Outsourcing
Gartner, User Survey: SMB IT Services Buying Behavior, Worldwide, 2004
In 2004, small and midsize businesses (SMBs) will contribute approximately $147 billion to the U.S. IT services market, almost 50 percent of the market total. With IT budgets expected to increase by at least 6 percent this year, opportunities abound for vendors that can develop, position and support technology offerings that appeal to SMBs. With relatively leaner IT staffs, this community of companies relies on IT services to realize the value of their technology investments.
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Smaller companies preferred over global providers — When asked what professional service type SMBs prefer, smaller companies were preferred over large, global companies.
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The Wall Street Journal, 8/6/04: Outsourcing Is a Key To Promoting Competitiveness
By DAVID ELDON
Few issues have become such a political hot button as outsourcing. Especially in the United States, where media reports gravely describe the exodus of jobs from Silicon Valley or the American heartland to call centers in the Philippines or Indian software labs. Carping about "Benedict Arnold" corporations that "export" jobs plays well in the highly charged atmosphere of the U.S. presidential election season. Incumbents and challengers alike speak of the need for legislation to restrict what they view as a fundamental threat to the American economy.
Outsourcing is certainly not unique to the United States; nor is it a new phenomenon. Firms throughout Asia, especially in Hong Kong, have long been contracting out product manufacturing needs or backroom services to specialists at home or offshore, or basing parts of their operations abroad. Countries in Asia, notably China and India, are frequent destinations for business process outsourcing.
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Security
eWeek, 9/29/04: New Bagle Variant Raises Alarms
By Larry Seltzer
A new variant of the Bagle worm is showing more prevalence than usual, according to anti-virus companies.
The new version is known by a variety of names: McAfee Inc. calls it Bagle.az, Trend Micro Inc. has dubbed it Bagle.AM and Symantec Corp. refers to it as Beagle.AR. All three companies have elevated the threat level for this worm because of increased submissions to their monitoring services compared with the average Bagle variant.
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Healthcare
Computerworld, 9/29/04: Healthcare CIO gets tough on net policy violators
News Story by Bob Brown
SEPTEMBER 29, 2004 (NETWORK WORLD) - CareGroup Healthcare System is serious about its security and privacy policies, and those employees and business partners not adhering to them pay a huge price, according to the Boston healthcare organization's CIO.
Dr. John Halamka kicked off the HealthSec 2004 Conference & Expo in Boston this week with a keynote address titled: "You're Fired! Security Breaches, Pink Slips and Public 'Executions.' " Halamka has made a name for himself in IT circles partly because of his decision to go public following a network outage at one CareGroup hospital back in November 2002 in an effort to help others avoid similar fates
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Otherwise
Esther Dyson’s Blog, 9/29/04: Dear diary - Internet governance
by Esther Dyson
Preaching/ranting to the interested (as opposed to the converted)
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There are enough real problems in the world - spam on the one hand and poverty on the other - that it's a real pity to spend so much time discussing problems rather than dealing with them. People in poor countries need to learn how to use the Internet and to use it to run businesses, share information, support health care and education and other important activities. Instead, many of their best-educated, wealthiest citizens are spending time in Geneva and other nice places, glad to have a seat at the table. But what is being accomplished at that table? Merely the creation of additional bodies and working groups and advisory councils to give people a say in the creation of additional bodies and working groups....
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