IT Executive news

• $59 for a $4,099 CompTIA-IT Certification Career Advancement Bundle - Deal Alert

  13-06-2016 22:48
  
  This bundle of courses will prep you for the Network+, Security+, Cloud Essentials, and Cloud+ exams, and is available for only $59-- a significant markdown from its $4,099 value.
  
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• Apple touts A.I. in iOS -- with barely a mention of the term -- and opens 'crown jewels' to devs

  13-06-2016 22:42
  
  Apple CEO Tim Cook and a small battalion of his lieutenants took to a stage today in a fast-paced keynote that pushed back against talk that the company lags behind rivals  in artificial intelligence (A.I.) and opened some of the company's crown jewels to third-party developers.
  Monday's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote focused on software and, to a lesser extent than last year, on services, touting small and not-so-small improvements to all four of its operating systems: mac
  
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• FIRST LOOK: What happened at Apple’s WWDC 2016

  13-06-2016 22:33
  
  WWDC 2016 kicks offImage by AppleOver the course of 2-plus hours in an auditorium in San Francisco, Apple showed off a host of new and refreshed software. Lots and lots of things changed, but here are the initial highlights.watchOSImage by AppleTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• Apple Pay to expand to the web

  13-06-2016 22:31
  
  Shoppers will soon be able to buy merchandise with Apple Pay over the web from a Mac desktop or laptop, with the purchase authenticated via a buyer's fingerprint scan on their iPhone or a touch on their Apple Watch.
  The new Apple Pay capability will be released as part of the free, rebranded (from OS X) macOS Sierra upgrade coming sometime this fall, Craig Federighi, Apple senior vice president of software engineering, announced at the Worldwide Developer Conference held in San Francisco on Mon
  
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• Amazon faces $350k fine for shipping dangerous goods

  13-06-2016 22:14
  Amazon faces a $350,000 fine from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration after shipping a corrosive chemical by air, in violation of federal law -- the 25th time the company has been found to violate hazardous chemical shipping regulations in two and a half years.The latest case concerns a one-gallon container of "Amazing Liquid Fire," a corrosive drain cleaner that was sent by air from Louisville, Kentucky, to Boulder, Colorado, on October 15, 2014.During its transit, the container
  
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• Apple rebrands OS X as 'macOS,' taps upgrade as 'Sierra'

  13-06-2016 22:09
  
  Apple today recast OS X as macOS, a name that harked back two decades.
  "OS X has been with us for over 15 years," said Craig Federighi, the Apple executive who leads Mac and iOS development, during Monday's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote. "But we thought there would be a name so much cleaner and so much more elegant."
  The rebranding will put the Mac's operating system more in sync with the nomenclature of Apple's other OSes, including iOS, tvOS and watchOS.
  But macOS wasn't out
  
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• With LinkedIn, Microsoft looks to get back to the heart of the enterprise

  13-06-2016 21:56
  
  With LinkedIn under its belt, Microsoft will own one of the largest social networks in the world. The move could help the company reconnect with both business and individual customers.
  "I can see plenty of ways how LinkedIn can help Microsoft fulfill its promise to increase productivity and streamline business processes," said Dan Olds, an analyst with The Gabriel Consulting Group. "I've always felt that LinkedIn was an overlooked social network that has an amazing potential for business use. M
  
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• Dell claims its external graphics card tech beats Thunderbolt 3 options

  13-06-2016 21:35
  
  If you want to get cutting-edge graphics on your older PC, hook up an external graphics card.Hardware to plug external graphics cards into Thunderbolt 3 PC ports is becoming available. Other external graphics options are available, most notably from Dell, which believes its proprietary Alienware Graphics Amplifier is superior to Thunderbolt 3 options.The idea of external graphics cards has existed for years, but only in recent years has it become viable. Graphics require a lot of bandwidth, and
  
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• Linux gaming poised for a boost with new hardware, Vulkan graphics

