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Trimming for Dollars 04/08/2006 15:16:30
To cut costs strategically, you need to understand your actual costs and the value of your various technologies, services and business deliverables. Otherwise, the cuts you make may degrade important business processes and reduce their value.CIOs have been cutting costs for years - and not seeing those savings coming back to IT. That's why you have to learn to cut strategically. - +
Virtual Possibilities 02/10/2007 11:58:28
Smart CIOs are using virtualization for more than data centre consolidation. They’re becoming masters of flexibility — delivering results for the business like lightning-fast provisioning and greatly improved disaster recoveryThere isn't much about Tom Sanzone that bespeaks drama. The CIO of Credit Suisse is direct, meticulous and practical, and it doesn't seem as if he'd suffer fools gladly, an impression partly informed by his New York accent, nearly shaven head and confident demeanour - +
Remote Control 09/10/2006 12:05:21
Being able to reach employees around the clock is tempting for employers; for employees, being able to access work systems from home suggests better work-life balance. But for CIOs, there are significant technical and management challenges to be faced first.Google should shoulder some responsibility for remote access to corporate information systems. Its Internet engines suggest it is possible to access anything anywhere anytime. If Google can do it, executives argue, why not rip down the walls on corporate information systems and let employees access them anytime anywhere too? - +
Close Fast, Close Smart 26/02/2007 11:24:37
When it comes to closing the books, the benefits of speed are undeniable. And CIOs are uniquely positioned to help their organizations reap themAs long as they're meeting their regulatory reporting deadlines, most enterprises don't think a lot about closing their books more quickly.
Maybe they should start.
Increasingly, the speed with which an organization closes its books and reports its financial results is being looked at by practitioners, analysts and investors as a defining metric for evaluating whether the organization possesses the best possible processes and enabling technologies. And it turns out that many companies don't, even those making huge IT investments and supporting equally large IT departments. - +
The Subsidiary Sandwich 03/04/2007 13:57:53
CIOs in subsidiary offices of global corporations often report to both the local CEO and the international CIO. Serving two masters can be liberating or a liability. A look at the chance and challenge of running a subsidiary’s ITFor most CIOs the buck stops with them when it comes to delivering appropriate, robust information services for the business. But for the CIOs of subsidiaries of multinationals, many IT decisions and deals are nutted out overseas by global CIOs. Subsidiary CIOs are left to execute and operate
Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services. Zones provide focussed content from Computerworld and leading technology partners.Newsletter Subscription
Melbourne-based hosting company SmartyHost has deployed load-balancing network infrastructure to improve the reliability and uptime of its operations.
SmartyHost has installed two BIG-IP 6400 systems from F5 Networks, which allow traffic loads to be balanced between servers, to manage network traffic.
The BIG-IP systems include a compression module that optimizes bandwidth and accelerates the delivery of server applications.
SmartyHost claims the new systems have enabled new Web sites to be loaded five to six times faster.
The systems are also being used for Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption certificate management.
Anoosh Manzoori, SmartyHost managing director, said the hosting provider is now gaining a new customer every five minutes, so a "spontaneous and automated" approach to operations was needed.
"The BIG-IP systems are a huge competitive advantage for us, because they help us provide a better customer experience," Manzoori said.
F5 Networks claims its BIG-IP systems can help reduce page download times by more than 200 percent, and decrease bandwidth usage by 60 to 80 percent.
"For our developers, the BIG-IP systems proved to be straightforward to install into the network," Manzoori said. "They are also fairly easy machines to run and have a GUI that allows them to be managed remotely."
Dan Matte, F5 Networks' vice president of marketing and business development, said the company has been successful at the level above the infrastructure layer where there is "more intelligence" in the network.
Matte attributes much of F5's growth to a drive to consolidate infrastructure and a need to better look at the network.
"We developed our platform because deep packet inspection just didn't cut it," Matte said. "Customers need something that is as flexible as a proxy but doesn't sacrifice speed."
Computerworld Member Login
Beyond Virtualisation - The Roadmap to 2012
CIO Breakfast Briefing
8:30am - 10:30am
Brisbane | 22 July | Sofitel Brisbane
Sydney | 23 July | Four Seasons Hotel
Canberra | 24 July | The Hyatt
Attend and discover:
- What happens after virtualisation
- The benefits automation drives
- When automated infrastructures will emerge
- What the roadmap to 2012 looks like
- How to deliver an automated architecture
- How to maximise your investment in virtualisation
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Computerworld Live Podcast #96: Security at the Edge 11/06/2008 09:22:22
CW Live speaks with Amol Mitra, HP ProCurve Director of Marketing for Asia Pacific and Japan. Today's topic: how enterprises are starting to shift away from simply controlling security via server logins, firewalls and moving to more adaptive security frameworks. - +
Data Management Edition #10: Multi-Petascale Systems 02/05/2008 09:12:33
This week we look at sustainability and the development of multicore technologies to build multi-petascale systems. - +
IT Security Edition #11: How to poison the Storm botnet 01/05/2008 08:51:55
This week CW Live presents a case study on how to poison the notorious Storm botnet . Plus we take a look at Cisco's plans for Ironport. - +
IT Security Edition #10: Cyber-battles fought and won 24/04/2008 11:09:47
Vendors bow to end user pressure to improve product security, and we take a look at the latest concepts shaping the cyber-battlefield of the future. - +
Data Management Edition #9: Data centre makeover 24/04/2008 07:43:06
This week CW Live looks at the death of the old style data centre which is undergoing its first makeover in more than 30 years.
Ballarat Grammar Improves Student Access to Computer Based Learning with HP ProCurve 2008-07-04 16:49:00+10
Media release: 40 Per Cent of Australian Businesses Do Not Validate Their Data 2008-07-04 10:29:00+10
Kaseya helps turbo charge BlueFire’s service delivery model 2008-07-03 17:23:00+10
Computershare Selects Symantec for Data Loss Prevention Globally 2008-07-03 14:52:00+10
DST International moves to new Shanghai office 2008-07-03 13:21:00+10
Network Aware Service Management
Today’s complex, distributed and virtualised IT environments are almost impossible to manage. Learn how to obtain end-to-end visibility, as well as automated root cause analysis from within Microsoft’s System Centre Operations Manager 2007, creating a unique solution that addresses the need for network-aware, end-to-end service management.
