Welcome to the latest BriefingsDirect SOA Insights Edition Vol. 6, a weekly discussion and dissection of Services Oriented Architecture (SOA)-related news and events, with a panel of independent IT industry analysts. Wrapping up the year, our crew tackles 2006 with a SOA review. The boys also take a look forward to 2007 with a series of SOA predictions. Join Steve Garone, Joe McKendrick, Jon Collins and Tony Baer for our discussion, hosted and moderated by Dana Gardner. Top predictions favor more software infrastructure consolidation amid corporate mergers, a move to increased modeling in SOA, and roughly a 25% increase in SOA-related deployments in the New Year. Join us as we delve into these complex and fascinating subjects. Feel free to read a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/12/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-soa_19.html.
Direct download: BriefingsDirect_Insights6.mp3
Category:B2B Informational Podcast -- posted at: 11:23am EDT

Broadly dispersed datacenters are a huge and growing expense to enterprises -- yet the demands for more applications delivered fast and reliably is mounting. Can an enterprise have it both ways: Fewer datacenters and better performance? Can they cut ongoing costs in doing so, and protect their resources from disasters? Two executives from Hewlett-Packard's Consulting and Integration Group unequivocally say, "Yes!" Join podcast host and moderator Dana Gardner in a discussion on the methods and best practices around IT Consolidation with Ewald Comhaire, director of the global practice for Infrastructure Services, as well as Peg Ofstead, worldwide solution lead for HP IT Shared Services and IT Consolidation Services. Read a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/12/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-podcast_13.html. Sponsor: Hewlett-Packard.
Direct download: HP_IT_Consolidation_Podcast.mp3
Category:B2B Informational Podcast -- posted at: 1:45pm EDT

The demands on the Internet have never been higher, with massive files of high-definition video, online distribution of most software products, and the increasing uploading of "user-generated content" filling up the pipes. Yet the challenge to Internet delivery is not just in the packets' performance. The winning formula for online businesses also demands a business platform, from generating metrics to managing advertising to fulfilling subscriptions -- a unified platform approach to the business of Internet media delivery is emerging. To help better understand the challenges and opportunities of the newest waves in media, join host and moderator Dana Gardner in a podcast discussion with Mike Afergan, CTO of Akamai Technologies. Feel free to peruse a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/12/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-podcast_12.html. Podcast sponsor: Akamai Technologies.
Direct download: Akamai_CTO_podcast.mp3
Category:B2B Informational Podcast -- posted at: 9:33am EDT

Welcome to the latest BriefingsDirect SOA Insights Edition, a weekly discussion and dissection of Services Oriented Architecture (SOA)-related news and events, with a panel of independent IT industry analysts, journalists and guests. With us to discuss SOA and Microsoft, SOA and Web 2.0 and SOA as a business value are a distinguished and interesting panel: Steve Garone, Joe McKendrick, Mary Jo Foley, and Jeff Pendleton. Our discussion this week centers on two topics, both, of course, SOA-related. The first is Microsoft, which has been coming out with more lingo, or marketing, around SOA -- if not in the actual technology approach, at least in terms of the business values and the rationale for embarking on SOA. The second issue is trying to figure out the best way of conceptualizing SOA’s business value, and to then be able to take it out to the market. Join us as we delve into these complex and fascinating subjects. Feel free to read a full transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/12/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-soa.html.
Direct download: BriefingsDirect_SOA_Insights05.mp3
Category:B2B Informational Podcast -- posted at: 2:33pm EDT

Open source and SOA are increasingly joined at the hip. These twins are developing in tandem, not sequentially, which is giving CIOs and architects a variety of choices for picking and choosing the projects and products that make up their SOAs. To better understand the history and progression of SOA and open source, two open source experts from IONA Technologies join moderator Dana Gardner for a deep-dive discussion into the SOA open source landscape, as well as to explain the objectives and accomplishments of IONA's Dec. 4 release of the Celtix Enterprise initiatives. Have a listen to the podcast or read the transcript at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/12/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-podcast.html. Podcast sponsor: IONA Technologies, Inc.
Direct download: IONA_Celtix_Enterprise_20061204_.mp3
Category:B2B Informational Podcast -- posted at: 9:00am EDT

