Stories by David Legard

Lucent, OneTel eye European 3G mobile market

Australian telco OneTel and Lucent have yesterday announced a strategic alliance to pursue business opportunities in third generation (3G) mobile networks in the UK and Western Europe.

Asian ISP forms new e-commerce unit

Pacific Internet, a regional ISP in Asia, has formed a new company to focus exclusively on developing e-commerce opportunities in the region.

IBM: E-commerce users face 'value chasm'

Australian companies are still crossing the e-commerce "security chasm" between having a simple Web presence and running basic e-commerce applications, according to an IBM official.

Global Crossing forms $US1.2b venture in Hong Kong

Global Crossing and Hong Kong-based conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa have agreed to form a $US1.2 billion joint venture to pursue fixed-line telecommunications and internet opportunities in Hong Kong and China.

SingTel, KDD Link to Serve Corporate Customers

Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (SingTel) and KDD Corp. of Japan will form a US$350 million joint venture and enter into a strategic partnership to provide a common services platform for corporate customers in Asia and around the world. The joint services offering will include ATM (asynchronous transfer mode), frame relay, international leased circuits and services based on IP (Internet protocol), the companies said in a statement issued yesterday.

Cable &Wireless $56m half-year loss

Cable & Wireless Hong Kong (C&W HKT) has reported a loss of $HK2.77 billion ($A56 million) for the first half of its financial year ended 30 September, compared with a profit of $HK6.1 billion for the year-earlier period.

Survey: IS managers under more pressure than ever

Information systems managers are being asked to roll out new applications at record speed while maintaining security, responding to unpredictable loads generated by internet business and minimising system downtime, according a survey of 808 senior IS managers worldwide recently carried out by market researcher Find/SVP.

Use technology wisely, Keating urges

New technologies such as the internet and mobile communications will shape the way the world develops, but political and industrial leaders must ensure that the technologies are used responsibly, according to former prime minister Paul Keating.

SAP to offer wireless access to corporate data

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software vendor SAP plans to offer executives on the move the ability to receive alerts and updates about their business through mobile phones and pagers, the company announced yesterday.

ASPs target small businesses for e-commerce

Small and medium-sized businesses are the main focus of attempts by application service providers (ASPs) to introduce their Internet-based applications outsourcing model to the market, according to the results from two studies released recently.
The ASP market will surpass $US22 billion by 2003, up from $889 million in 1998, Gartner Group's Dataquest unit said, announcing results from a recent survey.

Get "Clicks and Bricks" Sun's Zander Tells CIOs

Companies that want to survive the massive changes to business caused by the Internet must combine a Web presence with a fast and robust distribution setup - a mixture of clicks and bricks, according to Sun Microsystems Inc. President and Chief Operating Officer Ed Zander.
Speaking to a gathering of senior IT executives here yesterday, Zander said that the business world is now two to three years into a 20-year process of disintermediation, where direct online contact between buyer and seller replaces traditional third-party channels.

Singapore Plans to Free Up 3G Mobile Market

Singapore will open its third-generation (3G) mobile telecommunications market to up to six operators, the country's regulator, TAS (Telecommunications Authority of Singapore), proposed last week.

Apps-on-tap seen as ideal model for Asia

Using applications as services delivered over the Internet is emerging as an important model for small-to-medium sized Asian businesses, said Rick Yvanovich, chief executive officer of Singapore-based application service provider (ASP) TR Group International.
The benefits of the `apps-on-tap' model include lower, predictable costs, better data security, wider access options and less need to employ skilled staff, he said. `The key is keeping the costs predictable for end users through fixed-price contracts,' Yvanovich said. `This is very important for small and medium enterprises [SMEs] who are our main target market.'

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