IBM’s push at the small and medium business (SMB) market with its Express middleware software is part of a move comparable to the company’s strategic shift into services a decade ago, according to Steven Worrall, general manager, commercial sector, ANZ, IBM Australia.
After what seems like a thousand years (but probably closer to five or six) IP telephony has pushed its way over Gartner’s hype mountain, through the trough of disillusionment and is hauling its way up the slope of enlightenment towards the plateau of productivity.
Journalists love reports from Auditor General’s slamming this or that. Easy, dramatic stories to write. Somewhere, buried beneath the noise created by such headline-grabbing reports are some hardworking public servants (not an oxymoron), including IT pros, beavering away implementing project x, y or z. I reckon those involved with Victoria’s Electronic Commerce for Procurement (EC4P) have copped a bit of a harsh slap. Let’s face it, early projections of “annual $60 million to $240 million” savings always had as much credibility as an online dog walking service. E-market procurement initiatives aren’t magic money machines. But if savings of $11 million will actually be realised this year as a result of EC4P, then that’s nothing to sneeze at.
Put the words “conspiracy”, “Microsoft” and “Linux” all in one headline and you have a recipe for an online headline hit. As a result I know SCO’s run at Linux is an issue generating a lot of amusement or concern, I’m just not sure which.
I was surprised by the nod given to Web services by some of our readers back in February. The Quickpoll question “is your organisation using Web services” yielded the answers already deployed (30 per cent), projects under development (19 per cent), under consideration (19 per cent) and no plans to do so (32 per cent).
It’s hard for me to judge if the spam problem really is insurmountable. The evidence of the 1309 messages in my inbox suggests it’s annoying, but not yet an e-mail killer. Then again my address is on our Web site and I’ve found the Lotus Notes R5 mail management rules too cumbersome to be bothered with.
You’d be a dunce not to be suspicious of reports of rising computer crime and online attacks originating from companies that profit from protecting us against such threats. That’s why results of independent surveys conducted by Australia’s national computer emergency response team (AusCert) sound more interesting than the usual industry alarm bells.
Industry veteran Max Goldsmith, CEO of XSI, has strong views on outsourcing. While he admits to making some wild predictions, he reckons that within the next four years big-ticket outsourcing will disappear. Where it persists, he claims, is where it is too hard to reverse earlier decisions.
I know some IT managers are flat chat when 30-minute meetings with interlopers such as myself have to be scheduled at least four weeks out or when the time can’t even be spared at all.
Betta Stores Limited (BSL), the retail services company behind Betta Electrical and Chandlers retail franchises, is leading a push to streamline supply chain management for the electrical appliance industry.
Reports of IT security hassles brought about by patch neglect would be funny if they weren't commonplace. As noted in our review from page 19 (March 10, 2003), keeping track and managing security patches can be a real pain. If you're responsible for an enterprise with at least a few dozen servers, various appliances, routers and switches, and a firewall or two, you have a huge management problem.
I recently heard an analyst declare that he now operated in a 'continuous interrupt' mode of work. This is one driven by portable wireless and instant messaging technologies. These in turn, he said, have brought substantial productivity gains to many organisations. He added that demand for them will only grow as the youth, which grew up with SMS/instant messaging, finds its way into the workforce.
Purveyors of supply chain management technology have a truckload of stats that prove the value of their wares.
It's about a year since Bill Gates called on 49,000 employees worldwide to make "trustworthy computing" a top priority. In a memo, as reported in January 2002, Gates outlined the company's practice of making "software and services more compelling for users by adding new features and functionality ...[but]... those great features won't matter unless customers trust our software". He added, "When we face a choice between adding features and resolving security issues, we need to choose security."
Just why would you get out bed?