Dan McLean

Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC) built a network management system that could actually assess the vulnerability of the Internet to physical threats.

Looking back on a year

'Tis the season for prognostications and a time to consider what's likely to be important in the world of information technology in 2006. ...

If IT has a lousy reputation at your company, the problem might just be the people who are tasked with managing it. It

New flat-panel displays and televisions that leave LCD and plasma in the digital dust, colour matching software that can replicate electronic images in strikingly true colours under any sort of lighting, and collaborative technologies that allow images to be manipulated on a screen with a mere hand gesture.

A year ago, radio frequency identification (RFID) topped every pundit's list of important business technologies to watch in 2005. A year later, businesses are still watching and waiting. But while the rise of RFID in 2005 hasn't happened as fast as many experts expected, businesses should continue to pay attention.

Contrary to the marketing hype, investment in information technology is less about dollars and more about what makes good business sense. There exists a fallacy in the technology industry suggesting major spending in IT is subject to an exacting and measured analysis of expected return on investment (ROI). Vendors of IT products, in particular, like to position ROI as a customer motivator. The concept can serve as a powerful selling tool in presenting a strong business case and as a means to entice buyers.

It's one thing for Mr. Tsaparis to observe that Canada is no longer a leading technology powerhouse and lags behind the likes of Scandinavia in terms market readiness for IT adoption. But as the head of HP Canada, is Mr. Tsaparis - or any ICT vendor for that matter - the right voice to implore businesses to spend more on technology? I think not.