Johnny Halamka

Wow, this guy was very interesting. He was obviously very smart from a young age, from figuring out microprocessors to inventing an early form of turbo tax. He was just a smart guy in general. He is someone who wears many hats across the Northeast in the medical field. One thing I commend him for is being able to keep the audience interest.

Obviously a lot of what he talked about concerned the health care industry and how his job works. One thing I took away was that it was a lot more complicated than it looks or seems. It seems like he plays a lot of damage control whenever a key decision is made because, as he reiterated throughout his talk, you can't please everyone. Plus, he talked about many important breakthroughs that are coming in the healthcare IT industry. Which to invest in? It's a tough decision, and capital and man power is always limited. It seemed like he was always in a bind in deciding who to please at which time. From everything from e-prescribing to iPad use in the hospital. The iPad could be used for many things, from pulling up patient medical records to mining hospital databases. Another breakthrough could be in converting all paper medical records to electronic, internet accessible records. If there could be a way to make a universal database of medical records, all lag time with referrals and delivery times could be cut down significantly.

Also, it amazed me that he's still a doctor. He obviously had a lot of schooling, but he was also naturally smart, and had an inclination to learn from an early age. I think that his talk reinforces John McFadden's point of lifetime learning.

He made another point about addressing the most important, urgent issues first. There are always going to be issues to deal with, problems to address. Nothing ever goes exactly as planned. A lot of a top ranking person's duties are damage control; how to control the situation, then how to relieve the situation.

Another thing he showed us was the "top 10 ways to say no". The reason for knowing this is to be able to combat others when they don't get their way. This is very important in high ranking positions when decisions need to be made that say "yes" to the majority, and "no" to the minority. Then sometimes there is a backlash from the minority.

A huge point was the constant of change. In his industry, they are always behind the ball because the tech industry is changing so fast. In addition, new ways of using the technology in the healthcare industry come through everyday. John McFadden also noted the upcoming job of bioinfomatician. I'm sure that John Halamka would agree with McFadden's assessment.

All in all it was a very interesting talk and Halamka is definitely a smart guy, deserving the award of CIO of the year.

CIO of the Year, John Halamka

Dr. John D. Halamka brought up some very unexpected points during his talk for the CIO of the Year presentation. As he stated, he was negative about the job, but also very realistic. I was shocked to learn that the turnover rate for the Chief Information Officer is an average of two years, due to the complexity and stress of the position. The job requires a complex skill set and high tolerance. This tolerance comes in handy because of the two main points of the job that Dr. Halamka addressed.

The first is that demands always exceed supply. This means that there will always be things that you cannot do for people that they hold as high priorities. It is for this reason that he holds the ability to say “no” as a very important skill. He even spent time during the presentation to teach the attendees how to say “no” properly. I thought that these points were very important. Among them were identify those who will lose in the situation, over-communicate the decision to the entire network or organization, acknowledge the loss to everyone, realize that consensus is not essential, be honest and consistent, and realize that you cannot please everyone. This particular part of the job would be the most difficult to me, as I sometimes have a hard time saying no if I can sympathize with the person asking the question.

The second point of the job that Dr. Halamka addressed was the fact that the only constant in the job was change. The company is expecting the CIO to know about all knew technologies and services, and be able to implement them immediately so that they work correctly. He talked a lot about how, even though it is impossible, down time in systems (especially systems used in health care such as those he runs) is unacceptable. This is part of what makes the job so stressful. The position is fast-paced, busy, and challenging.

As a person, Dr. Halamka was very interesting. He explained that he began his interest in technology very young, and is now in charge of many different medical facilities, including Harvard Medical School and the Care Group hospital system. This means that he is in charge of the technology for 40,000 people. He came upon this position after two Boston-area hospitals merged and needed a CIO to peacefully integrate their medical data. In addition, he wears a Kevlar suit, apparently for the fun of it, and has implanted himself with an RFID chip. Dr. Halamka was an engaging speaker who was very honest about his job and an interesting presenter.

