Canadian IT Managers Weblog

Weblog postings by Stephen Ibaraki, I.S.P., FCIPS, MVP, DFNPA, CNP

Feb. 26, 2008		Podcast Interview with Ken Lamoureux Ken is a long time widely acknowledged top-echelon business and technology leader and innovator with a success history that encompasses many senior executive positions. Moreover, Ken is a leading Information Systems & Technology executive with a professional background spanning several years in the public, private and charitable sectors, executive level experience in technology management, strategic planning, operations, project management and business systems development. After a brief flirtation with early retirement/consulting, Ken returned to full time duties as Executive Director, ICT Strategic Services and Innovation for the Province of Manitoba.
Feb. 12, 2008		An Interview with Deputy Minister John Clarkson John is the Deputy Minister of the Department of Science, Technology, Energy and Mines in the Province of Manitoba. He has over 15 years of senior executive experience in the public and health care sectors. He leads the governments initiatives related to energy, mineral resources, petroleum, climate change, innovation, research, science and technology related business development, community connectivity, service transformation and information technology. Under his leadership, the government has been recognized as a leader in climate change initiatives, became one of the fastest growing biotechnology regions in the country, released an aggressive strategy that links together environmentally sustainable practices with economic growth, adopted an aggressive innovation framework, and is transforming the way government operates through the use of technology.
Feb. 5, 2008		Bernard Courtois - President & CEO of ITAC As the president and CEO of ITAC, the Information Technology Association of Canada, Bernard Courtois is an outspoken advocate for the deployment of information and communications technology tools to improve business productivity and to achieve our societal and public policy goals. Mr. Courtois was named ITAC's leader in January 2004. He is a lawyer with over 30 years experience in the telecommunications sector. He served in a variety of executive roles with Bell Canada from 1991 to 2003, including those of Chief Regulatory Officer and Chief Strategy Officer. Prior to joining Bell Canada, Mr. Courtois practiced law in Montreal and Ottawa serving a wide range of clients in telecommunications and other regulated industries. He was an active participant in the many regulatory, public policy and judicial proceedings which have shaped Canada's competitive communications marketplace. He was Chief Strategy Officer when Bell Canada took its strong turn to the Internet, ahead of most of its peers around the world.
January 29, 2008		An Interview with CIPS Fellow Paul Kent With 30 years of experience in the Information Technology and Communications industries, Paul Kent's most recent position as Senior Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer involved full profit/loss accountability for the performance of xwave, an Information Technology services company, while also leading the Enterprise Sales and Marketing functions for xwave's parent company, Bell Aliant. In 2007, Paul was asked by ITAC to act as National Lead of the Canadian IT industry trade mission attending the Nasscom 2007 India Leadership Forum. A science graduate of Saint Mary's University in Halifax, he holds an I.S.P. certification from the Canadian Information Processing Society and in 2005 was chosen as one of its first Fellows - the highest distinction possible for an information technology professional in Canada.
January 3, 2008		Stacey Cerniuk, Founder, President and CEO of Annex Consulting Group Inc, Top-Ranking Executive and IT/Business Leader Stacey Cerniuk is the founder, President and CEO of Annex Consulting Group Inc., a project-based IT services company specializing in applications development, project management, network infrastructure and management consulting. Annex is recognized nationally on the PROFIT 100 list of fastest growing companies in Canada, Branham300 list of largest IT companies in Canada, and CDN Top 100 IT solution providers in Canada. Stacey is also a partner in The Annex Learning Centre, the only education company in British Columbia that specializes only in project management training. Stacey is very much involved in the community including being a member of the Advisory Board for CIPS Vancouver after serving as President and board member for six years. Stacey is also a member of the Project Management Institute and the Society of PMPs of Greater Vancouver.
December 27, 2007		Mike Daconta, World Authority on Data Management; Noted Author; Top-Ranking Thought Leader; Federal Computer Week's Top "Fed 100" I have shared interviews with Mike Daconta before due to his internationally acknowledged expertise in technology and business. His insights are clearly illustrated in this podcast which speaks to Mike's in-depth experience with data management. Mr. Daconta is the Chief of Enterprise Data Management for Oberon Associates, Inc. and currently leading several data management projects for customers including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Mr. Daconta is a well-known author, lecturer and columnist having authored or co-authored 11 technical books, numerous magazine articles and online columns.
December 20, 2007		Trekker Armstrong, Top Management and Technology Authority; Director, Architecture & Planning - Information Systems, TransCanada Reporting to the Vice President Information Systems (CIO), Trekker Armstrong currently manages Architecture & Planning and is accountable for a top-down business-strategy-driven process that coordinates the development of enterprise architectures to bridge the gap between forward-looking business vision/strategy and the portfolio of I.T. investments TransCanada will make to support that strategy. As a senior professional with 25 years experience in Information Systems for the energy industry, Mr. Armstrong has held numerous roles within Information Systems at TransCanada, having transitioned from Director of Infrastructure Operations in 2004 to his current position.
December 18, 2007		Rick Birkenstock, General Manager, Avanade Canada; Internationally Recognized Technology and Business Leader Rick Birkenstock, General Manager, Avanade Canada Inc. Rick is an internationally recognized technology and business leader. He leads the strategic direction and growth of Avanade Canada solutions. Avanade has more than 7,200 professionals in 22 countries, including more than 230 in its Canadian business, which has offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and Montreal. In fiscal year 2006, the company grew its business by 25%.
December 13, 2007		Podcast Interview with Sean O'Driscoll from Microsoft Sean O'Driscoll is General Manager for Community Support Services (CSS) and MVP Worldwide, Microsoft Corporation. Sean is a world leading authority on social networking, community engagement, innovation, a top-ranking speaker and thought leader -- his ideas are followed throughout the globe. Sean conducts exhaustive research into global communities, business and societal transformation, and he continues to make significant contributions to the industry over a sustained and ongoing successful career.
December 5, 2007		Ask The Headhunter: An Interview with Nick Corcodilos Nick Corcodilos is a top management authority, author, writer, speaker, and headhunter. Nick is an internationally renowned expert in his field and this podcast ties directly in the highly successful Ignite Your Career series.
November 23, 2007		Planning for Business: Essential for IT This is probably old news to many, but you can’t make an IT purchase or investment these days without a good justification for it. Making purchases merely for the sake of possessing the latest computing innovation is a retired theme. Unfettered, unplanned technology was once considered the route to marketplace domination and growth. This concept ended with the dot-com implosion and resulted in the squeeze on IT. Today, there must be real value returned to the business from IT projects.
November 22, 2007		IT Industry Resources I was on the panel for the November 15th webcast, “Ignite Your Career, Industry Insights for the IT Pro.” I gave out a large number of references so I compiled the career references, URLs, and tips here.
November 20, 2007		Interview with Diane Teare, Top International Authority and Author in Networking, Training, and E-Learning Diane Teare is a professional in the networking, training, and e-learning fields. She has more than 20 years of experience in designing, implementing, and troubleshooting network hardware and software, and has also been involved in teaching, course design, and project management. She has extensive knowledge of network design and routing technologies and is an instructor with one of the largest authorized Cisco Learning Partners. She was also the Director of e-Learning for the same company, where she was responsible for planning and supporting all the company's e-learning offerings in Canada, including Cisco courses.
November 13, 2007		Life Lessons from Randy Pausch Randy Pausch, as a Carnegie Mellon University professor, developed the programming language called “Alice” (http://www.alice.org/) and is a past recipient of Microsoft Research funding on Game Development. As a longtime educator, I found this lecture from Randy particularly compelling. It contains so many life lessons that will inspire and move you: mms://wms.andrew.cmu.edu/001/pausch.wmv
November 6, 2007		Podcast Interview with Jeff Kempiners, Chief Technology Officer of Avanade Canada Inc. Mr. Jeff Kempiners, as Chief Technology Officer, leads the strategic direction and growth of Avanade Canada solutions. A seasoned leader, Mr. Kempiners has more than 12 years of experience in IT management and consulting.
October 29, 2007		Speaking and Thinking in Business Terms: Essential for IT In fact, the future work profile of the IT worker is BAIT: Business and core Industry Knowledge Service-oriented Attitude Interpersonal, inter-relationships, communication skills Technical skills
October 16, 2007		Microsoft Supports Plan for International Standard for IT Professionals This news release went worldwide through the UNESCO Consultative body, the International Federation of Information Processing (IFIP). IFIP through all it's affiliations represents some 93 countries and nearly 1 million IT leaders and influencers. CIPS is the official representative in Canada. This represents a historical inflection point in that for the first time in history there is both global and industry support for Professional Practice and professional certification that we take for granted for other professions.
October 9, 2007		Changing the World with IT - A Podcast Interview with Michael Furdyk For IT Managers and executives, you to need to factor in the demographic trends that Michael Furdyk speaks about. It can affect your company's operations and it's ability to grow to a broader customer or consumer base in addition to ensuring continuing productivity with the organization. Michael also has passion to making a contribution to the social fabric of this planet with TakingITGlobal.org and DigitalDivide.net. Take the time to listen to the podcast!
October 2, 2007		A Podcast Interview with Dr. William Miller on Business Strategy, Innovation and Technology The innovation foundations and contributions originating from Silicon Valley are legendary including from Stanford University. Dr. Bill Miller setup the Stanford computing program and is Professor of Computer Science Emeritus. His business work is encapsulated as Herbert Hoover Professor of Public and Private Management Emeritus. So we have that rare leader that combines excellence in entrepreneurship, research, academia, business, non-profits, international outreach, and much more.
September 25, 2007		Podcast Interview with Don Tapscott, Co-Author of "Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything" Don Tapscott, amongst the world's foremost authorities on business Strategy. Don is Chief Executive of International Think Tank, New Paradigm; Best Selling Author; Top-Ranking Speaker and Thought Leader. Don's work has received recommendations from the world's top CEOs. This endorsement means you need to get connected to his ideas too! Don coined many of the familiar terms you hear today and his ideas typically proceed disruptive revolutions in technology, business, and society.
September 18, 2007		Anne Miller, Education Thought Leader and Manager at Cisco Systems With her extensive knowledge of nationally-focused education programs, Anne Miller contributes to Cisco's highly successful performance strategy. Under her direction, Cisco Canada launched the Networking Academy program in June 1998. The Cisco Networking Academy program is in its 10th year.
September 11, 2007		Podcast Interview with Internationally Renowned Global Futurist, Dr. James Canton It's good to look into the future both here in North America and internationally-- Dr. Canton can provide these insights as a respected global futurist. Moreover, James is a social scientist, top-ranking keynote speaker and author, a visionary world authority on business strategy and innovation, and CEO/Chairman Institute for Global Futures.
September 4, 2007		Talking to Martin Slofstra about "What's Wrong with IT?" Martin Slofstra has over 20 years experience covering the IT industry in Canada, graduating with an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Western Ontario in London in 1982, and starting with Northern Telecom as a corporate writer in that same year. He joined Computing Canada as staff writer in 1985. He's also served as Communications Editor and Editor of that magazine. In 1997, he helped launched and became editor of InfoSystems Executive (renamed EDGE), Canada's first technology magazine for business executives. Martin has served as editorial director of the IT Business Group at Transcontinental Media, at that time, Canada's largest publisher of information technology-related newspapers and magazines.
August 28, 2007		Pravir Vohra, Group CTO of ICICI Bank Mr. Pravir Vohra is the Group CTO at ICICI Bank. In this role, he is responsible for the IT strategy & innovation, enterprise architecture, process automation and leveraging technology synergies across ICICI Bank and its group companies.
August 21, 2007		Leonard Brody, co-founder of NowPublic.com Leonard is a highly respected entrepreneur, venture capitalist and best-selling author. He has helped in raising millions of dollars for startup companies, been through one of the largest internet IPOs in history and has been involved in the building, financing and/or sale of five companies to date.
August 14, 2007		An Interview with Fiorenza Albert-Howard Dr. Albert-Howard has contributed both nationally and internationally to the computing and engineering fields. Fiorenza is the recipient of numerous accolades and awards including three from the IEEE and a fourth for her writing. She has authored several groundbreaking books in computing including best-sellers plus publication of articles in technical journals.
August, 2007		Dr. Paul Crookall, Leading Government and Executive Thought Leader Dr. Crookall is a seasoned professional with a wide range of skills and accomplishments over a sustained career of considerable success and accomplishment. Specializing in excellence in the public service, leadership, and the criminal justice system, Paul draws on his experience to make significant and substantive contributions both nationally and internationally. His work is widely known and acknowledged for its innovation, integrity, and customer focus.
July 31, 2007		Paul Bassett, Leading Software Engineer and Computer Science Authority Paul is a leading software engineer and an authority in computer science and in this interview we discuss frame-based software engineering. Paul has over 35 years of academic and industrial software engineering experience. He taught computer science at York University for seven years, co-founded Sigmatics Computer Corporation and Netron Inc. (two on-going software engineering companies), and for over twenty years he helped governments and businesses to improve their software development tools and techniques.
July 24, 2007		Interview with David Donnelly from UNIS LUMIN Inc. David Donnelly an award winning senior technology leader and the Director of the Applications Development Services Department at UNIS LUMIN Inc.
July 13, 2007		Part 5: Hari Panday - Future IT Trends and Career Tips Hari Panday: President and CEO, ICICI Bank Canada, International Executive, Business and Technology Thought Leader.
July 12, 2007		Part 4: Hari Panday - Top Business Issues and Integrating IT Hari Panday: President and CEO, ICICI Bank Canada, International Executive, Business and Technology Thought Leader.
