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The article discusses transitions of IT solutions provider into managed services provider (MSP). ASI System Integration and ABC computers are switching to managed services business model. The transition offers larger potential profit margin but can be disastrous without proper planning. It requires complete reinventing of the business, retraining of sales and technical staffs, developing marketing plans and adjusting of accounting and billing processes. Mark Romanowski of ASI Systems Integration explains that the transitions is not as easy and simple.

The article focuses on the significance of trusted functionality on operating systems. Trusted operating systems have been used in the past to lock down the most classified and confidential information in an organization. Several computer companies are already functionality in their mainstream products. The author evaluates different kinds of operating systems with trusted functionality from several companies including Sun Microsystems Inc. and its Solaris 10, Red Hat Inc. and SELinux, Novell Inc. and AppArmor.

This article reports that Atlanta, Georgia-based hospitality product distributor Springfield Corp. opted for Siemen's HiPath OpenScape to replace its legacy private branch exchanger-based phone system. HiPath OpenScape is a voice over Internet Protocol-based presence-aware real-time communications software suite, which provides a view of all users and their voice, instant messaging, e-mail, or video devices. It also reports that Engage Inc. created a product that would offer HiPath OpenScape as a hosted service. The embedding of HiPath OpenScape into a hosted service is suited for small and medium-size businesses like Springfield.

Discusses Egypt's venture into the computer industry. Obstacles facing Egypt's venture into the industry; Information on the status of country's software development; Information on the measures being taken to address major issues for the country to enter the world market; Details on its bid to be an Internet-literate country.

The article presents a case study of a solutions provider company called Bluedog. Bluedog, a Dublin, Ireland-based systems integrator and software developer helped the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) upgrade its IT client/server system. It was called in to modernized FTC's consumer information system (CIS) by developing a service-oriented architecture. FTC's problem stemmed from its decade-old system that could no longer handle the number of users accessing its CIS which handle different types of complaints such as consumer fraud and identity theft. The upgrade was completed in 10 months with a budget of $1.2 million.

The article reviews the productivity suite software Word Perfect Office X3 from Corel Corp.

The article reports that with modules to manage human resources (HR), projects, financials, logistics and workflow, Exact Software Co.'s e-Synergy computer software delivers more than the sum of its parts. e-Synergy provides midsize companies with a Web-based business management suite that is affordable and relatively flexible. e-Synergy does a good job of integrating a core workflow system with components for managing customer, financial and HR data in a way that gives companies a good tool for creating internal and external-facing applications. The management approach for pricing and revisions hits a good middle ground between perpetual-license and subscription models. Pricing starts at 1,000 dollars per user for a perpetual license, with maintenance and support each costing 10 percent of the purchase price per year. Exact Software Co. has the product on a long-track development process, with no major version releases in the past three years. But any customer with a maintenance subscription has access to the functions that have been introduced at regular intervals during that time. INSET: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.

The article focuses on the changes in the management of Microsoft Corp. It cites that the changes have elevated a number of younger Microsoft product managers. The author relates that the willingness of chief executive officer (CEO) Steve Ballmer to embrace new business approaches that digress from the Microsoft's roots counts the most of the changes. It states that Ballmer has led Microsoft to unthinkable places like end-to-end software, hardware and service products. However, part of Microsoft's problem is that it is a middle-aged company in an industry dominated by upstarts.

The article reviews the JotSpot Version 2.0 software from JotSpot Inc.

The article presents the author's views on Microsoft Corp.'s upcoming Vista version of Windows operating system. Microsoft has added the User Account Control (UAC) feature that will be of immense help to average users. Under UAC, both administrators and standard users will be able to operate with the standard user security token.

The article reports on the growth of open-source enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications worldwide. Many companies have turned to open-source ERP for core functionality and for a safer, cheaper, and more flexible option offered by proprietary ERP companies. To date, Compiere Inc., one of the better-known providers of open-source ERP and customer relationship management (CRM), has had more than 1 million downloads of its software. Likewise, OpenMFG LLC, which recently announced the new version of OpenMFG software, gas about 100 open-source developers contributing code and 35 customers who represent companies that span the SMB spectrum from start-up companies with about $70 million in revenue.

