May, 2006

You turn on the water in the shower, it's too cold. You adjust the tap, still too cold. Adjust the tap again, still too cold. One last adjustment, and you're in the shower. Ten seconds later, you're jumping out of the bathtub with scalding water raising red marks on your bare bum. Welcome to latency. By the way, what's your I.Q.? Software development is notorious for having very long periods of...

I received an e-mail yesterday if I could share some of the roles I have undertaken and then provide career tips. I thought for a minute and complied this list of a few background experiences: Hardware: technical papers, designing; since 1965 Software: systems, design, development; since 1970 Teaching: IT and business; since 1980 Writing: technical papers, articles, books, blogs;...

There's a new editorial feature, Blogged Down (BD) , in Computing Canada (CC) which features an upcoming interview that appears here in the Canadian IT Managers forum (CIM) . Computing Canada (CC) is the oldest, largest, most influential bi-weekly business/technology print publication with an audience that includes 42,000 IT decision makers in medium-to-large enterprises. For more than 30 years, Computing...

I have just finished reading a great article that Pamela Slim has written entitled "Open letter to CEOs, COOs, CIOs and CFOs across the corporate world" . As an IT manager or CIO I think that Pamela has some great points to really address how to keep your employees engaged, interested, and excited about the work they do. As an interesting counter-point, she also posts an "Open letter to employees...

Oh joy, oh bliss, today an angel from heaven called and sang sweet poetry on your voicemail. That is to say, a headhunter left a message hinting that somebody thinks you are a marvellous person and is willing to pay you more money because of it. But oh, where is that insistent pricking coming from? Good heavens, it's your conscience, reminding you that your employer, who has fed you paycheques for...

In my last post on " Running a Computer User Group " I mentioned that in part 2 I would discuss VANTUG's activities and plans. However, before I start I want to discuss some philosophical issues. I suspect that many people, if asked, would think of UG's like VANTUG as a place to perhaps network and further their technical knowledge. That is certainly true but in today's world I strongly believe that...

Look for Derick’s presentation on “ The Top Ten IT Security Threats and How to Avoid Them ” at the INFORMATICS 2006 Conference held in Victoria May 28th to 30th. We encourage all to attend this premier education and professional development event for IT Managers and IT Pros – with 20 workshops and five keynotes. I was very fortunate to catch Derick Wong for this podcast where...

In a prior blog, I indicated that IT is the enabler to both internal and external business ecosystems. This creates a demand for professionalism since IT is mission critical to enterprise effectiveness and business agility. In essence IT is a kind of Keystone and this ties into an interview I conducted with Marco. [Note: due to its length, I didn't include the entire discussion.] I would like to...

There must be enough quotes about "change", many of them great one-liners, written over time to fill several books. Here are just a few of my personal favourites: "It often takes more courage to change one's opinion than to stick to it." "If you don't change your beliefs, your life will be like this forever. Is that good news?" "If you don't like something change it. If you can't change...

On Tuesday , I shared a discussion with famed Harvard Professor, Marco Iansiti, where he describes business ecosystems. I am continuing the discussion with his co-author, Roy Levien, who provides details about the model for successful businesses. As a side note, you will notice that Roy is an inventor with Intellectual Ventures – a somewhat super secret organization working with the best talent...

The US Bureau of Labour predicts a 55% increase in demand for network systems analysts from 2004 to 2014. So how do IT managers and businesses attract and then keep IT talent? It's an important question that I was asked recently for CISCO's IQ Magazine . Referrals are the best source for finding qualified new hires including from employees, colleagues, and IT associations such as CIPS. I am asked...

Problem solving seems to have been a fairly regular theme lately. Let's face it life in general is about problem solving of one kind or another, whether it be personal or professional. The concept of problem solving and quality are synonymous. Why else would be trying to solve a problem if it weren't to make something better? Whilst experience is invaluable, it doesn't hurt to learn a few SIMPLE tools...

Last Wednesday evening saw John Bristowe from the Microsoft Calgary office present Visual Studio Team System to an appreciative audience of 100 .netBC and VANTUG members. John has a very lively style of presentation and it proved difficult to slow him down even when we had to vacate the meeting room. Rob Chartier MVP was in the audience and John, Rob, Medhat Elmasry (President, .netBC) and I had the...