July 11, 2007		Part 3: Hari Panday - Doing Business in Canada and Internationally Hari Panday: President and CEO, ICICI Bank Canada, International Executive, Business and Technology Thought Leader.
July 10, 2007		Part 2: Hari Panday - Key Business Lessons and Challenges in Forming a Bank in Canada Hari Panday: President and CEO, ICICI Bank Canada, International Executive, Business and Technology Thought Leader.
July 9, 2007		Part 1: Introducing Hari Panday Hari Panday: President and CEO, ICICI Bank Canada, International Executive, Business and Technology Thought Leader.
July 9, 2007		Part 6: Allen Atwell - Career Advice for Managers, Top Resources and a Final Tip Allen Atwell, a top international IT expert and authority, a leading senior executive and the Chief Technology Officer at MessageLabs. Allen AtwellAs Chief Technology Officer, Allen drives all global research and development to further evolve MessageLabs product vision and long-term technology strategy worldwide.
July 6, 2007		Part 5: Allen Atwell - Roadblocks in Business, Top Technology Issues, Trends Allen Atwell, a top international IT expert and authority, a leading senior executive and the Chief Technology Officer at MessageLabs. Allen AtwellAs Chief Technology Officer, Allen drives all global research and development to further evolve MessageLabs product vision and long-term technology strategy worldwide.
July 5, 2007		Part 4: Allen Atwell - Biggest Challenges and Solutions as CTO at MessageLabs Allen Atwell, a top international IT expert and authority, a leading senior executive and the Chief Technology Officer at MessageLabs. Allen AtwellAs Chief Technology Officer, Allen drives all global research and development to further evolve MessageLabs product vision and long-term technology strategy worldwide.
July 4, 2007		Part 3: Allen Atwell - Five Global Management Lessons Plus MessageLabs Details Allen Atwell, a top international IT expert and authority, a leading senior executive and the Chief Technology Officer at MessageLabs. Allen AtwellAs Chief Technology Officer, Allen drives all global research and development to further evolve MessageLabs product vision and long-term technology strategy worldwide.
July 3, 2007		Part 2: Allen Atwell - Career and Business Insights Allen Atwell, a top international IT expert and authority, a leading senior executive and the Chief Technology Officer at MessageLabs. Allen AtwellAs Chief Technology Officer, Allen drives all global research and development to further evolve MessageLabs product vision and long-term technology strategy worldwide.
July 2, 2007		Part 1: Introducing Allen Atwell Allen Atwell, a top international IT expert and authority, a leading senior executive and the Chief Technology Officer at MessageLabs. Allen AtwellAs Chief Technology Officer, Allen drives all global research and development to further evolve MessageLabs product vision and long-term technology strategy worldwide.
July 2, 2007		Charles Hughes [Podcast interview] Charles Hughes, President 2005-2006, British Computer Society; Cahir, IFIP Task Force for the International Professional Practice Program; Founder, eManaagement Limited. Of particular note is the Inernational Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) Professional Practice Program. IFIP was founded in 1960 by UNESCO and represents teh IT societies in 50 countries. The IFIP International Professional Practice Program provides unique opportunities for IT professionals and requires your attention.
June 29, 2007		Part 8: Barb Bowman - Home Computing Lessons Barb is an internationally acknowledged home networking and device authority; Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) - Windows Networking and Windows XP Media Center.
June 28, 2007		Part 7: Barb Bowman - Best IT Resources Barb is an internationally acknowledged home networking and device authority; Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) - Windows Networking and Windows XP Media Center.
June 26, 2007		Part 6: Barb Bowman - 10 Predictions for the Future Barb is an internationally acknowledged home networking and device authority; Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) - Windows Networking and Windows XP Media Center.
June 26, 2007		EnergizeIT: Sparking a Passion for Career and IT EnergizeIT 2007
June 18, 2007		Part 5: Barb Bowman - Critical Issues for Organizations; IT Pros Making a Difference Barb is an internationally acknowledged home networking and device authority; Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) - Windows Networking and Windows XP Media Center.
June 22, 2007		Part 4: Barb Bowman - Top Five Tips in Wireless and Devices Barb is an internationally acknowledged home networking and device authority; Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) - Windows Networking and Windows XP Media Center.
June 21, 2007		Part 3: Barb Bowman - Top 5 Challenges with Wireless Technology Barb is an internationally acknowledged home networking and device authority; Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) - Windows Networking and Windows XP Media Center.
June 18, 2007		Part 2: Barb Bowman - Wireless Best Practices Barb is an internationally acknowledged home networking and device authority; Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) - Windows Networking and Windows XP Media Center.
June 18, 2007		Part 1: Barb Bowman - The Life of a Technology Pioneer and MVP Barb is an internationally acknowledged home networking and device authority; Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) - Windows Networking and Windows XP Media Center.
June 5, 2007		Teresa Hennig, International MS Access Authority (Part 16) The Secret of Success. Teresa Hennig is an international authority on MS Access, a top user group leader, a best selling author and a recognized and profiled MVP.
June 4, 2007		Teresa Hennig, International MS Access Authority (Part 15) Balancing Work Priorities. Teresa Hennig is an international authority on MS Access, a top user group leader, a best selling author and a recognized and profiled MVP.
June 1, 2007		Teresa Hennig, International MS Access Authority (Part 14) Life Beyond Access and IT - A Passion for Spinal Cord Research. Teresa Hennig is an international authority on MS Access, a top user group leader, a best selling author and a recognized and profiled MVP.
May 31, 2007		Teresa Hennig, International MS Access Authority (Part 13) Top Recommended Resources. Teresa Hennig is an international authority on MS Access, a top user group leader, a best selling author and a recognized and profiled MVP.
May 30, 2007		Teresa Hennig, International MS Access Authority (Part 12) Top 6 Future IT Trends. Teresa Hennig is an international authority on MS Access, a top user group leader, a best selling author and a recognized and profiled MVP.
May 29, 2007		Teresa Hennig, International MS Access Authority (Part 11) 5 Biggest Issues Facing User Groups. Teresa Hennig is an international authority on MS Access, a top user group leader, a best selling author and a recognized and profiled MVP.
May 28, 2007		Teresa Hennig, International MS Access Authority (Part 10) How User Group Challenges Parallel Challenges in Business. Teresa Hennig is an international authority on MS Access, a top user group leader, a best selling author and a recognized and profiled MVP.
May 25, 2007		Teresa Hennig, International MS Access Authority (Part 9) Critical Issues for Organizations and ICT Professionals. Teresa Hennig is an international authority on MS Access, a top user group leader, a best selling author and a recognized and profiled MVP.
May 24, 2007		Teresa Hennig, International MS Access Authority (Part 8) 5 Best Practices for Success with Clients. Teresa Hennig is an international authority on MS Access, a top user group leader, a best selling author and a recognized and profiled MVP.
May 23, 2007		Teresa Hennig, International MS Access Authority (Part 7) The Evolution of Access. Teresa Hennig is an international authority on MS Access, a top user group leader, a best selling author and a recognized and profiled MVP.
May 22, 2007		Teresa Hennig, International MS Access Authority (Part 6) Top 10 Microsoft Access Tips. Teresa Hennig is an international authority on MS Access, a top user group leader, a best selling author and a recognized and profiled MVP.
May 18, 2007		INFORMATICS 2007 - Catch Microsoft's Hot Presentations! INFORMATICS Halifax
May 18, 2007		Teresa Hennig, International MS Access Authority (Part 5) 2 Topics: Motivaton and Tips for Producing Live Webcasts. Teresa Hennig is an international authority on MS Access, a top user group leader, a best selling author and a recognized and profiled MVP.
May 17, 2007		Teresa Hennig, International MS Access Authority (Part 4) Top Ten Leadership Lessons. Teresa Hennig is an international authority on MS Access, a top user group leader, a best selling author and a recognized and profiled MVP.
May 16, 2007		Teresa Hennig, International MS Access Authority (Part 3) Top Ten Tips for Forming a New User Group. Teresa Hennig is an international authority on MS Access, a top user group leader, a best selling author and a recognized and profiled MVP.
May 15, 2007		Teresa Hennig, International MS Access Authority (Part 2) Teresa Hennig is an international authority on MS Access, a top user group leader, a best selling author and a recognized and profiled MVP. MVP program.
May 14, 2007		Teresa Hennig, International MS Access Authority (Part 1) Teresa Hennig is an international authority on MS Access, a top user group leader, a best selling author and a recognized and profiled MVP. Teresa talks about her life as an MVP.
May 11, 2007		Interview Podcast Martin Slofstra: Powerhouse Editorial Director, Writer, Thought Leader In this blog series, we talk with Martin Slofstra, longtime veteran Editorial Director, Writer and Thought Leader. Martin shares his thoughts on the online revolution and why people and organizations need to get involved.
May 3, 2007		Silver-lining in Silverlight I saw this announcement and wanted to get it out to you…it caught my interest due to the limitless possibilities! The first beta version of Silverlight 1.0 and a roadmap for the product and other related technologies is now available. Microsoft also has an alpha version of Silverlight 1.1, a NET Framework version of Silverlight plus Expression Studio for Web and creative designers.
May 2, 2007		INFORMATICS 2007: Premier Conference for IT Professionals You definitely gain deep insights, solutions, practical experiences, when you network and share ideas with your colleagues—in fact, this is the one constant I always get from attending events. Moreover in interviewing nearly 300 technology experts since 2001, this idea of networking and solution sharing is something they all “highly” recommend. That’s why I wanted to bring direct your attention to INFORMATICS Halifax--INFORMATICS is the premier event to be at this year!
May 1, 2007		Getting Ahead of Longhorn Received this notice and I thought I would share it with you since it allows you to start planning.
Apr. 30, 2007		Dr. Maria Klawe, World-renowned Educator and Scientist In this blog series, we talk with Maria Klawe, one the world’s foremost computer scientists and educators. Maria is an Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) Fellow and founding CIPS Fellow for her outstanding contributions to computing science, education, and information technology.
Apr. 27, 2007		Adam Chee, Noted International Healthcare Informatics Authority (Part 4) In this blog series, we talk with Adam Chee, a top expert in Healthcare Informatics. Adam is also the first and only international Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) Hall of Fame Inductee. Adam shares five predictions for future, top resources...
Apr. 26, 2007		Adam Chee, Noted International Healthcare Informatics Authority (Part 3) In this blog series, we talk with Adam Chee, a top expert in Healthcare Informatics. Adam is also the first and only international Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) Hall of Fame Inductee. Adam talks about critical issues for organizations, ICT professional challenges, biggest issues facing user group communities...
Apr. 25, 2007		Adam Chee, Noted International Healthcare Informatics Authority (Part 2) In this blog series, we talk with Adam Chee, a top expert in Healthcare Informatics. Adam is also the first and only international Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) Hall of Fame Inductee. Adam talks about his visions/strategies/goals, top issues/solutions in area of Health Informatics and how will it evolve in future....
Apr. 23, 2007		Adam Chee, Noted International Healthcare Informatics Authority (Part 1) In this blog series, we talk with Adam Chee, a top expert in Healthcare Informatics. Adam is also the first and only international Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) Hall of Fame Inductee. Adam talks about ICT professionals, benefits of memberships and involvements in non-profit professional societies, participation in forums ....
Apr. 23, 2007		Net Neutrality - Chat with Kelly Gotlieb Kelly shares his thoughts in this podcast about Net Neutrality and related issues. Computing pioneer and CIPS Fellow (FCIPS), Kelly Gotlieb is currently Professor Emeritus in Computer Science and in the Faculty of Information Studies at the University of Toronto (UT). He is a computing pioneer, whose innovations and accomplishments helped lay the foundation of an entire worldwide industry, educational stream, and profession. Have a look at this blog to find out more about Kelly: http://blogs.technet.com/cdnitmanagers/archive/2006/09/29/459971.aspx
Apr. 20, 2007		Martin Slofstra: Powerhouse Editorial Director, Writer and Thought Leader In this blog series, we talk with Martin Slofstra, longtime veteran Editorial Director, Writer and Thought Leader. Martin talks about corporate/social responsibilities.
Apr. 19, 2007		Nuo Yan, Windows Shell/User MVP (Part 3) In this blog series, we talk with Nuo Yan a leading technology authority and Microsoft Most Valuable Professional. Nuo talks about major challenges/solutions facing ICT professionals today, biggest issues/recommendations facing user groups communities/IT Societies today, predictions, top resources ....
Apr. 18, 2007		Nuo Yan, Windows Shell/User MVP (Part 2) In this blog series, we talk with Nuo Yan a leading technology authority and Microsoft Most Valuable Professional. Nuo shares tips about Windows Vista and Windows Mobile, talks about his work with developing/customizing solutions, and critical issues facing organizations today...
Apr. 17, 2007		Nuo Yan, Windows Shell/User MVP (Part 1) In this blog series, we talk with Nuo Yan a leading technology authority and Microsoft Most Valuable Professional. Nuo describes is work and interest in Microsoft technologies, non-proft Diyinside....
Mar. 23, 2007		Jon Bartol, CIO General Motors of Canada (Part 3) In this blog series, we talk with Jon Bartol a top-ranking business technology leader and authority. Jon is the Chief Information Officer of General Motors of Canada. Jon shares his top leadership and management tips, qualities for CIO's, pivitol stories and lessons, risks for IT organizations...
Mar. 22, 2007		Jon Bartol, CIO General Motors of Canada (Part 2) In this blog series, we talk with Jon Bartol a top-ranking business technology leader and authority. Jon is the Chief Information Officer of General Motors of Canada. Jon talks about business challenges, key opportunities for GM and businesses in general, key lessons from CIO conferences...
