Billionth PC highlights man's failure to act green

Depending on your point of view, breaking the one billion actively-used PCs barrier is either representative of the power of technology, or the waste of man. More than a billion PCs have now been installed worldwide, according to Gartner.

The analyst defines the installed base as the estimated number of PCs in use, as opposed to the number shipped over time. That is an important distinction. After all, how many of us have old desktops stored away in the loft?

Gartner says the answer runs into many thousands, with a little more than 180 million of the one billion installed PCs to be replaced this year.

Most stored PCs are stuffed with legacy files ­ or more importantly, personal data. The proliferation of unprinted holiday snaps and credit card details is likely to mean people are loath to dispose of their legacy equipment.

Additional pressure comes from legal and environmental concerns. The WEEE directive, for example, has increased pressure on providers and users to dispose of technology in an environmentally-sensitive manner. And organisations such as Computer Aid International have helped make best use of unwanted resources.

But regulation and charity can only soak up so much toxic waste. While some retired PCs are re-used and recycled, many millions are simply dumped into landfill. Estimates suggest as many as three million PCs are landfilled in the UK every year.

And the continual churn of computers means the problem is likely to exacerbate. Gartner reports the worldwide installed base of PCs is growing at a little less than 12 per cent annually. At that pace, it will surpass two billion units by early 2014.

Suitable solutions are not easy to find. Some users choose to dump old equipment on unsuspecting family, such as the 486 I lumbered my parents with ­- before my mum realised it was too slow to process a game of patience, never mind access the internet.

And while the billion PCs installed around the globe have helped spread information access, whether such access remains centralised in the hands of the West remains a moot point.

Pushing a green information revolution to the rest of the world is likely to rely on users finding environmentally-sensitive homes for the next billion PCs.

Further reading: Reuse and recycling Top 10

1. Recycle? WEEE don't undertsand the rules, stupid
2. Computer Aid shows how to beat the green wash
3. Cure for green computing overkill is the real deal
4. Green computing hype needs smarter approach
5. Green computing is not crucial for CIOs
6. The green IT rules from Forrester and Gartner
7. JP Rangaswami says green computing drives BT
8. SMEs lead the way on green computing
9. Green computing is a pipe dream for IT managers
10. CIOs could learn from the green actions of SMEs

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Outsourcing makes you vulnerable to hackers

More than 60 per cent of IT professionals believe outsourcing code increases the likelihood of hacking. In fact, 55 per cent believe it is far safer to write programs internally, according to a survey from Fortify Software.

Which is fine - but you can only write code internally if you haven't already outsourced most of your IT department. And with increasing amounts of grunt work - such as development and testing - being outsourced, IT professionals can only do so much internal work.

In fact, the survey suggests as much as a quarter of companies outsource application development, but do not specify security processes or technologies to ensure the security of outsourced applications.

So, the firms are probably asking for trouble - especially as the survey also suggests as much as 81 per cent of companies believe their systems are vulnerable to hacking.

Further reading

• Take a risk on innovation and you might just win
• The buck stops with boss on IT security
• McAfee spam project smells like marketing guff
• Time to focus on the good in databases
• Security technology is not a priority for firms
• Stop buying illegal software, or face the risks...

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Wikinomics - Business Technology Book of the Year

So, I was recently a judge for the Highams Business Technology Book of the Year award; had a couple of months to read the following short-list:

• Wikinomics - Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams
• IT and the East – James Popkin and Partha Iyengar
• Founders at Work: Stories of Startups’ Early Days – Jessica Livingston
• Riding the Whirlwind: Connecting people and organisations in a culture of innovation – Fons Trompenaars
• The Cult of the Amateur – Andrew Keen

There were five judges in total - "all influential individuals from the IT and business space," says the press release. Which is nice, I guess.

Anyway, the award ceremony took place earlier this week on the top floor of 'the Gherkin' tower, near Liverpool Street station in London. It was a posh early morning bash, with exceptionally tasty fresh orange juice. Good views from the top, too.

