Briefings Direct

Find the podcast on iTunes/iPod. Read a full transcript or download a copy. Sponsor: Ariba.

The latest BriefingsDirect case study interview explores how large businesses are using cloud commerce and automated sourcing and procurement to dramatically improve how they modernize and manage their buying processes.

In doing so, we'll see how they improve cash management and gain an analytical edge to constantly improving these vital processes. The Ohio State University Medical Center (OSUMC), for example, has moved its procurement activities to the cloud and adopted strategic sourcing, dramatically increasing efficiency across the purchases managed.

Through our discussion with Karen Sherrill, Senior Commodity Manager at The Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, learn more about how a large medical enterprise is conducting its business better through collaborative cloud commerce. The moderator is Dana Gardner, Principal Analyst at Interarbor Solutions.

Find the podcast on iTunes/iPod. Read a full transcript or download a copy. Sponsor: Ariba.

Find the podcast on iTunes/iPod. Read a full transcript or download a copy. Sponsor: Ariba.

Recent trends are driving savvy companies to improve how they manage their supplier and buying processes using dynamic discounting.

The latest BriefingsDirect discussion focuses then on how discount management and dynamic discounting can dramatically improve how enterprises procure by better managing the buying process, improving cash management, and gaining an analytic edge on constantly improving processes through cloud-enabled automation.

To learn more about how buyers and sellers can benefit from such improved business processes around cash management in the procurement phase we interviewed Drew Hofler, Senior Manager, Working Capital Solution at Ariba. The discussion is moderated by Dana Gardner, Principal Analyst at Interarbor Solutions. [Disclosure: Ariba is a sponsor of BriefingsDirect podcasts.]

Find the podcast on iTunes/iPod. Read a full transcript or download a copy. Sponsor: Ariba.

How do IT architectures at software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers provide significant advantages over traditional enterprise IT architectures?

We answer that "Architecture is Destiny" question by looking at how one SaaS provider, Workday, has from the very beginning moved beyond relational databases and distributed architectures that date to the mid-1990s.

Instead, Workday has designed its architecture to provide secure transactions, wider integrations, and deep analysis off of the same optimized data source -- all to better serve business needs. The advantages of these modern services-based architecture can be passed on to the end users -- and across the ecosystem of business process partners -- at significantly lower cost than conventional IT.

Join a technology executive from Workday, Petros Dermetzis, Vice President of Development there, to explore how architecting properly provides the means to adapt and extend how businesses need to operate, and not be limited by how IT has to operate. The discussion is moderated by BriefingsDirect's Dana Gardner, Principal Analyst at Interarbor Solutions.

 

Additional resources:

The Real SaaS Manifesto (whitepaper)
Things Large Enterprises Need to Know About SaaS
Strength from the Core: Why Bolted-On BI Doesn't Work for HR
Built-In Business Intelligence
Real Saas
Notes from Workday's Technology Summit

Find the podcast on iTunes/iPod and Podcast.com. Read a full transcript or download a copy. Sponsor: Workday.

 

Businesses are increasingly using cloud and e-commerce to improve how they do sales, marketing, and online transactions.

One company, Tampa-based MarkMaster, has quickly moved to nearly all-paperless sales transactions, found new customers via online networks, and increased the amount of product it sells to its existing clients. This was accomplished without a lot of additional IT or business-process spending by using cloud-based collaborative business commerce solutions.

To learn more about how MarkMaster is conducting its business better, BriefingsDirect's Dana Gardner, Principal Analyst at Interarbor Solutions, recently interviewed Kevin Govin, the CEO at MarkMaster.

Find the podcast on iTunes/iPod and Podcast.com. Read a full transcript or download a copy. Sponsor: Ariba.

As wireless communications technology becomes embedded in the lifestyles of consumers -- led by the younger generations that have always known it -- small businesses are seeking ways to catch the wave. Gaining an advantage with younger shoppers online and off can be daunting to small businesses that would rather not manage technology but instead exploit it. This podcast tells the story of how UPS extended its global package delivery tracking and Quantum View services to the wireless domain and reached out in whole new ways via Short Message Service (SMS) texting to mobile devices. One small business, Moosejaw, used UPS as its technology and logistics source to link wirelessly to its hipper, younger clients -- to stay in touch, provide a strong sense of community, and to give them access to whatever information they may want on how to get their purchases fast and easily. Some even got some lessons in dating. Listen to Dana Gardner moderate this 28-minute sponsored podcast, joined by Jeff Reid, the UPS's Director of Customer Technology Marketing, and Robert Wolfe, the Co-Founder of Moosejaw. Read a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/06/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-podcast_21.html. Sponsor: UPS.

