Albuquerque Public Schools CIO Tom Ryan believes IT can do more than help teachers and administrators; he says technology has the power to actually transform how schools teach and how students learn. A former teacher and principal, Ryan is putting that belief into practice. As CIO of the largest K-12 district in New Mexico, with 139 schools and nearly 90,000 students, Ryan delivers IT services to the district's administration and teachers. He advocates for an education system where technology doesn't merely deliver content electronically but creates a new standard of individualized learning available 24/7 to teachers as well as students, their families, guardians and mentors.
You can't run a company without technology, but you can't invest in technology without the blessings of the finance department. And thanks to the long-stagnant economy, the pendulum of power between finance and IT is swinging decidedly toward the chief financial officer's door these days.
Even in a recession, Bobbie Wilbur is always trolling for good people to fill IT positions at her tech services firm in Oakland, Calif.
There were no big brainstorming sessions, rah-rah team meetings or executive committees convened to devise a plan to drive FiOS TV customers away from using call centers in favor of self-service ordering, the more cost-effective option.
CIO Asif Ahmad believes good managers aren't the ones who can do it all.
Information technology consultant Dena L. Smith lays out a hypothetical dilemma: Should an IT department hire a more expensive vendor because the vendor shares its own company's ethics standards, or should it go with a lower-cost provider that doesn't?
Imagine a world where your phone is smart enough to order and pay for your morning coffee. No more giving orders, handing over your payment or waiting in lines. No more face-to-face chit-chat or human interaction.
Can signing a standard workplace document derail your career plans? Yes, says Jerry Luftman, executive director of graduate IS Programs at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J. He says a former student almost lost out on a big break because he had signed a noncompete agreement, a contract that prohibits employees from doing certain work for a set period of time following the end of their current job.
A plunging stock market, crumbling budgets, layoffs and restructurings: So much of today's news is bad, so much of it can adversely affect your career, and so much of it is maddeningly beyond your control.
Aaron Yu wants to share his enthusiasm for Kiva, a nonprofit microfinancing organization. He sees Facebook as a prime way to do that.
It's a scary new world, but IT leaders who adjust can still deliver prosperous projects.
Doctors have long had a tradition of holding "grand rounds" to discuss patient cases and educate aspiring physicians.
The road to thought leadership is fraught with peril. Here are some things to consider before you get behind the lectern.
Now more than ever, experience outside IT counts.
When Marcia C. Brier gets a dreaded error message on her PC at MCB Communications, she knows she's on her own. Her IT department is nonexistent, as is the case at most small businesses.