Internet-Age Distributors More Sophisticated
The Internet age has not only revolutionized business processes, but also introduced a new distributor model.
The Internet age has not only revolutionized business processes, but also introduced a new distributor model.
The growing prominence of electronic business is in turn resulting in brisk growth for the business intelligence (BI) market, according BI vendors and analysts Computerworld spoke with. BI is the process of accessing and presenting to end-users information which has been stored in a data warehouse, or relational databases.
Multi-application cards are likely to drive the next phase of smartcard adoption, said Amedeo D'Angelo, vice president, Smart Card Development, Oberthur Card Systems, in an interview.
Senior management in Singapore is the key impediment to e-business implementation, according to a survey conducted by Compuware Corp. Asia-Pacific and Interactive On-Line (IKO). Despite the current excitement surrounding business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce, which is expected to be more significant than business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce, the study found that organizations were at different stages of awareness and readiness.
The user interface to ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems of the future, will be enterprise portals, "which is the doorway, the opening to the next-generation GUI (graphical user interface)," said Row Henson, vice president, Global human resource product strategy, Peoplesoft Inc.
Computerworld caught up with Nick Shelness, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Lotus Development Corp., and a freshly minted IBM Corp. Fellow, during his recent visit to Singapore. Acting as a technical spokesperson for the company, he is also responsible for product development, and coordinates research between IBM and Lotus.
Singapore-based company AceFusion.com has launched FusionHub, touted to be Asia's first integrated electronic logistics portal, with logistics management offerings for various delivery modes -- land transportation, air and sea freight, express courier services, and warehousing.
IT services company Origin BV, together with Baan Co. NV and Microsoft Corp., have set up a regional CRM Competency Center of Excellence here to showcase and aid the implementation of CRM (customer relationship management) applications.
With clearly stated ambitions of becoming the "Yahoo of the WAP world", homegrown company Wapworkz Technologies Pte. Ltd. has officially launched its WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) search engine and portal.
Asia has a role to play in the upcoming electronic services arena, according to Ann Livermore, president, Enterprise Computing, Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP).
Oracle Corp. has announced the E-Business Continuity Program, targeted at companies of any size involved with e-business. This program will provide the framework to bring together new software developments, professional services and partnerships aimed at eliminating downtime.
Asia is on the verge of an internet retail revolution, predicted Scott Desmarais, head of The Boston Consulting Group's (BCG) e-commerce practice area in Southeast Asia.
Local companies are reluctant to invest in business intelligence software, choosing to focus on the cost involved and not the business advantage, said George Kane, regional manager for Brio Technology South East Asia.
An electronic commerce think-tank, ec.Think, has been set up to define and promote the Singapore electronic economy (eEconomy), via research and recognition programs.
Broadcom has opened a new design center in Singapore, the second one outside of the United States.
This is expected to provide extended coverage for Broadcom operations, bringing it closer to customers and manufacturers in the region. The company designs integrated circuits for the broadband communications market.
"Our expansion in Asia reflects our growing international customer base as well as the requirement to continue to exceed the demands of our round-the-clock, 365-days-a-year manufacturing needs," said Henry T. Nicholas III, president and CEO of Broadcom, during ceremonies at the center.