The article presents an interview with Corey Thomas, group product manager for SQL Server for Microsoft Corp., about the rationale behind the decision why the company did not pursue the separate delivery of WinFS or the second beta for the product. The announcement during the TechEd conference about the release of the products was made in good faith, however changes in the shipment were made just recently after a series of discussions made. One of the things considered for the changes was the data platform and the couple of pillars behind it.

The article focuses on the cancellation of the delivery of the WinFS file system by Microsoft Corp. The company first announced that it is no longer pursuing the separate delivery of WinFS, as well as the second release of the product, which it had long been promising. Peter O'Kelly, an analyst at Burton Group PLC said that the decision was necessary and pragmatic. Microsoft cut WinFS out of both operating systems, Vista and Longhorn, releases so it could ship them in a more timely fashion. Microsoft officials said WinFS would be made available as a stand-alone technology after Vista and Longhorn Server shipped.

This article presents information on the opportunities available for VARs and integrators to make the transition to management service providers. According to a research comparing projected 2006 spending with 2005 budgets by CIO Insight, even though IT budgets are up in the business world, close to 40 percent of the money is going toward staff costs and available funds for hardware and software are on the decline. This presents an opportunity for solution providers to make a compelling case to current and prospective customers that managed services can save them money. Customers, by handing over the administration and maintenance of IT systems to MSPs, can save on staffing and free up more funding for new equipment and software updates. Moreover, since spending on IT services is also trending upward, providers can make their case even more compelling by pointing out that it is another area where customers can save. Disaster recovery and business continuity, which top the list of spending priorities, also presents an opportunity as providers start offering backup and recovery as part of their managed services offerings.

The article examines the new operating system, Vista, developed by Microsoft Corp. The computer software company is set to deliver a broad-scale build of Vista to 2 million testers. It is also projected that in concurrence with the launch of the Vista builds shall be the introduction of the Office 2007. As recalled, the two Vista builds, including two interim community technology previews released in the past couple of months to beta testers known as technology adoption program. It was found out that the new operating system has suffered as variety of performance and compatibility problems. INSET: Vista: What you need to know.

The article focuses on the investment of Goldman Sachsin Terracotta software in order to add clustering to one of its Java-based trading solutions. Terracota simplifies the scale-out Java applications by adding needed services to the Java run-time. It delivers API-free clustering and caching services, improving the availability and scalability of production-level java deployments. Terracotta product suite offers powerful tools to help enterprise organizations design and develop clustering and caching.

The article examines SOAtest 4.5 software developed by Parasoft Corp. which helps Web services development teams transfer inadequate testing to earn an Ivy-league degree in service oriented architecture governance. SOAtest workbench generates and executes tests confirming function, standards conformance, and scalable performance. Its single license price is 3,995 dollars. The author explores the features and key functions of the software, providing details on the aspects of software implementation.

The article presents an interview with Bob Maness, vice president of product operations in Application Performance Management Solutions for Symantec Corp. in Cupertino, California, about the mandate to make Java more manageable including the opportunities that Java technologies and standards afford. The primary objective of Symantec's software development is to push the performance into the tool suite that is needed to manage the data. Java has been known for Web-based application development including online banking.

The article features Axion 3.5 software developed by Avamar Technologies Inc. Axion 3.5 backup systems combined with the FAST InStream search appliance is a useful solution that allows high-speed content searches necessary for legal discovery. Being a back-up solution, the software is easy to be implemented. An Axion 3.5-based system's price is pegged at 37,000 dollars, with the ability to protect 1.5 terabyte of data and the FAST Instream component is priced at 2,000 dollars per terabyte of data.

The article features the Systems Management Server Beta 1 developed by Microsoft Corp. The product has enhanced configuration monitoring, operating system deployment and endpoint security management capabilities. It will be released in the first half of 2007 bearing its new name, System Center Configuration Manager 2007. The results of the test of SMS v4 Beta 1, indicated a renewed focus on Windows system configuration, user access and compliance reporting. New users of the software will need significant amount of time development policies to regulate how operating systems, applications, and policies are maintained throughout the enterprise.

The article presents a sample document which is designed to help IT administrators develop request for proposal (RFP) for an enterprise-grade, stand-alone desktop anti-spyware solution. At onset, in order to identify the right solution when creating RFP, administration should have a good understanding of what the real problem that needs to be solved, the scope and size of deployment, and the potential obstacles they may exist. Several aspects that should be considered include protection and research, servers and architectures, database, clients, client distribution, updates, directory integration, policy control, reporting, and licensing and maintenance.

