Technology News: Implementation

Text Analysis and the Next Generation of BI
November 15, 2009

Text-based content and information from across the Web are growing in importance to businesses. The need to analyze Web-based text in real-time is rising to where structured data was in importance just several years ago. Indeed, for businesses looking to do even more commerce and community building across the Web, text access and analytics forms a new mother lode of valuable insights to mine.

The Winding Path to Xsan Nirvana
October 13, 2009

The Apple Xsan system follows the relatively common path that other storage area network products have established, which is to simplify storage management, and the Xsan delivers -- but it takes a lot of planning to reach Xsan Nirvana. An overview of the Xsan system requires technical and budget planning.

Virtualization Reimagined
July 27, 2009

Let's look at a series of three important considerations when moving to enterprise virtualization adoption. First, we'll investigate the ability to manage and control how interconnections impact virtualization. Interconnections play a large role in allowing physical servers to support multiple virtual servers, which themselves need multiple network connections.

Microsoft Takes Windows 7 Out of the Oven
July 23, 2009

Microsoft's been working hard to build a positive buzz around the release to manufacturing of Windows 7, but there remain a few flies in the ointment. Many enterprises may decide to wait until the first service pack comes out in about six months before moving to Windows 7. Also, complaints have already been popping up on the Windows Team Blog about staggered release dates and incomplete information.

Putting the Mac to Work in a PC Shop
July 21, 2009

It used to be that if you had any sort of affinity for Macs, then there was a good chance you were a graphic artist, musician or niche computer fan. Today, the Mac is popular among an increasing number of users in a variety of work environments. Apple's platform doesn't look like it'll completely replace Windows -- or Linux, to a smaller degree -- in the everyday workplace anytime soon.

Controlling Costs Through Virtualization, Consolidation and Modernization
July 20, 2009

Today, we discuss combining some major efforts in IT administration and deployment in order to both cut costs in the near term and also to put in place greater efficiencies, agility, enterprise business benefits, and long-term cost benefits. We're going to be talking about how consolidation, modernization, and virtualization play self-supporting roles for enterprises.

Top 5 Reasons for Building Governance Into the Cloud
June 29, 2009

Our topic this week centers on governance as a requirement and an enabler for cloud computing. We're going to talk not just about IT governance, or service-oriented architecture governance. It's really more about extended enterprise processes, resource consumption, and resource-allocation governance.

Wired Water: IT Gets Ready for the Shock
June 22, 2009

Go wet, young IT man. Your parched, imperiled planet needs you. When it comes to creating a future filled with fresh, drinkable water, information technology professionals have a significant career opportunity in a mega-sized market. The very economic survival of a thirsty, arid Earth depends a great deal on properly applying the skills and expertise of app developers and systems administrators.

The Many Layers of the Cloud
June 22, 2009

Let's discuss cloud computing in the context of the real-world enterprise. We've certainly heard a lot about the vision for cloud computing and what it can do for the delivery of applications, services, infrastructure, and even development and deployment. What's less clear is how we take the vision and apply it to today's enterprise concerns and requirements.

IT Needs a New Drug
June 15, 2009

Let's talk about the next era of information technology. We seem to be in it, but we don't have a name for it yet. Suddenly, "cloud computing" is the dominant buzzword of the day, but the current confluence of trends includes much more. There is business process modeling, business intelligence, complex event processing, service-oriented architecture, Software as a Service and Web-oriented architecture.

HP Gives Scale-Out Architecture Extreme Makeover
June 11, 2009

HP on Wednesday announced its Extreme Scale-Out portfolio, intended to cut data center costs for businesses involved in heavy Web 2.0, cloud computing and high-performance computing activities. Such companies typically have data centers with thousands of servers. The HP ExSO portfolio includes a lightweight modular system architecture, as well as services and support.

Google Edges Deeper Onto MS Turf With Outlook Plug-In
June 10, 2009

Google released on Tuesday a plug-in to its Google Apps arsenal that could be the last push needed to nudge some businesses into fully adopting its cloud computing services. The product, Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook, works with the Premier version of Google apps, which costs $50 per business user per year, as well as the free educational version, which is limited to 50 user accounts.

The Mainframe Bridge to the Cloud
June 08, 2009

How can mainframes can help enterprises reach cloud-computing benefits faster? Let's look at what defines cloud computing, with an emphasis on private clouds or those computing models that enterprises can control on-premises, but that also favor and provide cloud-like efficiency with lower-end costs and a heightened ability to deliver services that support agile business processes.

Legacy Software: Rebuilding the Ship in Rough Waters
June 04, 2009

As the market recedes further and companies look to shed cost in any way feasible, many look inwardly in order to find key areas for improvement. Aberdeen's research shows that the top business pressures forcing companies in the direction of legacy application modernization are largely internal. The top two pressures have to do with agility.

The WAN Traffic Controller Juggling Act
June 02, 2009

The Internet has become a critical component in today's fast-moving business environment and continues to play a central role in delivering mission-critical business applications and vital communications to employees, partners and customers. The Internet holds the promise for organizations to streamline operations, improve operational efficiencies and lower costs.

What the Third Coming of iPhone Needs to Win the Enterprise
May 14, 2009

The buzz around an expected new iPhone model is heating up to a feverish pitch as Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference nears its June kickoff in San Francisco. Will Apple unveil the new device at the conference? Will Steve Jobs present it when he returns from medical leave later in June? Might Jobs make a surprise appearance at WWDC, third-gen iPhone in hand? Or will his return have nothing to do with it?