This week we noticed an article in Federal Computer Week (12 March 2007, pp. 62-63) that describes how US federal agency computer projects can be on several "watch" lists. The article notes that the "Office of Management and Budget lists 246 business cases ... on its ... Watch List."

To better understand what factors actually play a role in the sourcing decision offshore, I have discussed this issue in interviews with over 60 representatives of client firms in the US as well as IT services vendor firms and captive units in India, Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, and Armenia. From the data I collected, two decision criteria emerged as critical in making the sourcing choice:

To better understand what factors actually play a role in the sourcing decision offshore, I have discussed this issue in interviews with over 60 representatives of client firms in the US as well as IT services vendor firms and captive units in India, Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, and Armenia. From the data I collected, two decision criteria emerged as critical in making the sourcing choice:

Let's start by examining the mission (or purpose) of information technology by asking, "What is the business purpose of the IT department in your company?" Can you answer this question? Is your answer similar to the answers of the CEO and CFO?

According to findings from a recent Cutter Consortium survey (conducted in March 2007) of 119 end-user organizations based worldwide that I've been analyzing, many organizations are now facing the need to consolidate disparate data marts and data warehouses.

According to findings from a recent Cutter Consortium survey (conducted in March 2007) of 119 end-user organizations based worldwide that I've been analyzing, many organizations are now facing the need to consolidate disparate data marts and data warehouses.

In the dark, dim days when I was a child, people used mostly black telephones connected to the wall by a wire. They placed calls using a rotary dial. Then came colored phones with push buttons, wireless phones, cellular phones, and VoIP. All of this seemed to happen in the blink of an eye, but it has been at least 30 years. And there's a lot more to come.

In the dark, dim days when I was a child, people used mostly black telephones connected to the wall by a wire. They placed calls using a rotary dial. Then came colored phones with push buttons, wireless phones, cellular phones, and VoIP. All of this seemed to happen in the blink of an eye, but it has been at least 30 years. And there's a lot more to come.

In my last Advisor ("Collaborative Leadership Basics, Part 8: Keys for Creating Designer Norms in Teams," 1 March 2007), I told you about how to make and keep operating agreements that develop into a set of custom-designed norms and support a team in achieving high performance.

The recent switchover to Daylight Savings Time in the US was a challenge for those who live in the States, but in many ways, it was even more of a headache for our allies overseas. Those of us who deal with enterprises outside the US have the unpleasant challenge of trying to figure out what time it is where.

The recent switchover to Daylight Savings Time in the US was a challenge for those who live in the States, but in many ways, it was even more of a headache for our allies overseas. Those of us who deal with enterprises outside the US have the unpleasant challenge of trying to figure out what time it is where.

The recent switchover to Daylight Savings Time in the US was a challenge for those who live in the States, but in many ways, it was even more of a headache for our allies overseas. Those of us who deal with enterprises outside the US have the unpleasant challenge of trying to figure out what time it is where.

The most significant component of sourcing is people, or the workforce, and organizations are moving toward a more global workforce to reap the benefits of sourcing. Obviously, the question that arises next is: how do we assemble our global workforce? More importantly, how much does the cultural diversity of our workforce matter?

Last fall, I discussed some of the main ideas underlying the Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 concepts (see "Enterprise 2.0: Hip or Hype?" 25 October 2006, and "Beyond the Hype: Enterprise 2.0 Considerations," 22 November 2006).

collaboration = innovation

collaboration = innovation

A best practice is to prevent a privacy incident from occurring in the first place. Do this by first identifying current privacy exposures and second by prioritizing how to address them. However, when a privacy incident occurs, resolve the issues as quickly as possible by following your established incident response procedures and then analyzing the incident.

Wikipedia describes master data management (MDM) as follows:

My initial analysis of the results of a Cutter Consortium BI and data warehousing survey conducted this month (March 2007) of 119 end-user organizations (based worldwide) indicates that the use of real-time (or near-real time) data warehouse updating practices is increasing.

My initial analysis of the results of a Cutter Consortium BI and data warehousing survey conducted this month (March 2007) of 119 end-user organizations (based worldwide) indicates that the use of real-time (or near-real time) data warehouse updating practices is increasing.

Publications like Business 2.0, Fast Company, and even Business Week are all writing about Web 2.0 -- the new net and the next digital gold rush. What the hell is going on now? Is this another bubble? Will Web 2.0 companies crash and burn like their parents?

In previous Advisors (see "A Recipe for Success," 8 February 2007, "A Recipe for Success, Part 2," 15 February 2007, and "A Recipe for Success, Part 3," 8 March 2007), I introduced

Are organizations fully capable of understanding the possible risks to value creation from technology investment in the absence of an economic value analysis of that technology? Wal-Mart's tale of RFID tag deployment is illuminating.

Are organizations fully capable of understanding the possible risks to value creation from technology investment in the absence of an economic value analysis of that technology? Wal-Mart's tale of RFID tag deployment is illuminating.