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2005 Malware Report: Executive Summary
This article is an executive summary of our recent study, 2005 Malware Report: The Impact of Malicious Code Attacks. The study, which is widely referenced in the business press, breaks down the total financial impact of malware on businesses by type of cost, based on our interviews and surveys of IT security professionals over the past year. It also highlights the major malware events of 2005, and tracks the worldwide economic impact of viruses, worms, spyware/adware, and other malicious code attacks since 1999. IT executives will find this study as a good source of statistics for developing the business case and budget for antimalware initiatives.
January, 2006
Malware Report: The Impact of Malicious Code Attacks (Jan 2006)
This January 2006 update to our Malware Report, which is widely referenced in the business press, breaks down the total financial impact of malware on businesses by type of cost, based on our interviews and surveys of IT security professionals over the past year. IT executives will find this study to be a good source of statistics for developing the business case, budgets, and spending plans for security initiatives to defend against the newest malware attacks. (26 pp., 8 figs.)[Read more about the report]
January, 2006
Microsoft WMF Vulnerability: Business Impact
Hackers are beginning to exploit a zero-day flaw in the way Microsoft operating systems handle Windows Metafile Format (WMF) files. Based on characteristics of the vulnerability, Computer Economics is predicting at least one general malware attack based on the flaw. This article summarizes the likely economic impact of such malware events on businesses.
January, 2006
Desktop PC Price/Performance Study: 2001-2005
This special report is a comprehensive study of cost and performance trends over the past five years for desktop computers from the major manufacturers: HP/Compaq, IBM/Lenovo, and Dell. This report allows you to: (1) accurately forecast the residual value of desktop computers in use today or planned for aquisition, based on the historical fair market value (FMV) decline curves that are documented in this report, (2) anticipate future vendor pricing strategies, (3) forecast future improvements in PC price/performance (cost/GHz), (4) obtain maximum useful life from current investments in desktop computers by understanding historical useful life, (5) formulate buying strategies by understanding the forecast for Intel processor performance. (134 pp., 32 figs.)[Read the Full Report Description]
December, 2005
Leveraging ITIL to Better Manage Outsourcing Relationships
ITIL is not only an effective tool for managing internal IT processes. It can also serve as a framework for managing the relationship with an outsourcing service provider. This article shows specifically how ITIL Incident Management and Problem Management can be used to optimize an outsourcing relationship, such as help desk outsourcing, to properly define roles and responsibilities and continually reduce the overall level of incidents and improve service levels. (6 pp., 2 figs.) [Executive Summary]
December, 2005
The Falling Costs of Mobile Computing
The increase in the use of mobile computing, centered around laptop computers, presents special challenges to IT managers. This Research Byte, which is an executive summary of our full report, Falling Costs of Mobile Computing Drive Corporate Adoption, which forecasts the deployment and cost differential of laptop computers relative to desktops. It also includes recommendations for IT managers to manage the challenges of mobile computing, the greatest of which is security of data carried on mobile devices.
December, 2005
Falling Costs of Mobile Computing Drive Corporate Adoption
Replacement of desktop computers with laptops is increasing in many companies, driven primarily by the falling cost of laptops relative to desktop computers. In view of the inevitable shift to mobile computing, IT executives must address critical issues in managing this technology, the foremost of which is security of data that is untethered from the corporate network. This report tracks percentage of laptops to total PCs installed in corporate environments since 1999 and forecasts this metric through 2007. We also calculate the cost differential between laptops and desktops since 2002 and forecast this metric through 2008. (5 pp., 2 figs.)[Executive Summary]
December, 2005
Would Your DR Plan Survive a Katrina?
This Research Byte is a summary of our full report, Disaster Recovery Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina, which outlines the challenges that a regional Katrina-size disaster presents to the disaster recovery planner. It also provides practical recommendations, based on government studies and current industry consensus, regarding the minimum and maximum distances and geographic considerations for locating the disaster recovery data center site.
November, 2005
Disaster Recovery Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina
Katrina exposed a weakness in the disaster recovery plans of many organizations. In addition to providing a secondary data center to recover critical IT business systems, companies must also plan to relocate key IT support personnel and key users to administer those systems. This article outlines key considerations in preparing for a Katrina-level disaster and provides updated guidelines for the safe distance and location of the recovery data center. (5 pp., 1 fig.)[Executive Summary]
November, 2005
Using Economic Value to Justify IT Investments
For a new IT investment to be approved, the CIO must be able to write a business case that speaks directly to executive management in the language of shareholder value. For many companies, this means understanding the basic concept of Economic Value Added (EVA)--a powerful tool for calculating the business value of an IT investment. This report is an "EVA primer," providing a simple example of the EVA calculation for a fictitious company and the improvement in EVA from a proposed IT investment. The report also provides insights into why improved asset turnover is often the best path to improving the economic value of an IT investment. (5 pp., 3 figs.) [Executive Summary]
November, 2005
IT Asset Management: Visibility Equals Increased Value
This Research Byte is an executive summary for our full report, IT Asset Management: A Foundation for IT Value, which analyzes the business value of IT asset management systems, which allow IT organizations to do more with fewer resources. The report also breaks down the details of IT asset management processes, which IT executives may use as an outline for identifying the specific benefits to be included in the business case for improving IT asset managment systems.
November, 2005
IT Security Spending Holds Strong and Steady
Focus on IT security continues to be a major issue for most organizations. Data from our most recent IS spending study confirms that spending on IT security remains strong in this era of cautious IT budget growth.
November, 2005
A Phased Approach to SOA
Because rolling out a service-oriented architecture can be a massive undertaking, most companies will be best served by taking a gradualistic approach. This Research Byte provides a brief summary of our full report on this subject.
November, 2005
Implementing a Service-Oriented Architecture
In its fullest context, a service oriented architecture (SOA) requires rethinking and redefining business processes, and the software applications that support them, in terms of "services." Therefore, it is impossible for most organizations to implement SOA quickly. This report provides a basic overview of SOA, its advantages and disadvantages, and practical recommendations for implementing SOA in an incremental fashion. [Executive Summary]
November, 2005
Help Desk Staffing Metrics, Executive Summary
Computer Economics has released a new report that provides help desk staffing ratios for companies in North America. This Research Byte provides an executive summary of the findings.
October, 2005