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Open-source virtualization: Who's biting? Despite its fans, the overall market for open-source virtualization remains tiny, though it's growing. Google rides Chrome OS onto Microsoft turf With Google Inc. working on its upcoming browser-based Chrome operating system, the company is intensifying its rivalry with Microsoft Corp. FAQ: All you need to try out the Office 2010 Beta Microsoft yesterday launched the first, and likely only, public beta of Office 2010.Where is it, how do you install it, what do you need to run it, and how do you get rid of it if it's a can of worms? We've got answers. The Future of ERP, Part II Got Data? Making Sense of It All The Future of ERP Introduction Everything You Need to Know About Facebook Our Facebook guide delivers expert analysis on the latest Facebook developments, helpful tips, tricks and how-tos, the latest updates on privacy and Facebook apps, and more. Microsoft unveils Office 2010 public beta As expected, Microsoft today launched its first public beta of Office 2010, posting the preview for download on its Web site. Cloud won't do for critical applications, SAP says SAP does not expect mission-critical applications to move to the cloud in the near future, the company's chief technology officer said on Wednesday. Microsoft to align BizTalk Server with Azure's AppFabric Microsoft Corp. plans to make its Business Process Management (BPM) software, BizTalk Server, work closely with the just-announced AppFabric .Net application server within the next few years. Netbooks in the enterprise: Get ready Netbooks are coming into the enterprise, and companies need to figure out how to handle security and what to do about the consumer operating systems many of the devices come with. Microsoft adds access controls for SQL Azure online database Microsoft Corp. is creating technology to give businesses more fine-grained control over access to data stored in the company's upcoming SQL Azure database-as-a-service, a senior engineer said Tuesday. Sun claims fastest storage array on planet Sun Microsystems today announced an upgrade to its Sun Storage 7000 family of disk arrays that it says doubles the performance and capacity of the system. Microsoft adds app, data marketplace to Windows Azure Microsoft Corp. said on Tuesday that its upcoming Windows Azure cloud computing platform will come with marketplaces for both online apps built to run on Azure as well as datasets that companies can use to build their own apps. How enterprises can (gently) squeeze their vendors during the recession Enterprises can use the recession to transform their relationships with vendors without trashing them, while saving some or a lot of money to boot. How to re-energize your weary workforce Battered by layoffs, hiring freezes and pay cuts, many IT staffers are in no mood to kick it up a notch. Here are nine almost-free ways to light a fire under your workers. Startups try to change the SAP consulting game A pair of startups, including one led by a former top SAP executive, are betting that SAP customers want more flexible ways to purchase consulting services and find answers to problems. Cloud SLAs: A contrarian view Critics are piling on the gripes about cloud computing service level agreements. But let's discuss the assumption that enterprise data centers operate at far higher availability rates than cloud providers: Frankly, I'm unconvinced. Talent Management Yields Dramatic ROI Using on-demand talent management software, a major hospital network has cut employee turnover, slashed paperwork and tied employee performance to the business goal of improving patient satisfaction. What Endures Tech Groups Honor 2009 Power CIOs Several state and local technology groups recently named the honorees in their "CIO of the Year" programs. Luxury Automaker Taps Google Apps for 15,000 Seats The CIO of luxury British automaker Jaguar Land Rover picks Web-hosted Google Apps for 15,000 employees. Get Help to Avoid the Pains of Cubicle Life A study finds that just buying ergonomic desks and chairs isn't enough; setup and adjustment by a professional ergonomist is essential. Book Review: Four Steps to Becoming a Top-Tier CIO The authors of The Real Business of IT show how CIOs can demonstrate and communicate the value of IT in terms the CEO will understand. IT pay stagnates, workforce grows restless Salaries are on ice, workloads are crushing, and benefits have been chipped away. IT workers are stuck for now, but will they break free when the economy thaws? IT Exodus Looms as Satisfaction Wanes Workers might have been willing to deal with unsatisfactory employment situations when there were no other options, says Yoh's Adam Lawrence. But now that the economy is starting to turn a corner, employees are on the move. IT Hiring Poised for Skills-Driven Rebound Smart IT hiring managers are poised to act promptly and strategically to recruit and retain IT professionals, says Dave Willmer, executive director of Robert Half Technology. Those who wait for ideal economic conditions will struggle to find recruits. Develop Your Own Game Plan Safeguard your career with a personal action plan that defines your long-term goals and how you'll reach them, says John M. McKee, founder and CEO of BusinessSuccessCoach.net. Skills on the Rise Information security managers had the highest total compensation increase in this year's survey. Network engineers, business intelligence analysts and software developers are also outpacing the average. Industries on the Upswing Rising enrollments means more IT support professionals are needed in the education sector, helping to inch up pay there. Other industries are getting a boost from the impact of government stimulus funding. Microsoft confirms first Windows 7 zero-day bug Microsoft late on Friday confirmed that an unpatched vulnerability exists in Windows 7, but downplayed the problem, saying most users would be protected from attack by blocking two ports on their firewall. Office 2010 public beta leaks to Internet Office 2010's public beta has leaked to the Web, days ahead of its anticipated roll-out next week, searches of file-sharing sites showed today. 