Excerpted from EduPage

THE VALUE OF IT CERTIFICATIONS

Many companies offer IT certification programs for users working with that company's products. Cisco Systems, for example, offers several types and levels of certifications, ranging from a Cisco Certified Network Associate to a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert. Cisco training costs between $2,000 and $2,500, and other fees are charged for exams. Certification programs are also offered by companies including Microsoft and Red Hat, and by organizations such as the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium. Prerequisites, cost, length of program, and focus of certification vary substantially among all the programs offered, but evidence generally shows an appreciable payoff for such training. Starting salaries for those with certifications are often substantially higher, and many with IT certifications also see larger raises and better promotion opportunities. NewsFactor Network, 29 January 2003 http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/20600.html

REPORT PREDICTS INCREASE IN IT OUTSOURCING

By 2005, more than a third of the in-house North American IT workforce will be outsourced, according to a study of nearly 2,000 private and government employers conducted by Foote Partners LLC. The outsourcing of IT labor, which is 20 to 50 percent cheaper in areas like India and Eastern Europe, is part of a greater trend toward offshore operations to lower costs. David Foote, "Computerworld" columnist and president and chief research officer at Foote Partners, said that U.S. companies "can't afford to do application development in the U.S. anymore." While Jeremy Grigg of Gartner Inc. and other analysts agree with the study’s predictions, others find the timeframe too aggressive. Many IT managers, however, view their companies as bucking the trend, having found that it is more cost-effective to keep IT resources in-house. Analysts recommend that to retain employment, IT workers should train in the areas of application development, Web design, project management, IT security, and wireless networking. ComputerWorld, 24 January 2003 http://www.idg.net/ic_1026928_9677_1-5048.html

DATABASES WILL BECOME LARGER AND GLOBAL - LARRY ELLISON'S KEYNOTE ADDRESS - ORACLEAPPS WORLD 2003

San Diego, CA - January 21, 2003 – Entourage in tow, Larry Ellison strode deliberately on-stage at OracleApps World today and pronounced that in the future “databases will get larger and more inclusive.” Sounding the anthem of his company, his went on to say that there will be fewer, but larger databases that support entire supply chains that are shared between multiple organizations. Read the rest of this interesting editorial about the role of spatial databases at directionsmag.com

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CRITICIZES FBI IT MANAGEMENT

A report from the U.S. Department of Justice says that despite the increased need for effective management of IT resources following September 11, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has shown "major weaknesses" in that regard. The report is based in part on interviews conducted by the General Accounting Office (GAO) and by the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General with officials at the FBI, the Justice Department, the GAO, and the Office of Management and Budget. According to the report, "the FBI continues to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on IT projects without adequate assurance that these projects will meet their intended goals." The Justice Department said this problem results from continued insufficient management attention to IT investments. ComputerWorld, 20 December 2002 http://www.idg.net/ic_993491_1794_9-10000.html.  The report is accessible from  http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/audit/0309/0309.pdf. 

INTERNET OUTRANKS BEER-DRINKING IN WHAT'S COOL ON CAMPUS: A survey of 1,200 students at 100 colleges and universities nationwide, conducted by research firm Student Monitor LLC, shows that when asked what was "in" on campus, 72.5% of the respondents answered "the Internet," whereas only 70.8% named "drinking beer." Up until now, beer drinking has held the top spot since the biannual surveys began in 1988. (Information Week 31 Aug 98)