The majority of organizations using on-demand or cloud-based BI and data warehousing are basically satisfied with their solutions.

Companies forgo any number of initiatives for a variety of reasons. Most companies are risk-averse. But what about the initiatives that fall through the cracks of the vetting and due diligence processes, the initiatives that never even result in a business case?

In this Executive Update, we continue the discussion begun in Part I1 about the evolution of business process management (BPM) with respect to today's changes in commercial practice toward service orientation.

Cloud computing is likely to have a continual and lasting impact on sourcing. While still in its infancy, it is bringing about a "weather change" in how outsourcing is viewed as well as in client expectations. In cloud computing, services are provided on a granular, pay- as-you-go basis through a versatile infrastructure that makes possible innumerable service variations.

Cloud computing is likely to have a continual and lasting impact on sourcing. While still in its infancy, it is bringing about a "weather change" in how outsourcing is viewed as well as in client expectations. In cloud computing, services are provided on a granular, pay- as-you-go basis through a versatile infrastructure that makes possible innumerable service variations.

Most client organizations expect that their providers will continually innovate or carry out some form of value-adding when there is an outsourcing contract. I write "some form" because a typical outsourcing contract does not specify what innovation is expected, let alone when it is to occur (just at the start? continuously?), where it is to occur (technology?

Most client organizations expect that their providers will continually innovate or carry out some form of value-adding when there is an outsourcing contract. I write "some form" because a typical outsourcing contract does not specify what innovation is expected, let alone when it is to occur (just at the start? continuously?), where it is to occur (technology?

Most client organizations expect that their providers will continually innovate or carry out some form of value-adding when there is an outsourcing contract. I write "some form" because a typical outsourcing contract does not specify what innovation is expected, let alone when it is to occur (just at the start? continuously?), where it is to occur (technology?

In my last Advisor, we examined some opportunities for applying agile principles to a "services in advance" (SIA) approach to SOA (see "How to Help Agile Get a Head Start," 23 July 2009).

Is your perimeter secure? The answer to that is simple: NO. As business has become more distributed, outsourcing has gone global, supply chains are more connected, employees have become teleworkers, customers demand better information, and so on, we have systematically punched holes into perimeter security until it now resembles Swiss cheese.

Is your perimeter secure? The answer to that is simple: NO. As business has become more distributed, outsourcing has gone global, supply chains are more connected, employees have become teleworkers, customers demand better information, and so on, we have systematically punched holes into perimeter security until it now resembles Swiss cheese.

Shareholders are demanding. They want higher share prices. They ride a winner, and then when their horse fades, they switch to another horse. In this regard, public companies answer to just one master.

Shareholders are demanding. They want higher share prices. They ride a winner, and then when their horse fades, they switch to another horse. In this regard, public companies answer to just one master.

Service-oriented viewpoints, which I outlined in an earlier Update (see "Service-Oriented Viewpoints," Vol. 12, No. 1.), provide a useful, low-risk approach that can help leverage your investment in existing process models and services as part of a well-planned business-IT alignment strategy.

Utility IT support and systems development for small, medium-sized, and large companies have been and will continue to be transitioned to a service that is supported and managed by external IT service providers.

This Advisor continues our discussion of performance reviews for outsourcing contracts. There are three aspects of performance reviews. The first is the successful performance of the scope, which is made up of input performance, process performance, and output performance.

This Advisor continues our discussion of performance reviews for outsourcing contracts. There are three aspects of performance reviews. The first is the successful performance of the scope, which is made up of input performance, process performance, and output performance.

This is the second Executive Update in a three-part series exploring Tim O'Reilly's statement that Web 2.0 applications must go "beyond the page metaphor of Web 1.0 to deliver rich user experiences."1

This is the second Executive Update in a three-part series exploring Tim O'Reilly's statement that Web 2.0 applications must go "beyond the page metaphor of Web 1.0 to deliver rich user experiences."1

About one-fifth of end-user organizations surveyed have conducted studies in order to estimate cost savings and possible benefits from using on-demand/cloud-based BI and data warehousing solutions, and a clear majority of the results from these studies were found to be favorable.

About one-fifth of end-user organizations surveyed have conducted studies in order to estimate cost savings and possible benefits from using on-demand/cloud-based BI and data warehousing solutions, and a clear majority of the results from these studies were found to be favorable.

Within the world of IT vendors, the gap between rhetoric and reality looms large.

In the first of this two-part Executive Update series,1 I took a swipe at the currently accepted approach to systems development. My argument was that if a system is to adequately support a business, the information it handles must be rigorously derived from the business itself.

This Executive Update touches on a solution for recording and maintaining the data lineage for decision support systems (DSSs). The aim is to increase the effectiveness and pace of impact analysis for enhancements and root-cause analysis of data issues. The solution explores the idea of connecting ETL and BI metadata via a custom-built metadata repository provisioning an end-to-end view of data from upstream to downstream.

Strategic leadership involves the way you interact with the other members of the executive team, but to be effective, it must also be instilled within the IT organization.