The crash happened suddenly. The other car appeared as a brief blur in my windshield. In an instant, the airbag deployed, ruptured, and surrounded me in white dust. My vehicle and I came to an abrupt and violent halt.

The crash happened suddenly. The other car appeared as a brief blur in my windshield. In an instant, the airbag deployed, ruptured, and surrounded me in white dust. My vehicle and I came to an abrupt and violent halt.

Software AG's announcement that it is acquiring business process management suite (BPMS) vendor webMethods for approximately US $546 million is an important development for the BPM market. First, it signals that the latest round of consolidation continues (one could point to IBM's acquisition of FileNet last fall as the start of this latest round).

We recently completed a workshop about strategic IT planning. The participants raised three key questions:

What exactly is a strategic IT plan?

Why should the business pay for a strategic IT plan?

What are the barriers to doing a successful strategic IT plan?

There are no hard-and-fast rules about what should and should not be outsourced. Certainly, industry and academia are most comfortable with the outsourcing of activities that have mature markets, predictable demand, predictable costs, and well-known performance standards.

There are no hard-and-fast rules about what should and should not be outsourced. Certainly, industry and academia are most comfortable with the outsourcing of activities that have mature markets, predictable demand, predictable costs, and well-known performance standards.

India is a nation with rich tradition, history, and heritage, and many industrious and highly educated people. The country has been the center of one of the oldest and most ancient civilizations known to mankind and has been in the forefront of many scientific innovations and inventions since the early days of the industrial revolution.

To be successful, architecture development efforts should be approached as an executive-sponsored, well-funded project with dedicated business and technology staff -- what's new? A frequent justification for the undertaking is the requirement for a new business-driven IT strategic plan, often the result of disenchantment with previous IS-driven IT strategic planning efforts.

Several weeks ago I wrote that findings from a recent Cutter Consortium survey (conducted in March 2007) of 119 end-user organizations (based worldwide) and their data warehousing and BI practices indicated that few organizations today express a high level of satisfaction with the quality and integrity of their customer data (see "For Most, The Qual

Last month's Advisor (see "Intelligent Data," 29 March 2007) dealt with the idea of creating intelligent data as a means of improving data connections across the Internet.

Last month's Advisor (see "Intelligent Data," 29 March 2007) dealt with the idea of creating intelligent data as a means of improving data connections across the Internet.

Last month's Advisor (see "Intelligent Data," 29 March 2007) dealt with the idea of creating intelligent data as a means of improving data connections across the Internet.

I recently did some consulting work for a small company; one that has had many project successes but a couple of significant, if not outright, failures, then nonoptimal outcomes, to say the least. In talking through the problem projects with the staff, it seems like deja vu all over again.

In this first of a two-part analysis, I examine the simple first steps that individuals and organizations can take to implement Monte Carlo analyses effectively without creating a huge administrative overburden.

In this first of a two-part analysis, I examine the simple first steps that individuals and organizations can take to implement Monte Carlo analyses effectively without creating a huge administrative overburden.

Any company that's been in business for long has acquired a bunch of existing, important, but aging applications or systems. These may be older COBOL or mainframe applications, or systems built using proprietary products, CASE tools, or obsolete languages.

Recently, one of my close friends (currently working as a CTO for a Fortune 100 company) was interviewing for a senior-level IT executive position. During one of her face-to-face interviews, she was asked opinion of the role of IT in enabling business. Specifically, what role she thinks the architect plays in defining the business strategy.

Recently, one of my close friends (currently working as a CTO for a Fortune 100 company) was interviewing for a senior-level IT executive position. During one of her face-to-face interviews, she was asked opinion of the role of IT in enabling business. Specifically, what role she thinks the architect plays in defining the business strategy.

This series of Advisors uses the first phase of the outsourcing lifecycle, the architect phase, to highlight techniques (the building blocks) clients can use to design the relationship they desire. Thus, the relationship will be one that has been carefully planned and calculated, not an inadvertent consequence.

This series of Advisors uses the first phase of the outsourcing lifecycle, the architect phase, to highlight techniques (the building blocks) clients can use to design the relationship they desire. Thus, the relationship will be one that has been carefully planned and calculated, not an inadvertent consequence.

In business today, we are hammered with more information than ever, and we are still expected to get more done in less time. Usually, this increases the pressure to juggle a number of tasks simultaneously, in a frail attempt to meet expectations. We are busier than ever, and the situation will likely get worse.

The Internet changes everything! This was the rally cry of dot-comers, venture capitalists, and back-of-the-napkin business plan peddlers during the late 1990s. And the learning industry was not immune!

Data warehousing and BI practitioners have been harping for years about how important it is for companies to ensure the quality and integrity of their customer data.

Do you think of the IT department as your service provider, or does IT simply represent another one of those departments that you are constantly wrestling with to get something done? Opinions and experiences aside, the fact is that IT does provide a service to your organization.

You may not have heard about rich Internet applications (RIAs, pronounced ree-ahs), but you have seen them. RIAs are the visible face of that technological, financial, and sociological phenomenon known as Web 2.0. Suddenly we are encountering Web sites with breathtaking effects (www.rasikarestaurant.com) and terrific capabilities (www.housingmaps.com).