Addressing immediate pandemic-related needs while laying foundations for the future[...]
How – and why – network security professionals select solutions and suppliers[...]
Understanding why it can go wrong is key to making the right investment decisions[...]
Modern infrastructure options are now integral to service delivery[...]
Building a solid systems foundation for digital transformation[...]
Analyst Opinion Hands up anyone who expected not just to spend 2020 at home, but[...]
Drivers, perceptions, readiness and practicalities[...]
Every element of the solution needs attention[...]
Don’t get burnt by keeping ‘cold’ data on expensive ‘hot’ storage systems[...]
An evaluation and decision guide for IT leaders and professionals[...]
HCI has moved on, and data protection for HCI has to catch up[...]
A guide for business executives [...]
An assessment guide for IT teams [...]
Analyst Blog: In recent years the importance of analytics has grown dramatically[...]
Analyst Blog: We need to think differently about data migration[...]
Analyst Blog: There are some things that simply have to happen, no matter how modern[...]
Analyst Opinion “I’ve never been more productive!” With so many people getting their first experience[...]
If you think hybrid IT renders your server knowledge obsolete, think again[...]
Hybrid IT drives a shift in storage thinking from capacity to service[...]
Analyst Opinion It’s easy to predict many of the pains that are going to hit[...]
Analyst Opinion In the post-pandemic, post-Brexit world, businesses of all sorts face a range of[...]
Things to know when planning your hybrid future[...]
What, why, when and how?[...]
Analyst Opinion AI might not be the first thing you think of when you start[...]
Machine Learning as a key enabler of next-generation industry[...]
Analyst Opinion “Wasn’t cloud just another name for outsourcing back then?” joked another guest in[...]
But IT should beware of overcoming AI-wash only to fall victim to ML-sprawl[...]
Analyst Opinion I think we can all agree that protecting data is important – perhaps[...]
Analyst Opinion Why do companies find it so hard to get their heads around even[...]
Analyst Opinion There’s no doubt now that AI works, and it can work very well[...]
Experienced customers are now calling the shots[...]
Analyst Opinion DevOps started as a grass-roots movement led by practitioners. The motives were pure,[...]
Analyst Opinion We’ve had convergence towards hybrid clouds and ‘universal’ applications, but now we are[...]
Some writers love a battle – or at least, the idea of one. So they[...]
Analyst Opinion With Kubernetes now established in many organisations as the container orchestration platform of the future,[...]
Will HCI be part of the answer or part of the problem?[...]
The role of NVMe and NVMe-oF It is entirely valid to argue that it is[...]
Analyst Opinion I hate it when you realise that your point of reference has been[...]
Can data centres handle sporadic faults?[...]
Analyst Blog You know what it’s like when new technology hits the streets. You hear[...]
Analyst Blog Although much is made of NVMe’s role as the modern successor to SAS[...]
Analyst Blog IT has always been hit by marketing waves that speak of new systems[...]
Is the new protocol ready to take the storage world by storm? After decades when[...]
Where remote access to a rackable workstation makes sense[...]
Modern systems for modern software Not so long ago, heavyweight enterprise software from the likes[...]
Time to start regarding them as legacy? If you dig back through historical media coverage[...]
Shaping a new multi-cloud solution Are you planning to build upcoming generations of IT infrastructure[...]
You’ve got a platform problem Business IT is being dragged down by the weight of[...]
Analyst opinion The availability of funding – or rather, the lack of it – is[...]
Analyst Opinion Words have power – in particular, your choice of words modifies how your[...]
Analyst opinion One of the most interesting things about the recent Open Infrastructure Summit – the new[...]
New roles for user management and app deployment in the digital workspace[...]
Will HCI change how we design and build core IT systems? The way we build[...]
Analyst opinion It’s getting hard these days to find places where container technology doesn’t feature,[...]
Why NVM matters[...]
Why cores matter as much as sockets Things are different on the desktop, but in[...]
What you need to know as an IT professional[...]
Analyst opinion Many cybersecurity professionals like military analogies. Indeed, some security pros are ex-military. But[...]
Which route – Converged, Hyper-converged or DIY?[...]
Don’t let anarchy or false economies hold back future-proof transformation Why would anyone care about[...]
Analyst opinion How many new applications, tools, devices, and cloud services have you introduced into[...]
Do you really want to keep feeding it?[...]
An Evaluation Guide for IT Teams As an IT professional dealing with storage, you will[...]
A Business Perspective on Enterprise Storage in the Age of Flash and NVMe As you[...]
Content Contributors: Bryan Betts & Laura Rose[...]
Research results: It's not just about quality[...]
The emerging role of the Cloud Services Marketplace[...]
It’s time for a real change, not just iterative AFA evolution Until a few years[...]
Insights and lessons from the sharp-end[...]
Analyst opinion[...]
Analyst opinion Anyone hoping that we would by now have greater clarity on GDPR will[...]
Optimising your digital asset portfolio for maximum impact The technology used by any business has[...]
The Freeform Dynamics fortune-telling kit has been dusted off for 2019. Here some of the[...]
Chrome has come a long way, but the journey might only just be starting I[...]
Keeping up with evolving needs calls for a more joined up approach Dealing with regulated[...]
Analyst opinion Many vendors will argue that moving to cloud brings consistency and simplicity, thanks[...]
Analyst opinion If you’re among those who still think that open source is just for[...]
Considerations for organizations deploying containers in production Containers are the rising stars of IT, and[...]
Analyst opinion There are several ways to build large scale Linux server environments, with x86[...]
The overlooked element of DevOps Many words have been written about the need for automation,[...]
If you work in the transportation sector, your focus is likely to be that of[...]
Organizations across every sector are differentiating their products and services by focusing on their customers,[...]
Analyst opinion Europe’s self-described No.1 ‘hyper-scale cloud provider’, OVH, held its 6th annual customer conference[...]
Analyst opinion The recent Industry of Things World conference in Berlin offered insights into the[...]
Analyst opinion Google has made a complete about-face on the enterprise. It took so long[...]
Tips and tricks for getting past those ‘people problems’ The latest devices, productivity tools, collaboration[...]
Analyst opinion Open source has crested the hill of enterprise acceptance. There’s no longer the[...]
If you work in education, particularly higher education, you’re probably focused on a range of[...]
[...]
Analyst opinion Once upon a time, pretty much every meeting had a minute-taker – someone[...]
Lessons from Leonardo[...]
As an insurer, regulatory upheaval and political change are likely to be towards the top[...]
Analyst opinion When IT vendors talk about the market, they tend to focus on how[...]
Time to fully embed security into your application lifecycle[...]
Analyst opinion When analysts and journalists write about Agile and DevOps, the focus is typically[...]
Key migration considerations for SAP HANA and S/4HANA SAP is keeping up the pace of[...]
Analyst opinion If you’re an IT professional managing a large desktop estate or an end[...]
There’s no definitive “right way” to provide healthcare, but if you work within this sector,[...]
The catalyst for a move to modern data protection[...]
Analyst opinion In some ways, the recent completion of Plantronics’ $2 billion purchase of Polycom[...]
Analyst opinion The US Department of Labor has updated its Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system.[...]
Analyst opinion Passwords have been the mainstay for securing applications, devices and the data they[...]
Digital transformation initiatives come in many shapes and sizes, and if you’re a manufacturer, these[...]
A risk review and investment guide for business executives In today’s digitally-driven world, the effective[...]
A risk review and investment guide for IT professionals As business – and indeed the[...]
Taking the pain out of information management Once upon a time, data protection simply meant[...]
Analyst opinion One of the defining characteristics of the modern digital workplace is a PC[...]
Analyst opinion If you are starting to suspect that the AI hype is overblown, and[...]
What will it take to get investment? There is a quote that almost everyone working[...]
