Patrick Thibodeau
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Patrick Thibodeau
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A third of virtual servers are zombies
New research finds that 25% of all physical servers -- and 30% of all virtual servers -- are comatose. These are systems that have no activity in the last six months.The problem with comatose, or zombie, physical servers is well known. Past studies have routinely put the number of undead enterprise physical servers in the 20% to 30% range. But this latest research looked at virtual servers as well, and they may represent a significant cost to IT departments.[ Further reading: The march toward exascale computers ] That's because users may be paying licensing fees on their virtual servers, as well as on the software they support, said the researchers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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A third of virtual servers are zombies
New research finds that 25% of all physical servers -- and 30% of all virtual servers -- are comatose. These are systems that have no activity in the last six months.The problem with comatose, or zombie, physical servers is well known. Past studies have routinely put the number of undead enterprise physical servers in the 20% to 30% range. But this latest research looked at virtual servers as well, and they may represent a significant cost to IT departments.[ Further reading: The march toward exascale computers ] That's because users may be paying licensing fees on their virtual servers, as well as on the software they support, said the researchers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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IT worker who trained H-1B-holding replacement aims for Congress
Craig Diangelo was an IT worker at Northeast Utilities in Connecticut until he completed training his H-1B-visa-holding replacement. He was one of about 200 who lost their jobs in 2014 after two India-based IT offshore outsourcing firms took over their work at what is now called Eversource.Diangelo, at first, was quiet, bound by severance agreements signed with the company. Then he started speaking out. Craig Diangelo Craig DiangeloTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Fired IT workers to file discrimination lawsuit
The University of California IT workers replaced by an offshore outsourcing firm intend to file a lawsuit challenging their dismissal. The lawsuit may be filed as early as next week.It will allege that the tech workers at the university's San Francisco campus were victims of age and national origin discrimination.The IT employees lost their jobs in February after the university hired India-based IT services firm HCL. Approximately 50 full-time university employees lost their jobs, but another 30 contractor positions were cut as well.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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FAQ: The real impact of Trump’s H-1B executive order
President Donald Trump is calling for "a long-overdue reform of H-1B visas." But what changes does he want, and can he get Congress to agree?Here's a look at some some of the key questions around Trump's visa reform effort and his "Hire American, Buy American" executive order.What's the most important thing that Trump wants to accomplish?In issuing his executive order, Trump called the "totally random" H-1B lottery "wrong." He wants the visas distributed to "the most-skilled and highest-paid" applicants. He wants to end "abuse."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Linux, PCs and Trump’s ‘Buy American’ problem
Some PCs are assembled in the U.S., but not many. This includes those from Lenovo, the China-based firm that runs a factory in North Carolina. Apple operates a Mac Pro assembly plant in Austin, but makes many of its other products overseas.Lenovo and Apple may have an edge in selling PCs to the U.S., under President Donald Trump's recently signed "Hire American, Buy American" executive order signed this week, say analysts.All PCs are made with components sourced globally, but vendors that assemble products in the U.S. may gain preference. Trump's executive order doesn't spell out how "buying American" will work for IT suppliers -- if it happens at all.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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H-1B visa demand slips; analysts see Trump effect
The U.S. government today said it received 199,000 H-1B visa petitions for the upcoming 2018 fiscal year -- 37,000 less than in 2016.The government will issue 85,000 visas distributed via a computer-generated lottery. The winners will be able to use their visas at the start of the federal fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.[ Further reading: Hottest jobs, cities and industries for IT pay in 2017 ] Industry analysts see President Donald Trump's actions and campaign rhetoric as having had an impact on the offshore outsourcing industry, which includes the largest users of H-1B visa workers. Firms considering shipping IT jobs overseas appear now to be more cautious than in recent years.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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The strange new world of hiring and employee tracking
Your employer wants to hire top salespeople and is counting on HR to deliver the best. There's the old-fashioned way: collect resumes, sort for keywords, check on social networks, get referrals and interview.But what about geotagging?Employers often have "top performer clubs" for their salespeople. Incentives for these top performers usually involve rewards such as trips to Hawaii, the Caribbean or Italy."That's fairly public knowledge," said Bertrand Dussert, vice president of Human Capital Management (HCM) transformation and thought leadership at Oracle. "You can assemble the known list of salespeople and compare it to geotagged tweets." (Clues can be found on the web. For instance, see this corporate blog post, Italy Awaits Adobe's Top Sales Performers).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Trump to order wholesale H-1B reform
President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Tuesday dubbed "Buy American, Hire American" that calls for sweeping reform of the H-1B visa process.Its centerpiece is the replacement of the H-1B lottery with a system that distributes visas on the basis of wages, skills and education."We want to switch away from a random lottery system, in which it's weighted toward the lowest wage workers, towards a system that prioritizes higher skilled, higher paid workers," said a senior administration official, in a background briefing to reporters on the condition that officials not be identified.Such an H-1B reform "would make it much more difficult to use it to replace American workers," the administration official said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Data centers decline as users turn to rented servers
Data centers are declining worldwide both in numbers and square footage, according to IDC -- a remarkable change for an industry that has seen booming growth for many years.Users are consolidating data centers and increasingly renting server power. These two trends are having a major impact on data center space.[ Further reading: The march toward exascale computers ] The number of data centers worldwide peaked at 8.55 million in 2015, according to IDC. That figure began declining last year, and is expected to drop to an expected 8.4 million this year. By 2021, the research firm expects there to be 7.2 million data centers globally, more than 15% fewer than in 2015.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Data centers decline as users turn to rented servers
