Getting ahead and staying ahead in today’s fast-changing world

Two sets of dynamics impact your technology agenda today, and each drives continuous change in the other. On the one hand demands from the business are constantly changing, while on the other the march of technology and new ways of exploiting it never stops. Against this background, success depends on looking ahead, anticipating developments on each side of the equation, and acting proactively.

Our Content:

IT Sustainability: Passive vs Active Gains

In the 20 odd years that I’ve been following developments in ‘Green IT’, the industry[...]

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Mainframe skills; time to flip the telescope around?

The more I learn about the world of mainframes, the more I find myself drawn[...]

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Breaking Free From Vendor Lock-in with Managed Services

As organisations become more intertwined with their key IT vendors, they may find themselves in[...]

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S/4HANA Migration: Is Selective Transformation the Answer?

The last big market survey carried out by Freeform Dynamics on SAP migration was completed[...]

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IT transformation fatigue? Time to bust those big bang blues

As an industry analyst, you always want your questions answered openly, confidently and convincingly when[...]

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The IT Sustainability Paradox

IT leaders today often find themselves grappling with a perplexing situation. On one hand, they[...]

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Mainframes and workload placement: Time for a dose of objectivity?

When Tony Lock and I interviewed Reg Harbeck, Chief Strategist at Mainframe Analytics Ltd, it[...]

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What are you doing to ensure your IT suppliers work for you?

Navigating the Complex IT Supplier Landscape in 2024 It is a truism that IT evolves[...]

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The mainframe skills crunch; an outsider vs insider perspective

During my career, I’ve worked hands-on with a great many operating systems, programming languages, mainstream[...]

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Taking IT Cost Tracking and FinOps to the next level

A CIO I interviewed recently told me candidly: “It’s always a bit nerve wracking when[...]

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Mainframe Skills: Challenge or Opportunity?

People in mainframe circles have been talking about skills development and succession planning ever since[...]

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IT Governance for Today and Tomorrow: Minimum Viable Principles

Introduction The traditional one-size-fits-all approach to IT governance, particularly in relation to data, is becoming[...]

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It’s Time to Raise the Bar on Observability

Observability has come a long way in the last 30 years

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The politics and practicalities of sustainable IT

A senior leadership perspective

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Making supplier management work better

68 IT leaders provide their insights

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Optimising your supplier base for 2024

    Other infographics in this series are Making supplier management work better and Getting[...]

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Getting the most from your key suppliers

    Other infographics in this series are Making supplier management work and Optimising your[...]

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Evaluating the Potential of Hyper-Converged Storage

What to consider when planning for modern IT and the hybrid cloud era

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What does “Investment in Generative AI” actually mean?

I’ve found myself in a number of conversations recently where the discussion has turned to[...]

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Custom chatbots and model gardens: putting Private AI to work

Part 2: More to think about It’s essential to decide where to run your Private[...]

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Understanding the rise and role of Private AI

Part 1: AI hype vs fear and doubt The leakage of proprietary IP and other[...]

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Kubernetes as an enterprise multi-cloud enabler

Building out your environment to create a full lifecycle delivery platform

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A straightforward look at SAP master data automation

If you’re knee-deep in the world of SAP and data management, you almost certainly know[...]

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Automation of SAP Master Data Management

Solving the dirty data dilemma and laying the foundations for continuous change and optimisation

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Time to sound the alarm as AI hype catches fire

One of the most worrying things that’s coming out of recent research

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It’s time to look again at IT and Software Asset Management

In the realm of IT administration, it’s all too easy to get stuck in familiar[...]

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An AI crash is coming: don’t let it drag you down

All the signs are there that an AI crash is coming: overinflated claims and dodgy[...]

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Want to become a data-driven organisation? Start thinking differently about change management

Need a strong data strategy? Look for a CDO who’s a change manager and data[...]

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Tackling the software skills crunch

How IT leaders grow their software engineering resources

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Just because it’s innovative, doesn’t make it good!

One of my hobbyhorses at the moment is how words and adjectives that ought to[...]

