Research & Analysis

Wed, February 22, 2012 - The Business Software Alliance surveyed 24 countries that comprise lion's share of global information and communication technologies market to identify the most cloud-friendly policy environments. Where does the U.S. rank?

Tue, February 21, 2012 - Some process improvement projects and best practice frameworks such as ITIL and COBIT can do more harm than good--particularly when implemented by third-party IT service providers.

Tue, February 21, 2012 - Agile development and the cloud are like hand in glove. But Agile can be dangerous if your organization isn't ready for it. Here are some questions you need to consider to determine if your IT organization is seriously ready to implement Agile.

Mon, February 20, 2012 - Big companies like WellPoint have caught on to the importance of evaluating the disaster-recovery plans of even their smallest suppliers. Does your business-continuity plan cover supply-chain risk? It should.

Mon, February 20, 2012 - 3D store-simulation technology can predict customer behavior and increase sales. Companies like Pepsi Co. are cashing in.

Fri, February 17, 2012 - When it comes to security in the cloud, organizations are confident in their cloud providers, but also and reluctant to expose certain types of data and applications, according to IT industry association CompTIA. Security vendors maintain the problem is one of visibility and control, and each has a solution.

Fri, February 17, 2012 - Cloud computing is too often reductively branded as an economic calculus that would trade a CapEx model for an OpEx model. But it's a little more complicated than that. Bernard Golden explains what we talk about when we talk about cloud computing.

Thu, February 16, 2012 - Every company needs a sales forecast, but generating sound growth projections is devilishly hard, and accuracy depends on rethinking old forecasting processes.

Wed, February 15, 2012 - Despite its rapid adoption in recent years, ITIL is fraught with adoption challenges that could be prevented, or at least minimized. The trick is to ensure that sufficient planning leads to optimal adoption. Forrester recommends getting started with these five steps.

Mon, February 13, 2012 - Industry giant Procter & Gamble hopes to revolutionize the coupon industry with technology that allows retailers' existing bar-code scanners to read the coupon code on customer smartphones. Customers won't have to wait for the clerk to manually enter the code.

Fri, February 10, 2012 - As organizations increasingly adopt cloud offerings for critical business operations from public and private providers, connecting them all back to the core of the business is becoming a challenge involving complicated integration, orchestration and rules management.

Thu, February 09, 2012 - Microsoft is betting big on Windows 8. But will the immense promotional efforts the software giant is putting behind the latest Windows OS pay off? CIO.com's Rob Enderle handicaps the high-stakes game Redmond is playing.

Fri, February 03, 2012 - Is there strength in numbers? The deal VCE recently struck with BMC suggests that a consortium of companies layering in best-in-class technology might be a more effective approach to win large-scale government and enterprise customers in the private cloud space, writes CIO.com's Rob Enderle.

Thu, February 02, 2012 - What's your stance on SaaS? Is your perimeter as secure as you think? How can the insurance calculus on asymmetric risk illuminate your company's security exposure? CIO.com's Bernard Golden recaps the provocative discussions entertained at the Security Threat 2012 conference.

Thu, February 02, 2012 - Customer relationship management vendors and industry analysts discuss which CRM trends will continue to gain strength and what new trends IT professionals need to watch.

Wed, February 01, 2012 - Michael Fagan first found software inspections yielded a massive productivity improvement when working for IBM in the early 1970s. Now, 35 years later, we need to ask certain key questions: Are the dynamics of software development the same, are Fagan's findings still relevant in today's world of agile development and "extreme programming"? And, if so, what should your organization do about it?

Wed, February 01, 2012 - Integrating your website with social media sites is typically the best approach to online marketing and ecommerce, but are there times when it makes sense to use Facebook instead of a traditional business website?

Mon, January 30, 2012 - The proliferation of IT and business process outsourcing contracts worth less than $100 million is creating governance headaches for CIOs. How are IT outsourcing service providers responding?

Fri, January 27, 2012 - HP is taking WebOS open source with the hope that it can attract developers by providing a write-once-run-everyplace platform. However, Rob Enderle writes, history hasn't been kind to operating systems as only few survive, but while WebOS has risks it also has potential, if HP willing to invest properly.

Thu, January 26, 2012 - In the IDG Enterprise Interview Series, you'll hear from technology CIOs and CEOs on today's burgeoning trends, ongoing headaches and upcoming product plans. Check out this informative series from IDG Enterprise Chief Content Officer John Gallant and his team of editors.

Thu, January 26, 2012 - How do you turn captive IT users into loyal customers? Start by asking whether they'd use your IT operation for their next project.

Thu, January 26, 2012 - Companies from IBM to Amazon are turning to Hadoop to manage the surge in data that needs storing. Our CEO Michael Friendenberg says the buzz around Hadoop is no joke.

Thu, January 26, 2012 - CIO magazine editor in chief Maryfran Johnson discusses her take on pricing and the role the CIO needs to play in this business function

Thu, January 26, 2012 - Books on innovation, leadership and careers chosen by the editorial staff of CIO magazine