UC systems, which already come with built-in IP integration, are gradually taking on the characteristics of a more distributed, embedded architecture that fits nicely within the peer-to-peer, software-driven, Web-enabled networking that IP allows.
To cope with burgeoning data and its management, a naming system is exactly where we need to begin—to enable truly effective storage management.
One thing's for certain: Your IT department's need for storage will continue to grow. The questions are: Should you invest in SAN or NAS? Will there ever be a time when these two technologies will merge into one?
Like it or not, instant messaging (IM) is one communication tool that's here to stay. Many users are ecstatic about IM: It's quicker than e-mail and less intrusive than the telephone. It's also riddled with security challenges.
What exactly is .NET? A consultant with a leading IT services firm I recently spoke with likened Microsoft's .NET vision to "a spell-checker for rent over the Internet for Word." Another analyst views it as a Windows-preservation strategy in a world moving to Web services—and potential platform independence. Maybe Microsoft hasn't done a good job explaining .NET, or maybe the software giant wants to keep the concept in a formless state until it sees what the market is willing to pay for.
101 is taking some of the strongest and most popular portions of <i>ES</i> and rolling them into a new publication that will focus on business intelligence.
Offsite classroom training is the most effective form of IT teaching when it comes to retaining learned material. Classroom training outside the office is also the most preferred learning method among managers, who like their training at a traditional speed in a place separate from the workplace.
Users want to go beyond messaging with sophisticated call management and mobile access that saves time and makes them more productive. Here's what IT needs to know.
Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline PLC uses p-to-p software to share data with its partners.
To consolidate over 300 servers in three data centers, the Bank of Montreal turned to IBM, Inrange Technologies and StorageTek.
What do you get when you cross a peer-to-peer (p-to-p) network (mostly used for trading pirated music and pornography) with a highly redundant server cluster (mostly used for mission-critical applications in Fortune 500 companies)? The answer: grid computing.
Working with consulting firm Arthur D. Little and optimization software vendor Strategic Systems International Ltd., the United States Steel Corp. (USX) opened its own "virtual service center" to help locate suitable inventory and distribute it as cost-effectively as possible.
Managers of IT professionals have a lot on their plates these days: limited budgets, undersized staffs, cybersecurity threats. But their relatively low popularity among peers and subordinates might be the largest, most ubiquitous obstacle.
Looking for something hefty to smack down on the boss's desk the next time he or she starts talking about moving more of the datacenter to open systems or even—gulp—Windows?
It seems that over the past few years, XML's mindshare has moved from "Interesting idea, but will it ever catch on?" to "Absolutely the way to go for any kind of data interchange."
Despite a tough year in the enterprise server market, big systems continue to show growth—thanks largely to IBM's zSeries. Sun and HP, among others, are in hot pursuit.
Halloween is upon us once again and plenty of parents are girding themselves for that familiar unease at seeing their children dressed up to panhandle candy from relative strangers. Allowing your kids to roam outside in the dark, of course, is increasingly worrisome. As a parent, my pulse beats a bit faster until all of my kids are home safe in their beds.
Datacenters are leveraging maturity and turbulence in the high-end server market to wring more from enterprise data while stretching IT dollars for additional MIPS.
Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, are hot these days, and vendors know it. Here's a look at the trends and technologies shaping these private networks that use the very public Internet.
Avoid RFP nightmares with three simple but effective project-management best practices: Communicate, Coordinate, Cooperate.
Is your security plan working? A study suggests that whatever your company is doing right now, it probably isn't enough.
Mention the phrase "enterprise modernization" and you might think of cars with long tail fins. The phrase is IBM's latest way of describing its tools and services for redeploying legacy applications into new e-business-type environments. Recently I talked with IBM executives about the meaning of modernization at IBM and its implications to the vendor's huge base of mainframe, midrange and large Unix sites.
Wireless asset tracking at a DaimlerChrysler body panel plant is saving money and encouraging other plants to roll out the same system.
Wireless, e-procurement, server consolidation and innovative storage solutions, among others, are examples of emerging and evolving technologies.
Using network management software to address the problem of software bloat, Central Maine Power has found a simple, cost-effective way to reduce network management costs statewide to a quarter of what they were.
Thanks to an increased emphasis on ROI and employee re-training, plus reduced budgets and apprehension about employee travel since Sept. 11, e-learning is growing.
A sophisticated weather system at The Weather Channel is managing a huge stream of data to be channeled from storage to TV, radio, Internet , PDAs and cell phones.
Mobility has become a way of life and work, a fact not lost on wireless vendors as they increasingly target the business applications market. The result is a chaotic grassroots revolution sweeping enterprises, much like the PC revolution of the 1980s and 90s
An e-business procurement solution at office-products company Corporate Express results in smooth online transactions for $4 million worth of products a day.
Looking for some new ways that IT departments have made smash hits to their companies' bottom lines? No action super-heroes, no razzle-dazzle special effects here—just real-world projects that drew rave reviews.
It's not always the threat of security breaches from the outside that needs your attention. Sometimes the problem comes from inside your company, and it isn't always intentional.
The development of CIM appears to be taking on momentum.
Most men and women technologists feel working conditions for female IT professionals have either stayed the same or improved in the last two years.
From networking intrusion to virus detection, the basic security paradigms really haven't changed much in the past.
Server consolidation in the U.S. Air Force is reducing the sheer number of servers, increasing security, and returning hoards of network admins to their real jobs.
The city of San Diego's goal is to build private sector accountability and efficiency into the public sector, including IT integration projects.
To a greater degree than most companies, the business success of Reston, Va.-based AdvanceMed is directly linked to the smooth operation of its storage infrastructure.