Offering regional and national programs, CIO (and CSO) events bring together some of the most respected names and thought leaders in information technology and security. Presented by CIOs and other senior level executives, these invitation-only programs offer timely topics and strong networking. Learn More »
Webcast: In the Google Apps Cloud: How to Achieve Your Business Objectives
Dec 3rd, '09, 1 - 2 pm US/Eastern (GMT-5)
Join Council member Brent Hoag, Director, Global IT, at JohnsonDiversey, as he discusses the adoption of Google Apps which has helped meet four corporate goals; sustainability, simplification, increased employee productivity and global collaboration.
Webcast: Collaboration Initiatives: Benchmarks & Best Practices
Dec 15th, '09, 4 - 5 pm US/Eastern (GMT-5)
Join Council members Ruth Thorpe, VP & CIO at the U.S. Pharmaceutical Operations of Sanofi-Aventis, and Gary Kuyper, CIO at Bethany Christian Services, as they speak about their collaboration initiatives and experiences in how and why they chose the social networking and collaboration tools they are using and their business goals for collaboration, and facing culture change challenges.
Data Overview: Collaboration Initiatives Field Guide: Benchmarks & Best Practices
This appendix to the Council Field Guide provides an analysis which discusses benchmarks for collaboration IT implementation costs, adoption rates and payoffs. The overview identifies top IT and business goals and satisfaction rates for collaboration initiatives as well as best practices and lessons learned for implementing collaboration IT.
Learn more about the CIO Executive Council »December 02, 2008 — IDG News Service —
Nanchang, the capital of China's eastern Jiangxi province, has required Internet cafe operators to replace pirated server software with licensed versions. Cafes that don't will lose their license to operate, but some are grumbling about the cost of installing legitimate software.
"What has the world come to, when no leaders will come forward to speak out on behalf of Internet owners like us," wrote one user on a Jiangxi discussion forum (in Chinese).
"When you talk to officials from the Culture Department, they tell you, 'If you're willing to pay, pay; if not, you have the option not to pay.' Hearing words like that turns your heart cold. We really can't make a living," the user said.
Chinese news reports estimated that up to 600 Internet cafes in Nanchang, a city of around 4 million people, are affected by the order, which aims to stamp out the use of pirated software in local Internet cafes.
Despite Western news reports that Nanchang officials aim to stop Internet cafes from using legitimate copies of Windows, the government order for Internet cafes to install legitimate software appears to affect only users running pirated software and suggests Windows as one option for purchasing licensed software.
"We recommend the use of Red Flag Linux server operating system or Microsoft Windows Server operating system," said the directive issued by Nanchang's Cultural Department on Oct. 22. Copies of the order (page 1, page 2 and page 3, (in Chinese) were posted online by Chinese Internet users.
Officials at Nanchang's Cultural Department could not immediately be reached for comment.
Software piracy is a widespread problem in China. Even when users don't install pirated software themselves, whitebox PC makers and other retailers often preload pirated software instead of legitimate versions on PCs and servers. The Business Software Alliance, a trade group established to fight software piracy, estimated that the rate of software piracy in China was 82 percent in 2007, the most recent figure available.
As part of Nanchang's crackdown on pirated software, officials apparently struck a deal with a local Red Flag Linux distributor to install licensed software and provide two years of support for 5,000 yuan (US$725).
"We're using domestically produced Red Flag software, and have set a standard one-time fee of 5,000 yuan for each Internet cafe, which includes a lifetime license, and we will provide all Internet cafe owners two years of maintenance support for free," said Ren Xiaojie, general manager of a software distribution company, quoted in a report (in Chinese) by Jiangxi Television's City Channel.