EDS pushing massive IT retraining effort
Electronic Data Systems has embarked on a mammoth retraining program aimed at providing 20,000 of its 87,000 technical workers with updated business and technology skills by the end of this year.
Stories by Thomas Hoffman
The number crunchers
Mike Scardina has been the chief financial officer for IT at Allstate Insurance for nearly 10 years. But it's only in the past few years that the spotlight on his role has intensified. Allstate's annual technology spending has swelled to more than US$1 billion a year, and Scardina has come under enormous pressure from senior management to help cost-justify the insurer's technology investments.
Oracle's Woods on licensing, multicore servers
The recent introduction of multicore servers -- where two or more processors are embedded on a single chip -- has raised concerns among some enterprise customers that they will have to pay more for the software they license. With that in mind, Computerworld's Thomas Hoffman spoke with Jacqueline Woods, vice president of Oracle's global licensing and pricing strategy, about the introduction of multicore servers and how that might affect Oracle customers.
Feature: The number crunchers
Mike Scardina has been the chief financial officer for IT at Allstate Insurance for nearly 10 years. But it's only in the past few years that the spotlight on his role has intensified. Allstate's annual technology spending has swelled to more than US$1 billion a year, and Scardina has come under enormous pressure from senior management to help cost-justify the Northbrook, Ill.-based insurer's technology investments.
Users moan software price increases for dual-core CPUs
The advent of dual-core processors with two CPUs on a single chip is causing many IT managers to wring their hands over the hefty increases in licensing fees sought by major software vendors.
Enterprises shift from hardware leasing to purchasing
A growing number of enterprise IT customers is shifting IT procurement strategies in favor of purchasing laptops, PCs and servers instead of leasing equipment. The shift comes as interest rates continue to rise and enterprise customers have grown disenchanted with leasing "gotchas" such as penalties for late returns and damages.
SEC deadline delay spells Sarbanes-Oxley relief
As expected, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday announced that it will delay an accelerated filing period for annual reports -- a move expected to help big companies transition more easily to year-end reporting requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Saturation stalls enterprise software market
Six enterprise software vendors that announced weaker-than-expected revenue forecasts for the second quarter this month can blame their shortcomings on several factors, including a saturated market for large customers, according to analysts.
IT governance is on the hot seat
Before Allstate Insurance formed a capital spending committee with IT governance responsibilities about 18 months ago, the process of prioritizing IT projects typically was decided by "whoever spoke the loudest or whoever had the biggest checkbook," said Chief Technology Officer Cathy Brune.
ITM launches integrated suite to manage business of IT
ITM Software this week launched an integrated suite of IT management applications that early users and consultants said is something akin to an ERP system for CIOs.
Grooming tomorrow's leaders
A common career path for technically savvy IT professionals is a step into management. The problem is that very few organizations offer management development programs that are specifically tailored to IT.
IT departments struggle to become more agile
At its Metamorphosis conference in San Diego, Meta Group analysts preached the need for IT departments to become more agile so they can respond faster and more effectively to changing business demands.
Closing the deal
The IT organization at GE Real Estate has automated most of the front-end processes for commercial real estate financing, which means employees can close deals faster and move on to the next ones.
Strong PC replacement cycle expected in 2004
Ever since the economy began to stumble in mid-2000 and companies began trimming IT spending, industry watchers have wondered how long organizations would stretch the lives of their desktop hardware before beginning widescale upgrades.
Business process outsourcing bolsters Accenture
A silver lining for Accenture amid a weak IT spending environment has been strong growth in the so-called business process outsourcing (BPO) market, in which companies offload to a third party management of business functions such as accounts payable or human resources.