Mar. 21, 2007		Jon Bartol, CIO General Motors of Canada (Part 1) In this blog series, we talk with Jon Bartol a top-ranking business technology leader and authority. Jon is the Chief Information Officer of General Motors of Canada. Jon talks about the future of GM, his current role, challenges/solutions...
Mar. 20, 2007		The Story: 2007 Global MVP Summit A lot of effort went behind the event and this was clearly evident--a really professionally organized celebration and deep technical dive for MVPs worldwide. Bill spoke at the event and you can get a transcript from the Microsoft MVP Global Summit Virtual Pressroom: http://www.microsoft.com:80/presspass/events/mvpsummit/default.mspx.
Mar. 16, 2007		[IT Manager Podcast Series] - Security Once a month, Barnaby Jeans has been publishing podcasts on IT trends and technology issues.
Mar. 7, 2007		Next Week - Global MVP Summit On the IT Executive Alignment Tour, Barnaby Jeans talks about the different generations, their attributes, and the increasing need to focus on the “user experience” to drive high value and differentiation: Veterans (company loyalty); Baby Boomers (financial focus); Gen X (independence); Gen Y (personalization)—again it’s the Gen X and Gen Y who are leading this movement. .......This then brings us to the largest resource and source of community-based independent experts on 90 different technologies, Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals or MVPs. Have a look at the prior link and you will find how diverse this group is and the wide spectrum of expertise they provide. There are 3500 of them worldwide and they represent the best. An IT authority or expert becomes an MVP through a secret vetting process however it’s based upon outstanding contributions to communities.....
Mar. 6, 2007		Neal Allen, International Top-Ranking Network Service/Troubleshooting Authority Neal Allen has been working for Fluke since 1989, and has been in the Fluke Networks networking products group since 1992 when it formed. Special focus has been placed on technical marketing, product development, beta testing, and special projects. In 2002 the Technical Assistance Center was restructured, and in the capacity of a level 3 escalation engineer, Neal has dealt with many of the issues surrounding analysis of the higher OSI layers while still maintaining awareness of the lower layers and how they affect monitoring and troubleshooting.
Mar. 5, 2007		Aligning IT with Business - Week 3 of the Tour It’s quite an experience speaking on the IT Executive Alignment Tour and talking to IT executives from business, government, education, and non-profits about the state of IT within their organizations. It’s clear there is quite a diversity of environments which Martin Slofstra also alluded to in his conversations with IT Leaders. I’m seeing increased penetration of ITIL for operational management and COBIT on the more overall strategic level for larger enterprises. However, one item that comes up repeatedly is that the business-side of many organizations still has a hard time looking beyond IT as a maintenance function. We likely need more discussion at the national level between CEOs and IT Leaders on this front - how do you get the business side to look at IT as a Strategic Asset?
Mar. 2, 2007		Celso Mello, CIO of Chubb Security Systems (Part 4) Celso Mello: CIO, Chubb Security Systems shares three pivotal lessons / stories
Mar. 1, 2007		Celso Mello, CIO of Chubb Security Systems (Part 3) Celso Mello: CIO, Chubb Security Systems shares tips about: Technology Roadmaps, Leadership Challenges
Feb. 28, 2007		Celso Mello, CIO of Chubb Security Systems (Part 2) Celso Mello: CIO, Chubb Security Systems shares tips about: Infrastructure, Security, Budget, Strategy, Compliance
Feb. 27, 2007		Birds of a Feather at the MVP Summit
Feb. 27, 2007		Celso Mello, CIO of Chubb Security Systems (Part 1) Celso Mello: CIO, Chubb Security Systems shares tips about: MPLS, VoIP, 1000-user Active Directory, High Availability
Feb. 26, 2007		Dr. Danny Sands: Director of Medical Informatics, Cisco Systems; Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine Harvard Medical School In this blog interview, I talk with Dr. Danny Sands, an internationally recognized lecturer, consultant, and thought leader in the area of clinical computing and patient and clinician empowerment through the use of computer technology.
Feb. 23, 2007		Martin Slofstra: Speaks on important CIO issues Martin brings a unique perspective on the industry and those transitioning to leadership roles in business. Martin will share his insights every month in the IT Managers Connection.
Feb. 23, 2007		On Tour and Talking about IT Alignment The IT Alignment Tour.
Feb. 22, 2007		Dr. Nakashima interview (Part 6) In this blog series, we continue our talk with Professor Hideyuki Nakashima: President Future University – Hakodate; the internationally renowned computer scientist, inspirational visionary and top-ranked leader. Dr. Nakashima talks about Future IT trends; Semantic Search//Computing; Biggest Business Challenge; Mashups/unconferences; IT Skills Shortage—Causes/Solutions; Career Tips; Second Life (Virtual Worlds).
Feb. 21, 2007		Dr. Nakashima interview (Part 5) In this blog series, we continue our talk with Professor Hideyuki Nakashima: President Future University – Hakodate; the internationally renowned computer scientist, inspirational visionary and top-ranked leader. Dr. Nakashima talks about Cyber Assist applications; Small payment systems; Information abuse; Information Societies; Practitioner involvement; IT curriculum changes; and MIT—Brooks/Minsky.
Feb. 20, 2007		Dr. Nakashima interview (Part 4) In this blog series, we continue our talk with Professor Hideyuki Nakashima: President Future University – Hakodate; the internationally renowned computer scientist, inspirational visionary and top-ranked leader. Dr. Nakashima talks about Cyber Assist Research/Intelligence Booster; Semantic Computing/Ubiquitous Computing; Future Societal Applications; Web 2.0+
Feb. 19, 2007		Dr. Nakashima interview (Part 3) In this blog series, we continue our talk with Professor Hideyuki Nakashima: President Future University – Hakodate; the internationally renowned computer scientist, inspirational visionary and top-ranked leader. Dr. Nakashima talks about Multi-Agent Simulations, Evolutionary Algorithms; Cognitive Science; Kyocho Architecture, RoboCup; Artificial Intelligence.
Feb. 16, 2007		MSDN Code Awards MSDN Code Awards is a program targeted to the Professional Developer. It’s a special community awards program that recognizes contributions of Developers & Development teams for their technical excellence, outstanding contributions in the community, business savvy or all round passion for the art of Development.
Feb. 16, 2007		Dr. Nakashima interview (Part 2) In this blog series, we continue our talk with Professor Hideyuki Nakashima: President Future University – Hakodate; the internationally renowned computer scientist, inspirational visionary and top-ranked leader. Dr. Nakashima talks about Top Presidential Challenges/Solutions; Impact of Information Science; Future Contributions/Applications; Implications of Complex Information Processing
Feb. 15, 2007		Dr. Nakashima: President Future University – Hakodate; the internationally renowned computer scientist, inspirational visionary and top-ranked leader In this blog series, we talk with Professor Hideyuki Nakashima: President Future University – Hakodate; the internationally renowned computer scientist, inspirational visionary and top-ranked leader. I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Nakashima at the invitation-only international large society summit where CIPS participated/presented. Hideyuki’s reputation for innovation and leadership is well known worldwide and this led to this blog series. Dr. Nakashima was the youngest professor to ever be offered the presidency of a university in the history of Japan, due to his significant and outstanding achievements. Dr. Nakashima is creating new branches of computer science and merging others that will impact the world into the future. It’s worth your time to follow his work. There is an element of “Star Trek” which I find compelling and in talking with Hideyuki, I can feel his passion…I wanted to share this with you too!
Jan. 26, 2007		A Chat with Arthur Entlich, MS MVP in Printing and Imaging Arthur Entlich, Microsoft MVP chat includes his list of top technical challenges and how they can be resolved; top 2007 predictions; some tips for the ICT professional; comsumer advocacy; views on the environment and e-waste; and more.
Jan. 24, 2007		Planning Ahead for Longhorn Executive Chat - Windows Server “Longhorn” Clustering Ask questions and discuss the new architecture, migration strategies, new tools and improved features of Clustering with Windows Server code-named “Longhorn.”
Jan. 19, 2007		Martin Slofstra: Speaks on the "Changing Role of the CIO" Martin Slofstra is editorial director of the IT Business Group of Transcontinental Media, Canada's largest publisher of informative technology-related newspapers and magazines. Martin brings his prospective and shares his insights each month on the industry and what matters to IT Pros.
Jan. 10, 2007		Dr. Karl Moore: Significant corporate models; 2 Business leaders to watch; 2 Critical external issues; Key priorities; Top recommended resources Part 3 of interview with Dr. Karl Moore.
Jan. 9, 2007		Dr. Karl Moore: Role with McGill; Prior Roles; North American Advanced Leadership Program; Contributions; Roadblocks to Business Success Part 2 of interview with Dr. Karl Moore.
Dec. 8, 2006 & Jan. 2, 2007 (Repost)		Dr. Karl Moore: Internationally Leading Business and Management Authority, McGill University Part 1 of interview with Dr. Karl Moore.
Jan. 5, 2007		Stu Mackay, Dean, Yukon College, Major Events Shaping ICT Education; Societal Issues Part 4 of interview with Stu Mackay, Yukon College
Jan. 4, 2007		Stu Mackay, Yukon College, CIPS Accreditation; Future Mission; Top Educational Challenges/Solutions Part 3 of interview with Stu Mackay, Yukon College
Jan. 3, 2007		Stu Mackay, Yukon College, Leadership in Technology/Distance Education; The University of the Arctic; Collaboration with Northern Colleges Part 2 of interview with Stu MacKay, Yukon College
Jan. 2, 2007		Interview Stu Mackay, Dean, Yukon College, a leader in innovative educational programs and advanced delivery Part 1: Stu Mackay talks about his work prior to taking on his current position as Dean of Professionals Studies at Yukon College.
Dec. 10, 2006		Martin Slofstra: Editorial Director - IT Business Group Martin Slofstra is editorial director of the IT Business Group of Transcontinental Media, Canada's largest publisher of informative technology-related newspapers and magazines. Martin brings his prospective and shares his insights each month on the industry and what matters to IT Pros.
Nov. 30, 2006		Interview: Bernard Courtois, President and CEO of ITAC (Information Technology Association of Canada) Bernard Courtois is the president and CEO of ITAC, the Information Technology Association of Canada, and is an outspoken advocate for the deployment of information and communications technology tools to improve business productivity and to achieve our societal and public policy goals. Bernard provides excellent insight into the main challenges for business. Have a listen!
Nov. 27, 2006		Skills Shortage and Blogging--Chat with Kelly Gotlieb, Computing Pioneer, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto Kelly Gotlieb shares his thoughts on the skills shortage and on blogs...
Nov. 17, 2006		Interview Dave Sanders: President and CEO of Culminis - Bringing IT Together A lot has happened in the past year for Dave Sanders, MVP and Culminis President and CEO. Culminis went over one million members this year making them one of the largest and fastest growing organizations in the world. They are now nearly 1.8 million and anticipate reaching the two million mark by year's end. They just launched in Japan where Dave gave a presentation on community, leadership and Culminis at the TechEd event in Yokohama. Earlier this year, he traveled to Osaka and Tokyo and participated in a Leaders' summit giving presentations at both events. His own user group has continued to grow and flourish with the average number of attendees at monthly meetings exceeding 400 and overall membership at 6000+.
Nov. 10, 2006		The Evolution of Computers and the Industry--Chat with Kelly Gotlieb, Computing Pioneer, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto Kelly Gotlieb discusses the evolution of computers and the Industry.
Nov. 10, 2006		Dr. A. Joseph Turner: Top Software Issues and Resources; Future Trends; Globalization--one size doesn't fit all; Shortage of IT skills - Input from Business to Academia; Globalization--Harmonization of Credentials Part 5: Joe talks about the top software issues that need to be addressed; future trends to watch; top recommended resources; globalization and one size doesn’t fit all; the shortage of IT skills—more input from business to academia; globalization and the harmonization of credentials.
Nov. 9, 2006		Dr. A. Joseph Turner: Future International Direction, Professional Credentialing, Computer. Science. Programs, Past Lessons/Stories Part 4: Joe talks about the future direction of international IT societies and professional credentialing, evaluation of Comp. Sci. programs, and past lessons/stories.
Nov. 8, 2006		Dr. A. Joseph Turner: Challenges/Trends in Computing Education/Accreditation; Work as Journal Editor Part 3: Joe talks about the major challenges/trends in computing education and with accreditation plus his work as journal editor.
Nov. 7, 2006		Dr. A. Joseph Turner: Advising in the Middle East; Consulting for Boeing; Social responsibility Part 2: Joe shares his experiences advising in the Middle East; consulting for Boeing; and his views on social responsibility.
Nov. 6, 2006		Sean O'Driscoll 2007 and Beyond, Predictions and Implications: Communities Grow, Social Networking Blends Online/Offline, Corporate Transparency, Consumer Empowerment Part 6: Sean provides his predictions of future trends and their implications/opportunities: Communities grow, Social Networking blends online/offline, Corporate transparency, Consumer empowerment.
Nov. 3, 2006		Interview Dr. A. Joseph Turner: Internationally Regarded Computer Science Authority and Educator; Professor Emeritus, Clemson Part 1: Some background on Dr. Turner.
Nov. 3, 2006		Sean O'Driscoll: MVP (Most Valuable Professional) Program, MVP traits, the Future; Top Resources Part 5: Sean shares his thoughts on the MVP (Most Valuable Professional) program, common MVP traits, the future of the program and his top recommended resources.
