Grant Bowman's blog

Canonical Landscape for Ubuntu

2008-06-26T09:05:40Z

I wanted to let everyone know about the Landscape project. It is a management system for Ubuntu computers in corporate environments. It is available as a service to annual Canonical Support customers. It also has a 60 day registration free trial when you register five or more machines on the system. This is a nice alternative for those choosing to go with Ubuntu for their OS needs.

SMRI Review

2006-03-29T06:51:49Z

Thanks to those that have renewed their memberships!
It's been a year. SMRI is an official 501(c)(3) now. Our "rolling start" continues. This field is still not very high on the radar yet despite it's tremendous value. If you have any comments we have set up:

Blogs and comments here on SoftwareManagers.org
Keep an eye on the announce mail list
Discuss your ideas on the members mail list for discussion
You can get a response by sending to the SMRI board mail list - someone will get back to you.

Trackbacks Disabled

2005-10-16T12:52:43Z

Due to abuse, trackbacks have been disabled on the site. I welcome feedback - positive and negative - about this change.

Corporations Entering World of Blogs

2005-06-06T12:23:14Z

Blogging is on the rise. Here's another article Corporations Entering World of Blogs by Nicole Ziegler Dizon, an Associated Press Writer. This seems to cut to the heart of the matter:

"At the end of the day, the job of any good leader at any corporation is to communicate," Schwartz said. "The hallmark of companies that will find blogs useful is the company that cares about its perception ... and the integrity of its relationship with its customers."

General Nonprofit Dynamics

2005-05-22T07:39:01Z

The Looking-Glass World of Nonprofit Money: Managing in For-Profits’ Shadow Universe by Clara Miller is fascinating. In a true & false format it provides a contrast between how nonprofit business is performed given restrictions placed on grant funding sources and how for-profit business is performed.

UK's SSRG Launched

2005-05-19T10:41:57Z

The Strategic Supplier Relationship Group (ssrg-uk.org) has now launched it's non-profit organization with the backing of 10 companies in the UK. They describe themselves:

SSRG is a non-commercial organization created and run by the professional IT bodies shown below specifically to add value to the IT customer/supplier relationship.

Rita's previous blog entry had articles and stories about this new effort. All members of the 10 founding organizaitons are automatically members of the SSRG, an interesting approach. Thier kickoff event had three speakers. I hope they find ways to provide significant value to their members. I don't see much detail on plans for how they will accomplish this, but I will be keeping an eye out. I wish them well.

Historic Risk and Return

2005-04-12T10:28:00Z

Last night the story was recounted of the first transatlantic telegraphy cable on PBS' American Experience. It explores the trials of Cyrus Field over thirteen years just before and just after the US Civil War. A tradition of convening a technical board of inquiry begins after the first attempt to lay a functional transatlantic cable fails. Given the uncertainty of the electrical knowledge and the large investment many factors were revealed during the board of inquiry that contributed to success on the next attempt. The PBS show attributes Cyrus Field's persistent belief, action, maybe a little naive technical optimism and certainly commitment to the success of the huge project.
The same attributes may also be helpful traits for those practicing Software Asset Management in corporations today. In 2003 Gartner estimated that "through 2007, 65 percent of enterprises will grossly mismanage complexity and risk, stifling productivity and earnings, and inflating costs by at least 25 percent." Addressing costs through processes and structures that SAM provides is a proven, financially rewarding step in the right direction.
The struggle to implement an effective SAM program can require skills in the three core disciplines mentioned by Gartner - governance, IT service management and enterprise IT architecture. SAM must also address legal and business issues. Learning about SAM can seem complicated to those new to the field but the procesesses are rather simple when implemented in stages. Yet with belief, action and commitment we have seen that anything is possible.

Blogging Hints

2005-04-16T12:17:38Z

I find most beginning blogging guides useful in some way, even if only to remind me of best practices I already follow. Four blog entries about blogging are already on this site, yet new and interesting information always seems available every time I look for more. Simon World has useful information and links. I hope this will help SoftwareManagers.org members get over the fear of jumping into blogging and to help existing bloggers feel more comfortable in practicing their craft.

