A mid-level manager at a large electronics manufacturing company recently confided in me that he was experiencing difficulty with his new team. According to him, the problem was that his new team was located in several parts of the world, and that none of the people he worked with were colocated with him.

The business environment is increasingly being dominated by multinational work teams; it is no longer unusual for a project manager to be located in Germany, while the technical team performing the work is split between the US and India, and the project manager's boss works out of the London office.

There is a general belief in the information systems community, among developers, managers, and users, that the failure rate of software projects is unacceptably high.

The objective of this Executive Report is to provide a comprehensive framework for identifying and assessing IT outsourcing (ITO) success. Specifically, this report attempts to answer the following four questions:

What type of outcomes do organizations typically pursue from ITO?

How do these goals change over time?

The objective of this Executive Report is to provide a comprehensive framework for identifying and assessing IT outsourcing (ITO) success. Specifically, this report attempts to answer the following four questions:

What type of outcomes do organizations typically pursue from ITO?

How do these goals change over time?

This accompanying Executive Report provides a new conceptualization of IT outsourcing (ITO) success from the client's perspective based on results from three surveys conducted during 1994-2000, a review of previous research, data from 49 cases, and data from seven additional in-depth cases.

This accompanying Executive Report provides a new conceptualization of IT outsourcing (ITO) success from the client's perspective based on results from three surveys conducted during 1994-2000, a review of previous research, data from 49 cases, and data from seven additional in-depth cases.

From our very first security Opinion, "Pandemic I: Malicious Disruption (The Halloween Scenario)" in October of 2001, we have dealt with security problems more than any other issue. This is in part because our clients tell us it's what they worry about. And just as important, it's because the pieces of a very worrisome whole have been accumulating.

From our very first security Opinion, "Pandemic I: Malicious Disruption (The Halloween Scenario)" in October of 2001, we have dealt with security problems more than any other issue. This is in part because our clients tell us it's what they worry about. And just as important, it's because the pieces of a very worrisome whole have been accumulating.

Disclaimer: The author is not a lawyer, and information in this document does not constitute legal advice. Because the situations covered here are speculative, the author makes no warranties regarding the information provided. Anyone who has legal questions regarding this issue should seek professional legal advice.

Disclaimer: The author is not a lawyer, and information in this document does not constitute legal advice. Because the situations covered here are speculative, the author makes no warranties regarding the information provided. Anyone who has legal questions regarding this issue should seek professional legal advice.

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) is an alternative worth considering for companies that face the high costs of enterprise-wide implementations and extensive reengineering efforts to enhance existing business processes. In particular, small companies often do not have the financial resources to purchase "on-premise" systems that require significant investment in packaged software and dedicated hardware. However, it is also true that large companies with extensive installations are beginning to consider SaaS as a cost-cutting measure.

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) is an alternative worth considering for companies that face the high costs of enterprise-wide implementations and extensive reengineering efforts to enhance existing business processes. In particular, small companies often do not have the financial resources to purchase "on-premise" systems that require significant investment in packaged software and dedicated hardware. However, it is also true that large companies with extensive installations are beginning to consider SaaS as a cost-cutting measure.

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) is an alternative worth considering for companies that face the high costs of enterprise-wide implementations and extensive reengineering efforts to enhance existing business processes. In particular, small companies often do not have the financial resources to purchase "on-premise" systems that require significant investment in packaged software and dedicated hardware. However, it is also true that large companies with extensive installations are beginning to consider SaaS as a cost-cutting measure.

collaboration = innovation

collaboration = innovation

Trying to persuade a skeptical audience to believe a new message is an uphill battle. When Agile software development methodologies emerged in the mid-to-late-1990s, it wouldn't take much to know there was a problem in the industry that needed to be solved. But most were skeptical that Agile methods were the answer.

One of the main areas of development in EA and SOA this year has been in governance. Pundits describe the value and importance of governance, while vendors hawk solutions, as if governance were something we could actually buy. Lately, I've seen articles and presentations that espouse "Governance from Day One." This is one area where I disagree.

This month, we come to the next of the seven planning questions: How much?

It is good to have a standard way of doing the things we do often. My wife has a way of dealing with the laundry as it goes from hamper to washer to dryer to drawers. I have my own system for making sure the dishwasher is as packed as possible while still making sure the items come out clean. We each have our own distinct way of getting the kids ready for school in the morning, and it is best to let one person take the reins if we are both around.

Today, we have new knowledge about software measurement. Because it's an emerging discipline, we know more about it today than ever before. The emergence of the Internet and Web-based development has had significant impact. During the Y2K transition, additional patterns arose. A major economic downturn, agile methods, and application development and management outsourcing brought other dynamics.

Approximately half of the organizations currently using on-demand BI and on-demand data warehousing solutions have integrated them with their enterprise applications and other operational systems.

Approximately half of the organizations currently using on-demand BI and on-demand data warehousing solutions have integrated them with their enterprise applications and other operational systems.

First, the bad news: a month or two ago, I was talking to one of my good friends, who also happens to be one of the world's great students of software productivity. I asked him why it was that there was very little discussion in the press about software productivity. His response was that, from his data, there hadn't been very much improvement over the last decade or so.

As more organizations face transitions to agile methods and those transitions involve larger segments of those organizations, the need for transition or transformation strategies increases.