Employees who have used Internet search engines such as Google and Yahoo! to easily search for and locate information on the Internet have complained for years that finding and accessing information within their own organizations is frustratingly difficult. There are a number of reasons that this is the case.

Is business intelligence (BI) and its byproducts meant for only large corporations? To a general audience, the answer looks like "yes." This is mostly due to the halo that has been spread around the BI and data warehousing (DW) world, which portrays the approach as "toys for the big enterprises." The benefits of BI and DW are invariably great both in terms of value and insights, but that does not mean these benefits should be beyond the reach of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Technical debt, devops, software governance, development methodologies--from applying the nuts and bolts of Agile, to transforming your organization at the enterprise level, Cutter is your resource for the objective information you need to make Agile a source of strategic competitive advantage. Read a description of our publication types »

With insight gleaned on the business, information, applications, technology, security, and performance architecture domains, your organization will be able to hone its architecture development, design, governance and portfolio management and planning practices. You'll discover just how to produce specific architectures and models, standards, reference models, roadmaps, processes, and more. Read a description of our publication types »

Innovation is natural to people. When someone says "I am only human," he or she is admitting being innovative -- and doing things differently. That being said, often we don't harness our innovation effectively. We don't always rally others to support our innovative ideas.

"There appears to be a bit of a paradox between the massive and recent consolidation in ES and the excitement for and growth of SaaS and E 2.0. If E 2.0 and SaaS are such great opportunities, why are vendors still consolidating?"

-- Vince Kellen, Guest Editor

Enterprise software (ES) is changing. Adoption of SOA, SaaS, and E 2.0 technologies is breathing new life into the ES market. This bodes well for firms seeking more ES flexibility and ease of use.

The enterprise software market has gone through a significant period of consolidation, which has resulted in organizations selecting among a decreasing number of vendors for increasingly large and complex applications. Even though the market has changed, too many organizations still make enterprise software decisions based on the obsolete assumption that there are multiple vendors that are primarily differentiated by their product features.

The enterprise software market is seeing the rise of a new business model -- software-as-a-service (SaaS), under which the software is owned and managed remotely by the vendor and delivered as a service over the Internet. The application is based on a single set of common code and data definitions and distributed in a one-to-many manner to all customers (e.g., Salesforce.com's service model).

The enterprise software market is seeing the rise of a new business model -- software-as-a-service (SaaS), under which the software is owned and managed remotely by the vendor and delivered as a service over the Internet. The application is based on a single set of common code and data definitions and distributed in a one-to-many manner to all customers (e.g., Salesforce.com's service model).

"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." These words of US President John F. Kennedy are weighed in gold by wise individuals in all walks of life. Such an undeniable truth drives the present-day transformation of enterprise software through a series of technological innovations.

"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." These words of US President John F. Kennedy are weighed in gold by wise individuals in all walks of life. Such an undeniable truth drives the present-day transformation of enterprise software through a series of technological innovations.

Back in the 1980s, and even recently, some have claimed that investments in IT haven't paid off.1, 2 Fortunately, much research in the past decade has started to explain the complex relationship between IT and advantage and has shown, rather compellingly, that investments in IT do matter.3 Firms that invest heavily in IT and concurrently apply a set of appropriate management practices do reap rewards.

With increased consolidation and a few large vendors dominating the market, how can software vendors distinguish themselves in order to maintain profitability and gain market share? Increasingly customers are becoming more proactive in selecting a vendor and a product, drawing upon various publications, market surveys, mailing lists, and, of course, other users. In particular, though, a company's Web site is the obvious place to begin information gathering.

The business landscape is littered with failed agile adoption programs.

Now that business leaders have finally heard of agile, they think -- incorrectly -- that they can cherry-pick the agile pieces they like best. However, field experience has shown that unless combined with a well-planned agile adoption program, agile software projects, if they survive at all, will only be able to achieve a fraction of their potential.

We've all heard stories about critical plans that failed because some small detail was left out (they are good training anecdotes, and some make great Hollywood movies). Here's one.

The continuing escalation in the war against computer-based security threats, such as break-ins, malware, and viruses, threatens to obscure what has become the number one security weakness -- the individual. While there is a growing body of resources for combating machine-based attacks, the reality is that successful hacking based on social engineering is much more effective and potentially more devastating.

The continuing escalation in the war against computer-based security threats, such as break-ins, malware, and viruses, threatens to obscure what has become the number one security weakness -- the individual. While there is a growing body of resources for combating machine-based attacks, the reality is that successful hacking based on social engineering is much more effective and potentially more devastating.

With the recent economic downturn, technology managers -- looking for ways to stretch their budgets -- are considering or reconsidering the option of moving some or all of their software development activities to locations where labor costs are less expensive. Many large multinationals have, with varying degrees of success, moved work to India, Eastern Asia, or Eastern Europe. Some of those decisions were based on the need for globalization, while others were purely for cost benefit.

With the recent economic downturn, technology managers -- looking for ways to stretch their budgets -- are considering or reconsidering the option of moving some or all of their software development activities to locations where labor costs are less expensive. Many large multinationals have, with varying degrees of success, moved work to India, Eastern Asia, or Eastern Europe. Some of those decisions were based on the need for globalization, while others were purely for cost benefit.

Software development

In spite of a loudly articulated assurance from the agile community that the waterfall lifecycle is dead, it isn't.

Waterfall approaches, though widely belittled, are enjoying something of a resurgence. The reasons for this are at least two-fold: (1) a flight from the challenge implicit in a more agile approach and (2) a compulsive focus on predictability and accountability.

Resistance to change is a natural outcome of the change process manifested in a variety of ways, ranging from passive resistance to open conflict and from decreasing work performance to employee absenteeism and turnover. Change must take place to allow organizations to adapt to their environment in order to remain competitive, and successful adaptation necessitates the willingness of its members to support change efforts.

Resistance to change is a natural outcome of the change process manifested in a variety of ways, ranging from passive resistance to open conflict and from decreasing work performance to employee absenteeism and turnover. Change must take place to allow organizations to adapt to their environment in order to remain competitive, and successful adaptation necessitates the willingness of its members to support change efforts.

One of agile development's touted benefits is better early information on project problems and issues. This early detection enables management -- project and otherwise -- to take adaptive actions. However, early problem detection comes with its own problem: discomfort with early information.

Everyone wants to get a slice of the social networking market. Social networks provide opportunities for large IT enterprises, innovative startups, third-party developers, IT professionals, and venture capitalists. IT businesses now have many new social network-inspired opportunities, some of which are yet to be explored, along different avenues, as follows: