8 secrets of effective change leaders

Digital transformation means big changes throughout the organization, impacting many — if not all — departments, employees and business processes. Thus, IT leaders seeking to helm successful transformations must convince and motivate people across the organization to work, think and/or behave in new ways. But getting people to adopt new paradigms is not easy, as…

Farmers Insurance scales training with virtual reality

In the insurance industry, training claims adjusters is a non-stop challenge. These public-facing employees work with clients in stressful situations, and their expertise is essential to giving customers the service they expect while ensuring efficiency for the enterprise. Experience is the best teacher, but re-creating the many scenarios claims adjustors might encounter creates logistical and…

CIOs reveal their security philosophies

Security has always been a universal preoccupation, and there are countless examples of societies reforming their own institutions to stave off chaos and oblivion. In the Roman Kingdom, which preceded the Roman Empire by some five centuries, the local royal quaestor (“investigator”) was tasked with investigating murders. At roughly the same time, subprefects in the…

10 reasons to ignore computer science degrees

Consider the two words computer and science. The first’s gifts to the world are huge and range from the lifesaving ubiquity of electronic medical records to the opportunity to get in a virtual bar fight at any time of the day on Twitter. The second word, science, represents an intellectual movement that’s delivered great advances…

UPS counters Amazon.com challenge with IoT, analytics

Amazon.com regularly launches new points of attack on top shipping providers’ turfs. But there is one area where United Parcel Service insists it maintains a competitive advantage: using internet of things (IoT) to improve fleet and field operations. Perhaps more than any other shipping company, UPS leverages sensor-driven analytics for anything from preventative vehicle maintenance…

Why CIOs must get over their ‘millennial obsession’

Enterprises have become so focused on keeping millennials happy that they run the risk of alienating other generations in their IT departments, from the up-and-coming Generation Z to baby boomers, says Anthony Abbatiello, managing director and global head of consulting for Russell Reynolds Associates. While Abbatiello credits millennials, which include workers aged 22 to 37,…

CIO Spotlight: James Rutt, Dana Foundation

Name: James Rutt Company: Dana Foundation Job title: CIO Time in current role: 7 years Location: New York City As CIO at the Dana Foundation, Mr. Rutt’s responsibilities include providing strategic planning for information and technology management and overseeing all back-office technology operations necessary to support the Foundation. He frequently speaks on the topics of…