WSO2 has entered the open source SOA field with a slate of veterans from Web services specifications, application server and lightweight framework development. The latest offering to the market came June 11 with the arrival of WSO2 ESB 1.0, based on Apache Synapse and targeted at both developers who want to use ESBs quickly, as well as operations architects seeking lightweight and high-performing components. To help evaluate the WSO2 approach, moderator Dana Gardner is joined by Ron Schmelzer, senior analyst at ZapThink, and Paul Fremantle, co-founder and vice president of technology at WSO2. Learn more about ESBs and the ways in which open source complements SOA in this 44-minute sponsored deep-dive discussion. Read a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/06/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-podcast.html. Sponsor: WSO2.

Welcome to the latest BriefingsDirect SOA Insights Edition, Vol. 15, a weekly discussion and dissection of Services Oriented Architecture (SOA)-related news and events, with a panel of IT analysts. In this episode, recorded March 23, 2007, our experts examine the burgeoning role of SOA Architect. Joined by Steve Nunn, vice president and COO of The Open Group, and John Bell, an enterprise architect at Marriott International, we examine how deep business knowledge, technical savvy, and strong interpersonal skills need to come together for SOA architects. So far, there are not enough to fill the job openings, spurring more certification and training. We also look at SCA/SDO moving to OASIS, and Microsoft's role in federated SOA. Please join noted IT industry analysts Jim Kobielus and Neil Macehiter for our discussion, hosted and moderated by Interarbor analyst Dana Gardner. Read a full transcript of the podcast at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/06/briefingsdirect-soa-insights-analysts.html.

Welcome to the latest BriefingsDirect SOA Insights Edition, Vol. 14, a weekly discussion and dissection of Services Oriented Architecture (SOA)-related news and events, with a panel of IT analysts. In this episode, recorded March 9, 2007, our experts examine the SOA Consortium, formed Feb. 12. The advocacy group's approach combines input from enterprises and vendors to promote the business value and adoption paths for SOA. Our guest this week is Dr. Richard Soley, the chairman and CEO of the Object Management Group (OMG) and also executive director of the consortium. We also look at news from EclipseCon. Join noted IT analysts Joe McKendrick, Tony Baer, and Jim Kobielus for our discussion, hosted and moderated by Interarbor analyst Dana Gardner. Read a full transcript of the podcast at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/05/briefingsdirect-soa-insights-analysts.html.

Effective information-sharing across the distribution of goods -- visibility into transportation supply chains and distribution networks -- is a part of the information revolution and the knowledge economy. Global players in the distribution channel are looking for reductions in cost, efficiency improvements, and reduced time to distribution -- all of which can substantially reduce the total cost of an overall production and distribution activity. UPS started with tracking on the Web in the early '90s and today supports tracking in 63 countries. UPS serves the basic supply chain visibility needs of shippers, receivers, importers, and exporters -- both residential and commercial, through its traditional U.S. small package services, as well as via UPS Freight, Air, and Ocean Freight Services. This podcast examines the visibility service UPS has in place, as well as the market trends driving the need for greater supply chain technology and efficiency. Join Jim Rice, director of the Integrated Supply Chain Management Program at MIT; Stephanie Callaway, director of customer technology marketing at UPS; Frank Deen is the shipping manager at Rackmount Solutions, and John Schaffer, president of TrueWave, in this podcast discussion, moderated by Interarbor Solutions Principal Analyst Dana Gardner. Read a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/05/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-podcast_21.html. Sponsor: UPS.

IBM helped the Eclipse Foundation score a huge hit with the Eclipse development framework and community. Now the software engineering target is even higher, but the methods are similar. IBM will in June will unveil details about its Jazz framework and community for automation and governance of complex, collaborative application development processes. IBM will make elements of the community open, as well as interlace new Rational, Lotus, WebSphere and Tivoli products with Jazz. Hear BriefingsDirect's Dana Gardner interview Scott Hebner, the vice president for marketing and strategy for IBM Rational Software, on some key elements of the emerging ALM 2.0 framework. Read a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/05/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-podcast_20.html. Sponsor: Interarbor Solutions.

