Daily News Archive

Please note that The Daily News is publishing (hopefully) twice a week for the foreseeable future due to time constraints.

Tuesday, February 21st

"Without a standard there is no logical basis for making a decision or taking action.” -- Joseph M. Juran

 

The Picks of the Day

SEC, PCAOB Plan Roundtable on Sec. 404

“The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) have announced they will co-host a roundtable discussion on May 10 to discuss second-year experiences of implementing the reporting and auditing requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Section 404 deals specifically with a company's internal controls over financial reporting.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/5540365/c_5540458?f=alerts

 

Managing compliance risk

“Within IT, the challenge lies not only in achieving compliance, but also in sustaining it when faced with overstretched staffs and budgets.”

http://www.ameinfo.com/78319.html

 

IT Process Improvement Resources

2005 Insider Threat Study:  Computer System Sabotage in Critical Infrastructure Sectors

“This report of the ITS examines cases in which the primary goal of the insider was to sabotage some aspect of an organization or direct specific harm toward an individual(s). Forty-nine incidents that occurred across the critical infrastructure sectors between1996 and 2002 were studied.”

http://www.cert.org/archive/pdf/insidercross051105.pdf

[Thank you Otis!]

 

BECTA’s page on Release Management

Great information on their ITIL Release Management implementation including documentation and templates.

http://becta.org.uk/fits/index.cfm?sect=release&refsect=ntss&bcsect=default

 

Legal and Regulatory Compliance

China to Adopt IFRS

“Chinese government officials have announced that companies will adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) used by nearly 100 countries, including those in the European Union, according to The Financial Times.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/5539544/c_5540458?f=ThisWeekinFinance021706

 

CFOs Seek Sarbox Triage

“Many would prefer a risk-based strategy of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance that would dispense with the ''checklist'' approach and enable them to channel corporate energies toward the most serious problems.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/5494440?f=members_021606

 

Security and Risk Management

Old computers a corporate time bomb

“Antiquated computer systems at the core of some of Australia's largest companies are ticking time bombs, using outdated computer codes and languages no longer recognised by most programmers.  Former Qantas chief information officer Fiona Balfour, who has joined Telstra, last year admitted she lost sleep over the old code at the airline, some of which dates back to the 1960s.”

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,18218415%255E2702,00.html

 

Eavesdropping issue could become moot

“Even as the U.S. government is embroiled in a debate over the legality of wiretapping, the fastest-growing technology for Internet calls appears to have the potential to make eavesdropping a thing of the past.”

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/tech/news/3668681.html

 

Human Error / Safety

[Nanotech]  Getting FDA'S OK To Go Inside The Body

“Developing a new product -- matching design and functionality with a real market need -- is difficult enough. But when it comes to working inside the human body, it's doubly so.”

http://smalltimes.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=10820

 

Planning for Pandemic

“The potential human toll of a bird flu pandemic is hard enough to contemplate, but the possible economic impact is also vast. CSOs (and all continuity planners) need to think ahead to keep their organizations—and the economy at large—working to the greatest extent possible. Ed Carubis, former CIO of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and now senior consultant to geospatial data company ESRI, spoke with Senior Editor Sarah D. Scalet and offered specific steps for CSOs to follow.”

http://www.csoonline.com/read/020106/planning_pandemic.html

 

Outsourcing / Globalization

China Seeking Auto Industry, Piece by Piece

“China is pursuing a novel way to catapult its automaking into a global force: buy one of the world's most sophisticated engine plants, take it apart, piece by piece, transport it halfway around the globe and put it back together again at home.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/17/business/17auto.html?ei=5088&en=6b36d9fe7cbd5851&ex=1297832400&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1140215136-M3ykGv+WjKMhZOSMuSXyVA

 

'English is Cool' campaign aims to strengthen BPO industry

“The declining English proficiency of Filipino graduates continues to be a persistent problem. Seeing the urgent need to address this, the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) recently presented a proposal for a nationwide ‘English is Cool’ campaign as a concrete step towards further strengthening the Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.”

http://www.itnetcentral.com/computerworld/article.asp?id=15576&leveli=0&info=Computerworld

 

Economics / Business / Misc.

Insurer conquers change management

“Implementing any type of formal process is never easy, but modifying an existing process that works is even harder.  That's what we found to be the case at Erie Insurance as we automated our IT change-management process.”

http://www.networkworld.com/careers/2006/022006man.html

 

ERP’s learning curve

“Agencies taking on enterprise resource management projects often find themselves in over their heads, and they are are beginning to turn to government centers of excellence for help.”

http://www.gcn.com/25_4/news/38285-1.html

Thursday, February 23rd

"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.” -- Aldous Huxley

 

The Picks of the Day

Financial Stars Urge Regulators To Not Dilute Sarbanes-Oxley

“A group of financial notables has urged regulators to reject a proposal to exempt thousands of smaller public companies from Sarbanes-Oxley-imposed rules on internal controls.  Former Securities and Exchange Chairman Arthur Levitt and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker and others warn in a Feb. 13 letter that such a rule relaxation is "misguided" and "simply goes too far" in addressing the concerns of small companies.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114049341489878791.html?mod=djemEMU

http://www.newyorkbusiness.com/news.cms?id=13012

 

GPL gets another brickbat--but where does the Sarbanes-Oxley problem really lie?

