Stories by Stephanie Overby

Telecom Bill Cramming Impacts IT's Bottom Line

In June, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) announced plans to propose new rules to increase transparency and disclosure on phone bills in order to help protect consumers from "cramming", the illegal addition of unauthorized fees onto a monthly phone bills.

IT outsourcing: What HP's new strategy means for customers

The specifics of Hewlett-Packard's planned shift away from hardware remain unclear, and opinions about the company's stronger focus on enterprise software and services have run the gamut from "corporate suicide" to "it's about time."

What CIOs Should Do About Rogue IT

The CEO has fallen head over heels for his iPad. The marketing team has set up shop on every social media site known to man. The sales group has secretly purchased its own software-as-a-service subscriptions. Meanwhile, the VP of operations is wondering whether there isn't something better out in the cloud that the company could use to run its supply chain.

Offshoring: Preparing for India's proposed privacy rules

The Indian government has finally taken a step toward creating a comprehensive set of data protection rules to safeguard privacy, but the proposed regulations released this spring are likely to have a major impact on the global enterprises doing business with Indian outsourcers.

How Wi-Fi and wireless data-sharing cures patients' ills

There are traditional ways to justify a costly IT project-financial return on investment, regulatory compliance, increased productivity. But for Chad A. Eckes, CIO of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), determining the benefit of a technology investment starts with one simple question: Would you want it for your mum?

Third Internet cable breaks; IT groups on alert

For the third time this week, a big internet pipe has had an underwater mishap: Friday, it was a cable off the coast of <a href="http://www.cio.com/article/178801/subject/Dubai">Dubai</a>, with officials offering no word on what caused the problem, according to <a href="http://www.cio.com/article/178801/subject/Cable+News+Network+LP+LLLP">CNN</a> reports. For most enterprise IT groups, however, this series of Net traffic accidents has been more watch and wait than headache, so far.

Power Up

Hurricane Katrina proves why it most definitely pays to have a disaster recovery plan in place

IT incorporated

On a Thursday in February, Joe Thomas arrives at his office at in USAA's San Antonio headquarters for a 7:15 a.m. meeting to review the daily status of operations. At 8 a.m., he's off to oversee an HR training session on the company's new attendance policy. He heads across the corporate campus at 9:30 to meet with a consultant regarding performance against business continuity benchmarks. Just before noon, he's back in his office with back-to-back supplier meetings. At 1:30 p.m., he's free to reply to e-mail and presumably grab a bite to eat. He goes over February's financials at 3 p.m. An hour later, he's reviewing inventory numbers with his customer, followed by a brief update on the status of his business's latest project. At 5:30, he reviews internal audit results. Just after sunset, he's heading home on the McDermott Freeway and, buoyed by the best customer satisfaction scores he's seen in some time, he's ready to do it all again tomorrow.

Bundle with care

FRAMINGHAM (11/05/2003) - You get what you pay for. And sometimes, when there's extra goods and services bundled into a contract, you get more than you bargained for--and a bigger bill to boot.

Recalling Florida

FRAMINGHAM (10/02/2003) - Remember Florida in 2000? The outdated voting machines and disputed election results? The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California does, and it has sued to block California's recall election slated for Oct. 7, until the state replaces its punched-card voting systems.

The hidden costs of offshore outsourcing

The current stampede toward offshore outsourcing should come as no surprise. For months now, the business press has been regurgitating claims from offshore vendors that IT work costing US$100 an hour in the United States can be done for $20 an hour in Bangalore or Beijing.

India to adopt data privacy rules

Two powerful players in India's outsourcing industry are drafting a data protection law designed to quell growing privacy concerns from their offshore clients.

Staff Alert

With outsourcing on the rise, CIOs are at the centre of a morale crisis. They see many of their workers battling stress on the job. The best leaders learn to help employees now - and keep them in the future

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