It’s in the interests of every sector to become more agile, more adaptable and more[...]
What’s the business value of AI to your organisation? Market hype makes it difficult to[...]
An architectural approach to deep learning platforms The likes of Facebook, Google, Apple, Amazon and[...]
Analyst opinion But do people know what they mean when they talk about it –[...]
IIoT needs an intelligent edge[...]
Looking beyond the technology I recently caught up with Gary Turner, co-founder and managing of[...]
Information security, governance and regulation in harmony The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is[...]
Digital transformation programs are probably a priority for your company, as banks and financial institutions[...]
Look for the common patterns[...]
What once seemed impossible is now perfectly doable Desktop virtualization has evolved to meet the[...]
Integrated platforms as a route to digital readiness Cloud computing in its many forms has[...]
Analyst opinion For some time, my office PC had suffered from multimedia niggles. Some were[...]
Probably not, but… Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, the 4th industrial revolution – we’re hearing a[...]
It’s not just about platform automation In a nutshell Many IT teams are dogged by[...]
Analyst opinion Timed to coincide with the RSA security conference, Microsoft has announced Azure Sphere,[...]
On the cutting edge of the Fourth Industrial Revolution In a nutshell Digital transformation is[...]
Fast-track creation of a modern digital workspace Digital transformation investments have, to date, focused mainly[...]
In today’s world, software is everywhere – and it is spreading fast. Once it was[...]
Meeting the need for speed IoT projects need careful consideration of data management processes and[...]
Turn GDPR compliance and ransomware defence to your advantage Has your organisation considered updating and[...]
SDDC could be part of the answer, if only we can get there Working in[...]
The workplace has always been the visible face of change, shifting between evolution and revolution[...]
Respondents point the finger at ambiguous requirements ‘Agile development’ can mean different things to different[...]
Analyst opinion It’s all too easy to conflate the kind of AI being hyped in[...]
Analyst opinion When we surveyed several hundred IT professionals on the topic of All-Flash Arrays,[...]
Analyst opinion Microsoft’s revenues are up, but compared to its biggest competitors — Amazon, Apple,[...]
“Masters” move beyond pure risk management to focus on business growth The research summarised in[...]
Analyst opinion Most of us already recognise that technology has the potential to wipe out[...]
Removing the ambiguity from your delivery pipeline Whatever the word ‘digital’ means to your organization,[...]
Analyst opinion Some assumptions have been held by IT pros for so long that they[...]
Analyst opinion Europeans will in future be able to bring US-style class actions for (alleged)[...]
Belief systems have a time and place Apple probably has more cash than it knows[...]
Time for a more proactive approach to investment? Against the backdrop of increasingly crucial and[...]
Here’s our tips on how to plan rather than panic The deadline for GDPR is[...]
Thoughts from the Future Decoded event Given quantum computing’s geeky and somewhat science fiction image,[...]
It’s beginning to look that way Does the mention ‘HoloLens’ conjure up images of Martian[...]
How to avoid that hook at the end of a fraudster’s line Phishing is the[...]
Research reveals the reality of hybrid computing At the beginning of the ‘Cloud’ movement, vendors,[...]
Storage Spaces Direct expands your HCI options As application delivery evolves, hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) is[...]
Is cloud becoming a strategic disrupter? The politics and practicalities of IT procurement have always[...]
Open source PaaS ready for prime time? Perhaps the most satisfying thing at events such[...]
Content Contributors: Tony Lock & Jack Vile[...]
Content Contributors: Dale Vile & Jack Vile[...]
Bridging the chasm There are many reasons why someone might not be using an All-Flash[...]
Six tips for advantage in the hybrid cloud world The past few years have seen[...]
Public sector IT practitioners snatch a few hours to think, listen and learn As one[...]
It was 2001, and I was sitting there with my arm in a sling feeling[...]
Have cloud investments to date laid a good enough foundation for the future, or is[...]
Over three quarters of those surveyed in a recent multi-national study said the pressure on[...]
Research reveals the secrets of essential DC Infrastructure There are very few organisations now where[...]
Let’s go surfing the waves of AFA automation and orchestration Done properly, All-Flash Arrays are[...]
Fujitsu’s MetaArc and NetApp’s Data Fabric in context Using technology to redefine how your business[...]
An evaluation and decision guide for IT teams Storage technology has advanced considerably over the[...]
A guide for business executives As you drive for better business performance through key development[...]
Getting past ‘No’ with your CFO The traditional view of finance managers needs some serious[...]
Is dedicated storage still the way to go, or can my server take over this[...]
Don’t let a pushy sales rep trap you into an unwise purchase Asking the price[...]
How your business’s survival could depend on resilient storage We’ve all heard the stories: small[...]
Five ways that modern storage can make the IT pro’s life easier Anyone running on-prem[...]
Thankfully, the days when IT was seen simply as an unwelcome but necessary cost are[...]
Are you stuck between a rock and a hard place? Much has been written about[...]
Don’t get caught in the crossfire between evangelists It is in the nature of technology[...]
Yesterdays software delivery processes are not up to dealing with today’s demands, but modernising you[...]
Advanced solutions deliver SMBs power and simplicity If you work in a small or medium-sized[...]
How well are you keeping up with escalating business demands? A recent survey of 320[...]
Lessons from leading practitioners Software delivery processes and systems, and the people involved with them,[...]
How strong are the foundations supporting your IT infrastructure? Facilities infrastructure, which includes power management,[...]
What’s required to ensure business continuity in the datacentre? Modern businesses depend on IT. As[...]
All-Flash is becoming ‘the new normal’ in enterprise storage, but is right consider it as[...]
Cloud services are increasingly becoming part of the IT delivery mix, but a recent study[...]
Will the cloud make your datacentre redundant? With many organisations under pressure and IT teams[...]
Does your approach need a rethink? Effective and efficient management of power within the datacentre[...]
Despite the advent to cloud computing the datacentre remains central to corporate IT. But with[...]
PROVERB: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a[...]
If there is one thing that the recent ransomware epidemic should do it’s to focus[...]
Many are exploiting cloud computing to drive business advantage, while others are enjoying the flexibility[...]
A look at recent developments in the delivery of IT Services For much of the[...]
In a nutshell Software-defined storage, or SDS, has the potential to significantly change how you[...]
In a nutshell The term “software-defined storage” (SDS) is all over the press, yet sometimes[...]
Listen to some DevOps evangelists talk, and you would get the impression that IT operations[...]
The enterprise file sync and share market has truly come of age, with products and[...]
In a nutshell A major unprotected security risk in most enterprises today concerns application software[...]
Securing the applications and services that underpin your online and mobile presence is one thing,[...]
The business context for Windows 10 in financial services There is a digital divide at[...]
At Mobile World Congress (MWC) on Monday, Microsoft’s key hardware partners announced several new Windows[...]
In June 2016, IBM and Cisco announced that they were going to pre-integrate their respective[...]
When IT teams and their colleagues within the business get along, life is good for[...]
As part of a recent survey we asked a panel of IT professionals to give[...]
Every few years, core IT infrastructure issues surge into visibility on the corporate radar. Often,[...]
The UK government has announced that more than 4 million free digital skills training opportunities[...]
Ed: AI is figuring more and more prominently in our industry coverage at Freeform Dynamics.[...]
Keeping up with escalating storage demands is not just about managing the growth in data.[...]
A recent survey by Freeform Dynamics of 320 senior data centre professionals reveals that datacentre[...]
When we surveyed over 300 IT and business professionals back in 2011 on their attitudes[...]
In today’s digital age, an information archive should not be the equivalent of a dusty[...]
We are at an interesting time in the all-flash storage array market. While naysayers still[...]
IBM CEO Ginni Rometty and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella discussed the impact of artificial intelligence[...]
Prominent PC makers used CES 2017 to showcase a range of new laptop and desktop[...]