5 things missing in VMware's new virtual desktop app, View 4 With VMware Inc.'s release of View 4, the company is making some big promises on performance and price. Here are five areas to consider before taking the plunge. Opinion: Can the SSL vulnerability hurt you? The sky isn't falling, but this is something we need to keep an eye on, says security consultant Kenneth Van Wyk. For the enterprise, Google Apps fights uphill battle with Microsoft While companies are starting to seriously look at the hosted applications from Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp., the latter's incumbent status gives it a leg up, according to some CIOs. Oracle support portal woes could erode users' trust Oracle's seemingly botched migration to a new My Oracle Support portal this week has users worldwide hopping mad over what they are calling severe performance and access issues. OCZ set to use SandForce controllers in new SSDs Flash storage vendor OCZ announced this week it will be releasing a new line of consumer and enterprise solid state drives that will use controllers from SandForce Inc. Opinion: Beware Droids in the enterprise Android 2.0 and the first device to use the mobile operating system, Droid, have a certain coolness factor, but that's not what corporate IT is looking for. Enterprises like, don't love, Windows 7 Consumers appear to be snapping up Windows 7, but large companies won't, according to CIOs interviewed this week. Windows 7 may be secure, but are Windows users safe? Windows 7 users got a nice surprise on Tuesday when Microsoft released its first set of security patches since unveiling the new operating system last month. Of the 15 bugs patched, none affected Windows 7. Intel to roll out new low-cost and high-end SSDs Intel will launch a new low-end solid state disk drive aimed at being a "boot drive" for servers as well as a new line of enterprise-class SSDs that will have up to 200GB capacity a significantly lower price. For CIOs, a silver lining in the recession A survey from the the Society for Information Management finds a lot of interest among companies in how IT can be used to reduce the cost of business. Microsoft plugs 15 holes, including critical drive-by bug Microsoft today patched 15 vulnerabilities in Windows, Windows Server, Excel and Word, including one that will probably be exploited quickly by hackers. None affect Windows 7, the company's newest operating system. Review: Cisco's Unified Computing System wows When it comes to technology, truly revolutionary products are few and far between. That said, Cisco's Unified Computing System fits the bill. Torments of the Internet damned We like to talk about how much easier or cheaper it is to run applications off the cloud or use software as a service, and it is -- when our Internet connection is working. When we have network problems, though, it's another story entirely. Opinion: SharePoint: Is Microsoft's biggest recent success at risk? Yes, the user base of the collaboration tool is growing, but it might be shelfware whose hold on the enterprise could be threatened by easier-to-use offerings. Microsoft, Novell say alliance still bearing fruit The alliance between Microsoft Corp. and Novell Corp. continues to bear fruit three years after it was first signed, say the two companies, one the world's largest proprietary software vendor and the other one of the largest of open-source software. Business use of Twitter, Facebook exploding A survey of 200 companies worldwide found that use of social networks like Facebook and Twitter for business use has exploded in recent months. Image gallery: 3 Windows 7 touch-screen laptops We review 3 new touch-screen notebooks that take advantage of Microsoft Windows 7's touch-friendly infrastructure. Update: Cisco doubles down on collaboration with 61 new products Cisco Systems Inc. massively expanded its portfolio of collaboration technologies today, announcing 61 products, including a corporate-grade hosted e-mail system and a social networking application. Microsoft seeks to leverage midmarket ERP Microsoft can't boast the ERP (enterprise resource planning) application revenue earned by giants SAP and Oracle, nor equal their breadth of technological capabilities, but its tight focus on small and medium-sized businesses gives it an edge, according to observers and company officials.. Business interruptus: Prep now to avoid H1N1 flu outages later Even a mild H1N1 outbreak could disable IT departments on short notice. Are you ready to assist employees before, during and after the swine flu hits? Microsoft plans six patches next week, ties November record Microsoft plans to will deliver six security updates on Tuesday, less than half the number it issued last month, to fix flaws in Windows and Office. Ex-Informatica chief returns touting next wave of data integration Informatica Corp. co-founder and longtime CEO Gaurav Dhillon is back full time in the field that made him rich: data integration. Google