Stories about: Cardinal Health

HP this week at Software Universe offered details about how it plans to build out its software and services business. Here are 10 things we learned that show us HP is serious about software.

Acumine, eWise, Infoplex, Fenwick Software, Comps, and Integrate Systems come under the spotlight

Forget about mere IT-business alignment. At many companies, the new name of the game is melding together technology and business operations, with CIOs getting a say in setting not only IT plans but business strategies as well.

When recruiting a new CIO, companies look mostly outside their own walls due to a lack of confidence in internal IT management, and many CEOs fear that internal candidates lack well-rounded experience, a technology recruiter told about 150 CIOs at the 2004 CIO Symposium in the US last week.

At a national sales meeting, the president of Reliant Pharmaceuticals rose to ask if there were any questions. "Throw anything at me," he said to the salespeople assembled. Someone immediately asked, "When are we getting automated?"

Although CIOs interviewed this week said they're deeply concerned about the potential business impact of the war with Iraq, few foresee any significant effect on international IT projects currently under way or in the pipeline.

After Bruce Lobree, an information security engineer and a 20-year IT veteran, lost his job in October, he decided to work for contracting firms such as RHI Consulting in Menlo Park, Calif., while waiting out the recession. Since then, Lobree has met client after client who wants a jack-of-all-trades-someone who can administer any brand and version of firewall and intrusion detection, is network-savvy, can code and is versed in new technologies like XML, .Net and wireless.

Banging the drum once more this week about its mission to narrow the comfort level gap between the giant software maker and its customer base, Computer Associates International Inc. (CA) on Tuesday announced CustomerConnect, a new set of Web-based self-service features designed to access and control personal accounting and finance information.

Startup LogiKeep Inc. last week began a service designed as a way to give information technology managers advanced warning of the rapidly growing list of threats on the Internet.

Key technology workers may not come from IT at all, as managers rethink where they look for new talent. It's the critical need for both business and technology skills that has many IT pros on the ropes, fighting off business peers for choice IT jobs

Don't call Tom Zavos an IT guy. "I'm a business professional with IT expertise," he says.