Nov. 1, 2006		Sean O'Driscoll: IT Communities-- Getting Involved, Making Contributions, Rewards Part 4: Sean talks about how you can get involved in ICT communities and make significant contributions. Sean will also detail the rewards when you get involved.
Oct.31, 2006		Sean O'Driscoll: IT Communities--Attributes, Participant Characteristics, and Value to business Part 3: Sean shares more about the power and purpose of communities, their diversity, value to business and their trends.
Oct.30, 2006		Chat with Sean O'Driscoll: Role of Communities, Leadership Lessons Part 2: Sean tells us about his current role, and share his: leadership lessons, and discuss the power and purpose of communities, their diversity, value to business and their trends.
Oct.27, 2006		Chat with Sean O'Driscoll: Global Senior Director for CSS Community and MVP Worldwide, Microsoft Corporation Part 1: A little background on Sean O'Driscoll.
Oct.20, 2006		"Security Trumps Privacy" -- Chat with Kelly Gotlieb, Computing Pioneer, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto Part 1: Kelly Gotlieb share his insights on the privacy issue
Oct.17, 2006		Crafting a Business Case for IT Survival or New Projects: Part 2/2 In Part 1/2 of this series, I discussed the drivers behind business success and how IT must support and align with these drivers. In fact, if this does not occur, IT becomes a cost overhead whose existence in its present form can not be justified! Taking a business plan approach will give you the business case for ensuring business success. This then translates into IT success.
Oct. 10, 2006		Crafting a Business Case for IT Survival or New Projects: Part 1/2 With tightening budgets, how can an IT investment be justified? The answer lies in making a business case incorporating a comprehensive unified technology solution. What would this look like? In this 2-part blog series, I will give some ideas to consider for “making your case”.
Oct. 9, 2006		Chat with Paul Thiel: Noted Expert in Research and Development for the Information and Communication Technology Sector - Continued Podcast of interview with Paul Thiel
Oct.6, 2006		Chat with Paul Thiel: Noted Expert in Research and Development for the Information and Communication Technology Sector In this blog series, we talk with Paul Thiel, President of Thiel Tech Consulting Ltd. Today I will profile Paul, whose extensive background in business, technology, and research brings added insights into this forum.
Oct. 6, 2006		Roger Hart, Associate Partner with Deloitte - shares his views on the IT Skills Shortage Roger Hart is an Associate Partner with Deloitte and is the Board Director of Professionalism on the CIPS National Executive. The IT Skills Shortage is an area that demands immediate solutions. Today I talk with Roger Hart, I.S.P., P.Eng., about ways this can be addressed.
Sept.29, 2006		Chats with "the" Internationally Renowned Pioneer in Computing, Calvin (Kelly) Gotlieb As professor emeritus at the University of Toronto (UT), we will get the special opportunity shared by his current students. I asked Calvin if he would share his insights and experiences with us and he agreed! Look for them here in the coming weeks. Professor Gotlieb’s list of “firsts” fills volumes and they are so extensive that we can only discuss a few of them here. For more see: http://blogs.technet.com/cdnitmanagers/archive/2006/09/29/459971.aspx
Sept.27, 2006		Gordon Ross: More Business Issues; Trends and Opportunities; Recommended Resources; Free Commentary; Contact Information (Part 8 of 8) Part 8: Gordon will discuss the biggest issues facing business; predictions of future trends and their implications/opportunities; his picks for the top recommended resources; and free commentary plus contact information.
Sept.26, 2006		Gordon Ross: Internet trends; Challenges Facing Businesses; Issues for Companies (or organizations taking on a new direction) (Part 7 of 8) Part 7: Gordon discusses future Internet trends, the main challenges facing businesses, and the issues for companies or organizations taking on a new direction.
Sept.25, 2006		Gordon Ross: Leadership Lessons and Career Tips (Part 6 of 8) Part 6: Gordon discusses his leadership lessons and career tips.
Sept.22, 2006		Gordon Ross: Meeting Sen. John McCain, the President and Vice President; Internet Content, International Ratings, and Self-regulation; Corporate Responsibility (Part 5 of 8) Part 5: Gordon discusses his meetings with Sen. John McCain, the President and Vice President; speaking before the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Internet content, International Ratings, and self-regulation; and corporate responsibility.
Sept.21, 2006		Gordon Ross: The Necessity of Internet Filtering; Internet Child Safety (Part 4 of 8) Part 4: Gordon discusses Internet Filtering, his pioneering work in Internet child safety and the gaps in this area.
Sept.20, 2006		Gordon Ross: Privacy Challenges for Business; Biometric Security Practices (Part 3 of 8) Part 3: Gordon discusses privacy challenges for business, and biometric security.
Sept.18, 2006		Gordon Ross: CIPS' Value; Business Risks with Security Threats "business can be held responsible for losses" (Part 2 of 8) Part 2: Today I discuss with Gordon: his involvement with CIPS and business risks of security threats.
Sept.15, 2006		Interview Gordon Ross: Internet Security Pioneer, Founder Net Nanny, President of Virtual Perceptions Systems Inc. (Part 1 of 8) In this blog series, we talk with Gordon Ross, Internet Filtering Pioneer, Biometrics / Security / Telecommunications / Ethics / Privacy Expert, Founder of Net Nanny; President of Virtual Perceptions Systems Inc. Part 1: Today I will profile Gordon due to his extensive accomplishments and long history of successes. In 1994, Mr. Ross created, developed and designed the first filtering software for the Internet and led the development of Internet and Biometric security products. He established a solid market and brand leadership, beginning with the industry's first filtering product in January 1995 - Net Nanny. Mr. Ross is an expert on issues concerning the Internet, privacy, security, telecommunications and child safety. His expertise has lead him to speak before various international organizations and was invited by the White House to meet with the President and Vice-President of the US to discuss technological solutions to protect ourselves in today’s digital world.
Sept.13, 2006		Best C# News, Articles, Blog posts It is good to have access to great resources. Here is one created by Steven A. Smith, ASP.NET MVP: http://csharpfeeds.com/Default.aspx
Sept.12, 2006		Microsoft: i/o tour '06 As an IT Manager, you need to know the issues around architecting a solid infrastructure in your organization. Moreover, this would involve solutions to optimize business processes. This is what you will discover and more from I/O tour '06. It's worth registering and noting on your calendar. Oh, and did I mention you get free software too! Here's more information: http://www.microsoft.com/canada/technet/iotour06/default.aspx
Sept.8, 2006		Looming IT Skills Shortage I participated in a survey and two focus group sessions sponsored by the SHRC and CATA. My lasting impressions: there’s a “right” skills shortage now and insufficient numbers to meet our future demands around 2010. This is a serious situation since Canada lags in productivity and this is attributable to lower ICT penetration in businesses supported by qualified IS workers. What do I mean by the “right” skills? There is no question, there are unemployed IT workers. The key here is that businesses are looking for IT professionals with multiple deep skills sets combined with relationship, communication, core process, industry acumen and solid business knowledge. The requirements have changed and this will become even more pronounced for the future. What are the colleges and universities doing about this? How about employers—are they providing the necessary skills development and training? What about internationally trained workers where assessing qualifications can be a challenge; cultural and language issues present added barriers?
Sept.6, 2006		Windows Server Longhorn Executive Chat It's good to keep up with upcoming releases to stay ahead of the curve. TechNet Link: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/chats/default.mspx#06_0914_TN_Network ICS http://www.microsoft.com/communities/chats/vcs/06_0914_TN_Network.ics
Sept.5, 2006		Empowering People with Disabilities--Dr. Gary Birch: Executive Director and International Authority/Researcher on Assistive Technologies, Neil Squire Society In this podcast, we talk with Dr. Gary Birch, an internationally respected leader and expert on assistive technologies. Gary provides insights that must be heard! Gary Birch was appointed Director of Research and Development at the Neil Squire Society in 1988 and then in 1994 was appointed Executive Director. He is responsible for the on-going operations at the Neil Squire Society including the supervision of a Research and Development team; the preparation and supervision of contract proposals and budgets for government sponsored service delivery projects; and the overall future direction and development of the Neil Squire Society.
Sept.5, 2006		CRM Empowering IT: Part 3 of 3 Part 3: You often see customer relationship management software in reference to business outreach and customers however it’s useful for IT operations too. I was interviewed this year on this topic. As with most 3rd-party interviews, parts are summarized and truncated. There’s value in sharing the full answers to their questions so I’m providing my “director’s cut” [giving you my full answers] in a 3 part series. This will provide a practical overview roadmap.
Aug. 31, 2006		Empowering IT: Part 2 of 3 Part 2: You often see customer relationship management software in reference to business outreach and customers however it’s useful for IT operations too. I was interviewed this year on this topic. As with most 3rd-party interviews, parts are summarized and truncated. There’s value in sharing the full answers to their questions so I’m providing my “director’s cut” [giving you my full answers] in a 3 part series. This will provide a practical overview roadmap.
Aug. 29, 2006		CRM Empowering IT: Part 1 of 3 Part 1: You often see customer relationship management software in reference to business outreach and customers however it’s useful for IT operations too. I was interviewed this year on this topic. As with most 3rd-party interviews, parts are summarized and truncated. There’s value in sharing the “full answers” to their questions so I’m providing my “director’s cut” [giving you my full answers] in a 3 part series. This will provide a practical overview roadmap.....
Aug. 28, 2006		Women in IT to be encouraged I’m a firm believer in programs which support under-represented groups towards careers in the ICT sector. Back in 2000, the executive vice-president of an e-learning company called Smartforce flew into Vancouver to request support for their company—at that time, they were the world’s largest with about 5 million users. In lieu of being paid, I suggested they support programs for women and other groups. Ultimately, this led to a series of live webcasts with Q&A which were also publicly available involving monthly trips to US and with participants worldwide (plus more than 1500 hours of preparation). So I have put my beliefs into action. That’s why when I saw this article in www.ITBusiness.ca, it resonated with me and my first reaction was—Right on.....
Aug. 25, 2006		Who is CIPS? I wear many hats/roles including in areas that are non-IT related. Invariably people ask me what I do. I identify as belonging to CIPS having been a member for many years. So how does this relate to you as an IT worker or manager? Well 44% of our members are managers and this includes many senior executives, leaders, and entrepreneurs. Do you want a career boost or to develop relationships and ideas for moving along the management ladder? CIPS is the best resource for this in Canada. I attended an event earlier this year captured in this link from our bi-weekly e-magazine, CIPS Connections. Have a look at the names in the list! They represent significant contributors to the ICT profession and industry both in this country and internationally. They are CIPS members too representing a “tip of the iceberg” of the extensive experience, resources, and wisdom available within CIPS. There are CIPS Sections [chapters] in many cities where you can reach out and connect....
Aug. 24, 2006		XNA Game Studio Express - Windows and XBOX Gaming: Energizing Computing Science Curriculum I participated in a special meeting with the largest computer societies globally where CIPS [Canada’s association and community of IT professionals] received an invitation. It is interesting how there are common challenges such as declining enrollment in computer science. One of my impressions from the summit: gaming provided solutions and represented a growing area.......
Aug. 23, 2006		FREE OFFICE 2007 Virtual Labs As an IT Manager or Professional, you want to see the value and benefits of upcoming releases. It makes good sense to plan ahead. Here is an opportunity, you should take advantage of right away.....
Aug. 14, 2006		Try it: Windows Live Mail Desktop Beta I’m always on the lookout for those "special" goodies. I got this notice and wanted to share it with you....
Aug. 11, 2006		Richard Giles' Biggest: Online Challenges; Issues Facing Bloggers and Technical Communities; and Predictions of Future Trends Part 6: In this blog series, we talk with Richard Giles, an industry leading authority and pioneer in blogging, podcasting and new media (Web 2.0). Richard is also the founder of Clique Communications.....
Aug. 10, 2006		Richard Giles' Top Blogging / Podcasting Resources and His Favorite Sites Part 5: In this blog series, we talk with Richard Giles, an industry leading authority and pioneer in blogging, podcasting and new media (Web 2.0). Richard is also the founder of Clique Communications.....
Aug. 9, 2006		Richard Giles' new Flickr Book and the Pros/Cons of Corporate Blogging Part 4: In this blog series, we talk with Richard Giles, an industry leading authority and pioneer in blogging, podcasting and new media (Web 2.0). Richard is also the founder of Clique Communications.....
Aug. 8, 2006		Richard Giles' 5 Technologies with the Greatest Impact from O'Reilly's Emerging Technology Conference Part 3: In this blog series, we talk with Richard Giles, an industry leading authority and pioneer in blogging, podcasting and new media (Web 2.0). Richard is also the founder of Clique Communications.....
Aug. 4, 2006		Richard Giles’ talks about Ray Ozzie Amongst his Top 5 Speakers at O’Reilly’s Emerging Technology Conference Part 2: In this blog series, we talk with Richard Giles, an industry leading authority and pioneer in blogging, podcasting and new media (Web 2.0). Richard is also the founder of Clique Communications.....
Aug. 3, 2006		Interview Richard Giles: Why go to O’Reilly’s Emerging Technology Conference? This is the next interview in the continuing series of Computing Canada’s (CC) Blogged Down (BD) which is featured here “first” in the Canadian IT Managers (CIM) forum. Part 1: In this blog series, we talk with Richard Giles, an industry leading authority and pioneer in blogging, podcasting and new media (Web 2.0). Richard is also the founder of Clique Communications.....
Aug. 2, 2006		Technology Trends, Multi-Gigabit Networks, and iWARP Part 2 of 2: Our discussion is with Rick Maule, CEO, President, and Chairman of the Board of NetEffect. ....
