Opinion

Opinion

• CIO experts react to anointment of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella

  Read what our hard-nosed CIO experts have to say about the challenges faced by new Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.  Continue Reading

• New visualization tools can spot weaknesses in error-prone spreadsheets

  Visualization tools for spreadsheets, telling data stories and the power of the 1%: The Data Mill reports.  Continue Reading

• Bill Gates' new advisory role at Microsoft worth watching for CIOs

  Searchlight looks at the potential of Bill Gates' new advisory role at Microsoft. Plus: Facebook turns 10, Watson cares about your feelings, and more.  Continue Reading

• Biometric authentication adds layers of IT security, one blood vessel at a time

  When it comes to biometric authentication, the new 'open sesame' is something called the 'eyeprint.'  Continue Reading

• The enterprise startup mentality

  CIOs are instilling an enterprise startup mentality in their long-standing IT organization to promote entrepreneurship and creative thought.  Continue Reading

• Inside the tech talent wars: Dropbox CEO talks how to recruit top talent

  How to recruit top talent, what engineers want, and Dropbox for Business: The Data Mill reports.  Continue Reading

• Foursquare debuts an omnichannel strategy made for the real world

  This week's Searchlight looks at how omnichannel strategy could return Foursquare to relevance. Plus: A Google AI buy, 'angry' NSA tactics and more.  Continue Reading

• The importance of business process management: IT execs, experts dish

  The importance of business process management goes well beyond streamlining operations. Now, CIOs explain, they're converting BPM to business value.  Continue Reading

• Data products introduce ethical dilemmas for data scientists

  Products built by data for data collection, more data vs. better models, and next-gen search engines: The Data Mill reports from the IACS symposium.  Continue Reading

• NSA surveillance revelations could lead to data collection policy

  This Searchlight looks at how NSA surveillance could lead to data collection policy. Plus: Netflix to the rescue, bad news for BlackBerry and more.  Continue Reading

• ITSM principles boost service levels and free up IT resources

  Far from bogging down your IT organization, ITSM principles free up IT resource capacity. Expert contributor Neil Nickolaisen explains.  Continue Reading

• In business-model innovation, cloud computing is imperative

  Business-model innovation is a necessity in light of the changes that cloud computing brings to the enterprise, columnist Harvey Koeppel explains.  Continue Reading

• Hadoop 2.0's deep impact on big data and big data technologies

  Hadoop 2.0, big data security, and the future of work: The Data Mill reports  Continue Reading

• CIOs must take aim at changing face of cyberthreats

  Searchlight looks at why CIOs need to up their cyberthreat defenses. Plus: Google gets even more connected, the net neutrality ruling and more.  Continue Reading

• Big data takes a bite out of credit card bust-out fraud

  Credit card bust-out fraud, the power of YouTube and conflict prediction: The Data Mill reports.  Continue Reading

• CES to CIOs: Watch out for wearable technology

  This Searchlight finds wearable technology looking and working better than ever. Plus: a harsh email lesson, the lure of ephemeral messaging and more.  Continue Reading

• Machine learning, embedded analytics and big data march ahead in 2014

  The International Institute for Analytics predicts a banner year for metadata, model management and machine learning in 2014, The Data Mill reports.  Continue Reading

• Searchlight List of Lists: The best, the worst and what's next in tech

  The annual Searchlight List of Lists reveals there wasn't a lot of love for tech in 2013, but technology predictions hold out a lot of hope for 2014.  Continue Reading

• A CIO's journey to IT transformation begins with 10 steps

  IT transformation? Bring it on! Among this CIO's pledges for 2014? Blowing up what's left of his legacy environment and rebuilding.  Continue Reading

• Add semantic analysis to ward off big data/bad analytics syndrome

  Big data and semantic analysis, virtual personal assistants for everyone and IT resolutions: The Data Mill reports.  Continue Reading

