Archive for the ‘information technology’ Category

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ITIL for Information Technology Service Management Sunday, September 5th, 2010

Technology changes fast in the field of IT and the requirements to be met by the IT function are extremely varied under the huge range of environments where it is used. In such a situation, familiarity with the constantly changing best practices is the best guarantee for successful use of IT.

Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is an approach to the identification, planning, delivery and support of IT services to businesses. Over the 20 years it has been in existence, it has become the most widely adopted framework for IT Service Management (ITSM) in the world.

ITIL was born in UK as a government initiative aimed at providing some consistency in the processes for technology delivery and support in a distributed computing environment. The distributed environment led to inconsistent practices that can not only affect the efficiency of the basic business services but also the predictability of the service levels, a serious problem in governance.

A business service can be defined as providing some value to a customer. The service delivery can benefit by carefully analyzing things like:

* Who is the customer?
* What specific services are needed to meet the customer’s needs?
* What technology resources are available to provide these services?
* How can the service delivery be designed in a cost-effective manner in the light of available technology?
* …

Read fuller details about the ITIL initiative, which is in its third version now, by downloading the ITIL Basics book.

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Posted in best practices, e-governance, information technology, trends | 2 Comments »

Is IT Success Damaging India’s Infrastructure? Saturday, September 4th, 2010

A report dated August 25, 2010 in the New York Times makes the point that India’s success in Information Technology is leading to a poor infrastructure of “potholed roadways, collapsing bridges, rickety railroads and a power grid so unreliable that many modern office buildings run their own diesel generators to make sure the lights and computers stay on.”

According to the report, the reason is not lack of money but lack of civil engineers. In an earlier age, civil engineering was an elite occupation in India. In today’s India, however, even qualified civil engineers might be writing software code for a Japanese automaker.

The huge difference in pay received by engineers who write code for foreign clients and those who work on India’s infrastructural projects has meant that there is a serious shortage of civil engineers working in the infrastructure sector. And the sector is showing the results in the form of roads unfit to drive in. The rainwater-filled potholes on the road can even pose danger to life and limb during the monsoons.

Poor infrastructure is affecting industries that require good road and rail networks. Even more importantly, it leads to lower quality life for the general populace, most of who live in villages away from the healthcare and other conveniences available in urban centers.

Of course there are other reasons also for the poor infrastructure, such as poor planning and corruption. However, shortage of civil engineers is an important contributor to the problem.

Read the report at New York Times.

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Posted in information technology | No Comments »

Improving Drug Development Process through Experience Management Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

The $800 billion drug development industry is not exactly in the best of health, if reports are correct. That is the impression one gains from criticisms such as:

* Costs of new drug development are so high that many companies are cutting back on drug discovery programs
* The costs are high because of the long research and development cycles, and low success rates of clinical trials
* Regulatory reviews are slow and unpredictable

A major factor contributing to this sorry state is wastage of valuable information, according to RedOak Logic LLC of North Carolina. The volume of information that needs to be considered during drug development is so huge that companies in the industry are unable to make any sense out of the mass. The data analysis and decision support tools being used now are just inadequate for the task.

RedOak Logics says that they are developing “an advanced decision modeling support platform and proprietary application interface – an ‘Experience Management’ solution” tailored to the needs of the drug development industry.

The company reports that the solution is based on Saffron Natural Intelligence Platform. Saffron Technology seeks to develop business analytics that resemble the way humans use experience, noticing differences and similarities from past experiences each time they face a situation.

Read the News Release at PR Newswire.

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Posted in business, information technology, management information system | No Comments »

Avoiding Wasted IT Dollars: A Private Initiative Thursday, August 19th, 2010

Information Technology Acquisition Advisory Council is not a well-known organization. It is a private forum of concerned persons who wanted to check the wastage of unproductive IT spending by the U.S. Government. At a recent gathering hosted by the American Center for Progress, a number of prominent former government officials were present.

The participants included former Defense Department Chief Information Officer John Grimes; former Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne; David R. Williamson, associate chief procurement officer at the Housing and Urban Development Department; and State Department procurement executive Corey Rindner. Their goal: To help develop a blueprint for how the White House can improve contracting and systems development to prevent billions of dollars annually from being wasted on failed projects.

The members want to change the federal IT ecosystem so that it focuses on results rather than reporting and compliance. They called for procurement rules to be revamped and for including stipulations to hold managers accountable for results.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is quite receptive to the ideas and is already initiating steps along these lines. A memo issued by the office on June 28 had ordered all federal agencies to halt all financial system projects until they are scaled back or scrapped, for example.

Read the news at NextGov website.

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Posted in information technology | No Comments »

Modernizing Information Technology at Pentagon Sunday, August 15th, 2010

The military information-technology industry did not take kindly to the recent abolition of a number of IT posts and departments, such as the office of the assistant secretary for networks and information integration; the Business Transformation Agency; the Command, Control, Communications and Computer Systems Directorate of the Joint Staff, known as J-6; as well as U.S. Joint Forces Command, which also oversees IT programs.

The industry felt that these agencies were easy targets for elimination because they employed a lot of outside contractors. The industry also felt that the action will deny the U.S. Defense Department the ability to aquire 21st century capabilities.

The Department of Defense does not agree. Instead, they feel that by eliminating the confusing scenario of a hodgepodge of technologies used by the different vendors, the department will actually be eliminating many vulnerabilities and be able to really tap the promise of information technology.

According to one of the agencies being abolished, the reason for the current situation can be attributed to legacy systems, which the department was unwilling to let go. The department still clung to the old “sacred cow” networks such as those of a circuit-based phone-line world.

