It is a fact that smart people do not always say smart things. In one such case, there was no doubt that the head of development at a veteran Southern California technology company was smart. But that didn't prevent his unfortunate utterance at a 1988 project development review. "Now that we have the requirements signed off," he said, "I don't want to see another customer around here until the project is finished."

In the hierarchy of pressing issues that any technology company faces on a daily basis, insurance probably ranks near the bottom. Like parachutes, air bags, and Social Security, business insurance is a topic that most technology companies push to the back of their institutional consciousnesses, simply hoping that it will be there when it is needed.

In the hierarchy of pressing issues that any technology company faces on a daily basis, insurance probably ranks near the bottom. Like parachutes, air bags, and Social Security, business insurance is a topic that most technology companies push to the back of their institutional consciousnesses, simply hoping that it will be there when it is needed.

We are going through an information technology and communications revolution. Computers are more mobile and more powerful than ever before. Information is shared more easily than ever before. With the press of a keyboard button, information can be sent to multiple countries throughout the world in less than a second. And more opportunities exist to threaten the privacy of personal information than ever before.

We are going through an information technology and communications revolution. Computers are more mobile and more powerful than ever before. Information is shared more easily than ever before. With the press of a keyboard button, information can be sent to multiple countries throughout the world in less than a second. And more opportunities exist to threaten the privacy of personal information than ever before.

In my last two Executive Updates, (Vol. 8, No. 24; Vol. 9, No. 1), I focused on common errors that companies make when they try to implement metrics. I called them the "seven deadly sins" to highlight the fact that many metrics programs either fail or fade out of existence because of one or more of these classic errors.

In the beginning, patents and copyrights were created to encourage people to invest in new inventions, books, and plays that would create new economic opportunities. These patents and copyrights were extended for a limited period to provide the inventors/creators the opportunity to profit from their investment of time, money, and, most importantly, ingenuity.

In the beginning, patents and copyrights were created to encourage people to invest in new inventions, books, and plays that would create new economic opportunities. These patents and copyrights were extended for a limited period to provide the inventors/creators the opportunity to profit from their investment of time, money, and, most importantly, ingenuity.

There was a time when monolithic enterprise application suites appealed to businesses, not only because of their technical capabilities but also because they embodied well-validated business processes. Gradual but profound changes in the business world are altering this outlook, and the application software business is responding.

There was a time when monolithic enterprise application suites appealed to businesses, not only because of their technical capabilities but also because they embodied well-validated business processes. Gradual but profound changes in the business world are altering this outlook, and the application software business is responding.

One area that many EA programs struggle with is demonstrating the value that they bring to an enterprise. A useful way to address this challenge is to think of EA as a service organization; i.e., as providing a service to the enterprise and, in particular, to specific user groups (customers) within the enterprise. To start with this approach, we first identify who the customers are and what service is provided to them.

I'm sick to death of companies that claim they're strategic technology investors when they're actually technology cheap skates. We know from industry analyses that "strategic" technology investors spend around 7%-10% of their gross revenue on technology, while companies that are considered "tactical" investors spend 1%-3% of revenue on technology. (Those in the middle I guess are "operational" investors.)

I'm sick to death of companies that claim they're strategic technology investors when they're actually technology cheap skates. We know from industry analyses that "strategic" technology investors spend around 7%-10% of their gross revenue on technology, while companies that are considered "tactical" investors spend 1%-3% of revenue on technology. (Those in the middle I guess are "operational" investors.)