News

Announcements and commentary about industry news, and movers and shakers in business technology.

A New Kind of Software Attack, A Whole New Ballgame

Ken Orr | Sep 24, 2010 No Responses

Sep 242010

Early this year, fellow Cutter Consultants Mitch Ummel, Mike Rosen, and I wrote an Executive Report on the Smart Grid. In that report, we talked about all the potential that the Smart Grid offers, how it would be designed, and also about the serious problems that such an ambitious undertaking faces — especially problems related to reliability and security. We expressed fears that since the next generation of Smart Grid electrical utilities is based on current standards taken from the Internet and the current generation of operating systems, it would be subject to serious attacks by more and more sophisticated hackers which, in turn, could seriously jeopardize the reliability and security of our most critical …

Is the End of All-You-Can-Eat AT&T Wireless Good News for Consumers?

Lou Mazzucchelli | Jun 2, 2010 1 Response

Jun 022010

Well, it’s happened. AT&T announced this week that it will abandon its wireless unlimited-data pricing plan in favor of usage-based model. I have been opining about this particular issue for many years — any kind of “all you can eat” pricing model has always struck me as sub-optimal, and my reaction to the growing popularity of flat rate Internet connection pricing based on connection speed is the same as my reaction when Pets.com offered free shipping on 50-pound bags of dog food back in the day: buy all you can, ’cause this deal can’t last. Internet customers (at least in the US) seem to have figured this out. Their usage of bandwidth continues to grow …

Green IT: It Can Save Your Money and Our Planet

San Murugesan | May 30, 2010 No Responses

May 302010

As environmental issues are becoming a major global concern, a new spotlight is lit on IT showcasing it as both a solution and a problem for environmental sustainability. As businesses and governments try to balance growth with environmental risks, we’re called upon to make our IT systems — and their use — greener, and to use the power of IT in innovative ways to address mounting environmental issues. Green IT – environmentally sound IT – is the study and practice of designing, manufacturing, and using computers, servers, monitors, printers, storage devices, and networking and communications systems efficiently and effectively with zero or minimal impact on the environment. It includes the dimensions of environmental sustainability, the …

Green IT Awareness Week: Are You Aware?

Kim Leonard | May 28, 2010 1 Response

May 282010

ComputersOFF.org has declared 1-7 June 2010 to be Green IT Awareness Week. This is a topic dear to our hearts at Cutter Consortium, and one that we examine frequently (See our Stats of the Week on a variety of Green IT questions, here, here, and here). Cutter supports International Green IT Awareness Week’s mission to “initiate, promote and support green IT discussions, emboldening employees with the knowledge and innovative ideas to reduce the environmental footprint of the organisation.” We’re taking action by stimulating discussion and awareness in a variety of ways — we hope you’ll join in too! Come back here, to The Cutter Blog to read — and debate — new, thought-provoking posts on …

Looking into a Market Abyss

Ken Orr | May 7, 2010 2 Responses

May 072010

Sitting on my desk in my office is a model of one of the most dangerous cars in the history of sports car racing. It is a Mercedes 300SLR. On June 11, 1955, at the Le Mans race, a 300SLR driven by French driver Pierre Levegh was involved in an accident in which 82 people (including the driver) were killed. This tragedy sent a shock through the racing world, and the thinking about race car performance, design and safety was changed forever. Now, in racing, it is clearly possible to produce race cars that can go 250, or 300 or perhaps 350 mph and stop on a dime. Human beings, even with computer assists, can’t …

How tight are belts in IT this year?

Kim Leonard | May 5, 2010 No Responses

May 052010

Are IT budgets easing up, or does budgeting in 2010 feel like 2009 redux? We hope you’ll help us find out. Cutter has just launched its fifth annual IT Budgeting survey, the results of which will appear in an upcoming issue of Cutter Benchmark Review. Please assist us in creating a snapshot of where we stand in 2010 that we’ll use to compare with data from previous years, identify trends, uncover risks, and make practical recommendations. Please take our survey, which takes 10-12 minutes to complete. We truly appreciate your time, and will thank you for participating with an immediate download of “IT Budgeting: IT May Be Faring Better than Others in the Storm,” the …

IT’s Promise for Emerging Markets

Christine Generali | Apr 2, 2010 1 Response

Apr 022010

With over 25 emerging markets in the world today in the process of rapid growth and industrialization, the IT industry is paying close attention to the vast potential that exists to support this economic restructuring. In fact, the collaboration of IT and emerging markets presents new opportunities from which both sides can benefit significantly. Join the debate in the July 2010 Cutter IT Journal — with Guest Editor San Murugesan — as we examine the value and impact IT will have in emerging markets now and in the future. To share your perspective with us, send us a short article abstract by April 20. For the full Call for Papers, visit here.

Big is Not Always Beautiful

Scott Stribrny | Nov 23, 2009 6 Responses

Nov 232009

Outsourcing big is not always beautiful. Indeed, sometimes outsourcing big can be a blunder. For example, on Friday, Information Age reported a tally of the UK government’s project management track record, and found that IT projects count among its worst failures. Why? “Government needs to stop thinking that when it comes to procuring IT systems, big is always beautiful,” says shadow chancellor George Osborne. “We need to move in the direction of what are known as ‘open standards’ – in effect, creating a common language for government IT,” he said, which would mean “big projects can be split into smaller elements, which can be delivered by different suppliers and then bolted together”. Even in Texas, big …

Where to find the Cutter Agile Team at Agile 2009: Days 3 & 4

Kim Leonard | Aug 26, 2009 No Responses

Aug 262009

My morning scan of the RSS feeds contained fewer blog posts from Agile 2009 attendees. This leads me to the conclusion that Tuesday night was a social one (and that the coffee stations had better be will stocked this morning!) Cutter folks are presenting several sessions over the next couple of days. Here’s where you’ll find them: Wednesday 8/26 11:00 am Rachel Davies & Johanna Hunt Telling Your Stories: Why Stories are important for your team Columbus GH 2:00 pm Christopher Avery & Ashley Johnson Coaching Success: Getting People to Take Responsibility & Demonstrate Ownership Regency B 2:00 PM Mark Levison & Linda Rising Learning: the best approaches for your brain Columbus GH Thursday 8/27 …

Cutter’s Agile team at Agile 2009: Days 1 & 2

Kim Leonard | Aug 25, 2009 No Responses

Aug 252009

It’s day two of Agile 2009 in Chicago, and we’ve gotten reports from our Agile consulting team of morning runs and cycling along the lakefront as well as consumption of classic Chicago pizza at Lou Malnati’s (I’m thinking the latter makes the former necessary!) Practice Director Jim Highsmith reports that he had 100 plus folks at both of his sessions (Advances in Release Planning and Zen & the Art of Software Quality) on Monday, a day that culminated with his election as President of the APLN. Congrats, Jim! Rachel Davies & Liz Sedley’s session, What Does an Agile Coach Do?, followed by today’s Top 10 Tips for Agile Coaches got great feedback, leaving folks anxious …

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News

A New Kind of Software Attack, A Whole New Ballgame

Is the End of All-You-Can-Eat AT&T Wireless Good News for Consumers?

Green IT: It Can Save Your Money and Our Planet

Green IT Awareness Week: Are You Aware?

Looking into a Market Abyss

How tight are belts in IT this year?

IT’s Promise for Emerging Markets

Big is Not Always Beautiful

Where to find the Cutter Agile Team at Agile 2009: Days 3 & 4

Cutter’s Agile team at Agile 2009: Days 1 & 2

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