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Becoming The Sensei of an IT Dojo
Guest: TBD

Comparing IT with martial arts is not far fetched. Think of it this way... Each member of an IT crew should be an agile thinker, have team spirit, and should be able to courageously fight IT's daily battles. However, whether the team member is leadership, mid-management, or an operational member, everyone enters the IT dojo with their own strengths in terms of background, personality, aspirations, apprehensions, etc. How can IT leadership, become a Sensei in the true sense, and help its people achieve their optimum performance level (i.e., their respective IT 'black belts')?

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Cost of Quality or lack thereof...
Guest: TBD

For some not so obvious reasons, the Quality Assurance function in IT is treated as a step child! While there are costs related to implementing quality in terms of appraisal and prevention, are these costs really exceeding that of failure? Implementing a successful IT QA function is in fact, a change management challenge. How well are we doing on this front?

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Virtualization Performance: Stretching the envelope!
Guest: TBD

We've virtualized servers, networks, storage, applications, and I/O, and
reduced the physical infrastructure footprint. The next step is to maximize
performance. What avenues are being explored and what benchmarks can we reach or exceed?

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Choice Computing? No problem!
Guest: TBD

What would it be like if an end user could be offered real flexibility in the way they use technology? This would include maintaining central control with respect to security and who gets what, as well as an almost self-healing desktop environment less dependant on support personnel. Are we there yet?

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Video over IP: Opportunities and Challenges!
Guest: TBD

Whether it's used for security surveillance or as a resource for an enterprise, Video over IP has penetrated the enterprise. What used to be an operations issue is now one more headache for the IT leader. What does getting Video over IP buy us? While it's bandwidth hog, could there be benefits worth the investment?

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IT Workforce Mapping: Finding the right mix
Guest: TBD

IT leaders must structure their organization to take full advantage of new and changing technologies. They must ensure that every team member contributes to the success of the business as IT grows and changes around them. Roles must change too, and so should the staffing levels and skills/experience mix. How do we handle this moving target to ensure that people are not weakest link?


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2008: Bright or F.U.D.?
Guest: TBD

In 2008, IT may be used as a driver and sandbox to deliver innovation and competitive advantage to businesses worldwide. At the same time, worldwide labor arbitrage, looming baby boomer exodus, and other economic imbalances may introduce fear uncertainty and doubt (F.U.D.). How is 2008 expected to turn out for IT.

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CIO Motivation: Much desired perks
Guest: TBD

We expect our IT leadership to be constantly firing on all cylinders,
delivering business value. But when we expect long hours and keep an eye on
each and every move, are we really providing an environment that allows an IT
leader to excel?

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Burn the desktop - Let's work online!
Guest: TBD

It wasn't long ago when using office productivity applications online were considered a fad. Enterprise applications are already running in (software as a service) SaaS and/or are internally hosted and used over a browser. A perceived inconvenience held us to the desktop. With web2.0 applications for office productivity gaining ground, can we safely say good-bye to desktops? Are we there yet?

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Better IT workforce through an Industry-Academic Partnership
Guest: TBD

A fresh graduate (even with MIS as a major) usually has little clue about how real world IT works. If ongoing education programs are ineffective in retooling or improving worker value, can IT and academia come together to create an ongoing certification program, to keep track of an IT graduate’s training and career advancement, from college throughout his career?

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Contract Management Solutions: Who needs them?
Guest: TBD

For organization dealing with large number of contracts and related compliance issues, Contract Management solutions offer a big relief. How big a problem is contract management? Do the savings justify investment in such a solution?

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Next Technology Revolution in the USA: Beyond promises
Guest: TBD

In order to remain globally competitive and develop a workforce of appropriate number and quality, the national leadership has made promises to provide support for the next US technology revolution. However, haven’t the budget allocations and endorsements for the required programs and initiatives been disappointing and inadequate?

With the impending change in national leadership, can both corporate and ordinary Americans be hopeful about the future of the country and our families?

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India: New face of enterprise IT
Guest: TBD

With the economic explosion in India has come challenges of managing growth and competitive pressures. Changing from the relatively insignificant business function of keeping computers running to becoming a mission critical backbone of an organization, enterprise IT's role requires a complete transformation in terms of people, processes, and technology. How are IT leaders in India coping up?

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Bargain hunting in IT outsourcing: What are the savings?
Guest: TBD

Organizations talk about offshore outsourcing being a strategic initiative, but what is the driver? It takes time and patience for an investment in India to deliver real results, but just as that investment is starting to pay off, companies are beginning to eye China. Why? Is it because macro economic pressures are forcing salaries and other costs up in India? Is it an attempt to protect initiatives through diversification to other countries? Is it competitive marketing? Why abandon a valuable investment in one country, for the unknowns of starting over elsewhere?

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Trust IT Vendors at your own peril!
Guest: TBD

When it comes to hot new technologies that are still immature or just challengingly complex, how can an internal IT department develop the necessary criteria to avoid being taken for a ride by a vendor? How does IT Leadership keep a healthy skepticism about what a vendor is doing, when they themselves may have only a tenuous grip on the technology?

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Negotiate and Lead: Mantra for IT Leaders
Guest: TBD

Today, IT spending can represent up to fifty percent of annual corporate capital expenditures. Not all CIO's are blessed with procurement departments and savvy buyers who know the technology well enough. So, a CIO needs to step in. How well are today’s CIO's using their expertise to get the best value for their IT dollars?

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Writing Off IT
Guest: TBD

Money saved is money earned! On one hand IT is supposed to help make operations more efficient thus resulting in cost savings. Why not double dip by creatively planning/managing IT budget and leveraging the available tax breaks.

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Politics in IT Organizations: The silent killer
Guest: TBD

While we work to optimize business performance through IT, politics has crept in at the middle management and even average technology worker levels, even though average workers usually dislike/avoid politics and politicians. How do we deal with this silent killer?