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The key to future IT success is a switch to managing services, not systems

For most of the history of commercial IT, system design has focused on meeting the[...]

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Are tech vendors pulling their weight on fixing fragmented IT?

Many organisations have silo’d data and fragmented IT systems, but

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Standardized solution implementation services

Shorten time-to-value, reduce costs and risks, and future-proof your investment

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Trust: easy to lose, hard to recover

Here are just a few of the topics that my fellow Freeformers and I have[...]

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IT Financial Management Revisited

Time for a smarter and more joined-up approach

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Dealing with the growing problem of edge and IoT sprawl

Amidst all the hype regarding the massive growth potential for IoT

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The global information access opportunity

Making a business case for investment in modern file data management

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Getting real about IT sustainability

From good intentions to tangible results through smart systems selection

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Have you made the right platform choices to minimise risk?

Critical systems have to run and run…

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Getting the most from IT suppliers

100 CIOs tell us their frustrations, needs and wants

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The IT Transformation Imperative

Driving meaningful change to make tangible difference

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To maximise potential, mainframers must reach out and engage

The team here has always had immense respect for the mainframe community

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From multiple clouds to multi-cloud

Time to strengthen your cloud operating model

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Kubernetes and the open-source maintainer question

While much of October's KubeCon-CloudNativeCon North America

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S/4HANA without compromise

A modern ERP architecture needs a powerful and future-proof platform

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VMware’s breadth and depth impresses, but is it still a safe bet?

At the recent VMware Explore conference in Barcelona

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Supporting the needs of highly unpredictable workloads

It’s all about flexibility, scalability and cost effectiveness

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The modern SD-WAN advantage

Even if you run an SD-WAN today, it’s time to check what’s new

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Manufacturers in a world of constant change

Why ERP modernization could yield the ESG and Industry 4.0 synergies that you need

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Has the cloud caught up with the mainframe?

Yes, you read that right

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Like a teenager, Kubernetes looks almost grown-up, yet still a bit awkward and confused

Platform: that’s the key word that sprung to mind after attending Kubecon

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Frustrated with your company’s cloud obsession?

What goes around, comes around

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‘Traditional’ is not a dirty word

Sometimes ‘new’ and ‘disruptive’ really doesn’t make sense

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Linux and sustainability

The emerging role of modern, high-scale consolidation platforms

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The Post-Pandemic CIO

Views on leadership, communication and engagement

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Hybrid working isn’t turning out as expected

Last year, as companies recognised both the value of face-to-face interaction

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Modernizing the digital workplace

Accelerating your desktop delivery in the post-pandemic era

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CIOs plans for 2022

Priorities and interests

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Is the commodity server bandwagon running out of steam?

The term “paradigm shift” gets flung about far too much in IT, but we may[...]

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One SSD to ruler them all

Why the new EDSFF storage format is hot stuff – and what else you need[...]

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Why does ransomware still work?

As someone who first encountered ransomware during the last millennium

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Ransomware teaches the importance of data protection

Several years ago, around the time that ransomware attacks started making the front pages

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Having trouble overcoming the S/4HANA confidence gap?

As John Lennon and Yoko Ono didn't quite sing

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Got a strong story to tell? Don’t settle for a place in the chorus

Have you lost your voice? Or is the market just not hearing you?

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Has Windows 11 strengthened the case for Chromebooks?

Analyst Opinion: I was left with two overriding thoughts

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Forget the ‘free’ software, the real value of open-source is the collaboration

Analyst Opinion: It’s a cliché, but why are we still reinventing wheels?

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Customer and employee experience

Time to join the dots

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Is it a Suite, Package, Bundle or Platform?

People have been selling collections of products and tools for centuries, and with the advent[...]

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Is ‘suite’ becoming a dirty word?

How much attention do you pay to the pros and cons of software and service[...]

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Windows 11: could this ‘feel good’ update actually help IT pros?

Much has been written about Windows 11, and many YouTube videos have been published. If[...]

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Where vendors too often go wrong: SMBs need enterprise-grade IT too

For far too long now, many vendors seem to have assumed that the IT requirements[...]

