IT Infrastructure

“IT executives increasingly implement marketing initiatives to improve the communications with their business customers. But these efforts often focus solely on the brand aspects of the services under the IT’s control without understanding the business’ perception of IT. To maximize the success, IT must add business satisfaction assessments to its tool kit. Understanding business satisfaction requires qualitative and quantitative data that capture customer expectations and perceptions through different types of interactions such as interviews, panels, focus groups, complaint systems, and surveys. This report provides best-practice recommendations, survey templates, and questions to guide IT executives through the deployment of a business satisfaction assessment. It applies Forrester’s deep expertise in external customer satisfaction to the interface between business customers and their internal IT suppliers.” says a new Forrester report.

I have served on countless business application development teams within several organizations in the Southwest Ohio and Cincinnati Information Technology community, one thing I can say is that most IT organizations do not gauge business satisfaction with IT business solutions.  I have served in only a couple of organizations where the business serves on the IT governance committee.  An organization does not have to be “big” to have an IT governance committee.  No matter what the size of the organization decisions are made as to priorities in IT work.  IT governance does not have to be a long drawn out process or take great time commitment from the business or IT executives, but business involvement in IT governance goes a long way in gaining business buy-in as you roll out the IT business solutions to the business.

Involvement in IT governance is just one way that many organizations in the Greater Cincinnati area can improve the IT-business relationship.  The Forrester report goes into ways to solicit and gauge business satisfaction with IT business solutions.  Doing so should affect decisions concerning not only IT business solution delivery but also IT Infrastructure and IT outsourcing initiatives.

 

• Network security specialist: A person familiar with intrusion detection systems.
• Penetration testers: Someone who can assess a system's potential vulnerabilities.
• Incident handlers: People who understand attack methodology and can apply critical thinking skills to respond to incidents.
• Forensics Analyst: The person who looks for evidence after an attack.
• Research Analyst: The person to keep abreast technological advances in incident response activities.
• Team Leader: Leads the team through crises and communicates to the business incident activities and cost to the business.

• Preparation and Training: for both prevention and incident response.
• Identification: fast identification of an occurring attack and its impact on the IT infrastructure can help in minimizing the duration and cost of clean-up.
• Containment: Once an attack has been identified, steps must be taken to minimize the effects of the attack.
• Recovery and Analysis: The recovery period allows analysis and lessons learned of What happened? Why did it happened? Was the response effective?

             PGM        PARM(&DBF &ZIPFILE &FORMAT)


             DCL        VAR(&DBF) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(32)
             DCL        VAR(&ZIPFILE) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(255)
             DCL        VAR(&FORMAT) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(6)
             DCL        VAR(&FILE) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(10)
             DCL        VAR(&LIB) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(10)
             DCL        VAR(&MBR) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(10)
             DCL        VAR(&CMD) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(255)
             DCL        VAR(&TEXTFILE) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(15)
             DCL        VAR(&TEMPFILE) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(40)
             DCL        VAR(&ERRLOOP) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(1) VALUE(N)
             DCL        VAR(&INTER) TYPE(*CHAR) LEN(1)

             MONMSG     MSGID(CPF0000 QSH0000) EXEC(GOTO CMDLBL(ERROR))

             RTVJOBA    TYPE(&INTER)

             CHGVAR     VAR(&FILE) VALUE(%SST(&DBF 3 10))
             CHGVAR     VAR(&LIB) VALUE(%SST(&DBF 13 10))
             CHGVAR     VAR(&MBR) VALUE(%SST(&DBF 23 10))

             /* Ensure ZIP directory exists for error logging */
             MKDIR      DIR('/zip')
             MONMSG     MSGID(CPFA0A0)

             /* Delete &zipfile if it exists */
             RMVLNK     OBJLNK(&ZIPFILE)
             MONMSG     MSGID(CPFA0A9)

             /* build text file name */
             IF         COND(&FORMAT *EQ *DLM) THEN(DO)
                CHGVAR     VAR(&TEXTFILE) VALUE(&FILE *TCAT '.csv')
             ENDDO
             ELSE       CMD(DO)
                CHGVAR     VAR(&TEXTFILE) VALUE(&FILE *TCAT '.txt')
             ENDDO