Data centers are declining worldwide both in numbers and square footage, according to IDC -- a remarkable change for an industry that has seen booming growth for many years.Users are consolidating data centers and increasingly renting server power. These two trends are having a major impact on data center space.[ Further reading: The march toward exascale computers ] The number of data centers worldwide peaked at 8.55 million in 2015, according to IDC. That figure began declining last year, and is expected to drop to an expected 8.4 million this year. By 2021, the research firm expects there to be 7.2 million data centers globally, more than 15% fewer than in 2015.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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U.S. seeks curbs on use of entry-level H-1B programmers
The U.S. government is taking action that will likely increase the visa denial rates of H-1B programmers, a move that could help U.S. nationals, both in terms of wages and jobs.The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) wants programmers who offer skills that are specialized or unique. That means firms seeking to hire programmers at entry-level wages may see their H-1B visa requests denied.There's a reason the U.S. doesn't want entry-level visa workers.[ Further reading: 8 project management skills in high demand ] Take for instance, Michigan, a state that President Donald Trump won. The prevailing wage for an entry-level computer programmer in Flint is $38,000, while the mean wage for that occupation in the city is $60,000.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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H-1B employers face stricter rules
The federal government is doing something it has never done before: It's encouraging people to file H-1B abuse complaints.This week the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Labor each posted information about how to file a complaint against suspected H-1B abuse. It's a clear signal that government scrutiny of H-1B use will intensify and that the U.S. may challenge employers.But it creates a dilemma aptly summed up by Norm Matloff, a professor of computer science at the University of California at Davis, in a blog post titled, "American Victims of H-1B Get Their Chance -- Will They Take It?"To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Trump ‘actively’ considering new H-1B spouse work rule
President Donald Trump's administration has decided to "actively reconsider" an Obama-era rule allowing certain H-1B spouses to hold jobs, according to court documents filed Monday. It is asking the court to give it until September to consider changing the H-4 work authorization rule.This is becoming a high-stakes case for approximately 180,000 spouses of H-1B visa holders who gained the right to work in 2014. These are spouses of H-1B visa holders who are seeking a green card.+ RELATED: Trump reviews right of H-1B spouses to work +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Justice Dept. says replacing U.S. workers may bring lawsuit
Critics of the H-1B program have little to celebrate, so far, from President Donald Trump. He promised reforms of the visa program during the campaign, but nothing has happened of consequence -- at least until Monday.The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a warning to H-1B employers not to use the visa program to discriminate against U.S. workers. And it promised to investigate and prosecute employers who do so.[ Further reading: 4 high-growth tech fields with top pay ] By itself, the Justice Department notice may be a poor consolation prize to critics who wanted more. But if the DOJ files a lawsuit alleging discrimination against U.S. workers "because of their citizenship or national origin in hiring, firing and recruiting" it may be breaking ground.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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H-1B lottery’s game of chance is legal, judge rules
A lawsuit that challenged the fairness and legality of the H-1B lottery system, describing it as a "never ending game of chance," has been thrown out by a federal judge.The case was heard by U.S. District Court Judge Michael Simon in Oregon; in a 31-page opinion, Simon said that the government's random visa distribution method does not violate the law.The judge's ruling means that there will no changes to the H-1B distribution system this year.On April 1, the U.S. will receive visa petitions, or applications, for the 2018 fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. The U.S. holds a lottery if the petitions exceed the 85,000 cap -- an almost certain outcome.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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5 reasons why China will rule tech, 2017 edition
China’s push to take over global technology leadership is relentless. It wants to lead in computing, semiconductors, research and development, and clean energy. It is accelerating science investment as the U.S. retreats.China may be planning a moon base. Surprised? Don’t be. It will soon have a manned space station. It is investing heavily in quantum technologies and it wants to be first to build an exascale supercomputer.In 2010, Computerworld looked at “Five reasons why China will rule tech.” Here's an update, and the case for China has grown stronger.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Cobol plays major role in U.S. government breaches
New research is turning on its head the idea that legacy systems -- such as Cobol and Fortran -- are more secure because hackers are unfamiliar with the technology.New research found that these outdated systems, which may not be encrypted or even documented, were more susceptible to threats.By analyzing publicly available federal spending and security breach data, the researchers found that a 1% increase in the share of new IT development spending is associated with a 5% decrease in security breaches."In other words, federal agencies that spend more in maintenance of legacy systems experience more frequent security incidents, a result that contradicts a widespread notion that legacy systems are more secure," the paper found. The research paper was written by Min-Seok Pang, an assistant professor of management information systems at Temple University, and Huseyin Tanriverdi, an associate professor in the Information, Risk and Operations Department at the University of Texas at Austin.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Cobol plays major role in U.S. government breaches
New research is turning on its head the idea that legacy systems -- such as Cobol and Fortran -- are more secure because hackers are unfamiliar with the technology.New research found that these outdated systems, which may not be encrypted or even documented, were more susceptible to threats.By analyzing publicly available federal spending and security breach data, the researchers found that a 1% increase in the share of new IT development spending is associated with a 5% decrease in security breaches."In other words, federal agencies that spend more in maintenance of legacy systems experience more frequent security incidents, a result that contradicts a widespread notion that legacy systems are more secure," the paper found. The research paper was written by Min-Seok Pang, an assistant professor of management information systems at Temple University, and Huseyin Tanriverdi, an associate professor in the Information, Risk and Operations Department at the University of Texas at Austin.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Trump budget would fund border wall, but slash science and research
President Donald Trump's federal budget outline released Thursday represents a major shift in U.S. priorities. It would increase defense spending, boost immigration enforcement and include in seed money for a wall along the southern border.It does all of that, in part, by cutting science funding.[ Further reading: The march toward exascale computers ] Science and technology groups are warning that U.S. leadership will suffer if the budget, which would cover the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, is adopted.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here