Facebook is currently rolling out Timeline to all its users whether they want it or not. Timeline is the latest way that users let their ‘life story’ be told through pictures and their posts, or as Facebook puts it: “Share and highlight your most memorable posts, photos and life events on your timeline. This is where you can tell your story from beginning, to middle, to now”.

I suppose the problem is that you don’t necessarily want to show the same ‘face’ to everyone on line. You want a private life, a family life, and a professional life and perhaps even multiples of all three.  But Kim Walker, Data Protection Partner for law firm Thomas Eggar LLP has some reservations: “Facebook has long been a source of information for employers checking the background on potential and current employees and making sure that social media policies are not being over-stepped with derogatory comments.

“Once Timeline is enabled, Facebook users receive a Timeline page which scrolls down to reveal key information shared since they joined the online community. Click on a chosen year and you can view everything the user did in that particular year – good and bad! For employees, I would strongly recommend a quick check back through their Timeline during the seven day preview period that is allowed once Timeline is enabled and before it goes live. Comments and posts that may not be viewed in the best light by employers can quickly be deleted alongside photography and information that may not present users in the best light.”

And let’s be honest, even the most assiduous of us can let the odd tagged photo from an acquaintance, possibly taken when we were a bit ‘tired and emotional’ creep through. But should employers – or potential employers – go looking in the first place?

“In general we advise employers not to look at social media pages unless they have got a particular suspicion about an employee. If you don’t need to look then you should not really be fishing. In addition, in most cases what are employers actually going to learn? Companies are unlikely to be able to dismiss or discipline someone who likes to go out and have a few drinks at the weekend unless it actually impacts on their day job,” says Walker, but the consequences may be more subtle than dismissal or formal discipline.

“The other obvious potential issue of Timeline for employers would be if they found a post which is several years old and breached their social media policy. However, as it was not picked up on at the time it was originally posted, the employee may well argue that it is now too late to take action fairly.

“Equally, for those seeking employment it is worth ensuring the Timeline presents them in a way that will appeal to prospective employers. Be wary of any inflammatory comments or colourful past behaviour which may dent otherwise gleaming professional records. Employers are increasingly using online communities such as Facebook and LinkedIn to research candidates so it is worth investing time in ensuring Timeline presents a positive profile.”

LinkedIn is a ‘business’ social network though, so it is meant to be your ‘shop window’ whereas Facebook is…. what? A bit of everything? I wouldn’t have thought most users would want their employers following their social media exploits too closely.

But businesses themselves may have to pause for thought. “As well as the personal angle, businesses using Facebook profiles to promote their companies will also have to consider the impact of Timeline,” suggests Walker. “Customer complaints or negative posts could make an untimely reappearance in the Timeline. The new feature will also make it harder to consign adverse publicity to history, especially if others are keen to keep it alive.  Again, these issues can all be managed and averted but better to do so before the interface goes live and impacts on any current marketing campaigns.”

But fear not, there are ways around all this potential embarrassment. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say: “Users should reassess the privacy settings on their Facebook profiles before their Timeline goes live,” advises Walker. “The audience for old posts that appear on the Timeline can be limited and there is even the option to individually change the audience of each post if required. While Timeline makes Facebook history more immediately visible than before, it is not sharing any content that couldn’t previously have been found. It is therefore the responsibility of users to ensure they have the correct privacy levels set and manage the information shared on their Timeline as they see fit.”

Matt Bailey

Editor

Much has been made of companies embracing “bring your own device” (BYOD) policies to accommodate younger employees and attract the best new recruits. Yet, according to executive respondents, allowing personal technologies in the workplace is not a strong recruitment or retention tool. Less than one-third (32 percent) of business leaders have changed policies to make their workplace more appealing to younger employees. Even fewer (20 percent) believe allowing personal computing technologies in the enterprise will benefit recruitment and retention efforts.

In fact, when asked about the impact of personal computing technologies on company culture, the majority of executive respondents (58 percent) said the greatest outcome was the ability for their employees to work from anywhere, followed by their employees being more willing to work after hours (42 percent).

“For business leaders, the consumerisation of IT has less to do with the worker and more to do with the way employees work,” said Tyson Hartman, Avanade’s global chief technology officer. “Our research shows that productivity and anywhere access are rated significantly higher by executives over improved employee morale or providing greater responsibilities to younger employees.”