IT departments can improve performance by optimising infrastructure and the way they work internally. But[...]
The public cloud is frequently talked about as the answer to all IT problems, but[...]
Enterprise-grade solid state storage based on flash is becoming ‘the new normal’, for primary storage[...]
Microsoft has announced that Windows 10 is coming to ARM architecture through a partnership with[...]
Making the right technology investments in today’s fast moving digital age can mean the difference[...]
“Giving away budget never felt so good”. Those were the words of an IT manager[...]
Introduction: Is cloud really a kind of magic? Many have positioned cloud computing as the[...]
In a nutshell All-Flash Arrays (AFAs) have come a very long way in a short[...]
Our latest survey was a little different to usual. Normally we research new stuff like[...]
“Some complex systems, such as the weather, are oblivious to our predictions. The process of[...]
In a nutshell Deciding which direction to take with your storage purchasing is a tough[...]
In a nutshell Hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) has been gaining popularity as a way of simplifying[...]
Microsoft has thrown down the gauntlet to Slack and other chat-based workspace providers with the[...]
In a nutshell All-flash arrays are arguably coming of age, but in an early market,[...]
Some argue that IT operations doesn’t matter anymore; it’s all about developers. Our aim in[...]
At the company’s October 26 event, Microsoft added a new category to its lineup of[...]
Workplace by Facebook is now generally available to any business or institution that wants to use[...]
When an important topic or trend gives rise to a marketing and media bandwagon, any[...]
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently published a report detailing the results of an[...]
From stability to agility Data centres have been around a long time during which various[...]
Organizations large and small are investing in digital transformation programs, cloud migration projects, and enterprise[...]
With a combined market capitalization of $2.3 trillion, Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft hold[...]
We often hear that cloud computing dramatically reduces the need for in-house IT teams, and[...]
In a nutshell Storage is a very hot topic in every data centre and computer[...]
Microsoft used day two of its Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) to focus on announcements related[...]
So you’ve invested in CRM, and maybe a set of sophisticated modelling and analytics tools[...]
As technology becomes smarter, more opportunities arise to exploit AI, machine learning and other forms[...]
Have we all been caught asleep at the capacity planning wheel? Business users today want,[...]
The word ’digital’ seems to have overtaken ’cloud’ as the hottest word in the IT[...]
A lot can be learned from getting a group of experienced CIOs in a room[...]
When I first moved into software sales about 25 years ago, my then boss gave[...]
Every January marketing professionals in all industries attempt to label the twelve months to come[...]
Mobile, social and other digital channels are now an integral part of customer engagement. As[...]
A recent global study (1,442 senior respondents) revealed that those reporting particularly good returns from[...]
In a nutshell If asked to name a distributed version control system (DVCS), most people[...]
In a nutshell You may have doubts about the value for money or level of[...]
In a nutshell Keeping your IT infrastructure in line with evolving application and business needs[...]
It’s easy to be caught out by a cyber attack or internal mistake that leads[...]
I have used iPads for many years, but they have always been ’nice to have’[...]
Data protection is essential for every business and its importance cannot be underestimated for disaster[...]
The rumour mill says that that Apple will soon launch a smaller (9.7 inch) version[...]
Application programming interfaces (APIs) have been around for decades. In the early days of IT[...]
While many are talking about concepts such as disruption and innovation as if they were[...]
Self-driving cars provide one of the best examples of how digital technology is set to[...]
In a nutshell The problem of content sprawl has been around since the early days[...]
In a nutshell In today’s online business environment, with data spread broadly and widely, making[...]
The services offered by telecom companies provide some of the best examples of digital customer[...]
I’ve been coming across more DevOps naysayers and sceptics recently. Whether online or face-to-face, I[...]
I recently acquired a Surface Pro 4 as part of an equipment refresh here at[...]
Managing PC estates is a time-consuming, expensive and thankless task. Better provisioning and management tools[...]
There is no doubting that scale-out storage is now thoroughly achievable. Indeed, scale-out is pretty[...]
With conversations around end user computing dominated by highly desirable mobile technology, it’s easy to[...]
IBM’s announcement of a storage suite with per Tb pricing is a natural move following[...]
There is no doubt that requirements for IT to deliver additional capabilities continue to increase.[...]
No one needs telling that the pressure on their network infrastructure is growing. In fact[...]
IT Security is complex and trying to work out whether it is better to use[...]
Open-source software has become an important presence in many areas of IT, and now, as[...]
The world we live in is increasingly digital. As the smart use of technology leads[...]
The rate of change in IT and business has never been more rapid. Standing still[...]
Advances in digital technology create significant opportunities to transform both customer engagement and business operations.[...]
Enterprise scale up storage arrays have traditionally been expensive to acquire and complex to manage.[...]
IT infrastructures are often coping pretty well with current business requirements, but many IT professionals[...]
As cyber security threats become more sophisticated, targeted and persistent, it’s no longer possible to block[...]
A perennial problem with storage is how to deal with escalating requirements in a smooth,[...]
In today’s fast-moving, information-intensive business environment, data management is more of a challenge than ever.[...]
If you work in a small or medium-sized business environment, storage is probably something you[...]
While your storage infrastructure may be meeting current needs, you will almost certainly be investing[...]
Mobile security is becoming more of a headache as the crossover between business and personal[...]
Just as IT professionals and others responsible for mobile security have come to terms with[...]
For many of us, our work life and social life are becoming intermingled. We can[...]
Not so long ago, many were speculating that ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD) would define[...]
Cloud adoption is taking place in organisations of all sizes. Internal cloud systems are being[...]
Network traffic flows have become pretty complex in today’s distributed business environment, and not just[...]
As we all know, the world of backup is changing, and not just in obvious[...]
As both company and personally owned mobile devices are increasingly used in business, understanding and[...]
Webcast recorded 12th June 2015 Firstly, Tony Lock and Dale Vile show you where your[...]
To paraphrase an old joke, ask three IT “experts” for a definition of hyper-convergence and[...]
Cloud computing has gone mainstream. While a hard-core of naysayers still exists, the black-and-white negative[...]
In a recent online survey in which responses were gathered from almost three hundred IT[...]
A few days into my first software sales role back in the 90’s, I was[...]
The chances are that your storage systems are subject to a range of pressures, almost[...]
Organisations are increasingly turning to multi-tiered shared storage environments to deal with growing data volumes,[...]
There is much government talk about the economic importance of enabling a digital society. Yet[...]
A great deal has been written about how trends in digital communication and engagement are[...]
VMware Virtual Volumes (VVOLs) are due to be released in 2015 and have been designed[...]
In a recent research study we looked at the challenge of building a storage infrastructure[...]
The DevOps movement is supported by a whole range of tools, and is particularly well[...]
An interesting remark I heard at a recent CIO gathering was “DevOps is the first[...]
In a nutshell Device proliferation and loss of control over at least some end user[...]
There’s been a lot of FUD spread around in recent years on the subject of[...]
Over the years, I have grown increasingly sceptical about the ability of most Telcos to[...]
You have probably heard the representatives of at least a few vendors say IT is moving[...]
With the flash storage market developing rapidly it’s important to understand the nature of the[...]
Rapid data growth, a greater emphasis on operational risk and developments in storage hardware are[...]
The term ‘Software Defined Storage’ is used to describe a wide range of ideas and[...]
The storage solutions you run today face many challenges, of which the explosive growth in[...]
People who feel good while doing their job tend to work better, contribute more and[...]
In a nutshell Some say it’s not possible to recruit and retain good staff nowadays[...]
Everyone’s talking about DevOps, but not everyone can do it. This webcast covers the balance[...]
Given how important the company’s data is and the ever more stringent nature of the[...]
Meeting basic storage needs has been a necessity for some time now. But with rapid[...]