I wanted to give you a heads-up on an upcoming interview with Dennis McPeak, Technical Architect with RBC Financial Group, since he provides some excellent tips for IT managers. Dennis and his team won the Project Team of the Year Award from Computing Canada announced online in January of this year. Here’s our discussion on scope creep: SI: What are your top five recommendations for...

Last Wednesday , I began my discussion with Roy Levien. On Thursday and Friday , we continued the interview. Here is part 4. I would like to hear your opinions in this forum or send me an e-mail at sibaraki@cips.ca . Enjoy! .... From Stephen Ibaraki, I.S.P. Q: IBM has adopted a Linux strategy. Can you share your views on this? A: Far more is going on there than meets the eye. This is part...

As an IT Manager how much do you know about your local User Groups? Do you know what takes place at meetings? Do you know the value that they provide? Do you know how UG’s are run? Do you know any of the UG officers? Do you know if any of your employees are members of UG’s? Do you encourage membership and possibly fund it if necessary? Do you know the importance of your direct or indirect...

I had a conversation which triggered this blog on virtualization. Here’s part 2/2: ________ You will notice an uptake especially in 2006 in virtualization news and announcements. As just one example, Intel’s silicon-level support for virtualization of the CPU (Intel VT) and Directed I/O (Intel VT-d) has garnered significant press attention with support from major virtualization software...

There's a new editorial feature, Blogged Down (BD) , in Computing Canada (CC) which features an upcoming interview that appears here in the Canadian IT Managers forum (CIM) . Computing Canada (CC) is the oldest, largest, most influential bi-weekly business/technology print publication with an audience that includes 42,000 IT decision makers in medium-to-large enterprises. For more than 30 years, Computing...

Last Wednesday , I began my discussion with Roy Levien. On Thursday , Friday , and this Monday , we continued the interview. Here is part 5. I would like to hear your opinions in this forum or send me an e-mail at sibaraki@cips.ca . Enjoy! …. From Stephen Ibaraki, I.S.P. Q: Your views on Enron, Apple, AOL are enlightening. Please explain? A: All three are examples of firms, that in...

On Wednesday , I began my discussion with Roy Levien. On Thursday , we continued the interview. Here is part 3. I would like to hear your opinions in this forum or send me an e-mail at sibaraki@cips.ca . Enjoy! .... From Stephen Ibaraki, I.S.P. Q: You have particular views on outsourcing, innovation and its implications; and also about the origin of ideas. Can you elaborate? A: Ideas come...

I got this question last week: How do you find the time to blog everyday? Do you get paid? I told Sam, I’m having fun J and I believe in building community and sharing. So I make time and no, it’s all volunteer time, just like with the fine guest bloggers we have. I also told him: Where do you get chance to meet the finest professionals and share thoughts every day? Well I do, here...

This is the next blog post in the career tip series from noted IT professionals. The last ones were from Mike Stonebraker widely regarded as the world’s foremost pioneer on RDBMS and Richard Giles , a noted author and leader in Web 2.0 media and blogging. Rand Morimoto : "The IT industry is full of opportunities, still the Wild West where someone who wants to take a few chances can make...

On Wednesday , I began my discussion with Roy Levien. Here is part 2: I would like to hear your opinions in this forum or send me an e-mail at sibaraki@cips.ca . Enjoy! .... From Stephen Ibaraki, I.S.P. Q: Can you detail dominators traits including the areas of control and value extraction? A: Dominators are the "bad guys" of this view of business networks. They exploit their hub position...

In working with computers since 1965, I discovered it is essential to collaborate and keep yourself current with the latest trends and technologies. What are the top issues and how can you better manage them? What are the best practices that you must know to be successful? What business and technology roadmaps and key tips can you learn? The quickest way to obtain this essential value to sustain...

As part of our ongoing commitment to provide you with relevant information, check out this exciting new IT Manager Connections webcast series specifically designed for IT Managers. The series features speakers from both the industry and Microsoft. How to Harness the Value and Benefits of an Integrated IT Platform . Learn about Microsoft Roadmap through 2008, and what Vista, Office 2007 and Exchange...