Tuesday, October 18, 2011

City of Toronto CIO Explains EA

The City of Toronto is employing an Enterprise Architecture plan for its systems which is attempting to line up overall systems architecture with business objectives. This requires considerable agility in today's environment. EA, despite the hype, is not new and the concept of lining up Information systems with strategic needs is old hat, but EA is still a growing and developing discipline that has a great deal of merit. This article provides a good basic overview of the field.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Companies Need to Embrace Social Media

There are companies out there that ban social media in their offices or on their systems, citing security issues and a need to control their platforms. Because of the latter point, many of those who have allowed some social media seek to control the usage and content that employees can utilize.

It's hard to believe in these modern times, when social media and the internet have become so ubiquitous that they just cannot be denied, that this could be the case. Yet we all know of many employers who follow these antiquated and outdated policies.

They are the losers in following those policies. Moreover, they are playing a losing game. Social media is here to stay - and it cannot be ignored.

To further complicate matters, many organizations that do see the need to adapt just don't know where to start. Well, how do you start a trip when you are sailing into uncharted waters. You do as much planning as you can, set your sails and head out. And then you stand ready to adapt to whatever conditions you encounter.

Companies and other organizations need to recognize that they need to adopt social media. They should start by adopting a policy that is consistent with their corporate objectives, one developed using a collaborative approach with their employees, and then set their sails.

There is no alternative. We're all in a learning environment. So we need to get learning.

Here's a Globe and Mail article that's on point..

Tuesday, October 04, 2011


XBRL Canada announces XBRL23: Enhancing Business Performance
TORONTO, Oct. 4, 2011 /CNW/ - This October 25th through October 27th the 23rd XBRL International Conference takes place in Montreal, Canada. Join a dynamic group of XBRL innovators and benefit from their experience and insight on the improvement of the business information supply chain through the use of XBRL.
Case studies, panel discussions and keynote sessions by technology, business and regulatory leaders will bring to life the tangible benefits of XBRL and demonstrate how it can be used to enhance business performance. 
Some key highlights:
·        Tax project: Creation and filing of Inline XBRL in the UK
·        There And Back Again - A Regulator's Tale
·        Three easy steps to achieve real value from XBRL for your business
Additional details regarding XBRL23 can be found here http://conference.xbrl.org/.
For the best conference experience, hotel reservations should be made at the Le Centre Sheraton by clicking on the link below.
Make your hotel reservation now, the XBRL23 special room rate of $182 USD expires on 7 October. For the best conference experience, hotel reservations should be made at the Le Centre Sheraton by clicking on the link above.
XBRL Canada is supported and administered by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.
For further information:
XBRL Canada, Gerald Trites, Project Director, (416) 602-3931, Email: gtrites@xbrl.ca