"’Strategy’ (from the Greek strategos, meaning generalship) is a set of actions toward a specific goal. The concept of strategy has developed in the laboratory of war. One of the most popular "strategy" books ever written (and still read today after 2,400 years) is Sun Tzu’s manual, The Art of War.” – National Association of Corporate Directors FAQ in Corporate Governance

 

Top Picks

81 dead in Mexico as flu emergency goes global
“By Sunday, 81 deaths had been deemed ‘likely linked’ to a deadly new strain of the virus by health authorities in Mexico. Viral testing has confirmed 20 cases, said Dr. Jose A. Cordova Villalobos, Mexico's health secretary. In the United States, the number of confirmed swine flu cases stood at 11.  In New Zealand, officials said 22 students and three teachers, who returned from a three-week-long language trip to Mexico, may have been infected with the virus.”
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/26/swine.flu/index.html
Facts about swine flu:  http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/25/swine.flu/index.html#cnnSTCOther1
BBC Coverage:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8019100.stm

 

Debunking Data Centers
“Clean white server rooms, security cameras, biometric scanners, enormous cooling units, uninterruptible power supplies and massive generators make professional data centers look more impressive than your server room, but are they?”
http://datacenterjournal.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2739

[I really like this article.  The author stresses the need for reliability and makes a very important point – question your assumptions.  Just because the datacenter looks great doesn’t mean that it is reliable.]

 

Geithner: Economic slide eases, no recovery yet
“U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Friday that signs of an easing in the pace of deterioration in the global economy should not be confused with the start of recovery.”
http://uk.reuters.com/article/americasRegulatoryNes/idUKN2445032520090424

 

IT Audit / Internal Audit / Compliance / Ethics

Deloitte’s “Board Governance”
This section of the Deloitte website is a treasure trove of Board-level governance documents.  Very interesting.
https://www.corpgov.deloitte.com/site/us/menuitem.88e49625b72277a98f220ce36cdf8a0c/

 

National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) – Frequently Asked Questions in Corporate Governance
Another great resource.
https://secure.nacdonline.org/Source/Meetings/faq-details.cfm?faq=6#102

 

IT Process Improvement / Quality Management

Doing More with Less:  IT Framework Integration
“With the economic downturn organizations are pushing to drive down costs while improving quality. To shorten the learning curve and improve the likelihood of success, proven business and IT frameworks relating to quality and other disciplines are being reviewed for insights on how to improve effectiveness and efficiency. IT groups not familiar with the various frameworks and how they may integrate are apt to make wrong decisions or allow business management to make wrong decisions.  Given the plethora of frameworks that IT may be involved with, it only makes sense to review some of the most common ones at a very high-level and then discuss how they can work together. The following are common frameworks that IT may well encounter.”
http://www.itsmwatch.com/itil/article.php/3816046

 

Study: Not replacing laptops can prove very costly
“Companies looking to cope with declining IT budgets by postponing the purchase of new laptop computers are likely making a mistake, according to a new report released by technology consulting firm J.Gold Associates LLC.”
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9132096&source=rss_null14
[This parallels personal observations regarding the need for a three year rotation on laptops/notebooks.]

 

Kurt’s Corner

News and views from Kurt Milne, the managing director of the ITPI.  He can be reached at: kurt.milne@....

 

Are you ready for virtual desktop and desktop applications?
Those IT shops that need tight control over desktop environments should consider these emerging technologies.  This article highlights a couple of common objections – cost and user experience.  But recent demos I’ve seen from vendors such as InstallFree – seem to have enterprise class “bells and whistles” that address concerns about working offline and meeting compliance and control objectives.
http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/community/features/articles/blog/whats-holding-back-virtual-desktop-infrastructure/?cs=31689&utm_source=itbe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=OIN&nr=OIN

 

Who’s who in cloud computing
Here is an introductory summary of cloud market segments and leaders – by Carl Brooks at SearchServerVirtualization.com.
http://searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid94_gci1351649,00.html?track=NL-651&ad=698295&asrc=EM_NLN_6507223&uid=4561296#

 

Thinking more about risk
There has been some serious soul searching going on in the corporate governance space about modeling and managing risk as part of overall governance.   This article lays out the problem pretty well, but I’m not sure it gets the solution quite right. I think more people need to be trained on basic risk-based thinking.  Simple questions such as  “what could go wrong with this project/product/timeline? What are we going to do to keep it from happening?  What is the response if it does happen?” need to be asked and risks managed.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2205

