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CIO's 50 Most Popular Articles

From programming language dos and don'ts to must-have BlackBerry tips and downloads to expert advice on how to be more successful, take a look at the most popular articles from January through March.

April 18, 2008 — CIO —

You Used Perl to Write WHAT?!

Every programming language has its strengths...and its weaknesses. We identify five tasks for which perl is ideally suited, and four that...well, really, shouldn't you choose something else?

How to Identify Bad CIOs in Their Natural Habitat

Bad CIOs are a blight on the IT profession and on the organizations that employ them. The following list of behaviors common among bad CIOs will prevent you from hiring them into your organizations. If they're already there, it will give you good reason to eliminate them.

Six Free BlackBerry Downloads You Don't Want to Miss

Get the most out of your RIM BlackBerry smartphone without ever opening your wallet. Check out the following six free downloads.

20 Things You Can Do in 20 Minutes to Be More Successful at Work

There are things you can do in just 20 minutes that can have a meaningful and even a long-term, positive effect on your IT organization, your career, your technology knowledge, your management skills and your relationship with the business. We've gathered 20 of the best ideas we could find.

Best BlackBerry Shortcuts: Aflac's Mobile Guru Shares Tips

Aflac's BlackBerry guru shares power tips and tricks for your RIM smartphone. Here's how to improve your typing, messaging, browsing, attachment handling and more.

You Used Ruby to Write WHAT?!

Deciding when to use any language—including Ruby—depends on the appropriateness to task and the amount of yak shaving necessary. Zed Shaw explains when Ruby's MRI or JRuby is the best language for the job, and when it really isn't.

You Used Python to Write WHAT?

Python is a powerful, easy-to-use scripting language suitable for use in the enterprise, although it is not right for absolutely every use. Python expert Martin Aspeli identifies when Python is the right choice, and when another language might be a better option.

How to Be a Supremely Productive Person: A Chat With John Halamka

John Halamka has two CIO titles, a family, passionate rock-climbing and wine-making interests and a major-league blog habit. We discuss his celebrity turn in a BlackBerry ad, his tips for e-mail triage, how he sleeps three hours a night and why he now understands Britney Spears.

Why You Need a Project Management Office (PMO)

Companies seeking more efficiency and tighter monitoring of IT projects are opening project management offices (PMO) in growing numbers.

It Worked For Me: Career Advice from Top CIOs

CIOs from FedEx, Campbell's Soup, Carlson and other top companies share the advice that helped them get ahead.

The Hiring Manager Interviews: David Price Knows Exactly What He Wants and Needs from Candidates for His IT Department

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society's EVP of internal operations looks for personable individuals with good communication skills, energy, curiosity and experience managing large-scale systems.

How to Get Real About Strategic Planning

Everyone agrees that having a strategic plan for IT is a good thing, but most CIOs approach the process with fear and loathing. In fact, the majority of CIOs (and the enterprises they work for) are faking it when it comes to strategic planning. Isn't it time we all got real?

What It's Like to Be a First-Time CIO

A 10-year veteran of corporate America gets a major dose of culture shock when he moves into his first CIO job at a privately held technology company.

10 Outsourcing Predictions for 2008 (and One to Grow On)

From widening currency gaps to industry mergers and acquisitions to an expanding range of outsourcing services and destinations, the new year should keep IT service providers and customers on their toes.

How to Network: 12 Tips for Shy People

Schmoozing is a trial for shy people, but armed with these common-sense tips they can increase their networking mojo.

You Used PHP to Write WHAT?!

PHP may be the most popular Web scripting language in the world. But despite a large collection of nails, not every tool is a hammer. So when should it be used, and when would another dynamic programming language be a better choice? We identify its strengths and weaknesses.

SharePoint 2007 Demystified: How to Cash in on Collaboration Tools

Previous versions of Microsoft's collaboration tools lacked management prowess. SharePoint 2007 fixes that problem and packs in a sometimes confusing array of features from workflow to search. Here's how smart IT leaders are making this often-misunderstood product work for them.

How to Ace an Executive-Level Job Interview

Tips and techniques for answering common interview questions, making a good first impression during the interview and for following up.

10 Reasons IT Should Not Support the Apple iPhone

Forrester Research says IT departments should refuse to support Apple iPhones, even if CEOs are the ones asking to use the devices for access to corporate networks and systems.

Portfolio Management Done Right

Portfolio management is a tool with clear benefits, among them a holistic view of IT projects across the enterprise and the alignment of IT with corporate strategy. But it isn't easy. We've found some portfolio managers willing to share their secrets.

Getting Clueful: 7 Things CIOs Should Know About Agile Development

Agile methodologies for software projects can help organizations create better software faster. Yeah, yeah, you've heard that before. Here, experienced programmers explain the key ingredients to make those goals achievable.

How Wal-Mart Lost Its Technology Edge

Two decades ago, the world's number-one retailer used IT to reinvent global supply chains. The world caught up and now Web 2.0 technologies are forcing retailers to pay more attention to customers. No longer a leader, Wal-Mart's IT is at a crossroads.