The article reports that Radio Systems, selling as PetSafe, opted for an integrated customer relationship management, accounting, and telephony system from Extremely Productive to integrate its existing order management software with a customer relationship management solution. Before the integration, the Knoxville, Tennessee-based manufacturer of pet containment systems, electronic pet doors, indoor fences, and electronic feeders had to input the customer's data twice making it difficult to track warranty service, product exchanges, and shipment of replacement parts. With the integrated system, the company's research and development group and marketing group are also benefiting from the data that the call center employees are collecting and maintaining.

The article reports on how content-addressed storage (CAS) systems can help information technology managers bring their organizations into compliance with regulatory mandates. CAS is an intelligent repository used to store and preserve compliance-sensitive documents such as medical records, blueprints, invoices and e-mail messages. Each piece of data that is fed into CAS are being stored using identifiers, which ensures that sensitive business content is not altered and that the paper trail is preserved within the context of a paperless environment. It also has the ability to perform high-speed searches through the repository.

The article presents a discussion on Windows' GPMC or Group Policy Management Console. Windows Vista will provide more power to Microsoft's Group Policy. Some changes are obvious, but all are significant and could cause some refocusing among third-party vendors that have sprouted up in the Microsoft ecosystem to deal with various deficiencies in previous iterations of Windows and Group Policy. Unlike previous Microsoft Group Policy management tools, the GPMC coalesces all GPO (Group Policy Objects) into a single interface and allows administrators to easily link the objects to Domains, Sites or OU (Organizational Units) in Active Directory.

The article presents an interview with Umang Gupta, CEO of Keynote Systems Inc. based in San Mateo, California, regarding his vision on the future of the company. Gupta explained issues pertaining to services rendered by the company. He said that the new Internet is programmable, mobile, and broadband, which has added complexity and problems that need to be diagnosed and fixed. In response to this, Keynote developed Application Perspective 4.0, with support for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, is developed. Gupta considered the company's services as products itself. He stressed out that the primary goal of the company is to focus on subscription services.

The article provides information on the computer software applications offered by Keynote Systems Inc. Keynote upgraded its Application Perspective monitoring service that monitors and measures responses from each element in multi-layered application. Keynote Mobile Application Perspective service measures response times and the quality of mobile content. Moreover, Keynote will be launching its Voice over Internet Protocol Perspective service and Voice over Network conference to monitor the quality of voice calls as they traverse IP data networks and public switched telephone network and provides interactive testing and validation of mobile content developers. Another software, Application Perspective 4.0 enables the development of scripts and provides more precise content validation.

The article highlights the acquisition of Segue Software Inc. by the software company Borland International Inc. The acquisition and divestment of the integrated development environment (IDE) tools line of Segue is being viewed as the inevitable evolution of the tools space amid the force of the open-source movement. California, Cupertino based Borland announced its intent to acquire Segue Software for $100 million and divestment of its IDE tools. The company said it will enrich the application lifecycle management tools of Segue Software. The key reason Borland left the tools space was the commoditization of that segment, led by the force of Eclipse, the open-source IDE developed by International Business machines Corp. and which spun into an independent entity in 2004. Building a business around IDEs is becoming increasingly difficult as comprehensive tools are provided by free rivals such as Edipse. Borland invented the IDE market when the company began selling Turbo Pascal in 1983.

Presents letters to the editor referencing articles and topics discussed in previous issues. Discussion on computer software related to medical care; Importance of the Spyware computer software; Discussion on desktop computing and office software.

Hasbro Inc.'s business may be all fun and games, but the second-largest toy maker in the United States doesn't play around when it comes to business process management. Two years ago, Hasbro decided to replace its manual vendor-inquiry process in an attempt to better identify gaps, bottlenecks and opportunities for improvement in its manufacturing process. After looking at several RPM packages, the Pawtucket, Rhode Island, company deployed TeamWorks business process management software from Lombardi Software Inc., of Austin, Texas. The decision to automate the way vendor inquiries are handled was easy, according to Hasbro CIO Doug Schwinn. Implementing TeamWorks not only streamlined the inquiry process but also provided greater visibility for the status of toy orders. The deployment of the Team Works software, which took several weeks, was so successful that in its first year of using the RPM product, the company doubled productivity without increasing head count, said Schwinn.