unveils e-commerce search tool in time for holidays Google introduced a dedicated search engine built specifically for e-commerce sites of all sizes. GM's new CIO plans big desktop changes, expanded mobile support New General Motors CIO Terry Kline looks to continue the progressive IT ways of predecessor Ralph Szygenda by adopting the consumer technologies used by new car buyers as well as cloud computing techniques and "PCs on a stick." How not to get 'royally screwed' on wireless costs Wireless plans are a great place to start for companies looking to cut communications costs, with one firm reporting at VoiceCon that it saved $33,000 per month by renegotiating unfavorable contracts. Microsoft preps SQL Server for battle in two enterprise arenas Microsoft is looking to bulk up SQL Server in the hopes of winning new customers and has fleshed out plans for the upcoming Datacenter and Parallel Data Warehouse versions of the popular database. N.Y. AG in 'witch hunt' for Intel, says think tank The Competitive Enterprise Institute, an advocacy group that calls for limited government, criticized New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for filing a federal antitrust lawsuit charging that Intel engaged in a 'worldwide, systematic campaign of illegal conduct.' Novell prepares enterprise social networking suite Novell has unveiled an enterprise social networking suite that is integrated with Google's new Wave application and lets co-workers collaborate on documents. Nortel customers: Don't panic yet Nortel users shouldn't panic, but they should put off any long-term decisions about their communications infrastructure until after Avaya buys the bankrupt company and reveals its product road map for the combined companies, VoiceCon attendees were told Tuesday. Review: Whitelisting security software comes of age Remarkably good packages from Bit9, CoreTrace, Lumension, McAfee and SignaCert show that whitelisting may be the new best defense against modern malware. Five ways to improve Web site uptime From better programming techniques to content delivery networks, follow these tips for improving your site's availability. Cisco, EMC, VMware get joint cloud-computing venture rolling in Asia Acadia joint cloud venture hopes to soon sign first Asian customers for their cloud-computing partnership. Big IT is back, say HP, IBM, Oracle, EMC, Cisco A certain truth about the big IT vendors is they want to sell as much as possible to any one customer and now, with virtualization, cloud computing and very tight IT budgets, they believe they have an opening. Analysis: Cisco, EMC, VMware partnership is a long shot While the Cisco, EMC and VMware alliance may be new, the private cloud services they're offering are not. Neither the partnership nor the service will make a big splash in IT organizations, according to industry experts. Cisco, EMC unveil data center joint venture Cisco and EMC this week unveiled their anticipated collaboration, which will provide integrated products and services for customers building private cloud computing infrastructures. Sybase smooths enterprise path for iPhones Sybase is extending its Afaria mobile-device management platform and database software to the Apple iPhone, taking advantage of new enterprise features in Version 3.1 of the iPhone's software to give IT departments more control and capabilities on the popular handset. Microsoft sets SQL Server 2008 R2 preview Microsoft this month will release another CTP of SQL Server 2008 R2, this one features complete, and including new business intelligence integration tools and master data management features. Microsoft re-patches last month's critical IE update Microsoft on Monday re-patched Internet Explorer, the third time it's been forced to repair one of the updates delivered in its largest-ever bug fix, which was delivered on Oct. 13. Western Digital enters the enterprise-class hard drive market Western Digital announced its entry into the enterprise-class, hard-disk drive market with a 10,000 rpm, 300GB SAS drive. Microsoft tries to tempt users of competitors' tools with CRM Online deal Microsoft is trying to steal away Salesforce.com and Oracle CRM on Demand customers with a new offer that will provide them with six months' access to its own CRM Online application at no charge if they sign a 12-month contract. Web meeting big enough for a stadium? Adobe Connect Pro can do that Adobe systrems' Acrobat Connect Pro 7.5 can now hold webinars or online lectures for as many as 80,000 participants. More Jobs Vanish: IT's Gains Are Real People's Losses Improved IT means many jobs cut in this recession have been cut forever, some job hunters are now learning. While long-sought efficiency improvements have arrived, not everyone is celebrating. IT snake oil: Six tech cure-alls that went bunk Legendary promises, little delivery -- IT history is fraught with "transformational" sales pitches that fell far short Open-source CRM and ERP: New kids on the cloud Tweakable enterprise applications that can be provisioned quickly, and at relatively low cost, is a proposition some IT shops are finding unbeatable. Inside One Firm's Private Cloud Journey Travel booking and expense firm Concur Technologies uses virtualization and an infrastructure-as-a-service model to slash costs and deployment times for internal business groups. Bonus benefit: Improved compliance tracking. With eye on Oracle and MySQL, Red Hat invests in EnterpriseDB Red Hat Inc. has invested an unspecified amount in open-source database vendor EnterpriseDB Inc., a sign the Linux vendor may be worried about