June 17, 2013

Guide for Applying the Risk Management Framework to Federal Information Systems
The intent of this common framework is to improve information security, strengthen risk management processes, and encourage reciprocity among federal agencies. This publication, developed by the Joint Task Force Transformation Initiative Working Group, transforms the traditional Certification and Accreditation (C&A) process into the six-step Risk Management Framework (RMF).


Redefining Hot and Cold Data
Data warehouses that could accomplish the feat of defining and managing data aging policies then had to script, code, automate, schedule, verify and monitor that the entire process was working correctly in production. Most of the time, data architects would take a simplified approach of identifying data classes (or use fewer storage tiers) to make this process achievable.


Meet Google's 'Project Loon': Balloon-powered Net access
In addition to providing access to the two out of every three people on earth ... another goal of the Google[x] team behind Project Loon is to help with maintaining communications following natural disasters. The solar-powered, remote-controlled balloons would navigate stratospheric winds 20 kilometers above the surface of the earth, well above the altitude where most planes travel. Similar to the way satellite internet works, the balloons would communicate with special antennas and receiver stations on the ground.



Why Strategies Fail
After all, a lot of smart, educated, motivated people try hard to make them succeed. In this 30-minute speech, delivered at a conference (sponsored by The IE Group) of Chief Strategy Officers in New York City on December 9, 2011, you will learn some surprising, thought-provoking answers. The speaker is Mark Chussil, Founder and CEO of Advanced Competitive Strategies, Inc.


Don’t Just Cut “IT” Costs, Optimise…….
Round two of IT cost optimization is a story of big changes, strategic shifts, improved IT management practices, rightsizing IT service levels, “doing less with less,” better IT demand management and taking advantage of what new IT services the marketplace has to offer. Gartner sees four areas of opportunity for cost optimisation, ranked by level of difficulty as well as their potential to deliver valu


Federal Cloud Computing Strategy
Cloud computing offers the government an opportunity to be more efficient, agile, and innovative through more effective use of IT investments, and by applying innovations developed in the private sector If an agency wants to launch a new innovative program, it can quickly do so by leveraging cloud infrastructure without having to acquire significant hardware, lowering both time and cost barriers to deployment


IT Heads have been given a mandate of influencing the non-IT functions and business groups
The clear road map for future CIOs is to be the change and bring about change within their organisations. The new arena of technology includes data deluge, big data, agility, security, cloud etc., which are providing the necessary impetus to the IT leaders in making a transformation and driving innovation.


How to prevent code rot
A system that needs periodic attention indicates poorly designed automation, ... if the systems are neglected for too long, they fall apart. In software development, we call that code rot. When nobody pays attention to a section of working code, it suddenly doesn’t work any more. ... This happens so frequently that it almost doesn’t surprise us any more. The code didn’t change itself (at least, most code can’t do that), so how did this happen?

Has the CIO lost Big Data?
Should CIOs cede the Big Data battle and let CMOs take charge of these types of initiatives? After all, there is an abundance of recent precedents for Marketing taking over technically oriented initiatives, from the early days of the web, to marketing automation, to social media. While it may be tempting to let Big Data slip from IT’s fingertips, Big Data will be a cornerstone of future enterprise technology, and is an area where the CIO can add demonstrable value.


There is a Cowboy in my Domain! - Implementing Domain Driven Design Review and Interview
Many more people want to do Domain Driven Design (DDD) than understand how to use it. Vernon tackles this issue by guiding his readers through DDD’s principles, illustrating the importance and correct execution for each one. By providing a myriad of teaching techniques such as code samples, rules of thumb, a case study that progresses throughout the book, and ‘good ole cowboy logic’, IDDD reaches a level of accessibility that enables even the uninitiated to achieve an excellent understanding of DDD.



Quote for the day:

"Determination gives you the resolve to keep going in spite of the roadblocks that lay before you." -- Denis Waitley

June 16, 2013

Parallel Keynote: 8 Lines of Code
Greg Young is an independent consultant and entrepreneur. He is always involved with many concurrent projects, currently these include building out a distributed event store and mighty moose (a continuous test runner). In this InfoQ presentation, he discusses eight lines of very common code finding in them massive numbers of dependencies and difficulties, looking for ways to get rid of them.


Big Data: Rethinking the Platform
IT infrastructure teams will need to work with a wide range of other IT professionals in order to build big data platforms. This multidiscipline approach must also include a careful focus on the economics of the projects. Costs to consider include hardware, software, implementation, the risk of delays and problems, and the opportunity cost of not being able to run with other IT projects.


What You Need to Know about IT Asset Disposition
At the completion of the IT asset disposition process, assets are usually either resold or recycled. How they reach this final disposition, however, is rife with risk, if the process is not planned properly. The following are three risks associated with IT asset disposition that enterprises should account for in their risk management planning.

Why Google fears the totalitarian connotations of the buzzword big data.
Yet digging around a little, it looks to me like Google has all but banned “big data” from its communication with consumers. So far as I can determine, neither Google’s founders, Page and Sergey Brin, nor its chairman Eric Schmidt, have ever uttered the words big data in public (please correct me in the comments section if I’m wrong). A search of Google’s press releases also turns up exactly zero occurrences of the term.


ITSM Software is not a Silver Bullet
Our IT organization must define all the service management processes and procedures to meet the organization and business needs, but in many cases we do not know what they are, and we don’t have the time and/or expertise to do it. Of course, the consultants end up working in a vacuum with no access to in-house expertise, but still need to produce something quickly, so we end up with ‘stock’ generic processes that don’t match the way our IT is setup.


