At the University of Oslo (UiO), CERT manager Margrete Raaum learned of a network attack on Titan, a high-performance computing cluster that supported research conducted by scientists at CERT and other research institutions across Europe. The case describes the incident response, investigation, and clarification of the information security events that took place. As soon as Raaum learned of the attack, she ordered that the system be disconnected from the Internet to contain the damage. Next, she launched an investigation,which over a few days pieced together logs from previous weeks to identify suspicious activity and locate the attack vector. Raaum hopes to soon return Titan to its prior safe condition. In order to do so, she must decide what tasks still need to be completed to validate the systems and determine if it is safe to reconnect it to the Internet. She must also consider further steps to improve her team's ability to prevent, detect, and respond to similar incidents in the future. This case is designed for an undergraduate or graduate information security (infosec) class that includes students with varied technical and business backgrounds. The case supports discussion of technical and managerial infosec issues in interorganizational systems - a topic that is currently underrepresented in major case collections.

CAM for the price of €1. The President of Banco Sabadell Josep Oliu announced at a press conference on the 8 December 2012 that BCAM, a similar size to its acquirer, must be integrated in less than 1 year. Banco Sabadell management expected €331 million in synergies from 2012 to 2014. The case focuses on Miquel Montes, the new CEO in Banco CAM, and his team; Federico Rodriguez, new Chief Operations Officer; and Carles Abarca, new Chief Information Officer. Banco Sabadell had developed a cloud computing architecture never tested before in mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Despite Sabadell management's strong and proven experience of M&As, there were risks associated with the benefits. Students need to understand both in order to understand how to plan in such situations

Raimund Vogl is the project leader of a large-scale project that aims to introduce a university based cloud storage service to major German universities. He needs to convince other universities to join the project. The case is based on a real situation and shows real challenges. The university-based scenario helps students to better put themselves in the context of the case. Furthermore, the case serves to teach the basic principles, risks, and benefits of cloud computing. The main challenge faced by the protagonist is to come up with a plan for organizational and user adoption. Accordingly, several technology-related theories can be used. In addition to user adoption theories such as the technology acceptance model, this case demonstrates the need of Sync&Share NRW to be perceived as a trustworthy provider. The case helps to understand the concept of trust, the relationship between trust and cloud computing acceptance, and ways to gain trust in the context of cloud computing.

The accounting industry is being disrupted by the introduction of cloud-based accounting information systems (AIS) that allow for a more efficient allocation of work between the accountant and the client company. In cloud-based AIS, the accountant and the client company as well as third parties such as auditors can simultaneously work on the data in real time. This, in turn, enables a much more granular division of work between the parties. This teaching case considers Kluuvin Apteekki, a small pharmacy business whose owner faces critical management decisions on how to embrace this new opportunity to move to the cloud. Students are guided to evaluate the advantages and drawbacks of cloud computing in the specific context of accounting services. Also, the owner must make a set of critical decisions concerning which tasks to outsource. The accounting process comprises of several tasks and sub-tasks, adding to the complexity of the decision making problem. The main learning outcome of the case is related to the development of the skills and competencies needed in creating a strong business case for implementing IT-enabled business processes.

When KBC Bank introduced their mobile banking application in 2011 they delivered much more than a piece of software. Mobile banking was a way to focus on their customers and rebuild trust. Yet, this case is not so much about what they delivered but how they delivered it. Agile development brought along both challenges and opportunities for KBC. The case explores how agile compares to traditional ways of ICT development. Can banks, given the new digital challenges, really build their future ICT portfolios on agile development?

Southern Bell Corporation, now AT&T, decided to upgrade its existing networks by extending its optical fiber network only to the neighborhood nodes and use existing telephone twisted pair copper wires to connect nodes with households. Leaders of Verizon Communications, on the other hand, decided to extend their optical fiber network all the way to homes at much higher cost. The choice of which of the two approaches was a better business decision is the main dilemma in the case. The network upgrades were necessary to keep telecommunication operators competitive with cable television companies, which after they upgraded their networks started offering the 'triple play,' a combination of video programming, telephone, and Internet services. The case reviews the history of telecommunication and cable industries in the United States, which leads to exploration of the key issues including (i) whether, and if so how competition in the telecommunication industry is even possible, (ii) how much bandwidth do we really need, and (iii) what is the effect of various compression techniques, convergence of digital technologies, and what other countries are doing. The case (describing the state of the industry at about the start of 2011) addresses an issue affecting all of us as we decide what services to select for our entertainment and communication needs.

