EMC IT’s evolving financial transparency model is letting IT users see more than costs and billing details for the IT services they use. It is also opening their eyes to the opportunity to take control of those costs and free up funds for more strategic IT investments that will result in operating efficiencies, increase profitability and enhanced growth. For nearly four years, EMC IT has been transitioning our IT operation from a traditional centralized, cost-center based IT budget— where users had little or no information on the cost and value…

Big data is an ill-defined term. Everyone has his or her own definition and rationale why that definition is the best. From the perspective ofcustomer relationship management (CRM) systems, big data is best thought of as massive amounts of information not in the CRM database or the normal connections to other business applications. Big data systems include social media Web sites, product movement through radio-frequency tag tracking, machine performance at customer locations, and many other massive data stores that are difficult to access. There is a disconnect between big data and CRM. CRM systems are old—most…

It was a closely-fought contest, but Europe’s crucial telecoms package has passed through its first European Parliament vote, as have amendments that remove loopholes that would have clashed with the open internet. European fans of the open internet can breathe a sigh of relief: the European parliament has passed a major package of telecoms law reform, complete with amendments that properly define and protect net neutrality. The amendments (PDF) were introduced by the Socialist, Liberal, Green and Left blocs in the European Parliament after the final committee to tweak the package –…

What is the difference between BYOD and CYOD and why should your organisation be sitting up and paying attention? The bring your own device (BYOD) phenomenon is sweeping the nation thanks in no part to an increasing array of shiny consumer products tempting the average business user. Whether it’s the latest tablet or all-singing-all-dancing smartphone, in our consumer lives we are spoilt rotten. As such, it’s no surprise we want and expect the business world to keep pace. This consumerisation of IT and tendency for the tech peeps to be…

According to IDC’s EMEA Quarterly Server Virtualization Tracker, 33.0% of all new servers shipped in EMEA in the fourth quarter of 2013 (4Q13) were virtualized, a moderate increase from 30.0% in 4Q12. Physical server shipments were flat this quarter, showing only a 0.3% decline year-over-year, totaling 606,400 units. At the same time 200,300 server units were virtualized at the point of initial shipment in 4Q13, which is an annual increase of 9.6%. Virtualization licenses distributed this quarter grew year-over-year by 12.0% to 282,300, while EMEA virtualization software revenue increased even…