  13-06-2016 21:30
  For decades, Windows has remained the gaming platform of choice for PC users. Linux gaming has suffered from poor hardware support and lack of titles, but that could slowly change.
  Hardware upgrades, including faster GPUs and CPUs, are poised to improve Linux gaming. The latest gaming titles will come to Linux much faster with Vulkan, a graphics technology that should drive gaming forward on the OS.
  At E3 this week, Dell announced new Linux-based Alienware Steam Machines gaming PCs with Intel's
  
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• 15% off Amazon Tap Alexa-Enabled Portable Bluetooth Speaker - Deal Alert

  13-06-2016 21:12
  
  Amazon is currently discounting its Tap speaker by 15% to $109.99. It averages 4 out of 5 stars from 1,300 customers (read reviews). The Tap is a more portable version of their popular Echo speaker. The tap lasts for up to 9 hours on a single charge and is Alexa-Enabled, so you just "tap" and ask it to play your favorite music from most streaming music services, check sports scores, request an Uber, order a pizza, and much more. Learn more about the discounted Tap and explore buying options now
  
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• After a slow start, Dell turns up the dial on Steam Machines

  13-06-2016 21:00
  
  Dell had high hopes for the Alienware Steam Machine after its delayed release last year, but it did not become as popular as its twin, Alienware Alpha, a Windows-based PC gaming console.The viability of Steam Machines, a family of Linux-based PC gaming consoles with SteamOS, has been questioned, but Dell isn't giving up yet. With better hardware and an expanding list of gaming titles, Dell is hoping that interest in Alienware Steam Machines will grow.The Steam Machine's rectangular console is ba
  
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• Intel lets slip roadmap for Optane SSDs with 1,000X performance

  13-06-2016 20:50
  
  Intel has let slip its timeline for releasing what is arguably the most significant advancement in non-volatile data storage in years, its 3D XPoint (cross point) memory, which will be sold under the name Optane.
  Taiwanese technology news site benchlife.info posted slides from a presentation showing that the line will be released by the end of this year and likely alongside its Kaby Lake processor platform.
  Optane will likely debut several SSD lines, beginning with the Mansion Beach product by
  
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• Opslagbeheer groter punt van zorg dan prestaties

  13-06-2016 20:39
  ICT-afdelingen gaan gebukt onder een tekort aan beheerders en worstelen nog altijd met piekprestaties in virtualisatie-omgevingen. Daarnaast is beheer van opslag een grotere zorg dan opslagprestaties. Daarop duidt een jaarlijkse enquête van Trinti, leverancier van opslag voor virtualisatie en... lees meer
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Deciding between active and passive management when outsourcing services

  13-06-2016 20:30
  
  There are effectively two models for managing outsourcing relationships, whether it’s for IT and infrastructure services or for BPO. The services industry has been pushing a managed services environment as the best practice. But in reality, this is not the best practice for all types of outsourcing.Passive management implies that you are managing to service levels. It’s very consistent with the book I wrote in 2000, Turning Lead Into Gold: The Demystification of Outsourcing, in which
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Deciding between active and passive management of outsourcing services

  13-06-2016 20:30
  
  There are effectively two models for managing outsourcing relationships, whether it’s for IT and infrastructure services or for BPO. The services industry has been pushing a managed services environment as the best practice. But in reality, this is not the best practice for all types of outsourcing.
  Passive management implies that you are managing to service levels. It’s very consistent with the book I wrote in 2000, Turning Lead Into Gold: The Demystification of Outsourcing, in whi
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: A 10x future demands change

  13-06-2016 20:17
  
  In last month’s blog I talked about keeping your team innovative. One of the key tenets of an innovative team is the concept of moonshots or "10x Thinking" or audacious goals. In a “moonshot economy,” while a breakthrough can mean the start of a new industry leader, it can also mean the death of an industry stalwart.First, let’s take a look at some previous moonshots and how they’ve impacted various industries and the world.The first is, of course, the great Space R
  
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• In pictures: 5 reasons Microsoft is buying LinkedIn