Modern business problems are ill-defined, ill-structured and require collective action in order to solve them. As a result, the authors argue, modern business problem solvers need to embrace Model-Based Problem Solving. They describe a new discipline that is nurtured by decades of scientific thinking and practice, with four components: model building, model testing, model calibration and model fusion. Key to the approach is recognizing-and addressing-the issues that arise whenever people work together. They provide advice for harnessing disagreement and turning it into productive and generative tension.

Our schools, their curricula and their governance structures are part of society's purpose-built knowledge infrastructure. The problem is, many of today's most successful leaders believe this infrastructure is not up for the job it was designed for: Bill Gates has said that our schools "cannot teach our kids what they need to know today." The authors argue that we will always face the challenge of matching our knowledge infrastructure with the skills we need tomorrow; and instead of constantly trying to fill that gap, our purpose should be to enable students to overcome the gap effectively themselves, throughout their lives.

Entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs have exceled at demonstrating a highly valuable skill: spotting unmet market needs and figuring out how to serve them profitably. In short, they excel at anticipation. The authors describe three techniques for 'tuning in' to customer signals in order to better anticipate how tastes and needs are changing. They also describe the perils of 'tunnel vision' and provide three techniques for avoiding it.

Across industries, businesses are globalizing at a remarkable rate. However, the authors argue that there is a severe shortage of executives and managers who are capable of seizing all of the available opportunities. Based on their research at the Thunderbird School of Global Management, they define 'the Global Mindset' and its three components: Global Intellectual Capital, Global Psychological Capital and Global Social Capital. They then describe how to choose between finding people with this mindset or growing a global mindset, and the steps involved in each.

In a world of true meritocracy, every individual-regardless of gender-would be fairly rewarded for their contribution. The problem, according to the author, is that such meritocracy does not exist in most organizations. She argues that the procedures and 'frames of reference' in most firms devalue women's contributions and reinforce the privileges of dominant groups. If we want to make meritocracy a reality, she says, men and women alike must confront their biases towards women. She provides eight strategies for getting closer to a true meritocracy, including 'training anyone in an evaluative position to understand implicit bias' and 'examining systems and procedures for unintended bias'.

The idea that 'less is often more' is thousands of years old, but the author describes how powerful it is in a modern business setting. He provides three key principles that can be applied in any organization: what isn't there often trumps what is; the simplest rules create the most effective experience; and limiting information engages the imagination. In the end, he shows that by focusing on what to ignore, what to leave out and what not to do, workplace decisions become exponentially simpler.

In order to master Big Data, businesses must put aside much of what they know about 'working with data' and adopt new mindsets, technologies and capabilities. The authors, all from the Boston Consulting Group, describe the key capabilities required in three areas: data usage, the data engine itself and the data ecosystem. By following their guidelines, they argue, companies can realize the full potential of Big Data faster than they might think-and more importantly, faster than their competitors.

Governments around the world are under unprecedented pressure to identify more cost-effective ways to deliver their services and produce better societal outcomes. As a result, they have begun to embrace approaches to innovation favoured by the private sector, including Design Thinking. With its customer-centric approach, Design Thinking encourages what the authors call 'citizen-centred design'. They provide a tool kit for policy makers and implementers alike that aims to tackle everything from tactical issues (i.e. getting a repeat prescription) to wider problems, such as supporting people in managing their health.

Most people define 'genius' as a person with a towering IQ; but the author argues that a genius is "anyone who turns insight into innovation, and in the process, changes our view of the world." He provides 10 time-tested principles to ignite an endless cycle of creative growth, including 'Feel before you think', 'See what's not there' and 'wish for what you want'. In the end, he shows that true innovation is an act of protest: a rebellion against rules that, in some cases, have hardened into laws. The job of the innovator, he says, is to defy those laws in the quest for creative solutions.

In this wide-ranging interview, one of the world's leading business psychologists describes the value of becoming a 'first-class Noticer'. Doing so, he argues, enables one to avoid the perils of 'inattentional blindness', 'motivated blindness' and 'bounded awareness'-all of which are pervasive in modern organizations, he says. He also defines 'leadership-driven noticing', why it is such a vital skill, and the ways in which it is absent on many corporate boards and in the auditing industry.

