Internet

Technology Focus: Electronic Commerce Apps and Services

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 06:00:10 +0100

The importance of Electronic Commerce continues to grow. EC product vendors weigh in on the future of the market and the best ways to get started with an implementation. Written by John Ghrist With Electronic Commerce (EC) seeming to increase its contribution to the bottom line at most companies year after year, its importance to enterprises is growing proportionally. Given the opportunities to do meaningful business at any hour, with customers or trading partners located anywhere on the globe,...

Navigating the Tortuous Road of Electronic Data Interchange

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 06:00:15 +0100

It's not free, and it's not easy, but if you want to grow and attract new customers, EDI is a requirement. Written by David Shirey The first thing I want to make clear is that the title for this article was chosen by my editor, a woman who lives in a villa surrounded by a pack of vicious dogs that she calls "my pets." Needless to say, her view of the world is a little harsher than mine. Actually, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is more like one of those 1940s road movies with Bob Hope and Bin...

Instrumentation and Automation Fuel Customer Experience Data Collection

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 06:00:15 +0100

Editor's Note: This article is an excerpt from the book Customer Experience Analytics published by MC Press. Written by Dr. Arvind Sathi Large automation investments in customer touch points, products, and business processes are rapidly creating enormous volumes of data as well as capabilities to make changes at electronic speeds. This chapter explores these changes in "instrumentation" and how they provide an environment for Customer Experience Analytics (CEA). IVR, kiosks, mobi...

Creating an Interactive Information Screen in a Browser: Is It Possible?

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 06:00:15 +0100

You can build your own stable, modern, and easy-to-maintain information platform. Written by Jan Jorgensen Users want stable applications that just run and run. On the IBM i, it's not very hard to give them that, but they also want applications that look good, with fancy colors, pictures, and fonts. And they want combined information. Some information comes from the i, some from the SQL database, and some from a text file. And pictures are stored on Web servers around the world. How are you su...

Technology Focus: Cloud Service Options for IBM i

Mon, 21 May 2012 06:00:15 +0100

Cloud computing is touted as the wave of the future for IT, promising better economies of scale for its users. The IBM i has its share of service providers in this arena. Written by John Ghrist Cloud computing is aptly likened to a power grid, in which the electricity you use in your business or home isn't produced where you use it. Rather, it's produced at a central location and parceled out according to need, which you then pay for. Going hand in hand with virtualization, roughly defined as t...

Where GS1 Item Alignment Is Now and Where It's Headed

Mon, 14 May 2012 06:00:15 +0100

GS1 US and 1SYNC have made remarkable progress, and much more is yet to come. Written by Jeff Holzman This article provides an update on the status of GS1 standards-based initiatives from January 2011 to February 2012 and also looks at plans for the coming year. Special attention is given to the broadening focus of 1SYNC, which is now not only the world's leading Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) certified data pool, but also a leader in the area of Product Data Management. In line wit...

Social Networks and the Enterprise: Why IBM Wants to Show You the Way

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:00:15 +0100

IBM's betting big on social technologies and showing the world the benefits of becoming a "social" business. Written by Bill Rice Technology is continually evolving, which is why business operations must evolve along with technologies. Not only is IBM trying to be at the leading edge of business technology evolutions, but especially with this current wave of social media and social business technologies, Big Blue intends to be a leading example of how to use these technologies to create new, mo...

The Online Social Network Revolution and Why You Should Care

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 06:00:15 +0100

If you think it's a fad, don't bet your job or your company on it. Written by Bill Rice If you watched the movie The Social Network, there was a story that was even bigger than the one about Mark Zuckerberg's entrepreneurial success, his jilted partner, his legal problems, and his self-absorbed personality. It was about how the Internet and basic social needs collided head-on and went mainstream. Since the advent of Facebook in 2005, the way humans compete for inclusion and validation in thei...

Power i Forecast: Web 2.0

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 06:00:15 +0100

Where is Web 2.0 headed in the next several years, and what does it mean to the IBM system manager? Written by Chris Smith After interviewing a number of experts in the area of Web technologies and trying to get an idea of the direction these technologies might be heading for the purpose of helping the IBM i system manager who wants to modernize, I concluded that the Web is in a state of turmoil. It's Libya in the sky. The concept of Web 2.0 itself is indefinable, so it's hard to tell where thi...

Power i Forecast: Web Services

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 06:00:15 +0100

Businesses are utilizing Web technology to further system integration and business interoperability. Written by Chris Smith While IBM i computers traditionally have been standalone servers taking care of a company's internal needs, the past five years have seen a jump in the need for interoperability. Whether from mergers and acquisitions, partner mandates for integrated supply chains, or just a greater need for disparate systems to share data, Web services have emerged as a foundation that pro...

Improving the Supply Chain Through Global Standards

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 06:00:15 +0100

The GS1 Item Alignment initiative via the GDSN now includes foodservice and healthcare and is rapidly advancing worldwide. Written by Jeff Holzman This article provides an update on the status of GS1 standards-based Item Alignment via the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN). A lot has changed in the last two years. GS1 US has a new CEO, Bob Carpenter, who is devoted to the advancement of GS1's core mission in the United States. I believe that having a senior executive who is fully commit...

