Automation in IT

Since I am dealing with process automation in my work, articles like this now get extra attention from me:


HP Aims To Automate Routine IT Operations
By Colin Barker
Special to CNET News.com

Published: November 29, 2007, 5:50 AM PST

Hewlett-Packard this week rolled out new tools designed to automate routine updates of software and antivirus applications that would otherwise consume expensive staff time.

The HP Automated Operations 1.0 set of products was launched at the HP Software Universe conference in Barcelona on Tuesday.

The company hopes that the suite will help organizations automate many everyday tasks typically handled by IT managers, as well as many ad-hoc tasks such as producing routine reports and responding to common inqueries.

The products are part of what HP calls a "strategic focus" built around six key objectives for its software division. These products are intended to create "better business efficiencies by driving costs (down)," according to Tom Hogan, head of software for the company and the man charged with driving the strategy.

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America's Techiest Cities and Conventional IT Wisdom

From Computerworld:

America's techiest cities: Silicon Valley, followed by....

Conventional IT wisdom, according to Frank Hayes, which includes:

"The best technology doesn't always make a successful product. Then again, the best technology may not be what you need."

"Faster hardware doesn't solve business problems - unless the business problem is slow hardware."

"Functionality isn't the same as usefulness."

"A good idea is no match for a bad habit."