Obama looking for a Chief Technology Officer from Google??? November 18, 2008
Posted by Unified ECM in Document Management Software, Filing Systems, Records Management, Uncategorized.Tags: Barack Obama, Chief Technology Officer, Document Management, Google, IT
add a comment
Just yesterday, Google CEO Eric Schmidt declared his support for Barack Obama, and already he wants to create a position for himself in Obama’s presumptive cabinet.
Alright, he’s been advising the Obama campaign behind the scenes for some time, but on Tuesday Schmidt is hitting the trail with his candidate, making his case on the ground.
In fact, all that work for Obama may have some personal (and institutional) benefits for Schmidt. According to the Wall Street Journal, Schmidt may be angling to be the country’s first Chief Technology Officer, a position that Obama promised to create if elected, oh, the day before visiting Google’s offices for the first time.
Schmidt may be a good fit, especially in light of Google’s interests in Washington, but this is not a Googlopoly. We’re taking nominations (after the jump). Who do you think should be Obama’s CTO?
Of course, you too can nominate yourself, but don’t be surprised if you only get one vote…
From CNET: If you’re borrowing from your vendor, you can’t afford it November 8, 2008
Posted by Unified ECM in Document Management Software, Filing Systems, Records Management, Uncategorized.Tags: Alfresco, Document Management, Overpriced Software
add a comment
TechDirt tries to put a pretty face on vendor-financed software/hardware deals, but let’s be clear: if you have to borrow from the vendor that is overpricing its software (or hardware) in the first place, you can’t afford to buy it. If you can’t afford to buy software (or hardware) with cash or bank financing, you can’t afford to buy software.
I’m not sure why this is complicated for some. The last organization you want to borrow from to buy software is your software vendor. This lets the vendor completely control your destiny, not to mention the fact that it creates serious conflicts of interest for the vendor (e.g., it can charge maximum price since it is financing the deal). This is the sort of muddled thinking that put the global economy in the toilet in the first place.
Valleywag is right to call out that such arrangements usually end badly for technology shareholders. Defaults on loans are a fact of life, whether for bank loans or vendor loans. The difference is that vendors have to not only back out of bad loans, but also the revenue.
I have a better idea: spend less on IT. Buy open source.
Matt Asay is general manager of the Americas and vice president of business development at Alfresco, and has nearly a decade of operational experience with commercial open source and regularly speaks and publishes on open-source business strategy. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
