“Being a business winner means you need to work hard and play hard,” said the chief executive at a recent breakout session.

It was motivating stuff. I immediately thought of how I could use his paradigm shift to push the envelope. Thankfully, everyone else in the IT team wanted to hit the ground running ­ and we were able to brainstorm about quick wins.

In today’s highly competitive marketplace, you cannot afford to sit on the fence. So, the first game changer we implemented was an integrated Web 2.0 solution that the team could use to leverage low-hanging fruit.

Then we took some of those ideas offline, so that we could touch base and think about future synergies. Keen not to drop the ball, I took some of our showstoppers to senior management.

And what a session that was. Ken ­ - my right-hand man ­ - put a stake in the ground and ran our concepts up the flagpole to see who would salute.

“In terms of scalability, your best-of-breed vision could bring a lot of value to the table,” said the chief executive.

But going forward, I was eager to manage expectations as we moved to the next level. There’s no “I” in “team” and if you are going to maximise customer satisfaction, everyone has to work together as they think outside the box.

We’d recognised that people are our best asset and knew the resulting piece could architect a bright horizon for the business.

Speaking honestly, I’d given 110 per cent and knew our model could push the organisation from good to great. Then someone from finance stuck their nose in and asked what improved ROI we could expect from the system.

“It is what it is,” I said. And I turned to Ken, who looked down and muttered something about the 80/20 rule and 24/7 operations. The chief executive then canned the initiative. This was a shame, because blue sky thinking requires people to raise the bar.

But Ken and I also knew you can’t polish a turd. And we were secretly pleased when human resources gave us our cards and said we would be spending more time with the family.

Further reading

• 'Gentleman's hours' are key to flexible working
• Would you recommend a career in IT to your child?
• Forget dreams of working abroad, or in Cobol
• Be proud of being a technology nerd
• Modernise to beat IT and skills obsolesence

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Gartner is just loving cloud computing at the moment. The analyst has released quite a bit of information about the potential for cloud-based services during the last couple of weeks.

Today's slab of research from Gartner suggests security applications delivered through the cloud will have a 'dramatic impact' on the industry:

• In messaging security controls, such as malware and spam detection/exclusion for e-mail and instant messaging, cloud-based services account for 20 per cent of revenue in 2008
• By 2013, cloud-based services in messaging security controls will account for 60 per cent of revenue

Gartner says the increased use of cloud-based services, such as salesforce.com or Google Apps, means users will be accessing data without traversing the corporate network - and will increase the need for security controls between users and the cloud, says Gartner principal analyst Kelly Kavanagh:

"It also will allow security technologies and techniques that are cost-effective to be used only with cloud-style computing. The massively scalable resources provided through the cloud also will be available to people who develop attacks that require intense processing, pursue cloud providers, or both."

Further reading

• Cloud computing will change business technology
• Simon Pitt to lead IT at the Environment Agency
• CIO concerns: Rob Fraser switches Boots for CSC
• CIOs will need to transform to survive
• Career moves: Robin Terrell is John Lewis web MD
• Modernise to beat IT and skills obsolesence

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

There's nothing like a precise figure. And according to Plimsoll Analysis, up to 24,073 jobs could be lost as the UK computer software industry consolidates during the next 12 months - which, if nothing else, is an exercise in precision.

Plimsoll has analysed each of the UK’s leading 2,000 companies, assessing each firm’s chances of survival. As well as the job losses:

• As many as three quarters of the firms analysed will need to reduced their head count
• One of the largest firms could see up to 985 jobs lost
• More than a quarter of the companies surveyed are already running at a loss
• Companies need to aim for at least £115,000 sales per employee in order to stay competitive

The figures demonstrate the potential problems ahead, both for the UK software industry and IT professionals. As David Pattison, senior analyst at Plimsoll Analysis, says of the challenge:

“The 165 companies we have identified as in danger need to act now if they are to survive. It's very important they review their entire business cost base and take action now to significantly reduce their outgoings. Whilst job losses are undoubtedly bad news for any company, such decisive action may be called for to guarantee the ultimate survival of the business - even if this means the business is 30 or 50 per cent smaller than it was.”

Are job losses bad news for a company? Yeah, maybe. But if the organisation cuts employees and then turns business performance round, are the cuts still bad news? No, I guess not. But they are still bad news for employees that loses their jobs...

Further reading

• 'Gentleman's hours' are key to flexible working
• Would you recommend a career in IT to your child?
• Forget dreams of working abroad, or in Cobol
• Be proud of being a technology nerd
• Modernise to beat IT and skills obsolesence

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Once again, everything is about to change ­ and this time, the analysts might be on to something.

