Issue dtd. - 31st May. 2004
Konkan Railway deploys Anti Collision Device
ACCIDENTS involving trains are gruesome. There’s the magnitude of the loss involved, both of life and property, and the trauma it causes to the families of the passengers on board.

Issue dtd. - 31st May. 2004
Cyber crime syndicates and Sasser
While the Sasser worm by itself isn·t a security issue, it has a role in the ongoing epidemic of malware-induced cyber crime. Focusing only on the worm·s technicalities would be a mistake.

Issue dtd. - 24th May. 2004
Grid computing gets down to business
In the wake of the rise and fall of the dotcom era, new technologies that promise the moon and stars are often regarded with a healthy dose of scepticism.

Issue dtd. - 17th May. 2004
Going the cross ERP way
Ashish Gupta says that over the next three to four years we will see cross ERP products as customers demand more from enterprise applications

Issue dtd. - 3rd May. 2004
Customer databases and real-time CRM
A customer database is an organised collection of comprehensive information about individual customers or prospects that is current, accessible, and actionable for such marketing purposes as lead generation, lead qualification, sale of a product or service, or maintenance of customer relationships.

Issue dtd. - 26th April. 2004
User roles and personalisation in CRM
The role concept ensures that the users get the information most pertinent to them. CRM solutions provided by major vendors like SAP can be accessed through an enterprise portal that comes bundled with the e-business suite.

Issue dtd. - 19th April. 2004
Leveraging PLM for manufacturing excellence
PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) is a business approach for deriving maximum benefit from the product data during the entire life of the product.

Issue dtd. - 19th April. 2004
Towards a better understanding of customer behaviour
RFM Analysis is based on the assumption that the customer response to promotions depends greatly on when specific customers last made a purchase, how often they buy, and how high their purchasing value is.

Issue dtd. - 12th April. 2004
Using Decision Trees to predict customer behaviour
A Decision Tree is a predictive model that is used to make predictions through a classification process. The predictive model is represented as an upside down Tree—root at the top (or on the left-hand side) and leaves at the bottom (or on the right-hand side).

Issue dtd. - 5th April. 2004
Predicting customer behaviour
ONE of the most important functions performed by a CRM system is to help predict customer behaviour. Customer behaviour prediction as implemented in most CRM systems consists of the following activities:

Issue dtd. - 5th April. 2004
Choosing the right DR service provider
In this competitive environment, organisations have recognised the importance of integrating their infrastructure and enabling key applications to be accessible to stakeholders on a 24x7 basis.

Issue dtd. - 15th March. 2004
Making the best of analytical CRM
CRM systems consist of two dimensions: analysis and action (planning and execution). Information gained in analytical CRM is made readily accessible to all relevant employees in marketing, sales, service, and in call centres.

Issue dtd. - 8th March. 2004
Data classification is a fundamental building block
Do you know what your data is really worth? Although all business information might be valuable, not all of it is critical to operations. Yet, it is not uncommon to find businesses that have all applications data residing on a single and costly high-end storage tier.

Issue dtd. - 1st March. 2004
The three functional areas of CRM
Last week Khalid Sheikh presented a general introduction to the subject of CRM. This week he shifts to the details

Issue dtd. - 23rd February. 2004
An introduction to CRM
Customer relationship management (CRM) is no longer a buzzword, but a necessity for business in the knowledge age we live in. Starting with this article, Khalid Sheikh begins a series that will comprehensively cover every aspect of CRM

Issue dtd. - 9th February. 2004
iSCSI brings networked storage to SMEs
Thanks to cost and technology issues, the benefits that storage networks bring have hitherto been largely restricted to large corporations.

Issue dtd. - 9th February. 2004
Remote office connectivity for business advantage
As businesses grow and expand to different locations, communication and availability of IT solutions between these locations can prove to be a troublesome and costly exercise.

Issue dtd. - 9th February. 2003
Deploying .NET applications - I
Though distributing libraries in the form of DLLs was a major step forward, it suffered from the now infamous DLL hell. COM could avoid this but it had no versioning mechanism.

Issue dtd. - 2nd February. 2003
Consumer electronics opportunities for HDDs abound
Hard disc drives (HDDs) are traditionally seen as storage devices that only the IT industry uses.

