IT Projects: Expert Witness, CIO, In-House Counsel & Litigation Forum

Vint Cerf: Keeping the Internet Healthy

This article is an edited format of an interview (originally in CIO) with the "Father of the Internet" Vint Cerf.  Nice to hear the viewpoint of someone who was "there at the beginning".  It is fairly lengthy, so we will post it in 4 parts.  Read, absorb, and send comments to us about your thoughts. Part 2 will post here on Wednesday, October 1, 2008                                   Marlene

By Edward Cone
2008-09-25
http://mobile.cioinsight.com/device/article.php?mid=4&CALL_URL=http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Expert-Voices/Vint-Cerf-Keeping-the-Internet-Healthy/

The Father of the Internet talks about technology policy and the proper care and feeding of his creation.

Success is said to have a thousand fathers, and many people share credit for bringing the Internet into existence. Even so, the title Father of the Internet fits Vinton G. (Vint) Cerf better than most; he and Robert Kahn designed the TCP/IP protocols that govern data transfer across the Net, along with the Internet’s basic architecture. The two men were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in 2005.

Cerf, who holds a Ph.D. in computer science, worked for many years at the U.S. Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency, where the Internet was incubated. Starting in the early 1980s, he held senior positions at MCI and the Corporation for National Research Initiatives. He’s now vice president and chief Internet evangelist for Google, where he looks for new enabling technologies and applications on the Internet and other platforms.

A doting parent to the Net, Cerf has served as chairman of the board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, founding president and board member of the Internet Society, and visiting scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. His list of professional associations and fellowships is almost as long as his list of awards, commendations and honorary degrees. He spoke about the future of the Internet, technology policy and competitiveness with senior writer Edward Cone. This is an edited version of their conversation.

Why Google needs better antitrust advice

After reading this blog, Google Ads setup doesn't sound like an even playing field to me. As a matter of fact, it reminds me of Joseph Heller's Catch 22 - particularly the Major Major bit with Yosserian:  Here is an excerpt from  Wikepedia  referencing  the concept:

"...Major Major creates a Catch-22 when he instructs his sergeant that no-one may come in and see him, unless he is not in. If he is in, people must be told to wait — until he has left." 

Even though you spend time and effort on creating appealing ad formats, follow Google's recommendations, according to the basic information provided by Google "Help",  if some Google-hired "rater" does not take a fancy to what you have presented, the "real" potential buyer does not even get a look-see at what you are offering - because Google people are waving their magic wand and "poof" you're gone. 

Anybody out there with Google Ad experiences they would like to share?           Marlene                     

By Fred Vogelstein September 21, 2008

http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/09/why-google-need.html

This is a big week for Google. Its new mobile phone software called Android is debuting, and there will be much debate about whether this much hyped project is going to get any traction. But that discussion may get drowned out by another. It seems as if everywhere you turn in the past two weeks, someone is wringing their hands about Google, the monopolist.

Google is trying to get a mega advertising deal with Yahoo approved by the Justice Department. Advertising agencies, a bunch of big and small advertisers and - big surprise -  Microsoft, are all crying that Google is hell bent on world domination and want the deal blocked. Google says the accusations are ridiculous and has stepped up its defense in recent days to press that point. It says Microsoft isn't really credible on antitrust matters, after all. Moreover, it's hard to be a monopolist when you don't have any pricing power. Google ads are auctioned to the highest bidder, not sold in the conventional sense.

E-mail security advice for politicians

Here is some really sound advice from Chad Perrin of TechRepublic, to follow up on our posting on Monday, Sept 22nd of an article about Sarah Palin's hacked email. 

The moral of this story is that the intricacies of the world-wide Web must be taken into consideration by those individuals whose webs, emails, blogs, etc. are privy to sensitive information. It would be less than ingenuous for these individuals not to learn enough about the systems they are using to understand how to protect sensitive information from access by outsiders.   