 

Data Centers / Cloud Computing / Green IT

Details of Data Center Metrics from Environmental Protection Agency
“The metric which has been put forth by EPA is the energy star rating of data centers which will be on a scale ranging from 1 to 100. The rating would help data centers to know where they stand compared to their peers as far as efficient energy utilization is concerned.”
http://datacenterjournal.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2738

 

DCiE de facto energy efficiency benchmark for DOE
“The recent announcement by the U.S. Department of Energy Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) on funding research that seeks to increase the energy efficiency of server-based telecommunications and data center facilities has a very interesting measurement mentioned within it. DCIE or Data Center Infrastructure Efficiency was developed by the Green Grid as a benchmark for energy efficiency in the data center. DCiE’s reciprocal is PUE which stands for Power Usage Effectiveness.”
http://datacenterjournal.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2578

 

IBM plans cloud computing services for 2009
“IBM plans to launch several cloud computing services this year, taking on companies such as Amazon.com Inc, Google Inc, Microsoft Corp and Salesforce.com Inc. International Business Machines Corp spokeswoman Kelly Sims said on Thursday the first of these new services will enable developers to write software that works with the emerging, Web-based technology. Cloud computing systems run software and store information in remote, large-scale data centers that users and programmers access over the Internet.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/8470558

 

Amazon.com Eyes CIOs With Its AWS Cloud IT Services
“Although skeptics raised eyebrows over Amazon.com's decision to provide hosted IT infrastructure services, the e-commerce giant remains firmly committed to this business, as it increasingly courts CIOs and IT managers.  Amazon.com officially entered this market in March 2006 when it launched its Simple Storage Service (S3) and the Amazon Web Services (AWS) subsidiary, which today provides a suite of Internet-based IT infrastructure services.”
http://www.pcworld.com/article/163825/amazoncom_eyes_cios_with_its_aws_cloud_it_services.html

 

Security and Risk Management

RSA 2009: A yawner at best
“In my humble opinion, the RSA 2009 security conference, held this week in San Francisco, was extremely flat compared with past years. Yes, the economy had a lot to do with it. I believe last year's attendance was around 17,000 people, and I've heard that this year was off about 12 percent to 13 percent. Personally, I can't believe there were more than 10,000 folks there.”
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10226997-83.html

 

Is IT ready for a pandemic after mergers, layoffs?
Basically the author is questioning IT’s ability to cope with a pandemic given the layoffs due to the economy.
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9132111&source=rss_null14

 

Top five cloud computing security issues
“In the last few years, cloud computing has grown from being a promising business concept to one of the fastest growing segments of the IT industry. Now, recession-hit companies are increasingly realising that simply by tapping into the cloud they can gain fast access to best-of-breed business applications or drastically boost their infrastructure resources, all at negligible cost.  But as more and more information on individuals and companies is placed in the cloud, concerns are beginning to grow about just how safe an environment it is.”
http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2009/04/24/235782/top-five-cloud-computing-security-issues.htm

 

Health and Healthcare

Patients Irate With Insurers' 'Fail First' Policy
“The basic idea behind step therapy is to start with the most cost-effective and safest treatment, progressing to more costly or risky therapy only if the current treatment is not effective. In theory, proponents say, the strategy both minimizes risks to the patient and keeps overall costs under control.”
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/PainManagement/story?id=7395636&page=1

 

The Dubious Promise of Digital Medicine
“Neal Patterson likens the current scramble in health information technology to the 19th century land rush that opened his native Oklahoma to homesteaders. Cerner (CERN), the large medical vendor Patterson heads, is jockeying for new business spurred by a $19.6 billion federal initiative to computerize a health system buried in paper. ‘It's a beautiful opportunity for us,’ the CEO says.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_18/b4129030606214.htm?campaign_id=rss_null

 

Human Error / Safety / Environment

FAA: bird strikes more than double at big airports
“Airplane collisions with birds have more than doubled at 13 major U.S. airports since 2000, and New York's Kennedy airport and Sacramento International report the most incidents with serious damage, according to Federal Aviation Administration data released for the first time Friday.”
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5itzk6YVnBDZLTUTd5d_R_ct_LOLAD97OV4VO0
http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/story?id=7419909&page=1

 

'Climate change' forces Eskimos to abandon village
“The indigenous people of Alaska have stood firm against some of the most extreme weather conditions on Earth for thousands of years. But now, flooding blamed on climate change is forcing at least one Eskimo village to move to safer ground.”
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/04/24/climate.change.eskimos/index.html