Welcome to the latest BriefingsDirect SOA Insights Edition, a weekly discussion and dissection of service oriented architecture (SOA) and related news and events with a panel of independent IT industry analysts and guests. Yours truly, Dana Gardner, principal analyst at Interarbor Solutions, is your host and moderator. BriefingsDirect SOA Insights Edition brings a new focus to the SOA thought leadership field by assembling noted independent IT industry analysts and guests to investigate the trends and news of the week. Take the content via this blog and excerpts, by listening to the podcast, and/or by perusing the full transcript of the discussion. This week's panel consists of Steve Garone, a former program vice president at IDC and founder of the AlignIT Group, Neil Macehiter, a research director at Macehiter Ward-Dutton, and making his debut Joe McKendrick, an independent research consultant, a contributing editor and columnist for Database Trends, and a SOA blogger for ZDNet and ebizQ. This week's topics center around the recent Oracle OpenWorld conference focused on Oracle's ecology and products. Take a look at these thoughful analysts as they weed through the many weighty Oracle announcements and developments -- including the bombshell Unbreakable Linux announcement. Feel free to peruse the transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/11/transcript-of-dana-gardners_15.html.
Direct download: SOA_Insights_4_20061115.mp3
Category:B2B Informational Podcast -- posted at: 2:31pm EDT

Welcome to BriefingsDirect SOA Insights Edition, a weekly discussion and dissection of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and related news and events with a panel of independent IT industry analysts and guests. Dana Gardner, principal analyst at Interarbor Solutions, is your host and moderator. This week's panel consists of Steve Garone, a former program vice president at IDC, Neil Ward-Dutton, a research director at Macehiter Ward-Dutton, and Jeff Pendleton, a former IT executive who has filled many roles, at BEA, HP and other firms. The topics are the relationship between SOA and open source as well as a lively discussion on what SOA needs to be better accepted by business leaders. Feel free to peruse the transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/11/transcript-of-dana-gardners.html.
Direct download: SOA_Insights_3_20061105.mp3
Category:B2B Informational Podcast -- posted at: 1:08pm EDT

The ramp-up and roll-out of Microsoft Windows Vista is around the corner. As small office, home office (SOHO) users and businesses face this new look, feel, and function set for their PCs they are also -- in record numbers -- relying on remote access service providers such as Rent-a-Geek. From fixing Windows 95 to tuning Vista, these remote access "geeks" are building large-scale business based on the power of such low-cost products and services as LogMeIn's Rescue and LogMeIn's IT Reach. When PCs face trouble, or when users want their maintenance and malware protection automated, PC remediation companies are not just asking users to drop off the hardware in the next town -- the technicians can actually enter the PC remotely via the Internet and fix the problem at the users desk ... anywhere. All it takes is a phone and an Internet connection. Listen to this sponsored BriefingsDirect podcast where moderator and host Dana Gardner discusses the business opportunity for remote PC remediation and maintenance services with Rent-a-Geek Founder and President Keith Schiehl. Sponsor: LogMeIn, Inc. For an instant trial of LogMeIn Rescue, the solution Rent-A-Geek relies on for its highly successful remote support business, visit www.LogMeInRescue.com/podcast. Within five minutes of signing up, you can conduct your first remote support session. And, through this special link, you’ll receive an automatic three-week trial (a full week longer than the standard trial). Get your trial going at www.LogMeInRescue.com/podcast. Read the podcast discussion transcript at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/10/transcript-of-dana-gardners_31.html.
Direct download: LogMeInRescue_20061029.mp3
Category:B2B Informational Podcast -- posted at: 10:18am EDT

