As companies continue to pass over public exchanges in favor of private marketplaces, exchanges must evolve into service providers offering tailored, value-added services to survive in the business-to-business domain, according to analysts.
Frictionless Commerce Inc. on Monday announced a software suite intended to automate the strategic sourcing process, spanning supplier selection and vendor management.
I2 Technologies Inc. is maneuvering to shake up the b-to-b market with a new supplier relationship management (SRM) solution designed to bypass the traditional indirect purchasing market by instead squarely targeting direct material buys.
E-government: Until recently, this meant nothing more than static webpages that reproduced the bureaucracies resting at the heart of federal, state and local agencies. For decades, those same bureaucracies in the paper-based world have left citizens waiting in long lines or on hold for hours.
For most companies, expanding a traditional sales campaign over the World Wide Web usually promises increased profits after the start-up costs are covered. But for government agencies, making a business case for using the Web often involves tallying intangible benefits, such as reaching a larger audience for agency information or easing citizen woes in dealing with government bureaucracy.
When the CEO of the giant 7-Eleven Inc. convenience store chain recently began using e-mail for high-level, strategic business negotiations with external parties, he was worried about security. His IT staff was directed to find a way to protect the mail from hijackers as it leaves the safe confines of the LAN to travel the treacherous frontier of the Internet.
The Company: Carfax Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of R.L. Polk & Co.
Several state and local social service agencies have launched Internet portals to help guide other government agencies and potential clients through the maze of human services programs and their complicated eligibility requirements.
A terrorist has tapped into an unsecured U.S. modem that provides access to an electric utility's computer systems. The resulting blackout paralyzes multiple regions of the country. Airplanes are stranded in midflight, subway trains are stilled in darkness underground and elevators are stalled between floors.
For many agencies, the next generation of IT leaders is already toiling among their ranks, but with the projected exodus of IT workers during the next five years, other agencies will need to attract new talent.