• A Ghost of Christmas Past shows the folly of dismissing tech trends

  In this Searchlight: a cautionary tale about dismissing tech trends. Plus, Target in hackers' crosshairs, cyber currency mints new star, and more.  Continue Reading

• Talking big data technologies and Bitcoin at the MIT VC Conference

  Big data technologies that snag VC dollars, the startup showdown, 'data curation at scale' and #FiveTechHorrors: The Data Mill reports.  Continue Reading

• Hour of Code a good start, but far short of the IT finish line for kids

  This Searchlight: Hour of Code initiative is a good idea that doesn't go far enough. Plus: video games going off-screen, the NSA meets WOW and more.  Continue Reading

• 'Tis the season for IT self-service

  Chatter about big data reveals IT self-service can be a gift for CIOs. Take command and control but keep the buffet open.  Continue Reading

• Analytics 3.0 -- the old guard masters how to build data products

  Analytics 3.0, the 'data as a corporate asset' quiz and 'hellabytes': The Data Mill reports.  Continue Reading

• The rise of the smart machines: Here comes the robo-workforce

  In Searchlight, smart machines are all over the news and eyeballing human jobs. Plus: Apple gets social, a lot of passwords get stolen, and more.  Continue Reading

• Enterprise BPM beyond battling bottlenecks

  Enterprise BPM is about more than battling bottlenecks. CIOs are looking to business process management to help grow the business and hone a competitive edge.  Continue Reading

• Smart process applications: Straight talk from CIOs

  Smart process applications were the focus of November's 'CIO Decisions' e-zine. What do CIOs say about this new breed of apps and other technologies?  Continue Reading

• Evolving BPM and BPO practices will change the nature of work

  Harvey Koeppel makes the case that BPM and BPO are evolving and converging and will permanently change the way we work.  Continue Reading

• Want better analytics? Start asking 'crunchy' questions

  Predictive analytics and crunchy questions, data visualizations and good design: The Data Mill reports.  Continue Reading

• Need an enterprise data strategy? Cultivate people untainted by data science

  Building an enterprise data strategy, collaborative filtering, algorithms and the CFO: The Data Mill reports from the 2013 MIT Sloan CFO Summit.  Continue Reading

• Don't be a digital underdog -- it's omnichannel or bust

  In the Searchlight: what CIOs can learn from Best Buy's omnichannel turnaround. Plus, corporate social media done right, big data in HR and more.  Continue Reading

• Clay Christensen warns CIOs that smart managers are doomed to fail

  Disruptive innovation theorist Clay Christensen warns CIOs to be skeptical of time-honored business tenets.  Continue Reading

• Crowdsourcing is the new cloud computing -- get with it, CIOs

  Crowdsourcing, mobile apps and IT priorities: The Data Mill reports from Society for Information Management's annual conference.  Continue Reading

• Top CIOs know IT employees don't need morale killers like stack ranking

  In Searchlight: Stack ranking? Yahoo could learn from CIOs about valuing employees. Plus: IBM will share Watson, Facebook's $3 billion bid and more.  Continue Reading

• Cool or creepy? The ethics of big data is on the table

  Uncomfortable conversations about the ethics of big data and the virtues of transparency: The Data Mill reports.  Continue Reading

• Does high-flying Twitter IPO signal death of the social network?

  In this Searchlight: The Twitter IPO takes flight, CIOs should take notice; plus, a BlackBerry dilemma, a mobile shopping puzzle and more.  Continue Reading

• Get smart with smart process apps

  Is your IT organization ready to get smart? Smart process apps are becoming a tool of choice in many agile-inclined enterprises.  Continue Reading

• Relational databases are far from dead -- just ask Facebook

  Facebook and relational databases, social television, and open data: The Data Mill reports from Strata Conference + Hadoop World.  Continue Reading

• Techy tikes: Great mobile experience crucial to win over future users

  In the Searchlight: Baby, you need to create a great mobile experience or else. Plus, a Google mystery, a data center keeps its cool and more.  Continue Reading

• Ten big data case studies in a nutshell

  What are companies such as Macy's, Tesco, American Express and Wal-Mart Stores doing with big data? The Data Mill reports.  Continue Reading

• Technology leadership quotes from the October 'CIO Decisions' e-zine

  The IT execs profiled in our October 'CIO Decisions' e-zine had a lot to say. Check out these technology leadership quotes.  Continue Reading

• HealthCare.gov diagnosis: Project governance severely lacking?