In his youth Chambers had no interest in technology--until an IBM recruiter suggested that he think of it as a tool for helping customers transform their businesses. Then stints at IBM and Wang taught him that even great companies are imperiled if they miss a market transition, such as the shift from mainframe computers to minicomputers or from minicomputers to PCs. In the 20 years since he became Cisco's CEO, a whole series of transitions have occurred in the kinds of technology companies rely on and in how organizations consume solutions. Anticipating those transitions and getting ahead of them has driven Cisco's evolution from routers and switches to mobile and video technology to application-centric infrastructure and cloud computing. The company has three ways to adapt: (1) If it sees a shift early enough, it develops the new technology in-house, as part of the traditional R&D process. In addition, its Entrepreneurs in Residence program financially supports and mentors early-stage entrepreneurs working in areas where Cisco sees huge potential, such as big data analytics and enterprise security. (2) It may make an acquisition--as it has done 174 times. (3) It may use a "spin-in," assembling some engineers and developers to work on a specific project outside the company, as if they were at a start-up. "You have to be bold," Chambers writes. And you need "a resilient culture with an appetite for change."

The use of 3-D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, has moved well beyond prototyping, rapid tooling, trinkets, and toys. Companies such as GE, Lockheed Martin, and BMW are switching to it for industrial production at scale. More companies will follow as the range of printable materials continues to expand. Already available are basic plastics, photosensitive resins, ceramics, cement, glass, numerous metals, thermoplastic composites (some infused with carbon nanotubes and fibers), and even stem cells. In this article the author makes the case that additive manufacturing will gain ground quickly given advantages including greater flexibility, fewer assembly steps and other cost savings, and enhanced product design possibilities. Managers, he writes, should now be engaging with strategic questions on three levels: (1) Sellers of tangible products should ask how their offerings could be improved, whether by themselves or by competitors. (2) Industrial enterprises should revisit their operations to determine what network of supply chain assets and what mix of old and new processes will be optimal. (3) Leaders must consider the strategic implications as whole commercial ecosystems begin to form around the new realities of 3-D printing. Many of the biggest players already in the business of additive manufacturing are vying to develop the platforms on which other companies will build and connect. Platform owners will be powerful because production itself is likely to become commoditized over time. Those facilitating connections in the digital ecosystem will sit in the middle of a tremendous volume of industrial transactions, collecting and selling valuable information.

Everyone from CEOs to frontline workers commits preventable mistakes-for example, underestimating how long it will take to finish a project or focusing too much on information that supports their current view. It is extraordinarily difficult to rewire the human brain to undo the patterns that lead to such mistakes. But there is another approach: Alter the environment in ways that encourage people to make decisions that lead to good outcomes. Leaders can do this by restructuring how work is performed, say Harvard Business School's John Beshears and Francesca Gino. In this article, they offer a five-step process for mitigating the effects of cognitive biases and low motivation on decision making: Understand the kinds of systematic errors people make and the factors that affect motivation. Define the problem to determine whether behavioral issues are at play. Diagnose the specific underlying causes. Design a way to tweak the environment to reduce or mitigate the negative impact of cognitive biases and insufficient motivation on decisions. Rigorously test the proposed solution.

When making decisions, we all rely too heavily on intuition and use flawed reasoning. But it's possible to fight these pernicious sources of bias by learning to spot them and using the techniques presented in this article, gleaned from the latest research. They'll open up your thinking about possible outcomes, objectives, and options and lead to better choices. To broaden your perspective on the future, the authors suggest, you can use proven tactics for improving the accuracy of estimates and preparing for contingencies. You'll think more expansively about your objectives if you come up with many possibilities before deciding what's most important, get input from others, and then carefully examine one goal at a time. And you'll generate better options if you identify several and evaluate them side by side. Don't settle for the first one that's acceptable; imagine that you can't pursue it, and you might find an even stronger alternative. Strong emotional attachments or investments make cognitive biases even harder to overcome. When that's the case, use checklists and algorithms to stay focused on the right things, and set "trip wires" to trigger planned responses at key points in the decision-making process.