             /* generate temporary file name */
             RTVTMPIFSN NAME(&TEMPFILE)
             IF         COND(&TEMPFILE *EQ ' ') THEN(CHGVAR VAR(&TEMPFILE) +
                          VALUE('/tmp/$$__tempfile'))

             /* export DBF to temporary file */
             CPYTOIMPF  FROMFILE(&LIB/&FILE &MBR) TOSTMF(&TEMPFILE) +
                          MBROPT(*REPLACE) STMFCODPAG(*STDASCII) +
                          RCDDLM(*CRLF) DTAFMT(&FORMAT) RMVBLANK(*TRAILING)
             MONMSG     MSGID(CPF2817) EXEC(DO)
                SNDPGMMSG  MSGID(CPF9898) MSGF(QCPFMSG) MSGDTA('Error +
                             converting Database File to Interface File') +
                             MSGTYPE(*DIAG)
                GOTO       CMDLBL(ERROR)
             ENDDO

             /* Send 'compressing' status message */
             IF         COND(&INTER *EQ '1') THEN(SNDPGMMSG MSGID(CPF9897) +
                          MSGF(QCPFMSG) MSGDTA('Compressing file ' *CAT +
                          &FILE) TOPGMQ(*EXT) MSGTYPE(*STATUS))

             /*---------------------------------------------------------------*/
             /* This command is using the unix environment to zip up the file */
             /* extracted above.  All errors are logged to a text file        */
             /* named error.txt.  The 2>> operator redirects stderr to the    */
             /* file following it, and adds any messages to the end of the    */
             /* file.                                                         */
             /*                                                               */
             /* The following unix utilities are used here:                   */
             /*  ajar - create an archive                                     */
             /*                                                               */
             /* The following environment variables are used here:            */
             /*  QIBM_QSH_CMD_ESCAPE_MSG - Sends QSH0005 as an escape message */
             /*        if the exit status is not 0 (Qshell error condition)   */
             /*---------------------------------------------------------------*/
             /* Send an escape message if the command fails */
             ADDENVVAR  ENVVAR(QIBM_QSH_CMD_ESCAPE_MSG) VALUE(Y) +
                          REPLACE(*YES)

             /* Create &zipfile from temporary file */
             CHGVAR     VAR(&CMD) VALUE('ajar -c -M' *BCAT &ZIPFILE *BCAT +
                          '''' *CAT &TEMPFILE *TCAT ''' :' *BCAT &TEXTFILE +
                          *BCAT '2>>' *BCAT '/zip/error.txt')
             QSH        CMD(&CMD)
             MONMSG     MSGID(QSH0005) EXEC(DO)
                SNDPGMMSG  MSGID(CPF9898) MSGF(QCPFMSG) MSGDTA('Error +
                             creating ZIP file') MSGTYPE(*DIAG)
                GOTO       CMDLBL(ERROR)
             ENDDO

             /* Delete temporaty file */
             RMVLNK     OBJLNK(&TEMPFILE)
             MONMSG     MSGID(CPFA0A9)

             /* Exit Normally */
             GOTO       CMDLBL(OUT)


             /* Process Errors */
 ERROR:      IF         COND(&ERRLOOP *EQ Y) THEN(GOTO CMDLBL(OUT))
             CHGVAR     VAR(&ERRLOOP) VALUE(Y)

             /* Delete temporaty file */
             RMVLNK     OBJLNK(&TEMPFILE)
             MONMSG     MSGID(CPFA0A9)

             /* Send Escape message */
             SNDPGMMSG  MSGID(CPF9898) MSGF(QCPFMSG) MSGDTA('Error +
                          Processing File') MSGTYPE(*ESCAPE)

 OUT:        ENDPGM

This is the last of a three part series; part one is here and part two is here. Many application development guys are wondering, what is the Cloud, and what is the Sun Cloud? Think of Cloud computing as a virtualized data center. In part one I talked about VirtualBox, which allows you to virtualize network components and resources. Think of VirtualBox working on the atomic level, taking small resources to create a virtualized network. Now Cloud computing takes all of the virtualized networks and utilizes them as resources in a virtualized data center. The Sun Cloud is a set of APIs to let you manage networks and storage areas as resources. You can cluster or categorize networks in any way you wish. You can manage user access to the resources, not unlike application development teams utilize in web applications.
What does all this mean to application development and management? It means that you can create a single network and copy or clone it. For example, you can create a single network instance with servers, storage areas databases, and clone the entire network for each region you manage. That means all networks are managed in one spot, and all regions are setup exactly the same. No application compatibility issues. You can, of course, add or remove components, but they are all have the same infrastructure. You can upgrade the virtual network, and pass the changes to the other regions. The electricity saved by running virtualized datacenters would be significant. You can connect to your partners’ virtualized networks to access their data. For application development teams, that would change how we design applications if we have access to external data and applications.