  13-06-2016 20:12
  
  In pictures: 5 reasons Microsoft is buying LinkedInImage by MicrosoftMicrosoft is making its biggest tech acquisition ever, spending $26.2 billion for enterprise-focused social networking company LinkedIn. Why did it do it? On Monday, Satya Nadella and LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner discussed five compelling reasons. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• BrandPost: Contract-to-Hire IT Staffing

  13-06-2016 20:12
  The so-called “Gig Economy” is a growing trend. The numbers are stunning: About 40% of the U.S. workforce—up from 31% in 2005—take part in the gig economy. But for technology companies and departments, hiring permanent staff is the better solution in many cases. Even better—getting to test-drive staffers before you hire them. We’re talking about Contract-to-Hire Staffing, and PC Connection is your go-to source to find the right people for the long term.IT
  
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• 5 reasons Microsoft is buying LinkedIn, in pictures

  13-06-2016 20:12
  
  5 reasons Microsoft is buying LinkedIn, in picturesImage by MicrosoftMicrosoft is making its biggest tech acquisition ever, spending $26.2 billion for enterprise-focused social networking company LinkedIn. Why did it do it? On Monday, Satya Nadella and LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner discussed five compelling reasons. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• BrandPost: Softmart Now Stronger than Ever

  13-06-2016 20:08
  PC Connection recently invited Softmart to join our family of companies. Softmart is a powerful company in its own right, recently described by CRN as a “solution provider stalwart with well-defined hardware, cloud, and Office 365 practices.” Combined with the depth and breadth of PC Connection’s strength and reach, ranked #20 in CRN’s 2015 Solution Provider 500, our aim is to offer our customers everything they need to build sound technology investments, achieve their t
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: How CIOs can take IT to the next level by anticipating industry disruptions

  13-06-2016 20:05
  
  Many business leaders are in the wait mode, they doubt the IT vendors' agenda; they rightly feel that infrastructure alone won't help to adjust to the ongoing industry disruptions. How about the impacts on the business value chain? How about Cloud, DevOps, Internet of Things (IoT), and Big Data integration into coherent and consistent business capability? How to facilitate change adoptions? are some their concerns.Things aren't as simplistic as deploying infrastructures disconnected from busines
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: 6 reasons you need webinars in your content strategy (and how to get started)

  13-06-2016 20:00
  
  Content marketing offers a high ROI and is relatively accessible, so it’s become radically popular as a means of promoting a business. The flip side to that popularity, of course, is that competition is rampant, and it’s harder than ever to stand out from the crowd. If you want any hope of actually reaching your target audience, you need to offer unique content, in new forms that your competitors will have a hard time mimicking. One of the best ways to do this is through a relatively
  
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• Cegal breidt uit naar datacenter van Interxion

  13-06-2016 19:39
  IT-aanbieder en leverancier van geowetenschappelijke oplossingen voor de olie- en gasindustrie Cegal gaat een point of presence (PoP) installeren in een datacenter op de Schiphol-campus van Interxion, leverancier van cloud- en carrier-neutrale datacenterdiensten.Het Noorse Cegal heeft de laatste jaren een flinke... lees meer
  
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• US government seeks to intervene in Irish data protection case

  13-06-2016 19:25
  
  The U.S. government wants to intervene in an Irish court case that has already disrupted the transatlantic flow of European Union citizens' personal information on which many businesses rely.And one of the parties to that case, Austrian Facebook user Max Schrems, is looking forward to the opportunity to have U.S. authorities questioned under oath on a matter that could determine the future of European privacy law.The U.S. government, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, an Irish business lobby group, a
  
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• AT&T and Samsung detail security gaps

  13-06-2016 19:02
  
  Cybersecurity would seem to be a top priority for enterprises, but there are still breaches and apparent gaps in their defenses and the way that companies respond to attacks.
  In separate announcements on Monday, both AT&T and Samsung drew attention to the dilemma. They recommended new enterprise security assessments that build on the services already offered by both companies.
  Samsung announced a new partnership with Booz Allen Hamilton to help enterprises find and address gaps in their mob
  