Unlike earlier open source initiatives, which often trailed commercial development of crucial software infrastructure, today's many community-based services oriented architecture (SOA) projects are early-on defining the means through which SOA can be realized. Development of commercial and open source versions of essential SOA components are happening concurrently. To explore why this is true and how open source will shape the future of SOA infrastructure, join Dan Kulp, principal engineer and community lead at IONA Technologies, and Debbie Moynihan, IONA's director of open source programs, for a sponsored BriefingsDirect podcast discussion, hosted by Interarbor Solutions Principal Analyst Dana Gardner. IONA Technologies is taking an active role in several open source SOA initiatives, including the CXF enterprise service bus framework. Read a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/05/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-podcast.html. Sponsor: IONA Technologies.

Many people have defined software development as more art than science -- sometimes even a dark art. That's why the business side of an enterprise is often perplexed by the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) process. They see what goes in as requirements, and see what comes out as functionality -- but they often don’t understand what takes place in between. Yet new trends are unfolding in ALM, called ALM 2.0, to help organizations transform software development and deployment into a managed business process. Learn how Borland Software and its new Open ALM approach is helping to improve visibility into and coordination of application development, regardless of the tools, testing, or platforms. Join Carey Schwaber, a senior analyst at Forrester Research; Brian Kilcourse, CEO of the Retail Systems Alert Group and former SVP and CIO of Longs Drug Stores, and Marc Brown, vice president of product marketing at Borland for discussion on ALM. Learn about future trends in ALM 2.0 and Borland's approach to professionalizing application development and deployment in this discussion, moderated by Interarbor Solutions Principal Analyst Dana Gardner. Read a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/04/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-podcast.html. Sponsor: Borland Software.

Welcome to the latest BriefingsDirect SOA Insights Edition, Vol. 13, a weekly discussion and dissection of Services Oriented Architecture (SOA)-related news and events, with a panel of IT analysts. In this episode, recorded March 2, 2007, our experts examine the concept around SOA and Web 2.0, and the need for "mashup governance." We also dig into the proposed $3.3 billion deal for Oracle to acquire Hyperion and what it means for Business Intelligence (BI) and Corporate Performance Management (CPM). Our analysts and guests have some unconventional and startling conclusions, as well as thoughtful insights. Join noted IT analysts Steve Garone, Joe McKendrick, Tony Baer, and Jim Kobielus, and SOA consultant guest Dave Linthicum of Linthicum Group for our discussion, hosted and moderated by Interarbor analyst Dana Gardner. Read a full transcript of the podcast at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/04/briefingsdirect-soa-insights-analysts_23.html.

Welcome to the latest BriefingsDirect SOA Insights Edition, Vol. 12, a weekly discussion and dissection of Services Oriented Architecture (SOA)-related news and events, with a panel of IT analysts. In this episode, recorded Feb. 16, 2007, our experts examine whether governance is going to evolve into more of a converged activity. Are governance, risk and compliance (GRC) platforms and SOA governance approaches heading toward a mash-up? Also, the SOA Consortium, a group of both vendors and enterprises, was created in February to promote the adoption of SOA. We examine the agenda and consider the outcomes. Our analysts and guests have some unconventional and startling conclusions, as well as thoughtful insights. Join noted IT analysts Steve Garone, Joe McKendrick, Neil Macehiter, and Jim Kobielus for our discussion, hosted and moderated by Interarbor analyst Dana Gardner. Read a full transcript of the podcast at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/04/briefingsdirect-soa-insights-analysts.html.

Welcome to the latest BriefingsDirect SOA Insights Edition, Vol. 11, a weekly discussion and dissection of Services Oriented Architecture (SOA)-related news and events, with a panel of IT analysts. In this episode, recorded Feb. 2, 2007, our experts examine a battle for control over what SOA is and does. Whomever controls the SOA to a large extent controls the company -- but how should that control actually work? Will companies take a lesson from world history on how to run the business and allow for federated and balanced power? Or will mismatched control over business elements, exacerbated by IT that can not reflect the will or wills of the controlling factors, drag SOA and productivity down? Our analysts and guests have some unconventional and startling conclusions, as well as thoughtful insights. Join noted IT analysts Steve Garone, Joe McKendrick, and Jim Kobielus -- along with guest Miko Matsumura, the vice president of SOA products at webMethods -- for our discussion, hosted and moderated by Interarbor analyst Dana Gardner. Read a full transcript of the podcast at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/03/briefingsdirect-soa-insights-analysts_23.html.

