IT Management
Gartner, 5/29/03: IT Operations Management Is Undergoing Transformation
IT operations needs to transition from a component orientation to running like a business. Managing the budget in difficult economic times is possible.
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Help Desk
Giga, 5/28/03: Five Ways to Leverage Existing Support Software to Cut Costs and/or Improve Agent Productivity
John Ragsdale
How can we better leverage our existing support software to increase agent productivity and/or cut costs?
Support centers concerned with cost cutting tend to focus on new tools to deflect calls or streamline agent interactions. But few companies are taking full advantage of basic features in their existing customer service or IT help desk software that can offer incremental cost savings or productivity improvements. Before adding on one more module in hopes of cutting costs, make a full evaluation of the bells and whistles of your existing system, which may be ignored or at least underutilized.
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Giga, 5/28/03: Lessons Learned at GigaWorld: Help Desk Reporting Moves From Tactical to Strategic
John Ragsdale
Based on client interactions at GigaWorld US, what new challenges are help desk managers facing in regard to reporting and metrics?
Help desk management should routinely track cost metrics (average cost per interaction, cost per agent, support costs by department), as well as how cost of support relates to service level and customer satisfaction. Not only will such analysis show where additional investment is warranted (or where cuts will have the least impact), but it can also help make the case or defend against an outsourcing proposal.
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Giga, 5/27/03: IT Trends 2003, Midyear Update: Customer Service and Help Desk
John Ragsdale
What are the key drivers and trends in customer service and help desk for 2003?
As documented in IdeaByte, IT Trends 2003: Customer Service and Help Desk, John Ragsdale, many companies hit by the US economic recession have moved beyond cost containment to downsizing and reorganization. Support organizations, both internal and external, must continue to support customers with fewer resources, and the CEO is likely watching to see how they meet the challenge.
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Security
Gartner, 5/20/03: Public-Key Infrastructure: Technology Overview
Public-key infrastructure (PKI) issues and manages certificates for authentication, signatures and encryption. Questions of interoperability, cross-certification and untested laws remain unresolved.
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Microsoft
Giga, 5/29/03: IT Trends 2003, Midyear Update: Active Directory Management Technologies
Thomas Mendel
What are the key market drivers and trends regarding Active Directory management technologies?
Active Directory management technologies include all products that help the migration from a legacy network operating system (NOS) to Active Directory; assist in Active Directory change management; ease Active Directory administration task; and monitor, detect and identify any abnormal behavior of the Active Directory implementations. Giga anticipates a healthy growth rate for the market through 2004.
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Giga, 5/29/03: IT Trends 2003, Midyear Update: Microsoft Windows Server Platform Management
Thomas Mendel
What are the key market drivers and trends regarding the management of the Microsoft Windows Server platform for 2003?
A number of factors, including new product introductions (Windows 2003 Server, SMS, Exchange) from Microsoft and increased user awareness of the need for more centralized management control of the Windows Server environment will drive deployment of Windows Server management products in 2003.
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eWeek, 6/2/03: Exchange Upgrade on Deck
By Dennis Callaghan
Microsoft Corp. will debut Release Candidate 1 of its long-awaited Exchange 2003 messaging server software this week, with a renewed emphasis on migrating enterprises that remain entrenched in the 5.5 version of Exchange.
The new version, which will be launched at Microsoft's Tech Ed conference in Dallas, will include new tools to ease migrations from Version 5.5, which was released in November 1997 and which more than 40 percent of Exchange shops still run.
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c|net, 6/2/03: Microsoft to drop standalone IE
By Evan Hansen
Microsoft is phasing out standalone versions of its Internet Explorer Web browser, according to statements attributed to IE program manager Brian Countryman in an interview posted on the software giant's Web site.
"As part of the OS (operating system), IE will continue to evolve, but there will be no future standalone installations. IE6 SP1 is the final standalone installation," Countryman said in the the May 7 interview.
Microsoft issued a standalone browser with IE 6, following a court ruling that found the company had violated antitrust laws by bundling IE with its Windows operating system. The company has since settled the case with the Justice Department and most of the other parties to the suit, although a handful of holdouts continue to press for additional remedies.
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