In Depth

In Depth

Enterprise software

• Computastars: Jeux sans frontiers

  Ross Bentley reports from the Computastars international final in the Netherlands.  Continue Reading

• How to create a relationship that works

  Choosing a supplier can feel like entering a lottery - there's a chance you'll come out on top but nothing is guaranteed....  Continue Reading

• Joint loyalty card dips into customer data honeypot

  Some of the biggest players in the loyalty card market have joined forces to improve their use of customer data but industry...  Continue Reading

• Demand for professional BCS qualifications grows

  Growing demand for BCS qualifications has brought major landmarks for the society's Information Systems Examinations Board...  Continue Reading

• Building on open source systems

  Using the Tomcat Java architecture and Apache Web Server as the framework for an application server.  Continue Reading

• No ignoring integration

  A recent survey of 300 businesses (100 each in the UK, France andGermany) in the finance and manufacturing, retail, automotive...  Continue Reading

• Let's talk about sharing

  By working together and agreeing on shared technical standards for the automation of the supply chain, all organisations can...  Continue Reading

• Repairing the CRM link

  Customer relationship management is one example of the over-hyped, under-delivering software booms of the late 1990s. Danny...  Continue Reading

• Enterprise application integration:Time to get it all together

  Enterprise application integration (EAI) involves connecting internal applications, such as financial, enterprise resource...  Continue Reading

• Internet infrastructure automation

  Automation has an important role to play in utility computing. Ovum examines how suppliers are using technology to simplify IT...  Continue Reading

• Watch your step

  Microsoft's licensing changes have tempted other major software companies to examine their own charging models. Karl Cushing...  Continue Reading

• Customer-targeting IT turns round Boots Wellbeing site

  After dropping its digital TV channel last year Boots Wellbeing worked hard to rescue its online marketing effort. Its successful...  Continue Reading

• Selling the IT vision

  Empowering its 37,000 employees with the tools to do their jobs well is the main aim of Reed Elsevier's vice-president of...  Continue Reading

• Getting wired: The blooming of the blog

  Weblogs are attracting mainstream attention and may have useful business applications.  Continue Reading

• Microsoft puts spotlight on 64-bit Windows

  Microsoft has spelled out its plans for 64-bit computing at its Windows .net server conference in Seattle, USA, this week.  Continue Reading

• Data quality for business intelligence

  When selecting a tool for data migration and cleansing what are the core characteristics and extended features of an intelligent...  Continue Reading

• IBM and Microsoft bring out more Web services proposed standards

  The latest proposals enhance Web services functionality but more work is needed before users can start builiding real world Web...  Continue Reading

• When 999 won't work, get texting

  SMS has made it easier for hard-of-hearing people to contact the emergency services, writes Karl Cushing  Continue Reading

• Hot skills: C rides high despite age

  So deeply is C embedded in the infrastructure of computing, could it ever be phased out? asks Nick Langley  Continue Reading

• Getting wired: Icann has lift-off with its aviation industry domain

  The .aero roll-out is an important trial for business-specific addresses  Continue Reading

• Database clustering

  Clustering is a useful technique for ensuring servers remain running during an IT failure and suppliers are now building...  Continue Reading

• Wait for security before building Web services

  Before building sophisticated Web services users should wait for the Web Services Security specification to be finalised,...  Continue Reading

• Enterprise content management - a missed opportunity

  Ovum analyst Chris Harris-Jones investigates how content and database technologies can be combined to provide total content and...  Continue Reading

• MPLS developers must get the basics right

  MPLS developers are trying to run before they can walk, says Ovum research director Iain Stevenson. They must first get the...  Continue Reading

• R/3 Enterprise: SAP delivers a more modular ERP system

  For most users, the new functionality in R/3 Enterprise alone does not make a compelling case for upgrading  Continue Reading

• Knowledge management benchmark measures

  How can businesses ascertain whether knowledge management is being used effectively within the business?  Continue Reading

• Intel extends Landesk network management suite to mobiles

  Intel has extended its Landesk 6 management suite to mobile devices with the addition of a module based on XcelleNet's Afaria,...  Continue Reading

• Getting Wired: The wizards of Ogg versus MP3

  RealNetworks' Helix project spreads support for the Ogg Vorbis compression standard.  Continue Reading

• Gartner: Microsoft digital certificate flaw makes Explorer prime target

  Analyst group Gartner has warned that a security flaw in Internet Explorer could expose personal information, undermine...  Continue Reading

• EAI: the link between legacy and the new economy for retail

  How successful enterprise application integration can help retailers link their older IT systems to the Web.  Continue Reading

• Are your spreadsheets running wild?