What is the state of B2B search marketing? What are the business and technology drivers that make online search an emerging tool for business discovery and procurement? We put these questions to Forrester Research Senior Analyst Shar VanBoskirk and to Bryan Burdick, chief operating officer at ZoomInfo, to explore the new power of targeted, semantic-oriented business search and marketing. More product information, market research, and detailed business information is available online than ever. Yet general search engines do not always provide the detail, context, and semantic benefits needed to find the right business information fast. New vertical search engines are targeting the business consumer, or the "pro-sumer," and delivering ever more targeted results to the B2B searcher. Search-driven online marketing is also leveling the playing field for the little guys to compete against the big guys. B2B search provides a way for small, local advertisers to find the customers and other businesses that are actually looking for the services and products they provide. Learn more about future trends in B2B search and advertising in this sponsored podcast discussion, moderated by Interarbor Principal Analyst Dana Gardner. Read a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/03/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-podcast.html. Listeners are also invited to learn more about B2B advertising opportunities with ZoomInfo. Just go to http://www.zoominfo.com/adpodcast to learn how Zoominfo's business search portal provides a rich new online B2B advertising opportunity. Sponsor: ZoomInfo.

Welcome to a special BriefingsDirect presentation, a podcast created from a recent webinar on how BlueNote Networks and the Seaport Hotel in Boston uniquely integrated Web services and voice-over-IP (VOIP) to create a touch-screen-enabled, in-room portal offering for guests. This unique telephony, unified communications, customer-service and Web information-access portal approach for guests may well define the next generation of hotel-based client services. The rich access point also helps hotels to better expose and monetize their service offerings. Listen to this deep-dive exploration of a convergence application project that leverages BlueNote's servers, tools and frameworks. The full webinar and presentation slides are available at http://www.bluenotenetworks.com/webinars. Read a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/03/transcript-of-webinar-on-how-bostons.html. Sponsor: BlueNote Networks, Inc.

Welcome to the latest BriefingsDirect SOA Insights Edition Vol. 10, a weekly discussion and dissection of Services Oriented Architecture (SOA)-related news and events, with a panel of IT analysts. In this episode, recorded Jan. 26, 2007, our experts examine best-of-breed versus SOA suites, master data management, and the new role for enterprise architects. Our analysts have some unconventional and startling conclusions, as well as thoughtful insights. Join analysts Steve Garone, Joe McKendrick, Neil Macehiter, Tony Baer, and Jim Kobielus and for our discussion, hosted and moderated by Dana Gardner. Read a full transcript of the podcast at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/03/briefingsdirect-soa-insights-analysts.html.

Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) -- how IT is delivered inside an enterprise as a service -- and a related area, the quickly evolving Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), form complementary trends that are helping to mature IT as a customer-focused, quality-of-service activity. IT departments are under mounting pressure -- cost reduction, competitiveness of internal IT compared to outsourced services, regulatory compliance, application and infrastructure modernization -- that demands that IT processes come under better control. At the same time, IT departments must show more value to the business, to be more agile in IT's responses to business needs. To help meet these challenges, newer standards and updated best practices are arriving, especially ITIL v3 in April, 2007. To help understand these trends and these new approaches, hear or read a discussion with executives from Hewlett-Packard's Services Consulting and Integration group: Klaus Schmelzeisen, director of the global ITSM and security practices, and Jeroen Bronkhorst, ITSM program manager and also an active participant in the ITIL version 3 editorial core team, as well as an author of the integrated ITIL process maps. Read a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/02/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-podcast_21.html. Sponsor: Hewlett-Packard.

Welcome to the latest BriefingsDirect SOA Insights Edition Vol. 9, a weekly discussion and dissection of Services Oriented Architecture (SOA)-related news and events, with a panel of IT analysts. In this episode, recorded Jan. 19, 2007, our experts examine TIBCO's latest SOA tools news, the role of ESBs as platform, webMethods Fabric 7 release, IBM Q4 earnings, and HP's burgeoning foray into BI and data warehousing. Our analysts have some unconventional and startling conclusions, as well as thoughtful insights. Join analysts Steve Garone, Joe McKendrick, Neil Ward-Dutton, and Jim Kobielus and for our discussion, hosted and moderated by Dana Gardner. Feel free to read a full transcript of the podcast at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/02/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-soa.html.

