Outsourcing
Gartner, 7/28/04: Management Update: Fusing Business Processes Will Boost Utility Outsourcing
Business process fusion is a new concept. But it’s already driving two trends in IT: business process outsourcing and the provision of standard IT and business services as utilities on payper-use tariffs.
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Gartner, 7/28/04: Vendor Rating: EDS Stakes Its Future on Outsourcing
EDS’ recovery strategy is promising, but it’s uncertain whether EDS can execute it fast enough to challenge its formidable competition.
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Gartner, 7/29/04: Integrate Your Management of Multiple Outsourcers
Even when external providers deliver your IT services, you still need to manage your providers. Address these nine management responsibilities when outsourcing.
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Offshoring
Gartner, 7/22/04: Offshore Outsourcing Isn't the Only Threat to IT Jobs
The automation of IT services and business processes could also make many an IT job disappear. Make sure it's not yours by building up your IT skills and getting a better understanding of your company's business model.
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Security
C|net, 8/10/04: 'Critical' flaw seen in AOL Instant Messenger
By Graeme Wearden
Two security companies say that AOL's Instant Messenger application contains a serious vulnerability that could allow malicious hackers to take control of a user's PC.
According to Secunia and Internet Security Systems, there is a flaw in the "Away" function of the AOL messaging software, which allows users to show their friends that they're not at the computer.
"The vulnerability is caused due to a boundary error within the handling of 'Away' messages and can be exploited to cause a stack-based buffer overflow by supplying an overly long 'Away' message" of about 1,024 bytes, Secunia said.
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Computer Weekly, 8/10/04: Hackers conference shown how to bypass Active Directory controls
Security threats to Bluetooth wireless technology, credit card hacking and tricks to bypass Windows Active Directory were revealed at the Defcon conference in Las Vegas earlier this month.
Experts from the CIA and FBI rubbed shoulders with hardcore computer hackers at the conference. Once the sole preserve of hackers, Defcon has now become a recognised fixture in the IT industry's calendar.
One presentation showed delegates how hackers can bypass the controls restricting user access in the Windows Active Directory due to poor configuration of the software.
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Collaborative Technologies
The Wall Street Journal, 8/10/04: Turn Long Tasks Into Quickies With New 'Wiki' Techonology
By Kara Swisher
Wiki is a Hawaiian word for "quick," and some say it has the potential to change how the Web is used.
A wiki is a type of Web site that many people can revise, update and append with new information. It's sort of like a giant bulletin board on an office wall to which employees can pin photos, articles, comments and other things.
A wiki can gather, in one place, the data, knowledge, insight and customer input that's floating around a company or other organization. And it's a living document, since workers who are given access to it can make changes constantly.
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Microsoft
C|net, 8/9/04: Commentary: The business end of SP2
By Forrester Research
By Simon Yates and David Friedlander, analysts
Microsoft has released Windows XP Service Pack 2 to manufacturing and shipped the new operating system to PC manufacturers worldwide.
For consumers, enabling the software's Automatic Update feature will schedule an automatic download. Customers can also call Microsoft to get a CD. But for enterprises, mass deployment of SP2 isn't a practical reality, and companies should treat SP2 as an operating system upgrade and not just a service pack update. During the deployment, companies need to use the same procedures and tools as a full-scale operating system upgrade--including maintaining dual SP1 and SP2 images and using client management systems to deploy the new operating system to the desktop.
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BBC, 8/10/04: File-sharers offer Windows update
By Alfred Hermida
Microsoft is slowly rolling out the update to Windows users
File-sharing activists are using Microsoft's key update for Windows XP to highlight the benefits of peer-to-peer technology.
A lobby group called Downhill Battle has set up a link using file-sharing software to distribute the SP2 update.
Microsoft told BBC News Online it was investigating the site.
The SP2 update has already been released to PC manufacturers and is expected to be widely available to home users for free in late August.
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