IT Services

Check Point supports cloud security for Amazon Web Services

Check Point and Amazon Web Services are teaming up to enable Check Point Security Gateway functionality to boost cloud security for business assets.

How to handle virtual desktops, wireless, network performance issues

Schools are for learning, and the information technology and security professionals who support networks and applications in the nation's K-12 and university systems are discovering new tactics in what can be challenging IT environments. Here we talk to four professionals in the education realm to get a sense for their top IT issues and what they do to handle them.

IBM acquiring software testing vendor Green Hat

IBM is buying Green Hat, maker of automated testing tools for integration, SOA (service oriented architecture) implementations and cloud-based deployments, the company announced Wednesday. Terms of the deal were not provided.

Sprint gives LightSquared more time to win over FCC

Sprint Nextel has given LightSquared another month to gain FCC approval for its planned 4G network, extending a deal in which LightSquared would use Sprint's Network Vision infrastructure and save an estimated US$13 billion in deployment costs.

Letter to Hurd details allegations that led to his downfall at HP

Details of allegations of sexual harassment that ultimately caused Mark Hurd, now co-president at Oracle, to quit as CEO of Hewlett-Packard are now plastered across the Internet after a letter written on behalf of the complainant was unsealed by the Delaware Supreme Court Wednesday.

BYOD: You ain't seen nothing yet

Some IT trends move fast -- way fast. BYOD, the "bring your own device" phenomenon that raised its head in late 2009, is one of them. Like Internet and email, it caught on with users faster than IT and corporate risk management expected. In 2010, businesses were asking the question "Who should own your smartphones?" Today, that question is moot -- more than half of companies let employees use their own smartphones at work, along with tablets. It's amazing how quickly BYOD became mainstream -- it took about 18 months.

Tech luminaries we lost in 2011

It's been a rough year for the IT industry. The death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in October grabbed international headlines. But we also lost other major figures from almost every area of technology, including Xerox PARC founder Jacob E. Goldman, who died in late December. Here's one last look at some of the people who made a big difference.

China racing to expand data center capacity

China is in the midst of an unprecedented data center construction boom that's providing business opportunities for U.S. companies and could see China emerge with one of the most advanced computing infrastructures in the world.

Japan's Mitsui to invest in U.S. Tres Amigas smart power grid project

Mitsui, a massive Japanese conglomerate, will invest US$12 million in an ambitious smart grid project that is being constructed in New Mexico.

Wall Street Beat: Tech confidence recovers after Oracle's miss

Confidence in the tech sector appears to be recovering on strong results from Tibco and Red Hat and optimism about the economy, after sinking earlier this week in the wake of a disappointing report from Oracle.

By Marc Ferranti | 24 December, 2011 08:19

Tags: business issues, software, financial results, tibco, Red Hat, Oracle

IBM's Watson shows up for work at Cedars-Sinai's cancer center

IBM's Watson supercomputer is about to begun work evaluating evidence-based cancer treatment options that can be delivered to the physician in a matter of seconds for assessment.

By Lucas Mearian | 24 December, 2011 05:00

Tags: hardware, Mainframes and Supercomputers, IBM, Sina, hardware systems, health care, industry verticals

Can you keep your IT staff in 2012?

IT staff retention is shaping up to be one of the biggest challenges facing CIOs in 2012.

By Carolyn Duffy Marsan | 23 December, 2011 22:29

Tags: IT hiring, Networking, infrastructure management, corporate hiring, IT staff retention, CIO, hiring, outlook2012, baby boomers, management, Gartner

The CIO's lament: 20-something techies who quit after 1 year

Louis Trebino, CIO and senior vice president at the Harry Fox Agency (HFA) in New York City, is experiencing significant turnover on his Web development team.

By Carolyn Duffy Marsan | 23 December, 2011 22:29

Tags: Networking, infrastructure management, corporate hiring, IT staff retention, web developers, CIO, hiring, outlook2012, management, Gartner

RightNow shareholders approve US$1.5 billion sale to Oracle

Oracle's US$1.5 billion purchase of cloud software vendor RightNow Technologies took another step forward on Thursday as a vast majority of RightNow shareholders approved the deal.

By Chris Kanaracus | 23 December, 2011 05:17

Tags: business issues, Internet-based applications and services, Customer Relationship Management, applications, Salesforce.com, social networking, cloud computing, internet, Oracle, Mergers and acquisitions, SuccessFactors, RightNow, SAP, software

Andrew Miller: Polycom will drive the next era of collaboration

When you think about Polycom, the first image that might pop into your mind is the company's 'iconic, triangular speakerphone.' But CEO Andrew Miller wants you to know that Polycom is much, much more than that. In this installment of the IDG Enterprise CEO Interview Series, Miller spoke via Polycom's high-definition telepresence system with IDGE Chief Content Officer John Gallant about why Polycom should really be known as a software company and about Polycom's move to the cloud. Miller also discussed the impact of mobility on the visual communications market and why -- despite all the talk about video from Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers -- Polycom is in a better position to help companies drive the next era of collaboration. He also talked about the powerful partnerships Polycom has built with top-tier service providers and enterprise stalwarts like Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, IBM, and others.

By John Gallant | 23 December, 2011 02:01

Tags: unified communications, freemium, Internet-based applications and services, SaaS, applications, IBM, Networking, social networking, collaboration software, cloud computing, Software as a service, internet, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, IDGE CEO Interview Series, software, polycom

LibreOffice backers want community to join 'bug hunt'

The organization behind LibreOffice is hoping community members will help it uncover problems with an upcoming release of the open-source office suite via an international "bug hunt" next week.

By Chris Kanaracus | 22 December, 2011 04:19

Tags: patches, open source, application development, applications, The Document Foundation, security, software, Office suites, Apache Software Foundation, Oracle

IBM announces tech deals with five African banks

IBM Wednesday announced the signing of five strategic agreements in the Kenyan financial services sector, which it said are another example of the growing wave of innovation in African banking.

By Lucas Mearian | 22 December, 2011 02:31

Tags: Safaricom, hardware, servers, IBM, hardware systems, finance, industry verticals, Financial Services

Bond Uni, Tata Consultancy sign IT education deal

Queensland-based Bond University’s School of Information Technology has partnered with Mumbai-based IT services firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), for research and professional development programs.

By Hamish Barwick | 21 December, 2011 11:53

Tags: Bond University, IBM, education, Microsoft, Tata Consultancy Services

Oracle Q2 net income jumps 17 percent, but hardware sales slump

Oracle's net income for the second quarter ended Nov. 30 rose 17 percent to US$2.2 billion, with software sales rising but hardware-related revenue falling, the company reported Tuesday. Revenue for the quarter rose 2 percent to $8.8 billion.

By Chris Kanaracus | 21 December, 2011 08:22

Tags: business issues, hardware systems, software, financial results, cloud computing, internet, Oracle

Cloud activity to explode in 2012

In testing cloud computing services and observing the growth of cloud activities, we've noticed that there are distinct phases that organizations go through in adopting cloud.

By Tom Henderson | 20 December, 2011 22:28

Tags: Microsoft, security, Cloud, cloud security, cloud computing, internet, OpenStack