Politicians and campaign staff all need to be savvy enough about security not to give the game away to their rivals, at the least.  More so, government officials, members of Congress and the Senate should consider themselves duty bound, even if they do not personally possess sophisticated technical skills, to be somewhat informed about how these tools work, and to be proactive about the governance in place, by putting the security of their systems into knowledgeable and capable hands. Anybody have any suggestions to add to Mr. Perrin's list?  Let us know.                                      Marlene

ChadPerrin September 18th, 2008
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/security/?p=590&tag=nl.e101

How much attention would you give e-mail security if you were running for office?

One would hope that the people who run for public office in this country with promises of increased domestic security would take some pains to ensure their own security during the campaign. High priorities should of course involve things like having good bodyguards and site security teams when making public appearances, ensuring one’s campaign Web site doesn’t get defaced by people who disagree with one’s policies, and protecting e-mail privacy.While I would dearly love to see someone with an at least marginal understanding of technology get into public office from time to time, I know that might be a bit too much to ask at this point on the national political stage. Lacking personal understanding of such matters, however, one should definitely hire people who know what they’re doing and get them to advise on technical matters — and actually listen to their advice.

I could comment at some length on the difference between people who know how to market technology or can run a technology company and those who actually know technology sufficiently to be credible advisers. In other words, I could comment on the inadvisability of hiring someone like Steve Ballmer as a technology adviser. That’s not the point of this article, though. Instead, I’ll just offer a short list of tips for anyone who might want to run for public office and avoid the embarrassment of failed e-mail security:

Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail all vulnerable to Palin-style password-reset hack

The word "platform" has many more nuances in the 21st Century of politics than back in the day, when it just meant standing up above the crowd, with a mike in front of you, and extolling your own virtues. Some of the current politicos are babes in the woods about the Internet and the "Wild" Web, so  between unsecured cell phones and poorly secured email set ups, they may be on thin ice. Whatever political platform the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates are running on - lets hope their network platforms are running on secure ones, and are not going to "crash" them.

Whose running the White House IT security these days?  That seems to have been a fairly tight ship for 8 years.  Maybe they'll stick around to batten down the hatches for the next crew.   What do you think?             Marlene

Computerworld -Gregg Keizer September 19, 2008

Tactic used to access VP candidate's e-mail works on the top three services

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyId=13&articleId=9115187&intsrc=hm_topic

Yahoo Mail isn't the only Web-based mail service that could be duped into giving up someone else's account password, the tactic that some have argued was used to break into Gov. Sarah Palin's e-mail earlier this week.

Google Inc.'s Gmail, Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Live Hotmail and Yahoo Inc.'s Mail all rely on automated password-reset mechanisms that can be abused by anyone who knows the username associated with an account and an answer to a single security question, according to quick tests run by Computerworld.

Computerworld reporters and editors were able to "break" into their own and colleagues' accounts on all three services, then reset passwords armed only with the account's username and the correct response to one of a limited number of common security questions, such as mother's maiden name, the name of a favorite pet or the make of a first car.

Some of the personal information that would provide answers to the security questions may be easily found by searching social networking sites or the Internet, the approach a hacker labeled as "rubico" claimed to have used to dig up the responses necessary to access Palin's account.

Sanity check: Is Microsoft for grown-ups and Google for kids?

Anyone out there familiar with Zoho or Force.com?  Do you feel that Jason Hiner is correct in his evaluation of these startups - that they are outpacing the "Big Dogs"?  Let us hear your thoughts and comments.            Marlene

Tech Sanity Check

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/hiner/?p=763&tag=nl.e101

by Jason Hiner, Editor in Chief : September 15th, 2008

While Google continues to grow in prestige and profit, there are signs that its halo is slipping. As a software and services provider to the enterprise, quality control and staffing issues are big problems for Google, and it’s driving some developers and businesses to Microsoft.

Google has been on a tear for the past decade. It has risen from a scrappy little Internet search engine built on a cluster of cheap Linux machines to one of the world’s most powerful and profitable companies and, arguably, the most well-regarded brand on the planet.

During this same decade, Microsoft has seen its star fall nearly as far as Google’s has risen. Although never a wildly popular brand, by the late 1990’s Microsoft was to computing as Kleenex was to tissue — at least for the masses.