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• Why Microsoft bought LinkedIn for $26 billion, in one word: Cortana

  13-06-2016 18:40
  
  The image above says it all: Microsoft spent $26.1 billion to ensure that you’ll never walk into a meeting “cold” again.
  Picture a typical business trip: meetings all day, drinks at night. A good salesperson knows his or her contacts before he or she steps foot in the door. But that goes for coworkers as well: How you you make them feel comfortable? How do you make them part of a team? How do you let them know who to approach, both inside and outside the company?
  All of this u
  
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• GE CIO says IT leaders need to focus on customers’ revenue

  13-06-2016 17:46
  
  When Jim Fowler served as CIO of GE’s power-generation services unit he understood the business well. But in a meeting with the division’s sales team, he realized he didn’t fully understand its customers.For example, Fowler had not realized that producing software that helped customers in certain municipalities save fuel wasn’t driving any great returns. It wasn’t a priority for customers, he learned — they would just pass the cost of fuel onto its own custome
  
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• A popular cloud privacy bill stalls in the Senate

  13-06-2016 17:05
  A bill to give email and other documents stored in the cloud new protections from government searches may be dead in the U.S. Senate over a proposed amendment to expand the FBI's surveillance powers.The Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act would require law enforcement agencies to get court-ordered warrants to search email and other data stored with third parties for longer than six months.Under U.S. law, police need warrants to get their hands on paper files in a suspect's
  
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• VMware buys Arkin to help increase virtual networking adoption

  13-06-2016 16:57
  
  VMware Monday announced plans to acquire Arkin, a specialist in helping customers manage physical and virtual networks, for an undisclosed sum.
  Arkin says its tools provide “cross-domain visibility,” which means that it can aggregate operational data from both virtual and physical infrastructures. Correlating this data can help organizations root out the cause of problems and fix them faster.
  +MORE M&A: Microsoft buys LinkedIn for $26.2 billion | Symantec scoops up Blue Coat for
  
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• Here's Microsoft CEO's letter to employees about the $26 billion LinkedIn acquisition

  13-06-2016 16:55
  
  Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella just weighed in on why the company decided to buy LinkedIn for a whopping $26.2 billion in cash—and no, it had nothing to do with spam email.
  For Microsoft, buying LinkedIn is all about combining social connections (LinkedIn) with a productivity-focused cloud (Office 365 and Dynamics CRM). Or, as Microsoft said in its graphic announcing the acquisition, “creating more connected, intelligent and productive experiences.”This Microsoft graphic hints at
  
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• Microsoft buys LinkedIn for $26.2B to expand its business products

  13-06-2016 16:12
  
  Microsoft has made a big bet on LinkedIn, announcing Monday that it will spend nearly $26.2 billion in cash to purchase the enterprise-focused social networking and recruiting company. The acquisition -- which is the largest in Microsoft's history and one of the biggest tech acquisitions ever -- will combine the world's largest enterprise-focused social network with one of the biggest enterprise software companies.It's more than just a social play, though. In addition to LinkedIn's core pro
  
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• Machine learning could help companies react faster to ransomware

  13-06-2016 16:03
  File-encrypting ransomware programs have become one of the biggest threats to corporate networks worldwide and are constantly evolving by adding increasingly sophisticated detection-evasion and propagation techniques.In a world where any self-respecting malware author makes sure that his creations bypass antivirus detection before releasing them, enterprise security teams are forced to focus on improving their response times to infections rather than trying to prevent them all, which is likely t
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Aligning strategy with data management

  13-06-2016 15:45
  
  Over time many organizations have developed a piecemeal approach to their IT management. Applications are developed or acquired as needed. Over several years this can lead to data silos, incompatible applications, and inconsistent insight into data. In many cases, organizations add data sources as needed and expand or limit access accordingly. Over years this can lead to dozens of applications and data stores that do not integrate with one another. Consequently, if organizations do not align th
  