Social Networking: What Can It Do for Your Business?

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 06:00:15 +0100

Businesses shouldn't be locking down social networking as a matter of principle. They should be embracing it and squeezing every opportunity out of it on a case-by-case basis. Written by Steven C. Pitcher So what really is social networking? "Social networking" is one of those buzzwords that can mean a lot of different things. Wikipedia, which is an online, collaboration-based encyclopedia (for those who aren't aware or perhaps need a reminder in light of this article), defines a social ne...

While U.S. Adoption of IPv6 Increased in 2009, Will 2010 See a Sharp Upswing?

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 06:00:15 +0100

China set the pace at the Olympics with IPv6 Internet services, but the U.S. is starting to pick up the pace of adoption. Written by Chris Smith Internet service providers in the U.S. and network equipment vendors saw a distinct increase in IPv6 activity in 2009, and expectations are that 2010 will witness a steady rise in adoption of the new Internet protocol....

Will Your System Need an Upgrade Before Implementing VOIP?

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 07:00:15 +0100

Network bandwidth and usage are only two of many issues to consider before implementing an IP telephony solution. By Chris Smith While it's true that toll-call charges, both nationally and internationally, have come down in the past few years, most new phone systems being installed today are not traditional TDM-based, circuit-switched PBX systems, but instead IP voice and data networks....

IBM Unveils Smart New Mobile Applications to Keep Up to Date with Wimbledon 2009

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:33:41 +0100

Written by IBM Corporation The All England Lawn Tennis Club and IBM last week unveiled smart mobile applications designed to transform how fans access information and keep up with the action at Wimbledon 2009. Since 1990 IBM has worked with the Wimbledon team to send the captured score and statistical data around the world in an instant, keeping on-site broadcasters, media and tennis fans up to date with all the latest scores and statistics....

Keeping Up with Today's Youth Can Be Risky

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 01:00:10 +0100

Social networking sites have proven to be incredibly popular, but they also are proving to be less than secure. By Chris Smith You have to be agile to keep up with teenagers if you're well into middle age, but you should give credit to those of us who are making an effort. For instance, having Twitter and Facebook accounts is one way to stay in the groove with the Web 2.0 crowd. But you have to be a little careful when you're out there mingling with the hoi polloi....

Integrated Web Services Server for IBM i

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 01:00:15 +0100

The integrated Web services server makes creating ILE-based Web services as easy as 1-2-3 (well, almost as easy)! By Nadir Amra and Dan Hiebert You've all heard the hype surrounding Web services and Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). You possibly have done some research and probably got overwhelmed by the amount of information out there and may have begun to doubt that this stuff can benefit your business. Or maybe you wanted to prototype some business function using Web services and wondered h...

Social Networks and Web 2.0 Technology Were Key to Obama's Victory

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 01:00:15 +0100

Effective use of broad-based, inexpensive social networking tools to generate political and financial support helped put President Obama in office, say the authors of a new book. By Chris Smith Whether you're a Democrat, a Republican, or another persuasion altogether, you're probably still wondering how the heck Barack Obama made it into the White House. The answer, according to the authors of a new book on social networking, is expert use of Web 2.0 technology....

Google Poised to Launch Video and Voice Chat Service

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 01:00:10 +0100

Gmail users soon will be able to launch a video session as easily as they send an instant message. By Chris Smith Back in the early '90s, I used to work for Verizon when it was known as GTE. The company was in the process of computerizing a lot of its operations, and many people were bemoaning the fact that it was laying off most of its operators. Company executives foresaw a competitive landscape in the future, and they were desperately trying to figure out a way to get into broadband co...

Will the 2008 Presidential Election Be Derailed by Electronic Voting Machines?

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:00:05 +0100

Easy federal money prompted many states to move to electronic voting, a decision they are now trying to reverse. By Chris Smith Imagine you're on the Titanic. The captain has set a course across the North Atlantic that is heading straight for an iceberg. He has ramped up the speed in order to impress the passengers with his spiffy new ship. You're from the future. You know what is about to happen. What to do?...

Increase Productivity and Decrease Costs with Advanced Telephony Feature Sets

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:00:10 +0100

Are you aware of the many benefits of implementing IP telephony in your business? By Zane Gramenidis Modern-day communication is changing at an ever-accelerating pace. Since the inception of the first IP telephony system, it has been touted that placing the telephone system or PBX on an IP network would open up a whole new set of applications that would benefit business. These applications are now hitting the marketplace, and many companies that are at the forefront of adopting and implementing t...

Exploring Second Life Presents Tantalizing Opportunities

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 01:00:10 +0100

As in real life, you may not find what you seek in this virtual world, but you probably will emerge with a smile and desire to return. By Chris Smith The big news this week is that there's hope--hope that I may soon have a social life. You see, I joined Second Life this week. The virtual world is one that I had read about in news magazines but had never considered actually spending any time exploring because, well, it sounded too kinky and weird--avatars forming attractions to each other ...

