As CBR's annual survey on IT trends tells us, there are positive signs that IT organizations are positioned for renewed growth, and many companies expect to be hiring IT professionals in 2011.

As you know, we revisit this survey each year, keeping some questions to enable trend analyses and introducing others as new technologies gain prominence and new trends emerge and strengthen.

This survey explored interest in and adoption of various relatively new IT technologies and initiatives and investigated staffing and outsourcing trends in 91 organizations worldwide. Fifty percent of respondents hold senior management/policymaking or IS/IT management titles, with consulting, project management, and software engineering/programming being among the other job titles reported.

Here's a thought about the quality of work essential to innovation and any other kind of creative work. Readers of these Advisors know that I advocate collaboration as the path to making new, unique things.

Here's a thought about the quality of work essential to innovation and any other kind of creative work. Readers of these Advisors know that I advocate collaboration as the path to making new, unique things.

A complex system is a system composed of interconnected parts that as a whole exhibit one or more properties (behaviors) not obvious from the properties of the individual parts.

Business process management (BPM) is a well-established industry practice encompassing process modeling, reengineering, and optimization of processes -- their measurements as well as their mergers and elimination.

Business process management (BPM) is a well-established industry practice encompassing process modeling, reengineering, and optimization of processes -- their measurements as well as their mergers and elimination.

Information technology systems tend to fall into two categories: a) back-office, a-few-people-care-and-most-endure systems or b) front-office, touches-the-customer, core-competency systems that get significant attention. For decades, IT was frequently perceived as the default owner of the back-office systems.

Happy New Year. The last decade was certainly an interesting one, but one that I wouldn't want to relive -- too much conflict, too much hype, too little real dialog, too little data .... You get my point. My holidays were unusually busy, including a lot of travel, a lot of family, and a lot of time to think and some time to read and collect my thoughts.

The trends that will define tomorrow are embedded in the dominant technologies of today, and the general laws of the past will continue to apply. We have seen the ascendancy of cloud computing, social networking, and mobility, along with movement in organization that supports efficiency and rapid change. Each represents the current stage along evolutionary paths that continue to affect both the business environment and IT.

The trends that will define tomorrow are embedded in the dominant technologies of today, and the general laws of the past will continue to apply. We have seen the ascendancy of cloud computing, social networking, and mobility, along with movement in organization that supports efficiency and rapid change. Each represents the current stage along evolutionary paths that continue to affect both the business environment and IT.

One of the hottest areas for applying data mining and predictive analytics is in assisting police with fighting crime. In fact, I've noticed that police departments around the world are increasingly turning to predictive analytics technology.

Staffing the project management office (PMO) hasn't really had much attention in the literature. Some PMOs do not have a project manager staff, while others have a permanent project manager staff. Between those two extremes, there are a few variations.

Mary Kellerman would have been 41 this year. In 1982, she died at the age of 12 from a cyanide-laced Tylenol capsule, as did six others in the area of west Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Mary Kellerman would have been 41 this year. In 1982, she died at the age of 12 from a cyanide-laced Tylenol capsule, as did six others in the area of west Chicago, Illinois, USA.

If there is, it isn’t exactly clear.

If there is, it isn’t exactly clear.

In this on-demand webinar, William Ulrich outlines practical approaches to business-driven, IT architecture transformation using real world case studies and examples.

All lifecycle methodologies initiate themselves with some concept of requirement. That is true whether they are waterfall-like, OO (e.g., RUP), or even the parsimonious agile methodology. In business applications, forward engineering usually involves further automating some back-office or mission-critical application, and the requirements for the system may be satisfied, so to speak, with a custom or package solution.

In this on-demand webinar, William Ulrich outlines practical approaches to business-driven, IT architecture transformation using real world case studies and examples.

Architects face many challenges in their jobs. Among them are creating architecture and applying architecture. I've said many times that creating architecture alone does not create value. Rather, the value from architecture comes when it is applied. In other words, value is delivered when architecture is used to influence the outcome of decision making, analysis, design, or implementation. Yet another challenge is that architects are often not the people who are responsible for doing the applying.

Architects face many challenges in their jobs. Among them are creating architecture and applying architecture. I've said many times that creating architecture alone does not create value. Rather, the value from architecture comes when it is applied. In other words, value is delivered when architecture is used to influence the outcome of decision making, analysis, design, or implementation. Yet another challenge is that architects are often not the people who are responsible for doing the applying.

"Collaboration" and "agility" are two keywords that describe what is required from a business in order for it to flourish in the emerging business environment as a result of the introduction of information and communications technologies (ICT).