Clint Boulton
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Clint Boulton
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How a logistics firm leverages SD-WAN for competitive advantage
A gamble on a relatively unknown technology four years ago is paying off for a logistics company, which is using the software to shave millions of dollars off its bandwidth connectivity costs. Today freight forwarding company JAS Global is leveraging a software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) to run cloud applications, according to JAS CIO Mark Baker. Eventually, Baker hopes to use the SD-WAN as the backbone of a predictive analytics strategy to grow the business.SD-WANs allow companies to set up and manage networking functionality, including VPNs, WAN optimization, VoIP and firewalls, using software to program traffic routing typically conducted by routers and switches. Just as virtualization software disrupted the server market, SD-WANs are shaking the networking equipment market.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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How a logistics firm leverages SD-WAN for competitive advantage
A gamble on a relatively unknown technology four years ago is paying off for a logistics company, which is using the software to shave millions of dollars off its bandwidth connectivity costs. Today freight forwarding company JAS Global is leveraging a software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) to run cloud applications, according to JAS CIO Mark Baker. Eventually, Baker hopes to use the SD-WAN as the backbone of a predictive analytics strategy to grow the business.SD-WANs allow companies to set up and manage networking functionality, including VPNs, WAN optimization, VoIP and firewalls, using software to program traffic routing typically conducted by routers and switches. Just as virtualization software disrupted the server market, SD-WANs are shaking the networking equipment market.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Why digital disruption leaves no room for bimodal IT
Saying bimodal IT is dead may be a tad premature. But as digital disruption continues to sweep across sectors -- driven by companies such as Amazon.com, Uber and Airbnb -- two-speed IT is beginning to look and feel antiquated. Some CIOs and consultants argue that the operating model hinders innovation at a time when companies must accelerate their digital initiatives.Introduced by Gartner in 2014, bimodal IT splits technology departments into two groups: a stable mode (Mode 1) where the bulk of technology is carefully cultivated and refined and a second mode (Mode 2) that espouses experimentation, free-thinking and agility. Forking IT into separate tracks made sense a few years ago, as many CIOs worked to plug gaps in talent, process and technology, Forrester Research analyst Matthew Guarini tells CIO.com.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Humans are (still) the weakest cybersecurity link
Humans remain the weak link in corporate data protection, but you might be surprised hat it isn't only rank-and-file employees duped by phishing scams who pose risks. Some companies are lulled into a false sense of cybersecurity by vendors. You read that right:Some enterprises believe the shiny new technologies they've acquired will protect them from anything.Just ask Theodore Kobus, leader of BakerHostetler’s Privacy and Data Protection team. BakerHostetler Theodore Kobus, BakerHostetler’s Privacy and Data Protection team.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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What’s behind VMware’s Wavefront acquisition?
VMware’s acquisition of monitoring software maker Wavefront for an undisclosed sum is a move core to VMware's strategy to round out its portfolio for facilitating and managing hybrid cloud environments. It highlights in the need to ensure that applications running between private and public clouds perform up to par.[ 30 CIOs share their strategic focus ] Companies undertaking digital transformations are leaning heavily on hybrid clouds to deploy software, a scenario playing out across nearly every industry. To enable this at a high velocity, companies are instituting DevOps, in which code is constantly written, shipped, run and regularly refined. In DevOps environments, corporate developers code application functionality, called microservices, which they ship via virtual containers to run between private cloud environments and public cloud systems such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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University examines cloud phone service
Georgetown University is testing a cloud phone service intended to replace its 25-year-old system, which would cost millions of dollars to replace. The move, part of a broader telecommunications infrastructure overhaul, advances the private university's plan to migrate to consumer-friendly cloud and mobile software, says CIO Judd Nicholson. Georgetown University Georgetown University CIO Judd Nicholson.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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How a trucking company sped up mobile app development
Employees want access to business applications from mobile devices, which is a conundrum for CIOs: Do they adapt legacy software designed to run on desktops and laptops to run on smartphones and tablets or buy a platform that enables such portability with minimal coding? Trucking conglomerate Paccar chose the latter option to help deliver mobile applications across the company’s DAF, Peterbilt, Leyland and Kenworth business units, says CIO Lily Ley. Paccar Paccar's CIO Lily Ley.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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IT leaders share how they quell cybersecurity attacks
