Technology Cost Comparison: Web 1.0 vs 2.0
Inspired again by this post from Fred Wilson at Union Square Ventures, I began thinking of the differences in the capital required to launch something these days. Much ado has been made over Web 2.0, and how much cheaper it is to build technology solutions these todays.
I came across an old proposal that I received from a vendor years ago (in the 1.0 days), and got a good laugh out of it.
We all know that things are cheaper to build these days, but I thought it might be interesting to put together a post illustrating the actual dollar differences in hardware, software, services, and labor costs. And yes, this is my last official post for 2006 – so happy new year in advance (4 hours from now!). Read more »
Sadly, today’s post is going to be comprised of “YARS”, or Yet Another Recruiting Story. The one really good thing about being “in transition”, is that I am never at a loss for recruiting stories! Today we are going to explore how NOT to go about hiring a CIO, CTO, or other types of technology executives.
If you ran a convenience store, and needed to call someone in to unclog the drains in the bathrooms, would you call a good plumber, with a variety of experiences under his belt, or would you leave the drains clogged up until you could find a plumber that has deep vertical experience (no pun intended) working within the convenience store industry? Of course not! Sadly, this is the lame cloud under which many CIOs are hired. Call me crazy, but I’d just want a good plumber. Someone who was a problem solver.
The truth be known, I entered the information technology industry to be a computer programmer, not a business person. Back in those days, computer programmers, operators, and other such technicians were the “doers”. We were expected to stay in our world, while the “business guys” sorted out what needed to be done next. When that miraculous decision was reached, it was “thrown over the wall” to the engineers. It was then that we got busy trying to live up to the expectations of whatever was actually sold to the customer. Techies and business folks didn’t co-mingle. That would have been the equivalent of the Hatfields and the McCoys having a lovely Thanksgiving dinner together. My how the times have changed.
To open source, or not to open source? That is the question that CIOs have been asking themselves for the better part of a decade. And while the argument for open source grows stronger every day, especially at the enterprise level, questions still remain. Being the new CIO doesn’t help either. You just never know what political minefield awaits you.
On Tuesday, Feb. 28th, the Georgia Tech Information Security Center, the Technology Association of Georgia and PricewaterhouseCoopers are teaming up to present a program entitled “The Global State of Information Security.” The survey is the largest of its kind and is conducted by CIO Magazine and PwC. 
