The latest BriefingsDirect podcast takes the pulse of how podcasting is being perceived as a business communications tool, with guests Barb Heffner, a partner and founder of CHEN PR, and Sam Whitmore, editor of MediaSurvey. The discussion comes on the heels of CHEN PR's news that it is creating a podcast service within its IT and life sciences communications offerings, using Interarbor Solutions, and yours truly, as a sub-contractor for production services and analyst moderator services. We discuss the unique relationship and how PR agencies are increasingly reaching out with viral marketing services to their clients. Curious about how podcasting fits into communications, marketing, viral marketing and quality information sharing? The guests offer some powerful insights and examples based on their businesses and value propositions. The discussion also delves into the balance of editorial authenticity and balance in B2B podcasting, and how the needs and interests of both sponsors and listeners must be maintained. Have a listen.
Direct download: Podcasting_Business_Value_20060530_1011.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:06am EDT

Dr. Richard Soley, chairman and CEO of the Object Management Group (OMG), joined me last week for a BriefingsDirect podcast on OMG's latest activities and the status of the ongoing counter-force to complexity -- standards. Indeed, OMG through its auspicious history has developed a methodology for federating standards, which themselves often spin off into a maze of overlapping complexity. By balancing interests and encouraging buy-in from multiple often competing or orthogonal participants, OMG has built consensus around models of various technologies and vertical industry particulars. Those efforts nowadays, among other targets, are increasingly aimed at SOA and business process management. The goal is to abstract out enough complexity so that IT, business, users, and discrete communities can work together productively. Dr. Soley provides keen insights and education into what it takes to conjure and cajole that elusive critical beast: the neutral but authoritative industry third party. Have a listen.
Direct download: OMG_CEO_Richard_Soley_on_Standards_and_Complexity_20060515_0905.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 9:51am EDT

I began working with Barb Darrow back in 1988 at bi-monthly engineering trade pub Design News, and always respected her tenacity, verve, and newshound instincts. Barb went on to InfoWorld in 1993 but had left by the time I got there to run news for the website in 1995. Now as longtime Industry Editor at CRN, she's the Helen Thomas (in only the best possible way) of the IT press corp. So it seemed fitting to sit down with Barb and chew the fat on what's up in IT vendor shortcomings and victories ... what some call IT vendor sports. For some great "inside baseball" insights on what is top of mind (or should be) for Microsoft, HP, IBM, SAP, Oracle ... and the rest of the gang, have a listen to this BriefingsDirect podcast with myself and the mistress of scoop, Barb Darrow of CRN.
Direct download: CRN_Sleuth_Barb_Darrow_on_IT_Vendor_Sports_20060508_0948.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:39am EDT

Banking on a significant new business opportunity, Akamai Technologies has rolled out a podcasting platform and business model support infrastructure for podcasting. Tim Napoleon, media and entertainment product line director at Akamai, discusses the solution, and rationale for delivering it to market now, in a sponsored BriefingsDirect podcast, moderated by Interarbor Solution's Dana Gardner. While some surveys find that a modest slice of the population is actively listening to podcasts, Akamai's research shows that media companies are moving increasing amounts of audio -- and soon full multi-media -- content to the podcast delivery model. Akamai has tailored its applications and media delivery network to support the requirements of guaranteed massive podcast availability. What's more, Akamai has added support and reporting features to assist both amateur and professional content creators to better monetize their programs and track their traffic and use. Have a listen to Akamai's global response to the budding podcast opportunity.
Direct download: Akamai_Adds_Podcasting_to_Media_Services_20060420_1441.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 8:16am EDT

Enterprise IT systems management is about to face an onslaught of complexity. As heterogeneity jacks up due to open source stacks and extended B2B ecologies, and as virtualization blurs the lines between platform, hardware, and applications, and also as SOA adoption grows -- so grows the complexity of managing availability and cost for administrators and operators. This week at Interop, CA Unicenter Network and Systems Management (NSM) is tagging up with Spunk to assist in accessing and managing server performance data. As a prelude to the announcement, I conducted a sponsored briefing podcast with Mell Estrada, senior business and product manager in CA's Enterprise Systems Management business unit, and Michael Baum, chief executive Splunker. In the discussion we examine the swiftly ramping up (Mell says it's going from a 5 to a 9 on a scale of 10) problem-solution set facing enterprise IT systems management practitioners, as well as how the CA-Splunk combination adds value to the equation. Have a listen.
Direct download: CA_Unicenter_Puts_Splunk_to_Work_20060428_1024.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:55am EDT