“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

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

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

Flexible working is one thing - but do you work like a gentleman? Travelling in on the Underground this morning, I had the pleasure/misfortune of being stuck next to a couple of city workers that were intent on discussing everything they knew about everybody.

And very loudly.

After I listened to half an hour of 'new money' rubbish - who lives where, who has a second home, etc. - one of the commuters said: "Well, he's changed now, hasn't he? He's working gentleman's hours."

Am I missing out on something? Is that a city-only term, because it's not something I've come across before. If in doubt, turn to Google - which suggests a couple of possibilities. I found a couple of references to 8am to 4pm, so that men can get home to have dinner the family. Another definition referred to 10pm until sunrise. I also found a lot of stuff about fishing.

Anyway, "gentleman's hours" seem to be the new way of flexible working. Any other definitions out there?

Further reading

• Smart firms take the flexible working route
• 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

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

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Computing is currently running a four-part special report on green computing – the aim is to concentrate on tangible business benefits, rather than the green wash.

The results have been good; lots of companies undertaking environmentally-sensitive projects using IT. But research suggests such approaches could, unfortunately, be rare.

Almost 40 per cent of European IT directors rate their organisation’s green credentials as “not at all good” or even “poor”. UK firms fare particularly badly, with nearly 60 per cent of respondents rating their company negatively.

The research is based on a survey of more than 8,000 European IT directors by data centre networking specialist Brocade. Other findings include:

• Only 38 per cent of IT directors are actually concerned about their company’s energy usage and carbon footprint, with less than a fifth actively seeking to purchase environmentally-friendly IT products. In the UK, the comparable numbers are 37 and 16 per cent.
• Overall, 44 per cent of respondents say they believe their companies devote up to a quarter of total operating expenses to energy. In the UK, the figure jumps to nearly half of respondents. Regardless of the actual sum, more than 60 per cent of respondents believe energy spend is "too much”. 
• Almost two thirds of respondents state that they are beginning to look at ways of reducing energy output, but that still leaves over a third of European businesses who are not.
• More than 75 per cent of respondents say they are as likely to look at reducing energy usage in the office as they are at home.

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

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

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Excuse me while I 'pop out' from this blog posting and message one of my mates: "Is an eel a fish or not?" Be warned - using instant messaging (IM) technology for such crucial business questions is likely to become increasingly prevalent.

For a start, researcher IDC says IM is set to overtake email as the preferred form of business communication by the second half of 2010. If that sounds fanciful, then the research - sponsored by Nortel - also shows European firms are already heavily reliant on IM. More than 50 per cent of respondents – twice the number of North American executives - use instant and text messaging for business.

But with regards to non-believing businesses, there is at least one significant barrier to overcome: security concerns. Research from ProcessOne suggests the majority of UK businesses miss out on instant messaging benefits because they fear workers will leak confidential information. As much as 74 per cent of firms say IM could provide collaboration benefits, but 72 per cent ban the technology because of security concerns.

As for eel question, forget your mates; turn to the all-knowing Wikipedia, which says: "True eels (Anguilliformes) are an order of fish, which consists of 4 suborders, 19 families, 110 genera and approximately 600 species." The order of the fish? Sounds like a niche members club...

Further reading

• Vodafone deal boost mobile social networking
• Mobile social networking is a community thing
• How can you make money from 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

Depending on your point of view, breaking the one billion actively-used PCs barrier is either representative of the power of technology, or the waste of man. More than a billion PCs have now been installed worldwide, according to Gartner.

The analyst defines the installed base as the estimated number of PCs in use, as opposed to the number shipped over time. That is an important distinction. After all, how many of us have old desktops stored away in the loft?

Gartner says the answer runs into many thousands, with a little more than 180 million of the one billion installed PCs to be replaced this year.

Most stored PCs are stuffed with legacy files ­ or more importantly, personal data. The proliferation of unprinted holiday snaps and credit card details is likely to mean people are loath to dispose of their legacy equipment.

Additional pressure comes from legal and environmental concerns. The WEEE directive, for example, has increased pressure on providers and users to dispose of technology in an environmentally-sensitive manner. And organisations such as Computer Aid International have helped make best use of unwanted resources.

But regulation and charity can only soak up so much toxic waste. While some retired PCs are re-used and recycled, many millions are simply dumped into landfill. Estimates suggest as many as three million PCs are landfilled in the UK every year.

And the continual churn of computers means the problem is likely to exacerbate. Gartner reports the worldwide installed base of PCs is growing at a little less than 12 per cent annually. At that pace, it will surpass two billion units by early 2014.