By Dale Vile Management Summary Most organisations are able to deal with their basic storage[...]
By Tony Lock We all know that trying to authenticate our users when they access[...]
By Dale Vile Industry analysts provide information, insights and guidance to help technology buyers and[...]
As the old year draws to a close it’s time for CIOs and analysts to[...]
In a nutshell Tensions frequently arise between business units and the IT teams as users[...]
In this webcast discover how you create a new architecture for backup and recovery, how[...]
In a nutshell Many IT professionals are weary of the relentless Windows upgrade spiral and[...]
In a nutshell Most organisations are seeing users and business groups starting to make their[...]
Creating a more customer centric business environment has historically been hard to achieve. In this[...]
> [...]
Websense research finds that 40% of UK security professionals never speak to their executive board[...]
With the phenomenal rise in the adoption of smartphones, tablets and other desirable devices, many[...]
Having to deal with the ‘next big thing’ once or twice a year is a[...]
More and more code, delivered faster and faster. According to many, that’s the imperative if[...]
Few doubt the increasing popularity of mobile devices, specifically smartphones and tablets. Their numbers grow[...]
Most organisations, even SMBs, have some sort of plans to deal with recovery from disasters,[...]
We want flexibility but, if we’re not careful, we get governance confusion as well. In[...]
Converged infrastructure, the software defined data centre and cloud computing allow you to optimise your[...]
You face more, and more dangerous threats every day – drive-by infections, APTs, executive targeted[...]
What does IT disaster recovery (DR) mean to you? Does it bring to mind racks[...]
Recently the vendor community has put considerable efforts into promoting the ‘Software Defined Data Centre”[...]
Much has been written about the rise of user influence and power. Some of it[...]
If it has been a while since you thought about your DR measures, or a[...]
Industry analysts, CIOs and others involved in the IT decision making process are on the[...]
With the advent of digitisation, all public sector environments generate and capture a significant amount[...]
Malicious Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks do not occur often. Nevertheless, for an enterprise[...]
Business people often complain that the IT department is not keeping up with their needs.[...]
In some organisations, the tension between IT and business teams has come to a head[...]
Blade systems can help you establish control over sprawl while simplifying the administration of your[...]
In recent years, physical server numbers have remained static but virtual server numbers continue to[...]
As a teenager just entering the world of business I had to go through a[...]
Ever since I passed the big five-o, I have noticed more and more youngsters who[...]
As an industry analyst, it feels like I spend hours of my life sitting through[...]
User expectations and the range of devices they use to access IT systems are growing[...]
Extended support for Windows Server 2003 ends on 14 July 2015, so you need to[...]
How to create storage that’s responsive to changing workloads and applications, that can deliver the[...]
This paper is written for business executives and managers with an interest in how technology[...]
By now we’ve all heard the term Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). This phenomenon is[...]
Lots of you are considering cloud apps, but find it hard to figure out what’s[...]
Recently I attended the IBM Security Systems Analyst Meet the Experts day in Heathrow. With[...]
What is an APT? APT stands for Advanced Persistent Threat. The goal of this form[...]
Mobile Device Management (MDM) is only one part of the broader Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM)[...]
Computer security is a hot topic today, and much talked about. There are endless emanations[...]
You could be forgiven for thinking that Microsoft has missed the boat with its Windows[...]
It’s a hybrid world. But proprietary clouds are hard to integrate and less flexible. On[...]
Over the decades data centres and computer rooms have taken on many challenges in order[...]
Freeform Dynamics conducted a research study in early 2014 looking at trends and developments in[...]
By Charles Brett Until relatively recently most in IT looked upon Graphics Processing Units (GPUs[1])[...]
100 per cent security is a fantasy: you will be attacked by both known and[...]
By Dale Vile Businesses bought into Windows two decades go. Many IT professionals today, in[...]
By Charles Brett Talking to end users and some vendors, especially from the mobile space,[...]
By Dale Vile Best of breed versus integrated multi-function solutions – it’s a discussion that’s[...]
By Tony Lock Originally published for the channel A recent survey by Freeform Dynamics revealed[...]
By Charles Brett 2014’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona brought together the mobile telephony infrastructure[...]
By Tony Lock The challenges placed on IT daily grow more demanding. In addition to[...]
By Dale Vile If you are feeling inadequate because you’re not in full control of[...]
By Tony Lock Networks are the glue that allow users to function effectively in their[...]
By Dale Vile Would you design your corporate network the way it is today if[...]
By Tony Lock In a recent survey over 400 respondents gave us the inside track[...]
Where to put your data, how to decide in the real world Performance, compliance, privacy,[...]
By Tony Lock A recent report from Freeform Dynamics illustrates that many corporate networks are[...]
Application performance, availability and security challenges are quietly creeping up in the context of internal[...]
By Tony Lock The scope and sophistication of the IT security threats facing your organisation[...]
By Tony Lock This is the time of year for looking back at what has[...]
By Charles Brett Security covers many dimensions, including the physical and logical. As such many[...]
My views on market developments in 2014 are not sensational, I’m afraid. I offer them[...]
By Tony Lock IT systems are subject to many of the same laws that govern[...]
By Charles Brett Are enterprises asking the right questions about data and its storage? This[...]
By Dale Vile Two narratives concerning the CIO/CMO relationship are doing the rounds at the[...]
By Dale Vile We constantly hear that cloud is the future and that distributors, resellers,[...]
By Charles Brett Vodafone is an exception as a telco. It has a heritage in[...]
By Tony Lock Most organisations are experiencing considerable growth in the volumes of data they[...]
By Dale Vile I first discovered dictation software back in 2001 when I ended up[...]
By Charles Brett Professional IT prefers disciplined approaches which back up, or copy, all enterprise[...]
IT Leaders and Architects, when was the last time you could look at one of[...]
Are you a business manager/executive? Read on to find out why sometimes you may have[...]
By Charles Brett and Tony Lock During an Analyst Briefing at the IBM Development Laboratory[...]
By Charles Brett A gigabyte is 1,073,741,824 bytes. Computer science tells us this is so.[...]
Is your VMware back up under control? No, we thought not. Virtualisation has achieved many[...]
By Charles Brett At an Analyst Briefing in London in late September IBM described what[...]
By Charles Brett Flight engineers in cockpits began to disappear in the 1980s as aircraft[...]
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By Tony Lock Bring your own device (BYOD) continues to attract considerable attention, but the[...]
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By Tony Lock A recent survey by Freeform Dynamics confirmed that access to accurate information[...]
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Organisations of all sizes are trying to understand the security implications of mobile working, device[...]
By Dale Vile Writing about two totally different machines in the same blog post might[...]
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By Charles Brett In a previous blog I described how the ‘black state’ (that which[...]
By Charles Brett The revelations from Mr Snowden about the US Government’s hidden abuse of,[...]
Proprietary cloud threatens lock-in, higher cost and application silos. There is an alternative: OpenStack is[...]
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By Dale Vile Ask anyone in the industry about the future of end user computing[...]
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Evidence from users in the real world shows that for large workloads, the mainframe offers[...]
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By Charles Brett In this the fifth of various (of at least six) analyses of[...]
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By Charles Brett Since computing began there has been a non-battle between asynchronous and synchronous[...]
By Team Freeform The tablet and smartphone market has certainly moved on from the situation[...]
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Windows Server 2012 is a big bet for Microsoft, and is a major step forward[...]
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By Charles Brett In the fourth of various at least six analyses of mobility and[...]
By Charles Brett In this third of multiple assessments of mobility and RoI, three examples[...]
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By Team Freeform People feel strongly about their smartphones. This much was clear when we[...]
By Team Freeform It seems that every week yet another visionary or IT vendor with[...]
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By Dale Vile The latest catchy but dubious term to emanate from the vendor and[...]
By Dale Vile Most forms of cloud computing are starting to find their place in[...]
