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- Business group calls for more government cooperation on cybersecurity
A business trade group is lobbying the U.S. government for more help in the fight against cyber threats, in hopes that increased cooperation between the public and private sectors will make stricter federal regulations unnecessary. The Business Roundtable is calling on officials to authorize more security clearances for private-sector employees so the business community can be privy to threat information currently deemed too sensitive to share. "We need to redefine the partnership and develop a different kind of relationship with government in order to respond to this kind of warfare," said Liz Gasster, a vice president of the Business Roundtable. The Wall Street Journal
(1/9)      
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- Telecoms pump money into new SDN divisions
French telecom firm Alcatel-Lucent is funding a new venture with the goal of advancing automated provisioning through the use of software-defined networking solutions. Nuage Networks -- which will formally launch in April -- will develop products that support multivendor IP/Ethernet environments. It includes engineers from Alcatel-Lucent, Juniper, Yahoo, VMware and Cisco, which recently pumped $100 million into its own SDN venture. Network World
(1/7)
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- U.S. government lab removes Chinese gear over possible security threat
The nerve center of nuclear weapons development in the U.S. is cleaning house of networking gear made by a Chinese manufacturing conglomerate on the grounds that the equipment may pose a security threat. Specialists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico are targeting switches made by H3C Technologies, a division of Hewlett-Packard that began as a joint venture between 3Com and the Chinese telecom firm Huawei. CRN.com (U.S.)
(1/7), Reuters
(1/7)
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- Tech pay, hiring on an upward swing, study reveals
Hiring and salaries are on the rise in the IT industry, according to a new salary survey from Janco Associates and eJobDescription.com. The average wage for IT workers in general increased to $79,312, restoring wages to levels not seen in five years. The top compensation winners are chief information officers at large enterprises, with their average salary now at $182,210, which reflects a 6% increase during the past 12 months. Channel Partners
(1/8)
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- To boost productivity, CIOs need to trim the fat
Chief information officers are focusing too much time and energy on large enterprise-level projects, instead of making use of next-generation business intelligence and analytics platforms that make employees more efficient, according to an analysis of a survey by the business advisory firm CEB. The group found that while executives are demanding an average of 20% more productivity from their employees, there is little communication about what IT needs to get the job done. "Companies need to rethink their strategic planning altogether. The days of setting out annual strategic plans and budgets will soon be behind us. Things change so quickly now that organizations really need to be reviewing their plans quarterly, and ensuring they can adapt them if priorities have altered," said CEB managing director Andrew Horne. InformationWeek
(1/8)
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Do you feel optimistic about your business prospects for 2013?
|
Yes |
59.21%
|
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No |
40.79%
|
- Astronomers track asteroid as it moves closer to Earth
An asteroid that astronomers say could potentially smash into Earth in 2036 is moving a little closer this year, offering amateur sky watchers the chance to have a look -- if they happen to be in the right place. The 27-megaton rock, named 99942 Apophis, will pass by Earth today, but only people in remote areas such as the Canary Islands will be able to see it with a telescope. Popular Science
(1/8)
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Does your front-line staff use mobile devices -- such as handheld scanners and mobile point of sale -- to help serve customers?
 | Yes |
| No |
-
Does your business use digital signs or kiosks to communicate with customers?
| Yes |
| No |
-
What would you see as the primary advantage of an intelligent system for your business?
| Improved customer service |
| Finding cost savings |
| Addressing privacy or security concerns |
-
What is the biggest obstacle for your company in upgrading to an intelligent system?
| Concerns about the upfront cost |
| Not sure how it would improve business results |
| Resistance from the IT team |
| Concerns about security and privacy |
-
How effectively do you think your company harnesses the data it gathers to improve customer service?
| Very well |
| Moderately well |
| Not well |
| We don't do it at all |
 | It's much easier to rip the gear out than it is to open yourself up for baseless political wrangling and maneuvering if there is some kind of breach."
--Mike Rothman, analyst and president of security consultancy and analyst firm Securosis, as quoted by CRN.com (U.S.)
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