Halamaka, Sophisticated Clients, and E-Prescription

Dr. John Halamaka brought up many interesting topics during his lecture. One thing that I found to be related to our IS class was the fact the he emphasized that “the one constant is change.” Sound familiar? I thought so. Just as John McFadden told us that we need to be lifetime learners, Halamaka explained that the world is constantly changing. He specifically focused on technological, organizational and budgetary changes in the world today. He was able to paint a picture of what it was like to try to be constantly improving as well as maintaining a company’s system in this changing environment. He said that this task is similar to trying to fix the wings of an airplane while the plane is flying. Difficult? I think so. Halamaka also emphasized the change in clients. Clients are becoming more sophisticated and demanding as the years go by. They have become increasingly more difficult to please. However, while the customers are more difficult to please and demand higher quality service and products, Halamaka explained that vendors are decreasing in quality. Hence, it is necessary to meet the expectations of the clients while using what is available. One thing that has contributed to the sophistication and difficulty to please of the customers is the fact that everyone is connected through the Internet. Customers today can buy the same product from numerous locations. Whichever company has the best quality will win out and will receive the business. Specifically, Halamaka talked about how clients now expect to be able to access all their medical needs and information online. As we have discussed, today people are completely technologically centered. Why go to a doctor’s office if you can just click a button and all your medical needs are processed for you? Why trek to a hospital of you can just pre-order a refill of your prescription and pick it up at the local pharmacy store? The Internet has allowed for many to maintain their fast-paced lives. And how are people able to refill their prescriptions with a click of a button? Well, advanced IT has led to the development of e-prescription. E-prescription is the electronic-based way of prescription. E-prescription allows for there to be less human error when prescribing medication to patients. All of the patient’s records and prescriptions are stored in a database, which allows for easy access to a patient’s medical history. Also, e-prescription allows for pharmacies to refill prescriptions without the hassle of having to call the physicians all the time. E-prescription is a great way to satisfy the demand of the client because it is convenient and has become an automated process that effectively and efficiently gets the client his or her prescriptions and other medical needs.

Taking the Driver Out of the Car --- Why robocars, and not high-speed rail, could revolutionize transportation in the next decade

The idea of fully automated, “driverless cars,” is certainly not new. In 1940, the fantasy first became popular and later even influenced the drive behind the creation of the Interstate Highway System under President Eisenhower (1). As evidenced by recent movies like IRobot, popular culture has even brought to the idea to the mainstream. How close is the realization of this dream? A recent article from the Wall Street Journal indicates that the world of computer controlled transportation could be on the horizon.
In 2007 at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Urban Challenge, the technology behind driverless cars reached its high-water mark when six fully automated vehicles successfully navigated an urban environment with other vehicles present obeying all traffic rules and regulations (1) In response to this event, General Motors’ Vice President of research and development, Lawrence Burns, predicted that driverless cars would be a reality within the next ten years, pointing to solely legal and bureaucratic obstacles as the inhibitors to immediate production (1).
The article points to the benefits of driverless travel. Safer highways, less traffic deaths, fewer bottlenecks and faster transportation are simply some of these improvements in transportation resultant from this leap in technology (1). This also will extend the ability to travel to everyone, licensed or not. Some say that this would be as revolutionary in its effects as the Ford Model T (1). If that were the case, the effects on modern business could be monumental.
Highway throughput could be potentially tripled (1). Just as technology has been applied in the business world to increase efficiency and reduce cost, the application of computerized transportation could maximize society’s efficiency on a grand scale. What would this mean for productivity? If traffic moved that much faster on national interstates people could significantly increase their productive time by spending less time commuting. Companies could also draw the best employees from a greater radius around their central location. The manufacturing industry would realize huge cost reductions and increases in efficiency. Without having to pay the salaries of drivers, or worry about the premium of insuring employees, not only would companies reduce their cost structure and increase their bottom-line; customers could receive their goods much faster. With reduced costs, companies could ship their goods to even more remote destinations, broadening their customer base.
With such drastic change, however, consequences do exist. These automated cars are incredibly complex in their operation. One of the test models, shown in this video from MSNBC (3), has a radar device, cameras, motion sensors, and computer equipment that occupy much of the cockpit. Traditional maintenance would no longer be a quick oil change or a rotation of the tires. Instead, the malfunction of one of these many systems could prove costly and difficult to fix. This seems to indicate that even an automotive mechanic would need some sort of technical education and familiarity with complex software and hardware systems in order to conduct their job.
There are other sacrifices too to developments in technology such as this. Many people enjoy the liberating feeling of piloting their own car. For many, driving is not so much as reaching a destination as it is a unique, exciting experience where control is the source of this feeling of freedom. This control and experience would be completely relinquished with a future mandate of automated vehicles. As Mr. Burns has said, GM can build these cars with the technology it has today, but the real question is “what does society want to do with it?”(2) There may not even be a demand for this kind of technology just yet, as people may be hesitant to relinquish such a big part of their lives to technology.
As complex software and hardware systems work their way into every facet of human life, including something as mundane as transportation it begs the question “as a society, are we too complex?” In the business community, it seems at least fundamental knowledge of information systems would be a prerequisite to being able to find a job. With developments of complex technology like computer driven automobiles, would everyone need familiarity with these components? Recently, malfunctions in Toyota computer systems have resulted in multiple highway deaths and a national fear of “unintended acceleration” which only raises other fears and questions. Imagine a car that has a software or hardware malfunction on the highway, yet it has no manual controls for the passenger to take control and to avert disaster. Without knowledge of how the system works, passengers would be helpless to consequences. There are obvious benefits to such huge improvements as the result of technology but as new innovation continues at the speed of light in the Information Age it may be prudent to slow ourselves down and wonder about the implications. I think as a human society we need to ask ourselves “What are the drawbacks to total reliance upon technology?”