Issue dtd. - 2nd February. 2003
Indian banks should outsource bill payment services
As India rapidly develops, more and more bills are being generated.

Issue dtd. - 19th January. 2003
Network Management: Trends and the future
In a perfect world, networks would not need management – they would just run themselves. However, in the real world, parts tend to break, changes are made, somebody has to pay, performance is often below expectations and abuse of resources is a reality.

Issue dtd. - 22nd December. 2003
Turbo-charge engineering drawings
Many manufacturers are undecided on choosing between 2D and 3D for their product development processes. John J McEleney argues that embracing 3D CAD is a faster, better way to produce 2D drawings, bringing in faster time-to-market benefits, higher quality and product innovation, all at a lower cost.

Issue dtd. - 15th December. 2003
Blade servers cut a new trail
Blade servers go beyond just saving shelf space to offer corporates long-term benefits in maintenance, scalability, redudancy and server management, says Jyothi SatyanathanT.

Issue dtd. - 1st December. 2003
In VAS we trust
Telcos at the time of launching mobile services would have never thought that voice revenue, the very foundation of their business, would one day come under severe pressure. So much so that they are today forced to think of alternate sources of revenues.

Issue dtd. - 24th November. 2003
Installation pitfalls in Cat 6 cabling
With the advent of Category 6 requirements in cabling, several issues have came to light from a manufacturing and installation perspective.

Issue dtd. - 10th November. 2003
The essentials of storage back-up and restore
As the need to keep data and information safe have gained greater importance over the years—companies having realised their importance in business success and competitiveness—so has the need for back-up and restore solutions. V Vivekanand offers a guide on the essentials of storage back-up and restore

Issue dtd. - 20th October. 2003
Solving storage problems virtually
Virtualisation will help in efficiently utilising storage resources and effectively managing heterogenous storage devices, says P P Subramanian

Issue dtd. - 8th September. 2003
Business processes—the common theme in IT and BPO
Understanding business processes and creating innovative models that combine business logic, operations and use of IT will help organisations rationalise processes, cut costs and improve their competitive advantage, says Chandra Kant

Issue dtd. - 1st September. 2003
Maximising productivity through automated testing
In the fast changing and highly competitive business environment, organisations need to accelerate their software development cycles and reduce their time-to-market to stay ahead of competition. Test automation provides the answer to an organisation’s business problems by minimising the effort required for testing systems, while ensuring uniformity in the testing process, says Sunil Gupta

Issue dtd. - 25th August. 2003
Secure Space
IPS fortifies IT departments’ security arsenal
IT administrators have quickly learned that intrusion detection systems do little to protect an enterprise network’s critical resources. As a result, the industry buzz heralding these systems as the greatest new security tool on the market has died a quick death. However, there are some burgeoning intrusion detection and prevention technologies that overcome the pitfalls of legacy intrusion detection systems and can be highly effective additions to an IT department’s security arsenal, says NIR ZUK. The hitch is finding which ones, by understanding the pitfalls of intrusion detection systems and the product requirements for delivering ‘real’ prevention capabilities

Issue dtd. - 18th August. 2003
Secure Space
The hoax that cried VIRUS!
Are you turning hoaxes into manually driven e-mail worms? NIRAJ KAUSHIK explains how hoaxes can cause as much damage as a real virus itself and suggests a few tips to deal with them

Issue dtd. - 4th August. 2003
In search of true mobility
The extension of the connected enterprise—the always on, always reachable employee, is a key constituent in any corporate’s gameplan to retain and increase its customer base. Anywhere, anytime multimedia connectivity is made possible thanks to modern technology and its applications like unified messaging. Anand Bhatt elaborates on the concept of unified communication and its benefits for companies

Issue dtd. - 28th July. 2003
Secure Space
Are you secure at the client level?
While network security is incorporated into the security framework of most corporates, it is client level security that needs to be examined and firewalls implemented on their machines, says Joy Ghosh

Issue dtd. - 21st July. 2003
Personal Technology
Palm and wireless - II
In the second part of the series on Palm and wireless, Ashish Gupta offers a guide to wireless Internet connectivity on your Palm handheld

Issue dtd. - 21st July. 2003
How to get an ERP implemention right
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software forms the basis of decision-making processes within a company. B K Khaitan enumerates on safeguards to be adopted at various stages while implementing an ERP package

Issue dtd. - 21st July. 2003
Secure Space
Making IT infrastructure safe and secure
Is your IT infrastructure secure? Would you bet your company’s future on it? Unfortunately, says AJAY GIDH, most enterprises fail to recognise their IT vulnerabilities until after the damage is done

Issue dtd. - 14th July. 2003
Personal Technology
MP3 players with attitude
Every few years or so there comes along a ‘killer application’ that catches everyone’s fancy. For instance, we’ve seen the viral effect of Instant Messaging and SMS.

