In Depth

In Depth

• Microsoft security features for Windows Server 2008

  Learn more about the Microsoft security features of Windows Server 2008 (Longhorn) like BitLocker support and Network Access Protection (NAP) and how the delayed release of the new server system will affect security.  Continue Reading

• Analyst paper: the role of information in an SOA

  SOA efforts to date have emphasised information processes and have paid little attention to information management. This Cutter Consortium report attempts to rectify this imbalance, examining and elaborating on the role of information architecture ...  Continue Reading

• How to cheat at VoIP Security

  Securing a VoIP infrastructure requires planning, analysis, and detailed knowledge about the specifics of the implementation you choose to use.  Continue Reading

• Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology: the expert view

  Latest news stories, features, podcasts, blogs and links on radio-frequency identification (FRID)  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery and business continuity fundamentals

  The importance of disaster recovery and business continuity planning has been underscored in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Avian flu and 9/11. As important as maintaining continuous communications in a disaster is staying connected when random,...  Continue Reading

• Disk-based backup overview

  Implementing a backup scheme that is fast, safe and cost-effective remains a serious challenge for storage administrators. Here's how to do it  Continue Reading

• Does compliance make encryption always necessary?

  Many organisations look to encryption to protect sensitive data. Yet hundreds of millions of people who use the Internet also use encryption, yet most of them don't even know it.  Continue Reading

• Encryption planning can reap benefits

  New regulations require effective encryption . Encryption can be beneficial if you implement it in the right places.  Continue Reading

• Strategy Clinic: your IT management questions answered

  Experts from Cranfield School of Management, Dominic Barrow, Ernst & Young, Henley Management College, NCC Group and The Corporate IT Forum offer solutions to IT directors' dilemmas  Continue Reading

• Securing a virtualised environment

  Virtualised client server technology is riding high at the moment, with its potential to increase efficiency and reduce costs making it seem an attractive option for many CIOs. But is security in danger of getting left behind in the race to save ...  Continue Reading

• DPM's diary: 7 August 2007

  Catch up with events from Bogcaster Council  Continue Reading

• Downtime: terminators, rain and moody computers

  The wacky side of IT  Continue Reading

• Strategy clinic: getting a supplier to agree to a global corporate deal

  Experts offer advice on IT directors' management dilemmas  Continue Reading

• Analyst paper: provisioning the mobile workforce

  In this report, Cutter Consortium analyst Brian Dooley explains the security and access control required to give mobile users the ability to run enterprise applications via their mobile devices  Continue Reading

• Will Windows Server 2008's delay affect your security?

  Is your Microsoft Windows Vista system at a disadvantage now that Windows Server 2008 won't be available until February 2008? Find out why one industry guru says no.  Continue Reading

• Nas FAQ guide: the lesser known issues

  Advice to the San-centric users who don't have any Nas (network attached storage) to speak about...  Continue Reading

• Justifying VoIP deployment without cost-analysis

  VoIP and UC deployment ROI can be measured using non-financial metrics. Learn more about VoIP ROI in this article from Yankee Group's Zeus Kerravala.  Continue Reading

• DPM's diary: 31July 2007

  Weekly round-up of events at Bogcaster Council  Continue Reading

• BP points way to integrated security

  BP's plans to align physical and IT security to combat emerging threats offer lessons for other firms looking to implement integrated security strategies  Continue Reading

• Nas FAQ guide: Nas virtualisation solutions

  The next steps in storage  Continue Reading

• Data Storage Management Survival School: Lesson 3

  Learn the best practices, processes and tools necessary to plan for capacity planning, creating and meeting SLAs and mapping future growth  Continue Reading

• Nas FAQ guide: server virtualisation and NAS integration

  We're at a point where server virtualisation is really becoming pervasive  Continue Reading

• Business continuity: the expert view

  Business continuity is about expecting the unexpected and preparing for a system failure.  Continue Reading

• Nas FAQ guide: Why not do everything with NAS vs. SAN?

  Go ahead! As long as the applications support NAS...  Continue Reading

• Nas FAQ guide: what are the trends that impact Nas?

