Complexity is all around us.

The economic case for business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce is overwhelming in its potential benefits. But as with every disruptive technology, there will be winners and losers. The early adopters are more likely to be the winners, particularly in those businesses subject to the "winner takes all" effect.

I probably read a half-dozen articles a week with the word middleware in the title or the first paragraph. Everyone who is interested in the technologies underlying the Internet, e-business, and distributed computing is interested in middleware. Middleware is made up of all the various software products and technologies that are used to link objects or modules on clients with objects or modules on servers.

As we continue to tackle the challenge of managing IT projects with a known deadline and (usually) unknown requirements, the trick is to take what we've learned about documenting our own trends and put it to good use as we face new projects.

Text-analysis products have been around for years. For the most part, however, these early products were clumsy; they were difficult to deploy and use.

An Internet startup called digiMine.com plans to offer data mining and other business intelligence (BI) applications and services targeted at dot-coms and business-to-business e-commerce companies.

©2000 Symbian Ltd. All rights reserved.

It is said that the dawn of the personal computer represented the first major computing revolution, and the appearance of the Web marked the second. Now we're standing on the brink of the third great computing revolution -- the advent of the "Internet appliance" (IA).

The increased interest in mini operating systems at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories (HPL) corresponds, not surprisingly, with the rise of the new enterprise Internet data center (IDC).

The increased interest in mini operating systems at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories (HPL) corresponds, not surprisingly, with the rise of the new enterprise Internet data center (IDC).

As embedded systems become ever more powerful and inexpensive, the range of applications for which they might be suited grows ever larger. Some vendors appear to be concentrating on a relatively narrow niche of handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs), while others -- notably Microsoft -- are focusing on a broader range of business-oriented products and applications.

As we've noted elsewhere in this issue of the Cutter IT Journal, embedded systems and wireless information devices (WIDs) are likely to become the next major wave of technology.

"There are three kinds of people: those who can count and those who can't." -- Anonymous

"There are three kinds of people: those who can count and those who can't." -- Anonymous

Success in an outsourcing engagement is determined by the ability to set performance expectations properly and to manage the engagement to meet those expectations. Misalignment of these expectations is perhaps the most common reason why outsourcing engagements falter. In some cases, the client is disappointed with performance even though the outsourcer has exceeded its performance commitments.

Success in an outsourcing engagement is determined by the ability to set performance expectations properly and to manage the engagement to meet those expectations. Misalignment of these expectations is perhaps the most common reason why outsourcing engagements falter. In some cases, the client is disappointed with performance even though the outsourcer has exceeded its performance commitments.

Preparing for an outsourcing engagement takes a great deal of time and effort, as well as a commitment to doing things right. These preparatory activities will culminate in a set of contracts and documents that memorialize the understanding of the parties and the terms of their agreement.

Preparing for an outsourcing engagement takes a great deal of time and effort, as well as a commitment to doing things right. These preparatory activities will culminate in a set of contracts and documents that memorialize the understanding of the parties and the terms of their agreement.

Outsourcing customers and providers usually enter into outsourcing relationships with noble intentions and high expectations. The CIO and other customer executives look forward to exemplary service, best-of-breed thinking, extraordinary responsiveness, and a vendor that shows both a partner-like caring about the customer's success and an intuitive understanding of the business.