Critical to Quirky: Everything the CIO Needs to Know

25 Tales of IT Horror

When IT goes wrong, it can be just plain terrifying. This collection of 25 of the scariest IT debacles in recent memory lets you learn from others’ misfortunes and follies. Caution: May cause nightmares.

Advanced Communications

Glean career-advancing tips—on working with the board, facial expressions and golf etiquette.

Balanced Scorecard

As a value indicator, the Balanced Scorecard method links business strategy with financial performance.

The Boss and You: A Survival Guide

No matter who you are, you’ve got to report to some sort of boss. It’s inevitable. Love it, hate it, or anywhere in between, we all have to serve somebody. You’ve also got to form a healthy bond with that boss if you desire some control over your career. The stories within are all handpicked from the CIO and CIO.com archives to help you make the most of your relationship with your boss.

Business Intelligence

Business Intelligence (BI)—that collection of technologies used to analyze data from different business systems in order to reveal meaningful insights about a company’s operations—is among CIOs’ top spending priorities, according to Merrill Lynch’s CIO Spending Survey.

Compliance

This collection of articles examines the federal legislation and regulation that is having a profound effect on how your company manages data, ensures security and protects privacy.

Coping With Katrina

Here are the stories of some CIOs who struggled literally (at times) to keep the lights on.

Government IT

Government—both federal and local—seems to have an especially hard time with IT. Sometimes though things all do work out for the public good.

Green IT: Leading Your IT Department Toward Environmental Sustainability and Increased Profits

Profitability and environmental consciousness are increasingly going hand in hand. That means that your organization’s future is more and more becoming dependent on how you address your environmental sustainability. Now is the time to start “greening” your IT department, from cleaning up your data center to reducing overall emissions and improving your hardware recycling efforts.

Grid Computing

Grid computing has been on the horizon for a long time. Some prognosticators say it’s the next big thing. But it’s SO big, it’s daunting for many. This collection looks at the basics of grid as it moves ever (so slowly) closer.

Innovation

Operational excellence is not all you need focus on: Innovation is now part of your job. At the very least, you should be driving innovation on the wheels of IT. The current impetus to innovate comes from the need to cut costs, but you’re still expected to create competitive advantage. There’s probably never been a better time to conjure up some innovation yourself.

The following compendium offers examples and tips on how to pursue that prized goal of ingenious change.

The IT Manager’s Essential Guide to India

India is an ever-growing international presence and continues to be the leading IT outsourcing destination. This special report of both brand-new and still-relevant articles will help you better understand this rising power and develop strategies for profitable collaboration.

Microsoft’s Live Software

On November 1, Microsoft unveiled its software-as-a-service strategy, an effort to provide a more seamless connection between customers and their business and personal data by offering a range of services accessed over the Web by various devices.

The Mid-Market CIO

The mid-market CIO has a harder job than the big-ticket CIOor at least it often seems that way. Limited resources, limited staff, limited budget. These are all challenges shared wtih the big players. But, still, the needs of the mid-market CIO are special. Here’s some help.

Open Source

The options for using open source have never been greater, and you owe it to yourself-and your company-to take a close look.

If you’re in need of a software solution, the odds are good that you’ll find an open-source project related to your problem. Free. No sales calls. No negotiations with vendors.

Granted, no service contracts or tech-support numbers either, most likely. But given the low barrier to entry, it’s easy to understand why thousands of companies are tempted to use open source for, at the least, those projects that fall shy of the mission-critical line.

This special report takes a close look at the ins and outs of open source for the CIO who’s tempted but still need a bit of convincing.

Outsourcing Strategies

The mad rush to outsource as much work as possible to less expensive offshore operations seems to have been tempered by time, consideration and results. The right strategy and decisions regarding outsourcing for your organization will depend greatly on your industry, situation and culture. Here are several stories outlining different approaches.

Running IT Like A Business

Evolving from a cost center, IT is taking on the character, rigor and practices of a business within a business. It won’t be easy, but for CIOs it’s a matter of survival. Use these articles, tools, resources and links to set up your IT business.

Service-Oriented Architecture 101

Combine easily connected chunks of code written to accurately describe business services, and you have the foundation of a service-oriented architecture. Determining if you can benefit from SOA requires in-depth analysis of your company’s needs. Our resources can help you make a well-informed decision about SOA.

Technology Policy

A busy CIO has too much due right now to spend a lot of time worrying what the IT landscape is going to look like two, five or ten years down the road. That’s why CIO magazine is here to tell you everything you need to know about the policies that are shaping the future of IT. This special report covers the government’s attitudes and approach to outsourcing, R&D, spam and spyware, and other technologies and technology issues that will ultimately change the way you run your IT department. Because before you know it, it will be two, five or ten years from now.

Vendor Management

Vendor-bashing has become sport in some IT departments. But good customers don’t rant and rave every time there is a problem with a supplier. Rather, they promote a system of accountability on both sides of the table. CIOs who are good customers forge relationships with their partners at multiple levels in order to have substantive discussions and solve problems quickly.

This Special Report takes a look at how CIOs can set the tone and the ground rules for good partner relationships.

Web Services

The “wave” of Web services has been a long time breaking. We’ve been tracking the trends, cautionary advice and hopeful outlooks.

Your Role in National Intelligence

Government agencies continue to expand their use of information technology in an attempt to root out the sources of terrorism. As they proceed, more and more private businesses are being asked to cooperate in the search. Corporations in the financial services, airline and telecommunications have already handed over terabytes of customers data, and as the anti-terror nets cast wider, it seems reasonable that other industries will soon be asked as well.

What is the government’s approach to using IT as an intelligence tool? What role doesand shouldcorporate America play? And how, as an IT leader, should you respond if asked to make a choice between the government’s desire for ever more data and your customers’ rights to privacy?

We’ve collected the information you need here in our National Intelligence research center. Read, learn, and join the debate.