  It's the 'iceberg analogy.' Transactional data may be above water and get your attention, but the tremendous amount of unstructured...  Continue Reading

• BlackBerrys' underground reception solution

  BlackBerrys and cell phones wouldn't work in a law office until it deployed a multi-carrier system.  Continue Reading

• Data Storage Management Survival School: Lesson 2

  Greg Schulz, Senior Analyst of the Evaluator Group, looks at the real nuts and bolts of storage management.  Continue Reading

• Data Storage Management Survival School: Lesson 1

  Determining ROI for storage management can be a challenge given the varying types of metrics used. Yankee Group senior analyst Jamie Gruener looks at how to begin your own ROI analysis of storage management tools  Continue Reading

• Data Storage Management Survival School

  All of the aspects of managing storage and how to optimise your environments to minimise the data management crunch  Continue Reading

• Nas FAQ guide: integration with different storage protocols

  Some vendors do it already but it could be tomorrow's thing  Continue Reading

• Cracking Windows passwords

  What good is a tool if you don't know how to use it? In this screencast, follow a step-by-step demonstration by security expert Kevin Beaver as he shows you how to use three different tools to crack passwords to test their strength.  Continue Reading

• Identity management: the expert view

  Identity management has become a key issue in information security. Governments and businesses are using identity management systems to provide and control access to places and services such as bank accounts, buildings and computer applications.  Continue Reading

• Wimax: the expert view

  Wimax is a communications standard designed to provide data wirelessly in much the same way that Wi-Fi does, but over longer distances.  Continue Reading

• Downtime: Orange, rail enquiries, viruses, Web 2.0 and drafts

  Orange finds new ways to sell GPS, Downtime reveals the most talked-to man in the country, the virus turns 25, Web 2.0 used to find a cure for hiccups, drafts solved at last.  Continue Reading

• Project portfolio management saves CIO big bucks

  A municipal CIO has reduced his $10 million budget by 6.8% just by using a project and portfolio management (PPM) application to align his department with strategic goals and objectives.  Continue Reading

• Securing Microsoft Internet Explorer 7

  Microsoft's latest version of their Web browser, Internet Explorer 7, was touted as their most secure browser to date. In this section of our Internet Explorer security learning guide, find out what is so secure about IE 7 and what you can do to ...  Continue Reading

• WAN clustering for disaster recovery

  This tip provides information about WAN clustering for disaster recovery, its pros and cons, and what you need to watch out for.  Continue Reading

• Security for removable storage devices

  Check out Brien Posey's three-part series to learn how you prevent common items like USB drives from corrupting your Windows network.  Continue Reading

• VPN security: testing, troubleshooting and deploying

  In this section of our network access learning guide, learn how to test VPN security, troubleshoot VPN flaws and vulnerabilities as well as learn about VPN alternatives.  Continue Reading

• VoIP service

  Internode and Broadsoft have made available the NodePhone2, a second generation VoIP service.  Continue Reading

• Storage backgrounders: iSCSI and Fibre Channel

  There are no absolute rules on what you can and can't do when it comes to Fibre Channel and iSCSI. This article covers some of the important pros and cons to each approach.  Continue Reading

• Internet Explorer security settings and controls

  Managing Internet Explorer security is a complicated job. You need to be aware of all of the latest IE flaws and threats as well as how to prevent hackers from using these flaws to hack your Windows network. Read about how you can keep IE secure in ...  Continue Reading

• ISO 27001 could bridge the regulatory divide, expert says

  Karen Worstell, former CISO at Microsoft and AT&T Wireless, now on the advisory board of Neupart A/S, explains how ISO 27001 can be used to help companies comply with a variety of regulations and standards  Continue Reading

• IP security analyser

  Mu Security's Mu-4000 Security Analyzer device verifies the robustness and security readiness of IP-based products including network equipment, VoIP systems and security gear.  Continue Reading

• Video: CIO interview series - Innovative approaches to gaining business value from IT

  CIOs talking about their strategies to derive better value from IT  Continue Reading

• DPM's diary: 17 July 2007

  Weekly round-up of events at Bogcaster Council  Continue Reading

• Videoconferencing tool gives Uno an edge

  Videoconferencing has given Pizzeria Uno the ability to bring together more than 200 people and has enabled more efficient and cost-effective communication.  Continue Reading

• Email archiving tool purchase considerations

  The purchase considerations for email archiving tools.  Continue Reading

• Sarbanes-Oxley compliance for SMBs: How much do you know?