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• Recorded Future aligns with other threat intelligence vendors

  13-06-2016 15:31
  
  Recorded Future is teaming up with other security vendors to blend the threat intelligence they all gather so it’s easier for corporate security pros to connect the dots that reveal actual incidents that need attention.
  With the Omni Intelligence Partner Network, businesses that are customers of both Recorded Future and participating partners can import threat intelligence gathered by the partners and display it within Intelligence Cards that are one interface within Recorded Future&rsquo
  
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• Why you won't see a U.S.-made iPhone any time soon

  13-06-2016 15:08
  
  Politicians love to promise the impossible. If you're keeping track of all the promises that can't be kept, you can add the idea of a made-in-America iPhone to the list. Building Apple's iconic device in the United States would drive up costs so much that the company would have to raise the price of its iPhone 6s by as much as $100, according to an analysis published last week in the MIT Technology Review.Even if Apple decided that price increase was worth the change, the United States
  
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• Top 10 applicant tracking systems

  13-06-2016 14:59
  
  Top applicant tracking systems (ATS)Image by ThinkstockApplicant tracking systems (ATS) get a bad rap. The best ones can help streamline the recruiting and hiring process by managing job postings and tracking resumes and applications, especially in this tight IT talent market. Many of the best ATS solutions also include tools for employee referrals, social media recruiting, employer branding, new hire onboarding and even performance and compensation management. Each year, Capterra, a Web-based c
  
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• Microsoft scoops up LinkedIn for $26.2B in cash

  13-06-2016 14:56
  
  Microsoft announced early Monday that it will acquire enterprise social network LinkedIn for approximately $26.2 billion in cash. In a press release announcing the news, Microsoft said that LinkedIn will retain its brand, culture and independence as part of the deal. LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner will remain in power there, and will report directly to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella as a member of his senior staff. This is the largest acquisition in Microsoft's history, worth more than its acqu
  
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• VMware launches new service to manage endpoint security

  13-06-2016 14:12
  
  VMware wants to help companies get a better handle on the security of the computers their employees use. The new TrustPoint product the company announced Monday uses software to make it possible to track and manage computers easily and quickly, without taking up a whole bunch of data. 
  First off, the software allows companies to detect what devices are on their networks, along with which ones are being managed by IT. That helps businesses understand if they have machines operating outside
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Disable Apple Music in iTunes 12.4

  13-06-2016 14:00
  
  Apple Music has millions of paying subscribers, but not everybody uses it. Some folks like myself just aren’t interested in Apple’s streaming music service, so Apple Music just adds visual clutter to iTunes 12.4.Not to worry, in this how-to I’ll show you how you can easily get rid of Apple Music’s buttons in iTunes 12.4. This will help make iTunes 12.4 a better experience by getting rid of unnecessary interface elements.How to disable Apple Music in iTunes 12.4
  Just follo
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: 5 things we learned from the HPE and GE IoT partnership

  13-06-2016 14:00
  
  A few weeks ago during the Discovery conference, HP Enterprises (HPE) announced a partnership with GE Digital to expand their solutions for the industrial enterprise. The partnership centers around GE Digital’s Predix IoT platform As part of the agreement, HPE will become the preferred storage and infrastructure provider for GE Digital’s Predix. Also, to enhance the service offerings around Predix, HPE will provide support for the design, implementation, and rollout of the Pred
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: 11 best practices to improve any project anywhere

  13-06-2016 14:00
  
  No matter where you are on the project, no matter how well or how poorly things are going at the moment, there is always something you can be doing or should be doing to improve the project. It can be very easy to start going through the motions if the project is on auto pilot or even if it's going horribly wrong. You know that “giving up” feeling when you're on a sinking ship? Don't do it. Fail or not, you will regret it. Do your best and you may salvage something good out of even a
  
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• Millennials are shaking up workplace communication

