Earlier this year, I discussed an apparent growing interest by organizations in using data mining and predictive analytics ("How Do Your Data Mining and Predictive Analytics Grow?" 23 February 2010). I noted that several developments account for this trend.

Earlier this year, I discussed an apparent growing interest by organizations in using data mining and predictive analytics ("How Do Your Data Mining and Predictive Analytics Grow?" 23 February 2010). I noted that several developments account for this trend.

The mantra "It's not what you know, but who you know" has uncertain origins. Two early attested references are from 1914 and 1918, in the context of US labor relations. For the following 90 years, the phrase was mostly used in politics and in business -- and in the world of lobbyists, which is the intersection of the two.

Just a few years ago, many companies were trying to avoid deploying any social media applications. The turnaround has been astonishing; just about everyone has now jumped on the social media bandwagon. Now the questions relate to ROI and TCO -- and, ultimately, the business value of social media. The Luddites lost the battle.

Just a few years ago, many companies were trying to avoid deploying any social media applications. The turnaround has been astonishing; just about everyone has now jumped on the social media bandwagon. Now the questions relate to ROI and TCO -- and, ultimately, the business value of social media. The Luddites lost the battle.

Everybody loves firefighters. As young children, many of us had the desire to be firefighters when we grew up, but very few ever accomplish that goal. For many, firefighters are the real-world heroes. They rescue our pets and save people from car accidents, burning houses, and many other hazards. They are great at taking care of difficult situations.

While Web 2.0 enthusiasts continue to wax eloquently about the promise and virtues new technologies bring and others, less optimistic, bemoan the negative effects they bring to our brains, I'm not so sure we've been paying attention to even darker forces gathering. A spate of recent events made me shudder. Maybe it's just the times, or maybe it's just me. I'll let you decide.

While Web 2.0 enthusiasts continue to wax eloquently about the promise and virtues new technologies bring and others, less optimistic, bemoan the negative effects they bring to our brains, I'm not so sure we've been paying attention to even darker forces gathering. A spate of recent events made me shudder. Maybe it's just the times, or maybe it's just me. I'll let you decide.

In my recent Advisor ("How to Make MDM Go: Start with Architecture,"), I discussed the role of enterprise information architecture in Master Data Management (MDM). In this Advisor, I look at the steps to implementing MDM once you have your information architecture in place.

We’ve just completed the fifth annual Cutter Benchmark Review (CBR) issue on IT budgets (see "IT Budgets on a Roller-Coaster Ride," Vol. 10, No. 7).

Internet-based communications have opened up the doors for businesses to collaborate through Web services. Fuzzy boundaries of electronic organizations enable transcendence of competition and engender an era of enhanced customer experience through business collaboration.

The accompanying Executive Report examines the future of business with respect to collaboration, which through information and communications technologies (ICT) results in a flattening of the organizational structure.

In my last Advisor ("How to Make MDM Go: Start with Architecture," 18 August 2010), I discussed the role of enterprise information architecture in Master Data Management (MDM).

The adoption of a new project management methodology as part of our business practices is always somewhat of a gamble. Will it work? Will it be an improvement over the processes we currently have in place? Will the time, energy, and resources that we invest now in implementing it prove worthwhile in the long run? These are all questions each of us as IT and business professionals must consider as we make decisions to move our organizations forward. Keeping operations humming along in the face of change and (sometimes) major budget crunches and keeping business practices current and in line with industry practices and technology progress are perhaps the greatest ongoing challenges we face. In this issue of Cutter Benchmark Review, we discuss one of the most recent methodologies to enter the spectrum of possible choices for systems development: Kanban.

The use of Kanban in software development — is it good or bad?

One particular interest I have as a Cutter Senior Consultant in the Agile Product & Project Management practice is in promoting lean and Kanban principles. So when Cutter invited me to be a contributing author to CBR, I immediately suggested the topic of Kanban in software development, not only because it is a recent lean methodology but also because it is being rapidly adopted worldwide. I am hoping this month's issue of CBR will help us understand why.

Whether or not you end up moving forward with the adoption of a new project management methodology, the deliberation that goes into even the consideration of the possibility can be a daunting endeavor. In this issue of CBR, we analyze the results of a survey we conducted of IT and business professionals to gauge their impressions and experiences with Kanban, one of the up-and-comers on the IT scene.

This survey investigated the extent to which organizations are using Kanban in their software development projects and their experience with Kanban. The 83 respondents are from organizations headquartered or based in the US and Canada (43%), Europe and the Middle East (29%), Latin America and Mexico (19%), Asia/Australia/Pacific (7%), and Africa (1%).

Corporate adoption of mobile BI -- the ability to access, view, and interact with corporate data on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets via reports, interactive dashboards, visualizations, and ad hoc reporting -- was fairly limited for its first five years or so.

Mobile BI is hardly new. As long ago as 2001, a number of BI vendors introduced software and services that allowed users of BlackBerrys, PDAs, and other mobile devices to generate, view, and drill down on reports based on corporate data.

In life we are all familiar with debt, especially financial debt. The longer a monetary debt is left unpaid, the more interest accrues. Eventually bankruptcy may be declared. Similarly, in software development, every time something is executed incorrectly, it may be thought of as technical debt.

Debt, especially financial debt, is a familiar concept. The longer a monetary debt is left unpaid, the more interest accrues. Eventually bankruptcy may be declared. Similarly, in software development, every time something is executed incorrectly, it may be thought of as technical debt.

A survey [1] we conducted in February/March 2010 offers some interesting insights into corporate data warehouse data volume trends. Specifically, when asked, "What is the size of your organization's current data warehouse?" survey participants responded as follows:

A good contract is important to outsourcing; this is an undisputable statement. The contract is the legal basis of the outsourcing agreement and therefore of fundamental importance. However, there are two different research-based views as to just how important the contract is.

A good contract is important to outsourcing; this is an undisputable statement. The contract is the legal basis of the outsourcing agreement and therefore of fundamental importance. However, there are two different research-based views as to just how important the contract is.