Stories about: Tactical Strategy Group

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.

IT managers looking to cut labor costs during the ongoing recession might want to think twice before laying off any of their workers who have mainframe or data center skills.

When I mention the word Cobol to IT people, they look at me as if I just awoke from a 20-year coma. Many IT professionals consider Cobol, like Latin, to be a dead language. But rumors of Cobol's death have been greatly exaggerated. Companies can't ignore their Cobol software assets and need to incorporate them into their IT strategies.

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.

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.

"The degree to which a company can digitise its processes will affect its performance - that's where the heart and soul of productivity is coming from."

Legacy systems have survived mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, re-engineering efforts, technical revolutions, industry realignment and Y2k. These systems, some dating back to the 1960s, remain the mainstay of information management capabilities, even as companies focus on e-commerce opportunities.

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.

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