Professor Lee Newman, dean of Social and Behavioral Science at IE University and Business School in Madrid commented: “The increasing pace of business is requiring employees to think and make decisions under ever tightening deadlines. Mobile devices and other technologies have the ability to encourage new ways of working that can spark innovation, increase employee effectiveness, and positively impact an organisation’s bottom line. Personal technologies are driving new behaviours and improving the quality of decision making by providing immediate access to data, to virtual collaboration, and to networks of expertise and second opinions. Particularly for younger generations, technology has become an integral part of the way people work and think. More effective decision making can be a hidden and powerful source of competitive advantage, and those organisations able to rapidly accommodate and manage these new/personal technologies in the workplace will be best positioned to use this to their own benefit.”

Though media coverage has made iPhones and iPads synonymous with consumerisation, the survey found that while Apple is certainly a factor, it is far from alone in driving the trend. According to business and IT leaders, the most popular consumer-owned devices being used in the enterprise are Android smartphones, BlackBerry smartphones and Apple laptops.

Another related myth is that these devices are being used to check email and browse social networks. But Avanade’s research revealed a major shift in the way employees are using their personal technologies in the enterprise. Employees have evolved beyond straight content consumption – checking email or Facebook – and are now increasingly using mission-critical enterprise applications.

When asked which applications and services employees were using, executives cited customer relationship management (45 percent), time and expense tracking applications (44 percent) and enterprise resource planning (38 percent).

Despite perceptions that businesses are hesitant to embrace the consumerisation of IT, the survey found companies are embracing the change and it is executives at the highest levels in the enterprise leading the charge. Key findings include:

•              An overwhelming majority (88 percent) of respondents report employees are using their personal computing technologies for business purposes today;

•              The majority of C-level executives (65 percent) report the consumerisation of IT is a top priority in their organisation;

•              On average, companies are allocating 25 percent of their overall IT budgets to manage the consumerisation of IT;

•              The majority of companies (60 percent) are now adapting their IT infrastructure to accommodate employee’s personal technologies.

“Progressive CIOs and IT organisations have moved from gatekeepers of consumer technology to enablers of these innovative devices, applications and services to meet employee needs and demands,” said Hartman. “The consumerisation of IT provides companies with an opportunity to transform the role of IT from a function focused on mitigating risk into a strategic enabler that leverages the breadth of today’s powerful consumer technologies to drive business results.”

EXIN played a crucial role in the initial development and promotion of ITIL certification in the 1990s, when ITIL first began to be widely adopted as a best practice framework for IT Service Management. Today, EXIN claims to be the market leader in ITIL certification worldwide, as well as a pioneer in other areas of information management certification such as cloud computing and green IT.

EXIN CEO, Michiel van der Lande, sees the contract renewal as a confirmation of EXIN’s important role in information management certification: “We are very pleased that we have secured a prominent role for EXIN in ITIL for the coming years, as ITIL is still an important industry framework today. We are proud to be able to continue to offer ITIL certification as part of our broad information management portfolio. It is particularly important in these difficult economical times for professionals to be able to prove that they have the necessary knowledge and skills, and independent certification can be an important differentiator. ”

The research found that although data security is the primary concern (68 percent) when decommissioning IT equipment, only 61 percent of companies currently data wipe all of their redundant computers. Ensuring that all data is removed from hard drives is essential. By not doing so, companies could fail to comply with the Data Protection Act leaving customers open to fraud and also put their intellectual property at risk.Only 43 percent of senior IT decision makers said they were able to account for all their decommissioned PCs. An estimated 75 percent of e-waste generated in the EU, equivalent to eight million tonnes a year, is unaccounted for – either sent to landfill, substandard treatment facilities or illegally exported. UK companies must improve accountability for where their unwanted IT goes to avoid the legal ramifications and reputational damage that irresponsible disposal practices can bring.

A shocking 33 percent of the UK’s largest companies have decommissioned computers containing data which are completely unaccounted for. Such decommissioning practices have the potential to cause significant damage to UK companies, particularly since PCs and the sensitive data on them can very easily fall into the wrong hands once in the illegal e-waste stream.

Anja ffrench, director of communications, Computer Aid says, “this research shows that current IT decommissioning practices in many companies seem to be resulting in every IT manager’s worst nightmare – hundreds of thousands of redundant PCs containing sensitive corporate data, completely unaccounted for. By not disposing of their IT properly, companies risk huge financial, legal and reputational costs and can cause severe damage to people and the environment.

