”Making IT work as one”

Salt Lake City, marzo 17.- En lo que debe ser mi octavo o noveno Brainshare, la conferencia anual de Novell, encuentro un ambiente muy cool, no sólo porque hace más frío que el año anterior, sino por los temas, la agenda y, claro, la banda que el miércoles tendrá a su cargo el tradicional show que ofrece la compañía de Provo, Utah. El lema de la edición 2008 es “Making IT work as one”, o podríamos decir ¿trabajemos como un alma colectiva?

Su inclinación hacia el Open source le ha valido que fieles seguidores de este movimiento de culto se acerquen a Novell. Al mismo tiempo, no ha olvidado sus raíces en el software de infraestructura corporativa, atendiendo a grandes multinacionales que en el último año se han sumado como clientes: Wal-Mart, Lufthansa, HSBC, por mencionar a algunos de las 87 nuevas cuentas. Y entre sus nuevos productos, ha logrado integrar aquellos que respoden a las grandes megatendencias, como la colaboración, la seguridad y la agilidad.

Entre sus otros méritos para mantener su vigencia, en su 25 aniversario en la industria, su CEO Ron Hovsepian recordó las alianzas con fabricantes y con organismos encargados de estándares. De hecho, en la conferencia inaugural, los ejecutivos de Novell fueron acompañados por Pat Hume, directora de Small and Medium Business de SAP. La empresa alemana debuta como un “cornerstone partner” en Brainshare, uniéndose a otros 10 partners que están co-patrocinando esta conferencia, con unos 5,000 asistentes. Por lo que toca a los estándares, Novell trabaja activamente con los organismos que están poniendo las bases para la comunidad de código abierto.

En los próximos tres días, habrá mucho que reportar desde Brainshare, con más de 250 sesiones técnicas a las que por supuesto no asistiré. Pero sí a una media docena de entrevistas one-on-one con altos ejecutivos de la firma creadora del Netware (¡qué lejos aquellos tiempos!). Entre mis víctimas se encuentra Ron Hovsepian, quien comenzó su conferencia de esta mañana delinenado las tres máximas tendencias actuales: consolidación, virtualización y optimización. Son las mismas de las que les estaré reportando en los próximos días. 

Monicami :: Mar.17.2008 :: My digital life :: No Comments »

 To begin with, what is the digital factor? Well, I made it up. That is the expression I think can better describe elements or pieces of Information Technology in products and services around us, from cars to refrigerators, telephones to homes, and professional services such as car repair shops to doctors.I recently discovered that some of my decisions are being greatly influence by the digital factor. This, I didn’t make it up. It just happened.Three or four months ago, a fried asked me to accompany her to the gynecologist, being her first appointment with him.  As soon as we got into the reception, I noticed the assistant was typing her general data directly into the computer.Afterwards, we were inside the doctor’s office, and I couldn’t help but notice that on top of the desk there was nothing more than a sleek, state-of-the-art flat screen, nothing else. No wires, no papers, no fancy decorative stuff, and not even the keyboard or mouse, which are conveniently placed underneath the desk.When he started talking with my friend, her data was already on his screen, and he said he would send all clinical results to her via e-mail if everything was under control. Then, his cellular rang, and he pulled out an iPhone out of his pants. Hum! Nice!I left the doctor’s office somewhat impressed, but said nothing to my friend. Since I have had a good relationship with my own gynecologist for some 8 years, I didn’t immediately thought about changing.Soon after that episode, I began looking for a new car. I browsed through all manufacturers’ web sites.  And there it goes again! I found myself somewhat biased in my selection by the ease of use, look and feel, completeness and logic structure of the different car makers’ electronic pages. Let me tell you that my favorite is General Motor’s web page. It’s very easy to navigate and you find each model’s price at the very first page. It is design in a very standard way, so as soon as you review a car model, you can easily browse through all the other brands. To be fair, I also have to say that the worst is Honda’s web site. I couldn’t pass the first pop-up, an illustration (mimicking a video game), which tries to simulate a little village, where you are suppose to click on depending of what you are looking for. It is so badly done that wherever you click, it brings you back to the main menu, and from then back to the picture, and so on….forever! I definitely felt GM had a better chance.And then I wanted to buy an airplane ticket. I was frustrated by the Mexicana web page, I have to say. It has to be improved soon, because I was lost after the first response to my flying request. Aeromexico, Volaris and Interjet are all very well done and quick to respond, easy to navigate and with just the right bells and whistles.Finally, I decided I needed to change doctors. I had already asked my good all friend gynecologist why he wasn’t using computers to track patients. He responded he had so many files that it was going to be time consuming to type them all. Mmmm…not a very convincing answer. And now that I think about it, more than a year ago I visited a very well regarded surgeon a friend recommended me. His office was the opposite of the state-of the art gynecologist’s. It was packed with papers, books, and stuff, and he took forever writing down, with a beautiful but slow handwriting, everything he needed to know about my problem. I got so desperate I wanted to run away. To summarize, even if I didn’t do it consciously, more and more now the digital factor is getting in my buying decision process. How is it affecting yours?

Monicami :: Mar.14.2008 :: My digital life :: No Comments »

I had a lot of fun at the sixth annual CIO Summit, the most prestigous and exclusive event for IT and business technology leaders.  The venue was the beautiful Le Blanc hotel and SPA in Cancun, and even if the agenda was very busy, there was time to network with sponsors and have a little outdoor activity.

The program content was mainly about challenges and opportunities for CIOs and the contibution of business technology as a competitive advantage. Keynote speakers included distinguish analyst Donald Feinberg, from Gartner, Richard Brennen, from recruiting firm Spencer Stuart, and politics analyst Ricardo Raphael.  There were also workshops and seminars where CIOs had to evaluate their skills and habilities to be able to respond to future challenges.

Here are some pictures to prove that there was also room for some fun.

Monicami :: Mar.03.2008 :: My digital life :: No Comments »