What is this thing called cloud computing? Do you really need to know about it? Does your company need to do something right now? And, bottom line, what are the implications for finance organizations?

Managers usually assess the value of an IT project through return on investment (ROI), but for long-duration, ongoing IT efforts that may serve multiple uses, companies should look at a "return on assets" (ROA) approach, according to Miko Matsumura, chief strategist at Software AG.

While analytic methods have been available for some time, new insights and a demand for greater predictability are accelerating the application of analytics in business decision-making.

Following federal data privacy mandates such as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act is tough, but keeping up with states' laws is even more of a challenge. The latest Massachusetts data privacy protection regulation, MA 201CMR 17, is regarded as the strictest of all privacy laws and could potentially be adopted by other states. There are two steps you can take to minimize the risk to your organization and those whose personal data you hold.

With many organizations facing reduced resources assigned to maintaining control, the case is strong for finding ways to use technology to be on guard 24/7. Here are several key ideas that explain the concept of continuous auditing/controls monitoring and how it might be useful to your organization.

It's frustrating enough when a colleague takes forever to get you that crucial number you need for your spreadsheet, but chances are it's wrong anyway because it's a crude average -- and averages are deeply flawed data. Instead companies should use a distribution string (DIST) and new technology tools to run complex simulations, according to Sam Savage in The Flaw of Averages.

Companies large and small are racing to virtualize their servers, storage, desktops, and networks in an effort to simplify and consolidate, mainly for the purpose of saving money. However, as organizations expand their virtualization efforts, these environments pose significant management risks.

How much of your IT infrastructure should you outsource? If you strive to be world-class, think more rather than less. According to the Hackett Group, world-class companies outsource a significantly larger percentage of their IT processes than their peer group companies.

In this interview, Courion Vice President Kurt Johnson explains the system access risks that exist when companies do not turn off past employees' user accounts.

Unstructured processes, which by definition, are just that -- unstructured, not amenable to declarative descriptions and modeling -- are very difficult to manage because it is unlikely that they'll be repeated exactly the same way. So how should you tackle them? Currently companies can either go with a handful of vendors that have built in unstructured management capabilities or else try their luck with business process management (BPM) tools, which generally require a specific documented process that you can describe and model.

What does social networking technology bring to financial portals? Users will soon find out. Vendors like IBM and Microsoft are promoting the portal in the cloud as the combination of the classic information portal and Web 2.0 technology. Gartner says, “To differentiate their offerings, horizontal portal vendors are incorporating support for enterprise mashups and social networking.”

Companies that don't immediately shut down terminated workers' access rights to company systems following a layoff are asking for trouble. If left with user privileges, former employees can use these "zombie accounts" to access important data or attack the system.

How integrated are your company's sales forecasting and demand planning (SFDP) activities? Combining these forward-looking functions can increase innovation and effectiveness. Read Ventana Research's Analyst Note "Integrate Sales Forecasting and Demand Planning" in the BPM Resource Center to learn more.

The 6th Annual BPM Summit brought together some of the business world's foremost practitioners to explore the transformational role of finance in the enterprise. If you missed the live event, you can still enjoy access to the audio and slide shows from the keynote presentations at our on-demand archive.