Spotlight Features

With the introduction of the California Solar Initiative -- due to go into effect January 1 -- solar photovoltaic industry firms are scrambling to adjust to changes in application processes, rebate pricing, and energy efficiency and metering requirements. Some are using California as a test bed for ...

Like many industry analysts and alumni, I find analytical concepts sexy. Add in creating strategies for serving customers more efficiently while being profitable at it, and the conditions are perfect for the creation of an Accidental Analyst. The analytical side of CRM experienced explosive growth ...

After several disappointing years, the telecom market experienced renewed growth in 2006, and a number of surprising developments occurred. The highlights include the integration of cellular and WiFi features, a rush to deliver mobile music services, movement toward bundled services, a focus on high...

Social networking is going mobile and is poised for spectacular growth over the next five years, according to a research report released Monday. The report from ABI Research predicts that mobile social communities will be attracting members in swarms, more than tripling in size worldwide from some 5...

In strict chronological terms, e-commerce is still a young adult, but by all accounts it has rapidly matured into an economic force, accounting for billions in online sales and helping consumers make decisions on billions more in offline buying. Still, e-commerce continues to grow by any measure. No...

What is shaping up to be a landmark technology patent lawsuit, KSR v. Teleflex, is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court right now. At its most basic, the decision could redefine the standard of "obviousness" that is used when deciding whether a patent should be granted for a particular invention or...

Have you heard what a certain software company has been saying about next-generation IT development and deployment strategies? There's this gem about service-oriented architecture: SOA "is not about a product or skill, but rather it's about style of how one comes up with a system." Or: SOA should al...

Selling products and services through multiple channels offers a number of "touch points" where information can be gathered from customers or potential customers. Most people in marketing clearly understand the importance of using this information to personalize communications with customers and per...

The planned release of Vista at the end of January has provoked a great deal of speculation about its expected impact on hackers. Microsoft claims that Vista will offer completely new, more secure core components. Until now, users of other operating systems -- such as Unix, Linux and Mac OS -- have ...

I spent much of last week in Brazil watching five South American University teams show prototypes of their ideas on what the majority of the world needs in personal computing hardware and services. In addition, last week Congress once again went after HP -- but this time seemed to step in front of t...