Like the ever-present dandelion that seems to take over my lawn each May, we have seen centers of excellence (COEs) popping up all over the IT landscape. And like the persistent weed/flower, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. My daughters think the bright yellow adornments to our lawn are "pretty" and simply don't understand why I work so feverishly each year to eradicate them. Likewise with COEs; some IT professionals embrace them, while others scorn them as a blight on the scenery. For many, it's not so much an objection to the COE concept as it is to the term.