Moving Towards Storage as a Service. Current technology decision making in larger organisations is more dependent on making existing IT platforms as efficient as possible to support business demands, and less on the 'next big thing'. However, particularly in storage and information management, there remain weaknesses in the day to day operation of such environments. This report positions Information Life Cycle Management (ILM) in the context of infrastructure management as a whole, to yield understanding of where we are today, and how much further there is to go. The research shows that businesses are being more prudent than ever with their IT spending, focusing on delivering an efficient infrastructure and reaping the benefits that this can bring for the business. ...
01/11/2005 | ILM_as_a_journey_November_2005.pdf | VIEW
In this, the third update to Quocirca's Grid Index, we can begin to see how trends across the world are building. This cycle also shows how companies that have the business and IT well aligned are better prepared for the future than those where the business takes a lesser role in IT decision making. ...
01/11/2005 | Grid_Index_Report_-_2005.2.pdf | VIEW
Time pressures on businesses and employees continue to mount. Increasing regulation, traveling and resource limitations compel many to work longer hours. For many roles, productivity is difficult to measure, so improvements might not be as simple as making a greater number of appointments, but making more beneficial decisions. A better understanding of whether productivity has been improved might be gained from assessing whether an individual employee has more control over managing their time, or if wasted gaps can be filled with useful activity. Technology can rarely increase productivity by itself, but gives the individual employee the means to increase it themselves, if they are sufficiently committed and willing to do so. ...
25/10/2005 | T-Mobile_-_Time.pdf | VIEW
Businesses often look to technology to fix a problem, when often all technology can do is amplify problems with existing processes and procedures. If a business has a problem, technology can make it bigger, happen faster and spread further. When businesses are based on sound principles and well run, the effect of technology is generally to enhance, streamline and improve. The two sides of the coin are particularly evident when extending access to internal IT systems outside the business premises. Wireless remote access opens the business up to new opportunities for efficiency and flexibility, but does it also increase the risks to the business, and if so, how can these be mitigated. ...
15/10/2005 | T-Mobile_-_Resilience.pdf | VIEW
For some, work is no longer just somewhere to go to, but something they do, wherever they are. In an increasingly time-pressured business and personal environment, for many the ability to work in what was previously "dead" time is more important both for productivity and work-life balance. To achieve this employees need access to their IT resources outside the office and at home. But even those who are constrained to work at a particular place - like a campus, hospital, factory or industrial complex - find that access to IT and communications at all times of the day and all locations within the workplace is increasingly important. ...
10/10/2005 | T-Mobile_-_Place.pdf | VIEW
Quocirca begun a series of "Barometer" surveys in late 2004 which have been carried out via on-line surveys with The Register. These surveys, which are completed by a group of self-selecting volunteers from The Register's readership, are aimed at giving a broad scale view of the perceptions from the "coal face" - from the very people who face the technical problems on a day-to-day basis. 10 months ago, we looked at 10 areas of concern to businesses and IT people (see here for the findings). We have now re-visited the same 10 areas - and here is our report on the findings. ...
01/10/2005 | pres_regbarom.pdf | VIEW
There are many reasons used to justify the deployment of technology, but ultimately it has to address the commercial needs of the business. It can be quite easy to embark in a particular direction, trying out the latest technologies being promoted by vendors, only to find that these do not really add value to the business. Running pilots is an effective way to test ideas, but taking the next step and deploying the technology can have a larger impact on the business - either positive or negative. The risk is especially high with deployments that have a mobile component - is the risk justified? Larger companies in particular use wireless remote access technology quite widely, but has it yet reached the employees who can benefit the most. Enterprises need to use their business strategy, not the availability of technology, to determine where and how to invest. ...
01/10/2005 | T-Mobile_-_Adoption.pdf | VIEW
Is the EU in a position to achieve its i2010 goals? A recent report by the European Commission noted that "Europe is not investing in productivity enhancing ICT as much as the USA". The report also claimed that the situation is worse for SMBs than for enterprises. Comparing the data from two recent Quocirca studies underlines the problem and shows the price European SMBs are paying for this. ...
01/09/2005 | Europe_behind_US_in_SMB.pdf | VIEW
Overcoming Challenges in B2B Transaction Automation There is a common perception that supply chain automation has created an environment in which transactions move quickly and efficiently between organisations in industries such as the retail supply chain, the automotive manufacturing supply chain and high-tech manufacturing. This perception is challenged by a recent research study summarised in this report, based on interviews with 400 management representatives of medium to large organisations in the US, France, Germany and the UK. ...
01/09/2005 | GXS final July 2008.pdf | VIEW
The idea of "enterprise wireless data" - the mobile industry's term for wireless access to business systems - has been around for very many years now and Quocirca has reported on trials taking place in this area on a number of occasions since 2002. However, the initial pilots don't seem to be moving to broader rollout very quickly. The key question is therefore what is inhibiting large scale take-up? Have initial investments formed a good foundation for the future or will a change of tack be needed? With a particular focus on the use of smart handheld devices, we consider what it will take to reach some sort of tipping point enabling pervasive wireless application access to become a genuine mainstream reality. ...
01/07/2005 | Reaching_the_wireless_data_tipping_point_-_Intellisync.pdf | VIEW
