You don't typically associate data warehousing with cutting costs. The practice suffers from a history of bloated, over-budget projects that sullied the image of data analytics in general. This situation was further frustrated by the implementation of tightly locked ERP (enterprise resource planning) applications that effectively transfer operational data between ERP modules but are nearly impossible to crack for data analysis.
Commerce, community, and content -- these were the key ingredients used by the first wave of pure-play dot-coms breaking in to the internet economy.
We've seen every industry stumble and grasp for solutions to the problem of channel conflict -- using e-commerce to cut out trusted distribution and retail partners.
Software as a service. E-services. The utility model of computing. ASP (application service provider). Hosted applications. Vendors have come up with a dozen ways to name the predicted shift in today's computing model away from packaged software or in-house development to outsourced application services that customers pay for on a subscription model.
For millions of consumers, last holiday season featured an Amazon.com box -- or another e-tailer's wares -- under the tree for the first time.
Where does your physical product end and the surrounding bits begin? It may not be the most appealing way to describe how companies are adding information services to their goods, but useful content, delivered electronically, is becoming a crucial competitive weapon in e-business.
When most IT managers hear "peer-to-peer computing", they think of Harry and Suzie in accounting bringing down the entire corporate network by downloading and swapping MP3 music files.
A common term that IT managers have used to describe their job is firefighter: The one who saves the day by putting out tech crises.
Three groups -- regulators, the high-tech industry, and privacy advocates -- are clumsily defining what eventually will become accepted business practices for using consumer data. And because of the speed of change and a lack of coordination between government and business, concern over privacy abuses is swelling. If this situation continues, everyone loses because useful personalized services will never reach their potential.
Reality has a way of putting the brakes on the wheels of progress when it comes to visions of the great frictionless economy. These days, the hype meter is highest in the business-to-business e-commerce world, an area that continues to see more funding and more start-ups than the fallen business-to-consumer crowd. And with the euphoria comes difficult decisions and risks.
One of the thornier challenges of wide-scale business-to-business e-commerce is the amount of software integration work required to connect different business partners' systems.
Computer Associates International Inc.'s Interbiz division released for general availability its BizWorks line of enterprise applications Monday and acknowledged plans to spin off portions of the business unit to accelerate the launch of hosted applications in an ASP (application service provider) model.
ICANN needs more public and financial accountability, say critics
Focus will be on Web-based knowledge management
Seeking differentiation from monolithic, universal servers of rivals