Scaled agile helps modernize Guardian's operations

Scaled agile development, coupled with cloud software, is breathing new life into 159-year-old mutual life insurance company Guardian Life, a formula that is serving enterprises of all stripes today — and one for which Guardian needed a forward-thinking CIO to make happen. When Dean Del Vecchio joined Guardian as CIO in 2012, the company operated…

The future of IT leadership: 5 new roles CIOs must master

It’s more than an understatement to say the role of technology leaders has changed over the past few years. The widespread adoption of cloud computing and process automation has reduced the demands for IT departments to keep the lights on. Large-scale capital expenditures on infrastructure are being replaced by increased operating expenses on services. Meanwhile,…

10 reasons software projects are slower than we expect

Douglas Hofstadter, longtime computer programmer and author of Gödel, Escher, Bach, summed up his experience in the computing trenches with this eponymous law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law.  Yet organizations, stakeholders and project managers the world over still put timelines on software projects. Even programmers themselves.…

IDG Contributor Network: It’s all about the data

Data is the lifeblood of any enterprise. It is now conventional wisdom that data is among any enterprise’s most valuable possessions, and chief data officers are increasingly recognized as first-tier members of corporate leadership teams. The emergence of the master data management discipline and the proliferation of enterprise data management tools likewise speak to the…