When enterprises reach back in time, to the outer reaches of their code assets, they don't necessarily have to see things as they once were. Due to application modernization techniques and methods, scattered legacy applications can be rationalized for lifecycle-level support by newer, more efficient platforms and practices. The proper hygiene of these applications becomes especially useful and cost-efficient as enterprises and governments move toward datacenter consolidation and also services oriented architecture (SOA). To explore the nuances of application modernization, and to determine the business case for such undertakings, I recently moderated a sponsored discussion with two executives from Hewlett-Packard (HP). Rick Slade, the America’s practice principal for HP’s Application Modernization Service, and Paul Evans, the worldwide practice leader for application modernization for HP Services, explain how the targets for modernization efforts extend well beyond mainframe and COBOL code. The goal is to deeply examine any older applications -- built on linear, monolithic architectures -- and transform them for production on platforms and server architectures that promote long-term flexibility. Read the transcript at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/10/transcript-of-dana-gardners_23.html. Sponsor: Hewlett-Packard.
Direct download: Application_Modernization_20061024.mp3
Category:B2B Informational Podcast -- posted at: 6:35am EDT

Welcome to BriefingsDirect SOA Insights Edition, a weekly discussion and dissection of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and related news and events with a panel of independent IT industry analysts and guests. Dana Gardner, principal analyst at Interarbor Solutions, is your host and moderator. This week's panel consists of Steve Garone, a former program vice president at IDC and Jon Collins, principal analyst at Macehiter Ward-Dutton. The topics are Sun's virtualization announcement and the relationship between SOA and virtualization, as well examining the notion that SOA will kill ERP ... or not. Feel free to peruse the transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/10/transcript-of-dana-gardners_22.html.
Direct download: SOA_Insights_2_20061022.mp3
Category:B2B Informational Podcast -- posted at: 11:07am EDT

Borland Software recently released its Lifecycle Quality Management (LQM) initiative, which applies quality assurance to the entire applications design process, with special emphasis in the requirements phase. Quality is not just about the code, it's about quality of process, methodology, and of getting the definitions right. So we took Borland's approach to quality to the field to test the thinking on a busy application development shop. In this sponsored B2B informational podcast, listen to Chris Meystrik, the vice president of software engineering at Jewelry Television in Knoxville, Tenn., describe his fast-paced environment and what he looks for in tools, testing, and application lifecycle management. The stakes are only increasing. Quality with Web services and SOA can make or break the performance and reliability of the component services, may even color the perceptions of IT in general. Therefore quality needs to happen right from the start, not as a late-stage activity, lest the architects and business analysts detect that services cannot be trusted on par with monolithic applications. Listen as the path to lower risk in application development is described and validated. Interarbor Solutions analyst Dana Gardner moderates the 29-minute discussion. Sponsor: Borland Software. Have a listen to the podcast here, or read the transcript at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/10/transcript-of-dana-gardners_16.html.
Direct download: Borland_LQM_Podcast_20061016.mp3
Category:B2B Informational Podcast -- posted at: 3:55pm EDT

Welcome to the inaugural BriefingsDirect SOA Insights Edition, a weekly discussion and dissection of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and related news and events with a panel of independent IT industry analysts and guests. Dana Gardner, principal analyst at Interarbor Solutions, is your host and moderator. This week's panel consists of Steve Garone, a research partner affiliated with Ideas International, and is a former program vice president at IDC responsible, and also Neil Macehiter, research director at Macehiter Ward-Dutton, formerly of Ovum. This week's topics are BEA's announcements from its recent conference, a slew of IBM SOA-related announcements, including the WebSphere Service Registry and Repository, and Borland's Lifecycle Quality Management (LQM) solution. Also peruse the transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/10/transcript-of-dana-gardners.html.
Direct download: SOA_Insights_1_20061015.mp3
Category:B2B Informational Podcast -- posted at: 4:40pm EDT

The iCalendar interoperability standard has brought productivity and publish-and-subscribe ease to only a portion of those wishing to share their calendars. Now a new emerging standard, CalDAV, can make cross-client calendar interoperability an even greater benefit. Apple, IBM, and others are on board. Google and Microsoft are hold-outs. But calendar interoperability guru Scott Mace, editor of Calendar Swamp, thinks that if Google adopts CalDAV it will force Microsoft's hand to bring standards-based calendaring to the Microsoft Outlook and Exchange products, as well as its Live online offerings. Listen to Mace's take on the calendar standards adoption outlook in this 30-minute BriefingsDirect podcast moderated by Dana Gardner of Interarbor Solutions. Also peruse the transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/09/full-transcript-of-dana-gardners_27.html.
Direct download: Calendar_Interoperability_20060927.mp3
Category:B2B Informational Podcast -- posted at: 11:54am EDT