Caron Carlson's article on electronic voting is a well-informed overview of some of the risks in adopting paperless voting One more issue is important: access to the code used to count the votes. Any security professional will tell you that open review is the best practice for ensuring that code has no holes. Some U.S. companies have shipped software development projects overseas, pursuing low-cost labor, and have decided to turn back to developers who keep all operations in the United States. The driver in many of those decisions is security concerns: The companies determine they can't afford to expose intellectual property in markets where its legal protection is uncertain. Some companies, however, have determined that total cost of ownership doesn't favor offshoring. They have seen that the budget relief realized by offshoring software development can be more than offset by productivity losses. Too frequently, a developer without local presence cannot gain an adequate understanding of a company's software needs within the context of that company's business mission. The company's users, then, spend considerable time testing the new software, and the company must pay for followup coding to produce the business level results that were initially sought.

The article discusses technology research and develoment. At International Business Machines (IBM) Research, that perception could not be further from the truth. In fact, IBM is counting on its research arm for help not only in developing hardware and software technologies but also in bolstering its biggest business unit: services. IBM is pulling more of its research dollars into services and turning those services into high-value business opportunities for IBM and its customers. At IBM Research, in York Town Heights New York, the company demonstrated how its investments are adding value by cutting time and increasing productivity for IBM's services arm and the companies customers. Paul Horn, senior vice president and director of IBM Research, said that since more than 50 percent of IBM's revenue is generated by services, IBM Research is shifting its focus there. Services address high-end, high-value business problem solving; business design transformation; and process integration, as opposed to labor-intensive, maintenance-type services, Horn said.

When lax inventory controls and a shoddy electronic communications system caused the maker of a popular medicinal skin cream to chafe, it turned to a systems integrator for back-end integration and a new ERP system. Blue Stuff Inc., maker of the medicinal Emu oil-based skin cream of the same name, is a relatively young company that until recently was relying on an outdated MAS 90 Enterprise Resource Planning system from Best Software Inc. for such things as inventory control and business-to-business transaction processing.

Foundstone Inc.'s Namesake Foundstone Enterprise 3.0.1 software packs enough punch for even the largest distributed networks, adding threat correlation to Windows host assessments that make shorter work of IT managers' vulnerability assessment chores. Threat correlation is a clever value-add to Foundstone Enterprise, and you can use the function to quickly assess systems in the test network. In tests, for example, Foundstone Enterprise Threat Correlation found multiple Windows 2000, XP and 2003 systems in our network that were susceptible to a buffer overrun.

The article presents reasons why American software and computer maker Apple Inc. will not enter the "phablet" market and compete with devices like Korean computer maker Samsung's Galaxy Note. It notes that Apple is pleased with the design of its own iPhone 5S, a 4-inch display that is more comfortable in one's pocket or in one's hand. It adds that Apple offers smartphones that are uniquely different from tablets in a market where device-makers file patent-infringement suits against each other.

The article reports on the Application-Centric Infrastructure (ACI) initiative of software and hardware developer Cisco Systems that drew praise and criticism from the industry. Industry observers and competitors view Cisco's strategy as a way to stall the movement of software-defined networks (SDN). Other analysts see the benefit for organizations in the ACI vision of Cisco with regard network infrastructure development.

The article reports on the efforts of software giant Microsoft Corp. to incorporate Yammer Inc. onto its business software portfolio. An overview about the blockbuster Yammer acquisition by Microsoft is provided. Also tackled is the impact of Yammer on both the company's business portfolio and its bottom line.

The article discusses the significance of client virtualization to the both the users and computer industry in the U.S. Eventhough it has not always been the kind of solution providers that users prefer, it is considered an important element of any server-consolidation effort that usually leads to additional information technology (IT) service opportunities and the sale of few larger servers to replace a whole host of underutilized smaller servers. Most often, customers are deploying virtualization software on their servers as part of its strategy to increase the utilization rate of their existing units.

