Although still a somewhat ambiguous term, "cloud computing" represents a watershed in both the evolution of outsourced service provision and in data center infrastructure. Public clouds provide outsourced services in a manner that incorporates efficiency, flexibility, scalability, and improvements in charging under a pay-as-you-go utility model.

Although still a somewhat ambiguous term, "cloud computing" represents a watershed in both the evolution of outsourced service provision and in data center infrastructure. Public clouds provide outsourced services in a manner that incorporates efficiency, flexibility, scalability, and improvements in charging under a pay-as-you-go utility model.

Cloud computing has become the accepted name for the next evolutionary step of the data center and the services enabled by that infrastructure. It encompasses a range of service capabilities that can be provided to the enterprise and to individuals through a utility computing model by using multiple processors that are managed together as one, with access to services, provisioning, and management through the Internet.

Cloud computing has become the accepted name for the next evolutionary step of the data center and the services enabled by that infrastructure. It encompasses a range of service capabilities that can be provided to the enterprise and to individuals through a utility computing model by using multiple processors that are managed together as one, with access to services, provisioning, and management through the Internet.

So how can companies work effectively to ensure information security, privacy, and compliance areas collaborate to make initiatives most successful? The authors in this issue attempt to answer that question, addressing a wide range of information security and privacy convergence issues in the process. In fact, we had more than 20 folks who offered to write articles on this topic! Because of the overwhelming response, we are going to dedicate two issues -- this one and another later in the year -- to information security and privacy convergence.

There has been much talk recently regarding a convergence of information security and privacy. Not that this is anything particularly new - convergence has been happening ever since privacy became a concern. After all, privacy requires the implementation of robust information security controls and appropriate safeguards. There are at least 46 privacy breach notice laws in the US alone; understanding and complying with their multiple requirements (to say nothing of the growing number of other national and international privacy laws) will require privacy and information security areas to work together for effective enterprise-wide management.

There has been much talk recently regarding a convergence of information security and privacy. Not that this is anything particularly new - convergence has been happening ever since privacy became a concern. After all, privacy requires the implementation of robust information security controls and appropriate safeguards. There are at least 46 privacy breach notice laws in the US alone; understanding and complying with their multiple requirements (to say nothing of the growing number of other national and international privacy laws) will require privacy and information security areas to work together for effective enterprise-wide management.

The current business environment is vastly different from what it was a few years ago. The globally integrated enterprise is rife with challenges that threaten the security of data as well as the privacy of customers.

One of the basic human needs is to feel secure. This need is subjective, based on perception and intuition. How do we judge if we're safe and secure? Through basic, instinctive risk management principles.

Agile sponsorship and agile project management are based on three principles: simplicity, speed, and transparency. These principles provide a foundation for a fundamental change in the roles and behaviors of project sponsors.

Many organizations are increasingly coming up against difficult governance issues as they ramp up their early service-oriented architecture (SOA) efforts.

Despite the promises of service-oriented architecture (SOA), many organizations are increasingly encountering difficult governance issues as they start to ramp up their early SOA efforts.

Despite the promises of service-oriented architecture (SOA), many organizations are increasingly encountering difficult governance issues as they start to ramp up their early SOA efforts.

IT strategy

Risk management as practiced in the financial sector has now been revealed as a charade. Risk management as practiced in IT is probably little better.

IT strategy

Risk management as practiced in the financial sector has now been revealed as a charade. Risk management as practiced in IT is probably little better.

IT strategy

Risk management as practiced in the financial sector has now been revealed as a charade. Risk management as practiced in IT is probably little better.

In a recent BI Executive Update (see "Open Source BI and Data Warehousing: New Directions," Vol. 9, No. 2), I discussed the possible impact on the BI market caused by end-user organizations adopting open source BI tools.

In a recent BI Executive Update (see "Open Source BI and Data Warehousing: New Directions," Vol. 9, No. 2), I discussed the possible impact on the BI market caused by end-user organizations adopting open source BI tools.

Like the stock market, IT projects can be volatile: requirements can change, scope can creep, unknown dependencies can appear, teams can get mired down in myriad ways, technology can fail, executive sponsorship can evaporate, schedules can jitter, and dates can slip.

Web 2.0 has been one of the leading buzzwords in the IT media and press over the past few years. But the question on everyone's mind is: to what extent are end-user organizations actually adopting Web 2.0 techniques, such as blogs, wikis, social networks, IM, and other technologies?

As the macroeconomic crisis works its way from Wall Street to Main Street, companies large and small face unprecedented change. Well-honed operational paradigms are proving to be inefficient under current circumstances. Existing business designs are losing their effectiveness in jittery markets.

It is sad but true that the economic crisis has now also appeared in Poland. Somehow, many of us here in Poland have been under the mistaken assumption that we would be undisturbed by the current economic crisis; that this was only an American and Western European problem. Of course, it couldn't remain that way.

What do you do when a team member is actually creating higher risk for the team, and yet you need that person and/or the organization insists you keep him or her? This is actually a far more common quandary than we care to believe.