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FOR THE PAST YEAR, Bank One Corp. in Chicago has been steeped in a massive project to consolidate disparate financial systems added through acquisitions. The bank has taken advantage of […]

Hewlett-Packard Co. is making it a tradition to take first place in the Intel server division of the VARBusiness Annual Report Card. Not only did it win again this year, […]

This year, the skills gap paid off. After years of settling for crumbs while the guys on top got big pieces of the pie, information systems professionals across the board […]

Consolidation raged in the ranks of the VARBusiness 500 this year as scores of companies merged together in search of the Holy Grail of critical mass. "Last year there was […]

For all the hype surrounding Java, so far most developers haven't done much but kick the tires. That's about to change. Vendors have been working in overdrive to build visual […]

Some might actually think it's a good problem:having more demand for their products than they have products. Not being able to provide VARs with enough of its Proliant servers, however, […]

The integrated families of server software offered by Microsoft, IBM, Netscape and others offer VARs new technological and marketing opportunities. But they ask a lot in return, especially in the […]

The business of America is small business. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, 99.7 percent of all U.S. businesses have fewer than 500 employees and about a third-seven million-have […]

What you need to know to pick the visual tool that will transport you into the server-centric future on time. It wasn't that long ago that visual programming tools such […]

Computing's two biggest trends are-in one huge evolutionary step-now converging. Together, they will change the way you develop software. If the Internet is the information superhighway, the ubiquitous quick-and-dirty Web […]

The Internet is getting most of the attention, but off the information superhighway, the intranet is leading the way in Web site development. In my opinion, this is the biggest […]

The Novell, SCO and HP alliance may be the last, if not the best, chance to unify Unix -at least on the Intel platform-before Microsoft's NT snatches the market away. […]

Hot trends are transforming American business while providing VARs with a great chance to design and implement the technology to enable the transformation. Within corporations, teamwork is replacing rugged individualism, […]

Successful resellers tell how their client/server skills can open the door to huge accounts. David's killing Goliath was no accident. Ask any small VAR who's landed a Fortune 500 client/server […]

This year's Annual Report Card survey drove home a new reality for vendors of operating systems and environments: Support and partnership are where VAR loyalties are being won and lost. […]

Microsoft can't succeed in client/server unless you decide to make its way your way. When it comes to the importance of client/server technology, Microsoft doesn't mince words. "We view the […]

In the 1980s, Novell and networking were synonymous. Its role as the king of connectivity was uncontested. As networking evolved into client/server, however, Novell's image began to go soft around […]

Wireless communication capabilities make PDAs a big opportunity in a small package It still takes a leap of faith to get into the PDA market. Two years after personal digital […]

The impact of information technology (IT) on the mass media industry is evaluated. The newspaper publishing industry is recognized as the most IT-oriented followed by the magazine publishing industry and then by the broadcasting industries. The use of information systems range from prepackaged desktop publishing systems and accounting systems to state-of-the-art customized integrated systems and are generally motivated by competitive market forces.

Operating in a distributed computing environment calls for new personnel management strategies. While experience has traditionally been favored as a prime qualification among job applicants, aptitude seems to be a more important trait for jobs. In other words, technical and vocational training is no longer as crucial as flair for business, flexibility, adaptability and versatility. In this context, the company may itself be a source of new talent.

Chief information officers (CIO) of small companies must be flexible, creative and decisive in order to succeed. Most small company CIOs admit that their working environment facilitates the acquisition of these skills. CIOs in small firms have better chances of taking part in business decisions. Limited resources force them to come up with more cost-effective measures. Thriftiness in business also gives these CIOs greater flexibility. Furthermore, lack of bureaucracy enables them to move swiftly. However, this can also be a liability since small companies allow lesser room for mistakes.

YOU CAN OUTSOURCE A PROJECT, but you can never outsource management of a project. As outsourcing has grown to be a major tool in business projects, that maxim has been […]

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY is no longer the black box in the corporate basement, and CIOs are getting accustomed to their seats in the boardroom. With five decades of corporate experience to […]

'Make a decision! Make a decision! People are dying all around you!' U.S. Army Lt. Chris Higgins had led his squad into an ambush and had frozen. 'There's machine-gun fire, […]

"Virtual team" is an oxymoron. A geographically dispersed workgroup can never achieve the "gel" that makes a team greater than the sum of its parts. That's what team guru and […]

'For months we've been trying to fill a network director job that reports to me,' Michaeleen Kruger says. Meanwhile, 'I'm covering half [of the job] while the network manager covers […]

Licencing methodologies for computer software products have been forced to adapt due to changing operational requirements and computing platform developments. CPU-based licensing systems have been made obsolete by the preponderance of network-based systems and the development of client-server technologies. Currently favored systems include license packs and concurrent licensing that allow for multiple software use at lower prices.

Recognition of the increased role of information technology on management has resulted in the increase of information-management related educational courses worldwide. Educational offerings vary in approach, content, target market and even scheduling to cater to increased management personnel requirements. Notable features of the educational system of selected institutions were also evaluated.

Staying just above the bottom line used to be seen as effective management of financial services companies. However, winners in this category of the CIO-100 have shown that a combination of traditional principlesand present technology can help boost the performance of financial services companies. These companies show that focusing on the basics of the industry canhelp boost performance even in a recession. Powerful corporate officers and personal customer service are also key factors in the success of these financial services companies.

What's the big idea? In the March issue of the Harvard Business Review, its editors ask that question as they look back over the past year. They came up with […]

Bob Coates Position: CIO Company: Edwards Theatres Circuit Inc. Location: Newport Beach, Calif. The project: Automating cash flow and accounting processes The payoff: Cut from three months to two weeks […]

An IT manager was negotiating a big software deal at lunch with the president of a vendor company. The manager wasn't getting his way, so he walked away from the […]

Why do so many CRM projects fail, and how can you increase your odds of success? Darrell K. Rigby, a director at Bain & Co. in Boston, tackles those questions […]

'The good news is that even with the tech slowdown and layoffs, there is still a lot of demand for tech professionals,' says Scot Melland, CEO of Dice, an online […]

It's been a tough year for 27-year-old Stephan Koledin. On June 7, he was laid off from his software development job at The Motley Fool Inc. in Alexandria, Va. Since […]

* Stay positive. * Use a layoff as an opportunity to think about what you really want to pursue. * Don't think too long. Get moving. * Never stop networking. […]