Engineering Management

Are you ready for the next great paradigm shift in computing? Everywhere you look, the press is talking about the apparently inevitable migration from a hardware-based system like Windows to "cloud-based" architectures where most software capability and storage capacity comes from on-line services, with only the barest kernel on your host machine. But what does this mean to your business? To your installed base of conventional PCs and servers? And — a question that seems to have gotten lost in the race to convert — how secure and how private will your information remain when everything is stored in cyberspace?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Engineering Management, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Engineering Management today.

Many companies manage their electronic infrastructure as though the technological future will look pretty much like the past. Yet the revolution championed by Bill Gates's Great Seattle Megalith and its allies was itself a step-change in the way we conduct business. The migration to cloud-based computing and other post-Bill non-Microsoft innovations will once again alter the texture of business practices. How comfortable are you with the coming changes? How confident are you that cloud-computing environments will make your job easier? How secure will they prove to be? What other innovations do you see challenging the status quo? How must your business evolve in response to these paradigm shifts?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Engineering Management, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Engineering Management today.

Market dominance in technology industries is extremely difficult to maintain. If Microsoft can't pass the torch from one generation to the next and stay on top, what chance is there for the rest of us? Yet avoiding the pitfalls experienced by fallen market leaders can at the very least help ensure job security. How will you keep your technological edge in your particular niche? What steps is your company taking to avoid being left behind by startups in places like Silicon Valley? By emerging technology giants in faraway places like India and China?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Engineering Management, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Engineering Management today.

Software engineering and green technology are only two of the fields where the demand for talented people outstrips the supply. The retirement of the Baby Boomers and their replacement by the less numerous members of the next generation will only exacerbate the situation. How will you fill your most responsible positions? Are you experiencing such shortages already? Are you trying to recruit more holders of H-1B visas? Will you have to entice your post-retirement workforce to bring their considerable experience back into the fray? Will you have to rein in on your projected goals because of staff shortages?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Engineering Management, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Engineering Management today.

The love affair between developed countries and their electronic infrastructure is aggravating the problem of global-warning. Yet computers, networks, and accompanying systems are critical to the operation of your business. There is no way to return to the "thrilling days of yesteryear" when you did everything on paper and physical files. What is the alternative? Is your company aware of the carbon cost of the equipment you need to boost your efficiency and productivity? Are you taking steps to minimize that impact? Can you reduce the number of systems you use, the amount of server power that you need for your network, or other hardware resources?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Engineering Management, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Engineering Management today.