The article features the Altiris Manageability Toolkit 6.0 for Intel vPro Technology. Intel's vPro technology allows management software such as Altiris to provide serverlike control over desktop systems. The Altiris Manageability Toolkit 6.0 provides device discovery, hardware and software inventory, out of band power management, remote diagnostics and repair, BIOS access and even network filtering using a virtualized appliance. Intel announced its vPro technology in April 2006 and unveiled the business desktop chip platform in September 2007.

The article reports on the plan of the International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) to expand its high-performance computing product offerings while gaining traction in the U.S. midmarket. On February 28, 2007, the company announced its new software applications for its Cluster 1350 product line, aiming at midmarket companies including financial institutions, computer-aided engineering firms and life science companies. Moreover, the company's partnership with Microsoft Corp. to create cluster solutions for IBM-based high performance computing clusters was also announced in the same day.

The article reports that Microsoft Corp. has trained 110,000 partners on the Windows Vista operating system and the Office 2007 software package. Microsoft's Upgrade the Desktop marketing campaign offers sales and marketing tools for cross selling from the desktop to server. The demonstration showcase provides partners with role-based selling tools and other tools for assisting in marketing messaging. The launch sale tool kit assists in demonstrating the customer benefits of the Exchange 2007, Office 2007, and Vista software. Microsoft is planning a series of events to coincide with the January 29, 2007 launch of Vista.

The article reports that Cisco Systems Inc. plans to launch a new software-oriented business model. The company aims to create a network version of a hypervisor that will allow customers to more easily plug in the services they want to add into the network without disrupting existing operations. It was revealed by Cliff Meltzer, Cisco's senior vice president of network management. This transformation will change the way Cisco sells its advanced network services to customers. The new move will also give the company greater flexibility.

The article presents the author's comments on International Business Machines Corp.' Lotus Sametime software. Two realtime collaboration tools are combined into a single product through this software. It is a cross-platform client and could be extended to work with other real-time applications. Spellchecking and emoticons are some of the features of this software.

The article reviews the SharePoint Server 2007 from Microsoft Inc.

The article discusses computer hardware as a service in the management services industry. The author reflects that solution providers derive more profit margin from selling and managing hardware to clients than just trying to sell stand-alone hardware. In hardware-as-a-service model, the customer is leasing the system hardware and the solution provider just manages the lease and provide systems upgrade. The author indicates that this business model will become the dominant model in the future because technologies continue to isolate software from underlying hardware.

The article presents the author's views on Zeroday Emergency Response Team (ZERT), a group of security expert volunteers who create patches for security holes in software products. ZERT's emergence as a player in the security arena augurs well for the computer industry. With the emergence of ZERT, customers will feel more secure to buy Microsoft products.

The article reports that Radware Ltd. has partnered with Forum Systems Inc. to introduce an optional software module that combines Forum's XML acceleration, policy-based XML message handling and protection against message-based security threats. According to Michelle Blank, chief marketing officer at Radware, the new integration will allow users to secure their XML-based SOA applications. The new software is capable of providing data authentication. The software will be available in the market by July 2007.

The article reports that CA Inc. has introduced a new portfolio management software named Clarity 8. The software includes four new modules and 150 individual enhancements. The company believes that the software will help customers improve IT governance. IT customers will be able to effectively manage risk and compliance initiatives such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. David Hurwitz, president of marketing for CA says that the four modules expand the range of IT functions. The software will be available in the market by the end of October.

The article presents an opinion regarding developments in the U.S. computer and software industries. An open source software called Chandler brings together calendar functions with instant messaging and electronic mail. A computer security conference revealed a rumor that IBM might acquire Internet Security Systems.

The article offers news briefs regarding recent activities in the technology industry. Hewlett-Packard bought Mercury Interactive for 4.5 billion dollars. The International Business Machines (IBM) also bought MRO software for 740 million dollars. The Brocade Communications Systems bought McData for 713 million dollars since the two companies have overlapping product lines and customers. LogMeIn bought Applied Networking as LogMeIn carries out remote computer monitoring and Applied Networking's product is Hamachi zero-configuration VPN.

The article presents two blogs posted on the Web site go.eweek.com, which focuses on matters relative to the computer industry. It is advised to impose minimum weight on requirement on machines that hold sensitive personal information. Premature mummification is a good way to short-circuit the most important stages of software collaboration.