The eventual winner was Atlantic Books' Wikinomics, the best-selling book about the future of collaboration. If you haven't already read the book, here are my thoughts:

"Collaboration is a fascinating area and 'Wikinomics' does provide a thorough investigation of the significant issues – such as leading pioneers, effect on the workplace and key platforms."

Other judges thought the following:

“Wikinomics zags whilst others zig and it is counter intuitive. It opens up for those who embrace the sharing approach, and offers a unique way of generating competitive advantage and acceleration on the value proposition,” said Sir Eric Peacock, chairman of The Academy of Chief Executives

“A challenging book, in so much that it presents the opening of a totally different world and one that changes the very way we will think and act,” said Alan Howarth, chairman of Highams Group

A worthy winner, methinks.

Further reading

• Fair play is affected by social networks
• How can you make money from social networking?
• Social web is about improvement, not innovation
• Next generation social networking
• Finding useful Web 2.0 and social networking tools
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Fair play is affected by social networks

Who says crazy dot com valuations are dead? Not financial investors, who remain keen to spend on social networking platforms.

LinkedIn announced last week it had secured $53m (£27m) in funding. The new investment, which represents about five per cent of LinkedIn, values the company at $1.015bn (£515m).

The news followed Microsoft’s $240m (£122m) investment in Facebook last year, which helped value the platform at $15bn (£7.6bn).

Such valuations illustrate the potential strengths of social networks, with firms such as LinkedIn drawing revenue from advertising, job search and subscriptions.

The problem is that there are only so many social networks that individuals will be willing and have the time to participate in.

Future growth will rely on regional variations, says LinkedIn managing director Kevin Eyres.

The firm expects to invest more heavily in the European market, and hopes a regional approach will help members to “derive more value from their network”.

Some individuals have already attempted to make more from their network, such as a former employee of recruitment firm Hays who allegedly used LinkedIn to approach clients for his own agency. The High Court, however, ordered him to hand over the business contacts he built up on his personal page.

Employers will see the decision as a potential step change ­ particularly firms that struggle to understand how to provide and monitor social networking.

Executives often worry that workers are using networks to leak corporate information.

Such concerns are understandable, with one-third of IT professionals saying that they use their privileged rights to gain access to information that is confidential or sensitive, according to Cyber-Ark Software.

The High Court decision shows firms will go to significant lengths to protect confidential information.

While venture capitalists will be keen to back innovative ideas, entrepreneurs need to think carefully about how their intellectual property has been generated.

Modern forms of collaboration can help create value, but only if you play by the traditional rules of business.

Further reading

• How can you make money from social networking?
• How can a CIO make the most of Web 2.0?
• Social web is about improvement, not innovation
• Next generation social networking
• Finding useful Web 2.0 and social networking tools
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Solution? Piece? Please stop using these terms...

It's the new trend that's sweeping the conference halls and roundtables; calling everything related to technology in your organisation a 'piece'.

Use of the word 'piece' follows on from the all-encompassing 'solution' - a term which is widely dropped, despite the fact it means nothing. As was stated previously on this blog, the term 'solution' is problematic at two levels:

1. A solution is usually a mixture of two or more substances, usually a liquid.
2. Or it is the perfect answer to a known problem. And if an application was available that really provided a perfect answer to a known business problem, wouldn't we all be using it?

Not that marketeers are going to stop calling products 'solutions' any time soon. But as mentioned above, it does seem IT managers have moved on - and now everything is a 'piece'.

"We are looking at how to make the most from our unified communications piece," says one IT manager, referring to technical resources. "So, let us re-consider how to make the most from the service management piece," says another IT manager, referring to policy and process issues.

Look out for it and be warned. 'Piece' is everywhere. And it means everything and nothing.

Further reading

• Finding solutions with Avanquest's Chris Thompson
• McAfee spam project smells like marketing guff
• What does 'strategic business agility' really mean?

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Taking a stand on the plastic bag issue

My wife and I went shopping to our local Marks and Spencer yesterday afternoon. Stay with me, it gets better.

After half-filling the trolley, we went to the tills. My wife went to the car with our daughter, leaving me to make a total idiot of myself.

As I was pushing stuff down the conveyor belt, the woman at the till said: "Have you brought your own bags or do you want to buy some carrier bags at five pence each?"