SOA, virtualization, network convergence, intelligent network services, and higher levels of standardization are swirling about -- not just as buzzwords but as individual disrupters to IT. But what about collectively? Which of these trends fit together for larger pay-offs? We put such questions to Bill Ruh, the vice president of Advanced Services at Cisco Systems. Today's modern architectures and networks must provide "integration for everyone," says Ruh. Learn how this need for pervasive integration will affect developers, architects, CIOs, users and business planners in this 30-minute BriefingsDirect podcast discussion. Also peruse the transcript of the discussion at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/09/full-transcript-of-dana-gardners.html.
Direct download: Cisco_Bill_Ruh_podcast_20060905.mp3
Category:B2B Informational Podcast -- posted at: 9:12am EDT

As part of the play-nice together movement between IT departments and lines of business in larger enterprises, the IT shared services trend is gaining steam. IT shared services goes beyond centralization to recast IT from a cost center to a powerful support system for business imperatives and general productivity. The shift is much more than semantics, it involves a customer-focused approach to providing IT internally, places an emphasis on efficiency without redundancy, and allows enterprises to gain flexibility on their future sourcing options for delivering IT services globally. To delve deeper into what IT shared services is and what the pay-offs and challenges are, this BriefingsDirect podcast taps the insights of two Hewlett-Packard executives, Peg Ofstead, the worldwide solution lead for HP’s IT Shared Services and IT Consolidation Services unit within HP Consulting and Integration, and Ewald Comhaire, director of the global practice for Next Generation Infrastructure and Technology at HP. Interarbor Solutions analyst Dana Gardner moderates the 37-minute discussion. Sponsor: Hewlett-Packard. Have a listen to the podcast here, or read the transcript at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/08/full-transcript-of-dana-gardners.html.
Direct download: HP_IT_Shared_Services_20060802.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 1:55pm EDT

A true test of a development environment's worth is in how well it benefits ISVs in reducing complexity, cutting costs, and in helping them remain competitive in fast-moving markets. To better understand the impact of Eclipse on ISVs, Interarbor Solutions analyst Dana Gardner moderates a sponsored podcast discussion with Damion Heredia, director of product management at Lombardi, and Maher Masri, president and co-founder of Genuitec. These two ISVs have much different customers -- Lombardi is a business process management (BPM) solutions provider and the maker of the TeamWorks suites, while Genuitec serves the developers within ISVs with its popular MyEclipse Enterprise Workbench productivity tools. Yet both companies are clearly benefitting from the community-based, open source efficiencies of Eclipse. Learn more about why they see an escalating productivity boost from Eclipse 3.2, how Eclipse and Microsoft .NET play well together, and how the Eclipse Rich Client Platform may further simplify ISV choices and costs in the future. Sponsor: Eclipse Foundation. Have a listen to the podcast here, or read the transcript at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/07/full-transcript-of-dana-gardners_20.html.
Direct download: Eclipse_Benefits_20060720.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 10:45am EDT

Not many things last for 20 years in the software business, but high-technology PR firm Lois Paul & Partners (LP&P) is this summer celebrating its 20th anniversary. I thought LP&P's anniversary would provide a great springboard for a trip down memory lane, as a way to assess just how much things have changed -- or not -- in the PC and enterprise software businesses. So I gladly moderated this 40-minute podcast with LP&P founder, Lois Paul, as well as Chris Shipley of Guidewire Group and the DEMO conferences, and also Dean Goodermote, CEO of Double-Take Software. Join us for some interesting anecdotes and insights into, for example, the early Ray Ozzie (now chief software architect at Microsoft), how IT magazines used to pay for news tips, and when the very definition of IT news and PR were being re-invented back in 1986. The period -- when Lotus Development Corp. was the world leader in desktop applications and most press releases were delivered via fax -- was an era, like today, full of fast change and media disruption. Feel free to read the transcript, too, at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/07/full-transcript-of-dana-gardners.html.
Direct download: LPP_Anniversary_20060711.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:53am EDT