After years of worrying about on-the-ground implementations, chief information officers are heading for the skies. Cloud computing, says Gartner, represents a business evolution “no less influential than e-business”.

The analyst suggests cloud computing is difficult to define ­ a difficulty which apparently signifies the potential of the concept.

Gartner then manages to contradict itself by neatly supplying that previously unattainable definition for cloud computing: “Where massively scalable IT-related capabilities are provided as a service using internet technologies.”

Behind all this hyperbole and contradiction, the analyst does make some good points.

First, the coming together of virtualisation, service-oriented architecture and the internet is creating a new opportunity to reshape the relationship between IT and the business.

Second, such convergence means users can focus on the value of the service, rather than how systems are implemented or hosted.

Which really does mean everything is about to change -­ for everybody. Take IT managers, who will be able to act with more flexibility, introducing technologies and processes to meet the demands of line-of-business executives.

Such executives will be able to make requests for new technologies without fearing in-house implementation costs are likely to make the project prohibitive.

Even more pertinently, the availability of online services will provide more opportunities for user development. Beyond creating simple macros in Excel, users will be able to create code through a range of internet-provided systems.

Where does such user control leave IT programmers? Probably in India, creating cloud computing applications for the ever-increasing UK service economy.

Finally, traditional vendors will be left to fight against a new breed of online specialists that provide tailored business services.

Gartner suggests cloud computing remains an evolving concept. Despite the hype, the impending sense of change is overpowering.

Further reading

• Simon Pitt to lead IT at the Environment Agency
• CIO concerns: Rob Fraser switches Boots for CSC
• CIOs will need to transform to survive
• Career moves: Robin Terrell is John Lewis web MD
• Modernise to beat IT and skills obsolesence

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Who says crazy dot com valuations are dead? Not financial investors, who remain keen to spend on social networking platforms.

LinkedIn announced last week it had secured $53m (£27m) in funding. The new investment, which represents about five per cent of LinkedIn, values the company at $1.015bn (£515m).

The news followed Microsoft’s $240m (£122m) investment in Facebook last year, which helped value the platform at $15bn (£7.6bn).

Such valuations illustrate the potential strengths of social networks, with firms such as LinkedIn drawing revenue from advertising, job search and subscriptions.

The problem is that there are only so many social networks that individuals will be willing and have the time to participate in.

Future growth will rely on regional variations, says LinkedIn managing director Kevin Eyres.

The firm expects to invest more heavily in the European market, and hopes a regional approach will help members to “derive more value from their network”.

Some individuals have already attempted to make more from their network, such as a former employee of recruitment firm Hays who allegedly used LinkedIn to approach clients for his own agency. The High Court, however, ordered him to hand over the business contacts he built up on his personal page.

Employers will see the decision as a potential step change ­ particularly firms that struggle to understand how to provide and monitor social networking.

Executives often worry that workers are using networks to leak corporate information.

Such concerns are understandable, with one-third of IT professionals saying that they use their privileged rights to gain access to information that is confidential or sensitive, according to Cyber-Ark Software.

The High Court decision shows firms will go to significant lengths to protect confidential information.

While venture capitalists will be keen to back innovative ideas, entrepreneurs need to think carefully about how their intellectual property has been generated.

Modern forms of collaboration can help create value, but only if you play by the traditional rules of business.

Further reading

• How can you make money from social networking?
• How can a CIO make the most of Web 2.0?
• Social web is about improvement, not innovation
• Next generation social networking
• Finding useful Web 2.0 and social networking tools
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

It's the new trend that's sweeping the conference halls and roundtables; calling everything related to technology in your organisation a 'piece'.

Use of the word 'piece' follows on from the all-encompassing 'solution' - a term which is widely dropped, despite the fact it means nothing. As was stated previously on this blog, the term 'solution' is problematic at two levels:

1. A solution is usually a mixture of two or more substances, usually a liquid.
2. Or it is the perfect answer to a known problem. And if an application was available that really provided a perfect answer to a known business problem, wouldn't we all be using it?

Not that marketeers are going to stop calling products 'solutions' any time soon. But as mentioned above, it does seem IT managers have moved on - and now everything is a 'piece'.

"We are looking at how to make the most from our unified communications piece," says one IT manager, referring to technical resources. "So, let us re-consider how to make the most from the service management piece," says another IT manager, referring to policy and process issues.

Look out for it and be warned. 'Piece' is everywhere. And it means everything and nothing.