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SMB-friendly IT solutions are needed

Your business deserves more than a cut-down enterprise offering

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Remember when Agile was treated with suspicion?

Throwback Thursday: When we researched the topic of Agile development back in 2008

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Is IT investment handled better now than a decade ago?

Throwback Thursday: People like to think that the way IT works with business has changed

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Achieving success with your S/4HANA proof of concept (POC)

What to consider when selecting platforms, tools and services

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Should Telcos become more like Amazon?

An integration and automation perspective

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Are Your Crucial Database Workloads Ready for the Public Cloud?

How to Choose the Right Cloud Data Option for Your Business

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The allure of the log-in-anywhere desktop

How can organisations simplify desktop management if we all still want our own devices?

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Of cats and clouds

A lifetime TCO question

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The business need for simpler storage

What to consider when planning for modern IT in the hybrid cloud era

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So many ways to pay for IT

Which best suits your needs?

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The SMB solution selection challenge

It's all too easy for smaller businesses to get caught out

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The business change agenda

Throwback Thursday: Research carried out in 2011

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How to boost supplier commitment without spending more money

Time to tune into those non-revenue goals

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Private cloud in contexts old and new

Throwback Thursday: What a difference a decade can make

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The importance of modern data archiving

In today’s business world, the value of archiving is greater than ever

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Remember when cloud was going to kill the IT channel?

Throwback Thursday: taking a regular stroll in the Freeform Dynamics archives. 

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Has the data centre of the future already arrived?

Throwback Thursday: Predicting the future back in 2012

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Self-Service IT Delivery

From opportunity to strategic imperative?

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Planning your journey to modern apps and Hybrid IT

Platform choices remain important

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Covid quick fix payback time

How long will people put up with the emergency fixes?

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The data-driven business – Infographic

The maturity perspective

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Defining your SAP modernization journey

Quick wins on the road to S/4HANA

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Dispelling the myth of the industry-standard server

What you thought you knew has changed

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Identity and access management revisited

A changing world demands simplification and an urgent focus on security

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The Hybrid IT imperative Infographic

Building a foundation for digital transformation

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Hyper-converged has come of age Infographic

Modern infrastructure options are now integral to service delivery

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The road to becoming a data-driven business

How ready is your organization for insight-enabled digital transformation?

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Modernizing database technology stacks

How many different database technologies are you running, how up to date are they, and[...]

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Taming your information sprawl with cloud data management

An Evaluation Guide for Business

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Seeking storage flexibility, scalability and automation

Can Software Defined Storage provide some answers?

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Modern Data Protection Revisited

Business advantage is all about ensuring access to data

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It is time to reconsider Server Based Storage

What you thought you knew about storage has changed

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Modernizing database technology stacks

Remember the storage upgrade option

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The Agile Intelligent Enterprise: Making the Business Case for SAP S/4HANA

Clever Planning for a Successful Migration

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S/4HANA Revisited

Has the time now come for SAP’s next-generation application environment to go mainstream?

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Key factors in the network security buying decision

How – and why – network security professionals select solutions and suppliers

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Network security in the spotlight

Understanding why it can go wrong is key to making the right investment decisions

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Hyper-converged has come of age

Modern infrastructure options are now integral to service delivery

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The Hybrid IT Platform Imperative

Building a solid systems foundation for digital transformation

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From data migration to VM mobility

Analyst Blog: We need to think differently about data migration

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Making server decisions for hybrid IT

If you think hybrid IT renders your server knowledge obsolete, think again

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How hybrid IT changes your data journey

Hybrid IT drives a shift in storage thinking from capacity to service

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Can integrated systems help build hybrid IT?

Things to know when planning your hybrid future

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Golden Copy Storage

What, why, when and how?

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Turning the tables on cloud service providers

Experienced customers are now calling the shots

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2019 – The war between the business and IT is fake news

Some writers love a battle – or at least, the idea of one. So they[...]

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HCI and Hybrid Cloud

Will HCI be part of the answer or part of the problem?

