This week’s Computer Weekly examines research that suggests CEOs want to invest in IT more than ever, but still see CIOs as technical experts and not business people. We review SQL Server 2012 and ask if Microsoft's database software is catching its competitors as well as concluding our Buyer's Guide to data security. 

The majority of user authentication schemes today still use userid and password. The burden to users of managing large numbers of userids and passwords has led to proposals for Federated Identity systems, where a single set of credentials can be used to authenticate with several organisations, which have agreed to work together as a federation. 

After carefully weighing competing options, Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility chose Quantum's DXi-Series solution with deduplication technology for its data protection system upgrade. This case study explains why they made that choice. 

Microsoft Dynamics CRM enables organizations to improve customer service, effectively manage marketing and communications, and increase sales productivity, ultimately driving increased profits and reduced costs. 

This report from Ovum warns that enterprises need to recognise that they will need to move to IPv6, even if they have IPv4 addresses available. They should treat IPv6 like any other disaster recovery plan. 

Nucleus has found NetSuite customers are both satisfied and loyal, as NetSuite enables them to rapidly deploy ERP functionality that is integrated with other components without the cost and timeline of traditional on-premise systems. 

This analyst report discusses how best-in-class businesses have adapted their content for improved mobile marketing. 

Given that Sybase ASE can now be deployed as the foundation for SAP Business Suite and BW implementations (in addition to Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server and IBM DB2), the information is relevant to SAP customers installing a new instance of SAP or looking to migrate their existing SAP installation to a different database. 

In spirit, both traditional and agile project delivery embody similar principles and practices that aim to deliver measurable results 

Organizations running mature SAP or Oracle applications experience significant ongoing savings from third-party support.  Nucleus found Rimini Street customers can reduce their annual license maintenance fees by at least 50 percent and avoid upgrade costs while extending the value of their software investment. 

Your service desk should be the one stop shop for internal and external customers. But, in order for IT to be the orchestrator of knowledge and the service catalog, you need to provide excellent service and quick response times. Watch this webcast and discover the most current recommendations for service delivery and management best practices. 

Read this whitepaper to understand why and how SOA-enablement will reduce cost and risk of Application upgrades for your organization. 

The cloud continues to drive both rapid ROI and new ISV business models.  Beyond the cloud, expect 2010 to bring greater use of analytics, automation, and CRM, and a permanent shift in structural unemployment.  Bid auf Wiedersehen to the vendors who still haven’t gotten it.