Aug. 1, 2006		Critical Corporate Lessons / Challenges and Career Tips Part 1 of 2: Our discussion is with Rick Maule, CEO, President, and Chairman of the Board of NetEffect. Rick Maule is an experienced and proven leader as evidenced by the successful transition by NetEffect from InfiniBand to iWARP Ethernet technology. With more than 25 years experience in major corporations, start-ups and turnarounds in the computer and communications industry, Rick has served in various roles including general management, marketing and engineering....
July 31, 2006		Trends Resource: McKinsey Quarterly As an IT manager with an eye on the executive suite, you need to keep abreast of economic conditions and future trends. This comes from my experience in both of these roles and as a board director. In reading the latest McKinsey report, I found it is a good resource for managers and executives. Here’s a link to investigate the site – browse through the side panels....
July 24, 2006		Federal GATS, the I.S.P., a Predicated Skills Shortage I saw this news items affecting the profession and I wanted to share it with you. It's a significant recognition of where the industry and profession is heading: GATS: Under the General Agreement on Trade and Services, the Canadian Federal government has made an offer to allow entry for foreign trained workers who hold the Information Systems Professional [I.S.P.] designation. There's a skills shortage predicted and this is a method of addressing it. However, it also provides recognition of the value of the I.S.P.....
July 21, 2006		Best Practices for Regulatory Compliance: SOX (Sarbanes Oxley), Bill C-198 (Canadian SOX), Security, Privacy I read Graham's post on Sarbanes-Oxley and its implications to business. It's alarming that many businesses are not spending the necessary time or resources on this issue. And it's to their detriment! You are seeing a lot of news on this topic. As another example that appeared with the Financial Post Magazine, CIPS President, John Boufford, has been quoted that "Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) is having a profound impact on the Information Technology (IT) profession... The I.S.P. designation in association with regulatory compliance and IT governance is an opportunity for executives to take a leadership role in further aligning IT with business priorities.".......
July 20, 2006		Management Tips: Colin Powell's Leadership Primer, Part 2/2 Part 2 of Management Tips from Colin Powell....
July 19, 2006		Skyscrapr/ARCast—Essential Solutions for Software Architects I am always looking for great finds for you. Something that is really useful considering that you are busy! Where do you go to get the best architecture solutions? ARCast is the place: http://www.skyscrapr.net/blogs/arcasts/default.aspx...
July 18, 2006		Management Tips: Colin Powell’s Leadership Primer Part 1: thought, “What a great blog!”, after reading Graham’s piece on management. It brought to mind Colin’s Powel’s (CP) lessons on leadership which I’m reproducing here as extracts in a two part blog. All of them apply to IT Managers. I have added a few words of interpretation to each as I see them.....
July 17, 2006		BMO Symposium on IT Best Practices Don Eng, I.S.P. shares a compelling blog.....
July 13, 2006		Best Future Advice, from Michael Vax: Industry Leading Vice-President of Product Development at Blackboard Part 4: We continue with our interview with Michael Vax....
July 12, 2006		Career Tips/Lessons, from Michael Vax: Industry Leading Vice-President of Product Development at Blackboard Part 3: We continue with our interview with Michael Vax....
July 11, 2006		Pros/Cons of Agile Development, Best Agile Resources, from Michael Vax: Industry Leading Vice-President of Product Development at Blackboard Part 2: In our last blog on July 7, we began the interview and profiled Michael's extensive background in development and leadership. We continue with more questions...
July 10, 2006		Develop Without Borders for over $160,000: Contribute your ideas and talent to WIN FOR YOUR CHARITY There is no greater service than for community and charitable causes.Develop Without Borders is all about community outreach to ensure the success of a charity. And, I know from working with you these past 30 years, there is no greater group than IT professionals, with big talent and great ideas, to make lives better....
July 7, 2006		Two Major Challenges/Solutions from Michael Vax: Industry Leading Vice-President of Product Development at Blackboard (formerly WebCT) This is the next interview in the continuing series of Computing Canada’s (CC) Blogged Down (BD) feature which is highlighted here in the Canadian IT Managers (CIM) forum. Part 1: This week we talk with industry leading development authority, Michael Vax, Vice-President of Product Development at Blackboard.....
July 6, 2006		CIM’s Graham Jones – Recipient of the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award I feel privileged to write this blog since our very own Graham Jones, who writes and contributes so much to the CIM, and to ICT professionals as President of VANTUG, is the recipient of the Microsoft MVP Award. Graham as a newly minted MVP receive this recognition for his "demonstrated technical expertise, willingness to help others and commitment to technical communities," and his "extraordinary contribution." Graham as an MVP represents, "technology's best and brightest," "a stellar group of individuals from around the world who have demonstrated a willingness to reach out." ......
July 6, 2006		Essential Risk Management 101 I wanted to share with you the work of Dr. Robert Fabian, I.S.P., recipient of the C.C. Gotlieb Award, for his many outstanding contributions. He gave a fine presentation on Risk Management at Informatics 2006 where he argued quite successfully that IT Risk Management is a critical best practice that all IT professionals should follow. Bob provided his presentation for this blog. There are also some excellent reference links that are worth investigating at the end of the document: http://fabian.ca/temp/RiskManagementIntro.pdf .....
July 5, 2006		Microsoft’s Developer Division Key links In April, the interview with S. Somasegar, Vice-President of Microsoft's Developer Division, appeared here. Soma just shared the latest last quarter Developer Division releases so I'm providing them to you here.....
July 5, 2006		EnergizeIT Load-Fest Tips: Microsoft Virtual Server under Windows Vista One of the great benefits from EnergizeIT is that you get Windows Vista, Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1, Office 2007, plus other goodies. I loaded the latest public build of Vista (5384), followed by Office 2007 and Virtual Server.....
July 4, 2006		Solution Scenarios and People Stories in Corporate IT I am having many interesting chats with Jing Chen and you have seen his comments / insights in the blogs. Jing brings an incredibly rich background including developing some the leading solutions you are seeing with Corporations, Organizations; Microsoft's Windows Live, MSN, and the Windows Mobile Group. I invited Jing to provide a guest blog and you will see him in the future as a regular contributor......
June 28, 2006		EnergizeIT for Neil Squire: Empowering people with Disabilities I really enjoyed my time at EnergizeIT since it is about working with the community and giving time and resources to things that matter. As a highlight of my day, I had the special honour and pleasure of introducing Dr. Gary Birch, executive director of the Neil Squire Society (NSS) and a noted researcher in the field. Gary provided an inspiring talk in the morning about NSS followed by a video in the afternoon. Gary noted that Microsoft technologies are integral to some of the technologies they provide. This is what it is all about--supporting community needs too! I have another privilege today. This time providing an introduction to a blog post from Greg Pyc, NSS's National Operations Manager. Greg has many great stories and deep insights so I have invited him to blog here......
June 22, 2006		New Professional Credentialing/Certification Paths for IT Workers New and Improved Designation for Tech Workers Tech Association urges industry to reinforce professional standards - by Mylene Sayo "The Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS) recently announced the revamping of a professional designation for Information Technology (IT) workers. The Information Systems Professional (I.S.P.) of Canada designation is being strengthened and is now available to academics, IT leaders and experienced IT professionals, three groups of IT workers that were not eligible for the designation previously. This news item energizes a dialogue: http://www.cips.ca/news/national/news.asp?aID=2270 ......."
June 22, 2006		Top 10 Attributes for an Effective Trainer: Top 10 Keys for Effective Training-Part 2/2 Part 2 of a discussion I had with Thomas Moore, a top-tier developer, consultant, trainer and author, I asked him to share his 10 tips for trainers and for training. In part 1 of this two-part series, Thomas described those attributes that have made him a well-respected trainer. ....
June 21, 2006		Top 10 Attributes for an Effective Trainer: Top 10 Keys for Effective Training-Part 1/2 In a discussion I had with Thomas Moore, a top-tier developer, consultant, trainer and author, I asked him to share his 10 tips for trainers and for training. Following are Thomas's top 10 attributes that make him one of the best trainers...
June 19, 2006		Predictions of Future Trends / Implications; Five TOP Resource URLs: from Nestor J. Portillo, Regional Manager, Americas Region MVP Worldwide, Microsoft Corp. Part 6 of our discussion with Nestor J. Portillo, who discusses the MVP program and the value it brings to business and technical communities. This is the continuing series of special interviews appearing first here in the Canadian IT Managers (CIM) forum from top-ranking business and technology leaders....
June 16, 2006		Five Biggest Issues Facing Technical Communities and their Solutions: from Nestor J. Portillo, Regional Manager, Americas Region MVP Worldwide, Microsoft Corp. Part 5 of our discussion with Nestor J. Portillo, who discusses the MVP program and the value it brings to business and technical communities. This is the continuing series of special interviews appearing first here in the Canadian IT Managers (CIM) forum from top-ranking business and technology leaders....
June 16, 2006		EnergizeIT: The Unconference -- You Install, Learn: Vista, Virtual Server, Office 2007 I am a "geek". I admit it even though I started in 1965. So I couldn't pass up EnergizeIT on June 24th. I consider it a kind of Unconference since it's centered of what we want-having fun, interaction, hands-on labs with our own laptops, free software, sharing within a community of IT.....
June 15, 2006		Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program (MVP) Contributions to Communities / Differentiation / Value: from Nestor J. Portillo, Regional Manager, Americas Region MVP Worldwide, Microsoft Corp. Part 4 of our discussion with Nestor J. Portillo, who discusses the MVP program and the value it brings to business and technical communities. This is the continuing series of special interviews appearing first here in the Canadian IT Managers (CIM) forum from top-ranking business and technology leaders....
June 14, 2006		Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program (MVP) Biggest Challenges / Solutions: from Nestor J. Portillo, Regional Manager, Americas Region MVP Worldwide, Microsoft Corp. Part 3 of our discussion with Nestor J. Portillo, who discusses the MVP program and the value it brings to business and technical communities. This is the continuing series of special interviews appearing first here in the Canadian IT Managers (CIM) forum from top-ranking business and technology leaders....
June 13, 2006		Career Tip: Change or Stagnate! -- Personal SWOT Analysis for Career Growth I feel one of the hardest challenges for IT professionals is to reach beyond their comfort zone. Ask yourself, are you feeling too comfortable in your job? This can be a key indicator of stagnation, complacency, and career stall!....
June 13, 2006		Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program (MVP) History, Goals: from Nestor J. Portillo, Regional Manager, Americas Region MVP Worldwide, Microsoft Corp. Part 2 of our discussion with Nestor J. Portillo, who discusses the MVP program and the value it brings to business and technical communities. This is the continuing series of special interviews appearing first here in the Canadian IT Managers (CIM) forum from top-ranking business and technology leaders....
June 12, 2006		Microsoft Innovation: Open Blogging for IT Managers It started with an idea about a year ago with official pre-launch November 28th with John Oxley's invitation and my response. The Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS) is a partner and Computing Canada linked in with their editorial feature Blogged Down in January—in their magazine, they highlight and then point to an interview which appears here first.....
June 12, 2006		Career Milestones, Lessons for IT Managers/Professionals: from Nestor J. Portillo, Regional Manager, Americas Region MVP Worldwide, Microsoft Corp. Part 1 of our discussion with Nestor J. Portillo, who discusses the MVP program and the value it brings to business and technical communities. This is the continuing series of special interviews appearing first here in the Canadian IT Managers (CIM) forum from top-ranking business and technology leaders....
June 9, 2006		CIPS supports the Neil Squire Society--Empowering Canadians with Physical Disabilities At the INFORMATICS conference last week, CIPS' President, John Boufford, made a impassioned call for action to support the Neil Squire Society who innovate technology and services to empower Canadians with physical disabilities. John took this plea for support to heart himself by his President's Challenge-this time a public "shaving" of his long-standing beard to raise funds for Neil Squire....
June 8, 2006		Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Space, Oceans, Legacy IT Transformation: from Mervyn Adrian, Senior VP, Forrester Research Part 4 of 4, Interview with Merv Adrian, Senior Vice-President of Forrester Research. This is the next interview in the continuing series of Computing Canada’s (CC) Blogged Down (BD) feature which is highlighted here in the Canadian IT Managers (CIM) forum.....
June 7, 2006		Five Predications of Future Trends, their Implications and Business Opportunities: from Mervyn Adrian, Senior VP, Forrester Research Part 3 of 4, Interview with Merv Adrian, Senior Vice-President of Forrester Research. This is the next interview in the continuing series of Computing Canada’s (CC) Blogged Down (BD) feature which is highlighted here in the Canadian IT Managers (CIM) forum.....
June 6, 2006		Five Biggest Issues Facing the Business Technology Industry: from Mervyn Adrian, Senior VP, Forrester Research Part 2 of 4, Interview with Merv Adrian, Senior Vice-President of Forrester Research. This is the next interview in the continuing series of Computing Canada’s (CC) Blogged Down (BD) feature which is highlighted here in the Canadian IT Managers (CIM) forum.....
June 5, 2006		Four Current Challenges, Lessons, Solutions from Mervyn Adrian, Senior VP, Forrester Research Part 1 of 4, Interview with Merv Adrian, Senior Vice-President of Forrester Research. This is the next interview in the continuing series of Computing Canada’s (CC) Blogged Down (BD) feature which is highlighted here in the Canadian IT Managers (CIM) forum....
June 2, 2006		IT Labour Shortages, Jobs on the Rise: Need for Professionalism--professional certification I’m seeing a rise in job demand and an IT labour shortage. Increased productivity, efficiency, collaboration, business agility, and globalization are all fueled by ICT adoption. We are now past the sector correction that occurred post Y2K and on the curve upwards. This bodes well for you and for IT in general. This also means there is increased need for professionalism or professional certification—in essence credentialing to move IT practitioners into a profession.....
