The world of the blogosphere, based on the key elements of the Web and the machinery of blogs, is a rich and intensely social place. While broadcast media is based on a one-to-many dynamic, where the organization publishing pushes "content" to an "audience," the user experience of reading blogs is many to many, much more like hanging out at a noisy dinner party than watching television.

The world of the blogosphere, based on the key elements of the Web and the machinery of blogs, is a rich and intensely social place. While broadcast media is based on a one-to-many dynamic, where the organization publishing pushes "content" to an "audience," the user experience of reading blogs is many to many, much more like hanging out at a noisy dinner party than watching television.

The world of the blogosphere, based on the key elements of the Web and the machinery of blogs, is a rich and intensely social place. While broadcast media is based on a one-to-many dynamic, where the organization publishing pushes "content" to an "audience," the user experience of reading blogs is many to many, much more like hanging out at a noisy dinner party than watching television.

Professional teams practice over and over again to make the transition from raw talent to finely honed, instinctive skill. They practice to identify the strengths and weaknesses of both individual players and the team as a whole. They practice so that the plays in the playbook become second nature. Finally, they practice to make the transition from a collection of individual athletes to a real team. Beyond that, individual players do extensive strength and speed training on their own to meet explicit or implicit performance expectations from the coaches.

The applicability and utility of any efforts to build a risk infrastructure ultimately rely on the development of a risk history. Organizations cannot ensure consistency of practice without awareness of what happened in the past, and for some, a component of the organization''s culture is stories -- that is, its history. Some organizations can cite past acts of heroism and survival.

The applicability and utility of any efforts to build a risk infrastructure ultimately rely on the development of a risk history. Organizations cannot ensure consistency of practice without awareness of what happened in the past, and for some, a component of the organization''s culture is stories -- that is, its history. Some organizations can cite past acts of heroism and survival.

In a previous Advisor, we saw how organizations can approach vendor selection by first thinking about the outcomes the company seeks in the offshoring relationship ("Vendor Selection Based on Desired Outcomes," 6 December 2006). Once that is accomplished, it is easy to establish specific criteria to help in the winnowing out process. In this Advisor, we apply the concepts of the previous Advisor to the creation of specific criteria for offshoring vendor selection.

In a previous Advisor, we saw how organizations can approach vendor selection by first thinking about the outcomes the company seeks in the offshoring relationship ("Vendor Selection Based on Desired Outcomes," 6 December 2006). Once that is accomplished, it is easy to establish specific criteria to help in the winnowing out process. In this Advisor, we apply the concepts of the previous Advisor to the creation of specific criteria for offshoring vendor selection.

In 2006, I started out the year's Advisors with some suggestions for New Year's resolutions. I know how busy things can get around this time of the year, so in keeping with this popular feature and as a continuing service to Enterprise Architecture Advisor readers, here again is a list of ready-made resolutions that you can adopt for 2007.

In his 19 December 2006 Business Intelligence E-Mail Advisor, "Business Performance Management Demands Data Profiling," Cutter Senior Consultant Curt Hall recommends organizations perform a data quality audit of their operational systems prior to conducting a business performance management initiative.

In his 19 December 2006 Business Intelligence E-Mail Advisor, "Business Performance Management Demands Data Profiling," Cutter Senior Consultant Curt Hall recommends organizations perform a data quality audit of their operational systems prior to conducting a business performance management initiative.

"What did you know, and when did you know it?"

That query was the signature phrase from the Watergate hearings some 30 years ago in the US, which was looking into illegal activities conducted by the Nixon Whitehouse. It was resurrected during the recent HP boardroom leak flap about who knew what when regarding HP investigators illegally pre-texting corporate board members'' and reporters' identities to uncover personal information about them.

Happy New Year! I want to wish everyone a terrific 2007.

Happy New Year! I want to wish everyone a terrific 2007.

Happy New Year! I want to wish everyone a terrific 2007.

This is the last of a series of four Executive Updates in which I examine the results of a Cutter Consortium survey on service-oriented architecture (SOA). In this final Update, we shall be looking at the favorite products and vendors for SOA development, security, mainframe connectivity, and Enterprise Service Buses (ESBs). We shall also find which dynamic lookup techniques are preferred and see how organizations allocate and share responsibility for the administration of SOAs.

Awareness is only one piece of an effective technology adoption plan; even the best technology is useless unless applied.

-- Jim Skinner, Leading Edge Forum [20]

Web 2.0, the second phase in the evolution of the Web, is the current hot buzzword. Web 2.0 is about harnessing the potential of the Web in a more interactive and collaborative manner with an emphasis on social interaction. The ability to recognize new technologies for their business potential, invent creative solutions, and implement those solutions is the key to success in this competitive global marketplace.

There are lots of ways to think about alignment. Over the years, I've basically abandoned the term, but since it continues to persist in the literature (and I assume in the minds and hearts of technology professionals and business executives), perhaps we should continue to give it some due.

There are lots of ways to think about alignment. Over the years, I've basically abandoned the term, but since it continues to persist in the literature (and I assume in the minds and hearts of technology professionals and business executives), perhaps we should continue to give it some due.

While 2007 looks like another interesting year for enterprise architecture, what will be most important? What are the trends? To answer these questions, this Executive Report assembles a collection of articles from several Cutter Senior Consultants on some of the more important topics.

While 2007 looks like another interesting year for enterprise architecture, what will be most important? What are the trends? To answer these questions, this Executive Report assembles a collection of articles from several Cutter Senior Consultants on some of the more important topics.

Welcome to 2007. It promises to be another exciting and busy year in architecture. To start the year off, in the accompanying Executive Report, we examine the trends we can expect in enterprise architecture (EA) this year. To that end, we've assembled a collection of articles from Cutter Senior Consultants on some of the more important topics. We've divided our look ahead into four main topic areas: more of the same; struggling to see value; bigger and better; and new demands.

This is the last of a series of four Executive Updates in which I examine the results of a Cutter Consortium survey on service-oriented architecture (SOA). In this final Update, we shall be looking at the favorite products and vendors for SOA development, security, mainframe connectivity, and Enterprise Service Buses (ESBs).

This issue looks forward to the incoming year and identifies what technologies and IT trends organizations can expect to endure, which ones are emerging, and which ones seem to be losing steam. The issue begins with an introduction about the general trends the industry has been experiencing since the economic recovery started, and then dives into the major components of the survey: technology, architectures, compliance, staffing and labor trends, innovation, and business intelligence. Explore the renewed importance of alignment, and its incarnation in enterprise architecture development efforts, and discuss concerns about labor issues and looming staffing difficulties for IT shops. Take a close look at SOA implementations, and considers the increasing hype regarding innovation -- without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.