Allen Bernard

If you think Linux will save you money just because it’s ‘free’, you might want to think again. Yes, Linux is free. There are no licenses to buy. That’s a fact. But to run it in the enterprise, Linux still requires ongoing support and maintenance that, in some instances, can cause the cost of Linux […]

As the job of CIO continues to evolve into more than managing bits and bytes, the role of change-agent is topping the list of new job responsibilities. The CIO position is changing in response to a turbulent, hypercompetitive business market, in which organizations increasingly turn to technology and business process innovation to gain competitive advantage. […]

Linux is everywhere but is there enough talent to go around? Depending where you are on the globe and what you are trying to accomplish the answer is probably, yes. With Linux implementations, or plans for Linux, at most companies in full swing the availability of talent often becomes an issue: Will we be able […]

The picture improved for embattled technology workers in 2004 as downsizing in the sector slowed by 23%. However, a year-end surge in mergers, which contributed to a 101% fourth quarter increase in telecommunications job cuts, is expected to continue in 2005 and increase tech workers’ job vulnerability. The fourth quarter was the largest of the […]

CIOs expect a modest uptick in IT hiring in the first quarter of 2005, according to the Robert Half Technology’s (RHT) IT Hiring Index and Skills Report. Eleven percent of executives polled plan to add staff early next year and two percent anticipate cutbacks. The net nine percent hiring increase is up three percentage points […]

For corporate deployment of WiFi networks, security has been the biggest hurdle to overcome and one of WiFi’s biggest cons. Today, all that has changed. It wasn’t too long ago that security for wireless LANs was in shambles. The first rendition of WLAN security, WiFi protected Access (WPA), was easily cracked and, therefore, useless to […]

Deciding to switch to Linux is one of the daunting questions every CIO must evaluate. Fortunately, the answer is getting simplier as Linux evolves into the enterprise-ready versions making their way onto the market today. Just six months ago, Wim Coekaerts, director of Linux Engineering at Oracle, would not have advised customers to consider Linux […]

The tech sector is a major contributor to job cuts from all industries so far in 2004. Announced job cuts in the technology sector soared 60 percent in the third quarter to 54,701, the highest figure since the fourth quarter of 2003 (82,328). The leading factor behind the increase was a dramatic 127 percent surge […]

As regulatory compliance and other business issues continue to force CIOs into more of a managerial role, increasingly there is a need for someone to take ownership of technology decisions. CIOs today are faced with many decisions and fewer and fewer of those decision have much to do with technology per se and much more […]

If you haven’t noticed, 2004 is a presidential election year and this means lots of rhetoric from the candidates. One of John Kerry’s favorite sound bites is that American jobs are heading overseas and President Bush is doing nothing about it. While this may or may not be true (on both counts), the effect of […]