Virtualization in the Enterprise Survey: Your Virtualized State in 2008

Users are working hard to manage complex IT environments while figuring out how far they can push server virtualization without sacrificing application service levels, according to CIO's first survey on virtualization.

Why ERP Systems Are More Important Than Ever

CIOs remain committed to ERP systems despite innovation, integration and cost issues. Why? Business can't live without it.

Eight Financial Reasons Why You Should Use Mac OS

Mac OS is the hands-down operating system winner, from the perspective of cost effectiveness.

Seven Tips for Pursuing a New Career Outside IT

Life in IT can be thankless, but you don't have to suffer. A 25-year IT veteran turned professional coach offers advice on how she and many other technical professionals found fulfillment and fortune outside IT.

You Used JavaScript to Write WHAT?

The key to understanding when (and when not) to deploy JavaScript has as much to do with the intent of the target application as it does JavaScript itself.

Windows vs. Linux vs. OS X

CIO John Halamka reviews the desktop operating system contenders in search of the next-generation office computer.

Taming the Abrasive Manager: Words from the Boss Whisperer

Bully boss in your office? Here are some tips and advice for senior management.

The Hidden Costs of Offshore Outsourcing

Moving IT work overseas can be a much more expensive proposition than you may think.

Six Techniques to Get More from the Web than Google Will Tell You

Google is great, but it can't always tell you what makes a website or source of research material authoritative. Professional librarians and researchers explain where to look online to find the professional, technical and industry expertise you need.

How to Build Your Own Wikipedia

Wikis are useful business tools. With planning and some staff time, you can make your own online collection of useful articles, tailored to your organization's needs, to communicate about business processes, manage collective know-how and more.

10 Virtualization Vendors to Watch in 2008

Now that you're knee-deep in virtualization, what products will help you manage and secure it? These 10 virtualization vendors should be on your radar screen.

Running an Effective Teleconference or Virtual Meeting

Virtual teams are becoming commonplace, but the old rules for running a meeting don't necessarily apply. Managers need to learn new skills to keep people engaged and to use the time (and technology) effectively. These tips will make your next remote meeting a success.

Staff Retention: The Power of Appreciation at Work

Empowering employees at all levels to do their best work can begin with something as simple as positive feedback and other gestures that show their efforts are appreciated. And it can help reduce staff turnover.

Balanced Scorecard Demonstrates IT Value

You can't tell when you're winning if you don't keep score. The Balanced Score helps track your hits and misses.

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Telecommuting

CareGroup CIO John Halamka takes an in-depth look at the policies and technologies necessary for supporting flexible work arrangements.

20 USB Gizmos That Have No Place in the Enterprise (But You'll Love Just the Same)

In the spirit of summer, we compiled a list of 20 USB-powered gadgets with very little business value—but that still tickle us pink.

Enterprise Showdown: Who's Better? Oracle or SAP?

Enterprise software's fiercest competitors (and their illustrious leaders) face off in a head-to-head battle to see who rules the corporate IT world.

How Master Data Management Unified Financial Reporting at Nationwide Insurance

As Nationwide grew, its data became siloed and scattered, making it increasingly difficult for the company to get an accurate picture of its finances. Here's how it brought all that data into focus.

Nine Things Managers and Employees Need to Know About Layoffs

Whether you're showing employees to the door or being shown the door, you must avoid legal trouble. Veteran Employment Attorney Jay Warren shares the top layoff mistakes that companies make and outlines employee rights at pink-slip time.

Four Reasons Macs Are Getting More Love

A greater number of professors at Oregon State are relying on Apple Macs. Here's why.

The State of the CIO 2008: The CIO's Time to Shine

The value CIOs can bring to the enterprise is limited only by their energy and imagination...and sometimes by organizations that just don't get it.

Nestle's Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Odyssey

Nestle USA's costly and protracted struggle with its SAP project is a cautionary tale for any company intent on an enterprisewide implementation.

Six Quick Projects for IT Career Advancement

Want to move ahead? These simple tips will help you maximize your ROI on everything from management to hiring practices to job changes and more.

The Truth About Software as a Service (SaaS)

Vendors say software as a service will cut costs and increase efficiency. They say it's enterprise ready. Does that sound too good to be true? It is.

Nike Rebounds: How (and Why) Nike Recovered from Its Supply Chain Disaster

Nike lost money, time and a measure of pride when its demand-planning software led it astray. How did it recover? Patience, perseverance and, most important, an understanding of what it was trying to accomplish in the first place.

Understanding the Project Management Office

Excellence in project management is essential, but PMOs can do as much harm as good. Here we examine the fundamentals and scope a proper role for a PMO.

Gen Y, Gen X and the Baby Boomers: Workplace Generation Wars

As Boomer bosses relinquish the reins of leadership to Generation X, both are worrying about Generation Y. For the good of the enterprise, everyone needs to do a better job of getting along.

 

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