Suitable solutions are not easy to find. Some users choose to dump old equipment on unsuspecting family, such as the 486 I lumbered my parents with ­- before my mum realised it was too slow to process a game of patience, never mind access the internet.

And while the billion PCs installed around the globe have helped spread information access, whether such access remains centralised in the hands of the West remains a moot point.

Pushing a green information revolution to the rest of the world is likely to rely on users finding environmentally-sensitive homes for the next billion PCs.

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

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

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

More than 60 per cent of IT professionals believe outsourcing code increases the likelihood of hacking. In fact, 55 per cent believe it is far safer to write programs internally, according to a survey from Fortify Software.

Which is fine - but you can only write code internally if you haven't already outsourced most of your IT department. And with increasing amounts of grunt work - such as development and testing - being outsourced, IT professionals can only do so much internal work.

In fact, the survey suggests as much as a quarter of companies outsource application development, but do not specify security processes or technologies to ensure the security of outsourced applications.

So, the firms are probably asking for trouble - especially as the survey also suggests as much as 81 per cent of companies believe their systems are vulnerable to hacking.

Further reading

• Take a risk on innovation and you might just win
• The buck stops with boss on IT security
• McAfee spam project smells like marketing guff
• Time to focus on the good in databases
• Security technology is not a priority for firms
• Stop buying illegal software, or face the risks...

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

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

So, I was recently a judge for the Highams Business Technology Book of the Year award; had a couple of months to read the following short-list:

• Wikinomics - Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams
• IT and the East – James Popkin and Partha Iyengar
• Founders at Work: Stories of Startups’ Early Days – Jessica Livingston
• Riding the Whirlwind: Connecting people and organisations in a culture of innovation – Fons Trompenaars
• The Cult of the Amateur – Andrew Keen

There were five judges in total - "all influential individuals from the IT and business space," says the press release. Which is nice, I guess.

Anyway, the award ceremony took place earlier this week on the top floor of 'the Gherkin' tower, near Liverpool Street station in London. It was a posh early morning bash, with exceptionally tasty fresh orange juice. Good views from the top, too.

The eventual winner was Atlantic Books' Wikinomics, the best-selling book about the future of collaboration. If you haven't already read the book, here are my thoughts:

"Collaboration is a fascinating area and 'Wikinomics' does provide a thorough investigation of the significant issues – such as leading pioneers, effect on the workplace and key platforms."

Other judges thought the following:

“Wikinomics zags whilst others zig and it is counter intuitive. It opens up for those who embrace the sharing approach, and offers a unique way of generating competitive advantage and acceleration on the value proposition,” said Sir Eric Peacock, chairman of The Academy of Chief Executives

“A challenging book, in so much that it presents the opening of a totally different world and one that changes the very way we will think and act,” said Alan Howarth, chairman of Highams Group

A worthy winner, methinks.

Further reading

• Fair play is affected by social networks
• How can you make money from social networking?
• 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

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?

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

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Everyone is suddenly talking about the responsiveness of the IT department to line-of-business demand. Not so long ago, technology professionals might have worked in isolation ­ now users tell the IT department what they need and chief information officers (CIOs) are charged with working to the business’ requirements.

Agility is the term most often banded about in an attempt to sum up the transformation from technology-pushed innovation to on-demand development.

Attend any conference and you can expect speakers ­- both on the business and supplier side ­- to talk about the need for “strategic business agility”. But what does the term really mean?

In this month’s cover feature, Computing Business talks to chief information officers and line-of-business executives about their perspectives on agility.

The most insightful comment comes from independent financial services consultant Margaret Smith, who says the term agility is little used beyond the IT function.

“I do not know anyone outside IT who talks about business agility. They just expect it -­ and get extremely frustrated when IT does not deliver it,” she says.

Do not turn off, then, when you hear people talking about the need for agility. While use of the term is contentious and often smothered in marketing hype, the concepts that agility represent are critical.

You will need to cut through the flannel and find out the technology needs of users across the business. Such an on-demand way of working creates specific challenges for CIOs, not least the development of smooth interaction between the top tiers of management.

IT directors are aware of the need for smarter collaboration. As many as 97 per cent of CIOs believe the partnership between IT and the business is absolutely critical to obtaining agility, according to research from senior IT leaders’ forum CIO Connect.

At the same time, however, progress towards alignment is often stalled by internal working methods. CIO Connect research suggests only 27 per cent of IT leaders believe their organisation has the culture and processes in place to encourage agile relationships.