Aaaargh! I forgot my 'bags for life'. Which left me with a choice: buy some extra bags, or stick the food straight into the trolley. I chose the latter option.

As I pointed out in a friendly and non-threatening manner to the woman at the till, making shoppers pay for bags is fine - as long as the retailer itself practices what it preaches. And oh look, my trolley is full on non-recyclable packaging.

"But the five pence goes to charity?" said the woman at the till. Which is nice, I guess. But it was too late now - I had made a stand and I was going to continue, even if I did look an idiot.

In fact, as I left the building with a trolley full of unbagged goods, I looked like a shop lifter. Then I saw my wife.

"So, you're going to empty the contents of the trolley on the back seat and then carry the goods bags into the house," she said, clearly pleased to have avoided my stand in the shop.

"Yes," I said. "I'm not that mad, you know. There must be other people that have taken a similar stand? Where are they? They are my kind of people."

And then we drove home. And I went to the house, picked up my 'bags for life' and emptied the contents of the back seat. Then I walked in the house.

I am not sure what I achieved. Nothing, I think. But I felt good.

Further reading: Reuse and recycling Top 10

1. Recycle? WEEE don't undertsand the rules, stupid
2. Computer Aid shows how to beat the green wash
3. Cure for green computing overkill is the real deal
4. Green computing hype needs smarter approach
5. Green computing is not crucial for CIOs
6. The green IT rules from Forrester and Gartner
7. JP Rangaswami says green computing drives BT
8. SMEs lead the way on green computing
9. Green computing is a pipe dream for IT managers
10. CIOs could learn from the green actions of SMEs

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

What does 'strategic business agility' really mean?

Everyone is suddenly talking about the responsiveness of the IT department to line-of-business demand. Not so long ago, technology professionals might have worked in isolation ­ now users tell the IT department what they need and chief information officers (CIOs) are charged with working to the business’ requirements.

Agility is the term most often banded about in an attempt to sum up the transformation from technology-pushed innovation to on-demand development.

Attend any conference and you can expect speakers ­- both on the business and supplier side ­- to talk about the need for “strategic business agility”. But what does the term really mean?

In this month’s cover feature, Computing Business talks to chief information officers and line-of-business executives about their perspectives on agility.

The most insightful comment comes from independent financial services consultant Margaret Smith, who says the term agility is little used beyond the IT function.

“I do not know anyone outside IT who talks about business agility. They just expect it -­ and get extremely frustrated when IT does not deliver it,” she says.

Do not turn off, then, when you hear people talking about the need for agility. While use of the term is contentious and often smothered in marketing hype, the concepts that agility represent are critical.

You will need to cut through the flannel and find out the technology needs of users across the business. Such an on-demand way of working creates specific challenges for CIOs, not least the development of smooth interaction between the top tiers of management.

IT directors are aware of the need for smarter collaboration. As many as 97 per cent of CIOs believe the partnership between IT and the business is absolutely critical to obtaining agility, according to research from senior IT leaders’ forum CIO Connect.

At the same time, however, progress towards alignment is often stalled by internal working methods. CIO Connect research suggests only 27 per cent of IT leaders believe their organisation has the culture and processes in place to encourage agile relationships.

Now is the time to analyse the way decisions are made across your business. Agility might seem like a nebulous concept, but the competitive advantage of your company will rely on rapid and effective responses.

Further reading

• Simon Pitt to lead IT at the Environment Agency
• CIO concerns: Rob Fraser switches Boots for CSC
• CIOs will need to transform to survive
• Career moves: Robin Terrell is John Lewis web MD
• Career moves: Steve Markwell is new NCC CEO
• Career moves: Carl Powell becomes Unipart CEO
• Modernise to beat IT and skills obsolesence

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Smart firms take the flexible working route

A cheeky lie-in, a cup of tea in bed, a quick check of email and a half hour of the BBC’s To Buy, or Not to Buy.

Sound familiar? Spend too much time hanging around the house in your underwear? Chances are it doesn’t and you don’t, but would certainly welcome the flexibility to work when and where you choose.