By Tony Lock Many businesses today are faced with the challenge of rapidly fluctuating operating[...]
By Team Freeform In a recent research study we looked at the activities of respondents[...]
By Tony Lock Data centres and computer rooms are an important hub of many organisations,[...]
By Andrew Buss A few weeks back we looked at the role that private and[...]
The storage architecture you will need for a private cloud deployment will probably be very[...]
Audience – IT & Business professionals Occasion – VMUG Meeting, Manchester February 12, 2013 Presenter(s)[...]
If you’re implementing a private or a hybrid cloud, then your network fabric needs a[...]
By Dale Vile In a previous article we highlighted the fact that many organisations could[...]
By Dale Vile It’s easy to understand the increasing positive buzz around advances in information[...]
Empowering employees through the delegation of authority and trust can enhance innovation and productivity. But[...]
By Tony Lock Datacentres tend to have very long life times and the opportunities to[...]
By Andrew Buss Most IT departments today recognise that things could be run much more[...]
By Andrew Buss I’ve been using Windows 8 in various forms since the early previews,[...]
As the feverish excitement of cloud hype becomes a practical challenge for you to solve,[...]
A DC that takes care of itself. Can you build it, do you want it?[...]
By Andrew Buss A number of IT vendors have recently gone on the record saying[...]
By Andrew Buss The last few years have seen significant changes in end user computing.[...]
By Andrew Buss The last decade has seen massive leaps in performance and capability across[...]
By Tony Lock There has never been a clearer understanding of how quickly business is[...]
By Dale Vile To some, the mere concept of enterprise datacentres still being around in[...]
Cloud is a broad brush term that covers several different approaches to delivering IT services[...]
By Andrew Buss The world of business is becoming faster moving, more competitive and ever[...]
The death of on-premise IT as a result of hosted cloud services is greatly exaggerated.[...]
The cost of supplying IT services inside businesses has never been more visible with considerable[...]
By Andrew Buss The last decade has seen a dramatic shift away from desktop computers[...]
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By Tony Lock Over the course of the last year or two an assertion has[...]
By Tony Lock ‘Big Data’ is a hot topic receiving considerable attention from the marketing[...]
Andrew Buss met up with Chris Losch, from Newham Council, and Gary Collins, from Intercept[...]
Many organisations today only archive data when there is some external legislative driver forcing their[...]
By Andrew Buss The way that companies connect with each other to do business can[...]
By Dale Vile How many suppliers and customers do you trade with in the average[...]
Dale Vile meets with Hewlett-Packard’s David Chalmers They discussed how recent innovations in server, storage[...]
By Tony Lock A couple of years before terms such as “Cloud”, “Big Data” and[...]
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By Dale Vile The notion of cloud computing taking more of the action in the[...]
Results of a web survey illustrate the state of business information and analytics today. Just[...]
By Andrew Buss Much of the talk of the last year has been about Big[...]
By Tony Lock When computers were first created, all attention was centred on getting answers[...]
By Tony Lock Read any IT publication, online or hard copy, and it is hard[...]
Those advocating emerging technologies and ideas often talk as if IT is a zero sum[...]
At the RSA Conference 2012 in London, one of the key themes to emerge was[...]
While out and about shopping yesterday, I spotted a PC magazine in the newsagent advertising[...]
CIOs have a tough job delivering an expanding range of services to ever more demanding[...]
Big Data suffers misuse but at its heart is really about getting more value from[...]
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I have long been a sceptic of the ‘install it and they will figure out[...]
The way in which organisations communicate and transact across supply and demand chains has a[...]
The 2012 Intel Developer Forum was a whirlwind event covering all aspects of computing and[...]
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Will every data centre become a cloud? As nearly everyone working in IT understands, things[...]
There is a long history of end users wanting, or ‘needing’, to have ‘different’ tools[...]
Identifying the ingredients that make the difference for agile IT The term ‘Private Cloud’ is[...]
Microsoft is unveiling a whole new generation of Windows on October 26th 2012, and significant[...]
One of the certainties when it comes to running IT is that change is constant.[...]
We know from our many studies that most IT organisations are stretched operationally while having[...]
The utility based approach to hosted solutions taken by the likes of Microsoft, Google, Amazon[...]
By Andrew Buss Back in late spring, we ran a survey of channel players looking[...]
You don’t have to move in specialist digital marketing circles to have come across the[...]
Business must be ready to respond to rapidly changing market conditions. For any organisation to[...]
It is said that the technology at the heart of IT changes at a bewildering[...]
The impacts on budgets, reporting and IT delivery models. When economic times are hard there[...]
By Dale Vile When IT is your day job it’s easy to lose sight of[...]
By Dale Vile We were surprised at the strength of positive sentiment and relative lack[...]
Lots of people are talking about private cloud as the next natural step from virtualisation.[...]
Businesses are still operating under enormous economic pressure and, as would be expected, this continues[...]
Andrew Buss discusses how security needs to become embedded and automated within the network and[...]
Andrew Buss discusses the impact of the mega trends such as the Consumerization of IT[...]
Andrew Buss share’s his views on the significance of a simplified Data Center architecture. This[...]
Andrew Buss explains how enterprise drivers and aspirations will shape cloud adoption and the opportunity[...]
Andrew Buss speaks with Garry Meaburn, the operations effectiveness and tooling manager at Unilever and[...]
Are you tough enough to take on BPM and win? Someone has to. It has[...]
Websphere and beyond On June 12th, IBM Southbank hosted a one-day version of its Impact[...]
By Martha Bennett, Tony Lock & Dale Vile Key Points IT funding is under stress,[...]
By Martha Bennett and Tony Lock Key Points ‘Cloud’ concepts are widely understood, but practical[...]
One of the perils inherent in Big Data projects About 20 years ago, we were[...]
Desktops are now visibly mission critical Desktop Virtualisation is a topic that has enjoyed considerable[...]
Desktop virtualization has progressed from a niche way of handling exceptional user requirements to a[...]
Energy availability and management is increasingly becoming an important agenda item for IT leaders, but[...]
To make sense of private cloud, you need unravel it from the broader cloud computing[...]
By Tony Lock In a nutshell: Recent research carried out by Freeform Dynamics identified seven[...]
What options are there to help people work together more effectively? The emergence of new[...]
Considerations for SaaS-based email and office productivity tools Why go to all the trouble of[...]
Wonderful in theory, but few have it available Going back, say, five or ten years,[...]
Failing to do so could be costly There’s no need to rattle off another set[...]
A run through of precisely what it takes to move your business productivity apps to[...]
What’s in it for IT professionals? When systems are implemented and managed in isolation, it[...]
Tunes to get you started ’Dynamic workload management’ and ’private cloud’ are just two of[...]
We at Freeform Dynamics have been running surveys and interactive workshops with The Register’s readership[...]
The technologies and solutions used in the IT infrastructure have changed dramatically over the years,[...]
Organisations of all shapes and sizes are struggling to deal with the rapid growth of[...]
Does ’cloud’ have a roll in providing customers with access to new data sources to[...]
Readers have provided some great feedback during our latest workshop on a topic that has[...]
Organisations are often told that running their IT as a service would be the right[...]
Ignoring key trends could be harmful to corporate health Is it really true that organisations[...]
It’s treating the root cause of rigidity that really matters For most of the past[...]
Freedom to move, not bogging things down The road to hell, they say, is paved[...]
Breaking down the barriers to effective communications For many companies, particularly in these challenging economic[...]
Insights and lessons from the public sector When it comes to information management, many of[...]
Business continuity solutions only for large organisations? IT vendors and consulting firms who sell disaster[...]
Has virtualisation really moved the game forward? OK, so you’ve virtualised a bunch of servers[...]
In this podcast interview, Martha Bennett shares her thoughts on some of the key challenges[...]
A prompt to move to the next level of management? The early days of x86[...]
But it is a great sales tool if introduced early enough (This article was originally[...]
By Andrew Buss Way back in the mists of time, when computers were first developed[...]
With a mandate to make public records broadly available online, yet at the same time[...]
If the deluge of headlines and vendor marketing materials is anything to go by, ‘big[...]
Over the course of many months there has been considerable coverage of ‘Cloud’ based office[...]
When business IT was young and channel partners had plenty of hardware margins to play[...]
Looking after an organisation’s estate of desktop and laptop PCs can be a difficult and[...]
All too frequently the IT industry gets caught up in a whirlwind of marketing stories[...]
Obtaining budget for new technology investments can be a difficult exercise at the best of[...]
Talk of storage technology makes business people yawn, but the state of the storage infrastructure[...]
By Dale Vile, Tony Lock and Martha Bennett Introduction Storage and retrieval of electronic data[...]
In this webinar, Martha Bennett of Freeform Dynamics and Harry Labana of AppSense discuss the[...]
In a world of increasingly devolved decision making, few would disagree that it’s important to[...]
Back in the deep dark past, when I designed and optimised relational databases for a[...]
We may agonise long and hard over IT and Business alignment but the real ambition[...]
It is recognised across almost all companies that disasters or major events can interrupt business[...]
The mainstream media generally portrays the financial services industry as being in a total mess,[...]
On January 23rd, 2012, Research in Motion (RIM) announced Thorsten Heins as President and CEO.[...]
We’ve just had a little look at the results so far from our currently running[...]
Not many people read IT Disaster Recovery plans for pleasure but these documents are often[...]
There’s no magic bullet, but there’s a formula Many IT and business executives groan when[...]
Last week was extremely busy, so the first I heard of Amazon’s Direct Connect service[...]
Hardly a day goes by without news coverage around whether some public sector organisation or[...]
It’s got the point where the majority of small and medium businesses (SMBs) take the[...]
By Freeform Dynamics We wanted to gain practical insights into the context for some of[...]
With decision making among banks under so much scrutiny, the important question arises of how[...]
If you have an old email server in need of an upgrade or have calls[...]
I couldn’t say this for certain, but I get the impression that the marketing noise[...]
By Dale Vile Change is a fact of life in business, but it’s generally not[...]
Over the last three or four years, many have been advocating the use of social[...]
Stakeholders are increasingly looking to get information ’on demand’ to regulatory bodies; seeking more complex[...]
Patrolling an effective security regime is never a trivial task, despite the relentless development of[...]
User virtualization can make life easier for IT and end users alike Few would dispute[...]
What are the drivers of data centre networking investment? As companies rely ever more on[...]
Desktop virtualisation is all about centralising the various aspects of client computing such as processing,[...]
By Tony Lock For much of the last decade data centre networking, along with networking[...]
The pace at which modern business tends to move has resulted in a situation where[...]
‘Big data’ is one of those ‘buzz’ terms that is difficult to avoid, at least[...]
Remote workers need support and training. The IT department needs to secure their devices and[...]
It’s been tough these last few years. The economy has been stagnant, inflation’s been going[...]
Audience – IT & Business professionals Occasion – TheRegister:IntelAcademy, 22nd November 2011 Presenter(s) – Martha[...]
By Tony Lock & Dale Vile Locating and accessing information required to run the business[...]
A chance conversation about Big Data led me to think about the importance of metadata[...]
As many marketeers switch their attention from the word ’cloud’ to the term ’big data’,[...]
Whether it’s insurance or banking, those working in financial services keep coming in for a[...]
The data retention policy in too many organisations has historically boiled down to ‘keep everything[...]
Cloud computing is all about providing services as reliably and transparently as possible to the[...]
More data more often than not means more disks. It was ever thus – but[...]
If media headlines and vendor claims are to be believed, organisations today are faced with[...]
IT vendors have traditionally targeted the lucrative large enterprise market with their data protection and[...]
By Tony Lock, Martha Bennett and Dale Vile KEY POINTS The term ‘disaster recovery’ is[...]
A lot of time and column inches have been spent over the years looking at[...]
If anybody attending the Adobe MAX conference had any doubts about Adobe’s commitment to Flash,[...]
Is it effective to build out a network infrastructure to handle all workloads, rather than[...]
Marketing people and management consultants love the words ‘transformation’ and ‘innovation’. As you listen to[...]
Audience – IT & Business professionals Occasion – IAP Symposium, 14th October 2011 Presenter(s) –[...]
Ethernet was originally conceived of as being used by networks consisting of limited numbers of[...]
Audience – IT & Business professionals Occasion – VMUG Meeting, Leeds, October 2011 Presenter(s) –[...]
With so many people excited about ‘bring your own device’ and easily accessible cloud services,[...]
I recently had the pleasure of attending an event run by the Institute of Industry[...]
For much of the past decade the “networking” that connects users to their applications and[...]
The primary driver of today’s IT leaders is to enable better business management and execution,[...]
Transformation and innovation are often worthy objectives for change initiatives, but business people tell us[...]
One subject that is getting plenty of attention in IT circles is “Cloud” although, truth[...]
By Dale Vile KEY POINTS The pace of business today dictates devolved management and decision-making[...]
One of the big advantages of cloud computing is scalability in terms of both server[...]
How do data centre networks need to evolve as business systems become ever more complex?[...]
As the old saying goes, repeat something enough times and it becomes accepted as the[...]
SaaS might give you more availability, it might cut your capital costs, and it might[...]
Over the years, research findings have consistently demonstrated widespread exposure to risk when it comes[...]
The concept of an IT service used to be defined as an individual, often silo’d,[...]
The role – and limits – of technology as an enabler of productivity gains ‘Productivity’,[...]
By Martha Bennett If recent headlines are anything to go by, the days of the[...]
There are some things in life that you just have to get on with, and[...]
Industry-standard x86 servers have now been used in SMBs for about 20 years, making this[...]
By Tony Lock If one were to believe even a tenth of the marketing messages[...]
A few months ago we highlighted the difficulties that many companies have when it comes[...]
Here at Freeform Dynamics we’re renowned for advocating a service centric approach to IT. The[...]
Despite the plethora of ‘productivity solutions’ available from IT suppliers, why is it that real[...]
This is a story of my experiences of using non-Apple equipment to expand my use[...]
If servers and applications form the heart of the IT infrastructure, then the network is[...]
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By Tony Lock KEY FINDINGS Few organisations know what software they are using The vast[...]
By Andrew Buss and Dale Vile KEY POINTS Cloud is complementary to existing IT infrastructure[...]
It may not always seem like it, but wherever IT is responsible for providing applications[...]
For much of the last three years x86 server virtualisation has been highly visible in[...]
“Ring, ring…” “IT support. How can I help you?” “The system’s really slow. It’s taking[...]
All IT departments are judged on the basis of service delivery, whether they work that[...]
When it come to virtualisation and private cloud, it seems that IT is happy to[...]
So what’s involved in a large scale migration of Windows 7? Well, as this webcast[...]
Do you know what’s running in your network? In this time of ever increasing security[...]
There’s nothing new in the concept of IT marketing or selling itself to the business,[...]
Windows 7 migration is not just about upgrading the operating system. In this webcast we[...]
A couple of weeks ago, I had occasion to spend some time on a 4-5[...]
By Andrew Buss KEY POINTS Connectivity is not widely perceived to be a major barrier[...]
Running your email and office applications in the cloud is not a new idea; Google[...]
Is it possible to migrate a large scale email environment to the cloud and keep[...]
Business people often complain that IT projects take too long and deliver results that fall[...]
By Dale Vile Some of the most rapid and exciting developments in technology are taking[...]
Open Source and Proprietary – The Decision Criteria The selection of operating systems was once[...]
Given all the hype and conjecture recently, we could be forgiven for thinking that we[...]
By Dale Vile KEY POINTS Views of cloud computing are wide, varied and often contradictory[...]
A couple of months ago, I picked up a tweet on Twitter that said something[...]
By Andrew Buss Having sat through countless vendor cloud pitches, there seems to be an[...]
I have been conducting a lot of interviews recently with vendors, resellers and SIs about[...]
By Dale Vile & Andrew Buss KEY FINDINGS Tales of the laptop PC’s death are[...]
By Tony Lock & Dale Vile KEY FINDINGS Server proliferation is still a challenge, and[...]
Let me put my cards on the table. I do not, repeat not, subscribe to[...]
In the first part of this discussion, I covered the hard reality of consumerisation and[...]
By Dale Vile Organisations today rely on effective management of business performance at all levels.[...]
Every IT professional recognises the importance of securing the IT systems on which critical business[...]
There are few topics in the IT industry that are more divisive than the option[...]
By Tony Lock The topic of “Cloud” has not escaped the attention of anyone in[...]
It was only a few weeks ago that we raised the topic of software licencing[...]
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A quick sanity check I have just been reading a blog post from a vendor[...]
Private cloud is a nice theory, but what does it translate to in practice when[...]
If you work in what is known as the IT channel, chances are you will[...]
One of the most troubling phone calls I have ever received was from the irate[...]
In a previous article we highlighted the various ways in which sales and service functions[...]
The operating habits of users render passwords as the primary mechanism to secure any application[...]
That thorny question of software licenses The principle of server virtualisation is now pretty well[...]
There are many ways to classify cloud service offerings. The most basic is to relate[...]
Today, IT Infrastructure is evolving at a tremendous pace. The Mainframe computer, now often referred[...]
The selection of operating systems was once one of the major decisions IT managers had[...]
Economic pressure has led to more finance directors and CFOs scrutinising expenditure to a painstaking[...]
Do you have lots of data but find it difficult to work out what it[...]
IT architects and CIOs have a number of factors to take into consideration when it[...]
Data centre managers and IT operations staff in large enterprises are now faced with a[...]
One of the advantages of using Platform as a Service (PaaS) to develop and deploy[...]
The recent news that RSA Security suffered a security attack and breach that resulted in[...]
Terms such as ‘network convergence’ and ‘unified comms’ have been used to describe the coming[...]
After all, the role of libraries in general has been increasingly threatened by the march[...]
IT is becoming more embedded within the business, with more use of IT for business[...]
By Andrew Buss & Dale Vile KEY FINDINGS Many companies could do much better when[...]
With upgrades to Windows 7 and Office 2010 high on the agenda, questions are being[...]
I am currently looking at the extent to which it makes sense for those in[...]
Let’s clear up a couple of things to start with. The term mind mapping doesn’t[...]
There have been many false dawns for video collaboration at work. We’ve all bought videoconferencing[...]
In this Webinar Tony Lock, Tim Phillips (The Register), Graham Rushton (Avenade) and Greg Charman[...]
Vendors have been pushing desktop virtualisation hard over the course of the past year. So[...]
Let’s get specific Pinning the term ‘cloud computing’ down to a single definition is not[...]
It’s 2011, the age of high-speed electronic communications, and we still see companies faxing orders[...]
Audience – IT & Business professionals Occasion – BCS Meeting, Leeds, October 2010 Presenter(s) –[...]
Audience – IT & Business professionals Occasion – BCS Meeting, Leeds, July 2010 Presenter(s) –[...]
A lot of things have happened recently that may cause us to think twice about[...]
An aspect of cloud computing that is often overlooked is supplier evaluation and management. We[...]
By Andrew Buss Our research tells us that the move to virtualisation on volume servers[...]
Our recent research highlights that many organisations are considering refreshing their desktop estates or have[...]
Interested in software as a service (SaaS) but worried about the risks to your information?[...]
Management in IT is a challenge for many organisations. Integrated management is a tough nut[...]
While no one has the luxury of wiping out history and designing the optimum infrastructure[...]
Some things in life, such as taxes and the music of the younger generation, have[...]
Information is power, right? Only if you can harness it and deliver it where and[...]
Faced with an increasing range of computer device types and application delivery options, coupled with[...]
A lot of companies are reporting that individual departments and even business users are adopting[...]
By Tony Lock & Dale Vile KEY FINDINGS With desktop refresh now on the agenda,[...]
BPM has an application beyond highly structured process automation. Dale Vile talks with The Register’s[...]
Cloud computing is frequently likened to utility services such as electricity, water or gas. If[...]
The delivery of cloud based application functionality via the Software as a Service (SaaS) model[...]
Virtualisation is an accepted part of server and data centre strategy. One of the biggest[...]
Throughout a workshop on The Register, we’ve been looking at resiliency and security for hosted[...]
By Andrew Buss Complex environments undergo continual upheaval. For many businesses, although the IT infrastructure[...]
Throughout a workshop conducted on The Register, we have been looking at the factors that[...]
Losing control of one’s data is among the first concerns that arise when software as[...]
By Tony Lock Desktop management has long been an almost “taboo” subject in most businesses.[...]
The modern enterprise network is at the heart of IT service delivery, and consideration needs[...]
In all areas of business, security and privacy are built on good policy, properly applied.[...]
This article is hosted on an external website. Please click here to view it in[...]
The writing is on the wall. As cloud computing steamrolls across the market, on-premise infrastructure[...]
Smartphones have become increasingly smart, providing access to multimedia content and social networking sites. On[...]
Would your data be more secure in the hands of Google or left where it[...]
Software as a service (SaaS) promises a lot but many are still nervous about relying[...]
Stick enough kit and multi-tenant software in one huge data centre and there is no[...]
There’s a problem brewing in the workplace – employees want to bring to work aspects[...]
Many companies have essentially completed their migration to server virtualisation. The next challenge is moving[...]
Getting the right information to the right people at the right time sounds like a[...]
Desktop virtualisation gets you part way there anyway Green and sustainability initiatives might be interesting[...]
How we should be protecting our PCs Security threats have existed for almost as long[...]
The many solutions to be found under the term ’Desktop Virtualisation’ have been vigorously promoted[...]
By Josie Sephton, Dale Vile & Tony Lock KEY FINDINGS The desktop environment is ready[...]
In a world where it is possible to create credential-stealing malware and where users are[...]
Some back to front thinking in evidence? One of the most frequent concerns about cloud[...]
The word ‘productivity’ is widely used in the industry, but what does it actually mean?[...]
After almost a decade of service, the end-of-days is drawing near for the long-lived and[...]
According to the grassroots campaigning group the Taxpayers’ Alliance, overruns in UK government IT projects[...]
What could be new about backup and recovery? After all, everyone has been doing it[...]
There is a vast difference between running a project and running one successfully, as a[...]
By Andrew Buss KEY FINDINGS The passive evolution of systems and tools has led to[...]
Back to basics on what cloud computing is really about – what’s real, what’s not,[...]
Often, PCs are like old soldiers: they never seem to die. In many cases the[...]
IT managers use two terms when talking about systems availability. These are: High Availability or[...]
We know many of you remain sceptical of the whole ‘Cloud’ thing and are unsure[...]
By Andrew Buss KEY FINDINGS Data centres are considered to be in good shape and[...]
Are you getting the most out of yours? Someone recently asked me why mainframes are[...]
The economic downturn caused many companies to delay their desktop and notebook refresh plans, but[...]
Exploding this and other myths You’ve heard the rhetoric: Cloud computing changes everything. The days[...]
‘Choice’ is one of those words that gets bandied around in all kinds of ways,[...]
“Our people are our greatest asset” is one of the most frequently employed oxymoronic phrases[...]
Most major players in the IT industry have attempted to take ownership of the cloud[...]