June 2, 2006		IT Issues, MVP Profile, Managing Software Development, Leadership Tips, SAAS (Software As A Service), Web 2.0—upcoming interviews I’m providing you a peak of upcoming interviews that you will appear here. Is there someone you would like to see interviewed? Sampler includes: Mervyn Adrian, senior vice-president of Forrester Research provides his deep insights into the IT market and technologies plus key IT issues for managers; Nestor J. Portillo, Microsoft MVP regional manager Americas Region, describes the value inherent in the MVP program; Michael Vax, vice-president of product development of Blackboard Inc. (formerly WebCT) gives his key management lessons and best practices on software development; Joe Horvath, co-founder of iFusion and now a Director within Ideaca, describes their recent merger, talks about SaaS and Microsoft business solutions; Richard Giles, an international authority on Web 2.0 shares his views on the latest Web 2.0 technologies, trends, and on corporate blogging......
May 31, 2006		Essential Career Tips for Success – The Series: Rand Morimoto, Ph.D., MBA, MCSE, Award-winning Speaker, Author and President/CEO of Convergent Computing This is the next blog post in the career tip series from noted IT professionals. In my dialogue with Rand, he provided these career tips, which I also spoke to at a career conference this year.....
May 30, 2006		What’s Happening with Server Consolidation, Server Virtualization Part 2/2 I had a conversation which triggered this blog on virtualization. Here’s part 2/2....
May 29, 2006		What’s Happening with Server Consolidation, Server Virtualization Part 1/2 This week I had a conversation with an IT Manager which triggered this blog on virtualization. Here is Part 1/2....
May 26, 2006		Self-Managing Dynamic Systems, Dynamic Systems Initiative: Catch the Presentation at INFORMATICS 2006 Victoria May 28-30....
May 24, 2006		Skyscrapr: Your Window on the Disciplines on System Architecture, Building Successful Systems, Architects’ blogs, Industry Trends, Webcasts, Architecture Encyclopedia and Glossary, Resource Center I received this notice from my MVP lead and thought I would share it with you. It's a good control and information center for all things architecture and well worth your time to have a look at: https://www.skyscrapr.net/default.aspx .....
May 23, 2006		Computing Canada (CC) “Blogged Down” – Dennis McPeak, Technical Architect, 2005 Computing Canada IT Leadership: Project Team of the Year Award This is the 8th interview in the series, Blogged Down. The interview is with Dennis McPeak, Technical Architect, RBC Financial Group. In 2005, Dennis and his team were the recipients of the 2005 Computing Canada IT Leadership Awards: Project Team of the Year Award....
May 19, 2006		Top Tips from an Awarding Winning Technical Architect: Dennis McPeak I wanted to give you a heads-up on an upcoming interview with Dennis McPeak, Technical Architect with RBC Financial Group, since he provides some excellent tips for IT managers. Dennis and his team won the Project Team of the Year Award from Computing Canada announced online in January of this year. ....
May 18, 2006		Eight Career Tips (Life lessons) I received an e-mail yesterday if I could share some of the roles I have undertaken and then provide career tips. (1) Have a pure motivation for your work…provide and make meaning for others: it is not about money. Strive to make it better for others. Your career goals and money will come. (2) Differentiate and provide value: This basic principle in starting a company and consulting also applies to careers. I had a meeting with a senior executive and he the talked about how this made a substantial difference in his life. You will see these principles in talks given by Guy Kawasaki and on his blog. ........
May 17, 2006		A unique event--having CEOs and CIOs at the same table—be there! I’m reading Martin Slofstra’s editorial on “The Science of Compliance” in www.itbusiness.ca and it struck a chord. It’s worth a read—have a look. Martin talks about an upcoming special roundtable he is moderating and its implications. You have forums with CEOs and VPs talking. You have forums with CIOs/CTOs and Managers talking. Where do you see them seated together discussing the important issues facing businesses today? It is rare and quite exceptional! It’s a special event and you get to participate too in this executive roundtable, “Building Better Business Ties.” Why not register and see history in the making?
May 17, 2006		Attend the premier conference for business and technology professionals: INFORMATICS 2006, May 28 to 30th, Victoria, BC In working with computers since 1965, I discovered it is essential to collaborate and keep yourself current with the latest trends and technologies. What are the top issues and how can you better manage them? What are the best practices that you must know to be successful? What business and technology roadmaps and key tips can you learn? The quickest way to obtain this essential value to sustain and rapidly grow your career is to attend at least one key conference per year. INFORMATICS is the conference that I’m recommending. You will find many of the guest bloggers for this forum at INFORMATICS! Why not enter into a dialogue with them? ....
May 12, 2006		With a Predicted 55% Increase in Some Jobs: What are the Secrets in Attracting and Keeping Technology Talent? The US Bureau of Labour predicts a 55% increase in demand for network systems analysts from 2004 to 2014. So how do IT managers and businesses attract and then keep IT talent? It's an important question that I was asked recently for CISCO's IQ Magazine. Referrals are the best source for finding qualified new hires including from employees, colleagues, and IT associations such as CIPS. I am asked all the time. Perhaps a Job Board here in the Canadian IT Managers forum (CIM) would be of value?.....
May 11, 2006		Podcast with Derick Wong: Noted Security Authority and Senior Product Manager, Microsoft—Catch his presentation at the INFORMATICS Conference in Victoria May 28-30 I was very fortunate to catch Derick Wong for this podcast where he shares his insights into security. Derick recently appeared featured in the Financial Post Business Magazine due to his internationally recognized security background. Here is the interview with time and topic index. To listen to the interview directly, click on this MP3 file link.
May 10, 2006		Computing Canada (CC) “Blogged Down” – Dr. Norm Archer: Professor Emeritus and Leading International Authority on eBusiness This is the 7th interview in the series, Blogged Down. The interview is with Dr. Norm Archer, Professor Emeritus in the Management Science and Information Systems Area of the DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Canada. He is also Special Advisor to the McMaster eBusiness Research Centre (MeRC), which he founded in 1999 as its first director....
May 9, 2006		Part 5/5—Interview: co-author Roy Levien; The KeyStone Advantage:> Here is part 5 of my discussion with Roy Levien.....
May 8, 2006		Part 4/5—Interview: co-author Roy Levien; The KeyStone Advantage: Here is part 4 of my discussion with Roy Levien.....
May 5, 2006		Part 3/5—Interview: co-author Roy Levien; The KeyStone Advantage: Here is part 3 of my discussion with Roy Levien.....
May 4, 2006		Part 2/5—Interview: co-author Roy Levien; The KeyStone Advantage: Here is part 2 of my discussion with Roy Levien....
May 3, 2006		Interview: co-author Roy Levien; The KeyStone Advantage: “This is an important book that should be read by anyone interested in the dynamics of modern business.” -- Bill Gates (1 of 5) I shared a discussion with famed Harvard Professor, Marco Iansiti, where he describes business ecosystems. I am continuing the discussion with his co-author, Roy Levien, who provides details about the model for successful businesses. As a side note, you will notice that Roy is an inventor with Intellectual Ventures – a somewhat super secret organization working with the best talent on the planet generating patents and new ideas....
May 2, 2006		Interview with co-author Dr. Marco Iansiti; The Keystone Advantage: “This is an important book that should be read by anyone interested in the dynamics of modern business.” -- Bill Gates In a prior blog, I indicated that IT is the enabler to both internal and external business ecosystems. This creates a demand for professionalism since IT is mission critical to enterprise effectiveness and business agility. In essence IT is a kind of Keystone and this ties into an interview I conducted with Marco....
April 28, 2006		The Essentials of Regulatory Compliance – a roadmap you can’t ignore! It's looming and you can't ignore it. What am I blogging about? Regulatory Compliance. So take the time to go these links and to the sub-links. It's well worth your time....
April 27, 2006		Career Tip Series: Richard Giles, Author and Noted Blogger This is the next blog post in the career tip series from noted IT professionals. In my recent dialogue with Rich, he provided this fine career tip on blogging. It’s the medium that is sweeping the world and the basis of a revolution in corporate communications. I have an upcoming interview with Rich so watch for it.....
April 26, 2006		Computing Canada (CC) “Blogged Down” – interview with Paul Bassett I.S.P. (ret.), Leading Software Engineer and Computer Science Authority; Senior Consultant Cutter Consortium This is the sixth interview in the series Blogged Down. The interview is with Paul Bassett, I.S.P. (ret.): leading software engineer and computer science authority; senior consultant, Cutter Consortium.....
April 25, 2006		Part 4/4: 5 Essential Tips for Mobile and Wireless Computing I was interviewed on the topic of Mobile, Wireless, and Security several times this year however only a portion typically makes it to print so I’m blogging about it. This is a four-part blog series: Part 1/4: The Major Move to Mobile and Wireless: are you prepared? Part 2/4: The Value of Security for Mobile/Wireless Part 3/4: Managing Mobile and Wireless Security Effectively Part 4/4: 5 Essential Tips for Mobile and Wireless Computing
April 24, 2006		Part 3/4: Managing Mobile and Wireless Security Effectively I was interviewed on the topic of Mobile, Wireless, and Security several times this year however only a portion typically makes it to print so I’m blogging about it. This is a four-part blog series: Part 1/4: The Major Move to Mobile and Wireless: are you prepared? Part 2/4: The Value of Security for Mobile/Wireless Part 3/4: Managing Mobile and Wireless Security Effectively Part 4/4: 5 Essential Tips for Mobile and Wireless Computing
April 21, 2006		Part 2/4: The Value of Security for Mobile/Wireless> I was interviewed on the topic of Mobile, Wireless, and Security several times this year however only a portion typically makes it to print so I’m blogging about it. This is a four-part blog series: Part 1/4: The Major Move to Mobile and Wireless: are you prepared? Part 2/4: The Value of Security for Mobile/Wireless Part 3/4: Managing Mobile and Wireless Security Effectively Part 4/4: 5 Essential Tips for Mobile and Wireless Computing
April 20, 2006		Part 1/4: The Major Move to Mobile and Wireless: are you prepared? I was interviewed on the topic of Mobile, Wireless, and Security several times this year however only a portion typically makes it to print so I’m blogging about it. This is a four-part blog series: Part 1/4: The Major Move to Mobile and Wireless: are you prepared? Part 2/4: The Value of Security for Mobile/Wireless Part 3/4: Managing Mobile and Wireless Security Effectively Part 4/4: 5 Essential Tips for Mobile and Wireless Computing
April 18, 2006		John Boufford, I.S.P. -- IT Governance: An Opportunity or Hindrance? John Boufford, I.S.P., CIPS’ current National Vice President and incoming President for 2006-2007, has a compelling message that needs to be heard. John is writing and speaking on issues crucial to the profession and to businesses. His recent featured article appearing in the Financial Post Magazine is generating much needed discussion so John is blogging the article here. Moreover, John is co-presenting with Kerry Augustine, CIPS Manitoba President at the INFORMATICS conference in May: speaking on "Managing Business Risk through IT Certification." This session demonstrates the value of professional certification and professionalism to businesses.....
April 17, 2006		CIPS, Microsoft, IAMCP: Vancouver Channel Builder Meeting I saw this notice and thought, what a great opportunity for everyone. So here's the blog:, Find Out How to Build Your Business with Microsoft The Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS), The International Association of Microsoft Certified Partners (IAMCP) and Microsoft Canada cordially invite you to join us May 17th at The Hyatt Hotel in Vancouver to attend an evening cocktail reception with Chris Olson, Senior Marketing Manager, Independent Software Vendor Strategy Group, Microsoft Corporation.
April 11, 2006		Patricia MacInnis Computing Canada’s Editor talks with Bernard Courtois, President of ITAC There are those special industry voices that need to be heard in our forum. They provide great insights and create a wonderful context for their views. I just finished an interview with Patricia MacInnis, Editor of Computing Canada. However her recent March 17th editorial just struck a chord with us in this forum; so we invited Patricia to guest blog it. She connects the dots giving us the big picture! Here's Patricia blog from her editorial....
April 10, 2006		Computing Canada (CC) “Blogged Down” – interview with Ben Grebinski: Superintendent of School Operations, Administrative Services and Technology, Regina Catholic Schools This is the fifth interview in the series Blogged Down. The interview is with Ben Grebinski, Superintendent of School Operations, Administrative Services and Technology, Regina Catholic Schools. In 2005, Ben was the recipient of the 2005 Computing Canada IT Leadership: IT Executive of the Year Award. The Computing Canada IT Leadership Awards represent the highest of honours for the industry with an estimated size of 500,000 to 800,000 professionals: .....
April 7, 2006		Podcast Interview with Venture Capitalist, Guy Kawasaki, Chairman and Managing Director of Garage Technology Ventures I caught Guy’s keynote presentation at a forum for entrepreneurs seeking "Angel" funding (early stage seed capital). He kept me laughing throughout since he cuts through the hype and gives it to you straight—all the right things you should be doing if you want to get investment. You know the startups presenting [and seeking funding] after his keynote have broken Guy’s rules so you can almost hear them frantically thinking---hmmm, how can I NOT look stupid? In this podcast, Guy talks about venture funding and his latest passion, blogging. There’s a time/topic index if you want to hop around though I recommend you listen to the entire piece......
