strategy

Is Allstate’s IT Department In Good Hands?

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Awhile ago over at the Wall Street Journal they had a chance to sit down and have a talk with Catherine Brune who is the CIO over at the big insurance company Allstate. Catherine had some interesting things to say about how she is adapting Allstate’s IT operations and strategy to deal with the current … Read more

How Can You Make Your IT Department Strategic?

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Isn’t that the goal of every IT department – to move from being viewed as a support organization to somehow becoming part of the company’s strategic core? Although we all know that this is what we want, for some reason it sure seems to be very hard to do. Good news – the folks over … Read more

3 Ways To Fix An IT Department (Suggestions From Europe)

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  Kuppinger Cole + Partner (KCP) is a European consulting firm that specializes in identity management. So it goes without saying that they spend their time in and out of multiple IT departments on a daily basis. They know all of our dirty little secrets. One of their founders, Martin Kuppinger has been doing some … Read more

Does IHOP Have Tasty Lessons To Serve Up For IT?

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I don’t know about you, but I’m always open to having breakfast no matter what time of day it is. This might explain why so much of my life has been spent sitting in IHOP restaurants eating mountains of pancakes. When I stumbled across an interview with IHOP’s CIO in eWeek magazine, I was of … Read more

What Can IT Become When It Grows Up?

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So I love IT, and you love IT. We love the applications, the servers, the networks and, of course, the Internet. Whether it’s because we are closet control freaks or because we are fascinated by how all of the pieces fit together, we just love it. I’m not saying that love is a bad thing, … Read more

Can’t We All Just Get Along (In IT)?

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So there you are, manning the laptop, doing your utmost best to guide your IT department and, of course, your company on to greater glories. Do you really need to network with your colleagues at other firms? For that matter, do they really have anything to teach you? Peter Whatnell over at Sunoco has some … Read more

Creative Abrasion: How To Build Innovation Into IT

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While trolling the Internet over the holidays, I came across a write-up of the Unstructure Event held that was held Orlando, Florida, USA on 17 Nov & 18 Nov 2008. Unstructure is basically a platform for open discussions on a wide range of business topics. They had a face-to-face meeting back in November. What caught … Read more

IT vs Sales: The YouTube Version

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Yeah, so I’m really impressed with how I write. But this time around I’m more than willing to admit that I’ve been out classed by a video that’s up on YouTube: “The Great Office War”. This video is very appropriate for work (no problems if the boss catches you watching it). We’ve talked here a … Read more

3 Secrets That Oil Companies Use To Run A Great IT Department

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If you had to guess as to what the secret of running a great IT department is, what would you say? Peter Whatnell over at Sunoco has some thoughts on this subject. Peter breaks it down to three key items: knowing how your company makes money, choosing to not run against the company’s culture, and … Read more