You Can’t Ignore This Any Longer

Cloud and open source have been around for some time - long enough for the term "cloud" to [finally] fade away as a differentiator (it's just assumed!). Still, some continue to dismiss these technologies for their corporate solutions - but it's getting tougher to just ignore this stuff ... Scale? Cloud provider Amazon continues to dominate the market, with five times the market share of all of their competitors combined. The breadth, depth, and scale of some of their customers…

How May I Help You? Four Ways IT Can Deliver Value

Classic lament of IT - I just want get involved, be part of the conversation - I want a seat at the table. Classic lament of everyone else - How can IT deliver value to the business? It sounds like two people reaching for each other - but in the dark. They want to connect, but they don't know how. The problem, of course, is that many - from IT and other areas of the business - default to the…

Post-Acquisition Strategies in Tech Companies

27 January, 2014
M&A, Vendor Management
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Just a brief note on an interesting trend I am seeing with some of my technology partners ... Virtela, an international telecom / data services provider out of Denver, CO was recently acquired by NTT, a massive ($130B) international presence. At our business review meeting last week, we were assured that NTT intends to leave Virtela alone, to operate very much as they have in the past. "NTT bought our people, processes, and services as much as a customer base".…

Successful Projects Start with Good Discussions

Even in the overhyped world of technology, these non-technical issues (resources, cost, time, priorities) are often the root cause of project difficulty and failure. Talking things out up front can save a lot of headaches and disappointment later.

How to be Taken Seriously as a Business Partner

Part of my job consists of working with General Managers & Managing Directors, talking about process and technology projects, and how we might leverage internal and external resources. I am no longer surprised that external consulting groups get more of the interesting and exciting projects - internal IT is often challenged by a lack of "latest and greatest" tech skills (in support of a modern digital strategy), available cycles (to take on the extra work), or communication & marketing skills.…

Strict Rules of Golf – for IT

6 January, 2014
Documentation, Web 2.0
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Years ago, an avid golfer told me about his long-time buddies who, after a few years of playing together, found themselves getting into arguments during play. Through high-school and college, they had been fairly competitive and loved a friendly wager, but they got better as they got older. The money started getting serious - and the squabbles took away from the fun. So they adopted a new Guiding Principle, and began to play strictly according to the USGA Rules of…

Opportunity within End-Of-Year Performance Reviews

I'm working this holiday week to get the majority of the written work completed for my 2013 Performance Reviews; I realize it's something that folks do not enjoy doing, but I see it as an incredibly important effort. I like to think my organization and I are doing a fairly good job of communicating on a regular basis, but the structure and the formality of the annual Review process ensures that we are "on the same page" regarding the critical…

Beware the Lure of Process Automation

When I see folks working hard at a repetitive task, using technology tools like spreadsheets, databases, and other "productivity" tools in a less-than-optimal way, I like to call them out as not being lazy enough. That always gets their attention - it's a bit counter-intuitive, as they masterfully fly over the keyboard to tweak the data, move the files, look up the information, or clear the inbox in the shortest time possible. I think that we should be "lazier" by…

Bootstrap Market Research: Records Retention for Industrial Manufacturers

27 October, 2013
Tech Management
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[Records Retention refers to] the practice of maintaining records for an organization from the time they are created to the time of their disposal. (source: Wikipedia) That last bit is the tricky part; every day at most corporations eMails, spreadsheets, and presentations (collectively: “stuff”) are created, shared, and printed – along with all of the financial and transactional records issuing from the various ERP / accounting systems. Creating stuff is easy – but are we rigorous enough in the “end…

Talking about CyberSecurity with the Board of Directors

13 October, 2013
IT Management
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Practical, tested suggestions and approaches that will help translate cybersecurity technology and process to concepts that will resonate with the Board.