http://www.ittoday.info Large collection of highly informative articles on many hot topics from industry thought leaders. en-us Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:30:00 EST Information technology systems in enterprises are in the midst of an evolution that impacts both business and technology. Business process management (BPM) is increasingly getting adopted in enterprises the world over; software architects and programmers are starting to leverage BPM-based software systems, and process-centric architectures (PCA) are becoming more popular in the field. PCA is an emerging trend in architecting enterprise systems. Read this excerpt from Process-Centric Architecture for Enterprise Software Systems to learn more. http://www.ittoday.info/Articles/Process-centric_Architecture.htm rich.ohanley@taylorandfrancis.com Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:30:00 EST Encapsulating security requirements for Web development with the Java programming platform, this book covers secure programming, risk assessment, and threat modeling and explains how to integrate these practices into a secure software development life cycle. From the risk assessment phase to the proof of concept phase, it details a secure Web application development process. The authors provide in-depth implementation guidance and best practices for access control, cryptography, logging, secure coding, and authentication and authorization in web application development. Discussing the latest application exploits and vulnerabilities, they examine various options and protection mechanisms for securing Web applications against multifarious threats. http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781439823514 rich.ohanley@taylorandfrancis.com Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:30:00 EST While your organization's marketing and sales teams attempt to leverage security as a market differentiator, information security leadership faces the daunting challenge of "doing more with less." This chapter sets out the benefits and provides a business case for an information security management system (ISMS) that conforms to the ISO 27001 standard. http://www.ittoday.info/Articles/ISO_27001_Certification.htm rich.ohanley@taylorandfrancis.com Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:30:00 EST In this article, the authors provide some practical guidelines for virtual team leaders to help discern when team members need direction, support, or a combination--and how best to provide what team members need. http://www.infosectoday.com/Articles/Adaptive_Threats_and_Defenses.htm rich.ohanley@taylorandfrancis.com Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:30:00 EST Filled with first-hand practitioner insights in implementing ITIL in a number of large organizations across industries, Ahmad K. Shuja discusses the key challenges organizations experience as they try to leverage ITIL V3 to achieve desired transformations and approaches that they adopted to address those challenges. The text explains the key components needed to successfully implement, operate, and optimize ITIL service management. The book includes implementation patterns, detailed plans for each of the patterns, and templates and checklists to facilitate the implementation of your transformational efforts. http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781420089394 rich.ohanley@taylorandfrancis.com Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:30:00 EST The survival of living organisms is often dependent on their ability to compensate for changes in their environment. The ability of an organism to compensate for changes encountered is referred to as adaptation. Predominately, the methods of adaptation involve changes in the organism's behavior, physical characteristics, or both. Some creatures are able to learn new skills or tricks that allow them to cope when changes occur. In other cases an organism might undergo a genetic mutation that provides it with a slight advantage over its rivals allowing it to survive better given the changed conditions. Adaptation can also occur with the combination of altered behaviors and new mutations. The ability to adapt is also exhibited in the cyber realm by threats and defenses. This article is primarily focused on the adaptability of attacker malware and defender security tools. http://www.infosectoday.com/Articles/Adaptive_Threats_and_Defenses.htm rich.ohanley@taylorandfrancis.com Mon, 16 Aug 2010 08:50:00 EST Filled with samples, templates, and guidelines that readers can immediately use in their projects, this practical guide covers the five principles of effective project leadership and how they can be applied in daily project work. Based on experience in project management and the literature on leadership, project management, business, systems, and complexity theory, the five principles include building vision, nurturing collaboration, promoting performance, cultivating learning, and ensuring results. Author Thomas Juli explains these principles in simple, nontechnical language and shows how they can set up, manage, and align projects for success. http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781439834619 rich.ohanley@taylorandfrancis.com Mon, 16 Aug 2010 08:50:00 EST One way to better manage the complex nature of the heathcare industry is through the incorporation of information technologies. Web platforms, data storage, analytic software, telecom and wireless communications systems, etc., can help provide critical information and speed information dissemination to those who require it, when they require it. This article provides an introduction to information technology and informatics for healthcare. http://www.ittoday.info/Articles/Healthcare_Informatics.htm