Outsourcing
C|net, 3/17/04: Busting the myths behind managed services
By Jeffrey M. Kaplan
One of the telecommunications industry's most popular terms is "managed services." Everyone's heard it, but few understand it. The true meaning of managed services has been further blurred by the myriad myths that have grown up around the topic.
That misunderstanding needs to get cleared up because managed services--done correctly--can become an important component of an on-demand strategy.
When I think about managed services, I'm referring to a packaged service that assumes responsibility for an IT or telecom management function. Managed services are tied to the rapid rise of on-demand and utility computing as well as to the resurgence of hosted applications. In fact, these trends are all driven by the same business and economic forces that are pushing enterprises toward outsourcing and on-demand computing.
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Security
Computer Weekly, 3/16/04: Thought for the day: Laptops let in the worms
The virus problem is likely to get worse, and the only solution may be to impound company laptops, says Jay Heiser.
Since the end of February businesses have been subjected to an unprecedented number of new internet worms.
At least three competitive malware writers created a dozen variant worms, each with new tricks to evade controls. Fallout from the virus war, more accurately characterised as a feud, continues to arrive at e-mail servers and home PCs from variants of Bagle, MyDoom and Netsky.
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Microsoft
C|net, 3/16/04: Microsoft lays out management software plan
By Ina Fried
LAS VEGAS--Microsoft on Tuesday announced new software and additional details of its plan to make Windows systems easier to manage.
The company said at the Microsoft Management Summit here that a new release of its Software Update Services, renamed Windows Update Services, is entering testing this week. The software, which is scheduled ship later this year, is designed to let system administrators keep PCs and servers up-to-date with the latest patches and bug fixes.
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C|net, 3/16/04: StarOffice rev may ease move from MS Office
By Mike Ricciuti
BOSTON--Sun Microsystems is planning new tools for its StarOffice desktop software package that could make it easier to attract Microsoft Office users.
The company plans to ship later this year an update to StarOffice that will include converters for moving macros created in Microsoft Office to StarOffice, Jonathan Schwartz, Sun's top software executive, told a gathering of reporters here.
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