Recently, while driving, my windshield wipers failed. I would turn them on, but they wouldn't move. After several minutes of trying, they would eventually work, but they had failed in the "off" state.

If you are facing upgrades to existing packaged applications and planning the implementation of an enterprise application integration (EAI) solution, you are not alone. The new world is here, and it involves woolly mammoth-size IT scenarios. So, how do you begin to tackle such a scenario -- one that involves enterprise application upgrades and deploying an EAI solution?

When a new conference is being launched, it often has to take whatever dates it can get, since major cities and venues are often booked years in advance. The Object Management Group (OMG) is in the process of launching a new conference, Integrate, which is designed to be the place for managers to come to learn about new enterprise integration strategies.

I've been working with a company that wants to apply analytics to its customer service operations. As a result, I thought it would be interesting to readers to read about how and where organizations are applying customer service analytics.

I don't know of many people who really thought 2002 was a great year. Throughout most of the year, those involved in high technology -- including hardware vendors, software vendors, and IT consultants -- struggled to survive. Many didn't. By the same token, the large companies that normally buy high-technology products have largely had a poor year as well. They had tight budgets and, in many cases, layoffs.

Continuing last week's discussion on creating the real-time enterprise (" The Real-Time Enterprise," 17 December 2002), I want to cover a new application that will play a key role in enabling the real-time enterprise: business activity monitoring (BAM).

"Conventional wisdom says to get back to basics. Conventional wisdom says to cut costs. Conventional wisdom is doomed. The winners are the innovators who are making bold thinking an everyday part of doing business."

In early December, IBM announced that it would acquire Rational Software for US $2.1 billion in cash.

There are many things that make projects and teams successful, but capability and commitment are two that I find especially important -- I call them the two Cs of success. For true success, you need both of these from all your team members! Let me explain through an example.

Last week, I attended the "Creating the Real-Time Enterprise" conference in San Francisco, California, USA. This new conference, hosted by DCI, covers a range of issues confronting any organization that is contemplating moving to "real time."

Last week (" AI in Bahrain," 4 December 2002), I talked about the draw achieved by a commercial chess program, Deep Fritz, against world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik in Bahrain and concluded that AI techniques are getting more powerful and easier to deploy. This week, I want to reinforce that point with a concrete business example.