  Dec. 15 is quickly approaching. For public SMBs, this means the extended Sarbanes-Oxley Act deadline is almost here. Is your company prepared? Are you? Take our quiz on the latest SMB-related Sarbanes-Oxley news to find out.  Continue Reading

• NAS upgrades buying guide: general purchase considerations

  The purchase considerations that are common to many types of NAS products.  Continue Reading

• Expand your focus when recruiting

  Organisations are limiting the pool of potential talent available to draw on when recruiting staff by insisting on essential requirements that are too constrictive  Continue Reading

• Hacking poses threats to business

  The internet provides an open market for trade in malicious software. Dan Ilett finds out who the hackers are, what they do and what businesses can do to keep them at bay  Continue Reading

• Downtime: safe-crackers, teenagers and the Compubeaver

  The wacky world of IT  Continue Reading

• Microsoft Windows Vista: an expert view

  Latest news stories, features, podcasts, blogs and links on Microsoft Windows Vista  Continue Reading

• Microsoft Windows: an expert view

  Latest news stories, features, podcasts, blogs and links on Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player  Continue Reading

• Microsoft IT training: an expert view

  Latest news stories, features, podcasts, blogs and links on Microsoft IT training  Continue Reading

• Microsoft: after Bill Gates

  Microsoft is in a busy period of software updates following the release of Vista, the latest version of the Windows desktop operating system, Office 2007 and the Longhorn server technology  Continue Reading

• Ensuring compliance across the extended enterprise

  A five-question multiple-choice quiz to test your understanding of the content presented by expert Richard Mackey in this lesson of SearchSecurity.com's Compliance School.  Continue Reading

• Microsoft Business Solutions: an expert view

  Microsoft Business Solutions feature Microsoft Dynamics family for CRM and ERP  Continue Reading

• Next Move: career advice for IT professionals

  Our expert panel of IT recuitment specialists answer readers' questions on how to climb the career ladder  Continue Reading

• Inside MSRC: Microsoft Server flaw should be given high priority

  An Active Directory flaw in Windows 2000 server and Windows Server 2003 should be given high priority, according to Christopher Budd of the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC).  Continue Reading

• Microsoft - Company focus

  Latest news stories, features, podcasts, blogs and links on Microsoft  Continue Reading

• DPM's diary: 10 July 2007

  Weekly round up of events at Bogcaster Council  Continue Reading

• Downtime: political scandals, apes, and four-letter words

  The wacky world of IT  Continue Reading

• Faster, more reliable backups for increased productivity

  With a centralised storage system, Miller Group transformed its backups and ultimately its productivity  Continue Reading

• Single sign-on reduces security risk and boosts productivity

  At Welwyn Hatfield Council, the complexity of access management and the frequent need to reset forgotten passwords were draining user satisfaction and increasing help-desk traffic. Fortunately, there was a solution  Continue Reading

• Insider threats thwarted in simple steps

  Don't wait for new SMB-specific offerings before you prevent insider threats. Leverage your existing systems with simple planning and integration.  Continue Reading

• Tiered storage tool purchases demand careful consideration

  The practice of tiered storage has emerged as a way to mitigate expense by keeping mission-critical data on the fastest disc platforms,  Continue Reading

• Free .docx converter available

  Users can overcome incompatibility between Office 2007 and older versions with a free download of .docx converter.  Continue Reading

• Data migration product specifications

  Part of the Tiered Storage Buying guide focusing on product specifications for data migration tools.  Continue Reading

• Rootkit and malware detection and removal guide

  This malware learning guide will provide several tips and tools on rootkit prevention, spyware and adware removal, antivirus tools, malware removal best practices and more.  Continue Reading

• Storage area network overview

  All what you need to know about Sans and how to use them for optimum performance  Continue Reading

• Data storage components overview

  Data storage components are at the core of any enterprise storage system. This guide to data storage components can help bring things into focus.  Continue Reading

• Data backup overview

  Learn the decisive steps IT professionals must take for effective data backup.  Continue Reading

• IT Efficiency and Resilience in a Dynamic Environment

  How to use closed control loops to monitor and maintain hardware and software resource performance at acceptable levels.  Continue Reading

• Supporting Enterprise Resilience in the Midst of Change

  How to achieve business resilience in a fast-changing and complicated environment  Continue Reading

• Enabling Successful IT Governance and Risk Management

  Businesses funnel serious money into their enterprise infrastructures. Find out how to get the best from this investment  Continue Reading

• Data storage advances to enable more robots in the home, says MIT expert

  Data storage capacity and the development of greater autonomy will be key to the increasing use of  Continue Reading

• Why do government projects fail so often?

