Trends
IT keys Web 2.0 deployments
IT departments are taking a more active role
in the acquisition and deployment of Web 2.0
technologies, according to Forrester
Research. Budgetary controls, the need for
integration and technical skills, and the
growing importance of Web 2.0 tools are all
putting IT departments in the driver’s seat.
"Technology product managers and
marketers will need to not only deal with
these departments but also appeal to them
outright," says Forrester’s G. Oliver Young.
"Those that can do so most effectively stand
to close more deals, shorten the sales cycle
and grow deployments more easily."
Forrester recently conducted an online
survey of 262 IT professionals to find out
how IT departments view Web 2.0 tools and
what role these departments play in their
adoption. Among the findings:
IT’s understanding of Web 2.0
technologies is uneven. Individual
technologies still see uneven awareness
among IT professionals. In addition, junior
staffers often are the ones who are aware of
the most cutting-edge Web 2.0 tools, while
CIOs and other senior managers are more
likely to be unaware or skeptical of the
technologies. This dichotomy is changing,
however, as Forrester has seen an increasing
number of CIOs set the Web 2.0 agenda over
the past 12 months.
IT departments expect Web 2.0 to have a
big impact on the business. Sixty-three
percent of IT professionals surveyed expect
a moderate or substantial impact over the
next three years.
IT sees the risks of unmanaged Web 2.0
deployments. IT departments are by no means
blind to the risks of employee-driven Web
2.0 adoption. Web 2.0 tools give workers and
teams opportunities to put sensitive
corporate data in jeopardy without IT
oversight; the vast majority of the IT
professionals polled are concerned with this
possibility.
IT departments are funding many Web 2.0
deployments. Four out of five IT departments
at firms with Web 2.0 deployments will
provide the funding themselves. While this
proportion is likely overstated, Forrester
says that at least 60 percent of firms see
the IT department funding at least some
piece of their Web 2.0 deployments.
Availability of IT resources can be a
major bottleneck to deployment. Web 2.0
champions need to make a compelling case
across a myriad of considerations. When IT
professionals were asked what some of those
concerns were, identifying the benefits–both
to IT and to the business–was front and
center. Nearly as important, however, was
the availability of IT resources and
software security.
Many roles in IT have a hand in Web 2.0
projects. The saying "it takes a village to
raise a child" can easily apply to Web 2.0
tools; in most cases, many different roles
within the IT department have a hand in the
funding, deployment and management of Web
2.0 technology. Simply appealing to the CIO
or one discipline within the enterprise will
not be enough.
Nine trends to watch in 2009
Verizon Business has identified trends for
information technology leaders to watch
for in 2009.
Enterprise 2.0. Yesterday’s work style is
being replaced with a more interactive
exchange of ideas inspired by social
networking tools such as Facebook, wikis,
mash-ups, Twitter and Digg.
Work as activity versus place. Teleworking is becoming a strategic
imperative, as its productivity-boosting
benefits enable teleworkers to remain
securely connected to corporate resources.
Visual communications. Video will play a
starring role, as companies make the most of
their IP connections for the cost-savings,
productivity and environmental benefits.
Unified communications (UC) integrated
into business processes. Workers leveraging
presence capabilities in a UC environment
can gain more control over work flow and
time management.
Ready, set, go IPv6. Knowing which IP
addressable elements are linked to which
business needs will enable IT leaders to
prioritize the data and applications to
enable IPv6 capabilities.
Getting SaaSy. Serving content,
applications and security in a centralized
online environment will become the rage.
Buying computing resources a la carte will
help control costs.
360 security. Security will touch every
endpoint, device and situation. Home and
office require equal protection as
boundaries continue to blur.
Eco-responsibility as sound business
strategy. Companies will evaluate
eco-responsibility along with their
technology investments as part of an overall
business strategy.
Cutting through the compliance clutter.
IT will be in the hot seat for ensuring
systems are compliant and all the right
controls are in place.
Three steps to security
While some client security solutions focus
on decreasing the operational burden of the
desktop operations, others focus on bringing
best-of-breed security components to the
security side of the house. When choosing a
client security solution, Forrester Research
suggests following these three steps:
Look internally and examine how you are
organized. Does the organization have a
desktop operations group responsible for the
overall health of the PC environment, or
does it have separate security and
operations teams that work closely together?
Overall, according to a Forrester survey, 55
percent of enterprises surveyed have a
single-team responsible for the security and
management of the PC environment, while 37
percent have separate teams.
Map the appropriate vendors to your
organizational strategy. Clients report that
their best vendors share a similar strategy.
This means that organizations that have
separated the security and management of the
PC environment are more satisfied with
vendors like McAfee and Trend Micro that
stick to their security heritage. On the
flip side, organizations that have
integrated their desktop security and ops
teams feel that the Symantecs and Microsofts
of the world will be better able to deliver
an efficient and cost-effective product.
Focus on the requisite features, but
emphasize price. Client security is a
quickly commoditizing market. The
technologies provided by one vendor are
similar in effectiveness to the
functionality of another. Therefore, when
choosing a client security provider, take
the list from step two and make sure they
have checkbox requirements for a security
solution. For example, if antimalware,
personal firewalls and application control
are all requirements, Bit9 and LANDesk
should not make the list, while Kaspersky
Lab and BigFix may be options. Once there is
a short list, play the price game and find
the solution that will drive down costs.
Short Takes
Better performance
The
Laboratory of Neuro Imaging
(LONI) has reduced the cost and complexity
of deploying a high-performance network
infrastructure with
Juniper Network’s integrated routing,
switching and security portfolio. LONI has
doubled network performance, reduced
network-management time by 50 percent and
increased user productivity with secure
anywhere, anytime access to computing
resources using any Web-enabled device. "We
selected Juniper’s MX-series routers and
EX-series switches for our network upgrade
based on the elegance of the JUNOS software
and the overall simplicity of how the
routers and switches are managed," says
Rico Magsipoc, CTO at LONI.
Welcome relief
The American Red Cross, Dallas
area chapter, has deployed
Array Network’s SPX2000 SSL VPN
solutions to provide secure remote access to
applications to support its disaster relief
campaigns. By deploying the SSL VPN, it was
able to establish a centralized IT
management system with easy remote access to
information that is reliable and scalable.
"We were looking for a solution that
provides easy yet secure access to the
information and applications that are
critical to our work," says
David Hudson, director of IT. "Now, even
under difficult conditions, our employees
and volunteers can effortlessly access
required files."