(1) Randal O'Toole. (2010, March 20). Taking the Driver Out of the Car --- Why robocars, and not high-speed rail, could revolutionize transportation in the next decade. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition), p. W.3. Retrieved March 23, 2010, from Wall Street Journal. (Document ID: 1987715511).

Link to article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703580904575131511589391150.html?KEYWORDS=Driverless+cars

(2) Tom Krisher. (2008, January 6). GM Researching Driverless Cars. The Associated Press. Retrieved March 23rd, 2010, from MSNBC.com.

Link to article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22529906/

(3) Link to Video of Fully Automated Chevy Tahoe:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22529906/#hybrid_video

Improving Data Storage Efficiency

Data-storage has become an increasingly important issue for companies to consider and invest in, considering the large and continually growing amount of data that is collected evey day, or even every minute. Effective data storage is crucial not only for the protection of data, but its accessibility and use. Most companies, or anyone that uses a computer or collects data of any kind, use some kind of back-up system to ensure data will not be lost or tampered with, and can easily be replaced should something go wrong with data storage or processing. This is the same idea which John McFadden presented to our class, explaining the importance of backing up data, even if a person’s chooses to simply use a flash drive for important documents.

The problem many companies run into, however, is discussed by Moulton is his article "Data Storage: It’s Time to Grow Up". The issue they face is ineffective data storage, which causes issues with general efficiency and data security. Transactional data, which is always changing and being edited, needs to be updated and backed up frequently to ensure secure, up-to-date data. Reference data, however, does not change and as such does not to be backed up as frequently. While this would seem like a good thing for data storage, it causes problems because all of the data is backed up together, so both the transactional and Reference data is copied each time the data is backed up. The reference data, however, remains unchanged, and as such there is no need to copy it again. For that matter, copying unchanged data may even become a security risk, in that unnecessary copies of data exist but are not in use. Back-up data, in the past, was most often stored on disks; according to the article, Reference data takes up approximately 85% of disk space unnecessarily, wasting a great deal of room for new, potential data or transactional data updates.
The excess of unnecessary data also causes problems with data effectiveness and efficiency. Excess amounts of unnecessary data crowds out storage space, making it difficult to locate and organize data as needed. This drastically reduces productivity in addition to data security and organization, however companies are still resistant to modified data storage. Moulton targets job security as the leading factor, explaining that more efficient data storage systems allow a more easily explained and understandable system, and detracting from job security of those who are in charge of data storage. However, strides have been made with deduplicatiopn and cloud software to increase data storage efficiency, in spite of employee hesitation.
Moulton’s idea for data storage, however, is slightly more advanced than clouds or deduplication. By using what Moulton calls a “smart archive,” data can be stored in a tiered system, copying and backing up only the information which is necessary, using data storage space effectively and securely. This tiered system not only seems incredibly organized, but is not so different from current systems that its uniqueness would deter new users to try the innovative data storage technology. Data storage can be just as important as the data itself, and as such is important to look into when evaluating company data and efficiency. This type of “smart archive” may be the new approach to efficient, effective data storage.

1. Bobby Moulton, "Data Storage: It’s Time to Grow Up". TechNewsWorld.Mar 13, 2010http://www.technewsworld.com/story/data-management/69540.html. Mar 18, 2010.