Ask CIOs and CISOs what cybersecurity fears keep them up at night and you’ll hear a range of responses -- from social engineering hacks such as phishing, as well as malware that enables perpetrators to hijack users' websites -- the dreaded ransomware -- and denial-of-service attacks. Depending on their business you might hear them say "all of the above."These threats are driving increased spending on cybersecurity tools intended to protect corporate data from nation-state actors, lone wolf attackers and other malcontents who are seeking access to corporate data. IT leaders know that it takes only one well-placed exploit to infiltrate a corporate network, but they also acknowledge that the best approach is to shrink their attack surface and be ready to respond to an incident in the event of an attack.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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IT leaders share how they quell cybersecurity attacks
Ask CIOs and CISOs what cybersecurity fears keep them up at night and you’ll hear a range of responses -- from social engineering hacks such as phishing, as well as malware that enables perpetrators to hijack users' websites -- the dreaded ransomware -- and denial-of-service attacks. Depending on their business you might hear them say "all of the above."These threats are driving increased spending on cybersecurity tools intended to protect corporate data from nation-state actors, lone wolf attackers and other malcontents who are seeking access to corporate data. IT leaders know that it takes only one well-placed exploit to infiltrate a corporate network, but they also acknowledge that the best approach is to shrink their attack surface and be ready to respond to an incident in the event of an attack.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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AI, machine learning blossom in agriculture and pest control
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rising in prominence with the proliferation of chatbots, virtual assistants and other conversational tools that companies are using to improve customer service, productivity and operational efficiency. But AI is also helping to automate and streamline tasks in data-intensive industries traditionally ruled by rigorous science and good old-fashioned human analysis.Seed retailers, for example, are using AI products to churn through terabytes of precision agricultural data to create the best corn crops, while pest control companies are using AI-based image-recognition technology to identify and treat various types of bugs and vermin. Such markedly different scenarios underscore how AI has evolved from science fiction to practical solutions that can potentially help companies get a leg up on their competition.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Why your cloud strategy should include multiple vendors
For decades, enterprise computing environments have been composed of servers, storage and networking equipment developed by different vendors. Those choices often hinged on the best products to power applications and data -- as well as the enticing volume discounts tossed into enterprise agreements. A similar scenario is playing out in cloud computing infrastructure, where CIOs are grappling with how to best architect systems for multi-vendor, hybrid cloud strategies.A telling exchange on cloud vendors occurred during the Wall Street Journal’s CIO Network event last month when an audience member shared his perspective on the challenges of choosing between different cloud vendors with Adrian Cockcroft, vice president of cloud architecture strategy for Amazon Web Services (AWS), who was speaking on stage.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Why great chief data officers are hard to find
Chief data officers (CDOs) are among the most highly sought-after executives among corporations for whom data analytics has become a cornerstone of digital strategies. But the rush to promote data-crunching experts to the CDO role has created a new challenge: Finding a leader who can use data to help drive a business transformation.Companies eager to establish data analytics have promoted managers to the CDO role based on their technical wizardry rather than their leadership capabilities, says Joshua Clarke, partner for executive recruiter Heidrick & Struggles, who highlighted the problem in "Choosing the right chief data officer," a new report detailing the rapid evolution of the CDO role.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Google makes AI talent play with Kaggle buy
If you're a company entrenched in an arms race for artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, you could do worse than tapping into a pool of thousands of data scientists to augment your digital products and services.That's the pole position Google holds after acquiring crowdsourcing platform Kaggle last week for an undisclosed sum. Some 600,000 professional data crunchers use Kaggle to build prediction models for such heady challenges as cancer detection and heart disease diagnoses. And experts say Kaggle could help Google facilitate broader adoption of AI technologies."Data science and machine learning is now global and this is a validation of the idea that Google recognizes that most of the smartest people in the world work for somebody else," Neil Jacobstein, who chairs the artificial intelligence and robotics track at Singularity University, told CIO.com. "This is potentially a very positive move, I think, that could make everybody more competitive."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Why GE is winning the war for tech talent
