Archives for December, 2011
by Mark P. McDonald | December 29, 2011 | 3 Comments
A new year brings anticipation and the promise of innovation and 2012 is no exception. Rapidly evolving technologies like mobile, analytics, social and the like are opening the doors for new answers to new and old questions about growth, efficiency, value and innovation. This is setting the stage for significant innovation in the coming year. [...]
Category: 2012 Management Personal Observation Tags: 2012 planning, Business Leadership, Business Management, Personal Observation, Strategy and Planning
by Mark P. McDonald | December 27, 2011 | Submit a Comment
I am sitting here between the holidays trying to put 2011 in perspective and think of the coming year. Frankly I am having a tough time thinking what 2011 was really all about and what that means for the future. I am having trouble drawing these into a single theme so rather than get writers [...]
Category: 2011 Personal Observation Tags: 2011 Planning, personal musing, Personal Observation
by Mark P. McDonald | December 21, 2011 | 2 Comments
Benchmarking is a hot topic among CIOs and IT leaders as they look to evaluate and justify their operations by answering the question — ‘how do we compare with others?” Increasing change creates demand for increasing benchmarking as companies value peer comparisons over their own experience and history. This bias makes it surprisingly easy for [...]
Category: 2012 CIO Management Tags: 2012 planning, CFO, Metrics, Tools, Value of IT
by Mark P. McDonald | December 19, 2011 | Submit a Comment
It’s that time of year; when it is better to give than receive. But what do you get a CIO this year? What is on your CIO’s wish list? With six shopping days left until Christmas here are six things I can think of talking with CIOs over the past few months. These are things [...]
Category: Fun Personal Observation Strategy Tags: 2012 planning, IT management, IT strategy, personal musing, Tools
by Mark P. McDonald | December 14, 2011 | 7 Comments
I doubt that anyone has lugged their personal desktop computer into the office and demanded that it be connected to the network. Equally I doubt anyone has brought in a pile of CD’s asking to load their own enterprise software on the network to run their part of the business in their own way, giving [...]
Category: Applications Technology Tags: CIO strategy, Consumerization of IT, mobility, Technology
by Mark P. McDonald | December 12, 2011 | 3 Comments
It’s the end of Gartner’s Symposium season and after a few weeks on the road I have been reminded of the signs that indicate that you have been travelling too much. 10 You do not have to purchase tooth paste, shampoo or soap as you can live off what is provided in the airline amenity kits [...]
Category: Personal Observation Tags: Humor, Personal Observation
by Mark P. McDonald | December 5, 2011 | Submit a Comment
I was at a large conference recently and I noticed a very helpful ad hoc tool a team had developed. The tool was a list of people and rooms taped to a wall so people could see where their peers were without having to stand in line and ask a coordinator to direct them. Now [...]
Category: CFO CIO Leadership Signs of weak management Tags: Business Leadership, Business Management, CEO, Signs of weak management
by Mark P. McDonald | December 2, 2011 | 1 Comment
Strong interest in mobile technologies and the plethora of ‘apps’ available on smart phones is driving intense interest and demand for mobile applications. Some of this demand is being driven by ‘fashion’ as having an iPad/Pod or Android application is the in thing to have. Separating the ‘glam’ from the genuine need for mobile applications [...]
Category: Strategy Technology Tags: 2012 planning, Innovation, iPad, mobility, Technology, Technology Leadership
