Thursday, 27 December 2012

The first 100 days of a new CIO: Nine steps for wiring in success

It’s critical to get a good start when stepping into the CIO role. Consider several measures when you shape your course.

The early months of a CIO’s tenure are an extremely important time to learn about a company’s culture and critical issues, shape an agenda for change, build relations with peers and senior leaders, and make decisions—on people, funding, and other matters—that will provide a solid foundation for the future.

Ian Buchanan, who has served several financial institutions as CIO or COO, says: “In the first 100 days, you have to make your mark. In that period, you also need to formulate a compelling vision, because if you want to lead, as opposed to executing the visions of others, you do need to come out quickly with a story that everybody can align around.”

By working over the years with many senior executives stepping into this role, we’ve learned about elements to cover, priorities to make, and mistakes to avoid. We have attempted to distill the most important topics to address during these critical first months. Of course, the particulars of each situation will have an impact on the priorities of each CIO. But we believe every new CIO will benefit from reviewing these elements and using them as a starting point to shape his or her own course of action.

1. Start the first 100 days before your first day
2. Clarify and strengthen your mandate
3. Build relationships with business unit executives and agree upon priorities
4. Understand the upside and downside
5. Develop the plan
6. Build your team
7. Rally the IT organization
8. Demonstrate leadership through visible results and actions
9. Continue your personal journey

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Best Practices for Supporting 'Bring Your Own' Mobile Devices

This research addresses some of the support tactics we see used in organizations that have adopted "bring your own" (BYO) programs, where employees use personally owned tablets and smartphones for work. This research is intended for CIOs and staff responsible for planning, administering and supporting mobile devices.

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Video Conferencing: A TCO Analysis

Video conferencing is an increasingly important technology to improve employee and partner collaboration, especially for increasingly virtual organizations supporting rising numbers of mobile and home workers. But many companies still struggle to justify their investments in video conferencing, and to understand potential cost differences among competing solutions. This Nemertes Research report examines network, hardware, and operational costs for leading video conferencing solution vendors in a variety of scenarios, using real-world data gathered from actual buyers of video conferencing products and services.

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Top 10 IT skills stories of 2012

This year has seen some major announcements that have shaken, and occasionally angered, academics and the education community.

UK Education secretary Michael Gove announced in January that GCSE ICT was to be scrapped. His plans have been widely criticised for leaving the education sector without a clear direction for IT as a subject.

One body to air their concerns was the Corporate IT Forum Education and Skills Commission, which condemned the move. The organisation said it was disappointed that the government had not listened to its concerns about withdrawing the ICT curriculum from schools before the new programme is introduced.

The following are the top 10 stories:

1 Teachers share concerns and ideas for ICT in 2014 curriculum

2 BCS unveils first draft of ICT curriculum for review

3 A-level ICT student numbers drop 10%

4 If the popularity of ICT is on the rise, why are we scrapping the curriculum?

5 Technology students question whether university is good value for money

6 Young Europeans lack basic IT skills, says European Commission

7 STEM report on higher education recommends employers work closely with universities

8 Bringing back the romance of engineering: Technician Council unveils framework

9 Cisco launches ‘Out of the Blocks’ London 2012 initiative for secondary schools

10 IT managers take on more responsibilities with increased job security

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Wednesday, 26 December 2012

Swamiji (Vivekananda) was a total leader—in thought, word and action

India is celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda this year Such milestones are an occasion to revisit the life, work and teachings of great persons and renew our learning. As a student of management, Dr M.B. Athreya attempts to draw some insights for professional managers from Swamiji's life.

The importance of action
The need for introspection
Take responsibility
The importance of globalism
Practise effective communication
Build lasting institutions
Develop leadership skills
Pick a mission

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12 Indian foods that cut fat

You don't have to acquire a taste for olive oil, seaweed or soya to maintain a low-fat, healthy diet. Indian cuisine can be healthy too, if it's cooked with oil and ingredients that take care of your heart and health.

Ayurveda suggests you include all tastes — sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent — in at least one meal each day, to help balance unnatural cravings. Here are 12 foods that can help you lose weight and gain health:

Turmeric; Cardamom; Chillies; Curry leaves; Garlic; Mustard oil; Cabbage; Moong dal; Honey; Buttermilk; Millets; and Cinnamon & cloves.

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A-Z of superfoods for weight loss

According to the British Nutrition Foundation, eating fruits and vegetables, which are low in energy density (i.e they provide fewer calories per gram) has been shown not to just help lose weight but also to keep it off long term.

Know the A-Z of Fruits & Vegitables

How to lose weight without dieting

While there are plenty of fad diets that may help you lose weight, they also leave you feeling hungry and food-deprived. For all those who don't have the time or inclination to undertake a crash diet or even hit the gym, we've got some great news. If you want to slim down the healthy and painless way, try the following strategies. After all, it's not what you eat but how you eat.