The Search Inside the Music project within Sun Microsystems Laboratories digs into the actual characteristics of music, identifying patterns and traits, and then associating that with other like music. Instead of using lists of metadata about the music author, album, or composer, listeners can ask for the types of music they like -- and get it, culled from vast stores of musical possibilities. Join your host and moderator, Dana Gardner, for a podcast discussion with Paul Lamere, a staff engineer at Sun Microsystems Labs and principal investigator for Search Inside the Music, and learn how the tonal gems can be abstracted from the noise rough based on each listeners' unique tastes. Read a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/02/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-podcast.html.

Internet search has been around for years, while seeking out new business partners is as old as business itself. Can finding the right relationships through the burgeoning "Business Web" effectively exploit and leverage the increasingly powerful technologies such as semantic search? Are businesses on the doorstep of vast new opportunities for the discovery of assets, resources, tacit knowledge and global business partner ecologies? To help answer these questions, we discuss the new semantic opportunity and explore how business relationships and the Business Web can be brought to bear on information overload and ecommerce value discovery. Joining your moderator and host Dana Gardner are Russ Glass, vice president of product and marketing at ZoomInfo, and John Blossom, president of Shore Communications and a noted industry analyst. Read a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/01/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-podcast_29.html. Sponsor: Zoom Information Inc.

Welcome to the latest BriefingsDirect SOA Insights Edition Vol. 8, a weekly discussion and dissection of Services Oriented Architecture (SOA)-related news and events, with a panel of IT analysts. In this episode, our experts examine how Wall Street and investors view SOA. Does SOA make IT vendors more likely to grow? Which ones? Will systems integrators benefit most from SOA? Who stands to make the most money from the SOA trend line? Our analysts have some unconventional and startling conclusions. Also, the Apple iPhone -- is it an enterprise device and a node for SOA? Will such a convergence device shake-up how mobile workers behave? Join Steve Garone, Joe McKendrick, Neil Ward-Dutton, Jim Kobielus and Trip Chowdhry for our discussion, hosted and moderated by Dana Gardner. Feel free to read a full transcript of the podcast at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/01/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-soa_28.html.

Application development is maturing to embrace a more holistic approach to application lifecycle processes, one that emphasizes policy-based approaches -- managing process and people -- and not just the technology. Such a coordinated approach also fosters feedback efficiencies, where testing is continuous -- and visibility into performance becomes an imperative. Borland's new Gauntlet offering provides a framework to monitor and measure development progress. By employing a visualized assessment of development, managers can see from day to day, week to week, and project to project how things are progressing. They can then act to make the management of development more professional, and to inject quality-enhancing improvements across the entire spectrum of development activity. To better understand these trends, join moderator Dana Gardner and Borland Software Director of Developer Solutions Rob Cheng as we explore the next chapter in development process management and agility. Read a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/01/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-podcast_22.html. Sponsor: Borland Software, Inc.

Welcome to the latest BriefingsDirect SOA Insights Edition Vol. 7, a weekly discussion and dissection of Services Oriented Architecture (SOA)-related news and events, with a panel of independent IT industry analysts. In this episode, our analysts examine the metrics of success for SOA, as well as provide a colorful pallet of metaphors for how SOA will benefit businesses. Remember the old movie studios model? Is SOA an MGM model or Miramax? Does SOA offer reuse for "plumbing" so that intellectual property of services becomes the focus? Join Steve Garone, Joe McKendrick, Tony Baer and Jim Kobielus for our discussion, hosted and moderated by Dana Gardner. Feel free to read a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/01/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-soa.html.

The role of search is expanding fast. As Web-type search moves from the Internet to inside the Enterprise for semantic analysis, it begins to identify facts inside documents, combines the information with structured databases, and provides true knowledge discovery. As analytics are increasingly derived from search, users can relate concepts to enable people to make decisions and get completeness and overview -- on the fly -- to provide, in essence, search-powered business intelligence (BI). The mega trends of Web 2.0, Enterprise 2.0 and the Semantic Web give search more content to consider, and more power. Search is becoming more than a starting point on information discovery, it is becoming the flexible interface to complex decision-making, analytics, and BI. To better understand these transitions, join moderator Dana Gardner and FAST Search & Transfer CEO John Markus Lervik, CTO Bjorn Olstad, and Zia Zaman, the Senior Vice President of Strategic Marketing as we explore the future direction of enterprise search amid the Enterprise 2.0 and Semantic Web era. Read a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/01/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-podcast_14.html. Sponsor: FAST Search & Transfer.