Now is the time to analyse the way decisions are made across your business. Agility might seem like a nebulous concept, but the competitive advantage of your company will rely on rapid and effective responses.

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
• 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

A cheeky lie-in, a cup of tea in bed, a quick check of email and a half hour of the BBC’s To Buy, or Not to Buy.

Sound familiar? Spend too much time hanging around the house in your underwear? Chances are it doesn’t and you don’t, but would certainly welcome the flexibility to work when and where you choose.

As many as 94 per cent of employees want flexible working, according to research from communications specialist Avaya. Yet only 17 per cent of companies extend the privilege to all staff.

Avaya suggests the results highlight a new “digital divide” between firms that offer flexible working practices and those that do not support requests from staff. For the 83 per cent of firms that fall into the latter category, there are probably two key reasons why flexible working is not a tempting strategy.

First, there is the business factor. Certain jobs are performed better in the office; others are completed easier in the peaceful surrounds of the home environment.

Without the distraction of colleagues and contacts, home workers should be able to work quickly and efficiently. But the extraneous distractions of the kettle and the TV mean bosses remain sceptical about the potential for their staff to stay focused.

Second, there is the technology factor. Secure flexible working requires a bunch of new tools and applications, such as BlackBerrys, laptops and virtual private networks all purchased and provided by the employer.

You can, of course, take short-cuts and allow your workers to use their own technology. But the payback from that approach comes when hackers access your corporate network via an unsecured port.

Fears of work avoidance and unsecure access mean many firms are taking an inflexible approach to flexible working, with small firms less likely (57 per cent) to offer alternative conditions of employment.

Blue-chip companies are at least keen to offer flexible options that meet the current legislation governing homeworking. But smart businesses will go beyond the minimum and offer a range of flexible working opportunities, because allowing your employees to check emails in their boxer shorts is likely to increase productivity and loyalty.

Further reading

• 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
• IT skills crisis not solved via death by Powerpoint
• There is a depressing lack of innovation in UK IT
• 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

I've just written a news story for Computing that demonstrates how the UK is among the most expensive locations for onshore outsourcing.

The research from analyst Datamonitor demonstrates how contact centre provision in Western Europe and the United States is pretty expensive. But the UK price per agent per hour is among the most costly, due mainly to a lack of suitable talent. As Peter Ryan, head of contact centre outsourcing analysis at Datamonitor, suggests:

"Many vendors cite an inability to find contact centre agents of a high calibre and are frustrated at their unwillingness to stay in their role over an extended period of time. The result is an erosion of margin or higher costs being passed back to the client."

Yet another reason for IT managers to look to offshore locations, then - and Datamonitor suggests Colombia, Philippines and India are among the most competitively priced destinations.

Further reading

• Multisourcing means megadeal decline, says Gartner
• The future of outsourcing is outcome-based, says TPI
• Offshoring means Western IT industry is "dying"
• UK firms love offshoring - what about the staff?
• Outsourcing and the lack of skilled UK IT workers
• 2008 - The year of multisourcing and offshoring
• Gartner reveals top 30 offshoring destinations

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

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Who says crazy dot com valuations are dead? Not financial investors, with today's $1bn valuation of professional network LinkedIn following on from last year's $15bn valuation of social networking site Facebook.

LinkedIn has just announced it has secured $53m in funding. The investment is led by Bain Capital Ventures, with additional reinvestment from the company’s existing backers including Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners.

The new $53m investment, which represents about 5 per cent of LinkedIn, values the company at $1.015bn. Microsoft's $240m helped value Facebook at $15bn last year.

So, why the £1bn valuation of LinkedIn? Well, the firm's revenues draw on advertising, job search and subscriptions. The network has 23 million members worldwide and membership growth rates are currently at 361 per cent year-on-year.

But there are only so many social networks that individuals will be willing - or more importantly, have the time - to participate in. Future growth will rely on regional variations, says Kevin Eyres, European managing director at LinkedIn:

“The new funds will enable us to invest more heavily in the European market - a geography for whom networking and business knowledge-sharing continues to accelerate and will help our members derive more value from their network so that each individual and business can more effectively compete on the global market.”

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

Simon Pitt has been appointed head of corporate information services (CIS) at the Environment Agency, an organisation which sees green IT as a top priority. CIS provides the organisation’s IT services. As well as day-to-day IT support services, CIS also develops strategy to ensure technology meets the Environment Agency’s future needs.

