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Your wrap of the top Australian ICT stories this week. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When you're the CIO of Facebook, moving quickly is par of the course. Tim Campos, who took the stage for the second day of keynotes at Dreamforce 2011, said massive IT implementations take place in a matter of just weeks to months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the world of IT few things conjure up an image of monolithic permanence more than the data centre. Row after row of rigid, reliable IT powering the flow of commerce and industry around the globe day and night. Rain, hail or snow. Year after year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that patent applicants in Australia, Canada and Great Britain can hope for a faster examination process after the introduction of a shared data system known as Centralized Access to Search and Examination system (CASE). Australian senator Kim Carr says that the new system will allow digital access to information about patent searches.

The Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) will brief the industry on the progress of its Data Centre Strategy implementation in a bid to improve awareness and provide an update on the plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current rash of locally owned and operated data centres under construction may be just what the doctor ordered to address ongoing concerns over the health of public clouds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Australia Bank (NAB) is laying claim to the title of first organisation in the country to use tri-generation (trigen) power in its data centre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australian Data Centres (ADC) will open up a 3000 square metre Tier 3 facility in Mitchell, Canberra, by the third quarter of 2010. The new facility will comprise at least a $100 million investment with ADC targeting the Federal Government's whole of government data centre strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explosive business growth has caught up with Open Universities Australia which has used a combination of blade servers, water cooling and virtualisation to save its in-house data centre and a million dollar outsourcing contract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses the changes made by New South Wales (NSW) Government to its high profile "name and shame" list on the NSW Food Authority website in relation to putting public pressure on food industry in terms of food safety and hygiene. The author highlights various services offered in the site including foodservice businesses, great sources of stories on food safety practices and other issues. The site offers a searchable database letting users to search any restaurant's information.

An agricultural research group is encouraging Australian grain farmers to join a National Farming Practices Database, an online central repository which includes detailed growing reports and productivity updates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) is deploying what may be the first national e-health records management system to unify disparate medical databases across its four regional sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macmahon Holdings, an Australian company operating in the mining and civil construction sector, has recently completed the rebuild of its entire data centre. By virtualizing the user desktop, the company has created a data network infrastructure which allows users to access the system securely from anywhere, at any time, and from any hardware device. Macmahon Holdings, an Australian company operating in the mining and civil construction sector, has recently completed the rebuild of its entire data centre. By virtualizing the user desktop, the company has created a data network infrastructure which allows users to access the system securely from anywhere, at any time, and from any hardware device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the early employees at global open source database company MySQL AB, Arjen Lentz has moved on and started Open Query to bring open source database training to the masses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that up to 1,000 Salesforce.com customers in Australia fear their corporate data is in the hands of hackers after the company was targetted by a phishing scam and one of the vendor's employees was tricked into divulging a corporate password. Salesforce.com urged customers on its Web site to activate Internet Protocol restrictions to their customer relationship management databases and educate users on avoiding phishing scams.

The article focuses on the database created by Newcastle-based company Guests Behaving Badly to monitor Australia's least hospitable guests. Managers of several Australian resorts began noticing an increase in guests blatantly disregarding rules and a lack of respect for hotel staff and fellow guests. Hoteliers can access the database list of misbehaving guests for about $300 Australian dollars per year. Comments from Product Manager Josh Ginty are included. According to Mark Fisher of The Normandie in Wollongong, guest behavior has improved since his motel joined the organization.

After relying on manual non-relational databases with fixed configurations for warranty claims and for access to management reporting, heating and appliance manufacturer Rinnai Australia searched for a better solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that Australia's Department of Defence uses MySQL over commercial offerings and relational database system for a large-scale application. Open source databases have progressed from running Web-tier and other edge applications to central business and transaction processing systems. MoneySwitch has also developed a transaction processing system with MySQL as the database.

The article reports that Nestlé Australia has developed a database of the names and buying habits of 700,000 of its customers. This is providing the mass-marketer, which owns a huge collection of brands, including Nescafé, Purina, Allen's Lean Cuisine and Milo, with a marketing advantage over its rivals as the conventional media advertising environment breaks down.

Features the Crewing Agency, a specialized recruitment agency in Australia. Account on the establishment of the company; Creation of database of crew members; Forms of advertising and recruitment offered.

Reports that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has bungled the implementation of a system for capturing corporate date. Frustration of accountants who are spending hours struggling to file documents; Need to have more data about shareholders.

Reports that a taskforce of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum, chaired by Australia, will seek approval from Apec to continue developing a database with ramifications for all Australian exporters. The effect on the small-business sector; The uncertainty about continued funding for its development perceived as the only barrier; Designated as the `electronic tariff database.'

Reports on the effect of the plan of the National Safety Council of Australia to set up a national database to analyze fleet vehicle accidents on the focus in the management of fleet costs. Total cost structure requirement special management treatment; Control of routine operational costs; Subscriber system.

Reports on the development by the Australian company Computer Law Services Pty Ltd. of electronic legal databases. Features of the Diskrom electronic databases; Automated Legislation Consolidation System (ALCS); Electronic Loose Leaf Publishing System (ELPS).

Features Victoria University of Technology's database service called TradeData, a dial-up computer system with information on Australian imports and exports. Incorporation of data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and other countries; Types of data; Target users.

Features Australian Government Index and Australian Media Index databases. Content; Capabilities and uses; Prices.

Discusses the need for valuers, real estate agents and property traders in Australia to check the information contained in computerized property databases. Sources of information in property databases; Suggestions from John Coonerty, director of professional services and valuations at Laing & Simmons Commercial.