Some 9.5 million developers around the world are toiling away, and their bosses -- either individually or collectively -- have rather small insight and limited information about what they do and how they do it. We see requirements go in one end. We see code come out the other end. And there’s often a great veil, cloud, or fog over what detailed activities develop the solutions and the processes that create good code. The fact is that while software drives a lot of the growth and innovation throughout the world we do a very inadequate job of bringing visibility to this whole process. Join Greg Burnell, chairman, co-founder and CEO of 6th Sense Analytics as we explore new ways to gain insight rather than just intuition in the art and science of application development. Read a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/01/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-podcast_12.html. Sponsor: 6th Sense Analytics.

A great deal is being discussed about who controls what when it comes to content, particularly when you're distributing it openly on the Web -- when you're exploring new distribution models, and when you're using new technologies. Business development officers at content-owner studios want a platform that has almost no royalty to it and that is ubiquitous. If you're a technologist, or if you're a company that needs royalties for your technology platform, you probably want to create a great technology platform that you can charge a royalty for, and potentially gain lock-in on that platform. In the Internet media landscape all business models are up fro grabs, but how to manage their complexity of Web distribution and monetization? Join podcast host and moderator Dana Gardner for a discussion on the future of Internet delivery of media and entertainment with Tim Napoleon, Media and Entertainment Product Line Director for Akamai. Read a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/01/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-podcast.html. Sponsor: Akamai Technologies.

Welcome to a special BriefingsDirect presentation, a podcast created from a recent webinar with Interarbor Solutions Principal Analyst Dana Gardner and Cape Clear Software CEO Annrai O'Toole. This sponsored webinar presents a Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) market perspective by Dana, followed by comments by Annrai, and some questions from the live webinar audience. Today's topic is how the value provided by SOA may be the best way to demonstrate the business value of SOA investments. Listen to the analyst's perspective, the CEO's response and the prompted questions. The webinar itself is at http://www.capeclear.com/download/nov15.html. Read a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2007/01/transcript-of-webinar-on-soa-trends.html. Sponsor: Cape Clear Software, Inc.

Welcome to the latest BriefingsDirect SOA Insights Edition Vol. 6, a weekly discussion and dissection of Services Oriented Architecture (SOA)-related news and events, with a panel of independent IT industry analysts. Wrapping up the year, our crew tackles 2006 with a SOA review. The boys also take a look forward to 2007 with a series of SOA predictions. Join Steve Garone, Joe McKendrick, Jon Collins and Tony Baer for our discussion, hosted and moderated by Dana Gardner. Top predictions favor more software infrastructure consolidation amid corporate mergers, a move to increased modeling in SOA, and roughly a 25% increase in SOA-related deployments in the New Year. Join us as we delve into these complex and fascinating subjects. Feel free to read a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/12/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-soa_19.html.

Broadly dispersed datacenters are a huge and growing expense to enterprises -- yet the demands for more applications delivered fast and reliably is mounting. Can an enterprise have it both ways: Fewer datacenters and better performance? Can they cut ongoing costs in doing so, and protect their resources from disasters? Two executives from Hewlett-Packard's Consulting and Integration Group unequivocally say, "Yes!" Join podcast host and moderator Dana Gardner in a discussion on the methods and best practices around IT Consolidation with Ewald Comhaire, director of the global practice for Infrastructure Services, as well as Peg Ofstead, worldwide solution lead for HP IT Shared Services and IT Consolidation Services. Read a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/12/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-podcast_13.html. Sponsor: Hewlett-Packard.

The demands on the Internet have never been higher, with massive files of high-definition video, online distribution of most software products, and the increasing uploading of "user-generated content" filling up the pipes. Yet the challenge to Internet delivery is not just in the packets' performance. The winning formula for online businesses also demands a business platform, from generating metrics to managing advertising to fulfilling subscriptions -- a unified platform approach to the business of Internet media delivery is emerging. To help better understand the challenges and opportunities of the newest waves in media, join host and moderator Dana Gardner in a podcast discussion with Mike Afergan, CTO of Akamai Technologies. Feel free to peruse a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/12/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-podcast_12.html. Podcast sponsor: Akamai Technologies.

Welcome to the latest BriefingsDirect SOA Insights Edition, a weekly discussion and dissection of Services Oriented Architecture (SOA)-related news and events, with a panel of independent IT industry analysts, journalists and guests. With us to discuss SOA and Microsoft, SOA and Web 2.0 and SOA as a business value are a distinguished and interesting panel: Steve Garone, Joe McKendrick, Mary Jo Foley, and Jeff Pendleton. Our discussion this week centers on two topics, both, of course, SOA-related. The first is Microsoft, which has been coming out with more lingo, or marketing, around SOA -- if not in the actual technology approach, at least in terms of the business values and the rationale for embarking on SOA. The second issue is trying to figure out the best way of conceptualizing SOA’s business value, and to then be able to take it out to the market. Join us as we delve into these complex and fascinating subjects. Feel free to read a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/12/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-soa.html.