“Improving IT decommissioning procedures is essential. Every IT manager must ensure that all their company’s unwanted equipment is data wiped to CESG approved standards and that they receive fully documented waste streams from their IT disposal service providers. These are essential steps in the decommissioning process and companies cannot afford the risks associated with not taking them.”

Computer Aid has launched a free guide based on the research findings which is designed to help IT decision makers implement best practice IT disposal.

You can find the guide at: http://www.computeraid.org/uploads/Best-practice-Guide-to-IT-decommissioning-A4.pdf

The survey, ‘Firing the engines of growth’, was carried out in response to the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI’s) recently-published report which claims that upper mid-sized businesses (those with 250 – 500 employees) are Britain’s “forgotten army”. The Source survey investigated the barriers to growth faced by upper mid-sized organisations, which are also the most productive sector of the economy, and what might be done to overcome these barriers.

The findings highlight that integration of IT systems is seen as the biggest operational barrier to growth: 59% of organisations said this was among their top three concerns and 27% said it was their single biggest concern.  Most admitted that their IT systems have been implemented on an ad hoc and piecemeal basis with little thought for organisation-wide system integration.

Business intelligence – described as intelligent, automated analysis of data to drive decisions about the future – is the second biggest operational concern (18% of those surveyed said this was their top concern) with procurement proving the third biggest concern (put top by 14% of respondents).  Other key operational barriers cited include document management and planning and budgeting.

Simon Fowler, Managing Director of Advanced Business Solutions (Commercial), says, “It is clear from the research that upper mid-sized UK organisations are struggling to grow due to issues with their IT systems, processes and people. Organisations are lacking the foundation for growth with lack of integration between IT systems proving the biggest growth barrier.”

The survey findings suggest that although upper mid-sized organisations can identify their key barriers to growth, they are not investing in solutions to these barriers due to a few key reasons. The first is that other organisational factors are being considered more important (cited by 79% of respondents). Secondly, there is lack of time to address the issues (mentioned by 73% of respondents) and thirdly, there is lack of money (cited by 50% of those surveyed).

When asked whether Government funds would encourage upper mid-sized organisations to invest in solutions to overcome their growth barriers, the majority of respondents (72%) highlighted that using Government funds for tax breaks would encourage them to invest. Respondents felt that Government funds could also be used to provide access to mid-sized business and IT systems advice, to enable senior management training and to offer loans to mid-sized organisations.

Fowler says, “According to the CBI, mid-sized organisations generate 22% of economic revenue and have the potential to inject up to £50 billion into the economy by 2020 despite representing less than 1% of all UK businesses. To achieve their full potential, it is vital for mid-sized organisations, especially upper mid-sized companies, to recognise and address their key barriers to growth. It’s also important for the Government to deliver funds and to provide the necessary support to enable investment before mid-sized organisations become the UK’s biggest economical disappointment.”

Bingham collected the award, part of the itSMF service management industry awards, at a prestigious Awards Dinner, at the Novotel London West. The awards recognise outstanding achievements and significant contribution to the world of IT Service Management, showcasing the people and organisations that are at the forefront of the IT Service Management industry.

The Submission of the Year award is presented to the writer of a white paper, case study, points of view and hints and tips written by itSMF UK members for other members to share. The awards are presented annually and are recognised industry-wide as representing outstanding achievement in the field of Service Management.

Bingham’s paper is aimed at helping organisations publish a service strategy and covers such topics as: service strategy, the key ITIL® V3 principles, a workshop-led approach to strategy generation, how to define your market focus and positioning, how to define your distinctive capabilities, how to define your performance anatomy and how to assemble a publishable service strategy.

Michiel van der Voort, the Institute’s international executive director commented: “Our sponsorship of this award is part of our drive to develop the IT profession. Sharing best practice from one professional to another through such things as white papers allows organisations not only to showcase their own talent but to share the secrets to good practice and success.”

This of course ties in with the use of mobile IT equipment – the ‘consumerisation’ of IT – smartphones, blackberries, iPhones and increasingly tablet devices like the iPad are becoming more and more ubiquitous. Anyone who has attended a trade show recently will testify to the fact that most stands are, if not actually festooned with the things, then their staff are abundantly provisioned with them, and very useful they prove too in most cases.

I got a press release from a developer recently which claimed that their client – the charity Crisis at Christmas – had seen a 30 percent increase in volunteer applications following the deployment of a web app. “We had nearly as many applications on the first day as we have previously got in two weeks we have already processed and accepted around 90 percent of the applications, which is unheard of!” said the charity’s project manager and IT and systems coordinator, Ashley Bladon. “Typically at this time every year the staff at the Crisis head office are extremely busy processing applications manually, but because everything is automated this year, we have been able to plough many more resources into the event itself.”

