This Executive Update takes the thinking presented in my last Update ("Enterprise Architects and Organizational Change: A Requirement or an Option?")1 one step further and looks at the requirements for different types of architects in terms of five colors, each representing a perspective that aims to bring change to an organization.

The phenomenon of open source software (OSS) is a recognized and mature aspect of the global IT market with profound implications for enterprise IT. A newer trend emerging is the various disciplines and methodologies that fall under the rubric of agile software development, which has a number of interesting parallels with and similarities to OSS.

Pendulums swing back and forth in lots of areas. This is especially true in corporate and technology governance. But it may stop swinging for good very soon. Let's look at why things are so different now -- and likely to stay that way forever.

Let's begin with a definition of technology governance. Wikipedia describes it as:

Cloud computing is the most talked about emerging technology trend today. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines cloud computing as "a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction." 1

When an organization is considering outsourcing in any of its "shore" forms (offshore, nearshore, onshore), rumors will spread like wildfire, fueled by rampant speculation regarding motive.

This is the final Executive Update in a three-part series exploring Tim O'Reilly's statement that Web 2.0 applications must go "beyond the page metaphor of Web 1.0 to deliver rich user experiences." 1

I am growing very tired of solving the same old problems over and over again.

Cloud computing and software as a service (SaaS) are two very strong "disruptive" innovations that are changing the IT landscape forever by providing services to a large number of independent customers. SaaS and cloud capabilities are a best-fit model and an attractive option for companies that look to deploy state-of-the-art technology while conserving capital resources. A robust, trusted software infrastructure offers key technical elements that deliver these assurances. One key requirement is to enable multi-tenancy.

If you don't know what cloud computing is, then you probably need to brush up on your buzzwords. The term was coined in 1997 by University of Texas researcher Ramnath Chellappa, and it took a decade for it to really catch on.

In June and July 2009, Cutter Consortium conducted a survey that asked 79 end-user organizations about their various BI and data warehousing efforts. One set of questions sought to determine the impact of the economic downturn on BI and data warehousing spending.

As an agile evangelist, your ultimate job is to transform your organization's culture so you are faster at noticing and responding effectively to opportunities. The first agile project will enable you to show the benefits of a new way of working and enroll the support of others for future organizational transformation.

Before you invest heavily in an outsourcing initiative, you must make sure there is a compelling rationale based on sound economic analysis. An outsourcing business case is the basis on which each "go/no-go" decision will be made.

A general approach to business cases covers an assessment of the following:

Cloud computing is the current state of the art in data center infrastructure and provision of computing resources as a service. It offers numerous advantages to businesses. The cloud makes it possible to outsource applications and infrastructure to companies whose core competence lies in providing these services as well as in maintaining the required infrastructure.

Cloud computing is bringing about a radical change in how IT and computation are done today. Cloud computing is all about elastic computing, and making effective use of this elastic nature not only helps reduce cost but also harnesses huge raw computing power only when it is needed. All these features make cloud computing quite attractive to several industry verticals that are constantly on the lookout for more easy-to-use computing capabilities at a much lower cost.

The idea of separating an organization's core functionality from its contextual functionality, with the view of concentrating its own resources on what it does best -- the "core" -- and outsourcing what others can do faster, cheaper, and better -- the "context" -- is highly prevalent and well known.

"Everything's negotiable" is a phrase we hear a lot these days. It applies to buying a car, a home, or even a vacation. It especially applies to technology services.

As a CIO or enterprise architecture (EA) manager, you will have experienced that some of your enterprise architects seem to get along just fine with the user community, but others seem to run into arguments with their customers time and time again. These are problems that you have to solve, committing time and prestige to fix things while you do not understand why things got out of control in the first place.

If you have ever learned to fire a rifle, you will know that initially it isn't about hitting the target. It's about being consistent when you miss. Learning how to aim means learning how to avoid spraying your bullets all over the place.

"Your strategic and corporate reporting will be as effective as your operational system's performance management is" -- every organization or enterprise understands this one-liner. The question is how many work toward making sure this happens.

Someone has an "ah-ha!" moment. She has read an article, talked with a friend, or heard a great presentation at a conference. "I think we should be doing agile in our company," she says. Some companies, particularly small ones, can simply try agile on their next project without much fuss. In large companies, it is usually a lot harder.

Everyone agrees that software agility is a good thing, and vendors have been the leading advocates.

In this Executive Update, we continue the discussion begun in Part I1 about the evolution of business process management (BPM) with respect to today's changes in commercial practice toward service orientation.

Cloud computing is likely to have a continual and lasting impact on sourcing. While still in its infancy, it is bringing about a "weather change" in how outsourcing is viewed as well as in client expectations. In cloud computing, services are provided on a granular, pay- as-you-go basis through a versatile infrastructure that makes possible innumerable service variations.

Most client organizations expect that their providers will continually innovate or carry out some form of value-adding when there is an outsourcing contract. I write "some form" because a typical outsourcing contract does not specify what innovation is expected, let alone when it is to occur (just at the start? continuously?), where it is to occur (technology?

This is the second Executive Update in a three-part series exploring Tim O'Reilly's statement that Web 2.0 applications must go "beyond the page metaphor of Web 1.0 to deliver rich user experiences."1