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Nikkei Computer

February 21, 2005 Issue <<Contents>>

FEATURE The Foundering Strategy of Outsourcing There is no future for companies that “leave IT-related tasks to others” - JP Morgan Chase, the No. 2 U.S. bank, has concluded that companies that “leave IT related activities and processes to others” cannot grow, and it has cancelled an outsourcing deal with IBM. Even Japanese companies have started to review their policy of outsourcing IT, although this new trend is not yet widely known by the public. An investigation by Nikkei Computer reveals that a number of corporate users, such as Kobe Steel, Nissan Motor, and Fancl, have already started to review their contracts of IT outsourcing. This article reports on the declining dependency on IT outsourcing based on an examination of the sites where it is actually happening. Part 1 - Interview with the CIO of JP Morgan Chase Part 2 - Japanese companies face a succession of problems Part 3 - Japanese companies should regain the spirit of “doing it yourself” Part 4 - Six companies take on the challenge of ensuring the initiative

PEOPLE

Interview
- Our top priority is to respond to changes, and we avoid ad hoc system-development efforts
Takahito Shigeno: Vice President, KDDI Corporation


Real Feelings Expressed by Top Executives
- We intend to change our business operations based on the concept of PLM (product lifecycle management), and our employees’ insufficient ability to make effective use of information is a cause for worry
Kobun Koike: Director & Executive Officer, Brother Industries, Ltd.

NEWS

Reports

- What happens next to Hewlett-Packard in the wake of Carly Fiorina's departure as CEO?

- The current situation surrounding the UI (User Interface) patent has been revealed by the court battle between Matsushita Electric Industrial and Justsystem

- Japan Telecom has reviewed the role of its IT division and decided to develop software on its own

- Microsoft’s new method for software development causes controversy in the industry.

- Saitama Prefecture abolishes an electronic bidding system one year after the start of its operation; it was established with an investment of ¥100 million

- The training of IT engineers through business-academia collaboration accelerates

- On its own, Matsushita Electric Industrial develops a “personal information protection law version” of the capability maturity model (CMM)

- Four ministries and agencies conduct “sting” operations against senders of unsolicited e-mail

- Legislation regarding a tax system for promoting investment in human resources is expected to pass the Diet by the end of the fiscal year, and the IT industry is paying close attention to the system

News Flash for Each Industry

- [Finance] The alliance of Nippon Shinpan and UFJ Card, which plan to merge in October of this year, will introduce the next-generation mission-critical system developed by their rival, JCB

- [Manufacturing] Personal information on about 60,000 customers on the website of Pola Cosmetics may have been accessed without authorization

- [Distribution/Service] Bunkyodo enables its 230 bookstores to share information on hot-selling books by linking them via a network

- [e-Japan] An online payment system for local taxes is expected to be launched in fiscal 2007

CASE STUDIES

Close-Up
The 9th Information System Award
- The awards are given to systems that can cope quickly with change

The Project
Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)
- A project team took the initiative in renovating JETRO’s website, and it was decided that open-source software would be used for the project, a lesson learned from the failure of a server integration project one year previously

A Computer That Does Not Work
Rakuten Securities, Inc.
- The company’s online trading system was hit by two system failures in 10 days, which were attributable to mistakes in system operation and bugs in its database

Close-Up
Mastering System Operation
Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
- The company establishes a system that can print 200,000 documents (such as invoices and vouchers) using open-source technologies

TECHNOLOGIES & PRODUCTS

The A to Z of IT Pitfalls
Aspect Orientation

New Products
Rack-mounted servers with PCI-Express slots, etc.

IT MANAGEMENT

Shiro Baba’s “Essays in Idleness” for SEs
- There is a way to deal with SEs who concentrate solely on technology

Conditions for Becoming a Successful SE
- An SE should improve his or her skills in negotiating with clients

For Project Managers: 25 Technology Theories for Establishing an Information System
- When developing a data transfer system, the participation of experts with experience in such projects is indispensable for success