"If the IT department sits with them as they, say, print back invoices or enter purchase orders, they'll see what the end users are actually using, what they're ignoring, and what they need."
@cparizo: I agree. And for this purpose, most companies have their own IT team collect requirements first from the users and then allow the external consultants to gather requirements so that the IT has a fair idea of what the system is supossed to do and they can guide the external team accordingly.
"How long will that take for everyone to become comfortable? Who knows?"
@kq4ym: I think the critical issue with automating data transfers from legacy systems is accuracy. If that's not compromised, users will be okay with it. Because they don't have to directly interact with the system related to data migration, I don't think they need to be comfortable with it.
I am of the mind that a business unit-by-business unit method of transforming an app from local to the cloud is the best way to go. The whole "big bang" or "go live" concept just doesn't gel with me. I know that a lot of cloud vendors advocate this because it gets the projecrt over for them quickly. But the user experience and functionality is paramount in these situations. IT wants to win the battle while also still providing as much value as possible to everyone involved.
The legacy problem is still a big one. Inertia anf fear of "new" technology is going to keep lots of folks away from migration to the cloud. Once it's possible to "auto" move, that would certainly help.
How long will that take for everyone to become comfortable? Who knows?
I don't know if the process can be 100% automated. There's still field matching and things like that to be done.
But you're right about companies not thinking end users know anything. I mean, these are the people thinking up creative workarounds for features that aren't existent. If the IT department sits with them as they, say, print back invoices or enter purchase orders, they'll see what the end users are actually using, what they're ignoring, and what they need.
"Two decades' worth of data to migrate can be a real pain - and with IT budgets expected to remain stagnant, finding the money to do so can be problematic."
@cparizo: Can't automation help in this case to migrate the data? I've seen cases where the entire data from legacy systems was moved to new systems via automated scripts.
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Businesses often struggle to decide which domain to use. When it comes to purchasing a domain name, you have plenty of extensions to choose from, ranging from .com and .net, to .me, and even .mobi. But which one should you pick?
I've been writing about how the next evolution of the Internet might just be an advertising revolution, and how corporate IT can stay involved as the enablers and providers of the technologies that make this possible.
In the 1970 science fiction thriller Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M.
The smartphone market reached a significant milestone, a breakthrough that may cause vendors to celebrate but could strain the capabilities of IT service desks.
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
The whole Amazon.reader debate is a double-stupid. It's stupid to think that there's any e-book buyer who doesn't know Amazon's URL, and it was stupider to let ICANN launch the whole free-form TLD initiative to start with.
While NFC's original goal was to enhance mobile commerce applications, it is finding its way into a number of other uses, which is creating both opportunity as well as challenges for IT departments.
Enterprises would like to move to cloud computing but are hesitant because they are concerned about providers’ ability to secure company data. Here are some tips that help to ensure that if breaches occur, the business is not left holding the bag.
Edmunds separates customers into segments based on the info it collects on its site and from partners, and uses that to push out custom content, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
The automotive website uses propensity modeling to target ads and customer registration forms, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
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M2M: Rise of the Machines? Not Yet David Weldon In the 1970 science fiction thriller Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M. CLICK FOR MORE
M2M: Rise of the Machines? Not Yet David Weldon In the 1970 science fiction thriller Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M. CLICK FOR MORE
