Business Technology Roundtable

The goal of creating a collaborative enterprise might seem like an essential requirement that all forward-looking business leaders would actively support. However, fear of the unknown sometimes makes intelligent people react in ways that, in hindsight, appear totally illogical. A case in point, Cisco announced results of a global study that found that while 77 percent of IT decision makers surveyed plan to increase spending on internal collaboration tools, company employees believe that their ability to collaborate is constrained by their own employer policies. That said, more than a quarter of those who work at organizations that prohibit the use of social media applications admitted to changing the settings on their corporate devices to gain online access -- claiming they "need the tools to get the job done." This new insight was attained by investigating practices at medium to large enterprises -- those with more than 250 employees. The study, conducted by InsightExpress,...

Social media tools are entering the workplace, either by thoughtful intent or purely by accident. To date, for those organizations that actually have a plan of action, most tend to focus more on "damage containment" policies for their employees. Is a protection-centric strategy the prudent approach for concerned -- but otherwise uninformed -- business leaders, or is it shortsighted thinking that undervalues the upside opportunity ? Cisco released the results of a third-party global market study designed to assess how organizations use consumer social networking tools to collaborate externally. The use of these tools, such as Facebook and Twitter, are connecting organizations with their external stakeholders. On the upside, the tools connect people and information, establish potential new routes to market, and enhance customer intimacy and brand awareness. According to the third-party researcher , the study findings indicate that we're at the early stages of adoption and ...

Just as architecture has the power to transform a skyline, create new vistas and reshape the horizon -- so technology has the power to redefine healthcare, that's the theme of this year's HIMSS09 conference and exhibition in Chicago, Illinois this week. Cisco video technology was featured in the AT&T Telepresence Solution booth on the exhibition floor. Visitors to the live video demo described their perspective on potential new applications, and Wendy Bohling, Senior VP at Magpie Healthcare had a more profound point of view. She said, regarding the business impact, "Telepresence changes and differentiates a hospital." Quest to Improve the Patient Experience Enhancing communication capabilities in healthcare can be equated to the potential for productivity and cost-reduction benefits, which are clearly valued. However, perhaps the emerging opportunities will now also focus on patient safety and the overall patient experience. A recent study, conducted by Zogby In...

Healthcare is constantly in the spotlight as aging populations, technological advances and high-costs threaten the very fabric of the current system. Healthcare providers and insurers are under constant social, political and shareholder pressure to both improve quality of delivery and lower operational costs. To proactively evolve, forward-looking insurers and providers need to focus on: Access -- ensuring that patients are properly insured and the facilities are available to treat them; Affordability -- driving down costs across all parts of the system; Quality -- ensuring quality and successful treatment outcome; Sustainability -- focus on managing labor force resources and green issues. New Approaches to Technology Driven Transformation Despite being an industry heavily dependant on the use of the latest in medical technologies, healthcare has traditionally been slow to use information technology and services to improve their business processes. Healthcare has some of the most ...

Turmoil and struggles in the financial services sector are splashed daily on the front page of newspapers around the world. The industry faces a number of monumental challenges that are threatening and shaping its future. To remain competitive, forward-looking firms need to: Reduce costs Improve cross-sell and up-sell results from existing customers Shift capital expenditures to operational expenditures through variable costing and on-demand capabilities Progressive companies in the financial services sector are aggressively using managed services technology to address some of these current challenges. Serving Market Growth The financial services sector currently spends more than 2.5 times more on technology than other industries. The way they can attack challenge number one is to shift the management of desktops, data centers, and call centers to a managed services model. Companies are using this option not just to reduce costs, but as a way to reallocate investment into growth initia...

All business has become global. Companies of any size can now market products and services worldwide over the Internet. At the same time, competition has intensified because customers can investigate global competitors with ease. To compete effectively in the global networked economy, companies need new capabilities: Global procurement and sales 24 hours a day. Integrated internal and external business processes. Up-to-the-minute access to sales, order processing, production, and other business critical information required for informed decision making. Flexible processes that can adapt dynamically to changes in the business climate. The application of Business Technology is now a primary enabler of strategic advantage. However, chief executives have become impatient, as their companies have failed to keep pace with these advances. There are alternatives, for those who choose to act. The managed services model can be applied to accelerate this much needed change. Review the following ...

I've heard many excuses, during my years as an ITIL consultant, as to why a client did not want to start IT Financial Management -- the business is not ready, we don't have the tools, we don't know where to start, etc. However, in these troubling economic times, it is imperative that IT adopts IT Financial Management in order to respond to the increasing pressure to reduce costs. IT can reduce costs through service-based cost transparency and charge-backs. This method does not mean IT is a profit-center; it just means that IT is educating the business on the cost to provide the services. With this knowledge, the business can adjust their consumption to better manage their budget and ensure spending is aligned with the value of the service they are receiving. Contrast this with a nebulous IT overhead charge which does not incent the business to use scarce IT resources wisely. A Roadmap to IT Financial Management The secret to successfully starting IT Financial Management is...

The structured approach of Business Technology Management (BTM) is a proven methodology that seeks to unify business and technology decision-making at every level within a company. Originally conceived to address the needs of large enterprises, there are now very apparent benefits for both small and medium sized businesses. Let's consider the growing body of evidence that supports that business case. Put simply, BTM is applied to ensure that a company's business strategy can be realized by the technology it deploys. This approach is used by business leaders to align, synchronize and even converge technology and business management for the purpose of ensuring better execution, risk control and profitability. The Path of Total Convergence Clearly, these are the type of guiding principles that should transcend all businesses, regardless of their size. Let's explore the meaning of those three states of progression. Alignment is defined as a state where technology supports, ena...

In the highly-charged economic environment facing organizations today, competition is fierce and any competitive advantage needs to be identified and maximized to ensure survival. Increasingly Business Technology service providers, whether internal or external, are reaching out to the growing discipline of IT Service Management (ITSM), particularly as expressed in the "IT Infrastructure Library" or "ITIL (®)" to provide the critical competencies needed to create that competitive advantage for their organization. ITIL recognizes the need for IT departments to think of themselves as Service Providers to their business, providing technology-based services that are critical to the mission of the larger organization. In support of this mission they must, like their own suppliers in turn, meet challenges such as: Providing services that are selected and positioned correctly for their internal "market" Delivering real value to the business to ensure satisfaction...