der CeBIT das zertifizierte Business Package for FirstSpirit vor (Halle 6, Stand J35). Der Vorteil besteht in dem vollständig integrierten Redaktionsprozess, der Redakteuren von der Content-Erstellung bis zur Publikation eine benutzerfreundliche Datenpflege erlaubt.
Einfache Datenpflege: Redakteur ohne SAP Know-How
Ein Redakteur kann sich auf die reine Erstellung und Pflege seines Contents konzentrieren, ohne irgendein Portal-Know-How mitbringen zu müssen. So erfolgt beispielsweise das Setzen eines Links auf andere Seiten bequem und komfortabel über einen Baumauswahldialog, selbst wenn im Hintergrund technisch komplizierte Portal-Verweise daraus erzeugt werden. Die Einbindung von Inhalten in die Portaleigene Navigationsstruktur ist vollständig gewährleistet. FirstSpirit unterstützt weiterhin das Rechte- und Rollenmanagement des Portalservers, indem die bestehende Berechtigungsinfrastruktur wiederverwendet wird. Damit wird es möglich, dass Redakteure Leseberechtigungen für ihre Inhalte festlegen, während der Portalserver die Einhaltung der Berechtigungen zur Laufzeit für jeden Anwender prüft. Um Arbeitsprozesse und redaktionelle Inhalte optimal kombinieren zu können ist es dem Portalredakteur nicht nur möglich herkömmlichen Redaktionsinhalt zu erstellen und zu pflegen, sondern gleichzeitig zuvor vom Portal-Administrator freigegebene Anwendungen (iViews) direkt mit FirstSpirit an beliebigen Stellen im Portal zu positionieren und zu konfigurieren.
Erweiterungen für das SAP NetWeaver Portal
HLP stellt auf der CeBIT zudem Erweiterungen für das SAP NetWeaver Portal vor, die die Funktion des Portals als zentrale Anlaufstelle mit rollenspezifischen, unternehmensweiten Informationen und Anwendungen unterstützen.
Darüber hinaus ist der IT-Dienstleister bekannt für seine zertifizierten SAP NetWeaver Add-ons bekannt, darunter das Business Package for Confluence Wiki (Unternehmens-Wiki für Collaboration), das Business Package for Portal Analytics (qualifizierte Benutzeranalyse im Mitarbeiterportal) sowie Portal Layout Tuning (zur optimalen Darstellung, Performance und Benutzerfreundlichkeit des SAP NetWaver Portals).
Referenzen
Das Business Package for FirstSpirit wird als technologisch führende CMS-Integration in SAP NetWeaver von zahlreichen renommierten Kunden eingesetzt, z.B. Bosch, Linde Gas Deutschland, Stadt Hagen, Wagner Tiefkühlprodukte, Merz und Knorr-Bremse.
17.02.2009, e-Spirit AG
Einfache Datenpflege: Redakteur ohne SAP Know-How
Ein Redakteur kann sich auf die reine Erstellung und Pflege seines Contents konzentrieren, ohne irgendein Portal-Know-How mitbringen zu müssen. So erfolgt beispielsweise das Setzen eines Links auf andere Seiten bequem und komfortabel über einen Baumauswahldialog, selbst wenn im Hintergrund technisch komplizierte Portal-Verweise daraus erzeugt werden. Die Einbindung von Inhalten in die Portaleigene Navigationsstruktur ist vollständig gewährleistet. FirstSpirit unterstützt weiterhin das Rechte- und Rollenmanagement des Portalservers, indem die bestehende Berechtigungsinfrastruktur wiederverwendet wird. Damit wird es möglich, dass Redakteure Leseberechtigungen für ihre Inhalte festlegen, während der Portalserver die Einhaltung der Berechtigungen zur Laufzeit für jeden Anwender prüft. Um Arbeitsprozesse und redaktionelle Inhalte optimal kombinieren zu können ist es dem Portalredakteur nicht nur möglich herkömmlichen Redaktionsinhalt zu erstellen und zu pflegen, sondern gleichzeitig zuvor vom Portal-Administrator freigegebene Anwendungen (iViews) direkt mit FirstSpirit an beliebigen Stellen im Portal zu positionieren und zu konfigurieren.
Erweiterungen für das SAP NetWeaver Portal
HLP stellt auf der CeBIT zudem Erweiterungen für das SAP NetWeaver Portal vor, die die Funktion des Portals als zentrale Anlaufstelle mit rollenspezifischen, unternehmensweiten Informationen und Anwendungen unterstützen.
Darüber hinaus ist der IT-Dienstleister bekannt für seine zertifizierten SAP NetWeaver Add-ons bekannt, darunter das Business Package for Confluence Wiki (Unternehmens-Wiki für Collaboration), das Business Package for Portal Analytics (qualifizierte Benutzeranalyse im Mitarbeiterportal) sowie Portal Layout Tuning (zur optimalen Darstellung, Performance und Benutzerfreundlichkeit des SAP NetWaver Portals).
Referenzen
Das Business Package for FirstSpirit wird als technologisch führende CMS-Integration in SAP NetWeaver von zahlreichen renommierten Kunden eingesetzt, z.B. Bosch, Linde Gas Deutschland, Stadt Hagen, Wagner Tiefkühlprodukte, Merz und Knorr-Bremse.
17.02.2009, e-Spirit AG
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