Abstract: Product activation is a popular approach for securing software licenses. However, software developers need to understand all the requirements for a capable activation system, from the license models they’ll need to support, to how to deal with the corner-case customer environments. Learn about the obvious, and not-so-obvious, issues software developers need to consider as they select a product activation system.

Abstract: One of the first and seemingly simple questions that companies ask when making IT investments is “how much does it cost?” Many often find themselves wondering why—even after a successful implementation—their costs keep going up. When evaluating a mobile workforce automation project, companies should take the time to conduct a thorough total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis to detect hidden costs—and avoid nasty surprises.

Abstract: The need for business intelligence (BI) is real for all enterprise software users. It is rare to find a user who feels they get the information they need from their enterprise software system and even those who do want more. The need is not just reporting; they need business monitoring, analysis, an understanding of why things are happening. They need diagnostic tools.

Abstract: Escalating health fears, new global policies, and a highly competitive market means that traceability is an issue food and beverage companies cannot afford to ignore. All this has led to a need for information on quality and food safety that companies must live up to. Explore the key issues surrounding traceability in the food and beverage industry, and find out why you might need to consider a new traceability system.

Abstract: Organizations need lower ownership costs for hardware. But that’s not all. They also need a protected infrastructure investment, and applications that perform the way they need them to, when they need them. To meet these demands, enterprise storage area network (SAN) users must deploy a scalable host bus adapter architecture that addresses cost, performance, backward compatibility, and—most importantly—future scalability.

Abstract: Business management solution users spend most of their time “heads down” in the business application, but they also need to use communication and desktop productivity tools. Thus, business solutions need familiar, easy-to-learn user interfaces. They need to be “process-centric” and role-based. And they need to provide a bridge between the worlds of structured business applications and unstructured desktop productivity software.

Abstract: As systems, networks, and websites suffer new magnitudes of Denial of Service attacks, malicious network scans, and network intrusions, organizational CIOs need to be held accountable for information security.

Abstract: What does it take to give your clients a better customer experience? While there are many answers to that question, a common answer these days is “through a customer relationship management (CRM) portal.” Learn everything you need to know about CRM portals, including their key characteristics, the different kinds of CRM portals available, who is using them—and most importantly—how they improve customer service.

Abstract: Today, entrepreneurs running small-to-medium sized businesses face daunting tasks that just a few years ago were not existent. The complexities of the business world have created new risks, a myriad of regulations, and complex reporting requirements that can overwhelm any organization. Owners and managers of all enterprises, even smaller private businesses, need to be cognizant of both the spirit and the letter of the law. How does a smaller organization, with limited resources, cope with all of this? How do they stay abreast of the additional changes that are on the way? In this guide, Pete Russo of the Entrepreneurial Management Institute at the Boston University School of Management outlines the pitfalls and steps, but also looks at effective solutions for private companies.

Abstract: As your company grows, you must continually evaluate whether your work processes and IT solutions can solve your problems and help grow your business. By performing a gap analysis, you can look at where your business is headed and whether you have the right tools to get there. This white paper can help you perform a preliminary gap analysis to determine whether you need to upgrade your IT solutions and business processes.

Abstract: Making a list and checking it twice is a particularly good practice when picking a finance and accounting software solution. If you don’t find the right product for your company, you’ll just pay for the mistakes on the back end. But first you need to know which features your small to midsize business must have and which you don’t want. Get some tips that will help you create your finance and accounting checklist.

Abstract: Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions have to work with many other systems, not just ERP, so integration is not a new issue for PLM vendors. Most PLM vendors recognize the need for integration and have addressed the need in their toolkits. The additional work comes from integrating the concepts and semantics of one system to the next, if this business level integration has not already been provided between the two systems. This can be a big challenge for best of breed vendors, who may need to rely on systems integrators for much of this conceptual and semantic integration.

Abstract: This is a transcript of an audio conference on Enterprise Resource Planning Systems presented by TechnologyEvaluation.Com. The presentation used the TEC patented selection engine WebTESS to conduct a real time evaluation and selection. It then reviewed the critical differentiating ERP criteria, as well as detailed comparisons of the several major ERP vendors: SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, J.D. Edwards, Baan, Intentia, System Software Associates (SSA),Geac Computers, Industrial & Financial Systems (IFS), QAD, MAPICS, Symix Systems, Great Plains, and Lawson Software.

Abstract: Recent announcements from AMD, Toshiba, and Phoenix highlight an increasing focus on extending the battery life of notebook computers.

Abstract: The documents, spreadsheets, databases and other files on the personal computers used to conduct business are corporate assets. It cost money to create them and that investment should be protected. Additionally, companies have both competitive and legal obligations to assure that such data is kept private and secure. Many companies and most people are unaware of the obligation and potential threats.

Abstract: A lower-court judge in St. Paul granted a subpoena to Northwest Airlines allowing them the search the home computers of employees for evidence of allegedly illegal union activities.

Abstract: Compaq Computer told financial analysts it plans to start selling more of its computers directly to customers, and this time the company says it means it.

Abstract: Red Hat has announced the release of Alpha Deluxe, its version of Linux for computers based on Compaq’s Alpha CPU. At the same time, the company announced it would drop support for Sun’s Sparc processor.