Due to the increasing global nature of business, as well as the rapid growth of e-business, the number and scope of risks and opportunities for e-businesses is rising on an unanticipated scale.

Due to the increasing global nature of business, as well as the rapid growth of e-business, the number and scope of risks and opportunities for e-businesses is rising on an unanticipated scale.

The evolution of e-business requires the application of every aspect of risk management. At one side of the scale is a massive opportunity: the potential for new markets, more clients, and highly automated, high-volume services. On the other side is the possibility of increased fault, fraud, and crime, or a large capital investment in a service that may become out of date through unforeseen developments.

When we last visited the phenomenon known as XML (Extensible Markup Language), the technology was showing great promise as a data-interchange format for legacy-to-Web strategies. That was in June 2000 (see " Business-to-Business E-Commerce Brings XML to the Forefront").

In this issue, Jim Mayes looks at how to anticipate risk for future IT projects by being conscious of your history. Remember the saying, "Those who do not know history will be condemned to repeat it"? Many companies miss out on the fact that contained within their histories (both good and bad) are gifts that can help them succeed. Your own metrics can contain these gifts. Mayes will tell you about the gifts that resided within his metrics data, and how he used them to plan future projects of critical importance.

Some time ago I was consulting to a major Fortune 100 financial services firm, working to help it improve IT capacity. Two components of the strategy were a metrics program and an IT project office function. These were designed to help internal IT negotiate more effectively with client organizations and improve the planning process.

"Your history will help you better manage the future." -- Michael Mah [1]

Wireless business intelligence (BI) is about delivering data access and analysis to users of cell phones and other Web-enabled devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), which are beginning to proliferate among business professionals and other mobile workers.

In the March 2000 BIA, I made a number of observations regarding the business intelligence (BI) application service provider (ASP) market.

Aether Software +1 877 719 3169www.aethersoftware.com

I've been wanting to order AT&T's @Home cable Internet service for my home office for more than four months now. It seems like at least once a week I find an advertisement for the service hanging on my mailbox. The trouble is, every time I call the AT&T customer service line or visit the company's Web site to order the service, I'm informed that "AT&T @Home isn't available in my neighborhood yet."

In IT organizations around the world, debates are raging about the ownership, protection, and commercial value of intellectual property (IP). What is worth protecting? Should business methods like Amazon's "1-Click" be patentable? Are e-commerce transactions in violation of existing patents? What should be covered by copyright? Does the open source movement render obsolete the matter of ownership of software?

In IT organizations around the world, debates are raging about the ownership, protection, and commercial value of intellectual property (IP). What is worth protecting? Should business methods like Amazon's "1-Click" be patentable? Are e-commerce transactions in violation of existing patents? What should be covered by copyright? Does the open source movement render obsolete the matter of ownership of software?

Why did Sumer, Babylon, Egypt, India, and China, the predominant powers of the ancient world, never reach the stage of contemporary technology development? Certainly European achievements in the Middle Ages didn't foretell the cultural explosion that soon ensued in Europe during the Renaissance.

Why did Sumer, Babylon, Egypt, India, and China, the predominant powers of the ancient world, never reach the stage of contemporary technology development? Certainly European achievements in the Middle Ages didn't foretell the cultural explosion that soon ensued in Europe during the Renaissance.

It is largely axiomatic that a company in any high-tech industry increases its value by expanding and appropriately protecting its base of documented, formalized intellectual property (IP).

It is largely axiomatic that a company in any high-tech industry increases its value by expanding and appropriately protecting its base of documented, formalized intellectual property (IP).

As the number of Web pages grows exponentially, it becomes increasingly important for enterprises to differentiate themselves from the competition. In a world where competition is just one click away, organizations need to be easily identifiable, providing existing and potential customers with the confidence that their needs will be met in the most convenient, reliable, and optimal way.

Intellectual property is ubiquitous, valuable, and expensive. All organizations from high-tech to no-tech have intellectual property. It is the knowledge that allows everyone to perform. Therefore, it is the most valuable item an organization can keep. The source of intellectual property is people. Since people are expensive, so is intellectual property.

E-projects are large projects that must be delivered rapidly, are both research-like and mission-critical, and have to be managed in a turbulent business and technology environment.

-- Jim Highsmith e-Project Management Practice Director and Senior Consultant Cutter Consortium

The only thing that everyone can agree on, regardless of what discipline they find themselves in career-wise, is that the world is different today. As one of my CIO friends said, "Jeez, I'm starting to sound like my grandmother." What makes things so different now?

Trial lawyers usually get a call only after major IT projects (or other kinds of projects) turn into hideous train wrecks. They are shown the scene of the accident: the mangled cars and tangled tracks of what was once a promising project. They are asked, "What in the world happened to cause this much money to go down the drain?" And, "Oh, by the way, whose fault was it, and how much can you get us in court?"

The third biggest killer in the UK is preventable medical error. It is the cause of more than 100 deaths every day -- an estimated 40,000 deaths annually. The figure rises to 120,000 deaths per annum in the US, where preventable medical error is estimated to lead to injuries in just under 3% of cases, at an annual cost of US $1 billion in terms of wasted bed days.

The third biggest killer in the UK is preventable medical error. It is the cause of more than 100 deaths every day -- an estimated 40,000 deaths annually. The figure rises to 120,000 deaths per annum in the US, where preventable medical error is estimated to lead to injuries in just under 3% of cases, at an annual cost of US $1 billion in terms of wasted bed days.