The IT and Business Diplomat

More intuitive business collaboration insight

Leanne MacDonald — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 09:27:58 -0500

Along the lines of my last post on collaboration and tools 101 I recently came across a blog that linked to the below PowerPoint presentation on Slide Share. Meet Charlie - what is Enterprise 2.0 is one of the best and simplest overviews on the value of business collaboration and the associated tools that can be used.

Reply to the blog and let me know what you think or if you have come across any other examples of delivering the web 2.0 / enterprise 2.0 / business collaboration message to a business audience.

Cheers,

Michael

Business Collaboration and Enterprise 2.0, a real simple overview.

Collaboration 101

Michael Kuhbock — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 08:24:51 -0500

I have recently come across a user and business friendly set of video tutorials on what is a wiki and RSS. They are a great resource to learn more about these collaboration technologies or Web 2.0 tools.

Below are 2 links to user friendly video tutorials on Wiki’s and RSS feeds. They are about 3 minutes long and do a great job of explaining both the benefit and business attributes of wikis and are a great resource to learn more about these collaboration technologies or Web 2.0 tools.

If someone on your team has difficulty getting their heads around what a wiki is and WIIFT (whats in it for them) then direct them to the wiki tutorial video.

What is a Wiki Tutorial Here
Business Friendly RSS Tutorial Here

Why Does Business Need an Integration Strategy?

Michael Kuhbock — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 08:30:12 -0500

I recently did a paper on why business should care about SOA, Alignment and Enterprise 2.0 and just came across the piece below I did on the need for a business integration strategy.

The drivers behind an integration strategy can apply to any technology or acronym of the day which can enhance profitability to an enterprise, as long as it is utilized intelligently.

In any case I thought I might share this with everyone.

Business integration does not come in a shrink-wrapped box. Despite the promises and predications of the late 1990's, it is not a single product or technology. Nor is it a final endpoint accomplished with a single project.

Business integration focuses on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the processes that run the business. Integration is about communication, inside and outside of the enterprise domain. It includes improving the quality and timeliness of information, and providing information on demand and where it is needed, regardless of the source system.

Business agility cannot be achieved simply by implementing integration technologies or methodologies on a project-by-project basis without an overall strategy of how it all fits together. Rapid implementation of the business strategy requires an enterprise-level integration strategy. The business integration strategy ultimately reduces the time and cost of managing information and IT resources while preparing the enterprise to leverage dynamic market opportunities and business assets.

Cheers,

Michael

wiki-nomics for architecture and integration by John Schmidt

Michael Kuhbock — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 12:32:21 -0500

John Schmidt's insightful comments on SOA, Web 2.0 and Architecture

Not sure if everyone has had a chance to review the interview conducted by ebizQ Project Manager Gian Trotta with the IC's Chairman John Schmidt on 'Wiki-nomics', Web 2.0 and Best Architecture for SOAs.

John puts a new and innovative perspective on the state of the nation and where we might see the architecture and SOA markets going.

if you have a chance go check it out at http://www.ebizq.net/filelib/7904.html and then send John a note at his Blog at http://www.icmembers.org/blog/software-ecologist.

Technorati Profile

Michael Kuhbock — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 10:51:01 -0600

Technorati Profile

IC activity and profile

Michael Kuhbock — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 09:47:28 -0600

Exciting changes and activity in the Integration Consortium!

We recently did a Q & A with Hannah Smalltree a News Writer with Enterprise Applications Media Group for an article appearing in TechTarget. http://searchdatamanagement.techtarget.com/qna/0,289202,sid91_gci1244657,00.html

Hannah reviewed with both Leanne and I some of the happenings at the IC which include the formation of 2 new initiatives.

The first is the Private Knowledge Exchange for end users only, this is a creation of John Schmidt's, our Chairman and a senior executive at Wells Fargo. John wanted a forum where the end users can share without being impeded by the suppliers or vendors. Specifically, the IC hosts a minimum of four virtual conferences per year for end-user associate members to share best practices and collaborate on insights and innovations. There also might be a number of smaller exchange interactions between participants in this activity. A collaboration center has also been set up but you need to be an IC member for access to this area and to participate in the PKE. http://associateconferences.icmembers.org/

The second is the IC SOA, the IC SOA is a global community of practice comprised of senior IT leaders dedicated to the ideals of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) as the prevalent IT-model for transforming business and improving IT practices. The IC SOA will explore the value of SOA by sharing and delivering realworld experiences among like minded peers. http://icsoa.icmembers.org/

Finally and most importantly the IC has revised some of their membership rates so that everyone can afford to participate, individual membership is now $100 per year down from $500. We will drive to get all the stakeholders participating and go for some higher participation numbers to offset the costs of running a non vendor sponsored industry association.

So everyone needs to join up NOW so that we can continue to bring some truth and user relevance to the integration and SOA market and never sell our soul to the devil, not that we ever would.

A new membership page with detailed information can be found at http://icmembership.icmembers.org/.

I will get back to my alignment rant later.

Cheers,

What is the real alignment challenge?

Michael Kuhbock — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 13:26:20 -0600

I came across an article the other day:

CIOs must bridge business gap
VNUNet.com - UK
Chief information officers (CIOs) need to work hard to bridge a growing gap between IT and the business, analyst Gartner has warned. ...

The article references the usual dribble that exists out there on how IT has to align with business otherwise the CIO and technology will be relegated to a subordinate role within the enterprise. Guess what, IT is already seen as maintenance and not strategic. This is one of the real issues that needs to be addressed.

Rather than talking, writing and blogging about the symptoms why not put some focus on the root problem or problems which are cultural and communication. This way we can start working our way towards solutions and paths to alignment enlightenment.

If we take a look at the communication and cultural styles of both IT and business, we can start to see some of the disconnects.

What alignment issues are not is; intellectual challenges, business goals or personal mandates. Some of these issues might have reared their ugly heads in the past but now are not really something that is a main barrier to alignment. IT understands that they need to deliver value to the business and do it in a cost and time effective manner otherwise they will be out of a job. Business understands that much of the organizational infrastructure is dependent upon a healthy IT platform and system and that IT innovation can give them a competitive advantage in today’s marketplace. This was recently drilled home to business in the advent of the 3rd wave of technology, e-business. You were either leveraging the web or you lost customers and market share.

Thus this leaves us with 2 underlying challenges to alignment nirvana: culture and communication.

I will address these in the next post and follow up with what can be done about it.

Cheers,

Michael

Welcome

Michael Kuhbock — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 15:01:43 -0600

Welcome the Business and IT Diplomat Blog.

This Blog will deal with some traditional concepts and acronyms such as SOA, integration, alignment but with a very different spin.

As many of you know, I rarely follow the herd in terms of my thoughts around IT and the value it delivers to business. As such, I am usually inclined to be a contrarian to the vendor marketing hype and put my musings in a business perspective that directly asks What’s In It For Me???

The focus will be on issues around SOA and the adoption of this IT philosophy, and how IT needs to sell to business in the 21st century.

For those who have an interest in Business / IT Alignment, i am scraping relevant and current industry information, posts and releases and posting it on a wiki page called the IT Lobbyist http://itlobbyist.icmembers.org/ in an area branded the Alignment Resource Center http://alignmentrescenter.icmembers.org/.

Stay tuned for further posts which are usually fueled by conversations I have with global IT and business practitioners.

Cheers,

Michael