Datamation Staff

By Doug Lynn Information is a critical enabler to competitive success and overall prosperity. New organizations create prosperity by flexibly responding to increased business and societal uncertainty through their approach to information gathering, creation, management, distribution, and consumption. But the complexity of adopting this principle has made it problematic for large enterprises to realize consistent […]

By Mike Espindle A part of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Sam’s Club, with 480 store locations and over 42 million cardholders, is the world’s largest membership warehouse club. Its online store site, samsclub.com, was initially launched last summer. Over the past year the site has undergone weekly updating, using shopper feedback to introduce changes and innovations. […]

One-third of U.S. companies overestimate the competitive advantages of hosting Web sites internally, according to Jupiter Media Metrix, which means they also overlook the $6 million to $12 million in savings that can be gained over a three-year period by outsourcing hosting responsibilities. And those aren’t the only problems that hosting questions can pose for […]

The average tenure for an IT professional is less than three years, with more than half of IT professionals leaving their employers within that time, according to a study by people3. People3’s 2001 “IT Market Compensation Study” found three factors — the use of new technologies, offering learning and training initiatives and providing a challenging […]

By Dwight Klappich Innovations in electronic ordering and other “sell-side” technologies raise the question: “How much are you willing to risk for incremental improvements in power and flexibility?” www.metagroup.com Until recently, enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors owned order management. But they have been slow to adapt to market conditions that demand more order-entry flexibility. The […]

By Jim Howard Stop me if you’ve heard — or lived through — this one before: When I came in to work this morning, an e-mail from my boss greeted me, asking me to find an image that used to reside on the corporate page, under the “management team” copy. I could throttle that kid […]

By Karl Boone, PA Consulting Group At the beginning of this new century, businesses are using a combination of traditional and new methods to reach customers. Now seen as an essential tool rather than a gimmick, e-business is beginning to bring greater efficiencies to the workplace, and customers are being offered a number of different […]

By Chuck Sykes Some of the largest consumer-facing companies in the world are looking to solve what we call the “triple whammy” — how to get the best customer support performance at the best price, while treating customers like the world revolves around them. Jupiter Research is projecting that with more complex products being sold […]

M.A. Dockter This time of year is perfect for fishing, especially for me. And it’s not just because the ice is melted and I’m an open water fisherman from Wisconsin, but also because I administer servers. Every day for the past week or so, I have received 25 to 30 e-mails in my inbox that […]

Strong processor and storage growth continue to challenge physical planners and facilities managers, many of whom have seen recent and massive facility upgrades vanish in the face of extensive infrastructure growth. We offer guidelines on how to keep facilities needs manageable. By Rich Evans Driven by centralization, ongoing growth, and sustained expansion of both storage […]