This month, seven interesting scholars will arrive in Tempe to join the full-time faculty of the Department of Information Systems. Their research probes the advance edges of practice, and their findings will enrich the classroom, further equipping W. P.

In most PhD programs at American universities, students spend their first two years in the classroom, taking seminars and basic courses before exploring independent research in subsequent years.

Technology now enables organizations to amass and organize vast quantities of data about business processes and customers. Data can deliver efficiency and competitive advantage, but businesses must be able to use the information they collect strategically.

Last week I delivered an invited keynote panel presentation at the 8th IEEE World Congress on Services where IEEE made a major announcement about cloud computing.

With chapters in countries across the globe, the Society for Information Management is the premier organization worldwide for senior IT executives. SIM is also a key partner with the Department on Information Management in developing professional talent.

MSIM alumnus Lisa Perez says that data from her recycling business shows that 14 to 22 percent of waste generated by resorts and events is food scraps. Fruits and vegetables can be composted, but not meat, so businesses have had little reason to recycle food scraps.

The Department of Information Systems Executive Advisory Board is a team of CIOs and top level IT professionals who assist the department in evaluating and improving curriculum and making important program decisions.

Outsourcing, offshoring and the dot-com meltdown have taken their toll: Students are avoiding information-systems careers. However, companies still need high-tech talent, and are facing increasing difficulty in filling positions. Experts at the W. P.

When a big software company releases a new product it often comes with the now ubiquitous "version" number: 1.0, 2.0, etc. In the past few years, a second version of the Web has emerged with the moniker Web 2.0.

The premise of best-selling author Don Tapscott's new book, "Wikinomics," is a message that is either frightening or exhilarating, depending on your place in the business world and your willingness to embrace the inexorably rising tide of mass collaboration in a digitally-driven culture.