This was my fifth JavaOne conference. Since it is always at the Moscone center, I know pretty much every nook and cranny of JavaOne. Although smaller this year, I thought this was the best one yet. The people there were truly happy to be there, and combined with takeover news and a bad global economy, a bigger sense of cooperation. I would highly recommend coming to one if they still have one. Nobody, not even James Gosling (I was in a group of 20 who had a 45 minute meeting with him) knows if there will be one next year. The reason you come to JavaOne is not the presentations (they are great!), but the people. Meeting and befriending people who created your favorite blog, book, or technology is the reason to come. I remember meeting Craig McClanahan (co-creator of struts) in 2004, and saying "that’s Craig freaking McClanahan!" Last year, I was honored a share a picture of beer with him, Jarda Tulach (inventor of NetBeans), and Geertjan Wielenga (JavaLobby blogger extraordinaire). Application development people get to "network" with the best and brightest architects, technical press, and business owners. This year I got hang with the JUG leaders, NetBeans Dream Teamers, and the JavaFX guys. I wrote, and helped edit a YouTube video "pushing Java", and met more of my fellow Java music software developers. I literally have friends from all over the world (yes Cincinnati too), and I am considered an honorary Brazilian because of JavaOne. Larry Ellison, if you are reading this, please don’t stop JavaOne!

In part 1 of this post, I talked about the 80’s television show Quantum Leap, that wasn’t the point of the post. It is fun to imagine traveling around in time; but then again, I digress.   In part one, I introduced the concept of “quantum superposition”; big words, even for an IT strategy consultant.

Have you heard of the particle wave theory? In practical terms, it means that bizarre and counterintuitive effects occur on very small scales, and they can be harnessed.

This “quantum superposition” effect will, for example, will transform how we do “computer math.”  Currently, everything done by computers is in binary. The smallest piece of information a computer handles, the bit, is either a one or zero. A quantum computer, though, would be able to store and work with number systems other than binary.

This means computers would become exponentially more powerful because each “quantum bit” (qubit) could store a much greater range of numbers than the two that binary math restricts us to. Imagine a laptop with the computing power of the world’s 10 most powerful supercomputers. Then you begin to grasp the potential of quantum computing.

Designing chips and IT infrastructure to take advantage of “higher level” math than binary is years away.  The more immediate impact will be in storage.  Most application developers know that 8 bits make up a byte or 1 character.  What if a qubit could hold many bytes or characters?  

Next time, I will share another quantum idea.

 

By the title of this post you might think that it is about an 80’s television show by the same name.   I really enjoyed Quantum Leap when it first aired and you can still catch re-runs if you have cable or satellite TV, but I digress.

In the past, I have talked about rate of change and its impact on IT infrastructure and application development. Today, I’m continuing along that line.

IT infrastructure is going to go through a massive transformation in the years ahead. Quantum technologies that were only theories in scientific journals just a few years ago are being prototyped in labs now. These new components will change the way we live forever.

Currently, data is processed by moving bunches of electrons about in huge batches. Think of the components in your PC as electrical plumbing. Data is usually stored as batches of electrons or in computer terms, bits. Imagine your computer’s hard drive as a bunch of very small buckets, some full of water, some not. This would represent the on and off that current computers understand or binary language.  This will change:

Improved technologies from emerging nanosciences are allowing us to replace batches of electrons with the smallest individual unit: the electron. As a result, computers will work at far higher speeds. Additionally, far less electricity will be required to do the same amount of work.  So what’s the big deal you may be thinking, that’s been happening for years.

The big difference now is “quantum superposition”.  In a nutshell, this means that a quantum particle can exist in multiple states and everything in between at the same time. This is because a quantum particle, such as an electron, behaves as both a particle and a wave.  Quantum physics is going to have a huge role in how we store and represent data in the future.

Next time, I will take a quantum dive deeper into this. 

 

Saturday morning 8:30 am:  The phone rings, I answer, “Hello”.    Eric, my son who spent the night at a friends house says, “I’m getting ready to leave, I’ll be home before 9:00.  “Ok”, I reply, “see you then.”

8:45am: The phone rings again, I see that it is Eric’s cell number.  Now what does he want this time I thought, I answer, “Yes”.   “Dad, I’ve been in an accident”.  “What happened!!?”  “Someone pulled out in front of me and I ran into them.”  “Are you hurt?” “No, but I think the car is totaled.”  “Why do you think that?”  “Because both air bags went off and the hood is pushed up pretty good.”   “Uh Oh, is anyone else hurt?”  “No”.   “Call the police and I will be right there. “   “We already did”.  

Fortunately, there were no injuries that we are aware of and the other driver had good insurance.  I can’t decide if its fortunate or not that I am experienced in dealing with how to negotiate an insurance claim. 

So what does my exchange have to do with IT consulting or IT Strategy?  Plenty, it illustrates that the unexpected can happen at any time.  Check out this IT infrastructure post.

What do those 3 words have in common?  They are certainly 3 words that you usually don’t use in a single conversation, let alone a single sentence. But in this day and age, maybe we should.  Let me ask the question this way:  How would a pandemic outbreak affect your IT infrastructure given the layoffs forced by the economy?

Not only do we need to worry about IT infrastructure, how about business continuity?  IT managers need to look at business continuity and disaster plans.  The problem today is that consolidations, layoffs and restructurings may have scrambled response plans. People who were once part of a critical team may now be collecting unemployment.

While the CDC isn't calling the swine flu outbreak a pandemic, and the World Health Organization has raised its threat level, which at Level 4 in its six-level scale because the swine flu currently has "sustained human-to-human transmission."

I’m recommending that managers review their call lists and decision-making chains. There could be a weakness in plans because of organizational restructuring that people need to very quickly take a look at.

If an organization does not have a specific pandemic plan, any plan that considers a "significant absence" of employees may work as an alternative plan.

The standard model used in pandemic planning is to consider what would happen to a business if 40% of the workforce was absent for an extended period of time.

In 2006, in response to earlier concerns about the bird flu, Gartner Inc. offered specific suggestion to IT departments, such as storing 42 gallons of water per data center worker, enough for a six-week quarantine.  This may seem a little extreme, but I have to ask the question, How prepared are you?  Maybe a our IT Wellness Check could shed some light

I got an interesting call last week from an individual that had a Websphere production problem.  What made the call interesting was that it was from one of our competitors wanting us to help figure out what the problem was.  So I guess we are officially the IT Consultants to the IT Consultants.   I guess we are easier to deal with than IBM.

Fortunately we were able to point them in the right direction.  In retrospect, the process we went through to narrow down what the problem was would make a good post, so here it is:

The call started out like this: We've been having this problem for two days; we don’t know why this started happening.  My immediate question back was this:  What changed two days ago?  They insisted, nothing had changed, and so they e-mailed the server logs that contained the error messages to me.   The root message indicated the server was out of database connections.

So back to the root question, what changed?  Did they have more users?  Did any of the code change?  Did they do an upgrade, restore a backup?  Finally, we found the answer.  An application developer did make a change.  In making the code changes, the application developer failed to close out the database connection.  Guess what? The server eventually ran out of database connections and therefore created the problem.

So the lesson we've learned here when dealing with application development or IT infrastructure problems is to always ask the basic question what's changed? or what's different?  Nine times out of ten, that will lead you to the answer.

Organizations that build strong value-driven cultures frequently achieve high performance.  The values that are developed must touch every department in the organization or the overall operation will fall short of its targeted goals.

As an IT consulting firm in Cincinnati, we see many different approaches from many different companies and it is the “out-of-the-box thinkers that seem to continually apply lateral thought process on a continual basis and always stay a few steps ahead of their competition.

One would think that IT departments would observe and learn from this but way too often they do not pay attention to the business drivers of the organization and continue to stay with the same IT infrastructure year in and year out and resist change on any level.

There are those that would argue that “if it isn’t broke don’t fix it” and I agree to a point but I believe that if IT professionals are going to contribute to building a strong value-driven culture that works to achieve the business goals of the organization they are going to have to look at new approaches that may enhance the very work they are held accountable for.

Being responsible for business development for our Cincinnati IT consulting firm, over the past couple of weeks I have approached several clients and potential clients with some new value propositions.  Many do not want to talk about them, nor are some even curious on what they are.  Everyone has a full plate and little capacity for a new application development services, IT training or IT consulting project.

However, here is a question that I have for these individuals.  If it is true that information technology changes every fifteen to eighteen months, how can the IT systems and enterprise IT applications that you have had in place for the last three to five years continue to be relevant or simply as efficient as they could be?  Do you not owe it to yourself to at least listen to what an IT consulting firm here in Cincinnati has to offer?  Perhaps that IT consultant has significant experience with a solution that can make a difference but you are unaware of it because you are resistant to change and everything is running 'smoothly'.  I can understand your hesitation but what if the new solution could greatly improve your IT infrastructure, decrease costs, fuel improved productivity or more effectively balance your IT staffing needs?   Wouldn’t it behoove you to at least listen?
 

In weak economic conditions, your company’s decision makers need the ability to understand how the company is performing against its targets. They simply do not have the time to sift through stacks of reports to find out what’s right – or wrong.  By linking applications, processes and information technology support together any organization will be able to measure exactly how they are performing against their targets.

The management team of any organization uses dashboards, gauges, charts and other graphical elements to translate complex information into a dynamic view of business conditions.  Is it possible to take this same approach when it comes to mapping IT’s relevance to the business targets of the organization?  The short answer is absolutely, but one must start with a plan and that plan should begin with an IT Wellness Check™.

In the IT consulting industry we find too many organizations that try to piecemeal their information technology systems together.  The problem with this is the mere fact that everyone everywhere is dependent on technology, and in this environment, every CIO and IT manager must know that their IT departments are in line with the business goals of the organization.  In these times of economic downturn downturn IT departments are one of the first departments to be cut.  In many cases, this results in the slowdown of production and contributes to missing the business targets of the organization.

An IT Wellness Check™ protects against economic challenges by shoring up internal operations to ensure the entire organization is running at peak efficiency.  IT is a vital part of any organization's internal operations, and a proper IT strategy is critical for IT departments to gain insight and to connect operational details to business drivers.  The IT Wellness Check™ is your business plan to make sure there are no inefficiencies, that you are operationally sound and that there is less chance that your budgets and your department will get cut.  That application development services project that you are trying to get approved will have a better chance of acceptance if you can show exactly how it relates to the business goals of the organization.

Remember, non-technical people often do not realize the consequences of the actions they take when they cut budgets and staff.  It is our job as responsible information technology professionals to make sure we are always operating at peak efficiency and paint the picture for upper management that shows why specific people, applications or IT infrastructure are necessary to assist them in meeting the business targets of the organization.
 

I read today that unemployment has risen to 7.6%.  Yes, its official – we are in a recession.  However, that does not mean there isn’t opportunity because there is.  If everyone believed everything the press is saying our economy does not have a chance and the United States is going to cease to exist.

I also read today that the U.S. government is going to re-visit its parameters for H-1B Visas because they are being used by recruiting body shops rather than giving foreign nationals the real opportunity that they seek.  This means that application developers and specialist are going to be able to make up ground that they have lost to foreign nationals in the past.

My suggestion is for developers to increase their skill-set now before the economy begins to get worse.  Information technology consulting has never been a steady business it always has had peaks and valleys.  When the economy is good projects are plentiful.  When it starts to decline projects usually come to a grinding halt.  But is you have multiple skills it decrease your odds of becoming a statistic.

Organizations try to do more and more internally rather than outsource it when the economy begins to falter.  The more skills a person has the better chances one has to stay employed.  This holds true for IT staffing, development and consulting.  Additionally, when a developer or infrastructure architect can show an organization how to safe time, investment and people through the implementation of their solution they will endear themselves to that particular organization.

Good information technology strategy can more than pay for itself in this economy.  Organizations everywhere are dependent on technology and they need processes to become dynamically automated so they can accomplish more with less while the move towards models of efficiency that will contribute to the productivity of the organization.

Make it your mission to learn more applications and methodologies that can greatly increase the productivity of any company.  To do this is to build value for the organization and you by ensuring there will always be a job for those that are willing to innovate and create a better way.  

