Microsoft has put considerable resources into turning its vision of component technology into a reality over the past decade, adopting component-based interfaces across all of its products and introducing tools that make it easier to build and use components.

As we enter the 21st century, the IT industry exhibits two bewilderingly contradictory tendencies. On the one hand, we are constantly being told of the savage commercial pressure under which business operates, the cutthroat competitiveness of global markets, and the consequent need to squeeze out every last drop of productivity.

The Object Management Group (OMG) was founded in 1989 to promote the adoption of object-oriented technology and reusable software components. Within two years, it produced the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) specification and the Object Management Architecture (OMA), which mapped out its aims for the next decade.

An enterprise portal provides a unified point of access to an enterprise's Internet and Web connections -- for business-to-consumer (B2C), business-to-business (B2B), and business-to-employee (B2E) connections. It includes all the software needed to create, enhance, customize, and manage these connections, along with the tools to integrate existing business functions and processes.

Cutter Consortium continues to survey selected companies on their business strategies and computing plans. The companies we survey are established corporations, not e-business startups.

Alan Webber is one of the founding editors of Fast Company magazine. I recently had the pleasure of meeting Webber after hearing him address the Massachusetts Software and Internet Council, where he spoke about the paradoxes of work and life in the new economy.

Alan Webber is one of the founding editors of Fast Company magazine. I recently had the pleasure of meeting Webber after hearing him address the Massachusetts Software and Internet Council, where he spoke about the paradoxes of work and life in the new economy.

As I described in last month's ITMS, in a past life I was once "baptized" into the world of software by a mentor who put me in charge of integrated test planning on a critical leg of a US $750-million project. It was a hapless job.

To kick off the new year, I thought it would be a good idea to discuss the important developments and trends influencing the application of data warehousing and business intelligence (BI) technology. My goal is to offer some advice on a rapidly changing set of technologies that is moving in many different directions.

In an effort designed to integrate customer relationship management (CRM) into new delivery channels, Hibernia National Bank, headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, is implementing a targeted, interactive automated teller machine (ATM) marketing campaign using Diebold, Inc.'s Smart Start marketing application.

Healthcare companies are leveraging their data and business intelligence technology to monitor both patients' and providers' compliance with best practices and medical guidelines to ensure that appropriate care is being provided. Here's an example of how one company, CareSteps, Inc., is applying data mining in an effort to cut healthcare coverage costs.

The business intelligence (BI) market is developing so rapidly that organizations are presented with a large number of products and implementation choices ranging from packaged data warehouses, analytical applications, and corporate portals to active data warehousing and real-time BI.

Cutter Consortium continues to survey companies to ascertain data warehousing and business intelligence (BI) implementation trends. In a recent survey, we asked 130 companies a variety of questions pertaining to data quality in the data warehouse environment.

After three years of pummeling in the press, it seems that the Stone Age brick-and-mortar retailers may actually be able to beat their more Silicon Age competitors in the online world.

After three years of pummeling in the press, it seems that the Stone Age brick-and-mortar retailers may actually be able to beat their more Silicon Age competitors in the online world.

Imagine you are an IT director in the e-commerce unit of a large financial institution and you have an urgent deadline. By the end of this quarter, you will need to have a Web-based reporting and transaction system up for use by key clients of your Capital Markets unit.

© 1999, 2000 by David Dikel, David Kane, and James Wilson. All rights reserved.

Someday my data will work with your data to create greater earnings for both our companies. Nothing will stop us from exchanging information, managing supply chains, or developing integrated e-business solutions -- not systems or protocols, not operating systems, not geography (especially geography!).

Someday my data will work with your data to create greater earnings for both our companies. Nothing will stop us from exchanging information, managing supply chains, or developing integrated e-business solutions -- not systems or protocols, not operating systems, not geography (especially geography!).

Microsoft has published a blueprint for the next generation of computing services, the ".NET" strategy. Although mainframes are not well represented in the blueprint documents, the architecture is ideal for bringing legacy mainframe applications forward into this next generation of computing alongside distributed platforms.

Microsoft has published a blueprint for the next generation of computing services, the ".NET" strategy. Although mainframes are not well represented in the blueprint documents, the architecture is ideal for bringing legacy mainframe applications forward into this next generation of computing alongside distributed platforms.

The IT industry has always claimed its importance to the business. Computers and software are depicted in various ads as the corporate savior, the Wunderwaffe, or the "Ultimate Answer to All Management Problems." IT professionals have the privilege of working with truly exciting technology.

The IT industry has always claimed its importance to the business. Computers and software are depicted in various ads as the corporate savior, the Wunderwaffe, or the "Ultimate Answer to All Management Problems." IT professionals have the privilege of working with truly exciting technology.