Easily Created Mashups for Business Applications

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 01:00:10 +0100

The new technologies available in Web 2.0 make it easy to combine multiple applications into a single interface. By Joe Pluta In a recent article, I discussed JavaScript frameworks, tools that help you build JavaScript applications. Because JavaScript runs in the browser, not on the server, it allows you to do something you can't easily do from the server: get data from multiple applications. This is the secret behind mashups, but unfortunately, as with so many things in the Web world, it's not a...

The Next-Generation Internet Protocol Invites Adoption

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 01:00:10 +0100

IPv4 will run out of addresses within a few short years, but adoption of IPv6 has been slow in coming. By Chris Smith Among the new features in IBM i 6.1 (V6R1) is expanded support for the next-generation Internet protocol, IPv6. The new protocol follows the current IPv4 with a greatly expanded pool of available addresses and provides a number of other secondary features, including improvements in security, mobility, and route optimization....

The Next Coup: Browser-Based UIs, Utility Computing, the Web as a Platform?

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 00:00:00 +0100

A future technology is now here in the present, but IT shops may never be ready for SaaS.

Item Alignment: Bringing Accuracy and Efficiency to the Supply Chain with GDSN

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 00:00:00 +0100

What happened in '06 and what's coming in '07.

Design and Implementation Strategies for Portals

Wed, 11 Oct 2006 00:00:00 +0100

The word comes down from on high to implement a portal. But what exactly does that mean?

IBM's System i Telephony Offering at Your Company

Mon, 25 Sep 2006 00:00:00 +0100

Position your infrastructure for the future.

Application Server Architectures

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 00:00:00 +0100

Web application serving is now a given, but which server architecture is the best? Read on to find out.

Who Built the Internet, and Is It for Sale?

Mon, 22 May 2006 00:00:00 +0100

Beware HR 5252: The Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Efficiency Act of 2006 (COPE).

Voice over IP: The State of the Technology

Wed, 19 Apr 2006 00:00:00 +0100

This article will show you how the System i is the newcomer that will dethrone the current leaders of the Voice over IP market.

Global Data Synchronization Network: An Update

Mon, 10 Apr 2006 00:00:00 +0100

What happened in 2005 and what's coming in 2006?

State-of-the-Art Web Services

Wed, 22 Mar 2006 00:00:00 +0100

Web services are quickly becoming the method of choice for many organizations looking for interoperable application integration.

Selecting and Deploying Portals

Wed, 01 Feb 2006 00:00:00 +0100

Portals are teetering on that razor's edge between ubiquity and obscurity. How does a company decide whether to join the portal party?

Living the Active (Server Pages) Lifestyle?

Mon, 07 Nov 2005 00:00:00 +0100

If you're not using Active Server Pages, you don't know what you're missing.

Portals: Gateways to Whole New Worlds

Thu, 27 Oct 2005 01:00:00 +0100

Enterprise Information Portals (EIPs) open up worlds of locked, hidden, or inaccessible information.

By Duncan Kenzie

E-Biz Applications: Beyond the Web

Mon, 24 Oct 2005 00:00:00 +0100

Are you aware of everything the Internet and the WWW can do for your company?

WebSphere Application Server Express V6 for iSeries: What's New

Mon, 03 Oct 2005 00:00:00 +0100

Quickly develop, deploy, and manage Web applications.

Credit Where Credit Is Due

Mon, 25 Jul 2005 00:00:00 +0100

Internet access has brought new attention to an old issue: credit card processing. Joe gives you a beginner's guide to the problem.

Trade Efficiently and Globally via the Global Data Synchronization Network

Mon, 18 Jul 2005 00:00:00 +0100

The GDSN continues to improve and expand. Can you afford not to be a part of it?

E-Business On Demand: A Journey, Not a Destination

Mon, 04 Jul 2005 00:00:00 +0100

What does On Demand really mean? Much more than you may think.

VOIP Implementation Is "Top-Down"

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 00:00:00 +0100

Fortune 500s and multi-office businesses are the main enterprises deploying VOIP---the new darling of telephony technology.

Thinking About IP Telephony?

Mon, 16 May 2005 00:00:00 +0100

Consider your ROI and find a vendor you trust.

How the Internet Is Dying

Mon, 11 Apr 2005 00:00:00 +0100

Do you understand the implications of DNS cache poisoning and pharming?

The Ever-Changing Road to UCCnet and Global Data Synchronization

Mon, 06 Dec 2004 00:00:00 +0100

Manage the obstacles by knowing what to look for and what to ask.

WebSphere Application Server V6 Announced

Mon, 11 Oct 2004 00:00:00 +0100

IBM delivers new features and new scalability for the venerable Web Application Server.

The Dark Side of Web Services

Mon, 28 Jun 2004 00:00:00 +0100

We've been hearing about Web Services for some time now, so why haven't they caught on as quickly as once expected?

Charting a New Course with OWC and ASP

Mon, 22 Mar 2004 00:00:00 +0100

Use Office Web Components and Active Server Pages to display a chart in a Web page.

WebSphere and iSeries Together

Mon, 01 Mar 2004 00:00:00 +0100

It just makes sense.

Do You See UCCnet?

Mon, 02 Feb 2004 00:00:00 +0100

This initiative will impact retail suppliers sooner than you may think.