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VALUE-DRIVEN IT

Name: VALUE-DRIVEN IT
Author: Cliff Berg
ISBN: 978-1-4392-0721-5

: ACHIEVING AGILITY AND ASSURANCE WITHOUT COMPROMISING EITHER

by Cliff Berg ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 20, 2008

Forward-thinking insights for savvy, competitive organizations.

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Berg (High Assurance Design, 2005, etc.) proves that it’s possible to achieve both agility and risk management in information technology (IT), and necessary to do so in order to succeed in the coming years.

The author explains that neither agility nor assurance can stand alone. IT has focused on being able to respond quickly–since technology changes, IT must change with it. Good business practices, on the other hand, have focused on assessing and managing risk to ensure that investments make a return and the company continues to thrive. These two perspectives can be at odds–IT should change rapidly before there’s time to determine the risks of such development. Berg sees a future where the fast-moving IT side of business and the risk-managing corporate side will work closely to assure a successful response to client needs, and he offers solutions for developing a better governance structure. A closer partnership between IT and business has recently become an industry ideal, but Berg goes further than simply reiterating idealism by offering a mostly comprehensive solution. Whether it will work on a large scale remains to be seen, but the idea shows promise. Berg urges IT personnel, especially those at the top, to begin conceptualizing and assessing their processes and products in terms of business value. He asks them to develop a strategy for implementation that allows them to react quickly but also calculate the risk of that reaction. Central to Berg’s ideal organizational structure is the Enterprise Chief Information Officer (CIO/E), a CIO who no longer runs the technical side of things but instead works to integrate business concepts with IT by determining where IT needs to focus next and how to achieve that with the least amount of risk. The CIO/E also oversees a team of people who work to implement these new ideas through mentoring, Berg’s new concept for employee training. This new position anchors the author’s ideas in solid, steady reality and gives them a basis from which they can grow until they permeate the corporation.

Forward-thinking insights for savvy, competitive organizations.

Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2008

ISBN: 978-1-4392-0721-5

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.