Further reading

• Finding solutions with Avanquest's Chris Thompson
• McAfee spam project smells like marketing guff
• What does 'strategic business agility' really mean?

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Cheerio, China. When it comes to innovation, the fast-developing economy is moving quickly and will soon leave western economies in the distance. Research firm Evalueserve reports the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) of China received 694,153 patent applications in 2007, an increase of 21.1 percent over the previous year.

With regard to invention patents, China is currently third in the world behind the United States and Japan. And if patent filings in China continue to grow at the current rate, the SIPO will overtake the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) by 2012.

China has prepared well. Evalueserve reports the country has developed its patent system significantly during the last two decades. It has incorporated an online and searchable patent database, a robust appeal mechanism and a hierarchy of courts for handling intellectual property disputes.

As a result, patent processing speed has increased. More than four million patent applications were filed from early 1985 to December 2007. And while the first million applications were filed over 15 years, the last million took only 18 months.

Further reading

• Take a risk on innovation and you might just win
• Growing risk of litigation threatens IT innovation
• How can the CIO gain respect for IT innovation?
• Making best use of Gartner's reports
• There is a depressing lack of innovation in UK IT

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Potentially good news for email users - spammers are now concentrating on a range of other communication channels, too. The bad news is that spammers are using other forms of interaction - such as email - to increase spam on social networks.

Research from messaging specialist Cloudmark and researcher Harris Interactive suggests spam is now clogging social networks and creating a potential barrier to further growth.

More than four in five social networking site users (83 per cent) has received spam “friend” invitations, messages or postings on their account during the past twelve months.

The problem is apparently severe enough for two-thirds (66 per cent) of users to say they would be somewhat likely to switch to another social network.

The research suggests the qualities that make social networks successful – the wide variety of communication channels, the openness of the networks and the size of the audience – are powerful lures for spammers and hackers. The survey also suggests that:

• The majority (80 per cent) of social network users are at least somewhat concerned about spam, phishing and virus attacks on their social or professional network account
• Many users (37 per cent) have noticed an increase in the number of unwanted messages they have received in the last six months
• Nearly one in five users (17 percent) say the increase has been significant
• On average, users have reported receiving 64 spam “friend” invitations, messages or postings in the last 12 months

Further reading

• How can you make money from social networking?
• How can a CIO make the most of Web 2.0?
• Social web is about improvement, not innovation
• Next generation social networking
• Finding useful Web 2.0 and social networking tools
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Bored waiting for your service-orientated architecture to deliver cost savings? Then get yourself an ICC, says Gartner. As part of the IT industry's never-ending search for - and creation of - three letter acronyms (or TLAs), the analyst defines an ICC as:

"Integration competency centres (ICCs) - or service-orientated architecture (SOA) centres of excellence - can help companies achieve significant cost savings. The ICC carries out projects with high business value, such as integrating the processes of order-to-cash, loan origination or claims adjudication across disparate applications and systems."

Gartner's findings suggest the ICC is one TLA that should not be sniffed at, with the average centre producing impressive results:

• ICCs can save an average of 30 per cent in integration application and data interface development time and costs
• Centres can also save 20 per cent in maintenance costs and achieve 25 per cent reuse of integration components
• With integration projects typically costing between $250,000 and $1,000,000, potential savings can reach $100,000 or more

Gartner says it takes a considerable amount of time – typically two to three years – before SOA services cover enough application functionality to cut IT costs. Given the hype surrounding SOA, such timelines can be frustrating.

The good news is organisations that funnel SOA work through an ICC/centre of excellence approach are likely to see results sooner, says Paolo Malinverno, research vice president at Gartner:

“Every IT department of any size should have an ICC. Its benefits quickly outweigh any organisational challenges that must be addressed while the ICC is created.  ICCs/SOAs centres of excellences are absolutely vital in every SOA project out of the pilot stage.”

Further reading

• IT needs to show the boss it means business
• Depressed technology professionals need a boost
• Is IT always a business issue?
• The end of computer science?
• Is studying computer science a waste of time?
• The adventures of a technology career

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

The world is close to destruction and it is the IT manager’s fault. Carbon emissions are rising and icebergs are melting all because of the technology organisation’s use of power-hungry resources.

Analyst Gartner estimates the IT industry produces two per cent of global carbon emissions, with ageing data centres heavily responsible.

Commonly suggested solutions to the problem include consolidation and virtualisation ­ – doing more with less. Other solutions include implementing energy-efficient server, cooling and power systems.

Such initiatives are all well and good. But new technology projects cost money, and in a downturn the finance director is unlikely to sanction big initiatives. So, here’s an idea: encourage your users to stop sending and saving information.

