Business Transformation Requires Transformational Leaders

What do we mean by green computing or sustainability? Does it mean a focus on energy efficiency in the data center through less heat-producing and lower power-consumption server blades? Is it virtualization and shifting computing into the cloud to reduce carbon footprint or reducing paper consumption through new paperless processes?

Capital assets are long-term investments whose ROIs are expected to more than repay their capital. Conventional software components rarely satisfy this definition. A prominent reason is that our industry demands components be used as is, much like physical parts. Yet unlimited malleability is software's greatest asset (and its greatest liability).

The gap between what the business requires and what IT delivers is well recognized. The premise of this two-part Executive Update series is that although approaches such as enterprise architecture go some way toward closing this gap, a fundamental problem remains with the way systems are specified and delivered.

Cloud computing and software as a service (SaaS) have captured plenty of industry and press attention, but they have also created an equal share of confusion and even controversy. While there are solid reasons to be cautious about how to approach these rapidly evolving Web-based alternatives, there is also growing evidence that they are no passing fad.

The first week of July was a momentous occasion in the annals of cybercrime. Coordinated attacks on US and South Korean government systems created charges and countercharges in an international, Internet-based whodunit.

It's no secret that these are tough times. Technology budgets are being slashed over and over again. But the need to develop new products, solve tough R&D problems, creatively improve customer service, and reengineer business processes has never been greater.

Within the world of IT vendors, the gap between rhetoric and reality looms large.

We all know by now that the relationship between the parties of an outsourcing contract is paramount to the success of the deal. While there is a fair bit of advice out there, it is mainly process-oriented (e.g., communicate frequently, plan together, have improvement workshops). But what if you genuinely do not like your counterpart on the other side?