Hot Issue: How should a CIO evaluate the available applications service sourcing options?

Because many early software service companies were essentially "renting" off-the-shelf packaged software, there's a misconception that buying software services is a trade-off between value and price. This is a dangerous misconception, because it can start constituents down the path of thinking that a services-based approach is primarily about reducing IT costs. It's essential that a CIO collect a number of examples like these to shift the conversation to improving business results.

• What are the best practices when arranging telecomm and data contracts?
  
• Can you suggest some solid second-tier outsourcers who could successfully manage the infrastructure, web site, desktops, etc. of a small subsidiary with 20 locations?
  
• What organizational, people and process issues should we consider when setting up a telecommuting program?
  
• To what companies could we outsource the management of our vendor maintenance contracts?
  
• How can we raise the IT knowledge of non-IT employees?
  
• What areas of IT are appropriate for a state government to consolidate?
  
• Could grid computing enable us to avoid buying more servers by putting unused PC capacity to work?
  

Hot Issue: What are the most important skills for IT managers to develop now in preparation for the future?

Given all the business and technology drivers of today, the question that many IT managers ponder is how to prepare themselves to survive and be successful five and ten years out. What does one have to be capable of to transcend the turbulence and uncertainty of the future? The answers are not of specific technologies, as it's difficult to predict which ones will be prevalent in ten years. Rather, the answers are much more in the personal preparedness arena.

Hot Issue: What must we be prepared for in terms of our future ongoing compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley?

As companies approach the end of "phase 1" of their Sarbanes-Oxley compliance initiatives, many are taking time to evaluate the impact of SOX on their organizations.

Hot Issue: The first wave of easy wireless implementations is over. Is there a next generation for wireless applications, or have we reached the end of the line for now?

The mobile workforce is now the ubiquitous workforce. In less than a decade, mobile and wireless technologies have become integral parts of our business lives. Workers are armed with cell phones, PDAs track appointments, RIM Blackberries zip e-mails back and forth, and laptop-toting employees roam from cubicle to conference room. We've mobilized the workforce, but is that all there is to wireless? Has wireless stalled, or is there more in store?

The Advisory Council's strategic partner, InformationWeek, organizes and hosts a series of events, including a semi-annual conference, targeted at our community of technology executives and managers. This year's Spring Conference will be at the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, Florida, April 10–13, 2005. Join The Advisory Council, InformationWeek, and hundreds of other IT Executives at this important industry event — including featured keynote speaker Bob Herbold, Former COO of Microsoft and author of The Fiefdom Syndrome.

The Conference will focus around "The Borderless Enterprise: Global Technology, Customers, and Standards." This is one of the most misunderstood - but potentially most important - issues shaping business technology in the coming year. Globalization, that is the ability of a company to engage, co-create value, and succeed with any partner or customer regardless of geographic location, size, or business technology infrastructure, is about more than just transacting business across oceans.

The Contact Advocate 2005 Tech Speak Conference will be held on February 16 at the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale in New Haven, Connecticut. This event will feature leading experts from around New England bringing to you a chance to explore new technologies that are making a difference in their companies.

The Advisory Council is a 2005 Tech Speak sponsor. Alan Guibord, TAC Chairman and Founder, and Peter Schay, TAC Executive VP and Chief Operating Officer, will be Masters of Ceremonies for this event, which will also include TAC Experts as panelists.