Issue dtd. - 14th July. 2003
Convergence: The new design dilemma
Consumer demand for convenience is giving an impetus to the implementation of convergence solutions. Cadence CEO Ray Bingham looks at this mix of communications, computing and consumer electronics and the design challenges facing companies trying to keep up with the market economy’s insatiable hunger for increased computing power, speed and the need for multi-functional devices

Issue dtd. - 14th July. 2003
The pre- and post-paid billing path to profitability
The US-based CSG and its wholly-owned subsidiaries serve more than 265 service providers in over 40 countries across the globe. The company provides billing and customer care solutions for cable television, direct broadcast satellite, advanced IP services, next generation mobile and fixed wireline markets. In this article, Sherie Ng advocates the case for service providers to shift focus from the type of billing system (pre-paid/post-paid) to the type of transaction the customer is completing

Issue dtd. - 14th July. 2003
Web Services: Revolutionising application integration
Web services—self-contained business functions that operate over the Internet—are growing in importance. VidyaSagar has more on the technology and its working

Issue dtd. - 7th July. 2003
Personal Technology
Palm and Wireless - I
If there’s any device most suited to wireless connectivity it’s your Palm handheld computer, says Ashish Gupta. In this article he focuses on the different ways in which you can wirelessly enable your Palm, and introduces you to a truly wireless world

Issue dtd. - 7th July. 2003
Enhance your life with wireless networking
Ever imagined why WiFi was the new buzzword worldwide? Ever imagined how easier life would be with a wireless network at your home to be? Ng Bee Ling explains how you could set one at your home in three easy do-it-yourself steps

Issue dtd. - 9th June. 2003
PDM — an extension of ERP
Reliable and timely information brought in by ERP systems is essential for today’s decision makers. But going beyond, an organisation needs to complete the feedback cycle in all departments so that innovations and efficiencies can be built into future work processes. Varghese K Daniel advocates the use of the enterprise product information model to achieve this

Issue dtd. - 2nd June. 2003
CIM—the key to interoperability and storage management
Storage management has always been a brow-crinkling problem for enterprise managers trying to deal with the superabundance of data. Adoption of the Common Information Model will lead to a collaborative approach towards developing storage solutions, says V VIVEKANAND

Issue dtd. - 19th May. 2003
Personal Technology
Dr. Palm - II
Need a personal fitness trainer? Try your Palm handheld. Ashish Gupta concludes his two-part series on Dr. Palm with a list of software that can help you burn extra calories

Issue dtd. - 19th May. 2003
Evolution of design technology
Soon all buildings sketches will be represented as databases and not drawings. The shift is good news for facility managers, but it has been a long time coming, says Adrian Schep

Issue dtd. - 12th May. 2003
Personal Technology
Ready for Digital Photography?
During a recent visit to the camera shop, the salesman asked me if I’d like to trade my 35 mm compact for a Digital Camera (digicam).

Issue dtd. - 5th May. 2003
The future of enterprise Instant Messaging
Enterprise Instant Messaging (IM) is gaining popularity, as corporates begin to buy into the benefits of using IM over e-mail or voice mail. Dr Uday Shukla tells us how instant messaging makes the job easier

Issue dtd. - 5th May. 2003
How to evaluate and select ERP
The greater the care taken during evaluation and selection of the ERP product, lesser the time for implementation, and greater the chances of success, says B K Khaitan. Here’s an overview of how RPG Cables went about its ERP implementation

Issue dtd. - 5th May. 2003
Personal Technology
Dr. Palm
In this two-part series, Ashish Gupta tells you how your Palm handheld computer can become your family doctor and personal fitness trainer

