Spotlight Features

Corporations rarely come across a major naming project -- only once or twice in their lifetime. As a result, there is no exiting blueprint, guidelines or a tested naming policy on hand for this unique challenge -- a situation that could explode into a marketing and public relations disaster. You can...

The information technology (IT) industry requires more than just competence with a few software applications or development tools. To be able to move up the career ladder and manage IT organizations effectively requires a broader range of skills than those traditionally taught to software developers...

This is the time of year when the small-business owner has to start thinking of year-end strategies for his/her company. Because tax strategies have a large, yet controllable, influence on your business, they should be your main focus as a business owner. The business owner's tax decisions depend on...

What's the big deal, when every major corporation in the USA searches for an Indian company so they can park all their mundane information management under a banyan tree? Protesters during the industrial age screamed against rapid automation as a serious threat to jobs and a possible destruction of...

Your most critical business decisions often come down to prices: how much to charge and how much to pay. Prices have been driven down in the South Asian call center industry in the last two years, thanks to a flood of new entrants into the industry, a glut of low-end capacity, and improvements in te...

In retrospect, it seems obvious to match the capabilities of Windows with secure messaging software. However, in 1995, when Windows NT first burst into the marketplace, IT managers at first did not have many -- if any -- options to help their users easily and safely communicate with each other. This...

Today, with the pressures on business executives to meet their projections and to always present a glowing picture to analysts, it is understandable how some succumb to the temptation to present a rosy outlook when things actually might be deteriorating. This article analyzes ways by which the CEO o...

In a highly anticipated ruling, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) declared on Tuesday that Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government. The five-member panel unanimously decided that VoIP services are interstate in n...

Why are most technology corporations so stubborn to admit puzzling marketing issues? They are somehow used to a torturing path, all in the name of "tough times and rough markets." It's a puzzle, especially when in relation to creating a new innovation, solving such marketing issues are the easiest t...

The information technology (IT) industry in Pakistan faces challenges that need to be understood by everyone preparing to send or receive IT services from that country. Restrictions on funds transfers from the U.S. to Pakistan, implemented after 9/11, are causing problems for firms in Pakistan that ...

From the Model T to modern cars and from dusty trails to super-highways, historians tabulate the remarkable evolution of transportation -- the good and the bad combined. However, alongside the great wonders of four wheels, there are the traffic jams, the carjackings, the drive-by shootings and the a...

Why is Pakistan the hot new offshore information technology (IT) destination? This is because of a combination of favorable economic circumstances. Just when many Western managers are finally becoming comfortable with the idea of working closely with Indian IT firms, along comes Pakistan. Pakistan i...

Most businesspeople get a knot in their stomachs when they think of bankruptcy. The reasons for this, I believe, are twofold: They don't have the basic knowledge about the implications of bankruptcy; and they feel a loss of control whenever they think about it. This article attempts to dispel the my...

Online and offline, consumers are at a disadvantage when entering into a contract for services or the purchase of goods because, in most cases, a customer is not in a position to negotiate the terms of the item being purchased or the service being provided. Moreover, in the event of a dispute, the u...

Advertising slogans or taglines pushing sales are great for getting a customer's attention as they often tangle and hold them hostage for a second or two. Some taglines catch the user's attention, but most are simply confusing, causing them to "escape the trap" and run away. The combined yearly budg...