Open Source DBs Up Enterprise Appeal 2Open Source DBs Up Enterprise Appeal 2

CIOs, put this book high on your reading list: The New CIO Leader- Setting the Agenda and Delivering Results (Harvard Business School Press, 2004). Written by Gartner fellow Marianne Broadbent and Gartner group vice president Ellen Kitzis, this book is a must-read for current and future CIOs. Drawing heavily from Gartner resources and other IT practitioners and researchers, its direct uncomplicated style is sure to make it highly accessible. The New CIO Leader is an excellent combination of armchair theory and practical advice. It even includes a self-assessment guide to help aspiring or current CIOs get started in the right direction. —Rajan Chandras

Trendspotting

Aberdeen Group has found that "best-in-class" companies, which apply such technologies as supplier collaboration platforms and multi-echelon inventory optimization tools, were much likelier to ship perfect orders to their customers, reduce inventory carrying costs and decrease customer lead times. Best-in-class companies are more open to readjusting ordering policies to lower total delivery costs, optimizing inventory policies for each item and location and rethinking where to hold finished goods, for example. Inventory Cost Reductions48% Best in Class37% Industry Norm20% Laggards