  In the Searchlight: Federal health site woes stem from project governance deficiency, clamp-downs on data brokering and patent trolling, and more.  Continue Reading

• MetLife fires up Synapse and JSON to recruit rock-star developers

  How to find rock-star developers, Twitter versus Facebook, the DNA diet and anonymous Web searches: The Data Mill reports.  Continue Reading

• Harvey Koeppel dives deep into the app economy

  SearchCIO Expert Harvey Koeppel dives deep into the app economy, and several cups of black coffee later, comes up with this advice for CIOs.  Continue Reading

• Exploring digitization at MIT Media Lab: Level the playing field already!

  At MIT Media Lab, building a virtual digital world still hinges on leveraging an analog world of orthogonal thinkers.  Continue Reading

• The state of the digital enterprise at Gartner Symposium

  Parsing the state of digitization at Gartner Symposium and other noteworthy quotes from Google, Revlon, MetLife and 7-Eleven: The Data Mill dishes.  Continue Reading

• Gartner Symposium forecast: Cloudy with a good chance of 3D printing

  The Searchlight shares some scuttlebutt from Gartner Symposium and matches it up with innovation news from Disney, a big data privacy 'd'oh' and more.  Continue Reading

• Creative destruction and the cloud: Why it's a good thing

  The creative destruction brought on by the cloud is an imperative and unavoidable part of your IT and business strategy.  Continue Reading

• Cloud: A disruptive technology that's worth the disruption

  Cloud computing is a disruptive technology that promises to upend the enterprise, but the upsides are worth the risk.  Continue Reading

• Big data and predictive analytics: When is enough data enough?

  When to call it quits with data, the power of a name and performing surgical marketing: The Data Mill reports from Predictive Analytics World.  Continue Reading

• Cloud computing security risks and governance: It's a jungle out there

  Are cloud computing security risks on your mind? Do you have a cloud governance strategy? If not, better develop one: It's a jungle out there.  Continue Reading

• Data security issues at Adobe are everyone's problem

  In this Searchlight: Adobe's data security issues highlight need for CIO vigilance. Plus: The data scientist role, data center efficiency and more.  Continue Reading

• Kurzweil: The human brain on IT

  Inventor and futurologist Ray Kurzweil shakes up an information management crowd with visions of the human brain on IT.  Continue Reading

• 'Cookie stuffing': A data scientist takes on seamy side of online ads

  Combatting cookie stuffing, smoking out dubious URLs, designing for behavior change and selling the company culture: The Data Mill reports.  Continue Reading

• Technology quotes and musings from the latest 'CIO Decisions' e-zine

  What's on the minds of CIOs? Here are some musings and technology quotes from the featured IT leaders in September's 'CIO Decisions' e-zine.  Continue Reading

• BlackBerry's shriveled fortune a sign mobile innovation is drying up?