Information is meant to be the lifeblood of the organisation, the knowledge through which businesses  can gain a competitive advantage. The problem is, of course, that most of us are drowning in information, as users store increasing amounts of content.

Once again, the answer is meant to be provided by IT, often in the shape of integrated software tools. Sounds tempting ­ – but new technology requires new investment, and that annoying barrier otherwise known as the credit crunch looms large once again.

If money is too tight to mention at your gaff, round on your users. Instead of just encouraging employees to stop printing emails, stop them sending and receiving pointless correspondence in the first place.

I was recently away for a week and received close to a thousand emails. Not being able to respond ­ – or more crucially, to delete ­ – the ever-growing mail mountain created a new set of automated responses telling me my email quota had been reached.

All the unstructured email content had to be stored in resource-hungry servers. And you can multiply my experiences by the millions of workers receiving pointless emails everyday. The sum of all this maths is total information inefficiency.

Rolling out environmentally-sensitive hardware is crucial. But reducing users’ demands for information should be the first step towards green computing.

Further reading: Reuse and recycling Top 10

1. Recycle? WEEE don't undertsand the rules, stupid
2. Computer Aid shows how to beat the green wash
3. Cure for green computing overkill is the real deal
4. Green computing hype needs smarter approach
5. Green computing is not crucial for CIOs
6. The green IT rules from Forrester and Gartner
7. JP Rangaswami says green computing drives BT
8. SMEs lead the way on green computing
9. Green computing is a pipe dream for IT managers
10. CIOs could learn from the green actions of SMEs

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

“The risk of going to jail usually pushes information security up the boardroom agenda,” conclude Jon Fell and John Skelton in their feature on e-crime. Fair enough, I guess ­ – the integrity of customer data has to be a crucial business priority. But who should really call the shots when it comes to security, the IT department or the business?

A recent survey by Websense suggested 95 per cent of security professionals believe the chief executive should be held accountable for a breach, with a quarter of respondents believing the boss should go to jail in the event of a consumer data incident.

Tough talking from the IT professionals ­ – and the survey also found just five per cent of security experts believe ultimate responsibility for a breach lies with the IT department, a huge drop from 21 per cent in 2007.

Are such hard-hitting opinions reasonable or are we looking at a case of IT professionals attempting to pass the buck?

Chief security officers (CSOs) certainly think so, with conference specialist Infosecurity Europe suggesting many are very concerned about the integrity of their application code.

As many as 75 per cent of European businesses think their applications contain security holes that can be exploited by criminals, according to Infosecurity Europe ­ – and CSOs say they would welcome an initiative to raise awareness of security among the developer community.

IT leaders, then, blame the followers. But let’s be honest, no one would blame security professionals for playing their “get out of jail free” card, especially with the media hype surrounding customer data loss.

Such incidents have placed increased pressure on firms to ensure their systems and policies are up to date and in line with current regulatory demands.

Take the recently enforced Companies Act, which gives enhanced rights to auditors to obtain information. The Act states directors must disclose accurate information to auditors.

Board members who include false information run the risk of eating porridge at Her Majesty’s pleasure.

Security chiefs take note. While some IT leaders may be keen to apportion blame for e-crime on security professionals, real responsibility will always rest with the boss.

Further reading

• Data leak prevention is just security best practice
  
• McAfee spam project smells like marketing guff
• Time to focus on the good in databases
• Security technology is not a priority for firms
• Flexible working creates a security nightmare
• Stop buying illegal software, or face the risks...

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

An IT leader said to me recently that analyst Gartner is a bit like the new Big Blue. The commonly used adage suggests no IT manager ever got sacked for choosing IBM. And the technology chief suggested the saying now worked for Gartner - ­ certainly in a strategic sense, anyway.

The credit crunch and ever-deepening recession means justifying new IT investment is harder than ever.

Problem is, of course, many of the potential benefits from modern business technology projects sound a bit esoteric.

Forget simple efficiency metrics, the most important initiatives create fluffy benefits such as integration, collaboration and knowledge.

And going to the finance director with a qualitative list is a bit like the proverbial chocolate teapot: useless.

The ongoing downturn means the board wants big, juicy numbers ­ a quantitative value it can associate with a technology implementation.

Enter the IT manager’s good friend Gartner, keeper of the magic quadrant and king of the buzzword.

Line-of-business executives often struggle to understand the bits and bytes of technology. But the business likes Gartner; it likes how reports can be produced to justify technology spending.

The IT leader told me the boon of such an approach is simple: your boss believes Gartner. All of which means the IT manager can justify their project.