As many as 94 per cent of employees want flexible working, according to research from communications specialist Avaya. Yet only 17 per cent of companies extend the privilege to all staff.

Avaya suggests the results highlight a new “digital divide” between firms that offer flexible working practices and those that do not support requests from staff. For the 83 per cent of firms that fall into the latter category, there are probably two key reasons why flexible working is not a tempting strategy.

First, there is the business factor. Certain jobs are performed better in the office; others are completed easier in the peaceful surrounds of the home environment.

Without the distraction of colleagues and contacts, home workers should be able to work quickly and efficiently. But the extraneous distractions of the kettle and the TV mean bosses remain sceptical about the potential for their staff to stay focused.

Second, there is the technology factor. Secure flexible working requires a bunch of new tools and applications, such as BlackBerrys, laptops and virtual private networks all purchased and provided by the employer.

You can, of course, take short-cuts and allow your workers to use their own technology. But the payback from that approach comes when hackers access your corporate network via an unsecured port.

Fears of work avoidance and unsecure access mean many firms are taking an inflexible approach to flexible working, with small firms less likely (57 per cent) to offer alternative conditions of employment.

Blue-chip companies are at least keen to offer flexible options that meet the current legislation governing homeworking. But smart businesses will go beyond the minimum and offer a range of flexible working opportunities, because allowing your employees to check emails in their boxer shorts is likely to increase productivity and loyalty.

Further reading

• Would you recommend a career in IT to your child?
• Forget dreams of working abroad, or in Cobol
• Be proud of being a technology nerd
• IT skills crisis not solved via death by Powerpoint
• There is a depressing lack of innovation in UK IT
• Modernise to beat IT and skills obsolesence

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Another reason for IT managers to look offshore

I've just written a news story for Computing that demonstrates how the UK is among the most expensive locations for onshore outsourcing.

The research from analyst Datamonitor demonstrates how contact centre provision in Western Europe and the United States is pretty expensive. But the UK price per agent per hour is among the most costly, due mainly to a lack of suitable talent. As Peter Ryan, head of contact centre outsourcing analysis at Datamonitor, suggests:

"Many vendors cite an inability to find contact centre agents of a high calibre and are frustrated at their unwillingness to stay in their role over an extended period of time. The result is an erosion of margin or higher costs being passed back to the client."

Yet another reason for IT managers to look to offshore locations, then - and Datamonitor suggests Colombia, Philippines and India are among the most competitively priced destinations.

Further reading

• Multisourcing means megadeal decline, says Gartner
• The future of outsourcing is outcome-based, says TPI
• Offshoring means Western IT industry is "dying"
• UK firms love offshoring - what about the staff?
• Outsourcing and the lack of skilled UK IT workers
• 2008 - The year of multisourcing and offshoring
• Gartner reveals top 30 offshoring destinations

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

LinkedIn valued at $1bn - next stop, Europe...

Who says crazy dot com valuations are dead? Not financial investors, with today's $1bn valuation of professional network LinkedIn following on from last year's $15bn valuation of social networking site Facebook.

LinkedIn has just announced it has secured $53m in funding. The investment is led by Bain Capital Ventures, with additional reinvestment from the company’s existing backers including Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners.

The new $53m investment, which represents about 5 per cent of LinkedIn, values the company at $1.015bn. Microsoft's $240m helped value Facebook at $15bn last year.

So, why the £1bn valuation of LinkedIn? Well, the firm's revenues draw on advertising, job search and subscriptions. The network has 23 million members worldwide and membership growth rates are currently at 361 per cent year-on-year.

But there are only so many social networks that individuals will be willing - or more importantly, have the time - to participate in. Future growth will rely on regional variations, says Kevin Eyres, European managing director at LinkedIn:

“The new funds will enable us to invest more heavily in the European market - a geography for whom networking and business knowledge-sharing continues to accelerate and will help our members derive more value from their network so that each individual and business can more effectively compete on the global market.”

Further reading

• How can you make money from social networking?
• How can a CIO make the most of Web 2.0?
• Social web is about improvement, not innovation
• Next generation social networking
• Finding useful Web 2.0 and social networking tools
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels