Last week I discussed the growing importance of content management for some industries (" Content Management and XML," 3 July 2002). In essence, content management involves breaking documents into their constituent elements and storing each element so that it can be maintained and reused independent of the document for which is was originally created.

The revolution of the Internet has had a great impact on the way that business is done, people communicate, and information is shared. Today it is possible to order just about any product over the information superhighway, but the fear over security reduces the Internet's potential.

I realize, of course, that predicting the future is a dangerous business. As management theorist Peter Drucker has written, "Forecasting is not a respectable human activity and not worthwhile beyond the shortest of periods" ( Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices).

The Internet, and the emerging "hypernet" of networked applications and communication devices, are the backbone of the knowledge economy. Networked technologies are accelerating the shift in the economic foundation from the physical to the non-physical, changing the world conversation and allowing the natural pattern of organizations to emerge.

The interest in XML continues to grow. Like any young technology, everyone is exploring possible uses and no one is sure where the technology will provide significant payoffs. The XML enthusiasts believe there are hundreds of ways that XML can be successfully used. More conservative managers know that many things besides the technology determine if it will be successful.

The following scenario was described in an online tutorial I came across recently:

Late last year, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) announced guidelines that would have allowed software patent owners to charge "reasonable and non-discriminatory" (RAND) royalties on patented software that W3C might choose to embed in its Web services standards. This predictably raised a hailstorm of protest from the Internet and "open source" communities that form much of the W3C's constituency.

I attended an interesting session a few days ago where two vice presidents from Sun and Microsoft "duked" it out over their Web services approaches. It was actually a pretty collegial discussion, and it provided great information on the approaches these two major players are taking. It started me thinking about who will be the likely winner in this Web services "war."

I attended an interesting session a few days ago where two vice presidents from Sun and Microsoft "duked" it out over their Web services approaches. It was actually a pretty collegial discussion, and it provided great information on the approaches these two major players are taking. It started me thinking about who will be the likely winner in this Web services "war."

Since the horrific events of September 11, the federal government has been catalyzed into moving forward expeditiously in formation of business continuity plans (BCP) and associated risk management. What exactly is BCP and its associated risk management and what benefit does it have for the company, business partners, and employees?