Hiring enough tech talent to facilitate digital transformations typically tops the list of challenges CIOs face. They could do worse than follow the blueprint crafted by 125-year-old General Electric.The company has lured top tech executives from Apple, Google and Microsoft by underscoring the huge role GE plans to play in the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution, an era defined more by software platforms and APIs than heavy metal. It has also overhauled a talent recruitment practice that was more suited for the industrial giant of yore by bringing in technical recruiters who offer the kind compensation packages pitched by Silicon Valley titans.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Think twice before you hire a chief AI officer
SAN FRANCISCO -- Artificial intelligence (AI) will become so instrumental to corporate revenue growth that businesses should hire a chief artificial intelligence officer to spearhead AI initiatives, says Andrew Ng, who drives global AI strategy at Chinese search giant Baidu. Not so fast, says Neil Jacobstein, chair of artificial intelligence and robotics at Singularity University, who isn't a fan of companies centralizing leadership for AI functions.The two clashed on the topic here last week at the WSJ's CIO Network, where Ng and Jacobstein spoke on a panel. Although they disagreed on the organizational approaches to AI, Ng and Jacobstein both said that the technology is a potentially game-changing way to harness the vast amounts of information corporations collect.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Edge computing will blow away the cloud
SAN FRANCISCO -- The ubiquitous cloud computing craze may not be long for this world if venture capitalist Peter Levine is right. The Andreessen Horowitz general partner said that as more computing capabilities move to so-called "edge" devices, including anything from driverless cars and drones to the boundless devices that make up the internet of things (IoT), the cloud will slowly evaporate."A large portion of computation that gets done in the cloud today will return to the edge," said Levine at the Wall Street Journal's CIO Network event here Tuesday.Levine said the driverless car, whose 200-plus CPUs effectively make it a "data center on wheels," is a prime example of an edge device whose computing capabilities must be self-contained. Levine said that an autonomous vehicle relying on the cloud foTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Virtual assistants move into DevOps
Companies embracing DevOps practices are turning to chat-based and voice-guided virtual assistants to monitor applications, provision virtual machines and perform other operations. Such tools are instrumental in keeping developers and IT operations staff on the same page as they prioritize speedier software deployment in the digital era."The problems you run into in DevOps is teams are distributed," says Milan Hanson, a Forrester Research analyst who focuses on infrastructure and operations. "You can have the bot automate activities, address it in the chat like it's another person, and it will perform what you've asked it to do and bring the result back into the chat channel where everyone can see it. In a crisis, when people put together a war room or a SWAT team, being able to do that virtually through a chat is a huge advantage."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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CIO sees mobile platform as patient engagement cure
St. Luke’s Healthcare Systems is tucking several mobile applications for its patients into a platform typically used by professional sports stadiums. Picking a platform designed to help fans find their seats and order hot dogs and beer may seem odd for a hospital system tasked with delivering patient care, but CIO Deborah Gash insists on providing people the convenience they are accustomed to getting from entertainment, retail and other sectors.In other words, Gash wants to treat patients more like valued customers than like, well, patients. "Consumers demand the ability to have more convenient ways to interface with their healthcare providers," says Gash, who joined the organization 25 years ago, spending nearly 11 of those years as CIO.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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How DevOps, agile spurred Slack enterprise adoption
If Jennifer Manry has her way bots will automate much of the repetitive and onerous workplace activities that consume her Capital One colleagues' time and effort. But until then the bank's vice president of workforce technology is busy helping 40,000 employees get more comfortable with new software from Slack, which allows corporate workers to instant message each other and share documents, files and other content.Capital One deployed Slack in mid-2016 and it quickly become the preferred tool for the IT department, which is embracing agile software development and DevOps principles that require close collaboration between software developers and product managers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Insurance spin-out rides API-driven strategy
Allstate has spun out an analytics business that harnesses driver risk scores, roadside rescue services and other telematics data, which it is packaging into software to sell to rival insurers, automakers, as well as ride-sharing companies. So it is fitting that the startup, called Arity, is also aping the API-based platform strategies of the very startups that have blown up the transportation industry.The symmetry isn't lost on Chetan Phadnis, vice president of Arity Platform, who says a platform is the best way Arity can make its APIs and software development kits (SDKs) available to customers in the software-is-eating-the-world era. Arity’s products could help insurers, for example, better price policies.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here