Issue dtd. - 21st April. 2003
Power of simple tools for customer mining
While lots has been written about why CRM projects succeed and some fail, ANKUR RASTOGI and AMIT SAXENA say that using simple tools could also help a firm in generating anlysis that could provide vital pointers for the future

Issue dtd. - 14th April. 2003
Many happy returns
Investing in IT can actually prove beneficial to a company, and returns on IT investments are seen not just in tangibles like lower staff cost but also in intangible benefits like better customer relations and reduced time-to-market, says Navin Chandra

Issue dtd. - 14th April. 2003
Personal Technology
Why you’ll need a CD-writer
I remember reading an article about the CD manufacturing process, around the time the Compact Disc was introduced (1982).

Issue dtd. - 17th Mar. 2003
The five biggest myths about developing Web services
According to Frank Luksic, notions that say that Web services have too many shortcomings or are a relatively new development, are totally untrue.

Issue dtd. - 10th Mar. 2003
Why disaster recovery planning?
Disaster recovery services can help companies recover from virtually any type of disaster and ensure ongoing availability of mission-critical resources. Ajay Gidh explains the various stages of an effective disaster recovery plan

Issue dtd. - 24th Feb. 2003
Boot-strapping e-governance
Even as Indian state governments fall over themselves to hop on to the e-governance bandwagon, Sandeep Verma explains why the right e-governance projects require a careful approach

Issue dtd. - 10th Feb. 2003
Sound Decisions
If downloading and listening to digitised MP3 songs is your pastime, you have to ask yourself if you’re really enjoying what you’re listening to.

Issue dtd. - 10th Feb. 2003
Wi-Fi Networks—anytime, anywhere computing
With most computing devices, including notebooks, PDAs and cell phones, geared to eventually connect to 802.11-based wireless networks, Wi-Fi or wireless fidelity is expected to become an even bigger and hotter technology for both home and businesses in the years to come, says G B Kumar

Issue dtd. - 10th Feb. 2003
Intranets and E-forms
The power of workgroup interaction and communication can be best utilised through the use of a structured, system-driven process. Nilesh Gupta looks at the various Intranet options available and votes for web forms as a convenient and widely available information exchange tool

Issue dtd. - 13th Jan. 2003
Notebook glitches and fixes
This article is for those who own Notebook computers, or those aspiring to do so.

Issue dtd. - 13th Jan. 2003
Doing business in a global scenario
Infinite Computer Solutions is a $42 million IT software and services company that was ranked among the seven fastest growing tech companies in North America in a poll conducted by Deloitte & Touché. Its CEO, Commodore Navin Chandra (Retd.), elaborates on what he feels are essential ingredients for doing business in a global environment

Issue dtd. - 6th Jan. 2003
Tales from the grid
Companies may have found several benefits to grid computing. But it is not yet the panacea of all problems associated with enterprises’ high computational demands. Leong Khay Mun elucidates on the technology—sans the hype

Issue dtd. - 23rd Dec. 2002
Knowledge driven automation
Knowledge-based engineering is about reuse of experience, expertise and other information relevant to each phase of the engineering life cycle of an end-user product. It can be either in a structured format like a spreadsheet or even in a subjective format like human judgement. Aiyappan Ramamurthi illustrates how knowledge-based engineering can be deployed to enhance the productivity of the design team

Issue dtd. - 16th Dec. 2002
Active vs Passive storage resource management
As technology gets more intertwined with the various operations of an organisation, the managing of data generated by users becomes critical, as it is directly related to the efficiency of the organisation.

Issue dtd. - 9th Dec. 2002
Direct-o-matic
In the past two years we’ve witnessed the convergence of IT products and consumer electronics.

Issue dtd. - 18th Nov. 2002
Network Planning
Planning a network can be quite a Herculean task. How does one decided how much bandwidth is enough? What are the criteria when deciding on security and reliability products? Where would a wireless network be optimised to the fullest and which environs would suit wired LANs. Milind Kamat helps network planners find some answers

Issue dtd. - 11th Nov. 2002
Achieving voice quality in packet networks
With convergence becoming a reality, many enterprises don’t see economic viability in running separate networks for voice and data. While running a packet-based network is great for data, there are many problem issues on the voice quality front. Sandeep Sharma identifies the issues and provides some solutions