 

How swine flu spreads in humans
“A new strain of influenza is infecting people in Mexico and the United States and may have killed up to 60 people in Mexico, global health officials said today.  The CDC has analyzed samples of the H1N1 virus from some of the U.S. patients, all of whom have recovered, and said it is a never-before-seen mixture of viruses from swine, birds and humans.”
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-flu-box25-2009apr25,0,5114253.story

 

Mexico City on alert over swine flu outbreak
“Mexican officials closed all schools Friday in the capital city in an effort to combat the swine flu virus that has killed dozens in Mexico and infected eight people in the United States.”
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/25/swine.flu/index.html

 

Global News / Business / Economics

G7 sees signs of stabilization; vows cooperation
“Finance chiefs from the G7 powers said the downturn in their economies was easing and they pledged to ensure big financial firms are sound, according to a draft statement obtained by Reuters on Friday.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE53M52K20090424

 

Why Iran Is Hungry for Business with the U.S.
“Americans and other Western companies might benefit, too. Iran, after all, has 66 million people, good schools, and a diversified industrial base—with a pent-up appetite for computers, planes, aircraft parts, and knowhow for the crucial oil and gas industry. And many Iranians like the prospect of working with U.S. companies rather than the Europeans that have been the only game in recent years.”
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_18/b4129020609532.htm?campaign_id=rss_null

 

US News / Business / Economics

Why is Wall Street ignoring Detroit?
“Part of this is because the auto sector's problems are taking a back seat (pardon the pun) to the state of the nation's banks and insurance companies. And, for now at least, investors are feeling a little better about the financial sector.  There is also a sense that an automaker bankruptcy may already be priced into the market.”
http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/24/markets/thebuzz/?postversion=2009042412

 

Is the stress test stressful enough?
“Guidelines revealed Friday renew questions about whether the government's stress tests are stressful enough to account for the losses that might hit banks in a deepening downturn.”
http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/24/news/stress.testing.fortune/?postversion=2009042417

 

Federal officials privately issue banks' 'stress tests' results
“The results will not be made public until May 4, and banks are not allowed to reveal them. But the Federal Reserve, which is overseeing the process, today released details of the data and assumptions used to conduct the tests. The 21-page white paper was issued ahead of the actual results to give the public time to understand the process and data, according to a senior Fed official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the process is ongoing.”
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-stresstests25-2009apr25,0,5490195.story

 

The nagging euphoria over Ford
“Ford Motor Co.'s firm refusal to take government bailout money has made it the toast of Detroit. Despite ongoing losses, its go-it-alone attitude has won the admiration of countless Americans.”
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/nagging-euphoria-over-ford/story.aspx?guid={23DD9B92-5E3E-4619-958F-39D27764FB06}&dist=msr_9

 

Ford posts big loss, shows improvement in cash outflow
“Ford Motor Co. shares rallied as much as 21% on Friday after the No. 2 U.S. automaker reported improved cash flow and a quarterly loss that wasn't nearly as bad as Wall Street had expected.”
http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/ford-shares-rally-improvement-cash/story.aspx?guid={9D38EE2E-766C-4C81-BD66-AB3D107AB560}

 

Pontiac: R.I.P.
“General Motors is expected to announce Monday that it plans to kill its Pontiac brand, rather than maintain it as a niche brand with one or two models into the future as had been previously announced by company officials.”
http://www.businessweek.com/autos/autobeat/archives/2009/04/pontiac_rip.html

 

Technology & Science

Scientists complete genome sequence of cows
“Scientists have finished the genome sequence of cows, which could contribute to better disease resistance and higher quality meat for consumers, according to reports to be published Friday in journal Science.”
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/24/content_11249258.htm

 

China prepares for market launch of robots attending lone elderly
“A 1.6-meter tall robot with twinkling eyes may soon become the best friend for lone elderly people, as Chinese scientists make the final sprint toward its market launch, said a senior researcher on the robot project here on Saturday.”
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/25/content_11254566.htm

 

End Notes

The News is brought to you by George Spafford, Principal Consultant at Pepperweed Consulting, LLC.  Pepperweed is nationally recognized as a leader in IT Management Consulting.  For more information, check out our website at www.pepperweed.com or call 888-229-0145. Please let us know if you see stories you think should be included in the next issue of The News, and feel free to forward this email on to others.

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