  End-users love them, yet their over-use can cause nightmares for IT. Julia Vowler looks at ways to keep spreadsheets under...  Continue Reading

• Linuxworld: How Amazon saved millions with Linux

  Amazon, the online retail pioneer, surprised the IT world last year when it announced that it had saved 25% of its IT costs in a...  Continue Reading

• Sun focuses application strategy with LAMP initiative

  Sun Microsystems' announcement of a new, entry-level Linux server this week is the opening salvo in an aggressive effort to...  Continue Reading

• Linuxworld: Assessing the commercial reality

  The Linux operating system has seen dramatic growth in the past year as users try to stretch their tight budgets.  Continue Reading

• Open Windows angers developers

  Microsoft's attempt to reveal hidden programming features within Windows has received a resounding gong from developers who...  Continue Reading

• Active Directory: prepare to pay more for Windows 2000 management

  Running costs for Windows 2000 Active Directory installation are set to increase as users experience management issues with the...  Continue Reading

• Sleep with 150 top IT chiefs

  On 20 September more than 150 IT executives will sleep rough in London to raise money for children's charity NCH, writes Nathalie...  Continue Reading

• Government underestimates need for IT managers in NHS

  The Government could be underestimating the need for highly qualified and experienced IT management at local level to make its...  Continue Reading

• Technology can now 'talk the talk'

  Voice recognition is already used in call centres and is set to become an indispensable remote working tool  Continue Reading

• .net benefits?

  Microsoft has shipped its latest Windows Server operating system. But, asks Danny Bradbury, does it solve enough of Windows...  Continue Reading

• Smart projects:VPN boosts care for disabled

  Charity Leonard Cheshire is using a virtual private network to improve its services, writes Karl Cushing.  Continue Reading

• Microsoft: Why we need Software Assurance

  Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer explains why he saw a need for the company's radical change in software licensing and...  Continue Reading

• Acting to build online bridges

  Children from the UK and the US are learning together through a Web theatre project, writes Karl Cushing  Continue Reading

• Building a business case for BPM

  Is business process management (BPM) the answer to the automation and development issues that plague the business community...  Continue Reading

• Where the money is

  The financial services market has suffered many blows of late, but modernisation and cost-saving requirements are driving IT...  Continue Reading

• Buyers can boost packaged software quality

  Buggy applications hamstring businesses that depend on reliable software. Although vendors apologise, their customers continue to...  Continue Reading

• Next move: Coding or network security?

  I have recently acquired my A+ certification (PC technician) and I would like to go on to the next level. Some people advise me...  Continue Reading

• No false starts for IT

  With a potential one billion people watching, 27 venues to cover and an estimated nine million printouts for the 17th...  Continue Reading

• Windows .net adds meat to Microsoft security skeleton

  Driven by a need to reduce the chance of another Code Red or Nimda, release candidate 1 of Windows.net promises to flesh out...  Continue Reading

• Microsoft readies application server strategy

  With the release of Windows .net later this year, Microsoft plans to offer users a platform for building Web services by...  Continue Reading

• Four hot technologies

  Butler Group examines the business case for Grid Computing, Citrix's portal strategy, web collaborative computing plus a new...  Continue Reading

• The power of four

  The recent formation of UnitedLinux has caused some confusion in the industry on a number of levels.  Continue Reading

• The shape of things to come

  Adam Brate's latest book, Technomanifestos, is a study of the pioneers of the information age, their motives and visions. Ross...  Continue Reading

• The new knowledge management landscape

  The goals of knowledge management have not changed, but the software infrastructure that makes these initiatives work is now in...  Continue Reading

• Instant benefits

  Once the domain of Internet buffs and teenagers, instant messaging has moved into the mainstream and is now being considered by...  Continue Reading

• Gold in Amazon's box of tricks

  The e-commerce pioneer is constantly trying new ways to tempt us to buy more online.  Continue Reading

• Microsoft .net as an application server

  The next version of Windows promises to offer a viable alternative to Java-based application servers. Can Microsoft succeed?  Continue Reading

• The state of the Linux nation

  Linux has come a long way from its home-grown roots to the extent that many people now proclaim it the saviour of computing. But...  Continue Reading

• Getting the most from your retail supply chain

  What does optimisation mean in the retail supply chain?  Continue Reading

• Nothing ventured, nothing gained

  A successful corporate venture can generate extra revenue for the business and encourage innovation. Julia Vowler examines the...  Continue Reading

• Computer scrawl

  Microsoft is shipping its tablet PC operating system in the fourth quarter of this year. But will anyone care? Danny Bradbury...  Continue Reading

• P2P finds business applications

  Peer-to-peer computing has moved beyond music file swapping to offering business users a secure environment for collaboration and...  Continue Reading

• Online holiday booking boom lifts e-business prospects

  The travel industry is proving that the dotcom collapse was not the end of e-business for retailers. As Daniel Thomas discovered,...  Continue Reading

• The benchmarks don't work

  There are few things more pitiful than having to listen to a vendor whining about how benchmarks are "fixed" then to hear the...  Continue Reading

• How to use legacy code for e-business

  E-business does not necessarily mean you will have to chuck out your old AS400 apps. Lindsay Nicolle finds out how you can...  Continue Reading

• Business is slow to see the advantages of Web services

  Suppliers may try to talk up a storm, but few companies are showing a real interest in using Web services to communicate with...  Continue Reading

• Durham budgets for Web savings

  Durham Council budget managers are using a new Web tool to get the data they need, writes Karl Cushing.  Continue Reading

