TSA Scanners

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20023035-281.html?tag=topStories1

So TSA has installed new scanners at airports that do a full body x-ray and reveal very intimate details about a person. Obviously, some people have a huge problem with this and see it as an invasion of privacy. The alternative to getting the scan is an invasive pat-down that could bring serious personal boundary issues into play. Of course, TSA representatives say that there is no way the images will be leaked, but we've heard those kinds of stories before.

So what's more important? Individual privacy or community safety? Is this just another way that technology is infringing upon our personal rights and privileges?

Green Technology Facts and Myths

So it was always inevitable in the midst of the current green wave, that technology would soon have to "go green". I found an interesting website that chronicles articles detailing myths and facts about green technology. 


http://www.brighthub.com/guides/green-technology.aspx


The website includes the history of green technology, little known facts such as the loss of jobs attached to going green, some listed benefits, and how green technology actually impacts the natural environment. 


One of the easiest ways to find green technology is to look for the Energy Star label on consumer products.

Even though most people think of green technology in relation to corporate emissions, this is for the everyday consumer as well. So even you can go green in regards to technology! 

Scandinavian IT Outsourcing Trends

Major research in Scandinavian countries has shown that increasing numbers of companies are outsourcing their software development, especially their SD function. Most Swedish companies outsource 90 to 100% of this function. Actual savings in these Swedish and some Danish companies reaches as much as 40 to 59%.

Also, a higher percentage of the companies in these countries are choosing to outsource nearshore (within or close to the same time zone) as opposed to offshore (at least 2 time zones away). This touches on an earlier comment Lexi made about outsourcing locally, which in my opinion is a great idea.

The main pressures for outsourcing are:
1. To reduce operating costs
2. Shortage of domestic IT resources and specific skills
3. To accelerate time to market via scalability and flexibility
4. Improve business development strategy

So what are the U.S. trends in comparison to these Scandinavian? Could we take after these countries and focus on nearshoring as opposed to offshoring?

Negatives of Outsourcing

"...there is a situation today where employees have started fearing job losses. This gives rise to lower motivation and thereby decline in services. After all who would like to serve an organization that he feels is going to sack him for all his services."

So the biggest negative aspect of outsourcing that people think about, especially in the United States, is the loss of numerous jobs to developing countries in order to save costs. Organizations that might be perfectly happy without outsourcing are being backed into a corner. In order to maintain a competitive advantage, or at the very least to keep up with the pack, these companies feel like they absolutely have to outsource, outsource, outsource...

What is your opinion on this? Are companies really backed in a corner with no other option but to outsource? Or is it just the easiest way to cut costs? On an ethical point, is it worth it to save money but cost people there jobs and their livelihoods? Where is the line ultimately drawn?

"IT Outsourcing Company Posts Unprecedented Revenue Growth"

In an economy riddled with failing businesses, major IT outsourcing markets are experiencing double digit percentage growth. Tata Consulting Services (TCS) and Infosys Technologies both posted very strong revenue growth for the quarter ending September 2010. TCS posted revenues of $2 billion for the quarter and a net income of $455 million. 

TCS CEO, N. Chandrasekaran attributes this meteoric rise to his team's "agility to respond to these opportunities across markets and more importantly, execute flawlessly". With the increased demand for IT outsourcing, these companies are hiring in large quantities, which increases the job supply and backs what we discussed early in class: that jobs related to IT have some of the highest rates of increase in any market. 


One of the reasons TCS is growing to quickly is their innovativeness. In the past quarter, they have applied for 380 patents, and been granted 64 of them. This just goes to show that their intensive innovativeness is one of their strongest assets and will carry them far in combination with their very agile team of IT specialists. 


This shows some of the positives of outsourcing. Next week I will to discuss some of the negatives. 

http://it.tmcnet.com/topics/it/articles/110740-it-outsourcing-company-posts-unprecedented-revenue-growth.htm

Zoolander!

ATTENTION!!!!!! 


Dell has come out with the iPad's first true competitor! They are releasing a 7" tablet, which is a full 2.7" smaller than the iPad. Also in the works to be released within the next 6 months are a 3", 4", 5" AND 10" devices. Products will be running Google's Android operating system and some will be running Microsoft's Windows.

So we're getting closer and closer the the Zoolander-esque types of technology. Just make things smaller and smaller and smaller... hell, I'm scared I'm going to lose my state-of-the-art technology or accidentally leave it in my pocket and thrown it in the wash like a wrinkled dollar bill.

But wait...is it necessary to release five products with almost the exact same capabilities in order to compete with one of Apple's products? Should they have focused on mastering more capabilities to apply to one or two products? This feels like more of an "anything you can do, I can do better" kind of marketing strategy. They expect revenues to exceed $60 billion with the release of their new tablets. But does the technology back up the aggressive numbers and marketing expectations? As an Apple fan, I hope they do. I want Apple to have a serious technological competitor. Competition breeds innovation. I'm extremely interested to see what Apple can do with a little kick! I guess we'll see!

Can Google & China Co-Exist?