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Storage and Data Center Evolution

The role of NVMe and NVMe-oF

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Storage Investment Woes

Analyst Blog

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The real value of NVMe is end-to-end

Analyst Blog Although much is made of NVMe’s role as the modern successor to SAS[...]

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Are you ready for NVMe?

Analyst Blog IT has always been hit by marketing waves that speak of new systems[...]

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NVMe – The State of Play

Is the new protocol ready to take the storage world by storm?

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HCI solutions & SAP HANA

Modern systems for modern software

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The economics of old virtualisation platforms

Time to start regarding them as legacy?

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Reboot your future

Shaping a new multi-cloud solution

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Refresh your thinking

You've got a platform problem

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Digital workspace disasters and how to beat them

New roles for user management and app deployment in the digital workspace

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Data Centre Evolution

Will HCI change how we design and build core IT systems? The way we build[...]

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The fall and rise of the Mono-socket Server

Why cores matter as much as sockets Things are different on the desktop, but in[...]

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The Audio Networking Jigsaw

What you need to know as an IT professional

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Taking vSphere into the future

Which route – Converged, Hyper-converged or DIY?

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The Economics of Application Platforms

Don’t let anarchy or false economies hold back future-proof transformation

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The Application Complexity Monster

Do you really want to keep feeding it?

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Storage in the Era of NVMe

An Evaluation Guide for IT Teams As an IT professional dealing with storage, you will[...]

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Choice in a Shifting Landscape

A Business Perspective on Enterprise Storage in the Age of Flash and NVMe As you[...]

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The truth about software reliability

Research results: It's not just about quality

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NVMe: a fresh start for storage

It’s time for a real change, not just iterative AFA evolution

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Operational Feedback and People

The overlooked element of DevOps

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Digital Transformation Practicalities

Lessons from Leonardo

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Dealing with the GDPR Challenge Infographic

The catalyst for a move to modern data protection

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All-in-one Data Protection

Taking the pain out of information management

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GDPR: the Security Dimension

Information security, governance and regulation in harmony

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Fast Track to Enterprise Cloud

Integrated platforms as a route to digital readiness

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How Agile and DevOps enable digital readiness and transformation

In today’s world, software is everywhere – and it is spreading fast. Once it was[...]

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Data Management for a Digital World

Turn GDPR compliance and ransomware defence to your advantage

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Microsoft presents its quantum computing credentials

Thoughts from the Future Decoded event

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The politics and practicalities of IT procurement

Is cloud becoming a strategic disrupter?

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A cloud for all seasons

Open source PaaS ready for prime time?

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The Impact of Automation on IT Operations Infographic

Are you ready for the software-defined datacentre?

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CFO Technology Investment Guide Infographic

Why prioritise storage modernisation

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The Enterprise Cloud Imperative

Have cloud investments to date laid a good enough foundation for the future, or is[...]

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The Impact of Automation on IT Operations

Over three quarters of those surveyed in a recent multi-national study said the pressure on[...]

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Storage modernisation

An evaluation and decision guide for IT teams

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Investing in data storage

A guide for business executives

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A Finance Perspective on Storage Investments

Getting past ‘No’ with your CFO

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Don’t Let an Outdated Software Strategy Hold You Back

Yesterdays software delivery processes are not up to dealing with today’s demands, but modernising you[...]

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Modern Storage for Small and Mid-Sized Businesses

Advanced solutions deliver SMBs power and simplicity

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Application Platforms Matter

Cloud services are increasingly becoming part of the IT delivery mix, but a recent study[...]

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Datacentre Strategy and Evolution

Despite the advent to cloud computing the datacentre remains central to corporate IT. But with[...]

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DevOps and Cloud Computing

Many are exploiting cloud computing to drive business advantage, while others are enjoying the flexibility[...]

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The 2nd Generation All-Flash Opportunity Infographic

  Content Contributors: Dale Vile & Jack Vile

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IT Ops doesn’t matter? Really?

Listen to some DevOps evangelists talk, and you would get the impression that IT operations[...]

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Digital Workplace Transformation

The business context for Windows 10 in financial services There is a digital divide at[...]