Open source and SOA are increasingly joined at the hip. These twins are developing in tandem, not sequentially, which is giving CIOs and architects a variety of choices for picking and choosing the projects and products that make up their SOAs. To better understand the history and progression of SOA and open source, two open source experts from IONA Technologies join moderator Dana Gardner for a deep-dive discussion into the SOA open source landscape, as well as to explain the objectives and accomplishments of IONA's Dec. 4 release of the Celtix Enterprise initiatives. Have a listen to the podcast or read the transcript at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/12/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-podcast.html. Podcast sponsor: IONA Technologies, Inc.

Welcome to the latest BriefingsDirect SOA Insights Edition, a weekly discussion and dissection of service oriented architecture (SOA) and related news and events with a panel of independent IT industry analysts and guests. Yours truly, Dana Gardner, principal analyst at Interarbor Solutions, is your host and moderator. BriefingsDirect SOA Insights Edition brings a new focus to the SOA thought leadership field by assembling noted independent IT industry analysts and guests to investigate the trends and news of the week. Take the content via this blog and excerpts, by listening to the podcast, and/or by perusing the full transcript of the discussion. This week's panel consists of Steve Garone, a former program vice president at IDC and founder of the AlignIT Group, Neil Macehiter, a research director at Macehiter Ward-Dutton, and making his debut Joe McKendrick, an independent research consultant, a contributing editor and columnist for Database Trends, and a SOA blogger for ZDNet and ebizQ. This week's topics center around the recent Oracle OpenWorld conference focused on Oracle's ecology and products. Take a look at these thoughful analysts as they weed through the many weighty Oracle announcements and developments -- including the bombshell Unbreakable Linux announcement. Feel free to peruse the transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/11/transcript-of-dana-gardners_15.html.

Welcome to BriefingsDirect SOA Insights Edition, a weekly discussion and dissection of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and related news and events with a panel of independent IT industry analysts and guests. Dana Gardner, principal analyst at Interarbor Solutions, is your host and moderator. This week's panel consists of Steve Garone, a former program vice president at IDC, Neil Ward-Dutton, a research director at Macehiter Ward-Dutton, and Jeff Pendleton, a former IT executive who has filled many roles, at BEA, HP and other firms. The topics are the relationship between SOA and open source as well as a lively discussion on what SOA needs to be better accepted by business leaders. Feel free to peruse the transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/11/transcript-of-dana-gardners.html.

The ramp-up and roll-out of Microsoft Windows Vista is around the corner. As small office, home office (SOHO) users and businesses face this new look, feel, and function set for their PCs they are also -- in record numbers -- relying on remote access service providers such as Rent-a-Geek. From fixing Windows 95 to tuning Vista, these remote access "geeks" are building large-scale business based on the power of such low-cost products and services as LogMeIn's Rescue and LogMeIn's IT Reach. When PCs face trouble, or when users want their maintenance and malware protection automated, PC remediation companies are not just asking users to drop off the hardware in the next town -- the technicians can actually enter the PC remotely via the Internet and fix the problem at the users desk ... anywhere. All it takes is a phone and an Internet connection. Listen to this sponsored BriefingsDirect podcast where moderator and host Dana Gardner discusses the business opportunity for remote PC remediation and maintenance services with Rent-a-Geek Founder and President Keith Schiehl. Sponsor: LogMeIn, Inc. For an instant trial of LogMeIn Rescue, the solution Rent-A-Geek relies on for its highly successful remote support business, visit www.LogMeInRescue.com/podcast. Within five minutes of signing up, you can conduct your first remote support session. And, through this special link, you’ll receive an automatic three-week trial (a full week longer than the standard trial). Get your trial going at www.LogMeInRescue.com/podcast. Read the podcast discussion transcript at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/10/transcript-of-dana-gardners_31.html.