I know most of this took place much earlier this year, but I love the topic. Many of you may remember last semester when Google and China were having serious cooperation issues. It was absolutely fascinating to watch while it unraveled. For those who know the story, skip the next paragraph. For those who don't, read on...

China was setting very strong censorship blocks against certain Google searches (i.e. Tiananman Square, and "Tank Man") and completely blocked YouTube, a Google subsidiary, and other Google services. This is totally against Google's culture, which has always been known for wanting to provide information universally. "While removing search results is inconsistent with Google's mission, providing no information (or a heavily degraded user experience that amounts to no information) is more inconsistent with our mission," was their response to the controversy. Google eventually did get fed up with what they viewed as unfair censorship. They re-routed the search engine through Hong Kong and for a limited time, the Chinese people were allowed to search for anything they wanted without fear of gov't censorship. Of course, the Chinese gov't quickly shut down Google's attempt, and for a while, Google was completely frozen out of China until about two months ago, when they were allowed back in.

My question to my classmates and colleagues is one about your personal view on the matter. Should Google continue to compromise their ideals and ethics in order to access the huge market that is the People's Republic of China? Or should they stick to their guns and refuse to cooperate with these censorship laws and regulations, thereby eliminating any profits from the country? Is it an invasion of privacy to monitor someone's searches constantly? And is it our business what China chooses to regulate?

More Zara!

"Since most garments come in five to six colors and five to seven sizes, Zara's system has to deal with something in the realm of 300,000 new stock-keeping units (SKUs), on average, every year. This "fast fashion" system depends on a constant exchange of information throughout every part of Zara's supply chain...."


So it seems that for the moment I am completely caught up in the topic of Zara. Even after we finished our case study, I am still researching the company and its IT system. The sheer numbers of Zara's production are astounding, as is shown in the above quote. Three hundred thousand is a ridiculous amount of new items to keep track of. So how do they do it? By walking around the stores and looking to see what they have or need. To me this still seems completely inadequate, no matter how successful they are. 


When my group and I presented the Zara case, we made a very strong plea for Zara to upgrade, based mostly on the lack of communication and on Zara's so called "theoretical inventory". I want to make sure that everyone knows we did not want to change Zara's company culture. It's what has made them so successful. All we want to change is the underlying IT structure. We want stores to be able to communicate with each other about stock amounts and customer demand and anything else that might be necessary! We want to increase communication while making it easier for store managers, product managers at La Caruna, and everyone else in the supply chain to keep track of what they have, what is selling, what people want, what is left in stock, etc. Right now they can't do that and it's affecting customer service. While they are definitely not a store that relies on their customer service for their success, it's still not something to be ignored. Even if the knee-jerk reaction of consumers when asked "Can I help you with anything?" is "No, I'm just looking", it's still good to know that if you do need something, they are there to help and are actually capable of doing just that. 


Basically I would like to add "lack of customer service" and "lost potential sales" to my list of reasons to upgrade IT. It is not to change the company or the culture. It is simply to make them more efficient and to recover some of the unknowable lost sales. 

The Census Bureau Screwed Up w/ IT

So, this year everyone had to take part in the 2010 decennial census. Those who did not respond to the census were visited personally by an interviewer to gain an accurate image of this country's population. Something so excruciatingly tedious and time consuming would get the utmost attention to ensure there wouldn't be any problems later on, right?

Well, maybe not. Apparently the automated system used by field personnel when doing personal interviews as well as a personnel and payroll processing system experienced serious IT problems prior to and during the collection period. Other key IT systems also experienced performance shortfalls. They had to race to fix the systems before the immense amount of data came in.

Now I know this is not the most current of issues, but it still struck a chord with me. After returning my census form, I was called during the summer by an interviewer who very kindly and professionally asked me questions to verify my responses...for thirty minutes. My answers were very straightforward and easy, which means that people with confusing living situations had to be questioned for even longer than that. How much time was spent verifying answers? Was this a result of the IT problems faced in the beginning?

This brings me to my main concern...the Census Bureau was so aggressive with their campaign. They wanted the most accurate view of America, but they didn't have their systems in line and fully operational prior to the beginning. So will the census actually be accurate? Or are they just making an educated guess...

4G LTE?

So right after the release of 4G changes wireless as we know it, we hear about the very latest in wireless technology. 4G LTE, or fourth-generation, long-term-evolution, works at 2x to 6x the speed of 4G and anywhere from 20x to 70x the speed of 3G.

With this new advent in wireless speed, a five minute video can supposedly be downloaded in a fraction of a second. Besides the obvious implications for smart phones, this could also be a major hit to the cable and Internet service industries. With such high speed capabilities, there's no need for cable. Television shows, movies, music, websites, etc. can be downloaded in seconds which makes anything slower completely obsolete.

We can already watch movies on our phones as it is. The need for telephone land lines is decreasing every day. The need for any phone service is in question due to Skype and Google's new free phone application. Our world is changing in leaps and bounds. How long will it take before people stop buying television sets? Sounds crazy, right? Well how many people thought they would always have a land line, or VCR? There are so many things that we never thought we would live without that are now things of the past.

I guess my point and my question to everyone is simply "What's next?"