Fresh Voices
A new look and new voices for <i>Enterprise Systems</i>
- By Linda Briggs
- 02/01/2002
As I hope you've noticed, Enterprise Systems has a new, spruced-up look for 2002—we've redesigned to make it more open and easier to read, and to make information easier to find. In addition, in our first few issues of 2002, we're introducing new voices to the magazine.
We understand that, these days, a good technical manager must speak the language of business fluently. So we've asked veteran tech and business journalist James E. Powell to explain the fundamentals of business in our new Business Basics column—it begins on page 22. Jim will concisely cover a new business concept each month, from bankruptcy to leveraged buyouts to mergers and acquisitions, and show you how to apply that knowledge to IT management.
Our new security columnist, Mathew Schwartz, picks up where the very able Roberta Bragg left off. In his first column, which begins on page 33, Mat reports on the challenges managers face in searching for top-notch security staff. Despite IT layoffs in many areas, certain IT skills, including security, continue to be in high demand. Mat looks at the increased interest since Sept. 11 in staffing up on security workers, and how various companies are handling the challenge. His columns will continue to explore the issues that enterprise managers face in setting security policies and managing the politics of secure systems in large companies.
Our Profiles in IT department is another way in which we're bringing more reader voices into the magazine. In this issue, we profile Kathy Burkle, an IT executive with Philips Electronics. Burkle, faced with difficult cost-cutting measures at Philips, concluded that fixing the bottom line wouldn't be as simple as going for the low-hanging fruit. She discusses ways in which standardization is helping control costs at The Netherlands-based consumer electronics and lighting company. Bob Mueller tells her story, beginning on page 38.
Storage and disaster recovery guru Jon William Toigo continues his popular column on enterprise storage (page 26); we've also launched a weekly e-mail newsletter on this topic. If you're involved in the burgeoning enterprise area of storage planning and purchasing, you're probably faced with sorting through endless product releases, vendor claims and competing standards. Jon can help—sign up for his short weekly insights by clicking here.
We've also added a new senior editor to the staff, Cynthia Morgan. Cynthia comes to us from a long and varied background in technical journalism, including stints at Government Computer News, Byte and Computerworld. Her 20-plus years of experience as a technical consultant, lab director and journalist will serve ES well: "Big iron, and the new systems that do the work of big iron, is one of the most exciting areas of the high tech industry, and one of the hardest to report well. I'm happy to have found a magazine that can do it."
Our new design and fresh columns and departments reflect the continuing evolution of the magazine as we work to deliver information on both the business and technology issues of managing enterprise computing environments. Let us know how we're doing, and what else you'd like to see.
About the Author
Linda Briggs is the founding editor of MCP Magazine and the former senior editorial director of 101communications. In between world travels, she's a freelance technology writer based in San Diego, Calif.