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The trouble with business executives…

When IT teams and their colleagues within the business get along, life is good for[...]

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The Green Data Centre – Myth or Reality

Every few years, core IT infrastructure issues surge into visibility on the corporate radar. Often,[...]

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The power management skills gap

A recent survey by Freeform Dynamics of 320 senior data centre professionals reveals that datacentre[...]

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The Enterprise Flash Imperative

From expensive luxury to essential enabler

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Five years later, the hybrid cloud is real

When we surveyed over 300 IT and business professionals back in 2011 on their attitudes[...]

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Getting all-flash storage investment approved

We are at an interesting time in the all-flash storage array market

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Technology as a catalyst for cultural change

Time for a more inspirational approach?

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Managing Cloud Complexity

The emerging role of converged services

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Unleashing the full potential of all-flash arrays

The network is part of the system too

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IT Decision-Making in the Digital Age

Making the right technology investments in today’s fast moving digital age can mean the difference[...]

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Desktop budget wrangles

Whose device is it anyway?

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Cloud computing reality check

Introduction: Is cloud really a kind of magic? Many have positioned cloud computing as the[...]

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Poor capacity planning is not our fault

Sysadmins explain why things are so crap

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Will hyper-converged infrastructure kill traditional storage?

In a nutshell Deciding which direction to take with your storage purchasing is a tough[...]

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Protecting data in your hyper-converged environment

In a nutshell Hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) has been gaining popularity as a way of simplifying[...]

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All-flash storage uncertainty and doubt

In a nutshell All-flash arrays are arguably coming of age, but in an early market,[...]

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IT Ops as a Digital Business Enabler

Some argue that IT operations doesn’t matter anymore; it’s all about developers. Our aim in[...]

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Digital transformation initiatives hampered by poor ICT skills

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently published a report detailing the results of an[...]

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Managed Services in the Data Centre

From stability to agility Data centres have been around a long time during which various[...]

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Everyone’s talking about Dedupe

In a nutshell Storage is a very hot topic in every data centre and computer[...]

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The Impact of Cloud on IT Teams

We often hear that cloud computing dramatically reduces the need for in-house IT teams, and[...]

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Digital Disrupters do it to Themselves

The word ’digital’ seems to have overtaken ’cloud’ as the hottest word in the IT[...]

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Capacity planning in an age of agile and on-demand IT

Capabilities are still far from ideal

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Taking DevOps to the Next Level

It’s all about continuous delivery

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A higher impact approach to IT investment

In a nutshell You may have doubts about the value for money or level of[...]

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The dangers of digital smokescreens

A recent global study (1,442 senior respondents) revealed that those reporting particularly good returns from[...]

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If you think DevOps is BS, you may be a victim of bandwagon marketing

I’ve been coming across more DevOps naysayers and sceptics recently. Whether online or face-to-face, I[...]

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Readers of The Register speak out on Thin Client technology

Managing PC estates is a time-consuming, expensive and thankless task. Better provisioning and management tools[...]

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Thin Client Devices Revisited

Technology best forgotten or time for a renaissance?

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Assembling the DevOps Jigsaw

The world we live in is increasingly digital. As the smart use of technology leads[...]

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Exploiting the Software Advantage

Advances in digital technology create significant opportunities to transform both customer engagement and business operations.[...]

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Infrastructure Readiness Temperature Check

IT infrastructures are often coping pretty well with current business requirements, but many IT professionals[...]

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User-Centric Mobile Security

Not so long ago, many were speculating that ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD) would define[...]

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Future Proofing Your Network

Network traffic flows have become pretty complex in today’s distributed business environment, and not just[...]

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Mobile Working without the Tears

As both company and personally owned mobile devices are increasingly used in business, understanding and[...]

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Orchestrating the DevOps Tool Chain

A great deal has been written about how trends in digital communication and engagement are[...]

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Data Virtualisation for DevOps

The DevOps movement is supported by a whole range of tools, and is particularly well[...]

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Justifying end user computing investments

In a nutshell Device proliferation and loss of control over at least some end user[...]

