CenterBeam
eWeek, 3/3/03: Opsware, Voltaire, Others Tackle Blade Proliferation
By Jeffrey Burt
While ultradense blade servers enable enterprises to pack more processing power into data centers, by their sheer numbers, they can create a much more complex environment to manage.
…
For Matt Sick, server operations manager at IT outsourcer CenterBeam Inc., it's easier to manage his blade servers than his traditional systems. The greatest need now is improving the user interface to give administrators an easier and more detailed read on how the blades are operating, said Sick, in Santa Clara, Calif.
"Blades are a relatively new technology," Sick said. "Everyone is jumping on board to get their management stuff in place. The first one to give customers like CenterBeam an easy read into the performance of the blades will probably get some business."
[more]
Outsorcing
Gartner, 2/27/03: The Human Side of Outsourcing: Don’t Forget Your People
Employees’ concerns and confusion around outsourcing can sabotage good intentions. Anticipate when, why and how human resources issues arise and how to manage them. Whether your enterprise is considering, investigating or actively pursuing outsourcing, be prepared for a roller-coaster ride. Beneath the sound business reasons for outsourcing — access to skills, offloading nonstrategic activities, cost management — lie thornier issues associated with people. Strangely, many enterprise executives seem genuinely surprised when their workforce does not immediately see the wisdom of the outsourcing decision. Let’s speak straight about this: The decision to outsource will have an effect on the commitment, stability and productivity of your workforce. The questions become, How big an impact? How can human resources (HR) executives and CIOs work together to understand and manage the HR impact of outsourcing decisions?
[more]
User Support
Giga, 2/28/03: Estimated Times for Desktop Support Tasks: Will Vary Based on the Method Used
David Friedlander
Does Giga have any estimates or averages for the time it takes for desktop field support to do the various components of their jobs?
There is significant variation in how long it takes for desktop support personnel to perform specific tasks. The degree of automation, types of tools used, network connections, level of standardization (of both hardware and software) and complexity of the system will make averages completely meaningless. Giga has segmented desktop support tasks into several categories and estimated a range of times for the tasks, based on the degree of automation and standardization.
[more]
Giga, 3/4/03: Best Practices for Non-IT Support and Management of Different Types of Telecommuters
Brownlee Thomas
What are typical non-IT best practices for supporting and managing telecommuters? Do different types of telecommuters require different approaches?
Telecommuting can be a big challenge for companies and employees if expectations are not clearly outlined ahead of time. Key factors in implementing a successful telecommuting program include a centralized and integrated approach toward providing the necessary tools and support for teleworkers.
[more]
Giga, 3/4/03: IT Support Needs Vary For Different Types of Telecommuters
Brownlee Thomas
Do different types of telecommuters require different approaches to IT support?
Teleworkers for IT support essentially fall into three distinct categories: permanent or full-time remote workers, (2) casual, informal or discretionary teleworkers and (3) mobile employees. Each type requires a different approach to provisioning and support from an IT perspective.
[more]
Utility Computing
Giga, 2/7/03: Uncovering Utility Services for European SMBs
Stratos Sarissamlis
Utility services reflect an appealing value proposition, one that has persuaded European small and medium businesses (SMBs) to plan for new marketplace realities to sort out the sourcing options.
Declining service revenues (especially in consulting, development, and integration services) compels top-tier vendors to continually match workforce to workloads and pursue opportunities in the largely fragmented European SMB market. With a conservative technology adoption profile and scarce technology skills, SMBs seek solutions that are easy to implement and support. However, their underused IT assets are increasingly becoming outdated, impairing their ability to leverage relationships with networked partners. To address these challenges, vendors are compelled to tap into SMB networks that span diverse industry clusters and geographies to offer choices among cost, risk of customization, and “good enough” shared solutions.
[more]
Mobility
The New York Times, 3/6/03: Congress Clings to a Pager Made in Canada
By JEFFREY SELINGO
WASHINGTON -- CANADA is probably better known for hockey, cold weather and its cheap dollar, but it seems that American lawmakers have an affinity for its BlackBerrys, the popular e-mail devices made by Research in Motion of Waterloo, Ontario.
Congress spent $6 million to buy 3,000 of the wireless devices for its members and their staffs after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
[more]
Microsoft
TechWeb, 3/5/03: Microsoft Holds The Line On Windows Server 2003 Pricing
The decision to price the forthcoming server operating system the same as Windows Server 2000 is a concession to customers concerned about the company's pricing trends.
By John Foley
When Microsoft quietly released list prices for its upcoming Windows Server 2003 on its Web site, it was a gesture of concession to business customers anxious about the company's pricing trends--and a shot across the bow for Linux vendors.
Microsoft said this week it's holding the line on licensing fees by pricing Windows Server 2003 the same as Windows 2000 Server, albeit with a few tweaks in licensing terms for the operating system's External Connector and Terminal Server components. "In all cases, the customers have the same prices or lower than they did before," says Bob O'Brien, group product manager for Windows Server 2003.
[more]
Technology Celebrities
San Jose Mercury News, 3/5/03: From Peak to Valley
Andreessen Offers Perspective on Good Times and Hard Times in Tech
Ten years ago, Marc Andreessen and his college chums were spending sleepless nights chowing down pizza and writing code for the April 1993 launch of Mosaic, the Web-browsing program that revolutionized the Internet.
Andreessen co-founded Netscape Communications around the Mosaic technology and saw Netscape's 1996 initial public offering ignite an investor mania for Internet stocks. America Online paid $10 billion for Netscape in 1999. Since then, Andreessen has struggled to get back to the top, first with Web-hosting company Loudcloud, and now as chairman of a spinoff, Opsware, a data-automation software firm whose stock is trading at less than $2 a share.
He talked with Mercury News Staff Writer Mary Anne Ostrom about how the valley has, and hasn't, changed, what's hot, what's not and how he lost 60 pounds.
[more]
Users On The Edge
AP, 3/5/03: Enraged Computer Owner Shoots Up Machine
LAFAYETTE, Colo. - George Doughty hung his latest hunting trophy on the wall of his Sportsman's Bar and Restaurant. Then he went to jail.
The problem was the trophy was Doughty's laptop computer.
He shot it four times, as customers watched, after it crashed once too often.
[more]
8:18:17 AM 
|