• Career clinic: consult the experts

  How can businesses be expected to keep pace with technological developments when the state-of-the-art IT in which they make...  Continue Reading

• Microsoft's licence to bill

  Microsoft's Software Assurance licensing scheme has been the cause of much complaint in the past few months. Danny Bradbury...  Continue Reading

• HP guns for Web services management prize

  HP has outlined its plans to realign its HP OpenView management tool towards a services-oriented infrastructure software...  Continue Reading

• Microsoft: Raising PC security to a higher level

  Microsoft is developing a secure PC environment that can be used to secure multi-million pound transactions without the need for...  Continue Reading

• The organic IT infrastructure revolution

  In 1987, Forrester coined the term "Client/Server" to describe a massive shift in how firms would deploy technology. Now, in...  Continue Reading

• Pay-as-you-go computing

  Think of on-demand computing and you might think of application service providers or grid computing. But there is a new contender...  Continue Reading

• Google answers the future

  Search engine Google is continuing to innovate, with ideas borrowed from open source.  Continue Reading

• Sun gives away its newest application server free to all software developers

  Sun Microsystems is giving away its latest application server to try to attract more developers and customers, writes Eric Doyle.  Continue Reading

• Microsoft's competitors give cool reception to Palladium strategy

  Microsoft's Palladium security system has sparked concern among some competitors in the operating system market, as well as with...  Continue Reading

• 5 minute interview: Greg Scorziello, BI-Tech Solutions

  Greg Scorziello, CEO, BI-Tech Solutions, speaks  Continue Reading

• Database wars threaten XML standards

  XML is working its way deeper into the enterprise, but the database wars between IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle could lead to...  Continue Reading

• Sun strips price tag off application server

  Sun Microsystems is to give away a basic version of its Sun ONE Application Server, in an effort to broaden the customer base for...  Continue Reading

• Career Move: Will I get a SAP or Oracle role?

  I have been contracting in Unisys Linc for 11 years but it is a small market with decreasing opportunities. The project and...  Continue Reading

• Heart of the matter

  Roisin Woolnough finds out how one hospital in the East Midlands overcame its lack of bandwidth  Continue Reading

• Users challenge unrepentant Microsoft on licence changes

  Microsoft: With just over a month to go before new volume licensing charges come into force, James Rogers finds users still...  Continue Reading

• Does Staroffice offer business a real alternative to Microsoft?

  As users grumble about Microsoft's software licensing charges, Eric Doyle assesses an open source alternative for corporate...  Continue Reading

• White heat column:Facts and myths

  Don't be afraid of making the first step towards Linux, says Jasmin Ul-Haque, because your customers will appreciate that you are...  Continue Reading

• Black and white

  When it comes to creating a successful partnership strategy, it seems the golden rule is not to tread on each other's toes  Continue Reading

• Battle stations

  The problem of 'ownership' is common within a partnership. For some firms, it can blow the relationship apart  Continue Reading

• HP blew the chance of software leadership

  Hewlett-Packard squandered a chance to become a leader in software used for automating business processes and other services over...  Continue Reading

• Sweet FA

  Before he flew off to the East to witness a bit of World Cup action first-hand, Ross Bentley spoke to the man in charge of the FA...  Continue Reading

• Oracle gets its application server act together

  Analyst group Ovum examines how Oracle has reinvented its application server offerings when faced with competition from Java.  Continue Reading

• Serving up the stats

  With the Wimbledon tennis championships 11 days away, Karl Cushing looks at how technology helps players, officials and fans keep...  Continue Reading

• Oracle embraces Linux, XML and datawarehousing

  As database sales slow, Oracle adds functionality to bolster its place in the market, writes Nick Langley  Continue Reading

• Benefits of Sun's Solaris/application server bundle

  Should you buy the latest version of the Solaris Unix operating system now that it includes a free application server?  Continue Reading

• Can Microsoft bridge the Web services trust gap?

  Microsoft will have to develop significant level of trust among end users if its TrustBridge software is to succeed, analysts...  Continue Reading

• Web services guru bursts suppliers' Utopian bubble

  Novell's Chris Stone, an early champion of Web services, tells Helen Beckett why he now thinks the technology has only a limited...  Continue Reading

• UnitedLinux could kill off Unix

  The move to create a standard version of Linux for the enterprise could boost the prospects of the free, open source operating...  Continue Reading

• Eat football, drink football, live networking

  For the last 10 months Doug Gardner has lived, breathed and slept football as managing director of the World Cup project at...  Continue Reading

• Oil firms ignore revolution to win e-business

  Prime movers in petrochemicals have been quietly making money from e-initiatives. Daniel Thomas follows up reports that the...  Continue Reading

• Web services - a nightmare for testers?

  We've heard a lot about Web services development, but little about thechallenges facing testers. How will this new technology...  Continue Reading

• The portal framework as an enterprise system

  It is easy to find examples of where enterprise portals have helped business. But what exactly is a portal, and how can your...  Continue Reading

• Go the extra mile

  The sports arena is challenging but rewarding and it's where broadcasters and participants demand the benefits of IT. VARs that...  Continue Reading