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This article reports that as companies outsource more business processes, they must determine the chief information officer's (CIO) role. At the start of Blue Cross & Blue Shield (BCBS) of Rhode Island's outsourcing contract with Perot Systems, the CIO at the time was in charge of both the BPO and IT components of the deal. That has changed under acting CIO Lance Kirk, who's employed by outsourcing advisory firm EquaTerra and has been working on BCBS of Rhode Island's outsourcing project since its inception some 3 and half years ago.

Investigates whether businesses should change their processes to suit the requirements of the enterprise applications. Consideration of the change of software used by businesses; Midsize companies' upgrading to modern enterprise applications; Growth of companies.

Reports on the growth of edge-of-the-enterprise technologies in the U.S. Features of the technology; Use of the technology to improve collaboration in the business enterprises; Increase in the technology investment.

Discusses the findings of a survey on privacy policies of businesses. Companies' concerns about sharing personal information with third parties; Interest in protecting customer data; Attitude toward government action to enforce privacy policies.

Discusses information technology (IT) vendors' targeting of small- and mid-size businesses with products and services to help them connect more closely to their larger customers. Use of enterprise software; Expected growth of the small- and mid-size IT market by 2006; Big manufacturers' extension of supply-chain visibility; IBM Corp.'s international expansion of its small-business push.