InformationWeek Reports : SOA and App Architecture

Strategy: ERP in 2012 and Beyond

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 07:50:24 -0500

It's like a Monty Python skit gone awry: Pundits keep declaring ERP dead, despite the benefits this technology can deliver. Yes, these projects need to be managed closely, but there's still a lot of life left.

Software Licensing: Endure and Triumph

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 11:29:35 -0400

Managing software licensing can seem a lot like climbing an insurmountable summit, but you can make headway. Here's how.

InformationWeek SMB: September 2011

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 04:25:01 -0400

The Hybrid Desktop: New SaaS productivity apps promise to replicate the desktop experience--if you can get past security and data ownership concerns.

Strategy: SaaS Productivity Apps

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 01:06:12 -0400

Google is aggressively pushing its productivity apps as an alternative to Microsoft’s Office/Exchange/SharePoint troika. Microsoft has responded with Office 365, a service that blends online and native apps. Adobe, Zoho and others also offer options. Is any SaaS office suite robust enough to meet your company’s needs? If so, what’s your best bet: browser-based, native or a mix? We help you find an answer, and provide pricing info.

Which ASP.NET Is Better?

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 01:00:46 -0400

It might not be worth moving to ASP.NET MVC.

Fundamentals: HTML5

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 12:16:27 -0400

Native Web applications may enable cool functionality, but it comes at a high cost: Threatening the open Web with irrelevance and perpetuating vendor lock in. Fortunately, some big names are on board with HTML5, from Adobe with its Edge animation tool to Microsoft announcing that Windows 8’s development platform is based on HTML5 and JavaScript. (S3330811)

Beware the SQL Injection

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 10:50:07 -0400

Knowing how attackers find and use the vulnerability will help companies defend against it.

Strategy: SaaS Integration

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 09:31:51 -0400

Application integration has always been a tough problem. Now add to the mix the security challenges of running services off-site and the inherent design restrictions of SaaS—think islands, not designed to exchange data—and things get even trickier. Here are some best practices for making your apps work together for your business, not against it.

Strategy: Cloud SLAs

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 03:36:58 -0400

As enterprises ramp up cloud adoption, service-level agreements play a major role in ensuring quality enterprise application performance. Follow our four-step process to ensure providers live up to their end of the deal.

Research: The OS Mess

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 02:41:40 -0400

Windows is still ubiquitous, but the average company now supports three operating systems, our survey finds. Many are also letting devices based on most any OS connect to the network, often without a clear policy on IT support. Our steps might not make IT popular, but they’ll help the company without stifling employee choice.

Strategy: Master Data Management

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 01:15:31 -0400

Organizations desperately need to gain a “single view” of their customers so they can touch—and manage—all sources of information about themselves, even in CRM, ERP and other application systems. Security and privacy are concerns, and you also have to consider what happens when data is stored on internal, external and cloud systems. The bottom line is, business efficiency can be harmed when customer information is wrong or inconsistent. Here’s how to gain control of your data.

Strategy: Agile Business Analytics

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 09:52:21 -0400

“Agility” is the new favorite IT buzzword, touted as the best way to make sure everything gets done. However, we need to ask ourselves what agility really means for the BI and data warehousing world. Is it a development methodology, a managing methodology, an architecture, a feature set? We’ll look at the elements that are critical for promoting an agile enterprise BI environment.

IT Pro Ranking: Web Security Gateways

Mon, 16 May 2011 01:43:54 -0400

IT pros give high marks to makers of Web security gateways for their ability to block malware. But when it comes to management, there's room for improvement.

IE9 Unlocks HTML5

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 12:27:38 -0400

Browser gives developers a new Web experience.

Research: 2011 Outsourcing Survey

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 09:58:17 -0400

The recent unemployment rate drop to 8.8% may be welcome news for economists, but the reality of IT staffing is less positive: We’re not willing to fight to hire talent, opting instead to outsource more and more. Yet, we’re also not investing in the management tools and skills needed to deliver top-notch services from this hodgepodge of cloud, SaaS and conventional providers and internal IT assets. Someone remind us again why we think this is a good idea?

Research: SaaS 2011

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 03:43:35 -0500

Look for tension between customization and mass appeal as SaaS providers try to keep large customers happy while staying true to the multitenant model.

Strategy: Mobile E-Commerce

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 11:59:52 -0500

As purchases from mobile devices soar past $2 billion in the U.S. alone, more than half the nearly 700 companies we surveyed say they’re deploying mobile applications on smartphones. If you want a piece of the burgeoning mobile commerce business, you need to know which technologies and strategies will serve your company best. This report provides a guide.

Strategy: SaaS and E-Discovery

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 11:54:47 -0500

Information stored in SaaS apps is subject to e-discovery requirements. We help you prepare now—before a lawsuit hits—to ensure you can meet your legal obligations for data that lives off-premises.

Phone 7 Simulates Continuity

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 02:14:52 -0500

Tombstoning is one way Windows Phone 7 stands out.

Strategy: SaaS SSO

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 02:16:49 -0500

As enterprises adopt more SaaS apps and other cloud services, users fall back on bad habits (Post-it Notes, anyone?) to keep track of a growing number of IDs and passwords. We provide guidance for managing this looming security risk. Options include do-it-yourself SSO, password vaults and cloud services built to address the problem.

Research: Application Mobilization

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 03:48:07 -0500

Once a niche area, mobile applications are becoming strategic tools for companies trying to make employees more efficient, better service customers and become more competitive in today’s global markets. Getting to a high level of mobilization, however, is surprisingly difficult. In this report, we’ll showcase some trends and discuss ongoing challenges, such as accommodating multiple mobile platforms, dealing with security and accessing disparate back-end data sources.

Research: 2010 BI and Information Management Survey

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 10:51:16 -0400

If you want to make business intelligence flexible, accessible and easy to deploy, you have to start with hard work in the area of information management.

New Tools, New Challenges

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 10:58:59 -0400

HR teams must deliver more ongoing feedback and analysis on the talent pool--and work more closely with their IT peers.

Web Development Time Saver

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 11:01:49 -0400

IIS 7.5's Application Warm-Up module eliminates delays.

The Web Is the Operating System

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 11:08:14 -0400

We can now build browser-based applications that rival desktop?software in capabilities. Ready, set, innovate.