rich.ohanley@taylorandfrancis.com Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:50:00 EST Geared towards IT professionals developing Oracle-based Web-enabled applications in PLlSQL, Java, C, C++, .NET, Perl, and PHP, this book focuses on best practices in Oracle embedded programming and emphasizes their use in application development, design, and coding. It explains application development frameworks for embedding code segments across .NET, Java, and open source environments using SQL, PLlSQL, and Oracle RDBMS through version 11g. Concentrating on techniques and practices that facilitate efficient integration and interaction with the Oracle database, this book shows how to improve code compilation and execution. http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781439816448 rich.ohanley@taylorandfrancis.com Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:50:00 EST Presenting a modified version of the agile software development framework, the book introduces Scrum basics and explains how to apply this adaptive technique to effectively manage a wide range of programs and complex projects. It provides proven planning methods for controlling project scope and ensuring your project stays on schedule. It also includes Scrum tracking methods to help your team maintain a focus on improving throughput and streamlining communications. Having successfully deployed and implemented Scrum across multiple companies and departments, the authors provide valuable insight into how they achieved their past successes and how they overcame the trials involved with the deployment of a Scrum environment. http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781439825150 rich.ohanley@taylorandfrancis.com Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:50:00 EST For project managers, the balanced scorecard is an invaluable tool that permits the project manager to link a project to the business side of the organization using a "cause and effect" approach. Some have likened balanced scorecard to a new language, which enables the project manager and business line managers to think together about what can be done to support or improve business performance. This chapter examines the fundamentals of balanced scorecard as it relates to the precepts of project management. It examines the balanced scorecard in relationship to the organization and the people, processes, technologies, and products that are components of discrete projects, programs, and collaborative efforts. http://www.ittoday.info/Articles/Balanced_Scorecard_and_Project_Manager.htm rich.ohanley@taylorandfrancis.com Mon, 02 Aug 2010 11:50:00 EST Cloud computing has significant implications for the privacy of personal information as well as for the confidentiality of business and governmental information. Any information stored locally on a computer can be stored in a cloud, including email, word processing documents, spreadsheets, videos, health records, photographs, tax or other financial information, business plans, PowerPoint presentations, accounting information, advertising campaigns, sales numbers, appointment calendars, address books, and more. There has been a good deal of public discussion of the technical architecture of cloud computing and the business models that could support it; however, the debate about the legal and policy issues regarding privacy and confidentiality raised by cloud computing has not kept pace. http://www.ittoday.info/Articles/Privacy_and_Cloud.htm rich.ohanley@taylorandfrancis.com Mon, 19 Jul 2010 08:30:45 EST ITIL is a set of best practices built around a process model-based view of controlling and managing IT operations. ITIL is considered one set of best practices in the more general field of ITSM. It is important to remember that ITIL is truly a library of books. The "architecture" of ITIL can be thought of as the structure imposed by the titles of the books that describe the best practices. Alternatively, the architecture can be thought of as the set of practices that make up the life cycle that ITIL describes. http://www.itperformanceimprovement.com/Articles/NS-Virtual_Relationships_Require_Real_Conversations.htm rich.ohanley@taylorandfrancis.com Mon, 12 Jul 2010 08:30:45 EST A guide to managing a cloud project, this book illustrates how to take advantage of cloud computing and align it with business and IT strategies. It assesses cloud computing technologies and demonstrates how to determine requirements and implement cloud to meet the goals and objectives of IT and business. The book examines such crucial issues as privacy, security, and ownership of information assets. It also provides valuable tips on how to manage the relationship with cloud vendors and shows how to successfully transition from legacy systems to the cloud. http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781439834534 rich.ohanley@taylorandfrancis.com Mon, 12 Jul 2010 08:30:45 EST Can you build a trusting relationship when you've never had an actual conversation? (And no, IM, email, text, Twitter and blog "conversations" don't count!) While it may be possible, it's pretty unlikely. Most business conversations tend to focus on tasks and priorities, whether to review the progress of a current project, delegate actions or make decisions. To build relationships, a certain kind of conversation needs to take place that goes beyond the usual checklist review or status report. While this type of conversation requires more effort, it's almost impossible to collaborate successfully without it. This article offers guidelines to create opportunities for conversations expressly designed to build relationships. http://www.itperformanceimprovement.com/Articles/NS-Virtual_Relationships_Require_Real_Conversations.htm rich.ohanley@taylorandfrancis.com Tue, 06 Jul 2010 09:12:45 EST