Stories by Lori Mitchell

Future Watch: Webtops key to keeping users connected

With today's dispersed workforce and the ever-changing computer industry, organisations are consistently in a state of flux trying to keep end users up-to-date with the latest upgrades and rollouts of company-wide applications.

The privacy problem

As customers grow increasingly concerned about privacy issues, companies confront a daunting dilemma. Building trust becomes more and more important in the race for customers and theri loyalty as companies strive to establish appealing, dynamic sites that draw shoppers. Lori Mitchell reports

Privacy online is a hot topic these days for both businesses - especially e-commerce sites - and shoppers. Companies struggle to build trust with their online visitors, hoping to turn them into customers. On the other side, online shoppers are sceptical of Internet security practices, and making an initial purchase frightens them.

WelcomHome Helps Project Staff Succeed

Bringing teams together via the Web has become a crucial part of managing projects across an enterprise. Web collaboration in some cases is the only method for keeping projects on schedule.

E-Learning Makes the Grade

To compete in today's lightning-fast business world, your employees must be up to speed on the latest and greatest technologies, whether they're getting Cisco-certified training or Java programming skills. IT admins, managers, sales staff, and field technicians need to stay current to do their jobs accurately. And if training is a core value in your company, you can attract new employees and retain those already in your workforce.

ProcureIT: Web-Based Procurement More Efficient

Keeping track of order processing and inventory management -- a job called procurement -- can be an extremely tedious and costly process. Many IT managers have experienced major logistical headaches with their companies' procurement processes, especially those with traditional routing systems that require employees to manually route purchase orders and track product inventory. To decrease the cost and hasten the process, companies have begun subscribing to Web-based procurement systems.

BayBuilder Delivers Profitable Reverse Auctions

If your next move is to make doing business via the Internet more dynamic but you want to devote as few IT resources as possible to the job, you should investigate the options offered by ASPs (application service providers). BayBuilder offers an outsourced solution for conducting digital exchanges, handling all customization for a branded reverse auction site for surprisingly little money.

Dynamic Trade Boosts Business

Large businesses with many supplier and customer relationships can make conducting business on the Web significantly easier. By turning to a model with dynamic pricing capabilities, such as Ariba Inc. Dynamic Trade, companies can focus the supply and demand of goods and services, increase their global supplier and customer reach, and reduce operational costs.

Entice Melds E-Commerce, E-CRM

Building an e-commerce site is just the first step in developing a strong online storefront. In the long run, the success of your company's ecommerce site depends on fostering good customer relationships with current shoppers and potential buyers.

iBooks.com Keeps IT Staff's Skill Sharp

IT professionals rely on the latest release of technical books to keep their skills current and to assist them in their jobs. For everyone from hard-core programmers to phone-savvy help desk personnel, finding up-to-date information is critical to succeeding with a task or helping a customer in need.

Product Review: Intershop Simplifies Storefront Creation

Although most companies interested in establishing an electronic-commerce presence want to get their sites up and running and taking orders yesterday, it takes time to plan and develop an online storefront solution. Nevertheless, Intershop Version 4.0, from Intershop, is designed to get ecommerce sites up and running quickly; this latest version comes in several flavors that target individual companies of all sizes, as well as commerce service providers, or CSPs.

[]