  Was BlackBerry's end unavoidable because mobile innovation is dead? Plus, Facebook would like your credit card info, the NSA is so sorry, and more.  Continue Reading

• A CIO learns how to navigate between the cloud and a legacy system

  Simplification is CIO Niel Nickolaisen's IT mantra, but integrating a legacy system with his new cloud solutions has been anything but simple.  Continue Reading

• Lean Six Sigma and Agile get up close and productive at Bose

  Leadership, maturity models and core value streams: How Bose IT has blended Lean Six Sigma and Agile in its SAP environment.  Continue Reading

• 'Appification' nation coming soon to a file near you

  In this week's Searchlight: Box takes a trip to 'appification' nation, plus: Google takes on death; the audacity of cybercriminals, and more.  Continue Reading

• CEO mindset: To grow where no one has grown before

  Gartner probes the CEO mindset and sees 'economic defiance,' an appetite for digital growth and lots of work for the ambitious CIO.  Continue Reading

• CIOs get some love from Cupertino with Apple iOS 7

  In this week's Searchlight: For CIOs, Apple iOS 7 was the important news out of Cupertino. Plus Google's new encryption, leadership tips and more.  Continue Reading

• Does business have the patience for data science?

  A data scientist call to arms, say hello to NFC jewelry, and the Magic Quadrant for mobile app dev platforms: The Data Mill reports.  Continue Reading

• Microsoft's Nokia acquisition brings fresh legs to mobile race

  In this week's Searchlight: Microsoft gets serious about mobile with Nokia acquisition; Android's tasty new OS; the latest NSA jaw-dropper; and more.  Continue Reading

• The agile enterprise: Connecting the dots

  Agile and lean are the cornerstones of many a successful IT strategy, but what if a CIO works in sector that hasn't yet embraced the agile enterprise?  Continue Reading

• Ease of use vs. enterprise security: A CIO vets a new IDM system

  In his ongoing quest to balance ease of use and enterprise security, CIO Niel Nickolaisen focuses on a new identity management system.  Continue Reading

• Semi-structured data is king of LinkedIn's recommendation engine

  LinkedIn's semi-structured data shines, CVS responds to social media finger wagging, and Microsoft does the shuffle, The Data Mill reports.  Continue Reading

• Community cloud could fix data crunching dilemma for cancer research

  Building a community cloud for cancer research, make-it-yourself data and a new report on emerging tech: The Data Mill reports.  Continue Reading

• With social shopping, former mallrats turn to mice

  In the Searchlight: What social shopping means to CIOs. Plus: Zuckerberg 'likes' developing nations, a scary series of outages and more.  Continue Reading

• CIO innovation management: Tapping the collective IQ

  Is the collective IQ of the group better for driving innovation than the genius of one? Two very smart technology leaders think so.  Continue Reading

• Social collaboration software through the lens of a SharePoint lover

  Yammer and SharePoint: A match made in heaven or cloud-crossed lovers? Plus, tips on how to succeed with social collaboration in this week's Data Mill.  Continue Reading

• Let's be reasonable about our email privacy expectations

  In this week's Searchlight: Does it matter what Google really said about email privacy? Plus: NSA antics, predictive analytics for good and more.  Continue Reading

• The consumerization of IT: Everything new is old again

  Of thumbs, knives and smartphones, Harvey Koeppel traces the roots of the consumerization of IT and how IT translates into table stakes.  Continue Reading

• A midsummer night's bad dream: The CIO position regresses

  The seamless integration and provisioning of IT services is a lofty goal for even the most seasoned CIO. We don't have time for that.  Continue Reading

• Prescriptive analytics is coming to a future near you

  It is only a matter of time before algorithms rule the world. Humans, meet prescriptive analytics.  Continue Reading

• Data scientists and trust: Numbers don't lie -- but might fib a bit

  In this week's Searchlight, data scientists might have answers you're looking for, but are they the right ones? Plus, the new cloud fear and more.  Continue Reading

• Your ITSM program on the second half of the chess board: Are you ready?