Google to Implement Ultra High Speed Broadband Network

Just when one thinks that broadband could not become much better than it is already, Google has set out to challenge this theory. Technology is constantly changing and becoming more efficient. Google recently let out their plan to launch an ultra-high-speed broadband network. This network is being implemented for up to 500,000 users. Google is not alone in trying to improve broadband. Case Western Reserve University is planning on testing what it will be like to download data at 1 gigabit per second. This is really putting the pressure on companies such as Verizon and AT&T to improve their network a lot sooner than they would originally have thought to.
The government has even decided to participate by hopefully making the faster 1 gigabit per second available in American schools, hospitals, and government buildings. “The plan outlines measures designed to create more broadband providers through auctions of airwaves needed to provide wireless Internet Services” (Kharif). For Verizon, trying to launch this ultra high speed broadband network is a lot more work to do it for millions of people, therefore making this task quite difficult. The other issue is whether or not consumers really need a faster broadband network. Verizon should probably consider gaining consumer’s perspectives as to whether or not they are unhappy with the speed of their network right now. For me myself, I feel as though it couldn’t get any faster than it already is.
New technology is becoming available for this fast network to work. For example, Cisco designed a new router, which will direct data traffic. One downfall to faster network is that consumers would need to upgrade their infrastructure a lot sooner than they would need to with the networks now. This could be more costly to consumers thus making justification of the broadband network questionable. However, on the other hand it is said that the ultra high speed broadband network users “will be able to conduct high-definition video consultations about managing their weight with doctors at nearby University Hospitals and to watch open-heart surgery being performed” (Kharif).
I find this article to be interesting to read, especially because I was curious in how Google was planning on making broadband network faster than it already is. However, I personally have a neutral opinion. I think that a faster network is always beneficial because it increases efficiency and will also increase consumer satisfaction. If it also helps doctors to learn while watching open-heart surgery in high-definition, then I think the benefits will definitely outweigh losses. The only thing that I would like to know more about is the cost of this new network. It was already stated that consumers will need to more rapidly upgrade their infrastructure, but I’m curious in finding out other costs associated with it.


Kharif, Olga. "Verizon, AT&T, Google Partake of Broadband Speed Race." Business Weekly. 18 March 2010. http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2010/tc20100317_550729.htm

Integrien Seeks to Gain a Competitive Advantage

Integrien Corporation, the leader in real-time performance analytics, has recently expanded its Technology Advisory Board, by adding members who have previously run some of the largest IT infrastructures in the world. Integrien Corporation applies real time analytics to monitoring data in order to prevent problems from having a negative impact on businesses (1). They have recently developed Integrien Alive, which alerts IT when an application problem is beginning, giving them advanced notice to prevent the problem from spreading. This type of intelligence allows customers to achieve higher quality business operations, with increased efficiency and 24-7 service availability. Furthermore, Integrien is partnered with leading vendors such as IBM, HP, BMC, and VMware(1).

The newest member of the advisory board is Carol Rizzo, who has more than 25 years of IT experience and has helped increase infrastructures at some of the world’s most prestigious firms(1). Some of the firms she has worked with include, AIG, Kaiser Permanente, Citibank, Fidelity Investments, Viacom and Digital Equipment. Through her assistance, these companies have been able to cut down their bottom-line by reducing costs, increase customer satisfaction, and increase revenues leading to a larger top-line. These positive impacts are what any company hope to achieve when they decide to invest in information technology systems. When a company invests in a CRM system, they are hoping to increase market share, retain customers, and ultimately increase their top-line. When a company invests in a SCM system, they are more focused on keeping inventory levels low, and production/shipping costs at a minimum in order to ultimately cut down on their bottom-line.

Many of the new members joining the Technology Advisory Board are previous Chief Technology Officers at companies such as Gateway, QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies, Deloitte Consulting, IBM, and MarketShare Partners. It goes without saying that these individuals have many of years of experience in executive positions, aimed at cutting operations costs for the companies they work for. Carol Rizzo, former Chief Technology Officer at Kaiser Permanente, was able to lead the company in improving system availability, saving over 45 million dollars in reduced physician and nursing time(1). This is just one example of the many major transformations that have been brought about by the new members of Integrien’s Technology Advisory Board.

It is evident that the companies such IBM, Kaiser Permanente, Gateway, Bank of America, Deloitte Consulting, and Wachovia are interested in IT systems as a method of cost reduction and revenue expansion. They have used IT in the past, and have experienced positive outcomes, meaning that they will want to continue to achieve these results and more. This is why Integrien is looking for new members of their advisory board, ones who have exceptional experience and a strong track record. Integrien needs to keep pace with other IT companies, and they are trying to gain a sustainable competitive advantage in its industry by looking for new leadership. New leaders who will bring about change and new ideas. This is exactly what SAP has decided to do recently, in order to increase sales and efficiency, they have let their former CEO go and hired someone else for the job. Sometimes, change in leadership is exactly what needs to be done for companies to realize growth and development.

Reference

(1) "Integrien Continues to Advance Company Strategy with IT Industry Luminaries", Business Wire, March 18, 2010, http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100318005214&newsLang=en, (Accessed March 18, 2010).