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As we launch into 2010, the IT industry is faced with three major challenges. What makes these so significant is they are not on the radar of most companies. In this report I will address the first challenge that we as an industry have ignored. Although I can not provide answers, my hope for this article is to expose the issues and launch a dialogue within the IT community as we search for answers.

This is not your Father’s IT

The first challenge I call “Your Father’s IT”, or better yet, “Your Grandfather’s IT” We live in an age where technology is advancing at phenomenal rates. However, companies are slow to adopt these new technologies. The biggest reason is quite simply, legacy IT staff does not know what to do with them! They are stuck in old IT paradigms and can not see how their IT world could be improved with new technologies.

Old IT paradigms are the biggest obstacle to capitalizing on new technologies

In order to adopt new technologies IT has to think outside the legacy IT box. They have to be willing to redefine what IT can become. Let us look at IT Consumerization as an example; Consumerization is the ability for business professionals to use their personal smart phones and other smart devices at their workplace. Today, the “Your Fathers IT” reaction is “No Way! This technology is a security risk and cannot be allowed into the workplace”. However, organizations with “New IT” paradigms will look at the new capabilities and determine how (or if) the devices can make their company more competitive. If so, they will find ways to secure the technology and make it work for them. I am not suggesting all new technologies be implemented. I am suggesting the IT industry gravitate to a new paradigm; a mindset that is determined to evaluate how new technologies will, or will not, benefit their business.

Today, “Your Father’s IT” waits until the technology is released and the bugs worked out. Eventually they evaluate the technology then fund and finally implement. I have seen this process take up to twenty four months. That is two years without the business benefits offered by the technology. This mindset can cost a company millions of dollars over that twenty four month period. Imagine your competitors reaping the cost benefits and efficiencies of new technologies while your legacy IT is stuck in a wait and see mode of operation.

Companies who have adopted the “New IT” paradigm will be delivering value propositions to the business before new technologies are formally released. Successful companies will not wait to deploy new technologies until current technology reaches end of life. They will do it when there is a compelling business case to do so.

So how does a company break out of the legacy IT paradigm? How do they change their current mode of operation? Can a company teach their Legacy IT new tricks? Can a companies culture adapt to a “New IT” paradigm without external pressures? What can push a company out of its “Old IT” patterns that are so comfortable today? I am convinced that if companies do not adapt to “New IT” paradigms they will not survive the next decade. However, changing paradigms and corporate cultures can be an impossible task. One does not merely decide one day that their IT will think and behave differently from now on.

This challenge is easily ignored and has been for years. However, ignoring this challenge only puts your business at continued risk of becoming obsolete and uncompetitive. In 2010 we must take steps to limit our exposure to this and the two challenges I will discuss in the next reports. If your company is going to survive the next decade you have to come up with answers to these challenges. As I mentioned earlier, my intent is to open the door to further dialogue. Let us consider the door wide open.

The tragedy that happened at Haiti had once again proved that mankind has its own cruelness and kindness. That through natural calamity mankind will reflect to himself on what he did to his environment, neighbors and self and what he will do after a tragedy. Will he fall or will he stand from his fall?

“Mountainous country,” this is where Haiti was derived and came from the language of the Taino Indians who inhabited the island before European colonization. After independence in 1804, the name was adopted by the military generals who are former slaves who barred the French and took possession of the colony known as Saint Domingue.

Early in 19th century, the United States occupied Haiti. They found eleven independent regions, and it was noted that in the seventy-two years from 1843-1915, Haiti had experienced “102 civil wars, revolutions, insurrections, revolts, coups and attentions (assassination attempts)”. The U.S. sent its military to Haiti under the so called patronage of creating peace and protecting the lives and properties of foreigners in Haiti and in 1917 a new American-written constitution was handed down, which allows foreign ownership of land for the first time. This change in the land ownership law had a tremendous impact on Haiti’s economy. Therefore capitalism came to Haiti and there were attempts to reinstall colonial plantations. By 1920s the Haitian American Sugar Company (HASCO), cleared trees from fertile areas to make way for sugar production, which marks the beginning of widespread deforestation and erosion.

Decades of poverty, population growth, and near anarchy have stripped the countryside of its forests and split farms into small, infertile plots. Deforestation had left the slopes too weak to be able to retain the downpour and in-spite that storms didn’t even make landfall on Haiti there are more than three thousand lives that were lost under floodwater and mudslides. “What you see in Port-au-Prince- the concentration of people in the slums, which creates violence, which creates disease-it’s because the people cannot produce more in the countryside,” said Max Antoine, executive director of Haiti’s Presidential Commission on Border Development, tasked with reforesting the area near the Dominican Republic. “So they leave their lands and come to the city hoping to find a better life. And of course they can’t find a better life. So what do they do? They have to eat. So they start being gangsters. They become susceptible to drug dealers. What makes Haiti’s problems so intractable is the complex and painful ways they feed on each other. The impoverished country depends on trees for 71 percent of its energy use: firewood in the countryside, wood charcoal in the cities. For an impoverished peasant, stripping the forests has become a way to get by. “If I’m a farmer and my crops are failing, what can I do?” Antoine further said. “Do I die today? Or do I extend my life for the next few days by cutting trees and selling charcoal so I can buy medicine? So I can buy some fertilizer so I can grow some lettuce?” When the forests are gone, the slopes can’t hold on to their soil. Entire villages are lost to mudslides. Roads and bridges are damaged. The slums continue to swell. Haiti sinks deeper into poverty. Pressed to survive, another farmer chops down another tree. “It’s not a vicious circle,” said Philippe Mathieu, the Haiti director for the Canadian charity Oxfam-Québec. “It is a spiral. Each time you make a turn, you have less space.”