But taking business executives on a trip to the wonderful world of Gartner also has its bad points. Show your boss the source of your knowledge and it can come back to bite you.

Recoil in horror as the chief executive enters your office and asks if you have seen the latest research from Gartner. How do you tell your boss to keep their nose out, especially when he is clutching the latest announcement from Gartner vice president Ken McGee, who says the worst consequences of the recession can be prevented by “countering innovation with innovation”?

Sounds a bit like a tautology to me, except the second word is exactly the same as the first.

Good luck blending quadrants and tautology in an attempt to secure project funding. My guess is you will need it.

Further reading

• CIO concerns: Rob Fraser switches Boots for CSC
• CIOs will need to transform to survive
• Career moves: Robin Terrell is John Lewis web MD
• Career moves: Steve Markwell is new NCC CEO
• Career moves: Carl Powell becomes Unipart CEO
• Modernise to beat IT and skills obsolesence

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Cast a wary (or should that be weary?) eye on the latest security trends. So says ICI global information security director Paul Simmonds, speaking to Lisa Kelly in this week's definitive guide to security:

“Data leakage prevention (DLP) is being hyped and everyone is trying to flog it. Established vendors are tweaking existing products to DLP, while there are a whole bunch of start ups selling it. But vendors are always telling you that you have a big problem and they will solve it for you."

Simmonds has certainly got solution-obsessed vendors down to a tee. But what's all this about DLP? “We have always done DLP at ICI," says Simmonds - breaking the unwritten rule of no more than one TLA (three letter acronym) in a seven word sentence. That's 'unwritten' as in 'made up just now by me', by the way.

With regards to DLP, Simmonds says his company uses the classic 80/20 rule - 80 per cent of security is about people, processes and procedures, and only 20 per cent is about technology.

It sounds like a winning strategy. Especially as in next week's definitive guide, Freeform Dyanmics analyst Jon Collins says:

"IT leaders need to consider risks caused by their own employees, be they through malice or stupidity. Internal workers have always posed the biggest threat to computer systems - even before product categories, such as DLP, were posited."

Apparently, some vendors also refer to DLP - stay with me, here - as information leak prevention (ILP) and extrusion prevention (EP). Basically it's about putting the right security processes and systems in place. So, for DLP (or ILP and EP) read best practice through a bunch of tools and policies.

Simmonds is right to be wary about the the so-called latest security trends - but weary seems an even more appropriate sentiment, I think.

Further reading

• McAfee spam project smells like marketing guff
• Time to focus on the good in databases
• Security technology is not a priority for firms
• Flexible working creates a security nightmare
• Stop buying illegal software, or face the risks...
• How to cope with rogue IT

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Try and imagine the thought process: "I want to improve my appearance and buy some expensive jewellery but my wages mean I can't afford pricey plastic surgery and a flashy diamond ring."

Answer? Fake your expenses claim, according to a survey from hotel operator Travelodge and researcher OnePoll - which suggests British workers are swindling bosses out of £1bn a year.

Respondents admitted refurbishing homes with a new bathroom, kitchen, gym and "even wallpaper and paint" to spruce up their homes. Even wallpaper and paint? Sounds like small change in comparisson to a new kitchen or gym.

How do such errant workers put their expenses through? Does the IT system have a space on the expenses claim for home improvements? I doubt it, seeing as the research highlights how the top three expense scams are:

• Ask for extra taxi receipts and use them to claim back false taxi transport
• Add extra mileage when submitting an expense claim
• Use a cheap restaurant to entertain a business client and use an expensive restaurant for personal use. When submitting the claim use the expensive receipt

Oh, so that's how it works - put in a couple of extra taxi receipts (to Botswana, for example) and buy a smashing kitchen.

The typical worker pockets an extra £17.00 each month through dodgy expense claims, equivalent to an extra £204.00 a year - still some way short of that new kitchen.

But surely organisational policies and processes prevent ridiculous scams? Apparently not, seeing as the research also suggests some workers just cut out the taxi scam and admit to the following "outrageous claims":

• New motorbike
• Private number plate for a BMW
• Hiring a private investigator to find evidence to start divorce proceedings
• Pet hamster called Barry for the office
• Lapdancers
• £1,000 hair extensions
• A new garden shed which was converted into an office
• Charity donations
• Luxury holidays to Africa, USA and Europe
• Dancing lessons

I think pet hamsters for the office and charity donations show an element of alturism. Which is nice, seeing as businesses are losing as millions of pounds on claims for lapdancers and luxury holidays...