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Strategic DevOps Adoption

An interesting remark I heard at a recent CIO gathering was “DevOps is the first[...]

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Eight Best Practices for Cloud Security

There’s been a lot of FUD spread around in recent years on the subject of[...]

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Virgin Media Business and its SMB proposition

Over the years, I have grown increasingly sceptical about the ability of most Telcos to[...]

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The ’feel-good’ factor is good for business

People who feel good while doing their job tend to work better, contribute more and[...]

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Devices, recruitment and staff retention

In a nutshell Some say it’s not possible to recruit and retain good staff nowadays[...]

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Build a DevOps culture

Everyone’s talking about DevOps, but not everyone can do it. This webcast covers the balance[...]

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Snooper-proofing laptops and tablets?

Given how important the company’s data is and the ever more stringent nature of the[...]

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A new approach to verifying user identity

By Tony Lock We all know that trying to authenticate our users when they access[...]

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Inertia has its virtues, but change is happening

As the old year draws to a close it’s time for CIOs and analysts to[...]

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Creating more harmony around end user computing

In a nutshell Tensions frequently arise between business units and the IT teams as users[...]

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Rethinking desktop delivery

In a nutshell Many IT professionals are weary of the relentless Windows upgrade spiral and[...]

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User flexibility without the risk

In a nutshell Most organisations are seeing users and business groups starting to make their[...]

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The Politics and Practicalities of End User Computing

With the phenomenal rise in the adoption of smartphones, tablets and other desirable devices, many[...]

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So what you gonna do about DevOps?

Having to deal with the ‘next big thing’ once or twice a year is a[...]

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Avoiding the runaway code train

More and more code, delivered faster and faster. According to many, that’s the imperative if[...]

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How much of your mainstream IT capacity does mobility consume?

Few doubt the increasing popularity of mobile devices, specifically smartphones and tablets. Their numbers grow[...]

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Flexible IT governance

We want flexibility but, if we’re not careful, we get governance confusion as well. In[...]

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Do more of your apps deserve better DR?

What does IT disaster recovery (DR) mean to you? Does it bring to mind racks[...]

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User desires versus business needs

Much has been written about the rise of user influence and power. Some of it[...]

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The IT vendor empathy gap

Industry analysts, CIOs and others involved in the IT decision making process are on the[...]

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Have you planned for a ’friendly’ DDoS attack?

Malicious Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks do not occur often. Nevertheless, for an enterprise[...]

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Accommodating increased user influence

Business people often complain that the IT department is not keeping up with their needs.[...]

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IT-Business Alignment Revisited

In some organisations, the tension between IT and business teams has come to a head[...]

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Social media and why businesses need to embrace it

As a teenager just entering the world of business I had to go through a[...]

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Wake up, grandad: All the techies use social media

Ever since I passed the big five-o, I have noticed more and more youngsters who[...]

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User Access – Time for a change?

User expectations and the range of devices they use to access IT systems are growing[...]

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Migrating to Windows Server 2012

Extended support for Windows Server 2003 ends on 14 July 2015, so you need to[...]

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End User Computing:

This paper is written for business executives and managers with an interest in how technology[...]

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Mobile security is more than protecting local data

By now we’ve all heard the term Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). This phenomenon is[...]

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What are APT’s?

What is an APT? APT stands for Advanced Persistent Threat. The goal of this form[...]

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Say What?

Recently I attended the IBM Security Systems Analyst Meet the Experts day in Heathrow. With[...]

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Security: the oft-forgotten dimension

Computer security is a hot topic today, and much talked about. There are endless emanations[...]

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Juggling Performance, Availability and Security

By Tony Lock A recent report from Freeform Dynamics illustrates that many corporate networks are[...]

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Controlling Application Access

Application performance, availability and security challenges are quietly creeping up in the context of internal[...]

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Predictions for 2014

My views on market developments in 2014 are not sensational, I’m afraid. I offer them[...]

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Will the CMO inherit the Earth?

By Dale Vile Two narratives concerning the CIO/CMO relationship are doing the rounds at the[...]

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Voice recognition in healthcare

By Dale Vile I first discovered dictation software back in 2001 when I ended up[...]