  Government officials must be more accountable  Continue Reading

• How does HSM and ILM differ from file virtualisation?

  It really depends on your definition of file virtualisation. If the definition is broad enough, it might include HSM capabilities.  Continue Reading

• State agency tiers records storage with Compellent

  The South Carolina attorney general's office estimates it will save thousands by storing millions of paper records in digital format using Compellent's automated tiered storage.  Continue Reading

• VoIP centralises global company

  For one company, building a VoIP deployment from scratch meant years of planning, design and implementation before it achieved its goal of a centralised, global network.  Continue Reading

• How to negotiate the best deal

  The role of the CIO increasingly includes procurement of IT goods and services, which can often result in multi-million-pound deals. Ron Condon takes a closer look at the process and how to get the best possible deal  Continue Reading

• Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions Security Learning Guide

  A panel of experts breaks down M&A security priorities and explains the best ways to manage disparate security staffs, technologies and policies.  Continue Reading

• Internet telephony gateway

  The Linksys Internet Telephony Gateway with four FXO ports (SPA400) is designed for implementation with the LVS IP telephony system. The SPA400 provides a reliable VoIP and PSTN voice communication service for small business users who are looking ...  Continue Reading

• VoIP bandwidth fundamentals

  What bandwidth means for VoIP, how to calculate bandwidth consumption for a VoIP network and how bandwidth can be saved by using voice compression.  Continue Reading

• Hacking for Dummies: Test your firewall rules

  Before someone else hacks your firewall, test your firewall rules during the self-hacking process to test your network's security.  Continue Reading

• Security acquisition wish list

  Instead of guessing which companies will cash out next, Dennis Fisher makes a list of security mergers he'd like to see either for sheer entertainment value or actual customer value ...  Continue Reading

• Unified communications: Devising a winning strategy

  Unified communications, to be successful, requires enterprises to have a clear roadmap and to determine which vendor best suits their IP strategy.  Continue Reading

• DPM's diary: 26 June 2007

  Weekly round up of events at Bogcaster Council  Continue Reading

• Next move: how to become a technical architect

  Our panel of IT career experts answers your job questions.  Continue Reading

• IBM chief engineer talks green storage

  IBM engineer Clod Barrera discusses the growing energy crisis in storage, the need for better power efficiency metrics and the future for "green" products.  Continue Reading

• Storage Decisions Session Downloads

  Storage Decisions stepped foot for the first time in Toronto in June of 2007. Here are slide presentations that made their debut at the conference  Continue Reading

• Who should be considering file archiving and compliance

  Who should be looking at and considering file archiving plus is file archiving just for companies and applications that have to meet regulatory compliance requirements?  Continue Reading

• File archiving: copies of archived data and CAS

  How many copies of archived data should be made and does file archiving require content- or CAS-based storage?  Continue Reading

• Measure IT alongside business aims

  Some form of measurement is essential in any business initiative. IT has an essential functional role in the process, but it must also be measured itself  Continue Reading

• How to profit from technology

  To make IT a source of business value you have to get to grips with financial metrics and risk. Ian Grant looks at the different methods  Continue Reading

• Storage Decisions Downloads: Storage Architectures

  Tiered storage plus other material that can help any manager set up or administer this new architecture.  Continue Reading

• Storage Decisions Downloads: Executives' storage guide

  Ideas of where firms' storage should be and where it's headed. Also key ways to integrate new technologies, processes and ideas without going over budget.  Continue Reading

• Storage guide, 3: storage virtualisation and disc reliability

  How do you reconcile storage virtualisation and storage utilisation and does vibration really influence disc reliability?  Continue Reading