Kenneth R. Walsh

The domino effect of password reuse

One weak spot is all it takes to open secured digital doors and online accounts causing untold damage and consequences.

Analyzing the application ASP concept: technologies, economies, and strategies

The application service provider model can realize economies of scale in managing hardware, software, and personnel resources, but this new concept also introduces uncertainty as it redistributes responsibilities among organizations.

A Decision Table for the Cloud Computing Decision in Small Business

An issue facing the manager of a small business is the use of cloud computing to meet the information technology IT needs of the firm. These businesses typically have limited in-house IT capabilities and often outsource much of their IT. This paper discusses this rapidly evolving technology and provides a framework for businesses to decide on harnessing the power of cloud computing. It recommends the appropriate decision based on the way in which IT is currently used in the enterprise and future needs to meet competitive challenges. The potential cost savings, technology insurance from cloud computing, and security risks are discussed and factored into the decision.

E‐business: linking available services and entrepreneurs’ needs

Traditionally, entrepreneurs and small businesses have faced difficulties when competing with entrenched firms for customers and expanding into global markets. The World Wide Web (WWW) is one approach to overcoming obstacles by giving organizations a direct connection to potential customers and suppliers on a global level. However, complex technology, security, and reliability present significant challenges to the entrepreneur or small business owner about to enter the e‐business arena. Difficulties are especially notable when the business operates in a non‐Web‐related field or when it has relatively few individuals with IT (information technology)/Web experience. Facing these challenges alone by hiring or developing an in‐house technology staff and building a support infrastructure is costly and may be risky. An alternative, contracting for Web‐based services from an application service provider (ASP), effectively reduces cost and risk while preserving the competitive advantage of the entrepreneurial firm. This paper describes the use of the ASP concept to allow an entrepreneurial firm to compete effectively in the global market.

Structured modeling group support systems: a product design theory

Structured modeling is critical to the design, development, and implementation of many systems including computer software, business processes, and data networks. Since the creation of structured models relies on the knowledge of many organizational stakeholders, groups often accomplish this task. Group support systems (GSS) focus on the support of group processes and would appear to be useful for structured modeling; however, GSS usually only provide textual or decision related output rather than the structured models needed for many design processes. This paper proposes a class of systems, structured modeling GSS (smGSS), which adds support for the development of structured models to standard GSS. Since past research has shown that research results may be difficult to compare across studies when the system under investigation is not well defined, this paper develops a product design theory that defines the required characteristics of and testable design propositions for an smGSS as derived from existing theory and empirical investigations.

Visualizing technology mining results on life cycle axes: A study of server virtualization

Text data mining of research abstract databases, across time, shows how an emergent technology is progressing towards commercialization. Text data mining tools like VantagePoint can provide insights into the progress of a technology discipline showing the projection of research trends for strategic analysis and displaying the interconnections between research topics. Technology development starts with the underlying science where theoretical concepts are proposed and tested, to a more focused and technical research on devices that apply these theories. This paper demonstrates a time series text mining approach to the development of server virtualization technology as example of an emerging technology. Since there are three dimensions in the development of technology; basic science, technology development, and business process focus, this research presents the results of the text data mining of research abstracts projected in a three-dimensional virtual reality visualization.

Visualizing technology mining results on life cycle axes: A text data mining study of publication trends in server virtualization from scientific research to business process improvement

Text data mining of research abstract databases provides insight into the relationships between researchers and research topics. Text data mining tools like VantagePoint provide insights into the progress of a technology discipline showing the projection of research trends for strategic analysis and displaying the interconnections between researchers and research topics. Research in a technology typically flows from works in the underlying science where theoretical concepts are proposed and tested to a more focused and technical research on devices that apply these theories. Our study tracks the spread of ideas throughout the technology life cycle with an emphasis on technology trends rather than research clusters. The premise is that the manager seeking a strategic view of the technology, and its development over time, needs to be presented a visualization of these trends in a manner that supports effective decision-making. Since there are three dimensions in the development of technology, basic science, technology development, and business process focus, this research presents the results of the text data mining of research abstracts projected in a three-dimensional visualization.

Achieving Group Cohesion using Information Technology Tools: A Systems Perspective

This paper defines a systems theoretic model of group consensus in an information and communication technology intense environment. The model describes states of group consensus and how interventions can move the system to other states depending on the current state and the level of the intervention. The systems theoretic model is shown to be more useful in understanding why groups are influenced and how effective interventions are likely to be than the construct/influence theoretic models that dominate research in the field and can be significant tool for collaborative systems design.