As companies begin to feel the effects of coming out of the 2001 recession, many are turning their attention away from primarily cost-focused strategies and objectives toward business growth through new product development and innovation. In a recession, cash flow can often determine the success or even the survival of a company.

As companies begin to feel the effects of coming out of the 2001 recession, many are turning their attention away from primarily cost-focused strategies and objectives toward business growth through new product development and innovation. In a recession, cash flow can often determine the success or even the survival of a company.

This is the first benchmarking opportunity for CBR's annual IT trends and technologies issue. We've got some comparative data against last year's survey for a number of topic areas, and we've added some new questions this year on IT staffing, service-oriented architecture (SOA), enterprise architecture (EA), and innovation.

This issue of Cutter Benchmark Review is the second in our now-annual series on technology and IT trends for the incoming years. Our focus for this yearly issue is to evaluate new technologies and IT trends you should be watching for in the new year and to draw some trending based on the previous year's results.

This survey explored interest in and adoption of various relatively new IT technologies in 126 organizations worldwide. Forty-one percent of respondents hold senior management/policymaking or IS/IT management titles, with project management, software engineering/programming, and planning/development being among the other job titles reported. Forty-six percent of responding organizations are headquartered in North America, 18% in Europe, and 27% in Asia/Pacific, with the remainder in the Middle East, South America, and Africa.

Print, film, magnetic, and optical storage media produced about five exabytes1 of new information in 2002. Ninety-two percent of the new information was stored on magnetic media, mostly in hard disks. [6]

Of all the enterprise architectures, data architecture is perhaps the most mature. This is in large part because data is the most valuable of all the IT assets and because data and data management have been viewed as a central resource the longest.

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.

Cutter IT Journal first took a look at Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) and similar governance mandates back in our September 2005 issue.

Cutter IT Journal first took a look at Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) and similar governance mandates back in our September 2005 issue.

Over the past few years, what words have sent the worst shiver down the back of many CIOs and IT directors? Not, "Hey, just for fun let's do an SAP implementation," or "Microsoft just called and wants to do a license audit." Not even, "We traced the source of the virus and it seems to be coming from your PC." No, the most-feared words are, "We are ready to start our Sarbanes-Oxley compliance testing. Is IT ready?"

Over the past few years, what words have sent the worst shiver down the back of many CIOs and IT directors? Not, "Hey, just for fun let's do an SAP implementation," or "Microsoft just called and wants to do a license audit." Not even, "We traced the source of the virus and it seems to be coming from your PC." No, the most-feared words are, "We are ready to start our Sarbanes-Oxley compliance testing. Is IT ready?"

I recently caught up with the Vice President of Information Technology (I'll call him "VP-IT") at a leading midsized company to hear his candid reflections about dealing with SOX and surviving the "absolute nightmare" of 2004. In the following interview, we explore the successful struggles that followed "being hit like a brick" with what seemed to be very broad-reaching statements found in the SOX legislation.

I recently caught up with the Vice President of Information Technology (I'll call him "VP-IT") at a leading midsized company to hear his candid reflections about dealing with SOX and surviving the "absolute nightmare" of 2004. In the following interview, we explore the successful struggles that followed "being hit like a brick" with what seemed to be very broad-reaching statements found in the SOX legislation.

In the wake of the Enron and WorldCom scandals, a new era of corporate governance has begun, focusing on accountability, responsibility, transparency, and ethical behavior. In the US, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the objective of which is to certify that corporate financial statements are reliable by placing increased personal responsibility on senior management and ensuring that their behavior matches the responsibilities they have accepted.

In the wake of the Enron and WorldCom scandals, a new era of corporate governance has begun, focusing on accountability, responsibility, transparency, and ethical behavior. In the US, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the objective of which is to certify that corporate financial statements are reliable by placing increased personal responsibility on senior management and ensuring that their behavior matches the responsibilities they have accepted.

SOX introduced major changes to the regulation of financial practices and corporate control. The legislation, under the governance of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), provides protection to shareholders and the general public from fraudulent practices and aims to restore investors' confidence in corporate America [6].

SOX introduced major changes to the regulation of financial practices and corporate control. The legislation, under the governance of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), provides protection to shareholders and the general public from fraudulent practices and aims to restore investors' confidence in corporate America [6].

An important characteristic of many agile methodologies in use today is that they emphasize the need for continuous user participation. Users are expected to be regularly available -- even dedicated -- to the IS project and to be colocated with the development team. The user role is critical to the success of these projects.

An important characteristic of many agile methodologies in use today is that they emphasize the need for continuous user participation. Users are expected to be regularly available -- even dedicated -- to the IS project and to be colocated with the development team. The user role is critical to the success of these projects.

Pair programming is a common practice that originated from Extreme Programming (XP), in which two programmers work collaboratively at one computer on the same design, algorithm, or code. The benefits of pair programming on software development are well documented and include improving design quality, reducing defects, lowering staffing risks, enhancing technical skills, and improving team communications [3, 8, 11]. Although pair programming has become increasingly popular, some programmers remain skeptical of pairing.

From quality to management to team building, every organization applies its own nuances to the implementation of business practices. Be it individual leadership style or regulatory mandate, unique interpretations of what's required lead to unique applications of these practices. Risk management is no exception.

From quality to management to team building, every organization applies its own nuances to the implementation of business practices. Be it individual leadership style or regulatory mandate, unique interpretations of what's required lead to unique applications of these practices. Risk management is no exception.

Every organization applies its own nuances to the implementation of business practices. Be it individual leadership style or regulatory mandate, unique interpretations of what's required lead to unique applications of practice. Risk management is no exception.