Business and IT are now changing with a rapidity never before seen while at the[...]
The good old PC, along with the phone, is today the main, if not only,[...]
Power users are often at the cutting edge of an organisation’s revenue generation, product development,[...]
Windows 7 Migration – is it time to move to 64-bit? Windows XP has been[...]
By Dale Vile and Tony Lock Introduction The term ‘cloud computing’ is one of the[...]
A more tangible take on social CRM While I go about my business as an[...]
Desktop support is something every organisation does using a variety of tools, people and processes,[...]
Unified Communications (UC) is a term that has long been bandied about, but has yet[...]
By Tony Lock The rapid growth in the amount of stored data means that the[...]
Developments in both the worlds of PC technology and the global economic climate have conspired[...]
Looking at the sleek laptops, all-in-one and small form factor PCs of today, they have[...]
We are generally pretty familiar by now with the concept of virtualisation on the desktop,[...]
By Andrew Buss Data protection continues to be a top of mind subject for many[...]
The refresh cycle for desktop and laptop computers varies from organisation to organisation. While some[...]
The notebook market started to gather steam in the early 2000s with the launch of[...]
Data protection remains top-of-mind for many companies. Data losses continue across both public and private[...]
In earlier articles in this workshop we reported on research carried out by Freeform Dynamics[...]
Whether businesses like it or not, the likelihood is that Unified Communications (UC) in some[...]
Given that IT security is all about understanding, and mitigating risks, it is inevitably going[...]
In an earlier article in this workshop we considered the challenges associated with procuring system[...]
According to Freeform Dynamics research, many IT departments are seeking to become better aligned with[...]
What’s your perfect device? Are you a BlackBerry, iPhone or Android smartphone fan? Are you[...]
It goes without saying that IT systems should, in principle, be secured so that only[...]
By Jon Collins In a nutshell: Many organisations have adopted server virtualisation to support their[...]
By Josie Sephton The issue of personal use of company mobiles, and its cost to[...]
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Ever since the industrial revolution there have been periods when businesses have prospered simply on[...]
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Once upon a time, in the cloud kingdom of Cloudalon, there lived a cloud king.[...]
Many people tend to associate High Performance Computing (HPC) with exotic supercomputers with esoteric CPUs,[...]
IT increasingly plays a pivotal role in business processes. The importance of systems to the[...]
Managing risk in business has always been more of an art form than a science.[...]
We know that the majority of organisations that we survey have adopted server virtualisation to[...]
In the present climate, the pressure is on IT to demonstrate it is delivering value[...]
By Josie Sephton Once upon a time, not so long ago, provisioning and managing mobile[...]
By Jon Collins and Tony Lock Executive summary Few organisations today would deny their absolute[...]
By Dale Vile One of the most common complaints heard from business people about the[...]
By Dale Vile Have you ever wondered what we will be left with once the[...]
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Migrating desktops is never easy. The promise of better management and security that is offered[...]
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Advances in x86 server technology have been relentless. Year-on-year improvements in price-performance and advances in[...]
As anyone who has started down the path will confirm, desktop virtualisation is not a[...]
A storage reseller can be a vital partner for organisations embarking on a storage infrastructure[...]
With all the talk of cloud, some are predicting the death of the enterprise data[...]
While Unified Communications (UC) is not quite mass market, the number of organisations giving it[...]
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Usually when we think of IT performance, we focus on the physical. We ask questions[...]
Communications mechanisms in the workplace – from mobile devices to instant messaging and web conferencing[...]
How does the world look to you? We want to draw a picture of the[...]
Over the course of the last decade there has been considerable discussion about the future[...]
By Dale Vile and Jon Collins INTRODUCTION The emergence of new regulation always presents a[...]
Nothing stands still forever, particularly not in IT, and with good reason. When we researched[...]
IT may be complex, but from the perspective of the business, it is just a[...]
The trouble with some terms we use in IT is that they take on a[...]
Salesforce.com to me is a bit like the boy who cried ‘Wolf!”. Every press release[...]
We’re used to getting a hundred or so responses from the mini-polls we run, but[...]
The analyst team here at Freeform Dynamics frequently gets asked for comment by journalists. This[...]
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In a previous article we looked at Identity Management and access provisioning as an end[...]
Mobile broadband has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame since it became widely available, with[...]
Identity management in the corporate environment is complex – not to mention, at the coalface,[...]
For years, when we asked Reg readers what worried them about mobile, “security” was top[...]
By Jon Collins and Dale Vile A number of trends are having an impact on[...]
Ethernet networks have evolved dramatically in capabilities and scale over the past decade. Networks have[...]
We’ve been tolerant of mobile operator service problems because our expectations are low; no one[...]
Apple, as a computer company, has been focused on the consumer market. It has paid[...]
The amount of data stored by organisations continues to grow at a very fast rate.[...]
Responsible employer or miserly git? Communications technology makes it easy to mix up personal and[...]
When did the two-year project lifecycle die? In my head, I put it at just[...]
This report is in annotated PowerPoint format (PDF’d). It summarises the results of an online[...]
We tried to get through this workshop without using the five letter C-word, but we[...]
Managing mobile costs is one of those meaty issues that most people can share more[...]
By Jon Collins In a nutshell: While much attention around information risk is on medium[...]
By Martin Atherton In a nutshell: When it comes to data protection and information security[...]
By Josie Sephton In a nutshell: The issue of security when thinking about flexible working[...]
By Jon Collins Information continues to grow, and yet the challenges we face in managing[...]
By Dale Vile and Jon Collins ‘Interoperability’ is a widely used word in IT industry[...]
It seems that mobile operators are doing something right. According to the results from our[...]
Another day, another keynote. This time it’s Microsoft TechEd in New Orleans, and Bob Muglia[...]
An elderly lady attended a public lecture given by an astrophysicist on how the Earth[...]
The problem with building foolproof systems, so the saying goes, is that the world seems[...]
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Most businesses tend to find themselves arriving at a point where they have accumulated a[...]
When we asked Reg readers to tell us about their experiences with mobile roaming, quite[...]
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could wipe the slate clean and install a brand[...]
The rise of ‘consumer’ expectations in the workforce is driving some organisations to think up[...]
Whether businesses like it or not, the likelihood is that unified communications (UC) in some[...]
Many years ago an IT manager, responding to one of our research studies, said one[...]
One of the first articles I ever had to write as an analyst was about[...]
The amount of data stored by organisations continues to grow very fast. It has become[...]
Vendors are pushing cloud for all they are worth. And customers talk about it too,[...]
Historically, the perception of mobile operators in the eye of large multinationals has been variable,[...]
You may be heartily sick of hearing that ‘change is the only constant’, ‘everything’s getting[...]
Nice sound bite, but does the spirit make sense? On a few occasions recently I[...]
The readers of The Register, have told us that supporting users is fraught with problems.[...]
By Jon Collins IT infrastructure is often presented in a way that is more relevant[...]
The question “What about the ’I’ in ’IT’?” serves as an equally good reminder of[...]
IT has been central to business operations for a very long time. Is the economics[...]
The issue of mobile pricing can be something of a sore point in the business[...]
The Register’s Tim Phillips, our own Andrew Buss and Intel’s Iain Beckingham give power efficiency[...]
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PCs and diversity go hand in hand, whether it’s how we choose for them to[...]
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Everyone knows that mobility is pretty important to most businesses today, with needs having moved[...]
For as long as I have been in IT, the ‘right’ way to drive things[...]
It is probably fair to say that the likelihood of videoconferencing becoming mainstream in the[...]
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Data governance can be dismissed as ‘applied common sense’, or balked at as an impossible[...]
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Software vendors make their money from licensing software for individual and corporate use. From the[...]
By Tony Lock In this article we revisit some research conducted in 2008, covering perceptions[...]
