In November 2006, Cutter Consortium conducted a survey that asked 102 end-user organizations worldwide about their use of text mining and analysis software for analyzing unstructured information.

In November 2006, Cutter Consortium conducted a survey that asked 102 end-user organizations worldwide about their use of text mining and analysis software for analyzing unstructured information.

The ability to bring bad tidings and make unpopular decisions is a desirable, if not entirely common, part of an organization's culture.

As security becomes an increasing concern, techniques for risk analysis are again rising to the fore. The IT department faces risk in several different areas. Although widely associated with backup and recovery strategies, risk is also incurred in a variety of other business decisions, particularly in activities such as development, outsourcing, and implementation of new technologies or new services, where there is a defined satisfactory outcome and potential penalties in the event of failure.

As security becomes an increasing concern, techniques for risk analysis are again rising to the fore. The IT department faces risk in several different areas. Although widely associated with backup and recovery strategies, risk is also incurred in a variety of other business decisions, particularly in activities such as development, outsourcing, and implementation of new technologies or new services, where there is a defined satisfactory outcome and potential penalties in the event of failure.

India is poised to become the world's most populated country, and doing business there can be messy, chaotic, and thrilling. It is a nation that is creating its global future at a breathtaking pace, and it is taking the rest of the world along with it. The Indian communication style reflects its own culture: it can dart quickly in a new direction during negotiations and weave artfully through numerous ways of indirectly saying no. Indians see language not just as a means of communicating but as an ongoing process that builds relationships, gleans new ideas, and fosters trust.

Return on investment (ROI) is a fundamental concept in finance that, until a few years, was all but alien to IT organizations. With the infusion of financial literacy into IT planning and decision making, a number of vendors emerged with ROI calculation software packages. As these programs have evolved, managers shopping for such a utility today must ask whether the software adequately speaks to the complexities of IT investment and the nuances of risk and other elements that can drastically affect investment outcomes?

Return on investment (ROI) is a fundamental concept in finance that, until a few years, was all but alien to IT organizations. With the infusion of financial literacy into IT planning and decision making, a number of vendors emerged with ROI calculation software packages. As these programs have evolved, managers shopping for such a utility today must ask whether the software adequately speaks to the complexities of IT investment and the nuances of risk and other elements that can drastically affect investment outcomes?

Everyone -- or most everyone -- likes to think positively about the new year. That's where New Year's resolutions come from. But what about the glass-is-half-empty crowd? How do they ring in the new year?

Everyone -- or most everyone -- likes to think positively about the new year. That's where New Year's resolutions come from. But what about the glass-is-half-empty crowd? How do they ring in the new year?

Everyone -- or most everyone -- likes to think positively about the new year. That's where New Year's resolutions come from. But what about the glass-is-half-empty crowd? How do they ring in the new year?

Everyone -- or most everyone -- likes to think positively about the new year. That's where New Year's resolutions come from. But what about the glass-is-half-empty crowd? How do they ring in the new year?

This Advisor continues the topic of product management that began in Part 1 of this two-part series (see "Product Managers in an Agile Team, Part 1," 28 December 2006).

A wise philosopher once said that the limits of language reflect the limits of our understanding. That is, if we can't assign words to a phenomenon, then we don't truly understand it. A similar situation exists in the discipline of information security and risk management: assigning inexact words means we can't truly manage it. Terms to describe specific phenomena in this discipline are used loosely or interchangeably with others. Out of a kind of verbal promiscuity, confusion is sewn.

A wise philosopher once said that the limits of language reflect the limits of our understanding. That is, if we can't assign words to a phenomenon, then we don't truly understand it. A similar situation exists in the discipline of information security and risk management: assigning inexact words means we can't truly manage it. Terms to describe specific phenomena in this discipline are used loosely or interchangeably with others. Out of a kind of verbal promiscuity, confusion is sewn.

It stands to reason that an organization embarking on a business process offshoring initiative would have a complete understanding of how the processes it is actually offshoring work. Surprisingly, you would be wrong to assume that this is the case.

It stands to reason that an organization embarking on a business process offshoring initiative would have a complete understanding of how the processes it is actually offshoring work. Surprisingly, you would be wrong to assume that this is the case.

As enterprise architecture (EA) programs mature, I'm seeing a shift in focus toward business architecture. This is something that I see both with my own clients as well as across the industry. For example, one client that has a relatively mature EA program is building expertise and adding more head count in business architects.

It's that time of year again, when we all look ahead to the coming year. Aside from the fact that this has again come much too quickly (didn't we just solve Y2K?), it is interesting to speculate on the important issues that will come onto the CIO's agenda in 2007.

It's that time of year again, when we all look ahead to the coming year. Aside from the fact that this has again come much too quickly (didn't we just solve Y2K?), it is interesting to speculate on the important issues that will come onto the CIO's agenda in 2007.

Over the past 10 years, almost all companies in the IT industry have either been exposed to or have experienced one or more industry mandates, government regulations, or corporate policies. So you may think that IT practitioners must be familiar and well informed in the relevant challenges and issues of compliance, right? Think again!

Over the past 10 years, almost all companies in the IT industry have either been exposed to or have experienced one or more industry mandates, government regulations, or corporate policies. So you may think that IT practitioners must be familiar and well informed in the relevant challenges and issues of compliance, right? Think again!

My new smart, stylish, cool PDA is a pain in the neck to actually use. There are so many features embedded in so many more -- these people have perfected hierarchical menus to everywhere -- that I find it nearly impossible to optimize its performance. There are also way too many decisions for me to make: do I really need 50 ring/vibrate combinations (not to mention the six-gazillion I can download)?

In response to last week's Advisor on important BI and data warehousing trends for 2007 (see "BI Trends and Developments to Watch for in 2007," 2 January 2007), one reader inquired as to my thoughts on grid computing architectures, in general, as well as the use of grids for data warehousing and BI.

In response to last week's Advisor on important BI and data warehousing trends for 2007 (see "BI Trends and Developments to Watch for in 2007," 2 January 2007), one reader inquired as to my thoughts on grid computing architectures, in general, as well as the use of grids for data warehousing and BI.