Spotlight Features

For a technology company, intellectual capital is one of the most important, if not the most important asset. Intellectual capital is more than intellectual property as it is commonly understood in that it also includes a company's trade secrets, know-how, problem-solving methods, customer informati...

The Internet highway is just a free medium, like the roads and all the highways. Somehow there are those who walk on the roads and those who run, some drive taxis, others drive Ferraris or race tractor-trailers. To each his own, they are all free, and so are the maps. Thank heaven. This brings us to...

E-mail is like having a brilliant friend who is somewhat crazy, not well socialized, and occasionally self-destructive. They can help you. However, they can also get you into big trouble. While we might not have the capability to moderate the behavior of a crazy friend, it is well within our capabil...

As more corporate users add instant messaging to their arsenal of communications tools, IT and security experts face the challenge of managing, securing and archiving this data. More than one-quarter of the 4,510 people polled use instant messaging in the office, according to a survey conducted over...

On December 27, 2004, President Bush did something that made Microsoft -- and probably every other software maker in the world -- very happy. Bush signed into law the Anti-Counterfeiting Amendments Act of 2003, also known as H.R. 3632. The new law criminalizes the distribution of genuine authenticat...

Global competition, legal issues, technological advances, changes in manufacturing and tracking their constantly evolving target markets are more than enough challenges for many companies to deal with. Add to them internal requirements -- human resources, accounting, information technology -- and th...

Every corporation has a face, captured by its name identity and its image, including the overall image delivery system to push that name in the marketplace. Whether you like it or not, your corporate image is out there and is fully exposed. Following are the Five Faces of Corporate Image. The questi...

The Internet revolution has had the unintended effect of decreasing the use of oral communication and increasing the importance of text -- particularly e-mails -- as the primary means of business communications. Why has e-mail become so popular? Why use e-mails instead of phone calls? It is harder t...

Analysts predicted that online shopping would increase 20 percent over the last holiday season. Don't they know that you should never underestimate the (spending) power of a woman? There is no denying that female shoppers are flexing a lot more monetary muscle on the Internet these days. E-commerce ...

Not too many years ago, the acronym VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) was virtually unheard of. Today, it is becoming an everyday term. In fact, the major phone companies ignore this technology at their peril. A while back, I remember trying to set up my computer to receive and send phone calls vi...

Business folks reach agreements, lawyers write the contracts. This being the case, often times a business person need not concern him or herself with the details of the final contract or what is commonly referred to as the "legalese" aspects of an agreement. However, there are exceptions in that the...

All you will need to establish a worldwide trademark is the desire to go global with a powerful global identity. The rest will fit if you follow the right procedures and make sure your entire organization is ready to play the new global games. There has been a drop in the old branding cost of some 9...

Business communication skills are the most important skills that any manager or staff person can have. You might have the best product or service in the world. You might have great technical skills and domain knowledge. However, if you cannot communicate effectively, then you are lost.

Web analytics isn't what it used to be. A new breed of tools and technologies has led to a rebirth of analytical hopefuls, and well-known brands are hopping on board. Omniture is the largest stand-alone Web analytics application service provider. The company grew more than 150 percent in 2004, with ...

So you've landed a business deal. Do you know how to sign the contract and move on? Also, how should confidential data collected during an IT outsourcing project be protected? Contract signing procedures will be covered first, followed by data protection. Contract etiquette varies by country, with N...