Stories about: William Ulrich

As the role IT plays in producing business value changes, so too does the notion of traditional IT skills or a typical IT career ladder.

The request seemed simple enough. Marketing wanted customers to be able to order products through the Internet. This meant the company needed a Web-based application to check item availability, issue order requests, calculate prices and replicate a host of other functions that were being performed by legacy applications. In response to the request, the project team planned to use a tool to capture legacy business rules (blocks of conditional and imperative logic that change the state of business data) and import them into a Java-based front end. While this may seem like an easy answer to a simple request, this project could torpedo Internet deployment efforts if it ignores strategic implications.

Many people believe the Y2K storm has passed with few glitches. This has caused some to think the problem was overblown, while others believe we beat the bug into submission.

Many people believe the Y2K storm has passed with few glitches. This has caused some to think the problem was overblown, while others believe we beat the bug into submission. While the media is playing out these two scenarios, it's too soon to say if either perception is correct. Y2K is too insidious a problem for us to have a full picture at this early date.

The rash of computer glitches expected in January 2000 may create a golden opportunity for hackers, who tend to thrive when IT attention is focused elsewhere, some security experts warn. But a Computerworld poll of 102 executives found that 90 percent already have considered the possibility and are examining ways to thwart such opportunist hackers.

No One's Immune to Compliance Problems. Congratulations.You've readied all your internal systems for the coming millennium. You've tested everything and, compared with the rest of your industry, you feel confident that you're well ahead of the curve.

How are you going to be sure that your Y2K conversion works? First, test and document - then test and document some more.

Having first introduced tools to address desktop hardware and software year-2000 issues, vendors are now releasing tools to tackle the third leg of the desktop triangle -- noncompliant data.