Further reading

• Leeds United and four other clubs win mobile title
• Red is probably not the key to technology success
• IT skills crisis not solved via death by powerpoint
• Soho celebrity spots 2: From Sykes to Littlewood...
• Soho celebrity spots: From Oddie to Mortimer...
• Second city Blues

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

"Me? Worried about the downturn? No," said a bunch of chief information officers to Gartner recently, with the analyst expecting IT budget growth to remain unchanged at 3.3 per cent during 2008.

Gartner's survey was based on a worldwide survey of more than 1,000 CIOs. Actually, are there 1,000 CIOs in the world? I thought there were only about 200/300 in the UK, but I wait to be corrected.

And if there are only 200-or-so CIOs in the UK - which is home to some pretty big companies, we might be struggling to find another 800-plus around the rest of the globe. Especially as everyone and their mother thinks the CIO role is either deminishing or already dead, given the increasing power of finance directors and the need for technology to be integrated with line-of-business demands.

Anyway, Mark McDonald, group vice president and head of research at Gartner, says the desire to stabilise rather than cut IT budgets indicates technology is not the ‘target rich’ environment for cost cutting, something it was in the past.

Geographically, IT budgets continue to exhibit growth in Europe (3.86 per cent) and Asia/Pacific (5.98 per cent). Gartner suggests the positivity of European and Asian CIOs is reflected anecdotally in study responses. On several occasions, CIOs in these geographies said the current belt tightening is a US-only phenomenon.

Nothing like a positive-thinking CIO, even if they are about to die (strategically speaking, rather than physically speaking).

Further reading

• CIO concerns: Rob Fraser switches Boots for CSC
• CIOs will need to transform to survive
• Career moves: Robin Terrell is John Lewis web MD
• Career moves: Steve Markwell is new NCC CEO
• Career moves: Carl Powell becomes Unipart CEO
• Modernise to beat IT and skills obsolesence

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Whatever happened to knowledge management? The question is posed in the latest edition of System House, analyst Ovum's monthly review of the UK IT industry. Christopher Harris-Jones and Mike Davis recognise knowledge management was a hot phrase in the 1990s, but has become less popular recently.

Rather than disappearing, Harris-Jones and Davis suggest knowledge management has changed its shape - and more - importantly, its name.

Successful knowledge management was all about making the best use of available data and skills and the Ovum analysts say the latest social networking trend follows similar lines, simply proving a way for individuals to share information.

To make the most of the collaborative opportunities presented through social networking, Harris-Jones and Davis suggest social software needs to be integrated with other information management technologies, such as content management.

And in other words, social networking is not - as is commonly perceived - a revolution; instead it is just another means for sharing and exploiting information. Roll-on the next craze.

Further reading

• Next generation social networking
• Finding useful Web 2.0 and social networking tools
• Web 2.0: Your business needs a strategy now
• Social networking creates waste and exclusion
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish
• Web 2.0 technologies = five hours of depression

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

A free laptop, you say? There must be a catch. And there is. Fifty participants from around the world have signed up to a project where they have been provided with a clean laptop without spam protection and a new email address.

Worse still, the participants will be expected to surf the web, make online purchases and register for promotions.

Sounds crazy. But Christopher Bolin, chief technology officer for project sponsor McAfee, says it's becoming more difficult for internet users to detect spam and it's vital individuals understand the risks of leaving computers unprotected (which, of course, is McAfee's specialism).

Thanks be to good old McAfee, then. But hand on a minute, what's this? Dave DeWalt, chief executive officer for McAfee, seems to be suggesting we already know the answers of the research project:

"This experiment will raise awareness of the problem by showing that a 30-day diet of spam is bad for your online health."

Oh. If we already know that, why is the project taking place? Mmmmm... Rather than canned meat, I can smell the not-so-subtle whiff of marketing guff...

Anyway, if you're interested in the results, check the participants' online diary here: http://www.mcafee.com/spamexperiment

Further reading

• Time to focus on the good in databases
• Check the fine print of the Data Protection Act
• Security technology is not a priority for firms
• Flexible working creates a security nightmare
• Stop buying illegal software, or face the risks...
• How to cope with rogue IT

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

"This time, the emphasis is on tangible business benefits and any company can participate," boasts the press release, sounding a tiny bit like the caption for an action movie. Just a tiny bit, because an action move about tangible business benefits would involve very little action - and quite a lot of watching paint dry.

