Tue, March 12, 2013 - Some parts of vendor evaluation never change. Many folks boil it down to just three words: References, references and references. In the cloud, you really need to do a more thorough screening. References are important, but they are only part of the process.

Tue, February 05, 2013 - As organizations become decreasingly skeptical about the cloud, they are increasingly willing to outsource ITSM to a SaaS provider. Doing so lowers costs, improves flexibility and easily accommodates ITIL framework principles.

Tue, January 15, 2013 - Enterprises replacing legacy network infrastructure are increasingly turning to software-defined networks, which can automate an entire network fabric. Having helped hosting companies and academic institutions, a variety of resellers, system integrators and consultancies are ready to bring SDN to the enterprise.

Mon, December 10, 2012 - A cloud service brokerage serves as an intermediary between you and your cloud service provider by aggregating multiple cloud services, integrating then with in-house apps and customizing them to meet your needs. See how this new breed of IT service provider is changing the cloud landscape.

Wed, November 14, 2012 - As Salesforce.com's SaaS offerings become more sophisticated, configuration and deployment gets more complex. In response, enterprises are increasingly turning to partners for implementation help.

Wed, October 31, 2012 - Big data is giving rise to a new breed of services aimed at helping over-burdened IT departments take on the challenges of data analytics without investing in additional infrastructure. And vendors of all sizes are getting in on the action.

Mon, October 15, 2012 - The Philadelphia university's work with a systems integrator illustrates a shift in the audiovisual market. As readily available, wireless-ready projectors and cameras move from the boardroom to the conference room and the corporate network, AV vendors are finally bringing the conversation to the CIO before implementation occurs.

Wed, August 29, 2012 - Implementing VDI strategy requires expertise that many organizations lack. To reap virtual desktop benefits that include cost savings and better security, many IT pros turn to system integrators, resellers and other service providers to set up the VDI and make sure IT staff know how to make the most of it.

Thu, July 26, 2012 - Enterprises are adopting Hadoop faster than they can hire IT talent to build and maintain these distributed computing deployments. To fill the gap, many are turning to partners that can offer a mix of Hadoop consulting, software development and training services.

Tue, July 10, 2012 - All companies great and small will eventually work with a SaaS provider. In most cases, the standard contract should suffice, but CIOs will never know what they can add (or subtract) if they don't ask.

Tue, June 26, 2012 - IBM is promoting local, skilled solution providers to C-suite customers -- and, increasingly, the midmarket -- for quicker implementation, lower costs and stronger ROI. That's the mission of Big Blue's channel chief, a 32-year IBM veteran and former CIO responsible for global integration, as he reveals in an interview with CIO.com.

Wed, February 22, 2012 - Dissatisfied with its midmarket efforts in the $90 billion business analytics hardware, software and services global market, IBM shifted all of its sales efforts for that segment to the channel. Big Blue teamed that commitment with a $14 billion investment in business analytics acquisitions in the last six years.