Technology budgets are always under attack. Most of these budgets have little or no discretionary room to maneuver. So when the boss says, "What about that Web 2.0 stuff? What are we doing there?" most CIOs and CTOs tell them "We're looking at it," knowing full well that they only have enough money to put out the daily brush fires -- and nothing more.

Technology budgets are always under attack. Most of these budgets have little or no discretionary room to maneuver. So when the boss says, "What about that Web 2.0 stuff? What are we doing there?" most CIOs and CTOs tell them "We're looking at it," knowing full well that they only have enough money to put out the daily brush fires -- and nothing more.

Focusing on quality forces us to "prioritize" quality ahead of other software attributes (although by doing so we improve those other attributes also). The key to reducing work-in-progress is to limit work going into the work queue; that is, prioritizing projects. In balancing capacity against demand, we need to eliminate wish-based planning that arises from our inability to prioritize features (demands).

A corporation's perception of risk strongly influences its decision making. We have a recent example in the news that illustrates how two different companies have perceived their market risk over time, and their differing approaches to mitigating it.

A corporation's perception of risk strongly influences its decision making. We have a recent example in the news that illustrates how two different companies have perceived their market risk over time, and their differing approaches to mitigating it.

In the past five Advisors in this series (see sidebar), I have shared with you my experience in dealing with various aspects of delivering a service-oriented architecture (SOA) right. I have presented a number of best practices that practitioners are using effectively in multiple SOA initiatives.

The old saying "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" has ventured beyond the international political stage and into the realm of IT innovation and management. Smart organizations are finding it far more profitable to reach out and collaborate with unfriendly constituencies. Manifestations of this collaborative work strategy are conspicuous in IT security but versions of this can be found increasingly in other management contexts. For this reason, it is a subject worth exploring.

The old saying "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" has ventured beyond the international political stage and into the realm of IT innovation and management. Smart organizations are finding it far more profitable to reach out and collaborate with unfriendly constituencies. Manifestations of this collaborative work strategy are conspicuous in IT security but versions of this can be found increasingly in other management contexts. For this reason, it is a subject worth exploring.

Centralization of security is of increasing urgency as the threat environment continues to expand and as regulatory requirements take hold. A centralized security system is considerably easier to audit than a system where management is spread throughout the enterprise. It is also likely to improve oversight and analysis and to create a more robust environment. Roles and responsibilities are clarified, and maintaining security in interactions with outside organizations such as suppliers and outsourcing vendors is easier.

Centralization of security is of increasing urgency as the threat environment continues to expand and as regulatory requirements take hold. A centralized security system is considerably easier to audit than a system where management is spread throughout the enterprise. It is also likely to improve oversight and analysis and to create a more robust environment. Roles and responsibilities are clarified, and maintaining security in interactions with outside organizations such as suppliers and outsourcing vendors is easier.

Over the past few years, many practitioners have addressed the significance of teamwork and collaboration. In fact, every publication that discusses how to deliver the right business value using innovation emphasizes the importance of collaboration.

Over the past few years, many practitioners have addressed the significance of teamwork and collaboration. In fact, every publication that discusses how to deliver the right business value using innovation emphasizes the importance of collaboration.

The XBA model defines what we do. It identifies the core processes we want to manage and establishes boundaries for the company. It's the context by which Xerox works together to collaborate and works independently in harmony: the design and the intent. It's designed to be customer-driven and cross-functional value-based, from outside in.

Although the use of radio frequency identification (RFID)-enabled supply-chain applications has received a fair amount of attention as a possible source of BI, few organizations today are currently integrating RFID data into their data warehouses and BI environments for analysis purposes.

Although the use of radio frequency identification (RFID)-enabled supply-chain applications has received a fair amount of attention as a possible source of BI, few organizations today are currently integrating RFID data into their data warehouses and BI environments for analysis purposes.

The orchestra has just finished a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, and the echoes of the last notes are hanging in the air of the concert hall. As the orchestra leader, you lower your baton and turn toward the audience only to encounter silence. What is going on, you wonder?

Imagine you are standing in front of an orchestra of 75 musicians.

One of the uglier truths of the entire Windows franchise is the desktop maintenance and management costs introduced with the provisioning of workstations. IT and purchasing managers are fully aware that the total cost of ownership (TCO) of a workstation is often many factors of cost higher than the original purchase price. Relief in the form of support technologies has been sporadic and incomplete. Is the future more promising?

TCO in desktop and related device management has many guises, including:

Much has been written about enterprise architecture (EA) and service-oriented architecture (SOA). And success with each is dependent on the other.

The accompanying Executive Report discusses the four stages of enterprise architecture (EA) maturity and describes methods used to identify potential standardized processes for evolving to the later stages of EA maturity as well as ways to develop a strategic model from business plans and ways to derive project

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) is proving to be a disruptive IT trend in the way software is delivered and consumed. Many companies today, both large and medium-sized, either have existing SaaS initiatives within their companies or are actively pursuing SaaS adoption. This pay-as-you-go model helps companies become more responsive to business while converting their fixed IT cost to a variable cost.

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) is proving to be a disruptive IT trend in the way software is delivered and consumed. Many companies today, both large and medium-sized, either have existing SaaS initiatives within their companies or are actively pursuing SaaS adoption. This pay-as-you-go model helps companies become more responsive to business while converting their fixed IT cost to a variable cost.

This issue provides a nice separation of focus, language, and style between our academic and practitioner contributors. Rick and Elena bring about a new and fresh theoretical perspective to the notion of CIO effectiveness and success. Get ready to put your hard-thinking hat on for their article! Their perspective introduces the role of timing for CIOs and argues that when you do things is as important as what you do. I also think you will find stimulating their notion that, while efficiency and effectiveness are not always mutually exclusive, they are temporally related and involve tradeoffs in attention.

When he announced the end of his sitcom Seinfeld, Jerry Seinfeld observed, "For me, this is all about timing. My life is all about timing. As a comedian, my sense of timing is everything" [5]. Comedians are not the only ones for whom timing is critical; CIOs must also control timing. Good jokes and innovative projects both fall flat when the timing is wrong. CIOs need to understand the fundamental principles of leadership timing.

So here you are, a successful CIO of a successful company. More mentions in the Top 100 CIOs and Top 1,000 CxOs than you can shake a stick at.