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Software Defined Networking (SDN) continues to move forwards

By Charles Brett and Tony Lock During an Analyst Briefing at the IBM Development Laboratory[...]

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Social Business and unknown unknowns

By Charles Brett At an Analyst Briefing in London in late September IBM described what[...]

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Device Proliferation and Data Fragmentation

By Tony Lock Bring your own device (BYOD) continues to attract considerable attention, but the[...]

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Clouds and the Data Centre weather forecast

By Tony Lock Enterprise Data Centres are complex collections of systems acquired over long spans[...]

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The End User Security Jigsaw

Organisations of all sizes are trying to understand the security implications of mobile working, device[...]

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The Data Protection Imperative

In this short paper, we spell out why the time has come to adopt a[...]

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Data Protection as a Business Enabler

While the importance of business information is almost universally recognised, few organisations have enjoyed either[...]

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Storage Anywhere and Everywhere

With more departmental applications, collaboration and sharing environments, and even cloud-based services, with access via[...]

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Don’t forget the desktop

By Dale Vile Ask anyone in the industry about the future of end user computing[...]

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DCIM and Energy Management

By Tony Lock Over several decades IT management has focussed almost exclusively on keeping servers[...]

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Speeding up ‘Change’

By Tony Lock For much of the last decade ‘IT’ has become something of a[...]

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Empowering your users the ‘right way’

By Tony Lock Many organisations say their people are among the most valuable assets they[...]

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Cloud is more about choice than hosting

By Dale Vile There’s a trick we use at Freeform Dynamics when trying to figure[...]

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To PaaS or not to PaaS – that is the question

By Dale Vile Most forms of cloud computing are starting to find their place in[...]

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Freedom without Anarchy

Empowering employees through the delegation of authority and trust can enhance innovation and productivity. But[...]

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Building the future proof datacentre

By Andrew Buss The last decade has seen massive leaps in performance and capability across[...]

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The next decade of data centre evolution

By Dale Vile To some, the mere concept of enterprise datacentres still being around in[...]

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The data centre in 2020

By Tony Lock There has never been a clearer understanding of how quickly business is[...]

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A Vision for the Data Centre

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Virtualisation and Security

As x86 / x64 server virtualisation moves into everyday operations, what impact does it have[...]

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IT trends: Don’t get distracted by the spaniel

For better or for worse, we are the owners of a mad Welsh Springer spaniel[...]

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Infrastructure Consolidation

By Tony Lock Research results obtained by Freeform Dynamics towards the end of 2009 show[...]

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Can IT Financing and Management Models Survive IT Change?

By Tony Lock In a nutshell: The models used for businesses to create IT budgets[...]

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How do you manage service levels in a virtualised environment?

In previous research projects we’ve examined the impact of service level monitoring and management, and[...]

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Social wariness is wise for business

A colleague pulled me up with a start the other day when I was talking[...]

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Mid-market management software

By Jon Collins, Tony Lock and Dale Vile IT management tools are finally, after many[...]

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Does business social networking really need IT?

Are you wrestling with the idea of bringing social networking (choose your own preferred term)[...]

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What is service management?

This 60-minute webcast features Martin Atherton and Tony Lock, who donning business and IT hats[...]

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Evolution of Dynamic IT

by Dale Vile and Tony Lock Against the backdrop of an increasingly fast moving and[...]

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Pricing the fluffy stuff

By Josie Sephton Cloud really is the new black, and it is hard to get[...]

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Social computing – start small, think big

By David Tebbutt Don’t be afraid of social networking collaboration tools in the office. Your[...]

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Give workers a say in corporate IT

There can be little doubt that the personal and domestic use of technology has had[...]

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The Register Buzz Report

In association with The Register According to a research survey conducted with The Register readership[...]

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Perception versus reality in IT

By Tony Lock In the world of information technology there is the impression that everything[...]

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Making sense of energy

By David Tebbutt Have you started getting the energy bills for your department yet? What[...]

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The strategic upside of power accountability

By Dale Vile Research conducted by Freeform Dynamics a year ago suggested that the majority[...]

