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The Issue In Depth, July 2004

Editor's Note
Brian Gillooly

Revolution In Progress

Contributors
The finest minds in business technology are right here.

Openers
A digest of reports, research, Web sites, and books that help make sense of new business-technology concepts

Fast Forward
Emerging Tech + Business Innovation

Letters

Executive Briefing
Ecosystems: A Different Kind Of Biotechnology
An interview with Roy Levien, co-author of The Keystone Advantage: What The New Dynamics Of Business Ecosystems Mean for Strategy, Innovation, and Sustainability

Research: Gap Analysis
Fortifying Supply Chains
The process of managing the supply chain has changed considerably in the past few years. Technologies such as Web services, mobile and wireless computing, Web portals, business intelligence, and RFID are being deployed in significant ways at a growing number of large companies.

Square Off
How Can We Ensure A Strong IT Labor Pool?
By Ronil Hira vs. Bob Denis
We need visa policies that ensure a healthy labor market, says RIT professor Ronil Hira. We need better quality of education, argues Trimble Navigation CIO Bob Denis. Join the Square Off and judge for yourself.

Bottom Line
The Value Of A Balanced Portfolio
By Amir Hartman
All too often, IT-investment decisions are politicized and emotional rather than based on effective decision making. The author recommends an "investment lexicon," to promote fact-based rationalization or prioritization of investments and resources across a company.

Business Leadership
The Home Depot's Digital Makeover
By Patricia Brown: A Q&A With EVP & CIO Robert DeRodes
The fast-growing do-it-yourself retailer is undergoing a major transformation from a technology-averse company into a sleek leading-edge market driver. The CIO discusses the technology transformation, business challenges, and the process of building leaders.

Collaborative Strategies
The Invisible Hand Of Commerce
By Thomas Koulopoulos and James Champy
How business-service platforms may revolutionize how we buy, sell, and trade.

Corporate Culture
Why Workforce Management Is Back In Style
By Maria Schafer
After three years of recession and a slow recovery, companies can't put off managing human capital any longer, but CIOs don't have to go it alone. HR/IT managers, who can assess, develop, and manage IT skills, are gaining acceptance at 25% of global companies, according to a survey by Meta Group.

Customer Relationships
Best Practices: Railroad Revitalizes Freight Industry
By Jeffrey Campbell and Fritz Draper
The vision of IT executives at Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway is to have a seamlessly integrated information network that's tied to its network of railroad tracks.

Strategic Innovation
Simple Theories For Complex Logistics

Two leading-edge research efforts, one described by Hau Lee and the other by Sridhar Tayur, demonstrate that some of the brightest ideas for business-IT systems originate in the universities.