The press release is for WeCanDo.BIZ - which hopes to provide the next wave of social networking by putting trusted businesses and buyers together, says Ian Hendry, founder and director of WeCanDo.BIZ:

“Facebook, LinkedIn and XING can be used by business people to find new customers, but they are compromised. They require that you work them hard to make the right connections and get yourself promoted; and they often involve you sharing information that may not be appropriate or of interest to people who just want to find a specific quality business to deal with.”

So, how will WeCanDo.BIZ be different? Well, once a business person lists their organisation using the service, existing customers can be invited to connect and endorse the organisation. Each endorsement gets the firm promoted higher in WeCanDo.BIZ’s trusted business search, a searchable directory listing that is aimed at buyers and consumers.

The free-to-join public site launches on 28 April and business registrations are already being accepted. WeCanDo.BIZ founder Ian Hendry - who is regular contributor round these parts - recently responded to a blog posting by saying:

"I am completely convinced that niche social networks will develop to meet specific needs, reflecting how the media and interest groups work in general. What may stifle this, however, is the need to locate and log in to each social network in turn."

Maybe WeCanDo.BIZ will provide a step in the right direction? Good luck and all that.

Further reading

• Finding useful Web 2.0 and social networking tools
• Trying to find a social network? Help is at hand...
• Web 2.0: Your business needs a strategy now
• Open standards and social networking with a point
• Social networking creates waste and exclusion
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish
• Web 2.0 technologies = five hours of depression

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

It can take a great deal of effort to make the national press interested in technology.

Million-pound system implementations that are bread and butter for a specialist magazine such as Computing are unlikely to be big news for the wider media.

Sometimes, however, organisational processes help push the role of technology. But such promotion is not necessarily a reflection of industry best practice.

Research from the BCS, for example, says UK citizens have expressed an “alarming loss of trust” in the institutions that are expected to safeguard their personal data.

The results are not surprising -­ stories of CD-ROMs filled with personal data lost in the post are hardly likely to inspire confidence.

A cascade of similar stories means the media has honed in on data collection, with the word "database" fast becoming a catchword for potential security threats.

“Fury over kids DNA database,” yelled the Daily Mirror recently, in response to a recent call for a debate on the measures required to identify future offenders from the Association of Chief Police Officers’ Gary Pugh. Such headlines form part of a broad media trend: want to spike citizen fears over technology bad practice? Mention a database or two and watch public indignation rise.

The result is an increased awareness from the proverbial man on the street about information practice and malpractice, with the BCS suggesting 90 per cent of adults are now aware of the Data Protection Act (DPA).

I guess people are aware of the principles of the DPA, rather than the fine details of the act -­ which Dino Wilkinson illustrates in this week’s Computing is a complex regulation.

But the result is the same: increased fear and loathing about the way public and private sector organisations collect, store and use personal information.

Yet technology can provide a helpful hand, rather than be a hindrance. Good IT management can ensure information is protected.

Manchester Airport’s project to use biometric technology, for example, helps restrict staff access and shows how information collection can provide best practice.

Such projects highlight how it is time to accentuate the positives of the database, rather than hate the connotations of a catchword.

Further reading

• Check the fine print of the Data Protection Act
• Security technology is not a priority for firms
• Flexible working creates a security nightmare
• Stop buying illegal software, or face the risks...
• How to cope with rogue IT

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

I am leading what seems like a never-ending quest to find useful business applications from social software. Well, to be honest, some helpful cyber-assistants have done a large amount of the grunt work.

Back in mid-January, I wrote a post about social networking with a point (see Further reading, below). The response seemed to be that successful social networks will become more focused.

Ian Hendry, for example, said he is convinced niche social networks will develop to meet specific needs.

While the road to success might be vertical, Alastair Mitchell warned many firms lack an understanding of how social collaboration tools can create business benefits.

Half of global chief information officers plan to invest in Web 2.0 technologies for the first time in 2008, according to analyst Gartner. But IT directors that dip into the finance director’s purse and fail to find useful social applications will look wasteful and stupid.

The problems are not surprising, especially as progress in social software appears to be moving at such a pace that it is difficult to keep up with the hype.

Just as the IT organisation gets its collective head round social networking, up pops Web 3.0, which fountain of knowledge Wikipedia describes as: “A term used to describe the future of the World Wide Web.”

This could mean pretty much anything and, as demonstrated by the Wiki entry, encompasses a broad range of hopeful punts from new data formats to artificial intelligence.

But why stop the hype at Web 3.0? In fact, check out www.webeightpointoh.com which has already mapped out the eight generations of web development.

If that seems alarming, take a step back to social networking and take heart from real business applications.

Regulatory specialist Complinet launched its MyComplinet forum last October to promote collaboration between compliance executives.