CHEW MORE, EAT LESS
DON'T SKIP BREAKFAST
CONCENTRATE ON YOUR FOOD
DON'T OVERCOOK YOUR MEALS
FRUITS BEFORE MEALS
HAVE SMALLER MEALS, MORE OFTEN
AVOID EATING AFTER 8 PM
THINK AND DRINK

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Tuesday, 25 December 2012

50 Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed

If you're reading this post, it means you somehow survived the Mayan apocalypse. We offer you our sincerest congratulations.

Just so you know, a lot has happened while you were hiding out down in that bomb shelter. If you're looking to get back up to speed, you've come to the right place.

While you were hiding, we at Mashable spent the past week checking out the newest and neatest in the tech world. As a courtesy, we've rounded all our most usable posts up for you.

The list that follows includes not only the latest gadgets and apps, but also spans social media updates, online business advice and digital resources for your everyday life. For everything you need and a some more cool stuff too, read on.

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Monday, 24 December 2012

The 3 ‘i’ mantra for entrepreneurs

Integrity... Inspiration... Insight

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Founder, Isha Foundation, and Subroto Bagchi, Chairman, MindTree Ltd , at Tiecon Chennai 2012. — Bijoy Ghosh His walk is brisk. Attired in a robe, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, with his luxurious beard, greets the gathering consisting of corporate chieftains in their business suits, entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs, with the traditional namaste.

Accompanying him on to the dais is the clean-shaven Subroto Bagchi, Chairman, MindTree, with his receding hairline and formal business attire.

It is a “fireside chat” on “Powering the next step” at TiE Chennai’s recent annual conference.

It provides for a riveting conversation as Bagchi lobs one question after another to the Sadhguru, covering a range of topics – does he think he is an entrepreneur, failure, building an institution, maintaining equanimity, letting go…

The Sadhguru’s answers in flawless English have the audience spellbound, at times getting them to laugh, at times getting them to applaud.

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Nature: 2012 Review of the Year

From the discovery of the Higgs boson to the landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars, 2012 was an eventful year in science. Nature's end of year round-up reviews the highs and lows in research and science policy. A great compilation.

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Stretching the Software Budget: A Practical Guide to Enterprise License Optimization

Organizations can get much greater business value from their software budgets by eliminating waste, more intelligently allocating entitlements, and negotiating more effectively with vendors. These Enterprise License Optimization (ELO) strategies pay particularly big dividends when applied to high-value applications. This white paper explains how ELO works—and offers practical advice about how to implement ELO in the real world.

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Saturday, 22 December 2012

eBook: How the Evolution of M2M Technology Can Benefit Your Business

Companies across all vertical markets are taking advantage of Machine-to-Machine, or M2M technology, to capture and analyze data in real time. Whether these solutions are tracking people, automobiles, high value cargo, pets, energy usage, or inventory, the objectives remain the same. As M2M technology has evolved, integration with mobile devices has further allowed SMS messaging to become an important vehicle for the transmission of M2M communication.

This ebook explores how the evolution of M2M technology is changing the way the enterprise monitors and analyzes important data. Here you will find a compilation of the top news features, videos and whitepapers to demonstrate the depth of M2M and the benefits that M2M devices can provide for your business.

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eBook: The Executive's Guide to Windows 8

Windows 8 offers plenty of innovation -- maybe even too much. Business and IT decision makers have a lot to consider when it comes to Windows 8 deployments. Here's a deep dive on the big issues.

When Microsoft designed Windows 8 it had a couple big goals in mind. One was about driving better convergence from the PC to the tablet to smartphone. The other was about completely re-engineering Windows for a multi-touch environment. The question of how well they pulled it off and whether it was even the right strategy will continue to be debated. However, today's business leaders are faced with the immediate decision of whether Windows 8 offers value to their organizations and if they should adopt it or route around it.

In this guide, you'll see what industry analysts and IT professionals think about the new OS, who is planning a Windows 8 deployment (and who is holding back), the reasons behind that go/no-go decision, and what Microsoft's strategy is likely to mean for corporate IT down the road.

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eBook: Making the business case for big data

Big data offers IT one of its best opportunities to bring value to the business. This ebook is aimed at helping your organization make good decisions about big data.

This guide offers a roundup of the latest information, predictions, advice, and answers on some of the toughest issues surrounding Big Data, such as:

-- Choosing a Big Data vendor
-- Developing Big Data expertise within your organization
-- Roadblocks to implementing Big Data analytics
-- What the future holds for Big Data
-- How to develop an ROI for Big Data

It also includes original research that provides insights into how your peers view the challenges and opportunities of Big Data, along with their companies’ current strategies, plans, and expectations.

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36 Funny Email Signatures

An email is very similar to a letter - you write a greeting, a message, and you sign it with your name. If you work for a large corporation, your emails are likely stamped with other details such different ways to get a hold of you: cell phone, fax, alternate email addresses, and perhaps the company website. These extra details make up what is called an email signature.

Email signatures are no longer just for work! Show off your comedic side by adding a funny email signature to each outgoing message! There are seriously tons of funny sayings that work great as email signatures! Finding a funny email signature that defines "you" is easy as pie. All you have to do is find something that makes you laugh your pants off! Those who get your humor will laugh every time they get an email from you!

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