April 6, 2006		Interview: S. “Soma” Somasegar--Corporate Vice President, Developer Division, Microsoft – Part 3 In Part 1 (seen here on Tuesday April 4th), we begin our Q&A with Soma and profile his background. Soma also discusses his main current challenges and how he is solving them. In Part 2 (seen here on Wednesday April 5th), we examine Soma's views on the biggest issues facing the IT industry and business. Here's Part 3 of the Q&A series with Soma where Soma discusses future trends, AJAX/ATLAS, and his top recommended resources for IT professionals......
April 5, 2006		Interview: S. “Soma” Somasegar--Corporate Vice President, Developer Division, Microsoft – Part 2 In Part 1 (seen here in CIM on Tuesday April 4th), we begin our Q&A with Soma and profile his background. Soma also discusses his major current challenges and how he is solving them. Here is Part 2 of the Q&A series with Soma where he discusses the major issues facing the IT industry and businesses....
April 4, 2006		Interview: S. “Soma” Somasegar--Corporate Vice President, Developer Division, Microsoft – Part 1 I believe there is a lot of value in getting information direct from the source and especially an acknowledged authority in software development. Here is Part 1 in the Q&A series with Soma.....
April 3, 2006		Global IT Skills shortage fact, or fiction? -- Part 3 of the series Margaret's March 20th and March 28th blogs, "Global IT Skills shortage fact, or fiction?" triggered discussions both inside and outside the CIM forum: - Most Wanted: a Multi-Specialist with Business Acumen or I.S.P. - What’s a Versatilist - Multi-IT Specialist with Business Acumen=A Versatilist. In part 3, Margaret discusses several practical solutions. I encourage CIM readers to make comments here too. Let your views and voice be heard....
Mar. 31, 2006		Multi-IT Specialist with Business Acumen= A Versatilist I read Graham's blog "What's a Versatilist" where he rather eloquently expresses his thoughts about the meaning of the term. This was originally going to be a comment to his post however due to it's length, I'm responding as a blog post......
Mar. 31, 2006		Career Tip: Dr. Mike Stonebraker, World’s Foremost Database Authority Dr. Mike Stonebraker, Founder and CTO, StreamBase Systems Professor at MIT World’s foremost pioneer on RDBMS; founder of INGRES, POSTGRES, Mariposa, Illustra 2005 IEEE John Von Neumann Medal Winner Computer Reseller News Top Five Software Developers of the Century Forbes Magazine: Top 8 Innovators 1992 ACM System Software Medal, 1994 ACM Innovation Award I was recently dialoguing with Mike and he provided this great career tip. His tip resonates with me since with startups you develop a multitude of deep skills....
Mar. 28, 2006		Global IT Skills shortage fact, or fiction? -- Part 2 of the series Margaret's March 20th blog, "Global IT Skills shortage fact, or fiction?" has been generating discussion outside the CIM forum. I encourage you to make comments here too. Let your views and voice be heard. Part 2 of the series from Margaret Evered:.....
Mar. 27, 2006		Most Wanted: a Multi-Specialist with Business Acumen or I.S.P.! I have been following Margaret's March 20th blog, "Global IT Skills shortage fact, or fiction?' with interest and reading the comments. CIM co-host John and I had a recent discussion on it today, and I just finished an hour with a researcher for the US department of labour O*NET program where they called for input and we discussed these issues and the profile of IT workers in the future. I find Margaret's arguments compelling and wanted to add another dimension to this perspective based upon my conversations today........
Mar. 24, 2006		Read About Technology Challenges/Solutions and Security I encourage you to obtain a copy of the Financial Post Business April 2006 magazine on news stands ONLY on April 7, 2006 as an insert in the National Post newspaper. For the article on IT security threats, Microsoft security expert Derek Wong provides his valued insights. Derek will also be speaking about the top 10 security threats at INFORMATICS 2006 held in Victoria May 28th to 30th. CIPS has partnered with the National Post in the creation of a special technology section to appear in the April 2006 issue of the Financial Post Business magazine.....
Mar. 23, 2006		Interview: Patricia MacInnis, Editor, Computing Canada A question I often get is, "How can I progress career-wise and stay ahead?" Invariably, a good strategy is to keep informed. To help you, I am sharing an interview I did this week with Computing Canada (CC) Editor Patricia MacInnis, a leading and respected voice in the Canadian computing scene. Patricia provides insights into a number of topic areas....
Mar. 21, 2006		Computing Canada (CC) “Blogged Down”—interview with Trevor Eddolls There's a new editorial feature, Blogged Down (BD), in Computing Canada (CC) where editor Patricia MacInnis features an upcoming interview that appears here in the Canadian IT Managers forum (CIM). Computing Canada (CC) is the oldest, largest, most influential bi-weekly business/technology print publication with an audience that includes more than 42,000 IT decision makers in medium to large enterprises. This is the fourth interview in the series Blogged Down. The interview is with Trevor Eddolls author, editor, founder and CEO of iTech-Ed ltd. Trevor has written a number of books and articles on what is happening in the computer industry with an emphasis on the mainframe marketplace and large enterprises. He has edited Xephon's technical Update journals for 20 years providing his insight into future trends....
Mar. 20, 2006		Global IT skills shortage fact, or fiction? Part I of a Series I was talking with Margaret Evered recently and she has a lot to say that needs to be heard. Margaret has an impressive 20+ years in IT management and fully appreciates the challenges IT managers have in finding qualified staff and retaining them. I invited Margaret to blog her views in Canada’s only premier forum for IT managers and pros. Margaret brings an impressive background so take the time to read and comment on her views....
Mar. 17, 2006		Product Management and QA: Constraining the Test Cases, Part 2/2 DJ Dunkerley provided Part I/II earlier this week. Here's Part II/II:
Mar. 16, 2006		Product Management and QA: Constraining the Test Cases, Part 1/2 I invited DJ Dunkerley back in late February to provide two posts on Project Management (there's a profile at this link). Here's another series on Product Management and QA, to give you that needed edge.....
Mar. 15, 2006		Career Advice for Twenty-Something IT Managers I want to mix it up for you and we have a broad audience. So here is some variety - a message or lesson and some fun too. Something a little "Frisky," as DJ puts it. DJ Dunkerley that is - he provided a post previously Feb 27th and Feb 28th on Project Management....
Mar. 14, 2006		Interview: Ross Mayfield—Founder and CEO, Socialtext.com I feel there is an online revolution in social collaborations through services such as blogs, RSS, and Wikis. This Canadian IT Managers (CIM) forum is a great example of what is to come - more interaction, more community, and ultimately a fine vehicle for working together. There is also the Mix06 conference in March which is all about this change. In this interview with Ross Mayfield, well known in the social web arena, we talk about what this can mean. Ross shares his views about blogs and Wikis and the area of Web 2.0 since he was at the conference last year. As a serial entrepreneur, Ross also shares his tips on evolving a startup. [Note: Ross's references to next year are for 2006.]......
Mar. 13, 2006		Curing Software Engineering’s Chronic Concerns: Part 3/3 See part 1 on this valuable series posted here March 8th and part 2 on March 10. Here's the final piece from Paul Bassett......
Mar. 10, 2006		Curing Software Engineering’s Chronic Concerns: Part 2/3 See part 1 on this valuable series posted here March 8th. Here’s the next post from Paul Bassett…
Mar. 10, 2006		CC Blogged Down Interview: Internationally acknowledged Security Authority--Laura Chappell, Founder: Protocol Analysis Institute, Internet Safety for Kids Project I have blogged about Laura's work before. This is the third interview in the series Blogged Down with Computing Canada (CC). Laura is very candid and "open" in expressing her views which I found refreshing. Laura provides many useful and "practical" security insights/practices for IT managers/pros. I encourage you read this interview and click on the links she provides. I have included an index at the front so you can get to those topics of interest quickly. There are so many valuable guidelines that the interview is in text format for easier access. It will appear in an upcoming CIPS Connections newsletter.....
Mar. 8, 2006		Curing Software Engineering’s Chronic Concerns: Part 1/3 How can we make your work as IT Managers and IT Pros easier? One answer: by collaboration and sharing the expertise of top-ranking professionals. I was talking with the noted computer science authority, Paul Bassett recently about dramatically increasing productivity, and he agreed to provide this three part blog series on “Curing Software Engineering’s Chronic Concerns.”.....Look for Part 2 of series...
Mar. 7, 2006		Dangers of Wireless Interesting article from the New York Times online – Technology section....
Mar. 6, 2006		Microsoft is Listening and Responsive and is Now Topping the List as Most Respected Last year, CIM co-host John Oxley initiated an innovative program by providing this open forum for Canadian IT Managers. Then he invited everyone to participate and share. The common theme is community and collaboration with IT Managers and IT Pros and to support your efforts....
Mar. 3, 2006		Computing Canada “Blogged Down”—interview with Laura Chappell appearing March 9th There's a new editorial feature, Blogged Down (BD), in Computing Canada (CC) where editor Patricia MacInnis features an upcoming interview that appears here in the Canadian IT Managers forum (CIM). Computing Canada is the oldest, and largest bi-weekly business/technology print publication with a large audience including more than 40,000 IT decision makers in medium to large enterprises. The next interview appearing here on Thursday March 9th is with Laura Chappell Founder and Senior Protocol/Security Analyst for the Protocol Analysis Institute, LLC....
Mar. 2, 2006		Best Practices for Performing a Security Audit from Laura Chappell I was talking with Laura Chappell about useful security tips since she "lives and breathes" security. As a bit of background, last year, she received the international Award for Professionalism founded by the NPA and given out at the Interop Conference in Vegas. Some of you may have caught her packed sessions at Microsoft TechEd conferences or HP Enterprise Symposiums. I know from my talks with some of you, you are familiar with her "Internet Safety for Kids Project" which she founded together with the "Protocol Analysis Institute." Anyways, I asked her about the best ways to perform a security vulnerability audit on your network and she provided this list.....
Mar. 1, 2006		Are you watching, “The Code Room”? I found it entertaining and still informative from an "overview" perspective. Something you would want as an IT manager - enough technical depth to give you a picture of the issues without getting bloated with the details. So how about adding the 1/2 hour show, "The Code Room" to your viewing schedule. The internet TV program exposes you to the latest tools and technologies for tackling real-world software development issues using an acted out scenario format--part show, reality TV, and technology showcase in one.....
Feb 28, 2006		Project Management: Why Stupid Procedures Should Be Followed (Most of the Time) – Part 2/2 Earlier, I introduced DJ Dunkerley, a Business Analyst and Project Manager currently lending his expertise with Annex Consulting and working on a host of projects. DJ has a two-part blog about Project Management. Here's part 2.
Feb.27, 2006		Project Management: Why Stupid Procedures Should Be Followed (Most of the Time) – Part 1/2 On Friday I talked about the fine Professional Development Conference sponsored by CIPS Vancouver and hosted at BCIT. I had a chance to dialogue with session speaker, DJ Dunkerley, and invited DJ to share his thoughts here. DJ is a Business Analyst and Project Manager with more than 10 years experience working in the hi-tech industry in Vancouver, starting at Laser's Edge in 1994 and continuing with Creo (now Kodak Graphics) as project and product manager. DJ currently lends his expertise with Annex Consulting working on a host of projects. DJ has an engaging two-part blog about Project Management. Look for Part 2, later this week......
Feb.24, 2006		Communicate or Fail in your Career! I was invited to keynote the Career Professional Development Event this week hosted by CIPS Vancouver and held at BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology). With proceeds going to scholarships, Neil Johnson, President of CIPS Vancouver provided a convincing argument when he requested I share my experiences, and provide career lessons. The event also provided a great opportunity to dialogue with the organizers, speakers, and guests. I would recommend putting the event on your calendar for next year. .....
Feb.23, 2006		Don't Wait Until It's Too Late! -- Watch These Essential Security Webcasts Security is a top priority for IT managers and will be for the future. I’m always on the lookout for security webcasts that will keep you and your team at the top of your security form. Here’s a must see series to put into your calendars......
Feb.22, 2006		A Winner! “OneCare Live’s” protection for 3 PCs from Viruses, Spyware, Cyberthreats I'm finding viruses, spyware, phishing, identity theft threats so irritating. How about a mandatory 5 years imprisonment and a $5M fine for those involved? Every time my system starts to slow down I bring up the task manager looking at what processes are stealing cycles - this is how I found the last virus that got into my system. It's making me feel more insecure and recent surveys are also supporting this trend (75% say they are more likely to be cybercrime victims than physical crimes as one example) and concerns about doing credit card transactions or working online is on a significant rise. In fact so much so, that nearly 40% won't send sensitive information online.....
Feb. 21, 2006		Watch for corporate failure without board level attention to IT governance In the interview that appeared here, Roger Sessions speaks about tighter integration and communication between corporate and IT governance and major failures when this doesn't happen. In fact he is predicting this will happen sooner than later. Roger has an enviable record for accuracy and I hope all executives and board directors are listening.....
Feb.20, 2006		Solving the Pain around migrating Visual Studio 2003 Web Projects to Visual Studio 2005 I know you want to make migrating Visual Studio 2003 Web projects to Visual Studio 2005 as painless as possible. I feel models save a lot of time. Take a look at these two web sites.....
Feb. 17, 2006		Warning: Simple Steps to Breaking the Security Perimeter and Unlocking the Keys to the Corporation Watch out! It is amazing how simple it is to break into companies and steal all their data. This story "Anatomy of a Break-in" details how easy it is by profiling "step-by-step" how Ira Winker and his team were able to compromise all the critical systems within two days including having the ability to steal sensitive information and threaten the entire IT infrastructure of a business....