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Making IT Work In The Real World

Most organisations run a mix of systems in their IT infrastructure. One of the challenges[...]

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Moments of Need

by Josie Sephton and Dale Vile With high speed networks, sophisticated devices and a myriad[...]

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SOA and Growth Markets

by Jon Collins and Dale Vile KEY FINDINGS SOA is as relevant in growth economies[...]

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BT and Cloud

By Dale Vile While the cloud computing market is in its infancy at the moment,[...]

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Clarity on Cloud

By Dale Vile A senior exec from a major IT vendor recently commented in a[...]

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Challenging the cloud revolution

By Dale Vile Some niche and emerging enterprise IT suppliers, such as Salesforce.com, Google and[...]

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The business value of social software

by David Tebbutt At Lotus/IBM’s Lotusphere the words ’business value’ were repeatedly uttered by keynote[...]

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A coherent approach to customer satisfaction

by Josie Sephton The need for greater customer centricity is an increasingly high priority for[...]

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The Economic Downturn and IT Service Delivery

by Tony Lock The economic outlook for many organisations has taken a decidedly frosty turn,[...]

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The Business Service Management Imperative

by Jon Collins What is Business Service Management, anyway? Business Service Management (BSM) has been[...]

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WAN Optimisation

There is a lot of talk concerning ’Cloud services’. But what are some of the[...]

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Enterprise 2.0 and the issue of workforce composition

Following on from my previous post on the importance of social media enthusiasts breaking out[...]

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IT Delivery in the Downturn

by Dale Vile and Tony Lock KEY POINTS Most IT professionals see challenges on the[...]

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BPM: lessons from the real world

by Martin Atherton, Jon Collins and Dale Vile Is business process management a cure-all for[...]

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Taking cloud to the mainstream

by Dale Vile The hype around cloud computing is pretty intensive. The IT industry and[...]

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Service Orientation in Business

by Jon Collins KEY FINDINGS While change is a certainty in business, some still struggle[...]

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Secure USB

by Jon Collins When the USB standard was first launched, few would have imagined the[...]

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Risk and Resilience

The application availability gamble The modern business is highly dependent on IT. When systems go[...]

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New technologies, new risks

by Jon Collins The future of IT security seems like a straightforward discussion – focused,[...]

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Cloud Computing: Silver lining…

by David Tebbutt Since so many people are talking about cloud computing, it really wouldn’t[...]

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Why IT must escape the belt-tightening

by Martin Atherton Negative vibes have a habit of becoming reality. The higher cost of[...]

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Systems management hits impasse

by Martin Atherton Most of what the IT department does these days can be rationalised[...]

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The Outsourcing Force

by Jon Collins What does the future of development outsourcing look like? Freeform Dynamics has[...]

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IT on the front foot

by Jon Collins and Dale Vile A number of new and established approaches to IT[...]

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The Register Buzz Report

In association with The Register IT buyers’ views of technology vendors are shaped by a[...]

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Relieving the Systems Management Burden

by Martin Atherton The management of operational IT is not without its challenges, indeed it[...]

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IT Management Checkpoint

by Martin Atherton Existing IT management strategies have enabled organisations to take control of their[...]

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Life in the SaaS lane

by Dale Vile Evangelists will tell you that Software as a Service (SaaS) is the[...]

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IT and the Environment: Part 1

by David Tebbutt Call it green, call it sustainability, call it environment, the name doesn’t[...]

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IT and the Environment: Part 2

by David Tebbutt Say ’green’ to most enterprise IT suppliers and they fire back with[...]

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IT and the Environment: Part 3

by David Tebbutt Let’s be clear about one thing, if the developing world wants to[...]

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Mobility and Connectivity

by Jon Collins and Dale Vile During the middle part of 2007, Freeform Dynamics ran[...]

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Evaluating Mobile Email Solutions

by Dale Vile   Now that mobile email is moving into the mainstream, with technology[...]

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Delivering Effective IT Support

A Business Management Perspective

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Managing Access Securely

Authentication that works for the evolving organisation

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