When enterprises reach back in time, to the outer reaches of their code assets, they don't necessarily have to see things as they once were. Due to application modernization techniques and methods, scattered legacy applications can be rationalized for lifecycle-level support by newer, more efficient platforms and practices. The proper hygiene of these applications becomes especially useful and cost-efficient as enterprises and governments move toward datacenter consolidation and also services oriented architecture (SOA). To explore the nuances of application modernization, and to determine the business case for such undertakings, I recently moderated a sponsored discussion with two executives from Hewlett-Packard (HP). Rick Slade, the America’s practice principal for HP’s Application Modernization Service, and Paul Evans, the worldwide practice leader for application modernization for HP Services, explain how the targets for modernization efforts extend well beyond mainframe and COBOL code. The goal is to deeply examine any older applications -- built on linear, monolithic architectures -- and transform them for production on platforms and server architectures that promote long-term flexibility. Read the transcript at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/10/transcript-of-dana-gardners_23.html. Sponsor: Hewlett-Packard.

Welcome to BriefingsDirect SOA Insights Edition, a weekly discussion and dissection of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and related news and events with a panel of independent IT industry analysts and guests. Dana Gardner, principal analyst at Interarbor Solutions, is your host and moderator. This week's panel consists of Steve Garone, a former program vice president at IDC and Jon Collins, principal analyst at Macehiter Ward-Dutton. The topics are Sun's virtualization announcement and the relationship between SOA and virtualization, as well examining the notion that SOA will kill ERP ... or not. Feel free to peruse the transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/10/transcript-of-dana-gardners_22.html.

Borland Software recently released its Lifecycle Quality Management (LQM) initiative, which applies quality assurance to the entire applications design process, with special emphasis in the requirements phase. Quality is not just about the code, it's about quality of process, methodology, and of getting the definitions right. So we took Borland's approach to quality to the field to test the thinking on a busy application development shop. In this sponsored B2B informational podcast, listen to Chris Meystrik, the vice president of software engineering at Jewelry Television in Knoxville, Tenn., describe his fast-paced environment and what he looks for in tools, testing, and application lifecycle management. The stakes are only increasing. Quality with Web services and SOA can make or break the performance and reliability of the component services, may even color the perceptions of IT in general. Therefore quality needs to happen right from the start, not as a late-stage activity, lest the architects and business analysts detect that services cannot be trusted on par with monolithic applications. Listen as the path to lower risk in application development is described and validated. Interarbor Solutions analyst Dana Gardner moderates the 29-minute discussion. Sponsor: Borland Software. Have a listen to the podcast here, or read the transcript at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/10/transcript-of-dana-gardners_16.html.

Welcome to the inaugural BriefingsDirect SOA Insights Edition, a weekly discussion and dissection of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and related news and events with a panel of independent IT industry analysts and guests. Dana Gardner, principal analyst at Interarbor Solutions, is your host and moderator. This week's panel consists of Steve Garone, a research partner affiliated with Ideas International, and is a former program vice president at IDC responsible, and also Neil Macehiter, research director at Macehiter Ward-Dutton, formerly of Ovum. This week's topics are BEA's announcements from its recent conference, a slew of IBM SOA-related announcements, including the WebSphere Service Registry and Repository, and Borland's Lifecycle Quality Management (LQM) solution. Also peruse the transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/10/transcript-of-dana-gardners.html.

The iCalendar interoperability standard has brought productivity and publish-and-subscribe ease to only a portion of those wishing to share their calendars. Now a new emerging standard, CalDAV, can make cross-client calendar interoperability an even greater benefit. Apple, IBM, and others are on board. Google and Microsoft are hold-outs. But calendar interoperability guru Scott Mace, editor of Calendar Swamp, thinks that if Google adopts CalDAV it will force Microsoft's hand to bring standards-based calendaring to the Microsoft Outlook and Exchange products, as well as its Live online offerings. Listen to Mace's take on the calendar standards adoption outlook in this 30-minute BriefingsDirect podcast moderated by Dana Gardner of Interarbor Solutions. Also peruse the transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/09/full-transcript-of-dana-gardners_27.html.

SOA, virtualization, network convergence, intelligent network services, and higher levels of standardization are swirling about -- not just as buzzwords but as individual disrupters to IT. But what about collectively? Which of these trends fit together for larger pay-offs? We put such questions to Bill Ruh, the vice president of Advanced Services at Cisco Systems. Today's modern architectures and networks must provide "integration for everyone," says Ruh. Learn how this need for pervasive integration will affect developers, architects, CIOs, users and business planners in this 30-minute BriefingsDirect podcast discussion. Also peruse the transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/09/full-transcript-of-dana-gardners.html.