The forum allows members to discuss issues related to their profession, from best practice to gossip, and has grown to 19,000 members worldwide since its launch.

Chief marketing officer for Complinet Paul Johns says the success of MyComplinet shows specific social networking sites are the future: “People want to share specific and useful knowledge, not just poke people and share pictures of their cat.”

You know, he might just be on to something.

Further reading

• Trying to find a social network? Help is at hand...
• Web 2.0: Your business needs a strategy now
• Open standards and social networking with a point
• Social networking creates waste and exclusion
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish
• Web 2.0 technologies = five hours of depression

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Business technology is going to the dogs, in a metaphorical sense rather than a racing greyhounds kind of way.

In just a couple of years, analyst Gartner says more than a third of all projects will be driven by a need to deal with technology or skills obsolescence.

Dale Vecchio, research vice president at Gartner, says chief information officers are struggling because most resources will need to be retired or replaced by 2015.

It sounds like a case of “good luck technology leaders” as IT bosses are forced to approach the chief executive with an extended wish list in the middle of a downturn. So, is there an alternative? Is there an answer to the woes that mean most systems and technology skills are about to be rendered worse than useless?

Gartner says the solution lies in IT modernisation, a strategy that technology management teams must place at the core of their 2008 objectives.

The analyst defines technology modernisation as a movement that includes approaches to managing the evolution of business processes. The objective of such strategies is to achieve best value, cost and risk.

For technology leaders, four key areas of change will be crucial: more agility, increased integration of systems, modern solutions to business needs and fast reactions to the skills crisis.

Well-versed readers might see the above and experience déjà vu: how many times can IT leaders be told that business needs and skills obsolescence are crucial issues?

Not nearly enough, would appear to be Gartner’s message ­ – with the analyst suggesting that up to 30 per cent of workers who understand mission-critical, legacy systems could retire during the next five years.

With sector skills council e-Skills UK recently revealing that 140,000 new technology staff will be needed annually for the next five years, maybe businesses will start looking for thousands of legacy specialists?

Not if Computing’s letters page is anything to go by, with an anonymous writer in last week’s paper suggesting three years of Cobol development work has cut off many career choices.

While the answer to obsolescence might be modernisation, the legacies of decision making are likely to create significant challenges for UK IT professionals.

Further reading

• Career moves: Carl Powell becomes Unipart CIO
• IT needs to show the boss it means business
• Depressed technology professionals need a boost
• CIO best practice: Six tips for beating the recession
• New business dreamers should turn to technology

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Business technology is going to the dogs, in a metaphorical sense rather than a racing greyhounds kind-of-way. In just a couple of years, Gartner says more than a third of all projects will be driven by a need to deal with technology or skills obsolescence.

Dale Vecchio, research vice president at Gartner, explains: “Our research with thousands of clients shows that most CIOs are struggling to cope with a set of portfolios in which an overwhelming percentage of the artifacts need to be retired and replaced within a comparatively short period of time - between 2008 and 2015."

Which is quite prophetic, seeing as we have only just started that particular time period. Still, crystal ball gazing is what Gartner likes to do best. And is there an answer to the woes that mean most IT, and technology skills, are about to be worse-than-useless? Gartner says the solution lies in modernisation - and suggests management teams must place IT modernisation at the core of their 2008 objectives.

Not any kind of modernisation, mind - and certainly not the social theory construct that suggests society needs to change to transform the lives of individuals.

Gartner defines IT modernisation as: "A movement that includes market forces, strategies and approaches to manage the ongoing, coordinated evolution of the business process, application and supporting technology portfolios to achieve an optimised value, cost and risk objective."

A modern movement, eh? Very Piet Mondrian - well, apart from all the economic stuff about business processes and optimised value. And all that economic stuff means modernisation is likely to stay near the top of the CIO agenda for the foreseeable future, says vice president and Gartner Fellow Andy Kyte:

"Once managers have fully grasped the value of the portfolios that they manage and the interconnectivity of all portfolios, they change their agendas so that they spend a lot more time focused on the key activities of asset life cycle planning, ensuring maximum value can be derived from every investment."

Get to it, then - because you've got the potential obsolescence of an entire IT organisation to deal with.

Further reading

• Technology skills gap will create a crisis, says Gartner
• IT needs to show the boss it means business
• Depressed technology professionals need a boost
• CIO best practice: Six tips for beating the recession
• New business dreamers should turn to technology

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Sometimes it can feel good to stand up and admit your fears: “My name is Mark and I want the bandwagon to slow down.”

Last year, IT leaders were bombarded with a deluge of green computing hype and f