We stressed in our recent Cutter IT Journal article (see "Lessons in Implementing "Green" Business Strategies with ICT," Vol. 21, No. 2) the phenomenal importance of businesses assuming greater responsibility toward the environment than before.

Approximately 24% of end-user organizations indicate they are using data mashups to feed BI, customer relationship management (CRM), and other decision-support applications with data from multiple sources.

Now that the economy is apparently in shambles, it may sound strange to assert that every business now needs to rethink its IT vision. Yet now's the time, for in chaos there often is opportunity.

I was drinking coffee and talking agile with colleague and Cutter Senior Consultant Ken Collier the other morning, and the topic turned to project management or, more precisely, agile project managers.

A large part of the problem has been, of course, the failure to recognize that there was a financial contagion cooking in the Wall Street financial jungle. Like the beginnings of a pandemic that is not recognized, once the contagion started to take hold, it was just too late.

"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times."

-- Charles Dickens

The good news: The American presidential election is finally over.

Many of the major trends occurring in the industry are related to technology delivery through alternative forms of outsourcing. Alternative delivery models are all the rage. Software as a service (SaaS), hardware as a service (HaaS), storage as a service, and communications as a service all have a familiar on-demand/pay-by-the-drink ring.

We must remember that a budget is a plan and plans are a stated intention for some future action. In other words, when we plan, we are attempting to make our actions and resources meet some future need or goal.

"Architecture is a verb" -- Anonymous

by Joseph Sarkis, Jacob Park, and Zhaohui Wu

Here's an interesting finding: approximately 18% of end-user organizations indicate that they are using or developing embedded or "process-aware" BI analytics.

To give you a clear understanding of the journey through the contemporary world of project management and of becoming an exemplary project manager, we can make a strong parallel with the idea of being a cook or a chef. There is a difference. You can learn to be a cook and be able to routinely follow the recipes of others, or you can learn to be a chef and be able to create recipes for cooks to follow.

Strategic orientation toward customers and innovation needs to be grounded, understood, and directed in response to the business strategic plan. Businesses that develop a comprehensive strategic plan will have the insight to know which strategic-orientation mode will best help them reach their goals.

I read with interest recent Advisors by Cutter Senior Consultants Jens Coldewey and Bartek Kiepuszewski (see "An Agile View of Software Engineering," 16 October 2008, and "Put Agile Projects on Firm Foundation -- System Analysts' Responsibility," 2 October 2008).

Virtual worlds are brave new worlds on the Web. These three-dimensional, interactive Web environments can deliver an immersive experience that is much richer than what we currently experience with the traditional Web.

Now that the economy is apparently in shambles, it may sound strange to assert that every business now needs to rethink its IT vision. Yet now's the time, for in chaos there often is opportunity.

Over the past few months, I've discussed in several of my EA Advisors cloud computing as well as the various issues that go with it. Basically, I've said that security is the chief concern typically cited by end-user organizations when it comes to cloud-based applications and services.

In the current economic climate, IT organizations will have to cut costs just as other lines of business will. One potential alternative that IT organizations may consider are open source tools and applications. The open source alternative is especially valid when an organization is beginning a new project, but it is also a valid option when the IT organization wants to cut costs in an existing project or activity.

Last week, former Chairman of the US Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan addressed the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in an attempt to explain what he believes led to the biggest meltdown of the financial industry since the Great Depression.

Getting noticed by search engines is a problem common to all rich Internet applications (RIAs).

Search engines were not built with RIAs in mind, and they are not able to index RIA content. This is not a big problem for internal applications, but if you want Web-surfing prospects to find your RIA-based Web site, you have to make it visible to searches.

I read with interest Jens Coldewey's recent Advisor (see "An Agile View of Software Engineering," 16 October 2008), as well as some others like it that come from the agile community these days. I agree with the principles of agile, that it can be considered an alternative draft of software engineering.

Everyone, eventually, gets somewhat comfortable. Be it with a car, a chair, a project, a job, or a business strategy, human nature drives us to strive for a comfort zone. Unfortunately, that's not a healthy place to be. We all remember 9/11, but it is with a memory that has been softened for many by the passage of time.

Often, I get into discussions with clients and students about IT planning and portfolio management. Recently, I had a discussion that touched one of my most serious concerns: an extremely short turnaround on strategic projects. Here's how the conversation goes:

Systems manager: "If we can't get an ROI of 18 months or less, we just don't do it!"

Collective Intelligence (CI) is an emergent, pervasive, and very complex phenomenon resulting from the interaction of all the other existing social and technological advances currently taking place.

I remember the phone call well. My boss asked for a 13% reduction in budget quickly. A bit numb, my first reaction was to object, but the tone in his voice suggested that I shouldn't. I had to let a day pass to get over the emotional reaction and then I got to work. How can I cut costs without making my future a living hell?