CIO Essentials: The top five stories of the week

Ever wondered what CIOs are reading on silicon.com? Our latest feature - CIO Essentials - puts you in the picture. Each week a leading IT chief picks his or her top stories from the past seven days and explains why they matter.

This week we have Peter Ryder, head of ICT at Preston City Council in Lancashire.

Extra Vista discount for SMEs
I am in full agreement with the sentiments in this article. The cost of Vista versus the benefits seems too high for small businesses and home users. The inadequate discounts offered would not tempt many to take the plunge - Microsoft needs to rethink this and offer something that would really make you want to go out and upgrade.

Office PCs 'strip workers of people skills'
Only if you allow it to happen - most people I know have a very healthy social life outside work. I do not know anyone who has had a 'relationship' with their PC and those that may have are perhaps those who would have been seen to be 'the quiet one in the corner' anyway.

Woolies delves into home software
Not sure how Tesco are actually doing selling their software but I assume from Woolies entering the market that they are, as with everything they seem to do, being successful. That being the case then I welcome this news as it not only offers competition to Tesco but both can fill a market where Microsoft is just too expensive for the average home or education user who just does not need all the facilities of the full-priced, full-featured Microsoft offerings. However, how about investigating some of the free software? This can be very good and fulfil much of what people actually need.

Thames becomes giant wi-fi hotspot
This is another area in a growing list of cities and towns offering wi-fi connectivity which is all to the good. Competition can only be healthy and better coverage is becoming vital to the many that need mobile connectivity. However, being a non-techie, I would like to think that getting onto any of these networks is quick, simple and all you have to do is hit one button and, bingo, you are given a short, easy to understand list of available networks which allows you to select the supplier that suits your needs - and pocket - at that time.

Poor governance to blame for project failures
For too long it has been ICT that has taken the blame for failures. This article firmly nails that misconception. Whilst no one can deny that ICT has been at fault in certain cases, it is refreshing for someone to come out and state that responsibility should be shared and proper governance is essential in delivering success along with full board-level buy in.

If you are a UK-based IT director or CIO and would like to take part in the CIO Essentials series by choosing your top five stories of the week, send us an email here at silicon.com.