Articles
Love or money?
With IT underpinning so many parts of a business, a CIO carries many responsibilities. Yet the importance of the role is often unrecognised by the board, and the business itself. So what gets a CIO out of bed in the morning? Merri Mack talks to Diane Fernley-Jones, CIO at Leighton Contractors, about the rewards of being a CIO.
[ + ]Adopting the cloud without compromising security
The cloud promises many advantages - dynamic allocation of resources, CAPEX-based pricing and so on. But so far, there are no widely accepted standards for security in a cloud environment, leading some organisations to be wary of the technology. Patrick Eijkenboom, Principal Consultant at NetIQ, discusses best practices for security when adopting cloud computing.
[ + ]Cloud computing drives data centre expansion
Equinix, a carrier-neutral data centre company, has opened its new Sydney data centre. Merri Mack reports on the launch and the continuing demand for local data centres given the growth of cloud computing. [ + ]
Thinkpiece: Do we really need ‘the cloud’?
Nowadays, ‘the cloud’ is a term that’s widely misused. It’s a broad, abstract concept that is frequently applied to many technologies, as though they were the same thing, despite each being radically different from the other. This leads to great confusion and frustration among users, who are growing increasingly cynical of the real value of cloud computing. This begs the question: do we really need the concept of ‘the cloud’?
[ + ]Social media rises in the customer experience mix
Has social media killed off the traditional contact centre? Merri Mack examines the wane of the contact centre and the simultaneous rise of social media as a means of customer service.
[ + ]Learning from the fall of Distribute.IT
On 13 June, Australian web host Distribute.IT revealed that it had been the victim of a malicious hacking attack, one which had irrevocably annihilated the data of 4800-odd websites hosted by the company. Andrew Collins looks at what online storage customers and storage administrators can each learn from the incident.
[ + ]Big data? Big database technologies
As organisations continue to horde massive volumes of data for analysis - producing so-called ‘big data’ - database management technology must evolve to keep up with the challenge. Guy Harrison, head honcho of R&D at Quest Software, explains the technologies that can help cope with these massive data volumes.
[ + ]Insecure software will cost you
Looking to save a few dollars, organisations are putting less and less consideration into security when developing software. While it may pay off in the very short term, it’s almost certain to cost businesses much, much more in the long term, with the cost of dealing with security breaches vastly outstripping the cost of developing secure software in the first place. So opines Rob McAdam, CEO of security consultancy Pure Hacking.
[ + ]Inside the Platform Networks hacking attack
Platform Networks, Australian telco wholesaler and NBN affiliate, last week revealed it had been on the receiving end of a six-month-long hacking attack. Andrew Collins talks to Platform’s managing director, David Hooton, about the disclosure of information on the incident to the Australian Federal Police, and a forthcoming case study on the attack and the company’s defence against it.
[ + ]Big data and cloud computing skills shortages
With the rapid explosion of data volumes occuring around the globe, the IT industry is scrambling for qualified workers to handle the challenges that arise. Merri Mack takes a look at the cloud and ‘big data’ storage certification programs that vendors and universities have to offer.
[ + ]Telecom NZ names Mark Ratcliffe as demerged Chorus CEO
As part of Telecom New Zealand’s proposed functional separation, the company has announced that Mark Ratcliffe would become CEO of infrastructure business spinoff Chorus. [ + ]
Mobility needs an architecture
Giving employees access to data and processes while in the field is becoming increasingly popular. IT often responds to this need by creating device-specific mobile applications for each specific function or process. But as the number of devices and applications grow, this ad hoc approach can become unmanageable. Darren Besgrove, Director at BlinkMobile Interactive, discusses holistic mobile service delivery platforms as an alternative.
[ + ]Do your customers 'Like' you?
Companies are marrying customer service with social media, using the likes of Facebook and Twitter as public and easily accessible avenues for customer support. Is this new movement for every business? And how do you get started? Andrew Collins reports.
[ + ]Give up! Winning the mobility war by conceding
IT is engaged in a costly and lengthy military campaign with mobility. Upper management drafts fleets of new tablets, while users introduce their own mobile devices to the network. All of these must be secured and managed - refusing to do so can cost you your job. So what’s an IT manager to do? According to Joe Sweeney, analyst at IBRS, the only answer is to lay down your arms.
[ + ]Creating a social media strategy
Learn how to use social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as a medium for customer service and support. Andrew Collins takes a look at how your social media customer support channel should operate, how to encourage community growth and which department inside your organisation should take responsibility for social media.
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