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July 2, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The hallmark of a person

Abe Novick: Up, up, and aliya

July 1, 2009

Rabbi Avi Shafran: The Road Taken

The Kosher Gourmet by Marialisa Calta: Get into the holiday spirit with these Star-Spangled desserts

June 30, 2009

Rabbi Binyomin Ginsberg: What makes a great parent?

Caroline B. Glick: Ideologue-in-Chief

June 29, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Beware of 'Caveat Emptor'

Steven Emerson: ACLU pushing for more money for Hamas

June 26, 2009

Rabbi Yoni Posnick: Learn the secret to a healthy marriage from a scriptural villain

Caroline B. Glick: Barack Obama vs. International Law

June 25, 2009

Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf: The Absurd Power of Truth

Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkle's strip: Everything's Relative

June 24, 2009

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Advancement of technology is a wake-up call for humanity

The Kosher Gourmet by Andrea Weigl: Summer on a stick: Making frozen treats can be easy, creative and fun

June 23, 2009

Martin M. Bodek: 'On Surnames': And so, We Begin

Caroline B. Glick: The Obama Effect

June 22, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Working for a corrupt firm

N. Richard Greenfield : Where are American Jews?

June 19, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Emotion v. intellect

Caroline B. Glick: Israel's rare opportunity

June 18, 2009

Jonathan Rosenblum: Sometimes it is more essential to define the nature of evil than good

Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkle's strip: Everything's Relative

June 17, 2009

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The Language of Confusion

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Nothing pleases Dad more than a thick, juicy onion-smothered steak. Add home-Baked Potato Chips and …

June 16, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Career v. Careersism

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's losing streak and Israel

Richard Z. Chesnoff: ‘Palestinians’: Never Missing an Opportunity …

June 15, 2009

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu: How Judea and Samaria can become 'Palestine'

Daniel Pipes: Where Netanyahu's speech failed

June 12, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Some big thoughts about not acting so big

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's High Commissioner

June 11, 2009

Victor Davis Hanson: Our historically challenged President

Mitch Albom: Beware the True Believers

Lewis Grossberger: What we learn from the new Hitler photos

June 10, 2009

Mort Zuckerman: What Obama and his advisors won't -- or refuse to -- grasp about Israel and the Muslim world

The Kosher Gourmet by Steve Petusevsky Lotsa pasta: Tips, techniques and (amazing) taste

June 9, 2009

Anne Bayefsky: Obama's stunning offense to Israel and the Jewish people

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: America's first Muslim president?

June 8, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Merchant must take responsibility for careless shopper?

Mark Steyn: A superpower that feeds on mediocrity cannot survive for long on leftovers from the past

Richard Z. Chesnoff: How do you say 'kumbaya' in Arabic?

June 5, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: In quest of spirituality

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's Arabian dreams

Charles Krauthammer: The Settlements Myth

June 4, 2009

Paul Greenberg: The War Comes to Little Rock

The Kosher Gourmet by Judy Hevrdejs: Splash it on! Tap your inner jazz musician and improvise when stirring up a vinaigrette

June 3, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q. Should terrible teacher be exposed?

Jonathan Rosenblum: The Israel Lobby: Missing in Action

June 2, 2009

Dennis Prager: The Speech President Obama Won't Dare Give in Egypt

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Pressure on Israel raises war risk

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review July 27, 2007 / 12 Menachem-Av, 5767

CA's Top Techie Offers Insights, Solutions

By Mark Kellner

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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Just about every one of us who uses a computer is interconnected. In a large business enterprise, in government, in schools and colleges, we're all dependent upon networked systems, and those systems are growing, says Alan F. Nugent, the chief technical officer, or CTO, of CA, Inc., the Islandia, New York-based multibillion-dollar software firm once known as Computer Associates. CA's goal, these days, is to let companies run their information technology, or IT departments, "like a business."


That sounds easy, of course, but there are many speed bumps. IT is often largely concerned with fixing problems: systems break down, or they are placed in high-demand situations. Consider, for example, Victoria's Secret: somehow, Web traffic seems to spike heavily after certain TV commercials are broadcast. If there isn't enough capacity and flexibility built into their computer operations, customers hoping to visit the firm's Web site are disappointed. And, as is taught in Marketing 101, disappointed customers don't usually buy a lot.


The problem is, Mr. Nugent pointed out in an interview last week, it's not just computers that are tapping into the Internet. It's your cell phone, Xbox 360, BlackBerry, Apple IPhone, and your computer that are all online. And while computer-to-Internet connections remain at a relatively flat level, he said, the number of other devices trying to phone home is "growing exponentially," making for a complex landscape to manage.


"Complexity is, in many respects, the enemy," Mr. Nuget said. This growing complexity, he adds, means the "network has become the single driving factor for the complexity challenges that all technologies face."


That complexity comes from the little "pings," or "incidents," that connected devices send across the network to the systems to which they're linked. Some of those incidents merely tell the host system, "Hey, I'm here." Others are commands or requests. All mean more traffic and more messages to be sorted out. Think of it as being behind the gift wrap desk on the afternoon of Dec. 24.


As a result, Mr. Nugent noted, the "increase in information that needs to be captured goes up by two orders of magnitude. It's getting to point where you have to handle billions of incidents per second. And a new approach has to be developed."


According to Mr. Nugent, it's "silly to think that one could create that single system in the sky that knows how to manage all of this stuff." Instead, he says, "you need to create an architecture that is as diffuse as the customer's technology, and place the little chunks of technology, software, out close to the things which have to be managed."


Creating IT management architectures is the kind of thing CA has been doing for a while with its "Command Center" software concept, which creates a "portal," or screen display, containing the various tools needed to manage the tasks at hand. Result: fewer bodies needed to manage IT emergencies. "Roughly 80 cents of every dollar of IT budget spent on technology is spent treading water, keeping the lights on," Mr. Nugent added.


What to do with those less-occupied IT fixers? Put them on projects that grow a business — or an agency's — value to its customers, Mr. Nugent suggests.


"The yin and the yang of this, is 20 percent [of IT spending] is spent on strategic initiatives," he said. "If we could free up half of the people involved in that [maintenance-spending] 80 percent, they can work on things which are strategic to the business. Why not have those technology resources to be available to pursue things more important to the business than, 'Is that server running'?"


CA's approach, called "Intelligent Automation," is discussed in various places on the www.ca.com Web site. I have the sense we'll hear more about it in the months to come, as Al Nugent evangelizes this view within the industry at home and globally.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

JWR contributor Mark Kellner has reported on technology for industry newspapers and magazines since 1983, and has been the computer columnist for The Washington Times since 1991.Comment by clicking here.

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