Most of the average company's capital investment portfolio is tied to information technology, and organizations today can't do without their information systems.

In the US, agriculture employed 63% of the workforce in 1840 compared with just 2% today. In 1943, the number of US blue-collar employees reached its peak, accounting for at least 40% of the workforce. That number has steadily declined since then to about 8%, and before the end of the century may well fall to the same level as that of agriculture [3].

In the US, agriculture employed 63% of the workforce in 1840 compared with just 2% today. In 1943, the number of US blue-collar employees reached its peak, accounting for at least 40% of the workforce. That number has steadily declined since then to about 8%, and before the end of the century may well fall to the same level as that of agriculture [3].

Editor's Note: This Executive Update is adapted from the 2003 Cutter Consortium Business Intelligence Advisory Service Executive Report"Outsourcing Your Business Intelligence: Maximize Impact and Minimize Investment." We believe you'll find it to be a thought-provoking piece on business intelligence (BI) activities as candidates for outsourcing.

Editor's Note: This Executive Update is adapted from the 2003 Cutter Consortium Business Intelligence Advisory Service Executive Report"Outsourcing Your Business Intelligence: Maximize Impact and Minimize Investment." We believe you'll find it to be a thought-provoking piece on business intelligence (BI) activities as candidates for outsourcing.

Companies and their suppliers interact daily about a variety of issues, including logistics, product specs, pricing, lead times, change orders, and so on. This exchange of information often occurs between numerous individuals across multiple functions and business units, making coordination of communication and decision making both difficult and critical.

Companies and their suppliers interact daily about a variety of issues, including logistics, product specs, pricing, lead times, change orders, and so on. This exchange of information often occurs between numerous individuals across multiple functions and business units, making coordination of communication and decision making both difficult and critical.

Let's start this note with a pop quiz: what's the difference between Dennis Kozlowski's toga-infested $2.1-million birthday party, with Tyco paying for half of it, and a failed SAP installation that costs a company $20 million? Answer: One of them is an ill-advised colossal waste of company resources and the other is a birthday party.

Let's start this note with a pop quiz: what's the difference between Dennis Kozlowski's toga-infested $2.1-million birthday party, with Tyco paying for half of it, and a failed SAP installation that costs a company $20 million? Answer: One of them is an ill-advised colossal waste of company resources and the other is a birthday party.

Let's start this note with a pop quiz: what's the difference between Dennis Kozlowski's toga-infested $2.1-million birthday party, with Tyco paying for half of it, and a failed SAP installation that costs a company $20 million? Answer: One of them is an ill-advised colossal waste of company resources and the other is a birthday party.

Software development

Most of the average company's capital investment portfolio is tied to information technology, and organizations today can't do without their information systems.

Most of the average company's capital investment portfolio is tied to information technology, and organizations today can't do without their information systems.

Most of the average company's capital investment portfolio is tied to information technology, and organizations today can't do without their information systems.

As someone who started writing about business rules in 1984 when I began to cover the expert systems market, I find the current surge of interest in business rules unsurprising. I only wonder why it took so long.