However, its anti-trust defeats in the U.S. and Europe and have painted Microsoft as an ugly, petty bully, and its own product development and public relations failures with its flagship Windows Vista product has become one of the most infamous blunders in the annals of American commerce.

The two companies are now, of course, arch-rivals and are competing fiercely in Internet search, advertising, and software. Google is winning big in search, while Microsoft still holds a huge lead in software. But, these two spheres are colliding as the Internet evolves into a front-end software platform that will eventually relegate the operating system to back-end plumbing.

This process will transform the traditional business model for software and will expand the Internet into a more targetable and lucrative advertising platform. That’s why Google wants into the software business and that’s why Microsoft is trying to turn itself into an Internet company.

We’re now at an early crossroads in Internet applications, and honestly both Google and Microsoft are floundering and getting soundly outpaced by startups like Zoho and Force.com. Google Apps are simplistic, lack sophistication and standardization, and do not have as good of an online/offline sync as Zoho, for example. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s “software + services” strategy is barely recognizable since the “plus services” part has so far been half-hearted because Microsoft fears cannibalizing its cash-cow business, Microsoft Office.

Top Lawyer Is Selected As U.S. Mulls Google Suit

Heavy hitters one and all - Google and Yahoo on one side, and Microsoft and the Association of National Advertisers on the other--and the referee is the  U.S. Dept. of Justice.  Sounds like the making of a new  TV show - kind of a  suspense/lawyer/government intrigue thing.  Or, even better, the new reality show for the 2008-2009 season, waiting in the wings to replace whichever current season opener falls on its face. (Better drama than even the 90210 revisited - eh?).   Since Bill Gates is out of a job now, maybe he would be available to cover the Microsoft spot, and perhaps bring in his new best friend Jerry Seinfeld for a little comic relief.  Oh boy, if we can get Apple involved - we can have the real depiction of the MS guy in a button down shirt, sort of Clark Kentish character vs the Apple guy in a svelte black turtle neck come ninja outfit.  Any ideas on who to cast as the rest of the sideshow - my vote goes to James Woods as Litvack.  Let's hear from you out there.      Marlene

By JOHN R. WILKE   September 9, 2008; Page B1

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122091328430212195.html

Washington
-- The Justice Department has quietly hired one of the nation's best-known litigators, former Walt Disney Co. vice chairman Sanford Litvack, for a possible antitrust challenge to Google Inc.'s growing power in advertising.

U.S.Mr. Litvack's hiring is the strongest signal yet that the  U.S. is preparing to take court action against Google and its search-advertising deal with Yahoo Inc. The two companies combined would account for more than 80% of U.S. online-search ads.

Google shares tumbled 5.5%, or $24.30, to $419.95 in 4 p.m. trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, while Yahoo shares were up 18 cents to $18.26.

For weeks, U.S. lawyers have been deposing witnesses and issuing subpoenas for documents to support a  challenge to the deal, lawyers close to the review said. Such efforts don't always mean a case will be brought, however.

Tribune blames Googlebot for United Air Lines stock crash

This fiasco seems to involve a very big cast - and lots of finger-pointing.  According to the Sept 10, 2008 article in the Corporate News section of the Wall Street Journal, "...the damage was exacerbated by the growing use on Wall Street of automated programs that trigger stock trades without any human action...". 

Guess the Googlebot is not paying any attention to Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics, as quoted in I, Robot. Plummeting stock prices as a result of Googlebot’s error certainly counts in my book as breaking the Zeroth Law,from Robots and Empire: A robot may not injure humanity or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.      Anybody out there with UAL stock?               Marlene  

 

Google concedes it misclassified an old story as breaking news

Sumner Lemon and James Niccolai

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=printArticleBasic&taxonomyName=Networking+and+Internet&articleId=9114462&taxonomyId=16

September 11, 2008 (IDG News Service) Google Inc. is to blame for publishing a 6-year-old news story that caused the stock of UAL, the parent company of United Air Lines Inc., to drop sharply on Monday, Tribune Co. said in a statement.