IT Security Harmonisation

2005-03-30T07:28:27Z

In looking for a standard metadata format and taxonomy to describe commercial software products/applications I found a research report published by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association. A brief excerpt from their sample of a research report Information Security Harmonisation: Classification of Global Guidance available on their home page states:

Podcasting Future?

2005-03-28T11:13:43Z

I was watching the CNN show named Next in which a statement was made that made me pause to think. Podcasting is now where blogging was five years ago. With this episode of Next was a link to this December 2004 CNN article on Podcasting and another short piece on blogging. Two resources that act as directories of podcasting are podcast.net and Podcast Alley.
Why did this catch my attention? The evolution from licensed amateur radio to radio broadcasting may just be evolving to mp3 files and podcasting. Podcasting is also very analogous to audio blogging. I do like to listen to as many of the podcasts from IT Conversations as I can, so I noticed as I heard the brief story on CNN.

Nonprofit Organizational Development

2005-03-25T09:01:50Z

During a stimulating conversation about the development of this nonprofit, Software Managers Resource, Inc., I was reminded of an article from the Winter 2004, Volume 11, Issue 4 of the Nonprofit Quarterly e-newsletter. The article by Paul Light is The Spiral of Sustainable Excellence. Paul interviewed members of 25 of the most recognized and successful nonprofits from a study of 250 through the United States. He summarized some of the best practices he encountered. What immediately came to mind during my discussion was the chart comparing goals, threats, questions and capacity-building activities for each of the stages of a nonprofit's development: organic, enterprising, intentional, robust and reflective. While this rubric is specifically tailored to nonprofits similar characteristics are fundamental to successful for-profit business organizations as well. The summary at the end reminded readers that successful nonprofits were to be found in each category of this rubric and that these categories are only to be used as a guide.

Web Services Patents

2005-01-30T05:05:20Z

The legal positioning around technology patents may have interesting repercussions, especially for software development companies. This builder.com story describes how an anonymous bidder paid $15.5 million for 39 patents regarding web services, previously held by Commerce One. The United States Bankruptcy Court auction was held in early December, 2004 as Commerce One is liquidating their assets.

End of Usability Era

2005-01-23T09:41:05Z

Kieran Lal's blog entry led me to find this article which summarizes some interesting survey results:

A 2002 Stanford University study on Web credibility, which included a special look at the financial services industry, reveals that consumers place more emphasis on “design look” and “information design” than on “content evaluation.” This is the opposite of what those working in the industry think. Further, the study went on to reveal that “design look” received the most comments from consumers in all categories as a sign of Web credibility—46.1%, almost twice as many mentions as the next category. Visual design is every bit as important as usability, findability, and accessibility. It is perhaps even more critical in swaying the perception of today’s more Web-savvy site visitors.

Support for Open Source Products

2005-04-16T12:34:04Z

One important consideration of any software user or group of users when choosing to use an Open Source software product is the availability of help when something goes wrong. For commercial software the concerns are focused on price and availability of expertise above and beyond one's own resources. There is also a level of understanding and trust that the company will continue to operate. Similar concerns exist for open source products, but the groups providing the support are less well understood and vary widely. A good primer for how to get help when using an Open Source product is How To Ask Questions The Smart Way written by Eric Raymond. It is good advice and helps by giving some of the reasons behind Open Source developer stereotypes.

About Blogging

2005-01-16T10:44:28Z

This site is focused on the use of blogging and comments as a means to discuss important issues regarding the business, legal and technical aspects of managing software. While initial postings have had a technical flavor we hope to encourage others to participate. Comments can be posted by any visitor after a free registration. The largest obstacles to participation seems to be educating those most knowledgable about this field about blogging. Those who don't fully undestand blogging may not understand why we have chosen this as the tool site content. Paid members can create new entries for others to comment on and join the private email list.