Spotlight Features

One of the most interesting, though predictable, empirical regularities in the new software exporting nations' (for example, India, Pakistan, etc.) quest for prominence is the importance of diaspora entrepreneurship. The stories of the instrumental role played by successful non-resident Indians (NRI...

Are federal computers more secure today than they were in 2002 when the Congress passed the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA)? That depends. Some agencies are in various stages of compliance, while others are not as far along. "The task is brutally difficult, at best," said Yvonne ...

You've devised a brilliant opt-in marketing campaign, complete with an educational newsletter that's all the rage. Your sales are spiking and your list is growing. Then it happens -- some spammer uses phraseology that is similar to your corporate name or some malicious code writer launches a virus w...

Recently, we came out of the age of curiosity, entered the age of scarcity and are now sinking in the age of abundance. Everything is here. Today, all over the world, millions of identical companies are producing millions of identical products and services, and they are pushing identical prices on i...

Polite behavior goes a long way in influencing what people think of us. Certainly, there are businesspeople who are rude and obnoxious and yet are still successful. However, the vast majority of humanity would rather be associated with a person who is polite and considerate. Whether we like to admit...

Do you have a startup that never made it off the ground? What happened? Did you not have all the technical components that you needed? Was your scope too broad? Were your sales and marketing strategies too weak? Did a key individual become distracted by issues in his or her personal life? Did you si...

There's no doubt about it, Microsoft is a behemoth. It has permeated the computer industry and has an enormous amount of clout. So, what's to rain on Microsoft's parade? Actually, a threat is emerging that can do considerable damage to this powerful software company. The threat is free software. Thi...

On April 27, President George Bush signed a copyright bill that aims to legalize technology that allows users to automatically skip over or mute objectionable content in movie DVDs. Contained in DVD players and other devices, the filtering technology allows parents to prevent their children from see...

Are you considering outsourcing a customer support or software development project? Here are some practical tips, oriented towards South Asian facilities but relevant to North American outsourcing providers. It starts with planning, then moves to address payment and invoicing issues, and then lists ...

The dot-com crash that saw hundreds of start-up businesses on the Internet close up shop in 1998 and 1999 is not discouraging new Net entrepreneurs. A record number of domain name sales in 2004 shows that business presence on the Internet is stronger than ever. A domain name that reflects an organiz...

New information technology outsourcing opportunities are largely going to India, thanks to India's long-standing advantages. Despite negative press coverage that India has received for problems at a few outsourcing facilities, India is set to maintain its lead as the high-tech outsourcing destinatio...

As most of us are aware, the textile genie is out of the bottle. Global quotas have now been lifted on China's textile exports. Is this a bad thing? Here's what Cass Johnson, the president of the National Counsel of Textile Organizations, recently said about this situation: "The wolf is at the door ...

One of the fastest growing online businesses is online gambling. The scope of this business is so enormous that some have even claimed it is the single most important factor in the growth of e-commerce. Despite this, there is much controversy and uncertainty surrounding the legality of online gaming...

Every hour there are new changes to our old ways of thinking about traditional marketing rules. While we are all very deep into e-commerce, we must be aware of whether we are either very successful or still learning the processes. Businesses, irrespective of size or any other component, must embrace...

Has India's information technology (IT) outsourcing boom peaked? There have been predictions that India will lose most of its outsourcing firms in the next two years. IT industry wages in India reportedly rose an average of 12 percent in 2004 and are projected to increase by another 15 percent in 20...