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SAN Technology Experiencing Significant Growth
Faced with data requirements that continually outpace the amount of direct-attached storage available, many IT managers are moving to storage area networks (SAN). Experiences of early adopters are showing excellent results. In a recent poll conducted by Computer Economics, almost every organization that has brought a SAN into its infrastructure has experienced a favorable return on their investment.
April, 2003
Does Software Usability Testing Pay Off?
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) proposed the Common Industry Format in developing a standard for software usability testing. Based on experience with a number of products, the returns from effective usability testing of software are over one hundred to one. Too frequently the requirements for being first to market with the lowest cost application override the desirability for high-quality applications. Changing this vendor perspective will require that software purchasers alter their buying criteria.
April, 2003
Effectiveness of System Management and Monitoring Tools
Managing desktop, server, and mainframe system performance and availability are critical requirements for any IT organization. Many companies now demand extremely high availability from their hardware platforms â in many cases this can mean engineering complete fail-over capability into your environment.
April, 2003
Website Design Affects Branding Perception (2Q03)
Research finds that customer perceptions of website âpersonalitiesâ substantially influence a companyâs brand image. Study results suggest that the experience that people have at a website generalize to the company itself and its products. The choice of font, colors, images, logo, price displays, and online support phone numbers all affected the customersâ view of the e-merchants.
April, 2003
Unified Messaging Can Boost Efficiency
Implementation of a unified messaging system can provide the means of breaking the economic stranglehold that a proprietary voicemail provider has on your company. Consolidating message handling can further cut costs by reducing the need for multiple storage devices. The key to achieving positive returns on the investment is to ensure that employees receive adequate training and are motivated to use the unified messaging services.
April, 2003
IT Staffing Trends: A Rocky Road Continues for 2003 (1Q03)
Recent surveys indicate that IT staffing levels will remain relatively flat in 2003 and many organizations are struggling with "burnout" among their technical staff.
March, 2003
Terrific ROI, So What!
IT executives see proposals with an excellent ROI remain unfunded, while proposals from other areas of the company with a less favorable ROI get approved. How can this be?
March, 2003
DRP Testing Is Not Adequate In Many Organizations
Disaster recovery planning (DRP) is one of the most critical responsibilities of IT management. In todayâs competitive business world, organizations have become almost totally dependent on an uninterrupted flow of information between the various applications and systems that manage and run day to day business activities. Developing an IT infrastructure that will guarantee a high level of service availability (even in an emergency) requires the development an effective DRP strategy as well.
March, 2003
Effective Network Management – Still a Major Concern for Many Organizations
Maintaining a high level of network availability and security are two of the most important goals of the IT organization. Based on a Computer Economics survey, this report assesses the effectiveness of their network management strategy from three important perspectives: availability, security, and over strategy.
March, 2003
Web Identity Management Costs Depend on Choices
Knowing the technical and economic differences between the Liberty Alliance Project and Microsoft Passport is essential before attempting to make an enlightened selection of a web identity protocol. Organizations adopting either of these Web identity alternatives must be sensitive to the varying implementation and ownership cost issues. The immaturity of web identity points toward further shakeouts in the features of these products.
March, 2003
North America Internet Users Over Age 18 — 2003 to 2007 (1Q03)
Internet use in North America for users over age 18 will increase at a steady pace through the year 2007. Overall, adult females will continue to use the Internet more often than adult males.
March, 2003
NIST Developed Processes for Securing IT Systems Improve Effectiveness
The National Institute of Standards and Technology developed guidelines for certifying and accrediting the security of IT systems. The completeness of these procedures and their suitability for systems of any size make them useful tools for managers to apply toward the protection of their systems. The risk assessment methodologies and verification procedures can be tailored to fit within the budgets of any mission-critical application.
March, 2003
Enterprise Storage — The Choices and Their Implications
Within the next five years, every company with a computer infrastructure will either have implemented or will be involved in evaluating some form of network-based storage. Given the continued advances in the industry, how does one select a technology that best fits the requirements of their business? This article examines the alternative technologies available today, and explores a few emerging, or disruptive technologies that will soon enter the marketplace.
March, 2003
Spending on IT Security Services and Products Continues to Increase
A recent Computer Economicsâ survey of approximately 30 midsize to large organizations indicates that, in spite of tight budgets, IT security spending is rising at a brisk pace. Over one-fifth of the companies surveyed indicated that IT security spending (in terms of actual dollars) had increased over 50% since 9/11.
March, 2003
Outsourcing of Network Management Receives Mixed Review
Network Management is one of the most critical functions performed by the IT organization. Because of the dependency organizations now have on their network infrastructures, providing a consistently high level of service in this area is an absolute must.
March, 2003