There's a looming threat to Internet commerce and general Web usage the world over. The underlying protocols that the modern Internet is built upon are inadequate to the task of providing secure and reliable packet traffic. Because the world is growing more dependent on the Internet for more aspects of business, government, communications, and broad societal functions, this vulnerability to criminal and terrorist attack could have dire consequences. This all according to Professor Tom Leighton, co-founder and Chief Scientist at Akamai Technologies. He's also professor of Applied Mathematics at MIT and -- especially in the context of this discussion -- the former chairman of the Cyber Security Sub-Committee of the U.S. President's IT Advisory Committee (PITAC). In this Akamai-sponsored BriefingsDirect podcast, Leighton and show moderator Dana Gardner explore the situation around cyber security, and what needs to be done by both the business community and U.S. government to reduce the risk to the global Internet infrastructure. While the U.S. government has cut basic research into creating the next generations of Internet technology, a time bomb of potentially catastrophic proportions is ticking away. Have a listen to the podcast, or read the transcript at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/06/full-transcript-of-dana-gardners.html.
Direct download: Akamai_Internet_Security_20060619.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 9:31am EDT

Eclipse is being used by two-thirds of Java shops today, and has taken the market for IDEs by storm over the last two years. Part of that adoption growth has been due to large ISVs dropping their own IDEs in favor of Eclipse. But why would they do that? I recently moderated a sponsored BriefingsDirect podcast on the impact of Eclipse Foundation on the development market -- taking a look at infrastructure ISVs, those large vendors that are using Eclipse instead of their own development environments, and why. Joining me on the podcast are representatives from two major software vendors: From BEA Systems, Bill Roth, the vice president of the BEA Workshop Business Unit, and from Wind River, Steve Heintz, the director of product management for developer technologies. Have a listen as we learn why very different large software tools, platform, and runtimes providers are hip to Eclipse. And they also see Eclipse as a model of other software projects to come. In addition to listening, feel free to look over the full transcript at http://briefingsdirect.blogspot.com/2006/06/transcript-of-briefingsdirect-podcast.html. Podcast sponsor: Eclipse Foundation.

Direct download: Eclipse_BEA_WR_20060626.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:49pm EDT

Selling SOA economics inside of enterprises is as important as executing on SOA deployments. Learn how to begin the analysis. Join executives from Hewlett-Packard's (HP's) Consulting and Integration Division for a high-level discussion on making the business case for SOA. Terri Bennett Schoenrock, executive director of SOA services and consulting integration and J2EE open source programs, along with Andrew Pugsley, worldwide lead for SOA service development, join Dana Gardner, principal analyst at Interarbor Solutions, to examine the pay-offs and opportunities from moving to SOA, ramping-up with HP's assessment processes and advacement methodologies, as well as some user-case studies on how to measure success. Podcast sponsor: HP.

Direct download: HP_SOA_Business_Case_20060619.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:21pm EDT

The Eclipse Foundation has grown in popularity for the past two or three years and really is on the cutting edge in de facto standards for development environments for major Java software projects, particularly among software companies themselves. To discuss this subject, we have Brent Williams, a Senior Analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets. Eclipse started out as an integrated development environment (IDE), but is branching out into some other areas to offer the best of both worlds in terms of commercial command-and-control development, as well as the viral and lower-cost development of the open source community approach. Podcast sponsor: Eclipse Foundation.
Direct download: Eclipse_Brent_Williams_Interview_20060619.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 11:11am EDT