Read the news at National Defense.

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Posted in information technology | 1 Comment »

Power Grids: Making them smart and smarter Sunday, August 8th, 2010

With increasing demand for power, it becomes necessary to optimize the utilization of electricity grid capacity. This is sought to be done by incorporating information technology solutions to measure and report, and to sense and self-heal into the grid. R&D in this area also seeks to increase the quantity of power transmitted through the lines.

Superconductive transmission lines can reduce power loss, and tackling bottlenecks in transmission where certain lines remain under-utilized owing to full capacity utilization of connecting lines can increase overall capacity. Instabilities in the system is another area that R&D focuses upon as these can reduce the effective capacity compared to the technical one.

Integrating power from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power generators pose its own problems owing to the differing nature of current flow. Technical issues resulting from intermittency, ramp rates, over supply and inertia are the problems in this area, according to an article on integrating renewables at intelligentutility.com.

Smart meters that report power consumption levels to the supplying utility automatically, programmable thermostats that can automatically adjust power utilization and smart home appliances that reduce power consumption can all be part of the overall campaign for creating a smart grid.

The intelligentutility.com website has resources on the practical issues of smart grids.

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Posted in energy distribution, energy efficiency, energy generation, energy storage, information technology | No Comments »

Mobile Phones and the new Business Opportunity Friday, August 6th, 2010

According to an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) statistics on mobile phone subscribers 97 persons out of every resident in developed countries have a mobile phone. In the case of developing countries, the number is 45 per 100 residents. In the latter case, the mobile phone is practically the only means of practicable contact with the outside world for the vast numbers of inhabitants in remote areas.

Being able to reach these vast numbers of mobile phone subscribers in remote areas in a way that helps to bring them into the mainstream can definitely help businesses. This was the motivating factor for the IBM initiative for mobile Web. The initiative includes working with partners in research and investing in software, hardware and services.

One such partnership is with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai. IBM has joined an Open Collaboration Research (OCR) project with the Industrial Design Center (IDC) of the IIT. The “research collaboration will focus on the development of new designs for mobile device interfaces that can easily be used by people who are semiliterate or illiterate, as well as individuals who have limited or no access to information technology.”

Read the news release at PR Newswire.

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Posted in business, information technology, mobile web | No Comments »

Does Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Developments Contribute to Economic Progress? Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

A World Bank report has sought to analyze the impact of high speed Internet access on economic development in developing countries. The study found that ICT allows economies “to acquire and share ideas, expertise, services and technologies locally, regionally, and across the world.” ICT also contributes to integrating global economy.

Broadband accelerates knowledge transfer and technological diffusion and enhances the competitive advantages of fast-learning economies. Mobile phones based on wireless technology connect remote rural areas with the rest of the country. Their low costs make them affordable even for poorer sections of the community.

The increased connectivity enables not only sharing of information but also leads to increased economic activity. If people could conclude economic transactions with a phone call, instead of traveling long distances, economic activity becomes much easier and more frequent. It also becomes possible to deliver healthcare, education and other facilities to remote areas.

Rural business also benefits from the increased connectivity. Trading platforms such as Tradenet in Ghana enable rural farmers to sign up for SMS alerts for offers to buy or sell, connecting remote buyers and sellers. Information about up-to-date prices can also be obtained across all the markets covered.

Read the numerous other examples of how increased connectivity has benefited developing economies in the Information and Communication for Development (ICAD) report for 2009. The full report is available for purchase at World Bank Publications website.

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Posted in broadband network, communications, information delivery, information technology | 1 Comment »

Speed Limit Information for Car Drivers Friday, July 30th, 2010

One would think that with all the technology developments, something as simple as capturing the speed limit information displayed across roads and providing this information in a visible-without-fail manner to car drivers would have been implemented long ago. Yet the fact is that this has so far been a neglected field, leading to the drivers having to face angry police officers for over speeding. Many times, the driver might have exceeded the limit by mistake, particularly where the limit is variable depending on specific conditions.

The ‘ultimate driving experience’ car company BMW has now implemented such a system. The system works using cameras mounted on wing-mirrors. The cameras pick up speed limit displays, on metal surfaces or digital, along the road and project the information on the heads-up display. Accuracy of the information is sought to be ensured by comparing the information picked up by the camera with satellite navigation data, using the car’s computer.

The system only provides information without forcing the driver to drive at that speed.

The system comes as standard with the new BMW 7 Series and is an extra option in the 5 Series. BMW’s rival, Mercedes, is yet to offer the option, according to reports.

Read the report at CarAdvice.

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Posted in information technology | No Comments »

Google Apps: Government Version Available Thursday, July 29th, 2010

Google Apps is an office suite that includes the traditional word processing, spreadsheet and other documents, plus email, calendar and instant messaging. It is a Web application, meaning that the user does not have to purchase any hardware or software. It also means that the user can access the application from anywhere over the Internet, with a guarantee of 99.9% uptime.

Google says that the suite supports access of information over mobile phones, thus making employees more productive. They can access their email, calendar and instant messages using Blackberry, iPhone, Windows Mobile, Android and other phones.

The applications can be customized to meet the technical, branding and business requirements of individual organizations.

Security features include spam and inbound mail filtering, filtering of outbound mail to prevent sensitive information going out, custom sharing rules that determine how broadly employees can share documents and SSL connections, among others.

Google has announced that a new version of the Apps suite specifically designed for government customers is now ready. The major difference of this version from the standard one is the higher level of security. The company had to provide for the “enormous amount of controls” needed as per Federal Information Security Management Act before getting a certification.

Read the news at CNET News.

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Posted in information technology | No Comments »

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