The problem started when Googlebot, the software program that Google News uses to index news sites, mistook one of the most popular stories on the Web site of the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.,for breaking news. The story, "United Airlines Files for Bankruptcy," was then posted on Google News as a new story, even though the original news story was published on Dec. 10, 2002.

"Google provided a link to the old story on Google News and dated it September 6, 2008. Google's dating the story on Google News made it appear current to Google News users," Tribune said in a statement.

The appearance of the bankruptcy story on Google News was blamed for a steep drop in UAL's stock price, leading the airline to issue a clarification.

Top 10 Hidden Costs of Outsourcing

Once again, to avoid unnecessary pitfalls and unpleasant surprises that wreck havoc with a project's budget, one of the most important items that will need to be well thought out, and well-drafted--the contract!  Does anybody see any important issues that might not have been covered in this article?  Please comment and fill us in on any missing pieces.    Marlene

By David Brown <http://www.cioinsight.com/cp/bio/David-Brown/>

2008-09-09

Businesses often make avoidable mistakes in crafting and executing their outsourcing plans. Here’s a list of typical pitfalls and how your company can avoid them.

 

When it comes to outsourcing, there’s more to your business case than the service provider’s price. Some outsourcing costs are less visible or downright  hidden. EquaTerra …, an outsourcing consultancy, reviews the top 10 hidden costs and how to avoid them.

 

Hidden Cost No. 1: Currency

Problem: Because of currency fluctuations, last year’s invoice of $1

million a month could be $1.4 million today.

 

Solution: Hedge the currency risk by including caps and collars in the

contract. For example, you and your service provider might agree to

share responsibility for currency adjustments up to a certain dollar

amount, beyond which you’ll go back to the table and renegotiate. By

hedging the risk in this way, many domestic companies protected

themselves against the devaluation of the U.S. dollar.

Advertiser Group Objects to Google-Yahoo Tie Up

Well, it will be interesting to see what other entities will be jumping on the bandwagon to voice either approval or disapproval of this proposed Google partnership/venture.  Does affiliation with Google in this kind of deal really make more sense for Yahoo than the Microsoft bid they refused earlier this year?  Any thoughts and comments from all of you out there?      Marlene

By Reuters  2008-09-08 http://www.baselinemag.com/c/a/Search/Advertiser-Group-Objects-to-GoogleYahoo-Tie-Up/

The Association of National Advertisers sent a letter objecting to the proposed Internet search advertising partnership between Yahoo and Google to government regulators reviewing the deal, the group said.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Association of National Advertisers sent a letter objecting to the proposed Internet search advertising partnership between Yahoo Inc and Google Inc to government regulators reviewing the deal, the group said on Sunday.

U.S.The letter to Assistant Attorney General Thomas Barnett, noted that "a Google-Yahoo partnership will control 90 percent of search advertising inventory," the ANA, which represents major U.S.advertisers, said in a statement.

The partnership "will likely diminish competition, increase concentration of market power, limit choices currently available and potentially raise prices to advertisers for high quality, affordable search advertising," the statement said.

Barnett could not be reached for comment on Sunday.

8 Ways To Save Your Next Project

How does everyone out there feel about taking a "start the project and see what you're up against" approach for IT projects?  And perhaps the comparison of a project to a turkey is an unconscious commentary on the rate of failed projects.

Has anyone out there ever referred to a failed IT project as a "turkey"  (not to be confused with "turnkey"). Any thoughts?      Marlene (Turkeys added for emphasis)

:http://www.baselinemag.com/c/a/Projects-Enterprise-Planning/8-Ways-To-Save-Your-Next-Project/1/
By Elizabeth Bennett 2007-12-17

With IT projects consistently running late and over budget, it's time to look at what technology leaders and project managers could do to step up their performances.    

Mumbai, IndiaTechnology projects bare a striking similarity to home renovations. Both are surrounded by wildly high hopes at the start and often end up causing financial and emotional heartache. There are some new numbers to back up the unfortunate reality that many projects simply don't deliver as expected. 49 percent of organizations have suffered from budget overruns on IT projects and 62 percent have experienced schedule delays, according to a new report by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), an IT consulting firm based in Mumbai, India.

