Spotlight Features

Internet users are under attack -- and what's more, there's no bulletproof defense against hackers on the horizon. Despite hype to the contrary from marketing departments at Microsoft, Apple and Mozilla, Web browsers themselves -- not just the operating systems that run them -- are to blame for many...

When consumers buy a top-rated software product, are they really getting what they pay for? That's what Sunbelt Software's Chief Scientist Joe Wells is addressing in the wake of anti-spyware and antivirus testing methodologies that appeared in Consumer Reports, the magazine published by the non-prof...

In considering whether or how to reorganize customer service and back-office functions offshore, the option to open a captive subsidiary service center may not receive full consideration in comparison to outsourcing options. Here we look at the case for Western companies to establish their own dedi...

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is a congressional act passed to prevent future scandals of Enron proportion and is considered to be one of the most significant changes to federal securities law in the United States. The Enron scandal and other similar scandals damaged investors' confidence in the ac...

As a rule, manufacturers have been blissfully unconcerned with some of the finer points of CRM functionality and processes -- but not because they have been indifferent to their customers' needs. Rather, the low adoption rates of CRM technology in this sector have been more reflective of manufacture...

For years, Microsoft has come under heavy fire for not making its systems secure enough. Now, with the upcoming release of its new operating system, Windows Vista, the company is being unfairly attacked by self-interested competitors for adding more security to protect consumers. Back in 2002, when...

I was having a discussion the other day with a client about changes in the software industry. We got to talking about different trends when the subject turned to the current tendency of discussing business software in terms of the size of the company that uses it. "Enterprise" software has certain...

With the ongoing development of wireless telecommunications and shared application and data resources, the practice of integrating geographic information systems with conventional data analysis and decision support systems is on the rise. This trend is having a profound effect on how products and se...

I visited two of the greatest cities in the United States last week. First, I was in San Francisco where Intel made a credible attempt to show that it intends to stay the market leader despite anything rival AMD has done. Then I went to New York to talk to folks about Hewlett-Packard's congressiona...

Roaming door-to-door salespeople were once American cultural archetypes, exemplars of the struggles of the common man to improve his lot and provide for his family through the art of the sale. For better and for worse, they epitomized the American obsession with commerce, material wealth and well-be...