June 25, 2007

FEATURE   The assumptions that SOA is changing   The day ERP packages will disappear   It is possible that the day will come when ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) packages disappear. This is because major vendors such as SAP of Germany are offering products with services based on SOA (Service Oriented Architecture). There are also companies, such as Olympus, that have started introducing ERP with SOA as a premise.   The Olympus’ challenge   From modules to services   The SOA wave moves also to SaaS   The new assumptions on “combinations” and “short-term”   Decisive Factors in Product Selection   Choosing the documentation templates to comply with the Japanese version of the SOX Law by type of document and description content   The most labor intensive part of complying with the Japanese version of the SOX Law is the documentation process. Documentation templates can lighten that load.  In effect, these are word files or the like that contain descriptive examples of the documents that are necessary for compliance with the SOX Law. The three points in making a selection are the type of documents needed, whether tools are used or not, and the degree of descriptive detail.   FEATURE 2   The United States sees a succession of giant data centers   Heat and operation countermeasures speed up the evolution of IT infrastructure

REPORT

 

Hot News

 

Nissan, Sharp, and Kyocera bid farewell to their mainframes

 

News & Trends

 

Social Insurance Agency’s pension registration problems not being solved through computer-aided name identification

 

ANA’ system troubles originated in a faulty switch

 

The lower depths of Rakuten Securities twice receiving administrative orders to improve operations

 

Fujitsu sets up specialized large-scale systems subsidiary with the aim of getting NTT Data orders

 

Nomura Securities builds large-scale memory sharing system

 

IBM and BEA strengthen web application server visualization

 

NEC offers pay-as-you-go network services

 

The Leading Edge of RFID

In-store usage of RFID in the UHF range becomes difficult as a result of MIC guidelines

 

The Practical Side of Introducing a BCP

Toda Corporation expands its early earthquake warning system nationwide

 

News Flash by Industry

 

Distribution/Services

Yamato Home Convenience starts a goods tracking service

 

Finance

NTT Data wins bid for Yucho Bank’s backbone system for 22 billion yen

 

2 Weeks from ITpro

 

IBM of the US tries to reverse drop in sales in the Japanese market by putting IBM Japan under its direct management for the first time

 

Fujitsu announces 3-year plan targeting 5% in consolidated operating profits

 

People

 

Interviews

 

Leo Apotheker, Deputy CEO, SAP of Germany

SOA will become the standard for ERP

 

Masao Yoshida, Partner, Miki & Yoshida Law and Patent Office

Non-verbal communications doesn’t cut it anymore, you need clear contracts

 

Real Feelings Expressed by Top Executives

Atsushi Imuta, President, Lisa Partners

 

Turning Points for System Division Heads

Amane Kito, General Manager, Information Systems Division, Softbank BB

 

CASE STUDIES

 

Projects: The Trajectory to Completion

Five organizations including Tokyo Guarantee

The key to the realization of a shared system that was longed for since 20 years back lay in efforts in taking drastic measures and dividing up the load

 

Strategic Studies - IT Business Innovation

 

Right-on

A system that decides on price drops without relying on hunches

 

A Computer That Does Not Work

Komoro City in Nagano Prefecture and Aomori City

A stream of calculation errors and non-arrival of notices at the tax administration

 

Management/Technology

 

Lecture - The Risk Management Skills That are Needed Now - Part 1

American-style cooperation between organizations and information sharing

 

Basic Knowledge for the IT Manager - The Art of Communication from A to Z

Mental Care - Reducing subordinates’ stress with empathy and assertion

 

Taizo’s “Phrase a Day” - Part 2

Be careful with estimate risks; they can be the source of a failed project

 

A Practical Course on the Latest in Network Security - Part 6

Pharming poses a threat through fraudulent DNS exploitation

 

Salient Points on IT Investment and Outsourcing - Part 21

Setting up the maximization of result recovery as a mechanism

 

CIO Initiatives - Part 6

Complicated board meetings