These days firms’ IT departments not only have to support the business, they also have to make a recognised contribution to it by enabling improved agility and speed giving the business the ability to move in and out of new markets quickly.
SOA is an effective way in which a company can integrate not only its diverse applications suite but also the business tasks and processes it carries out. The result is a more streamlined, flexible, adaptable, and hence competitive and effective organisation.
UK retail executives face a unique set of challenges and are searching for the insights into their business, marketplace and customers to provide them with a competitive edge.
Retailers must deliver valued innovations to market before the competition does in order to increase sales and market share, whilst at the same time improving productivity and reducing costs.
The need for all firms to have an effective, robust and flexible IT security strategy is as important as it ever was.
Yet there exists a train of thought that security is a business hygiene factor; that firms simply have to invest in security. However, strategic investment in security technology can actually act as an agent of change for the business.
The proliferation of removable media and portable devices-including PDAs, MP3 players and USB memory sticks-in the enterprise creates a dilemma for IT security administrators. Even though many devices are valuable business tools, they also present new security challenges-including data leakage and introduction of malware-that could jeopardise the confidentiality, integrity and availability of sensitive corporate information.
The vast majority of industry experts predict that the adoption of Service Oriented Architectures (SOA) will grow rapidly over the coming year. It’s not surprising why. In essence SOA is an effective way in which a company can integrate not only its diverse applications suite but also the business tasks and processes it carries out. The result is a more streamlined, flexible, adaptable, and hence competitive and effective organisation.
There are two main pressures facing all businesses: coping with downward financial pressure and aligning IT with business objectives. In fact the former makes the latter much more of an essential item.
Research from Computer Weekly in 2005 displayed some alarming trends regarding the security worthiness of small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the UK: only 18% reported never to have been hacked or attacked.