Oracle Corp.'s takeover of MySQL through its pending acquisition of Sun Microsystems Inc. Top 10 IT management trends for the next five years The top trends affecting technology infrastructure over the next five years can be summed up as largely a list representing where IT and users are battling for control over technology. OpenWorld Wrap-Up: The Best and Worst from San Francisco Oracle's annual OpenWorld conference is over, and CIO.com has rounded up all of the important news, announcements, blog posts and tweets that came out of the annual high-tech get-together in San Francisco. Ellison: Fusion Applications in 2010 Oracle plans to launch its long-awaited Fusion Applications in 2010, and they will be deployable both on-premises and as SaaS (software as a service), CEO Larry Ellison said Wednesday during a keynote address at the OpenWorld conference in San Francisco. Ellison: Fusion Applications in 2010 Oracle plans to launch its long-awaited Fusion Applications in 2010, and they will be deployable both on-premises and as SaaS (software as a service), CEO Larry Ellison said Wednesday during a keynote address at the OpenWorld conference in San Francisco. Google gets Postini running; but some U.S. users still furious Google said it has fixed Postini problems that had caused e-mail delivery delays, but some users remain upset at the firm. Behind Enemy Lines: Salesforce.com, Rimini Street Both tech vendors are aiming to change the rules of game for enterprise software. And while they're going about it with two different business models, the companies share some things in common. Engineers fix the shortcomings of the traditional firewall Do you find yourself putting a Band-Aid solution on a legacy firewall, such as strapping on an intrusion-prevention system here or antivirus software there? If the firewall is a security device, why should we have to surround it with other security devices to help it do its job? A group of security engineers addressed those shortcomings with a new kind of firewall built from the ground up. Acresso who? Macrovision spinoff changes name, again Under a legal threat from another software firm with a similar name, Acresso Software Inc. is changing its name to Flexera Software after just 19 months. Ready for Windows 7? Here's how to deploy it right From hardware to licensing, you need to make the right choices to smooth the transition and get the most out of Windows 7. Here's help. What to Expect at Oracle OpenWorld Oracle's annual Kool-Aid-Fest will have some foxes in the hen house and many recession-weary customers. Can Larry Ellison possibly top his recent rant on cloud computing? Will there be more answers than questions on the Fusion Apps Suite? Symantec to launch object-based file storage service in next year Symantec today released a software product that's designed to allow enterprise-class companies to create a file-based cloud storage infrastructures capable of serving up petabytes of data from a single domain name space, and from commodity x86 hardware. Instant-on maker Splashtop goes corporate, adds virtual desktops DeviceVM Inc. is creating a new version of its instant-on Linux environment, Splashtop, aimed at laptop computers bought and managed by enterprise IT managers. Why IT Needs User-Focused Designers The new book Wrench in the System says enterprise software development would benefit from having professional designers who could figure out how to make applications that empower the humans who use them on a daily basis. Got a mobile strategy? Start connecting with customers' smartphones It's becoming mandatory to offer your customers smartphone apps and a mobile version of your Web site. Here are tips on how to avoid the pioneers' missteps. Hint: Simplicity is key. New Dell Latitude Z laptop charges wirelessly Dell Inc. introduced an ultra-thin premium business laptop on Tuesday that is the first to let users do away with most of the cables and wires -- including the power cable. SAP offers 'free' CRM for ERP buyers SAP said midsize companies that purchase the Business All-in-One suite or SAP ERP will also receive its customer relationship management application. Microsoft kills Dynamics mobile Microsoft on Thursday said it has discontinued the mobile versions of its Dynamics ERP (enterprise resource planning) products. Google looks to ease editing with Google Sites API Google Labs has a new API for Google Sites that should make it easier to add content and edit Web pages. Network Battle Focusing increased investments on your enterprise network infrastructure. Google gives Gmail a mobile push Google Inc. announced Tuesday that with Google Sync, users can get their Gmail messages pushed directly to their mobile phones. Acquire Me! Oracle's and SAP's Next Likely Targets A new 451 Group report serves up some tasty offerings to feed a possible acquisition binge by the enterprise software supervendors. Oracle's Larry Ellison is preparing to throw a pie at IBM: The only question is who will be the whipped cream. Seagate ships self-encrypting drives for enterprises Seagate said it is offering its self-encrypting drive feature with its entire line of enterprise-class hard disk drives and that it has partnered with Intel and LSI to integrate its encryption technology with the two companies' security management firmware. Slashing IT maintenance budgets: Sign of the times Sometimes things stay broken until IT staffers, or even end users, can figure out a solution for themselves. People turn to eBay to find parts or cheap replacements.
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