Stories by Todd R. Weiss

Help desk, rebooted: Social, mobile remake tech support

At least one analyst is predicting social, mobile and cloud technologies will spell the end of the corporate help desk. Not so fast, say corporate IT leaders.

Build a private social network that employees will actually use

More and more companies are creating private social networks that help their employees learn from each other and drive the business forward. Here are tips from four companies that are finding success with internal social networks.

Graceful exits from IT: Why CIOs decide to move on

Great CIOs and IT executives help drive their companies by being agile, innovative managers. They nurture their employees, build talented teams and foster creativity in their people. They try new things. They lead by example.

Mobile device management: Getting started

The rapid-fire spread of mobile devices being used by enterprise employees can be a huge boon for businesses in productivity and customer service gains, but those advantages don't come without a price.

Life after IT: When CIOs leave at the top of their game

Great CIOs and IT executives help drive their companies through innovation and agile management. They nurture their employees, build talented teams and generate creativity in their people. They try new things and improve upon the old. They lead by example.

Look Before You Leap Into Hadoop

Now that Apache.org has listed more than 150 enterprises as Hadoop users -- including JPMorgan Chase, IBM, Google, Booz Allen Hamilton and the New York Times -- it seems likely that the big data management system could soon become all the rage among corporate IT executives.

Cool cop tech: 5 new technologies helping police fight crime

CSI and its imitators have introduced TV viewers to some of the advanced technologies used by crime-scene investigators. But they aren't the only law enforcement personnel benefitting from technology; police officers across the nation have an arsenal of high-tech devices to help them investigate and solve cases.

What's the big deal about Hadoop?

Hadoop is all the rage, it seems. With more than 150 enterprises of various sizes using it -- including major companies such as JP Morgan Chase, Google and Yahoo -- it may seem inevitable that the open-source Big Data management system will land in your shop, too.

SaaS ERP is making the grade at Brown University

When powerful ERP applications are needed by growing businesses today, SaaS ERP is being looked at more and more as a viable option to traditional complex, expensive and labor-intensive packaged ERP suites. And while SaaS ERP is still young, in the right setting and with the right users, it's offering some eye-opening real world gains for a variety of organizations.

Fear of change impedes Cloud Adoption for companies

It's not budgets, technology issues or strategic worries that are creating roadblocks for Cloud projects in many enterprises. Instead, deep-seated fears of change and requirements for more Cloud education are keeping many enterprises from moving forward.

Emerging ERP apps stores could change ERP buying

Choosing your company's next mission-critical ERP system might have just gotten easier.

Software license audits: Avoid SAP, rent-a-center brouhaha

When your company contracts with an enterprise applications vendor for a fixed number of software licenses for your users, it behooves you to carefully monitor that usage at all times.

Managing your cloud's performance: Best practices

Once you move your core IT systems into private or public cloud networks, your work isn't over. Now you have a different set of technology issues to deal with: managing the cloud to ensure that your investments pay off for your enterprise and deliver the efficiencies and ROI that you're expecting.

Will your business data be safe in the Cloud?

It's scary out there in the cloud. Data thieves, hackers, criminals, they're all out there scouring the Internet around the clock for ways to get into your corporate networks so they can steal data from poorly protected businesses.

Corporate IT spending gets boost as hiring increases

The good news is right there on the balance sheets of some of the nation's largest and most influential IT companies: Their income and revenue are higher and growing again, and the effects are starting to be very noticeable across the U.S. tech industry.