Feb. 16, 2006		Sobering Thought: 2.5 to 3% of all e-mails contain a virus One study has it at 2.5% and another at nearly 3% of all e-mail that is contaminated with e-mail borne viruses. That’s a sobering thought since part of this is attributable to the Sober virus.....
Feb. 15, 2006		Interview with Peter Grant, I.S.P.: CIO of the BC Securities Commission What’s the best way to achieve an objective? I believe it is by modeling others who have reached a particular goal you want to achieve. You want to be a top-level executive then listen to the views of senior CIO, Peter Grant....
Feb. 14, 2006		Try Atlas: It’s AJAX Improved! I know you have heard the buzz around AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) which allows an integrated, client-focused way of developing Web applications.....
Feb. 13, 2006		Visual Studio Team System: Solving Critical Software Development Challenges Cindy Anderson is a remarkable and talented Technical Specialist in the UK. In talking with Cindy, she is keenly aware of the problems faced by IT Managers. I asked Cindy for a roadmap and she shared her key thoughts on solving software development challenges. Take the time to explore the Visual Studio Team System link she provided......
Feb.10, 2006		Don’t miss these Essential Architect Web Casts I’m always on the lookout for those special gems that will give you key insights into architecting. The idea is to stay ahead, have practical solutions that you can use, and a roadmap for your future planning....
Feb. 9, 2006		Future of ASP, Enterprise software challenges, Legacy or new systems, Future of the internet I was interviewed on these topics recently so I thought I would share some of the discussion with you..... -   Future of the ASP (Application Service Provider) Model... -   Biggest software challenges for enterprises... -   Should we move to use new systems or work on expanding existing systems... -   What about the future of the Internet... ................
Feb. 8, 2006		Best Practices for the Encrypting File System As Managers and IT Pros, I recommend you add to your reference base of "best practices," for the Encrypting File System (EFS). And with mobile computing becoming more the norm than the exception it's critical to employ these best practices on the hard drives. Here's a good knowledge base article to add to your reference library and share with your team:  http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=223316 .....
Feb. 7, 2006		Interview: Bruce Schneier, Secure Computing Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient, 2005 CTO of the Year I met recently with an IT executive talking about the interview with Bruce and he responded, "Bruce Schneier's seminal work Applied Cryptography, is required reading." Moreover in talking with other IT Managers, they readily follow his work through Bruce's newsletter, Crypto-Gram, which is the most widely read security newsletter, with more than 120,000 readers. So based upon all the requests to hear from Bruce, we did this interview with him.....
Feb. 6, 2006		Where Do I Start with Agile - software development process? I have known Peter Rawsthorne [M.Ed., B.Tech, MCSD, Project Lead / Systems Architect] for some time. And, you may have caught his presentations which have received wide acclaim. Peter has a lot to share with IT managers and pros and so I asked him to speak on Agile....
Feb. 5, 2006		Warning: Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) New Policies Thomas Moore (MCSE, MCSA, MCDBA, MCSD, MCT, CTT+, Net+, CSE) is one of those rare individuals who contributes so much and in a multitude of ways. I had a chance to interview Thomas which was picked up worldwide due to his strong and extensive background. Moreover, his best selling books are must read for serious developers and architects. I asked him to share his thoughts with you about a business / IT challenge about which you must take note. He shared this about the CIRA and it's recent policy changes......
Feb. 3, 2006		Computing Canada's Editorial Feature "Blogged Down" There's a new editorial feature, Blogged Down, in Computing Canada where editor Patricia MacInnis features an upcoming interview that appears here in the Canadian IT Managers forum (CIM)...... The first interview was with noted software architect and Microsoft MVP, Roger Sessions, that appeared here Jan 10, 2006: http://blogs.technet.com/cdnitmanagers/archive/2006/01/10/417165.aspx .........
Feb. 2, 2006		Deep Impact - AJAX Yong Tao Chen, MCDBA, MCSD.net, MCSE+I has worked for some of the largest companies in Canada and in the US as a senior consultant and brings an interesting perspective on the latest technologies or trends. I invited him to share his views and he provides his insights into AJAX.....
Feb. 1, 2006		Solving Business Business Challenges with MS CRM 3.0 I did a podcast with Joe Horvath about MS CRM 3.0: http://blogs.technet.com/cdnitmanagers/archive/2006/01/06/416962.aspx His group are some on the top experts on the subject in Canada and received two national awards in 2005. See responses provided by Joe Horvath (through guest blog) to questions I received via email....
Jan. 31, 2006		Methodology - One Size Doesn't Fit All I was talking with Adam Cole and he had some really interesting things to say so I invited him here to provide a "guest blog."....
Jan. 25, 2006		Well Deserved – Microsoft’s Partner Program Takes Top Spot for Two Straight Years And now according to a study by IDC, for two years in a row and in a comparison with the 25 leading software vendors, the Microsoft Partner Program takes the top spot. Take a minute to listen to the interview with Ilya Bukshteyn or Joe Horvath and you can see why. So I take my hat off to Microsoft for getting things right however they are not stopping this continual striving. Microsoft is listening and working hard to improve....
Jan. 24, 2006		Virtualization: Worth Putting onto Your Agenda I was interviewed for the January 20th issue of ComputerWorld Canada on software trends and just received a request for an interview from NetWorld Canada on server virtualization. So, I thought, why not blog about virtualization in a broader sense and find a good reference link for IT managers. I feel it makes sense to strategize for it, if you have not implemented some form of virtualization already. It definitely saves time, “server sprawl”, eases testing and deployment scenarios, allows quick and secure client provisioning, and simplifies storage management. You can also save on licensing costs too.....
Jan. 23, 2006		A Development Process Model for More Secure Applications You hear about security all the time but have you and your team been designing your applications with security in mind. I found this web-cast, “5 Steps for Developing Secure Applications,” from ITworld.com dated January 12, 2006 provides a good overview roadmap for IT managers: http://www.accelacast.com/webcasts/gartner_compuware_app/.....
Jan. 19, 2006		How do you architect for regulatory compliance? I know this is a hot topic for IT managers. In a recent poll of CIOs, it ranks number one and even ahead of security. So now the question, are there models you can study to gain greater insight and provide you with some really usable guidelines? Here is a great white paper that does just that. I found it really useful since it provides the processes and tools that the Microsoft Information Technology Group uses to “systemize the approach of supporting regulatory compliance.” And, “this approach uses a framework of common security controls, unique tools for monitoring, and IT tools for tracking and reporting compliance.”......
Jan. 18, 2006		Secrets in Managing a Mixed Environment You and I know that this is a reality for many businesses. What is this? Working in a mixed environment. I found this paper to be a good overview resource for IT managers. In late November and mid-December, Quest worked with Microsoft to deliver a Webcast about SMS and MOM and how customers can leverage Vintela Management Extensions (VMX) to manage their entire enterprise, including Windows, Unix, Linux and Macintosh resources.......
Jan. 17, 2006		Useful tip for deleting the C$ Share This is a handy tip from those who worry about the “always available” administrative shares. You can make the disappear with this handy script. Have a look from Technet.
Jan. 16, 2006		Top Priorities for IT Managers I’m a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) and it’s a topic I’m trying to put on the member’s radar map. You see, I find Directors often separate these two items as somewhat unrelated to each. Or worst they still don’t even consider this important enough to elevate to C-level status or Board-level. I explained this situation to a retired CEO of one of the largest enterprises—we both sit on a board of another company. He just couldn’t understand this mindset since it’s critical to corporate survivability today. So what is it?.....
Jan. 13, 2006		Meet, Share, Learn at the Premier Conference for IT Professionals I attend many conferences but there is one that I feel requires your particular attention—INFORMATICS 2006, May 28-30 in Victoria BC. It is specifically geared for you and so I highly recommend you attend. INFORMATICS 2006 is the premier conference for IT Managers and professionals with “Six thought-provoking keynote sessions, twenty-six workshop sessions focusing on topics related to management, technology, information security and human resources, ITIL Foundation certification, ICCP certification and a post INFORMATICS workshop on RFID.” ......
Jan. 12, 2006		Podcast with Ilya Bukshteyn, Director of Communications, SQL Server, Microsoft Corp. Some of you may remember Ilya in the 90s’ before he went to Redmond when he worked for MCS and when he made presentations across Canada as a Senior Systems Engineer and Senior Technology Specialist. He was always engaging and easy to follow providing useful pointers for IT Pros. As a result, anytime he was in Vancouver, I would make sure I caught his sessions. When he was promoted to Redmond, I followed-up with several interviews with Ilya including where he describes some of his early days in Canada, his work in Redmond , and the current SQL, VS, and Biztalk launch.....
Jan. 11, 2006		Executive Chat- Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 I have a more technical leaning. How about you? You may find this of interest: On January 13, 2006, 10:00 A.M. Pacific Time, join Kyril Faenov, Director of Windows High Performance Computing, and key members of the Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 product team to discuss the development of the new Windows high performance computing platform for parallel computing. The new product simplifies the complexity of configuring a compute cluster and provides an innovative scheduler and an industry-standard message-passing interface (MPICH) for the parallelization of applications. You can get answers to your questions and deepen your understanding of this new product......
Jan. 10, 2006		Essential Considerations for IT Managers/Architects: Podcast with the World Expert in Software Architectures, Roger Sessions In the podcast, Roger makes this prophetic statement: "Web Services will be both a boon and a bane for large enterprises. A boon, because it will enable workflow in ways unimaginable a few years ago. A bane, because it will result in the most expensive and spectacular IT failures in the history of our industry." Roger Sessions, Founder and CEO of ObjectWatch Inc., Board Director of the International Association of Software Architects......
Jan. 10, 2006		A Good Thing--CobIT 4.0: Aligning IT with Business Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (CobIT) 4.0, published by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) provides the much needed best practices and guidance to manage 34 processes for the “essential” tighter alignment and achievement of “business” and technology goals. IT governance must be represented at the executive and board level or it’s a bust for business.....
Jan. 6, 2006		MS CRM 3.0 Offers Compelling Benefits - A podcast with Joe Horvath John did a post a few weeks ago about MS CRM 3.0. It shipped on schedule which is a great sign and it offers many new options to businesses. In a recent chat with CRM expert Joe Horvath, I found there were significant benefits and solutions offered by this update. It competes effectively with all other CRM offerings.....
Jan. 5, 2006		Watch for Sober Attack on Jan 6 2006 You may have seen this advisory but I’m blogging about it due to its potential serious repercussions. “Systems that are infected with Win32/Sober.Z@mm may download and run malicious files from certain Web domains beginning on January 6, 2006 and approximately every two weeks thereafter.” Watch for spikes in network traffic Thursday or Friday. .....
Jan. 4, 2006		The Story Behind RootKits I find these malicious little rootkit beasts somewhat terrifying! Strong words I know but when you have a security threat, such as creating a backdoor to your system or running code for every process, that is undetectable even by scanners, you have a real problem. And rootkit authors are always looking for ways to remain hidden....
Jan. 3, 2006		Stop supporting old systems In my opinion, it’s not worth the risk inherent from business inflexibility in supporting older systems. To be able to compete effectively, businesses need to be agile and this requires newer technology or at least a strategy of replacing legacy systems. I know there is the other argument. It works so why replace it. However with the second internet a fact, and the trend towards all things internet, business orientation, virtualization, and community collaboration technologies....
Dec. 22, 2005		Ensuring Security Confidence: Common Criteria Certification I just finished a post on security since it consistently ranks amongst the top three IT concerns. I found this news released today compelling since it gives assurances that there is a strong commitment to security. This means less headaches for you.
Dec. 19, 2005		Securing Wireless Networks Some essential good practices and guidelines for IT Managers that I found helpful. They come from an interview with top wireless security expert, Sumit Deshpande, VP of the Wireless Solutions Group for Computer Associates.
Dec. 14, 2005		Do you have the Keys to Unlock Security's Top Job Security is a top issue with everyone and everywhere. So what does it take to be a CISO? Where should you be heading in your security plans? An interesting article I found, Gartner projects 65% of the largest companies will have a CISO whose role has changed dramatically. These views are inline with an audio interview with Rosaleen Citron, CEO of Whitehat INc. a top security firm. She also provides some good tips on security.
Dec. 13, 2005		Good News for IT Profits and Jobs IT Hiring is up across the country with demand as high as 100% in Montreal, 79% in Edmonton and 60% in Vancouver and the strongest 3rd quarter in the past 3 years......
Dec. 8, 2005		Blogs and RSS Deserving Attention from IT Managers? Corporate blogs, Syndication Services with RSS, What it is, How can you use it in business?.....
Dec. 7, 2005		Ballmer Pledges Millions to Canadian at Can > Win 2005 As a long-time educator, this is my hot button - funding: through software donations, support for research, teacher and curriculum development....
Dec. 6, 2005		The one best site for SQL 2005, Visual Studio 2005, Biztalk 2006 What's the best site for the new product launch information?.....
Dec. 6, 2005		4 Key Decision Questions for Moving to x64-bit Computing There are good arguments for moving to x64 or at least strategically have it on your upgrade plans for 2006. These four questions provide a starter:....
Dec. 5, 2005		IT Know-how not enough for Future Workers Anticipating market shifts and their severe impact on IT careers and their evolution. Are you and your team ready for this future vision?.....
Dec. 2, 2005		A Fascinating Chat this Week with, Dr. Maria Klawe Dr. Maria Klawe is a world renowned computer scientist, past Dean of Science at UBC and current Dean of Engineering at Princeton. Our talk included the situation with computer science education and declining enrollment and its profound implications since it impacts future business maintaining their competitive advantage with sufficient talent.
Dec. 2, 2005		Connecting Canadian IT professionals with leading voices that need to be heard