Alcatel-Lucent Debuts 100G Transport Gear

The race for faster networking speeds hit a major milestone this week as Alcatel-Lucent announced the commercial availability of its 100 gigabits per second equipment for telco service providers. The Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU) solution provides a 100G wavelength using coherent technology that can provide transport for up 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles). The new technology marks the…

CIOs Ready to Ramp Up IT Staffing

The third quarter figures to be a good one for skilled IT workers as CIOs begin to shake off some of the IT hiring rust that’s accumulated over the past three or four years and expand their staffs to take on key strategic projects put off during the recession. While it’s too early to declare…

Top 10 Networking Tips for the Unemployed Professional

Recently, in speaking with a group of executives who are in transition, I asked a question about how each person approached networking. While there were many similarities, to my surprise there were also varying degrees of doubt about what worked and what didn’t. The conclusion was that networking is more of a learned skill than…

HP Buys 3Com for $2.7 billion

Computer services and hardware giant HP just got bigger. The company announced today it plans to buy networking player 3Com in a $2.7B deal that aims to turn HP into a forced to be reckoned with in networking. HP will pay $7.90 per share of 3COM. A premium above today’s close of $5.69. The purchase…

Five Mentors Every CIO Needs

Compared to people who have mastered the art of getting help from others, if you rely too much on your talents and energy alone, you are at an extreme disadvantage. Mentors can have a bigger impact on your success than virtually anything outside your own efforts. There are five types of mentors that every CIO…

Charting a Web 2.0 Strategy

Wikis, blogs, social networks, AJAX … rarely does a day go by without these terms being hurled at us from different directions and this has resulted in these becoming mnemonics for Web 2.0. I can’t remember how many times I’ve been asked this question, “How do I incorporate wikis, blogs, AJAX into my current site…

Year Over Year Staffing Levels Constant

Only 14% of CIOs surveyed for the Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report expect to add information technology (IT) staff in the second quarter of 2008 and 2% foresee reductions. The net 12% hiring increase is up two percentage points from the net 10% increase projected last quarter and unchanged from one…

The Three Dimensions of IT Complexity

Every CIO survey I read these days shows that the vast majority of business executives recognize the pivotal role technology plays in business transformation. CIO’s understand this too, with the more progressive evolving the role from the “Mr. or Ms. Fix-It” of the technology backroom, to a blended executive. One who combines technology savvy with…

Friday’s Top 5

Five Hot Trends in 2008 While these five trends are familiar, 2008 should see them maturing to become forces in their own right, not just sideline fads that may or may not make a difference to your operations. Software Project Failure: The Reasons, The Costs When a major software project fails, the results can be…

Finding Skilled Staff Still a Major Concern

Locating experienced people tops the list of staffing concerns for technology executives today, a new survey shows. Nearly one in four (24%) CIOs polled said finding skilled IT professionals is their greatest staffing challenge. Providing employees with adequate skills training ranked a close second, cited by 23% of respondents. CIOs were asked, “Of the following…