This is your opportunity.  Make it happen!

I have been a part of the Cincinnati Information Technology community for twenty one years now.  In that time I have seen many changes, but if there is one constant it is the need to establish and nurture relationships. While this can be a valuable asset it also can be a detriment for information technology departments that are seeking the best IT business solutions for their company.

As a native Cincinnatian who also has also lived and worked an extended amount of time on the West Coast I have had the opportunity to compare and contrast the different business environments.  In Cincinnati people really have to know and trust you before they are willing to do business with you.  In other parts of the nation the relationship is not quite so intimate.

I believe in the old saying “different strokes for different folks” but sometimes habits and traditions can get in the way of progress.  I sell for a living and establishing new business in Cincinnati can have more than its fair set of challenges.  People do not like change for the most part they like familiar and comfortable instead.  Comfortable can make your IT business vulnerable and if you are a CIO that likes to maintain the “status quo,” you could be missing out on a new technology that can be a difference maker simply because you were unwilling to entertain anything new.

The value of listening to a new consultant is that they can bring valuable insight and insight to a situation or problem that you had not previously considered.  In these economic times, organizations need to embrace new solutions that can do more with less and put you at a real competitive advantage.  If you have kept the same vendor for let’s say five years how do you know what else is out there?  Do you regularly measure you IT infrastructure against the best practices in the industry?

Technology changes every eighteen months and often times sooner than that.  If you have not listened to other consultants or recently conducted an IT Wellness or optimization check, how do you know that the applications or the infrastructure developed meets the needs of the organizations business goals and objectives?  Do you know how to build the business case for management that will preclude your IT department from getting budget reductions during these critical times?

Organizations have become extremely dependent on technology and understand that with the right applications business processes and methodologies they can make a real difference in the entire operation.  CIO's owe it to themselves to continually research and put themselves in the position of entertaining new approaches and new ideas.   Regardless of how comfortable you may be with your current supplier do you not owe it to yourself and your company to at least listen when you approached by a new supplier? I appreciate our tradition in Cincinnati to develop long-standing relationships, but perhaps we should question if these long-standing relationships are giving us everything we need from an IT perspective.  What is my suggestion?  The next time I call perhaps you might want to speak with me because I just might have a solution for a problem that you never considered before and it just may be the difference maker you have been searching for.
 

With the success of the iPhone, and new releases by Google and Blackberry, it is clear that the next generation of phones will find their way into business users’ hands. What does this mean for application development team members?

First, a little opinionated history of the telephone industry. As a mandated monopoly for many years, telco technology was stagnated until it were forcibly separated. Technologies like the cell phone were created after they were forced to compete. The recent re-consolidation of the "Baby Bells" is showing that profit is more important than innovation. Fortunately, companies like Apple and Google are pushing the technology.

Unlike other countries, the U.S. has large population bases spread out over thousands of miles. There are many areas today without Internet or cell phone coverage. "The last mile" installation has been a hotly contested issue for a while now. Countries in Europe and Asia have exceedingly fast networks. For example, Japan is working on pushing HD movies on demand to the phone. Russia has created its own WiMax service that gives their country better service and coverage.

On the good side, it means there are new interesting applications to develop. I wrote about some applications in an earlier post. These were consumer applications, but could easily be adapted for business. Locating field staff graphically would have a big use in business. Taking a picture of a part, and having the server recognize the part and send a replacement would another example of using the new technology in unforeseen ways. Technologies like Flex and  JavaFX will make life for application development team members easier to create the next generation applications.

On the bad side however, is the US cell phone infrastructure. Unreliable, slow networks and conflicting technologies will limit the usage and types of applications written. Application development team members will be frustrated in writing applications that don’t have enough bandwidth to perform.

Will it improve? Time will tell. Clearly the existing service providers are not interested with improving service, and would even like to charge more for access. Once business demands better service, things could improve. The new president is looking to give Internet access for all children. For that to happen, we would need a network that is comparable to the rest of the world. Some even think this issue is so important to our country, a "mobile space race" is necessary.

I think it has to happen, or we will be left behind economically. More workers can telework if the infrastructure is there. That saves valuable energy, and also changes how and even where people live. A federally funded initiative would create a lot of jobs in developing IT infratstructure, networking, and application development, and would greatly benefit not only business, but all of this country.