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Outsourcing is a great idea—if you use it to improve your companys technology use rather than for simple slash-and-cut accounting. When J.P. Morgan Chase and IBM announced a $5 billion outsourcing deal, we were interested in the story behind the story. Was this a multibillion-dollar bet being placed by J.P. Morgan on IBMs on-demand plan outlined by IBM President Sam Palmisano late last year? Who were the winners and losers in the deal? And what were the outsourcing lessons learned from the review process that could help our readers improve their companies use of technology to advance business goals? Kudos to Executive Managing Editor Jeff Moad for digging behind the press releases to find out just what prompted J.P. Morgan to expand the initial RFPs into one of the biggest outsourcing proposals weve seen. Well be following this process as the deal unfolds, but read Jeffs story to find out why J.P. Morgan picked IBM as its partner for this huge project.
In the “ouch, thats gotta hurt” category is the recent rampage of the SQL Slammer worm. The worm spread rapidly across the globe targeting SQL servers, slowing Internet traffic, tripping up some ATM networks and blacking out big chunks of Internet access in countries such as technology-savvy South Korea. Of course, all this happened within days of Bill Gates memo outlining the “significant progress” Microsoft has made in its security initiatives. Whats to learn from this latest attack? Hackers are speeding through the learning curve. Relying on patches to secure computer sites is a patchwork approach in itself. For the full story, see our news package on the Slammer attack and the response from the IT community.
Securing the wireless network is suddenly a priority, which comes in part from the rapid spread of wireless access points in corporate settings. The faster and cheaper it is to install access points, the quicker problems multiply for administrators trying to keep the lid on computer architectures. This weeks report from eWeek Labs on securing the wireless network provides a good way for you to develop a checklist of security breaches to look for, as well as an update on the latest methods to keep the bad guys from wandering through your network.
Whats keeping the next worm from your network? Tell me at [email protected].