A press release from the Agency states the CIS is currently undergoing significant change and the tendering process is under way to create "the most environmentally sustainable green government IT contract ever". Pitt says he is looking forward to concentrating on the organisation's green computing strategy:

“The Environment Agency has made some great progress over the past few years improving IT systems. However as the environmental stakes have got higher, the Environment Agency is under pressure to deliver more, better and faster IT in order to keep apace of the changing environment. I’m excited at having the chance to drive this change forward.”

Pitt will be responsible for overseeing 12,000 workers that provide IT systems and support across England and Wales. Prior to his appointment, Pitt worked at the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and was responsible for establishing the IT to develop the infrastructure for the 2012 Olympics. Before working at the ODA, Pitt was director of information management at London Underground.

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

The last two posts on this blog have been about the lack of innovation in the UK and the growing importance of research in China. The apparent shift east of leading-edge thinking makes for depressing reading, especially in an increasingly globalisaed market.

Of course, different results from different surveys can present a different story. And as if to elucidate the point, researcher the RAND Corporation has released a study that concludes that the United States remains the dominant leader in science and technology, despite perceptions that the nation - and the West, more generally - is losing a competitive edge.

RAND reports the US accounts for 40 per cent of the global spending on scientific R&D, employs 70 per cent of the world’s Nobel Prize winners and is home to three-quarters of the world’s top 40 universities.

More pointedly, a continuing flow of scientists in to the US has helped - and continuing the flow of foreign-born talent is critical to helping the US maintain its lead, says Titus Galama, co-author of the report and a management scientist at RAND:

“Much of the concern about the United States losing its edge as the world’s leader in science and technology appears to be unfounded. But the United States cannot afford to be complacent. Effort is needed to make sure the nation maintains or even extends its standing.”

The RAND research says that while China is investing heavily in R&D, it does not yet account for a large share of world innovation - which continues to be dominated by the US, Europe and Japan.

But as yesterday's blog posting demonstrated, if patent filings in China continue to grow at the current rate, the the State Intellectual Property Office of China will overtake the United States Patent and Trademark Office by 2012.

Further reading

• China is pushing innovation, says Evalueserve
• 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

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

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

How do you feel about risk? Is it something you embrace or something you try to mitigate? Chances are you fall into the second category. If you do, you are not alone: it would be fair to say a large majority of UK professionals are risk-averse.

Economic conditions certainly do not help. The continuing credit crunch has made individuals and businesses think twice before investing. But there is more to risk aversion than the prevailing fiscal situation. In short, people are scared to fail.

I recently overheard two IT executives chatting outside an office in central London and one businessman said to his associate: “Thanks for taking a non risk-averse approach.”

I guess he was pleased his partner had decided to back his initiative. In fact, what he really meant was: “Thanks for taking a risk.”

The desire to win at all costs ­- or rather, to avoid coming second ­- means UK professionals increasingly take the safe approach. Such an approach would be understandable if risk was well defined. But many struggle to comprehend what risk actually means.

Computing’s monthly supplement Computing Business recently hosted a chief information officer roundtable that examined the challenges of risk management.

There was a lot of best practice advice for controlling risk, such as improving training, increasing board awareness and taking responsibility at work.

But while implementing the right processes was seen as a given, participants were also concerned that individuals often fail to quantify risk. And as one concluded, it is impossible to manage risk if you do not understand which areas you should be prioritising.

So what is risk? And when is taking a risk appropriate? Those at the roundtable seemed to think it was crucial to create a careful balance between ground-breaking IT and business costs.

More specifically, it was seen as crucial to not add too much control for fear of stifling innovation. Risk is all about proceeding with care. But it is certainly not about avoiding danger at all costs.

Because being prepared to risk coming second might actually result in you winning the race.

Further reading

• Growing risk of litigation threatens IT innovation
• The buck stops with boss on IT security
•  McAfee spam project smells like marketing guff
• Time to focus on the good in databases
• Security technology is not a priority for firms
• Stop buying illegal software, or face the risks...

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

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

I went to a high street retailer at lunch time. Not for work, for pleasure - if buying socks for your daughter can be described as pleasure.

Off the side of the stair well on the first floor of the shop is an office (apologies if this sounds like a hackneyed plot to an adventure story). The office is closed to the public, but a window to the outside world shows all-comers the contents of the room.

