Abstract: The first step in choosing an effectiveness service provider (ESP) that best meets your company's needs is to develop a requirements definition. When used as a request for proposal, the requirements definition can be a powerful evaluation and negotiation tool.

Abstract: Application erosion is real and it has a significant impact on the long-term value of technology. It can have various causes, but there is a possible solution to each one of them.

Abstract: Application erosion starts the day you turn on any new system, and it continues constantly. To prevent it, you need a plan. If you suffer from it today, you need a plan to regain the value you once had.

Abstract: You’ve determined the business rationale for embracing Internet protocol (IP) telephony as a strategy. Now it’s worth investing time in the project definition phase, since this will result in a clear statement of requirements that are in line with your objectives. However, how you define the project will depend on the needs of your business and your plans for convergence.

Abstract: CTS Cement Corporation, a manufacturer of professional-grade construction cement, operates out of 15 facilities across the US. As the company grew, it needed to address the inefficiencies of its accounts payable invoice processing, which was being keyed manually into two different systems. With this lack of connectivity between systems, CTS turned to AnyDocINVOICE solution and now indexes nearly 2,500 invoices per month.

Abstract: Bandwidth managers can provide the basis of a large-scale solution for a quality of service (QoS) that can support public switched telephone network (PSTN)-grade services. A key aspect of the solution is the ability to be integrated with multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) traffic engineering capabilities, to provide a highly scalable, resilient, and rigorous solution for end-to-end quality of service.

Abstract: Manufacturers in make-to-order and mixed-mode production environments must satisfy increasingly demanding customers by continually reducing lead times, increasing quality, and reducing costs. To achieve a competitive advantage, they must optimize their internal operations and the entire supply chain. So what qualities do their enterprise applications really need to make the grade? Service oriented architecture (SOA) may just be the key.

Abstract: For food and beverage manufacturers, the failure to meet demand peaks can result in poor customer service, lost revenue, stockouts, brand erosion, and—in extreme cases—being delisted by a major customer. However, with stock build optimization, manufacturers can minimize the time and total value of the stock being held, and realize higher profits and working capital.

Abstract: The Internet is having an identity crisis. Long regarded as a powerful tool for cost reduction and service enhancement, the Internet is falling short of its promise because of the real and perceived threat of identity theft. Financial losses and insurance costs are mounting, as organizations struggle to protect their information perimeters and improve the strength of their authentication systems to ensure that the authorized user is present during the sign-in process. The widespread use and misuse of passwords as authentication tokens is generally cited as a cause of the accelerating erosion of user confidence and the increasing incidence of identity theft. It is generally agreed that passwords are not enough. Much has been lost, however, in the race toward person-present authentication systems. While the application of passwords is fraught with risk, the introduction of complex authentication infrastructures and cumbersome end user technology has eroded usability and increased the cost of security dramatically. This paper describes a new authentication approach that retains the simplicity and low cost of passwords, while gracefully introducing as much person-present assurance as is required by the application.

Abstract: Dynamic efficiencies can help companies combat margin erosion and cope with compressed product lifecycles. By shifting from advanced planning to adaptive planning, enterprises can increase their top and bottom line. Integrating the demand planning network, optimizing the supply chain network, and strengthening execution planning will help this move to adaptive planning and eliminate pockets of waste.

Abstract: Can industry-leading practice be found in a commodity software package? If we accept that application software is a commodity, by definition, the answer is no. If a vendor claims industry-leading practice, then it is available to your competition. If we really want to have practices that lift us above the competition, it cannot be in a standard package. Where in the business do we need to be better than best practice?

Abstract: There is a great deal of confusion over the meaning of data warehousing. Simply defined, a data warehouse is a place for data, whereas data warehousing describes the process of defining, populating, and using a data warehouse. Creating, populating, and querying a data warehouse typically carries an extremely high price tag, but the return on investment can be substantial. Over 95% of the Fortune 1000 have a data warehouse initiative underway in some form.

Abstract: On July 25, Fourth Shift Corporation and SupplierMarket.com announced a partnership that will enable purchasing professionals to locate ideal trading partners, submit RFQs for new contracts, and receive the results of reverse auctions, all from their familiar Fourth Shift vendor operations, manufacturing planning and scheduling, and product definition screens. Earlier, on July 18, Fourth Shift Corporation reported a loss of $.37 per share for the second quarter ended June 30, 2000.

Abstract: Founded in 1981 as a developer of computer-aided chemical engineering software, Aspen's growth has resulted in a wide variety of applications for management and execution-level process manufacturing. Hit hard by flagging revenues, Aspen is distilling its product suite down to its most profitable elements in hopes of invigorating its business and capturing a share of the supply chain management market.

Abstract: System integration service provider selections and project planning should involve the same amount of due diligence as business IT strategy definition and software evaluation.

Abstract: Informix® Corporation, has announced an XML Document Type Definition (DTD) for Extraction, Transformation, and Transport (ETT) of metadata. The DTD is designed to allow metadata sharing between different vendors’ products using the open XML standard.

Abstract: Since supply chains, by definition, are about the end-to-end inter-enterprise process, we highlight the growing importance of looking outside your four walls when thinking about supply chain performance management. If you are overwhelmed by the number of supply chain measures you are tracking, it’s better to focus your energies on a few that can have a significant impact.

Abstract: Microsoft Convergence 2003 provided a perfect learning experience to appreciate the overall Microsoft Business solutions and the directions that Microsoft intends to take. To that end the word 'convergence' was not an element of pure fate but rather a portrayal of integration between Microsoft back and front office applications. The only discordance with this depiction we felt was the way Microsoft plans to enhance its product definition through a large number of independent software vendors (ISV).