Good to see that something good is developing from this technology…

I wonder how many of us will get an app for Christmas?

Matt Bailey

Editor

The survey is a global study that investigates the latest technology purchasing, usage and staffing trends among companies with less than 1,000 employees. The study of 1,200+ IT professionals was conducted during the autumn via the Spiceworks Voice of IT Market Research Program.

The survey found that tablets are becoming more popular among small and mid-sized businesses:

-          Fifty percent of SMBs have deployed or plan to deploy tablet devices, such as iPads, within the next six months.

-          Adoption of cloud services continues to rise rapidly among SMBs, while virtualisation is still their top IT initiative.

-          Cloud services are now used by 46 percent of SMBs, a significant rise over the 28 percent that reported using cloud services in the first half of 2011 and the 14 percent that reported doing so mid-year 2010.

Virtualization continues to dominate the SMB market. Currently, 61 percent of small and mid-sized businesses use virtualisation, which is up from the 54 percent that reported using virtualisation during the first half of 2011.

Overall IT budgets in the second half of 2011 grew nine percent when compared with IT budgets for the first half of 2011 – the largest increase in two years. The average annual IT budget for SMBs now stands at $143,000, up from the $132,000 previously reported for the first half of 2011.

Nearly one in three SMBs, or 31 percent, plan to hire IT staff – which is consistent with data reported for the first half of 2011.

“Despite market fluctuations, 2011 proved to be a great year for disruptive technologies as SMBs increasingly adopted tablet computers, cloud services and virtualisation technology,” said Jay Hallberg, co-founder and vice president of Marketing for Spiceworks. “The results of our most recent survey show SMBs making similar strategic technology investments with expanded budgets – pointing to a stronger market for IT products and services among small and mid-sized businesses in 2012.”

The survey included 1,295 respondents from 95 countries around the world.

The office party

• Make your team meal a vegetarian one – the carbon savings are vast.

• Drink wine from Northern Europe or local ale! A bottle of beer from Germany will have travelled 24,000 miles to go from hops to the shelf. A sustainably brewed UK beer will only have travelled 600.

• If you must have crackers, Biome Lifestyle offers an eco-cracker with an eco-tip and a green gift.

• Make sure your fairy lights are LED. They last ten times longer, dramatically reduce power consumption and produce virtually no heat.

• Show your commitment to being green or liven up your party with our EcoInteractive displays.

Secret Santa

• Up-cycle! A shrunken jumper can be stitched into mittens, old jeans made into a mini-skirt and socks made into hand-puppets.

• If you’re not feeling crafty, buy second hand, this saves earthly resources and is a good way to give to causes such as Shelter.

• If the above doesn’t sound luxurious enough, give experiences such as cooking lessons, a massage or an eco driving lesson.

• Failing that, Green Rewards online eco shop has some lovely eco-friendly gifts to choose from. You can even donate the green point you earn from shopping there to us.

• Send an ecard instead of a real one to your contacts. These are more likely to be received in time and can contain links to relevant documents or websites you want them to see.

Home for the holidays

• When you leave the office, turn everything off.

• Travel by public transport. If this isn’t possible, plan your journey, offer others lifts, drive efficiently and pump up your tyres. Having them at the right pressure can save you 5-8% of fuel.

And for your New Year resolutions

• Nominate a green champion to keep you all motivated to stay green at work.

• Get fit and save money by cycling and walking to work instead of driving.

• Conference call instead of travelling to meetings far and wide. If you do have to go, take the train.

www.globalactionplan.org.uk

The Institute for Fiscal Studies is warning of cuts to last well beyond the next election, so this ‘every little saving helps’ philosophy is more crucial now that it’s ever been. Jon Kilner-Smith, event support analyst with international business improvement company The Grass Roots Group makes a similar point about his ‘office consumables’ supplier: “We have freed up staff who used to be in charge of ordering and storing consumables,” he says. “Our supplier now does all that for us now, as part of their free service. A supplier operating an ‘imprest’ system means we’re only charged for what we use.”

Funding for Transport, Home Office and Defence is about to be pared to the bone. Shrewd spending choices of the UK’s larger companies can teach newly impoverished departments and organisations how to stretch their budgets further.