Baseline Issue January/February 2009

COVER STORY

Hope and Change for IT?
Barack Obama enters the White House with a reputation as one of the most tech-savvy chief executives ever. But how will his administration affect IT spending in the trenches, where enterprise decision-makers must deal with strapped budgets and a shaky economy? Baseline recently spoke with industry experts and IT executives who are paying close attention to the incoming administration in an effort to predict its potential effect on IT spending throughout the country.


FEATURES

The Growing Appetite for Virtualization
The benefits of IT virtualization and consolidation are clear: They include improved performance, lower costs, energy conservation and reduced space requirements. But there are also challenges, such as the need for employee training and outside consulting services, so management needs to plan carefully for virtualization implementations.

Giving Health Care a Dose of IT
The health care industry has been slow to adopt electronic medical records and other IT initiatives because of costs and the uncertainty about ROI. But that?s starting to change as early adopters improve patient safety, streamline operations, save money and provide medical practitioners with timely access to patient information.


GAMEPLAN

Prepare for E-Discovery Before a Lawsuit is Filed
Organizations need an e-discovery process to manage theirdigital records in order to be ready for possible litigation.

Top 5 Trends in CRM
Effective marketing requires an enterprise to understand each customer, sense opportunities and deliver relevant messages.

A New Role for Old Geeks
The experience of older IT professionals is needed to maintain the world?s IT infrastructure. But these ?old geeks? are retiring.


JOB SITE

Rx for Data Woes
Timely, accurate data is essential Pfizer. To provide that data, the firm created virtual data marts, which bring security and flexibility to its rigorous drug development process.

A New Route to Performance Management
The Transportation Security Administration needed to capture data and measure metrics on screening and security at U.S.airports, so it implemented a performance management system.


BASELINE 500

State Street Puts Agility in the Fast Lane
To react quickly to changing market conditions, this global financial services provider uses virtualization, a service-oriented architecture, thin-client systems and a zero-footprint IT model.


TECHKNOW

Assessing Your Endpoint Security Needs
Endpoint security technologies continue to proliferate, so it takes planning to find out the best solution for your enterprise.


WORKBOOK

Designing the Right Kind of Organization
The way an organization is structured will shape its ability to achieve effective business technology management.


OPINION

Starting Point
Eileen Feretic: Resolutions
For executives, keeping their resolutions to improve business and IT performance can help ensure survival?and even success.

Tech Track
Michael Vizard: Bridging the Server Divide
Consolidating Linux and Windows servers may be best for the business?but it probably won?t be easy.