  13-06-2016 13:24
  
  Millennials are now the largest generation in America, and as they work their way into the corporate world, they are driving change in business communication, says Jeff Corbin, CEO and founder of APPrise Mobile, a provider of mobile communication apps.
  "As the workplace evolves and millennials continue to comprise the vast majority of the workforce, the importance of communicating and engaging with employees has never been more important.There is definitely a shift taking place from 'old school'
  
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• Apple: Want apps? Then subscribe

  13-06-2016 13:23
  
  Apple announced that by this fall it will let nearly all iOS app makers switch to a subscription-based business model, a move that could make it easier for some small-scale developers to turn a profit but risks backlash from consumers burdened by subscription fatigue.
  "Ultimately, this should lead to more apps, better apps, and more innovation," Jan Dawson, chief analyst at Jackdaw Research, said of Apple's plans.
  As revealed in a pair of interviews that marketing chief Philipp Schiller did wit
  
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• Boardroom onvoldoende toegerust voor digitalisering

  13-06-2016 13:17
  Ofschoon directeuren uit het Nederlandse bedrijfsleven zich bewust zijn van de snelle ontwikkelingen in digitalisering, zijn hun organisaties hiermee nog nauwelijks succesvol in de praktijk. Daarop duidt een enquête door OkDelta en  Holtrop Ravesloot.Grote bedrijven in Nederland blijven achter met concrete... lees meer
  
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• Improve business outcomes by aligning project management and CRM

  13-06-2016 13:06
  
  In most companies, individual departments or teams believe they hold the key to understanding customer needs more than other areas of the business. But the reality is that different departments simply have a different view into customer expectations and none has an all-encompassing view.CRM teams and EPMO/PMOs are not immune to this misconception. When you look at the two roles, both ultimately focus on customer/stakeholder satisfaction and utilize similar or comparable mechanisms to accomplish
  
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• Is Oracle cooking its cloud books?

  13-06-2016 13:00
  
  It wasn’t that long ago that Oracle’s lord and master, Larry Ellison, snarled that cloud computing was just hype. He said in 2008, “The computer industry is the only industry that is more fashion-driven than women’s fashion. Maybe I’m an idiot, but I have no idea what anyone is talking about. What is it? It’s complete gibberish. It’s insane. When is this idiocy going to stop?”
  Fast forward to 2012 and you find Ellison proclaiming that Oracle was r
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: What to do if you work in a 'personality cult' environment

  13-06-2016 13:00
  
  A personality cult is a situation in which a leader controls an organization through force of personality and the control of the communication channels.The problem with personality cults is that they come to rely overly-much on a single person. Instead of being as smart as the combination of a group, personality cults tend to be only as smart (or talented, or insightful, or clever) as the personality him/herself. Although this can work very well if the person is truly as brilliant as he/she thin
  
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• 5 free apps that add cool Windows 7 features to Windows 10

  13-06-2016 12:33
  
  A new OS often retires features that were in its predecessor. If you’re still holding onto Windows 7 because a feature you’re fond of doesn’t appear in Windows 10, chances are there are alternative programs you can install to replace it. Here are five of them, and they’re all free.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• Blijf uw klant vooropzetten, ook in de IT

  13-06-2016 12:19
  “Online shoppen bestaat niet meer, het is gewoon shoppen”, aldus Artificial Solutions in zijn recente whitepaper over retail. Digitalisering brengt veel veranderingen en uitdagingen met zich mee waar ook de retail-sector niet aan ontkomt. Om te overleven moeten bedrijven in deze sector zich blijven... lees meer
  
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• Meet Microsoft's 'planet scale' NoSQL database

  13-06-2016 12:01
  
  Given the strength of SQL Server in business, you might be surprised to learn that Microsoft has spent the last five years building a distributed NoSQL database – until you remember that services like Power BI, Bing and the Office Web apps face the same challenges as services like Netflix. They’re problems more and more enterprises have to deal with too: the deluge of data, the demands of mobility and the need for low latency even though you’re relying on cloud services.To read
  
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