  Your ITSM program needs to keep up with technology's extraordinary pace of change. Harvey Koeppel offers some pointers.  Continue Reading

• Retailers' data collection programs delve deeper, get creepier

  In this Searchlight: Retailers' data collection programs push privacy boundaries again. Plus, wearable malware, cloud concerns, BYOD woes and more.  Continue Reading

• The leadership qualities of a CIO veteran

  Jim Noble, the former CIO at AOL, GM and BP, shares three leadership qualities that lead to business success.  Continue Reading

• Samsung's botched Jay-Z deal, a mobile app launch fail for the ages

  In this week's Searchlight, Samsung shows how not to do a mobile app launch, plus fun and games with data privacy, the perils of sideloading and more.  Continue Reading

• Mobile business advice from Peter Vesterbacka of Angry Birds

  Still unconvinced mobile computing will change the world? Listen to what the Mighty Eagle of Angry Birds has to say.  Continue Reading

• Big data can mean bad analytics, says Harvard professor

  The value of big data is in the analytics -- not any old analytics but software customized to your business purpose. Anything less is bad analytics.  Continue Reading

• Cloud migration strategy: What's holding CIOs back?

  Some CIOs have yet to adopt a cloud migration strategy despite the many benefits. What holds them back? Editorial Director Christina Torode explores.  Continue Reading

• The CIO position: Why you need to eat your own dog food

  When it comes to the CIO position, the want ads have yet to catch up with the skill set du jour.  Continue Reading

• Business and social network apps belong together: Will they ever meet?

  Social and business apps need to merge. But does anyone know how that's going to happen?  Continue Reading

• Uphold SMB data security standards with psychology and rewards

  IT executives at smaller companies can follow governmental examples to leverage psychological persuasion for rock solid data security standards.  Continue Reading

• The GRC maturity model and value proposition

  In this CIO Matters column, Harvey Koeppel takes a look at the GRC maturity model and how CIOs can turn risk management into business value.  Continue Reading

• That business vision thing -- and how IT can help

  The CIO has an important role to play when it comes to turning business vision into reality. Executive editor Linda Tucci lays out the argument.  Continue Reading

• The trials and tribulations of IT consumerization

  IT consumerization adds business value but comes with liabilities. Just ask the e-discovery industry.  Continue Reading

• At MIT Sloan, CEOs talk innovation strategies while China attacks

  The innovation strategies of the nation's most innovative CEOs seem oblivious to the greatest security hack in history. Why is that?  Continue Reading

• Exploring the 'Big Data Frontier'

  IT business strategist Harvey Koeppel draws on historical data to explore the 'Big Data Frontier' and its potential to profoundly change the world.  Continue Reading

• C-suite looking for team members, not captains of industry

  Is the decider-in-chief an industry relic? One CIO headhunter says so. The new C-suite ideal is the collaborative team player.  Continue Reading

• Putting a price on information: The nascent field of infonomics

  Companies are behaving as if information has a monetary value. The question is how much? The nascent field of infonomics aims to provide answers.  Continue Reading

• Your virtualization vendor strategy: Beware the pitfalls

  An enterprise virtualization vendor strategy is loaded with complexity, ranging from hypervisors to tools that manage the entire virtualization stack.  Continue Reading

• Social engagement: Get people to 'like' and 'share' your vision

  Social engagement is transforming business models, but enterprise-wide rollouts hit a wall when it comes to how a platform should be chosen.  Continue Reading

• Offshore IT outsourcing: Economy, not ethics, is big question for CIOs

  Offshore IT outsourcing is an emotional topic for CIOs, but the cost can be more complicated than a simple bottom line.  Continue Reading

• Living the e-life amid security threats and privacy concerns

  Businesses are advised to enlist employees in the effort to protect against security threats. That won't be easy for a generation living the e-life.  Continue Reading

• Mastering digital business: This is not your father's Oldsmobile

  Digital business requires CIOs to use technology differently from how it was used to fuel innovation in the e-commerce age -- just ask Oldsmobile.  Continue Reading

• CIO Matters: Data presentation goes to the movies

  The work CIOs do to analyze big data will come to naught without data presentations that influence business decisions. Think lights, camera, action!  Continue Reading

• What to consider before deploying the Hadoop framework

  Learn three ways to decide if deploying the Hadoop framework is the right move for your enterprise big data needs.  Continue Reading