The latest BriefingsDirect podcast takes the pulse of how podcasting is being perceived as a business communications tool, with guests Barb Heffner, a partner and founder of CHEN PR, and Sam Whitmore, editor of MediaSurvey. The discussion comes on the heels of CHEN PR's news that it is creating a podcast service within its IT and life sciences communications offerings, using Interarbor Solutions, and yours truly, as a sub-contractor for production services and analyst moderator services. We discuss the unique relationship and how PR agencies are increasingly reaching out with viral marketing services to their clients. Curious about how podcasting fits into communications, marketing, viral marketing and quality information sharing? The guests offer some powerful insights and examples based on their businesses and value propositions. The discussion also delves into the balance of editorial authenticity and balance in B2B podcasting, and how the needs and interests of both sponsors and listeners must be maintained. Have a listen.
Direct download: Podcasting_Business_Value_20060530_1011.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:06am EDT

Dr. Richard Soley, chairman and CEO of the Object Management Group (OMG), joined me last week for a BriefingsDirect podcast on OMG's latest activities and the status of the ongoing counter-force to complexity -- standards. Indeed, OMG through its auspicious history has developed a methodology for federating standards, which themselves often spin off into a maze of overlapping complexity. By balancing interests and encouraging buy-in from multiple often competing or orthogonal participants, OMG has built consensus around models of various technologies and vertical industry particulars. Those efforts nowadays, among other targets, are increasingly aimed at SOA and business process management. The goal is to abstract out enough complexity so that IT, business, users, and discrete communities can work together productively. Dr. Soley provides keen insights and education into what it takes to conjure and cajole that elusive critical beast: the neutral but authoritative industry third party. Have a listen.
Direct download: OMG_CEO_Richard_Soley_on_Standards_and_Complexity_20060515_0905.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 9:51am EDT

I began working with Barb Darrow back in 1988 at bi-monthly engineering trade pub Design News, and always respected her tenacity, verve, and newshound instincts. Barb went on to InfoWorld in 1993 but had left by the time I got there to run news for the website in 1995. Now as longtime Industry Editor at CRN, she's the Helen Thomas (in only the best possible way) of the IT press corp. So it seemed fitting to sit down with Barb and chew the fat on what's up in IT vendor shortcomings and victories ... what some call IT vendor sports. For some great "inside baseball" insights on what is top of mind (or should be) for Microsoft, HP, IBM, SAP, Oracle ... and the rest of the gang, have a listen to this BriefingsDirect podcast with myself and the mistress of scoop, Barb Darrow of CRN.
Direct download: CRN_Sleuth_Barb_Darrow_on_IT_Vendor_Sports_20060508_0948.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:39am EDT

Banking on a significant new business opportunity, Akamai Technologies has rolled out a podcasting platform and business model support infrastructure for podcasting. Tim Napoleon, media and entertainment product line director at Akamai, discusses the solution, and rationale for delivering it to market now, in a sponsored BriefingsDirect podcast, moderated by Interarbor Solution's Dana Gardner. While some surveys find that a modest slice of the population is actively listening to podcasts, Akamai's research shows that media companies are moving increasing amounts of audio -- and soon full multi-media -- content to the podcast delivery model. Akamai has tailored its applications and media delivery network to support the requirements of guaranteed massive podcast availability. What's more, Akamai has added support and reporting features to assist both amateur and professional content creators to better monetize their programs and track their traffic and use. Have a listen to Akamai's global response to the budding podcast opportunity.
Direct download: Akamai_Adds_Podcasting_to_Media_Services_20060420_1441.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 8:16am EDT

Enterprise IT systems management is about to face an onslaught of complexity. As heterogeneity jacks up due to open source stacks and extended B2B ecologies, and as virtualization blurs the lines between platform, hardware, and applications, and also as SOA adoption grows -- so grows the complexity of managing availability and cost for administrators and operators. This week at Interop, CA Unicenter Network and Systems Management (NSM) is tagging up with Spunk to assist in accessing and managing server performance data. As a prelude to the announcement, I conducted a sponsored briefing podcast with Mell Estrada, senior business and product manager in CA's Enterprise Systems Management business unit, and Michael Baum, chief executive Splunker. In the discussion we examine the swiftly ramping up (Mell says it's going from a 5 to a 9 on a scale of 10) problem-solution set facing enterprise IT systems management practitioners, as well as how the CA-Splunk combination adds value to the equation. Have a listen.
Direct download: CA_Unicenter_Puts_Splunk_to_Work_20060428_1024.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:55am EDT