The study, which surveyed 800 organizations in theUnited States, Europe and Asia, also found that 47 percent of respondents have experienced higher-than-expected maintenance costs and 41 percent said IT projects failed to deliver the expected business value and ROI.

In short, IT projects are a chronic disappointment.

It's hardly news that technology projects are rarely on time and within budget, but the question remains: what more can be done? We thought it was worth taking a look at why projects are so likely to fall behind and where IT leaders and project managers could improve their performance—and therefore the likelihood of successfully completing a project with minimal cost and schedule delays.

Baseline created the list below with the help of Kent Crawford, CEO of PM Solutions, a project-management consulting firm based in Havertown. PA, Bob Laliberte, an analyst  with Milford,  Mass.-based Enterprise Strategy Research

7 Sins of Offshore Outsourcing

Some interesting points made here about the pitfalls of short-term cost reductions, and as with all projects, the need for due diligence.  Have any of you experienced such an initiative - and how did you fare with it?  Let us know your stories.    Marlene

Originally posted on 2008-09-02 by Geraldine Fox and Nigel Hughes at http://www.baselinemag.com/c/a/Outsourcing/7-Sins-of-Offshoreoutsourcing/?kc=BLBLBEMNL09032008STR3

The mistakes organizations make when implementing and managing offshore and outsourcing initiatives can be understood in the context of the seven deadly sins. Offshore outsourcing, offshore development and moving jobs offshore can have significant cost reductions when adopting a fix and mix approach. This involves an analysis and improvement of operations prior to offshoring (fix), followed by a movement of specific functions offshore where appropriate (mix). 

Offshoring business operations offers the potential for cost savings of 15 percent to 20 percent, but Compass analysis show that organizations that properly plan and operate offshore initiatives can reap substantially higher rewards.

Organizations that focus on short-term cost reductions often rush through projects without adequate planning, due diligence or consideration of the long-term implications of the inevitable changes in business requirements or offshore market conditions. In many respects, the mistakes organizations make when implementing and managing offshore initiatives can be understood in the context of the seven deadly sins: pride, sloth, avarice, lust/extravagance, envy, gluttony and anger.

FAA Outage Due to ‘Fix-on-Fail’ Policy

And we used to get upset about delays of more than a half-hour.  Don't bother to fasten your seat belts folks, to paraphrase a famous line from "All  About Eve" , because we may not be taking the ride we have planned - bumpy or not!  Anybody caught in that mess last week? Anyone have travel tales of woe to share with us?  We would like to hear from you.      Marlene

Posted by Michael Krigsman
September 2nd, 2008
http://blogs.zdnet.com/projectfailures/?p=1004

Last week’s technology failure at a major FAA facility caused air traffic delays throughout the country and highlighted the agency’s poor computing practices. Unlike major corporations and utilities, the FAA operates its air traffic control system with minimal redundancy using a “fix-on-fail” policy.

Redundancy is the foundation concept behind business continuity planning (BCP), which involves creating logistical and operating plans designed to take effect after a major disaster or critical infrastructure disruption. According to the Associated Press, the FAA maintains less redundancy than water or power utilities:

Redundancy is so critical for power and water utilities that they can be fined hundreds of thousands of dollars a day if they’re found insufficiently prepared — and $1 million per day if they’re found to be willfully negligent.

“If this (FAA outage) happened at a power plant,” [according to security researcher, Jason Larsen,] “I’d be telling them to open up their checkbook and expect to be fined.”

The Associated Press article points out pitfalls of the fix-on-fail policy:

“[I]t’s the whole `don’t fix it if it ain’t broke’ thing,” said Branden Williams, director of a unit of VeriSign Inc. that assesses the security of retailers’ payment systems. “It’s unfortunate because it’s very reactive, and it typically winds up costing you more. If you do fix-on-fail, it usually costs you more.”

The AltuisIT blog discusses this same issue:

To reduce their total cost of ownership, industry-leading organizations know that IT systems need to be properly managed and maintained. The “Fix on Fail” approach to systems management results in employee frustration, missed deadlines, increased costs, and lower levels of customer service.