David Norfolk on IT-Analysis.com

The myth of the expensive mainframe

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 07:00:00 +0100

Mainframes are expensive, aren't they? Well, that's a piece of accepted wisdom I've never really bought into. I think that mainframes are a remarkably cheap platform, if they are properly managed,... [Read More...]

Transferring knowledge: key to good business?

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 07:00:00 +0100

So, what's not to like about Knowledge Management? It sounds very Web 2.0, Enterprise 3.0 or something like that. It's probably what distinguishes the sheep from the goats in the automated... [Read More...]

What's wrong with "security"

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 07:00:00 +0100

Everybody's security-focused these days. So, what's wrong with Security? Well, possibly the word security itself and the silo'd thinking it encourages. And also, I'm afraid, sometimes the people in... [Read More...]

User Experience Monitoring as Governance?

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 07:00:00 +0100

I've just been talking to Compuware at its new offices in Maidenhead. There are a couple or three things I like about Compuware's product offerings, quite apart from the technology (and it is one of... [Read More...]

Abstractions

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 07:00:00 +0100

I'm an old database hand-and I think that using such technologies effectively is still an aspect of good IT governance. I can remember times before RDBMSs (Relational Database Management... [Read More...]

Governance - The State of Play

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 07:00:00 +0100

What's not to like about Governance? Traditionally, rather a lot. It is all about the management of management so it usually involves information more of interest to the managers than the workers. It... [Read More...]

Governance with Information

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:00:00 +0100

I like charismatic leaders of privately owned companies-well, I do until they do something to the company like Ken Olsen did to DEC. It's an interesting (but not very proactive) aspect of... [Read More...]

Governance with Information

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 07:00:00 +0100

I take a broad view of governance; but fundamental to governance, to me, is information. A recent IBI Customer Day prompted some thoughts on this. [Read More...]

Twenty Years On - a Maturity Journey

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:00:00 +0100

OK, I have a secret. It's called GC26-4531-0 and it describes the solution to increasing software complexity, the prevalence of inaccurate requirements and poor design information, the increasing... [Read More...]

OSS Innovation - with Ingres VectorWise

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:00:00 +0100

Effective utilisation of the full capabilities of modern chips is a current programming issue. Now Open Source Ingres has an initiative which achieves just that for SQL calls, and it's all transparent to the business programmer. [Read More...]

User Experience 2.1

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:00:00 +0100

Some more on the practical issues around managing user experience - and whether you should address symptoms, or root causes, or both... [Read More...]

The MDM Tarpit as an aspect of IT/Business Siloisation

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 07:00:00 +0100

Sometimes, and especally around data integration and MDM, the righteous splutterings emanating from IT departments are worth listening to - although they should be coming from an IT department fully integrated with the business. [Read More...]

Is smart DM an alternative to MDM?

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 07:00:00 +0100

If proper data management from the start is too hard for many companies, do we need radical neww approaches to the issue as an alternative to post-facto MDM? [Read More...]

The MDM Tarpit

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 07:00:00 +0100

Master Data Management isn't a shiny new discovery, it's a kindly euphemism for an attempt to re-instate good governance for your data resources after it has been abandoned in the past. [Read More...]

IBM Rational Software Conferance - Booch on Day 3

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:00:00 +0100

Some thoughts on where technology is and where it is going from Grady Booch. [Read More...]

Visual Configuration Management

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0100

Configuration management can be used for a lot more than pure code - but if you are managing web pages or pictures, you really need visual feedback on what is changing. [Read More...]

Making BrITain Great Again

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 07:00:00 +0100

The Micro Focus technology manifesto - for growing the intellectual property/technology sector in UK plc [Read More...]

IBM Rational Software Conference 2009 - Day 2

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:00:00 +0100

Managing assets for a Smarter World - and a bit of speedjamming. [Read More...]

Day 1 at IBM Rational's Software Development Conference

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 07:00:00 +0100

IBMS RSDC is in Orlando again and its catchline is As Real As It Gets, highlighting the idea that even high level ideas like Enterprise Architecture are pointless unless they have practical application. [Read More...]

Systems Engineering and SysML

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 07:00:00 +0100

Very few business systems are purely software although software is usually an important part of them. So it often makes sense to model in a language, SysML, that extends UML-style modelling beyond the software domain. [Read More...]

Is there more to Software Asset Management (SAM) than counting pennies?

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Tue, 26 May 2009 07:00:00 +0100

SAM is an essential part of business governance these days - but the easiest way to sell it to managers is probably through the savings possible if you stop paying for shelfware you don't use. [Read More...]

Snippets from Sybase

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Mon, 18 May 2009 07:00:00 +0100

Why is Sybase so successful even in a downturn? Well possibly because it has good products. However, even more important is its old-fashioned customer focus and belief in bottom-line delivery of concrete cash revenue. [Read More...]

Expectations 2.0

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Wed, 13 May 2009 08:00:00 +0100

Web 2.0, whatever it is, seems to be very attractive, but be careful-come to rely on it and you may well find a devil in the detail.... [Read More...]

Business Continuity as a Systems Development issue.

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 07:00:00 +0100

Business Continuity is just one of a list of non-functional requirements systems developers must think about if they are to deliver the Business Outcomes the business wants. [Read More...]

The BCS Configuration Management Specialist Group's Cloud Workshop

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 12:00:00 +0100

A chance to hear and talk with Cloud Computing and Configuration management experts Martin Banks, Kevin Parker, Shirley Lacy and Brenda Peery. [Read More...]

The Blue Cloud from IBM

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 07:00:00 +0100

Cloud computing means many things to many people - but the IBM interpretation is an important aspect of what the Cloud will mean in practice. [Read More...]

Managing Capability and Maturity: Part 2

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 07:00:00 +0100

Success with IT is usually more to do with organisational maturity than the technology. Formal capability and maturity management with CMMI has its advantages. [Read More...]

Managing capability and maturity : 1

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 07:00:00 +0100

Success with IT is usually more to do with organisational maturity than the technology. You can manage your capability and maturity on an informal basis. [Read More...]

You don't want a CMDB, you want a CMS

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 07:00:00 +0100

The CMDB (Configuration Management Database) is becoming a fashionable technology but it really isn't the first thing you should be thinking about when you start to bring IT under control. [Read More...]

Continuous Application Performance Management

David Norfolk, Bloor Research — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 07:00:00 +0100

Customer User Experience matters, if you want to keep customers. A key aspect of providing a good experience is designing it in and carrying out end-to-end user experience monitoring. [Read More...]