Baseline Issue June 2008

COVER

Not Spots
Earthlink?s massive plan for municipal Wi-Fi was doomed by a faulty business model, intense opposition from competing service providers and some bad luck. But the technology is alive and well and in the works.


FEATURES

Closing the IT Security Gap
If companies are so worried about insider breaches why do they spend most of their security dollars on anti-virus software and firewalls?
Five major threats that go undetected by perimeter protection products.
Andre Gold, head of technology risk management at ING U.S. Financial Services, discusses the need to dovetail security and business priorities.

Is Your Head in the Cloud?
Cloud computing is a fundamentally different approach for the enterprise?one that could shift the focus from the technology to the business that the technology is designed to support.


TOPLINE

Is There an IT Labor Shortage?
A disparity between available skills and required skills is what?s really at the root of the so-called labor shortage. For many companies, it?s training vs. turnover.

Plus: ?Today?s 10 Hottest IT Jobs?

Going Green: Hype or Trend?
Everyone?s talking about the environmentally friendly data center, yet, about two-thirds of companies don?t have plans to go that route. Why?


JOB SITE

An Unconventional Cure for Call Centers
Dr. David Blanton, vice president and general manager for global sourcing at Unisys, calls disgruntled call center customers in an effort to get one-on-one feedback.


BASELINE 500

Changing Careers
With the economy lagging and IT career growth at a standstill, some IT pros intent on business innovation are moving in new directions. Consulting, anyone?


TECHKNOW

Testing the Managed PBX Waters
You don?t have to rip out your entire phone system to give an IP PBX a whirl, minimize your investment by signing on with an off-site managed services provider.

Is Your Netowrk VOIP Ready?
Don?t even think of deploying VOIP at your organization before you know the answers to these five critical questions.


WORKBOOK

Mitigating Risk Requires Micro and Macro Views
Business technology is nothing if not risky. So follow this six-step plan to minimize vulnerabilities and maximize value.

How to Forecast the Success of Technology Projects
Want to be sure your upcoming projects are going to get raves, not rants? Then rate their probability of success using our assessment table.


OPINION

STARTING POINT: Eileen Feretic
Going green isn?t easy.

TECH TRACK: Michael Vizard
The paradox of cloud computing

STROMINATOR: David Strom
Phone home from abroad without racking up huge bills.