OPEN SOURCE
The open source software (OSS) community is on the offensive. The developers of BusyBox software, distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL), have filed the first-ever lawsuit to enforce provisions of the GPL. See how the case could affect OSS in Open Source, Or Open Ditch. (Nov. – Dec. 2007)
OUTSOURCING
Offshore Outsourcing – An Inevitability proposes incorporating risk-optimizing actions, like carefully tailored performance standards, into IT agreements in order to control risks due to offshore activities. (Nov. 2004)
PATENTS
Picking Blackberry®'s uses the recent patent infringement claims against Research in Motion, Ltd., the maker of the Blackberry, to illustrate the importance of intellectual property due diligence when outsourcing technology services or licensing software. (Nov. – Dec. 2005)
PRIVACY & DATA SECURITY
Identity theft has not lost its luster. And, the Federal banking agencies and the FTC have now implemented further rules to protect the public. While financial institutions may still be behind in their overall compliance, they are likely to be further behind, along with their information technology services vendors, in addressing compliance for outsourced services. See what all this means in Red Flag Warning, . . . the FACT(A) is . . . (Sep. – Oct. 2008)
Is your live customer data being used in software applications and development? It's 11 O'Clock: Do You Know Where Your Data Are? presents recent survey results that demonstrate high data breach risks in an often overlooked place. And, there's some free advice on how to protect against the risk. (Jan. – Feb. 2008)
Metadata - Hiding in Plain View discusses risks in exchanging documents that likely contain hidden data and suggests one way to obtain protection for such inadvertently disclosed data. (May – Jun. 2007)
The Government Data Grab discusses the current storm over government data gathering and provides tips on how to prepare for the costs of it. (May – Jun. 2006)
Damages for Data Security Breaches breaks down the legal categories of damages and shows how risk allocations in commercial outsourcing contracts may not in fact meet the parties' expectations. (Oct. 2005)
Ouch! suggests that data security must be a significant focus in a technology-driven environment and that security-related SLAs' time may have come. (Jul. – Aug. 2005)
PRODUCT PRICING
“New practices” demonstrate thought leadership that responds to the current economic condition. Benchmarking – A “New” Contracting Practice discusses a rarely used contract methodology and why it is superior to other contract methods now that cost control has retaken the forefront for financial institutions. (Mar. – Apr. 2009)
The Consumer Price Index increased 5.02% in the last 12 months, the largest gain in 17 years. See the effect that CPI as an escalator would have had on your technology services contract and find what might be a better index in The Surge is Working (You Over). (Jul. - Aug. 2008)
The Price Escalator Clause, A Masked Bandit? presents the behavior of representative pricing indexes and shows how they may overstate inflation and, thus, vendor cost increases. (Feb. 2005)
Data Processors, Forced to Reevaluate Pricing Strategies? examines the effect of changes in the length of IT agreements and in risk shifting provisions on the pricing strategies of data processors. (Dec. 2004)
SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENTS
Goin' To The Dogs! takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the parallel between service level agreements (SLAs) and Pavlov's Law. It suggests qualitative as well as quantitative SLAs as best practices. (Mar. – Apr. 2006)
SOURCE CODE
Secrets of the Code explores the nature of source code and the risks inherent in its distribution in a proprietary business model. (Apr. 2005)
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