“You're probably expecting me to sneer at Michaelson's paper, but I'm not going to. It's an excellent essay, in my opinion. It describes a real--though very limited--problem. In fact, I think a recognition of this problem may lead to an increase in dual licensing, which will allay many of the fears expressed in the paper.”

http://www.onlamp.com/pub/wlg/9232

[Note, I originally skipped the GPL-SOX articles and labeled them as hype to steer people away from open source towards commercial vendors like Microsoft.  I thought this article’s commentary was well done.]

 

SEC hits 4 KPMG execs with record fines

“Four former and current partners of Big Four accounting firm KPMG agreed to pay record-setting fines to settle charges stemming from a 1997-2000 earnings manipulation scheme at copier maker Xerox Corp., U.S. regulators said on Wednesday.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/22/AR2006022201154.html?nav=rss_business

 

IT Process Improvement

The Service Desk Function

Long considered the low-end of the IT staffing spectrum, the service desk is a vital element in ITIL coordinating communications and serving as the single point of contact with customers.  Continuing with our coverage of BECTA, their Service Desk page offers documentation and guidance as to their approach for the ITIL Service Desk function.

http://becta.org.uk/fits/index.cfm?sect=servdesk&refsect=ntss&bcsect=default

 

Liberty Mutual Steps Up Performance With ITSM

“Two years ago, IT administrators at Liberty Mutual didn't know an application was down until users called to complain. Today, they're steps ahead, monitoring applications for slowdowns or abnormal activity -- sometimes fixing the problem before users even notice anything is wrong.”

http://www.itsmwatch.com/news/article.php/3583116

 

Legal and Regulatory Compliance

Are compliance headaches only just beginning?

“There's been a lot of talk about the impact of new government and industry regulations on IT departments, especially in the financial services sector. But according to recent research it looks like this is just the beginning.”

http://www.silicon.com/financialservices/0,3800010322,39156600,00.htm

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/02/20/compliance_pill/

 

Sharp end of Sarbanes-Oxley shows it means business as agent for change

“Log on to the careers website of the US audit regulator and it seems you are not dealing with a shrinking violet - an impression UK accountants will soon be able to test.”

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/7969b89a-a1b5-11da-9ca4-0000779e2340.html

 

Compliance delivers unexpected benefits

“Many business leaders may object to the stringent corporate regulations that have emerged in the past two years, but organisations that have deployed reporting tools to help them meet post-Enron regulatory requirements are increasingly finding that the systems also deliver unexpected business benefits.”

http://www.vnunet.com/itweek/analysis/2150689/compliance-delivers-unexpected

 

Security and Risk Management

Making security a shared responsibility

“Rhonda MacLean, former head of security for Bank of America and before that Boeing has parlayed her experience into a position as principal of the year-old MacLean Risk Partners and now spends her time advising clients about how to quantify and mitigate against security risks in today’s NDC environment.”

http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/0/2EE99F27954EECDECC2571170078002F?OpenDocument

 

Business Continuity Sees Broad Response

“More than 83 percent of companies have developed business continuity management programs, compared with only 30 percent of companies just six years ago, reported a new survey by Deloitte & Touche LLP and CPM Group.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/5544137?f=alerts

 

Human Error / Safety

Earth Hurtles Toward 6.5 Billion

“The planet's population is projected to reach 6.5 billion at 7:16 p.m. EST Saturday, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and its World Population Clock.  Thomas Malthus, the 18th-century thinker who famously predicted the human population would outrun its food supply, would be astounded.”

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70238-0.html?tw=rss.technology

 

Outsourcing / Globalization

BPO: Is Wider Better?

“Business process outsourcing providers are expanding their offerings; customers are still farming out bits and pieces, but they're selecting providers with an eye to the future.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/5541833?f=alerts

 

The Asian Effects of a U.S. Downturn

“The American economy seems pretty sound, but if worse comes to worst, nearly all Asian markets will likely get caught in the fall”

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/feb2006/nf20060222_0931_db016.htm?campaign_id=rss_daily

 

Wipro buys U.S. consulting company

“Indian services giant Wipro Monday announced it has bought a U.S. consulting company that helps businesses streamline and improve their services operations.  Wipro signed a definitive agreement to buy cMango, which has headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif., for $20 million in cash, with additional payments if cMango meets certain financial targets, Wipro said.”

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/022006-wipro-buys-cmango.html?fsrc=rss-outsourcing

 

Economics / Business / Misc.

U.S. technology has been used to block, censor Net for years

“If you think there's something new or unique about Google censoring its Chinese website or Websense helping Yemen filter the Net — well, I hate to disappoint you. Those congressmen acting surprised about this stuff are either grandstanding or ignorant, or maybe both.”

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/kevinmaney/2006-02-21-net-censor_x.htm

 

RFID: A Voice From Beijing

“Executive points out that radio frequency identification is still in a very early stage in China; thinking about legality, profit, and enforcement”

http://www.line56.com/articles/default.asp?articleID=7361&TopicID=2

 

Americans work more, seem to accomplish less

“Workers completed two-thirds of their work in an average day last year, down from about three-quarters in a 1994 study, according to research conducted for Day-Timers Inc., an East Texas, Pennsylvania-based maker of organizational products. 

The biggest culprit is the technology that was supposed to make work quicker and easier, experts say.”

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11509049/