Expectations of Risk Management Outpacing Capabilities – It’s Time For Action
The Risk Management challenges are growing faster than most organizations' abilities to respond: today's complex environment requires an even stronger capability to master and optimize risk management. This is the main finding of a large-scale study of risk conducted by KPMG International, based on a global survey of 1,092 C-level respondents that was deployed by the Economist Intelligence Unit in December 2012.


Here’s Why Strategy Is So Misunderstood
Tactics, often mistaken for strategy, are the last piece of the puzzle that includes goals/objectives and strategies. Tactics are the ever-important short term decisions and activities that win battles and contribute to winning the war. In traditional manufacturing companies, sales departments know tactics better than most other functions because sales people work with tactics every day.


Inside the mind of a successful Android developer
As the founder of Cloud.tv, Christoff created the popular HD Widgets utility for Android, which is currently the 13th most popular paid app on the platform. His two-man startup has grown into a seven-person company now focused solely on Android development. JR Raphael had the chance to chat with Christoff about his experiences working with Android, both positive and negative, and the revelation that helped him turn a once-small side project into a booming full-time business.


New Categories for Data Center Best Practices (Part 3)
In this final installment, the focus shifts to high temperature ambient (HTA) data center operation. Once again, the advancements inenergy management are accelerating the momentum of an exciting trend by giving IT and facilities teams the oversight and controls necessary to minimize the associated risks.


An overview of High Availability and Disaster Recovery solutions available for SQL Server
With the more recent releases of SQL 2012 and Windows 2012, we are seeing the landscape of available options for SQL HA/DR specific architectures is improving significantly. Below is a summary of the high availability and disaster recovery solutions available for a SQL environment.



Quote for the day:

"Instead of looking for reasons to complain, look for ways to laugh." -- Ralph Marston

June 15, 2013

Intel wants to be your new cable provider
Intel this year plans to sell a set-top box and Internet-based streaming media service that will bundle TV channels for subscribers ... Intel's set-top box will also have a camera with recognition technology similar to that used in Microsoft's Kinect box. However, unlike Kinect, Intel's box won't track motion. It's more about identifying users and bringing up preset configurations on the box, Carvill said.


Data Design Is Not Optional
By applying a disciplined approach to the creation of these structures to store information it is possible to more easily make use of it, to find what one needs and to bring information from different systems together. This, in brief, is the practice of data modeling; and it serves a number of key functions:


3 Rules Every Entrepreneur Should Live By
With Agile, you simply are not allowed to assume everything is ok unless you hear otherwise. The point is to forever question whether you are still on the best path as a team and as a company given all the new input you receive each day. ... One of the toughest new skills I needed to learn with Agile was the willingness to question even the most basic of assumptions.


US cloud providers may have a harder time in Europe following NSA revelations
The debate over U.S. access to cloud data that the Patriot Act helped fuel has once again become a hot topic in the wake of revelations about surveillance programs such as Prism, under which the U.S. government is said to have access to data on servers supplied by Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo, Apple and Skype.


Why mentorship is the gift that keeps on giving
Mentors have the ability to accelerate the growth of others through their generous sharing of their perspectives, time, insights, coaching and experience. Is this a selfless act of service? Not even remotely. Savvy mentors stand to gain as much from the experience as do the proteges they guide and frequently a lot more. Are you on the fence about becoming a mentor? Consider these six ways you can personally benefit from the process.


CIOs Bullish on Cloud Benefits, But Worry About SaaS Data Silos
“Attitudes about using the cloud for business benefits are largely positive. Their biggest worry is the need to integrate their data between their different apps. SaaS solutions are just so easy to bring in, companies worry they might be creating silos of data,” Host Analytics’ CIO, Richard Broome, told IDN. ... BI makes sense as a way to solve a SaaS-sprawl of data silos, when one considers the business use cases, Broome added.


15 JavaScript Web UI library
Almost all of the rich Web applications are based on one or more Web UI library or framework, these UI library and framework greatly simplifies the development process, and to bring consistent, reliable, and highly interactive user interface. This article describes the 15 very powerful JavaScript Web UI library, ideal for a variety of all sizes-rich Web application development.


Business Architecture Making a Difference in their Organizations
Business architecture is still new enough that highly successful practices are difficult to find. Most organizations are struggling to get off the ground and gain traction. However, we can learn a lot from the currently successful trail blazers. Powerful business architecture practices – those making a significant difference in their organizations:


NASA CIO unable to implement effective IT governance
"We found that the complexity of the board structure and a lack of documentation and training to explain the interrelationship of the boards has led to confusion among agency IT personnel about the roles and responsibilities of the boards and diminished their value to the governance process," write report authors. It's also unclear what issues and initiatives must go before the boards for approval, so IT managers instead rely on informal relationships to move projects forward, says OIG.


SLAs crucial for cloud security
Morgan notes that chief accountability for data security will always rest with the enterprise itself. However, careful selection of the cloud service provider and the SLAs in place can help to mitigate any risks. ... “You need to look before you leap. There are few service providers who can do it properly.” Morgan says enterprises should assess what the cloud solution was built for – ask: is it for test and development only, or can we put production workloads in the cloud?



Quote for the day:

"Without courage, you cannot practice any of the other virtues." -- Maya Angelou,