Because of this, Haiti is considered the poorest country in the western hemisphere and one of the poorest in the world. A country of small farmers, commonly referred to as peasants, who work small private landholdings and depend primarily on their own labor and that of family members. “Real income for the average family has not increased in over twenty years and has declined precipitously in rural areas. In most rural areas, the average family of six earns less than $500 per year. ” There is less than one doctor per eight-thousand people at Haiti. Medical facilities are poorly funded and understaffed, and most health care workers are incompetent. The country’s economic,political and social problems have become entangled in its environmental woes, making all of its problems harder to fix.

It is said that the tragedy that happened in Haiti was worsen because of its poverty, political status, social status and its environment. The lack of infrastructure, the poor quality of construction in Port-au-Prince and the impotence of the Haitian government to organize any response are determining factors in this tragedy.These social conditions are the product of a protracted relationship between Haiti and the United States, which, ever since US Marines occupied the island nation for nearly 20 years beginning in 1915, has treated the country as a de-facto colonial protectorate. For an entire week, with the whole world watching, millions of Haitians have been left abandoned without medical care, food, water and shelter.

The tragedy that happened to Haiti however have some good results. Many people especially people who wear hospital uniforms, were awaken to share their expertise to Haitian people. Many people gave a helping hand in kind and in cash. Out of charity to Haitian people many people also gave their service and lives to help rescue many victims.

Due to these facts, who can say that man is purely evil or even purely good? We as humans contribute something to every calamities and even natural ones. God must not be blame. Still I believe that there are things that we cannot comprehend about God’s plan to the human race. Einstein said before that “God doesn’t play dice in the universe”. Surely this tragedy has reason.

To many, the month of February is one of the worst of the year. Depending on where you live, this could easily be the coldest month, forcing you to spend much of your time inside.

The good news is that there are good things that come with the month of February too. It’s simply a matter of looking forward to these events, as they’ll certainly help the shortest month of the year to go by even more quickly.

Let’s take a look at a few things to look forward to during the second month of the year. Maybe you’ll even learn about something new in the process.

There are a few holidays during the course of the month, all of which mark the occurrence of something meaningful. It all starts off with Groundhog’s Day, which is a fun day of the year for anyone who dreads winter and can’t wait for it to end.

If there’s someone special in your life, Valentine’s day will give you the opportunity to do something fun and romantic with your loved one. Maybe you can even plan a weekend getaway for the two of you, as the holiday falls on a Sunday this year.

You may also have a day off to look forward to, as President’s Day gives many a short break toward the end of the month. Hopefully you have a job that honors our past presidents, as you may be able to make the most of an extra day off.

Then, there are a few sports milestones to look forward to as well. For one, the Winter Olympics begin during February. In Vancouver this year, they’re sure to bring a good amount of action to the television sets of millions around the world.

There’s also the beginning of the 2010 NASCAR season, as the Daytona 500 marks the beginning of the NASCAR year on February 14th. If you’re a fan of the sport, you’ll surely want to tune into this high profile race.

This article details the difference in insurance companies and gives the customer some areas in which to look when deciding what to look for when browsing the internet and multiple insurance agencies for the best quotes to fit your insurance needs.

In today’s world there are some specific things to notice when you are browsing for an insurance quote. You have your large corporate entities, there are the middle level and private corporations and businesses which are generally an offshoot of the large insurance companies, and finally there are the independent insurance agents who work for themselves or for a small agency. All levels competing for their piece of the pie. Each level has the ability to offer different perks to their clients.

Corporate/Large Insurance Companies

When browsing online for quotes, you very often come across the large corporations first, mostly because they have the sources and the funds to achieve a first, second or third spot on a Google, Bing or MSN web search. These companies are competing with other corporate companies to sell their product to the potential consumer (which is you and me). The best example to explain my point is when you arrive on each insurance company’s website; you have to fill out a quote sheet or survey for each company detailing the insurance in which you are interested to receive a price quote specific to that company’s product.

Positives of large companies: They can offer very competitive rates; they are easy to find; they have a reputation and name recognition to the consumer.

Negatives of large companies: They only offer rates or polices of their product: They are very impersonal; there is rarely someone to talk to about the insurance without having to deal with the recorded message labyrinth that you get when you call their 1-800 numbers.

Middle Level Companies

The middle level companies, for discussion sake, would be similar to representative at the end of your neighborhood with a corporate name beside theirs on the sign. These are how the large companies get a face to the name of their product. These companies are obviously far more personal, you have the ability to call, or stop in to say hi to an agent, which gives the customer a sense of security to know they can always find someone to answer questions they may have.

Positives of middle level companies: They are easy to find; they have a reputation and name recognition which is comforting for the consumer; they have the personal aspect, in which you can speak with an agent face to face; they offer similar rates to what you would find searching online

Negatives of middle level companies: Not always, but very often these companies also only sell insurance for one company and can only offer policies for their product.

Independent Agents

And finally there are the independent agents or small private companies. These are agents who have decided to stay independent of the corporate world and tackle the insurance world on their own. These agents have the ability to make a living by offering some perks that the large and middle level companies very often cannot. By staying independent, they are free of having to sell product for one company. They have the ability to go across corporate lines and sell products for multiple companies. This is good for the corporate world because they don’t mind posting a small commission for an independents sale of a policy because the large insurance company still sells an insurance policy. With the freedom of being licensed with multiple companies, the independent agent has the advantage of offering the best rates specific to the customers’ needs.

Positives of the independent agents: Independent agents are generally in your area, you can call them or stop by their office and speak face to face; they have the ability to find their customer the best rate, generally because of their independence from the large insurance companies;

Negatives of the independent agents: sometimes they can be difficult to find in the pool of large and middle level insurance sites and companies; even though they have the ability to offer the same policies as the large companies, they do not have the comfort of name recognition which can be detouring to customers.