With some six million installations, MySQL is a fabulously popular database. All sorts of users, developers, system adminstrators, and database administrators (DBAs) are deploying and managing MySQL. The question is how to make that administration as simple and straightforward as possible for these myriad types of users, many of whom don't want to be professional DBAs. In this sponsored podcast discussion, we delve into the issues of MySQL management with Brian Aker, director of architecture at MySQL, and Michael Baum, chief executive Splunker at Splunk.
Direct download: MySQL_Troubleshooting_With_Splunk_20060421.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:11am EDT

Follow the money, my mother always told me. Venture capitalists and angels don't have that luxury, however -- they need to lead with the money. So that's why it's strong and beneficial medicine for enterprise IT strategists to gain insights into where the VCs see the next big opportunities. My discussion here (37 minutes) with Jeff Clavier, founder and managing partner of SoftTech Venture Consulting, Palo Alto, CA, and editor of the Software Only blog, squarely hits the mark on insights. Listen as we dive into VC activites in 2005, what defines Web 2.0 for the enterprise, and where viral ecommerce and knowledge commerce are heading.
Direct download: Enterprise_2.0_with_Investor_Jeff_Clavier_20060421_1052.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:21am EDT

Reams of log data streams from datacenter and network components every second. Splunk has developed an indexing and search solution to mine and organize that data to help administrators better monitor and repair their systems and reduce downtime. But now Splunk has introduced Splunk Base (http://www.splunk.com/base), an open, Wiki-driven, global repository for administrators to collectively share knowledge on how systems behave, ways to best manage them, and up-to-date maintenance tips. In this sponored podcast, Dana Gardner interviews Chief Executive Splunker Michael Baum and Chief Community Splunker Pat McGovern (formerly of SourceForge) on what Splunk Base is, how it can become a powerful tool for eliminating downtime, and a one-stop destination for quickly identifying operational solutions.
Direct download: Introducing_Splunk_Base_20060331_1039.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:41am EDT

Based on a recent IBM poll of CEOs, everyone is talking about business process management, but no one is doing much about it. Guest analysts Neil Macehiter and Neil Ward-Dutton join Dana Gardner on a high-level discussion of how enterprises can prepare for BPM, even if they can't quite buy it out of a box yet.

AJAX seems ready-made for SOA, yet SOA could use some business-case mojo from simple-client AJAX. So are SOA and AJAX the peanut butter and chocolate mashup to the next best IT treat? Join Sphere of Influence's Dion Hinchcliffe and Dana Gardner on a deep-dive discussion into the best use- and business ROI-case scenarios for the ultimate mashup: AJAX and SOA, now on BriefingsDirect.
Direct download: Ultimate_Mashup_02-24-06.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 4:57pm EDT

Dana Gardner discusses with Scott Mace of Calendar Swamp how calendar interoperabilty is a topic ripe for an awakening. Mace explains how the inertia afflicting shared extranet group calendaring will soon get a nudge toward broader inclusion -- Google or no Google. There is a huge potential market for a good and broadly sharable calendar service. Listen to the trends background and subsequent forecast of how broadly but carefully shared calendars will soon inject higher productivity into most daily business and home workflows.
Direct download: BriefingsDirect_Calendar_Interop_With_Scott_Mace_20060117_1614.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 4:53pm EDT

Are the forces reshaping how IT is created, marketed, and distributed a seachange, or a blip? Public relations and marketing maven Sam Whitmore of Sam Whitmore's Media Survey (www.mediasurvey.com) joins Dana Gardner of Interarbor Solutions to flesh out the impacts on selling software wrought by blogs, RSS, and podcasting. Sam advices IT marketers to embrace and extend, not phase out, traditional marketing by exploiting the new modalities and viral distribution avenues gaining ground today. It's a lively and enlightening 45 minutes with an IT industry veteran.
Direct download: BriefingsDirect_Marketing_2.0_20060116_1123.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:34pm EDT