And in the room is a whiteboard that describes in detail how much money the shop made from sales last week. Nice lack of security, I thought - and certainly an interesting read. But why the openness? Here are some possibilities:

1. The retailer wants its customers to know how much they are spending/wasting
2. The retailer is attempting to regularly remind employees about how much they should be making
3. The retailer is trying to boast to rivals about how much money it is making
4. The retailer is thoughtless

Further reading

• 'The Apprentice' + Aston Business School = hype
• Men like women in short skirts, says research
• "Glamorous" PR tarred with IT nerd brush
• Be proud of being a technology nerd
• IT skills crisis not solved via death by Powerpoint

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

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Further evidence that businesses are eschewing large service deals in favour of multiple deals with many providers. Experts (see Further reading, below) have already pointed to an upward trend in multisourcing - the use of several outsourcers to maintain services.

And now analyst Gartner points to the decline of megadeals, contracts with a value of more than $1bn. Ten outsourcing megadeals were awarded last year, a decline from 12 in 2006.

Kurt Potter, research director at Gartner, says the decline can be partially explained by the fact that outsourcing is now seen as business as usual in many companies - and users are looking at many different methods for service delivery:

“Many providers are pursuing smaller contract strategies as a consequence of the new market realities, new competition and natural market pressures toward commoditisation, which reduces per-unit pricing. These strategies are often in the form of pursuit of smaller contracts from larger clients, or larger contracts from smaller companies."

Other facts from the research include:

• In terms of megadeal total contact value, the total for the 10 megadeals in 2007 was $12bn, the lowest level reported during the last eight years, with the closest level being that of $20.3bn in 2001
• Average contract value (ACV) of megadeals also continued to decrease, from an average of $2.6bn in 2006 to $1.2bn in 2007
• Of the 2007 outsourcing total, Gartner said megadeals represented 39.4 per cent of the contract value and only 6.8 per cent of the number of total contracts in 2007, down from 7.4 per cent in 2006
• Although deals with less than $50m in contract value continued to increase and reached 39.5 per cent of the total number of contracts, they only represented 3.3 per cent of toal contract value for 2007

Further reading

• The future of outsourcing is outcome-based, says TPI
• Offshoring means Western IT industry is "dying"
• UK firms love offshoring - what about the staff?
• Outsourcing and the lack of skilled UK IT workers
• 2008 - The year of multisourcing and offshoring
• Gartner reveals top 30 offshoring destinations

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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

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Another day, another set of trends in outsourcing. Market consolidation and new destinations are the key issues in external service provision, according to recent attendees at the the European Outsourcing Association summit.

Research at the summit, undertaken by the National Outsourcing Association, suggests globalisation will lead to one of the major Indian providers acquiring a large European or American firm. Three quarters of outsourcing specialists questioned at the summit believe an acquisition is imminent. Other key findings include:

• Consolidation is earmarked as a rapidly increasing industry trend by 68 percent of respondents
• Continental Europe is no longer as protectionist about outsourcing and offshoring - both are now accepted business practices
• Different nearshore locations, particularly Romania and Bulgaria, have brought a new attractiveness to the European offshoring market. As much as 59 per cent of respondents believe Romania and Bulgaria are now more attractive
• But respondents also believe Eastern European nations do not have the scale of staff to resource behemoth outsourcing deals, with the majority (58 per cent) believing different geographies are suited to different types of outsourcing projects.
• Only 17 percent believe Indian providers are leaps and bounds ahead of all other locations

Further reading

• The future of outsourcing is outcome-based, says TPI
• The next big thing in outsourcing?
• Offshoring means Western IT industry is "dying"
• UK firms love offshoring - what about the staff?
• Outsourcing and the lack of skilled UK IT workers
• 2008 - The year of multisourcing and offshoring
• Gartner reveals top 30 offshoring destinations

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Human civilisation will not survive the next 100 years. The reason? Take your choice from increasing strain on food systems, fears about energy production and continued environmental damage, according to research from Xerox and sustainable development charity Forum for the Future.

Our only hope, say European business leaders, is a significant change in behaviour from individuals, governments and companies.

More bad news, folks - 95 per cent of leaders believe businesses are not doing nearly enough to address social and economic problems. Jonathon Porritt, founder of Forum for the Future, says:

“We are facing a number of global challenges that mean we need to change how business is done. We need to find new ways to reduce carbon emissions, manage our natural resources and address inequality in a way that works with the planet and not against it. And we need to do this quickly – we have around 15 years to respond to climate change."

The clock really is ticking, then. The research does show more than three quarters (87%) of respondents believe taking responsibility for sustainability programmes will lead to new innovations that drive greater profitability. 

In other words, necessity will be the mother of invention. But with just fifteen years to save the planet, I wouldn't rely on that theory...

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

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