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Nikkei Computer

July 11, 2005 Issue <<Contents>>

FEATURE 1 Project Managers Facing Cruel Hardships Harsh realities lead to a shortage of people who want to be project managers - Despite the project management boom, an increasing number of young engineers are unwilling to become project managers.  The reason is the harsh working conditions under which project managers must labor.   This article examines the hardships that project managers endure while still feeling that their job is rewarding and gives them a sense of accomplishment. - Realities: A look at the daily lives of three project managers who have been driven into a corner - The actual working conditions of project managers are revealed through the testimony of 1,228 project managers - Even though it may be a long-term struggle, vendors are determinedly reforming working conditions in order to solve the problem FEATURE 2 Thorough Examination of ERP-35 Products Designed for Medium-Sized Companies Function, degree of module integration, licensing, support costs, etc.

REPORT

[Inside]

- IBM Japan quietly introduces an early retirement plan, aiming to reduce its workforce by some 1000 employees

- As the Board of Audit of Japan has decided to adopt COBIT, it is now highly likely that other ministries and agencies will follow suit

- NEC applies optical wiring to its next-generation servers; this is the first-ever application of the technology to servers


[News & Trends]

- There has been no delay in the progress of the system-integration effort between the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and UFJ Bank

- The July 28 deadline is approaching for fixing a bug found in APC’s UPS management software

- Sun Microsystems’ Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) strategy is revealed at the JavaOne conference

- Major vendors accelerate their efforts to commercialize SOA-based software

- The reason is revealed for the large-scale leakages of credit card information

- Asahi Breweries renovates its mission-critical system for the first time in 30 years

- The maintenance of the Local Government Open Source has suddenly emerged as a major issue

- Eva Chen, the CEO of Trend Micro, says, “First of all, we must reform our compensation system”


[News Flash for Each Industry]

- Service: Mitsubishi Electric Plant Engineering Corporation
Internal information on a nuclear power plant was leaked to the Internet through the Winny peer-to-peer file-sharing program

- Distribution: Tohan Co. Ltd., Nippon Shuppan Hanbai Inc. (NIPPAN)
The companies enhance their distribution systems to supply hot-selling books quickly

- Manufacturing: Unicharm Corporation
The company renovates its mission-critical system and reduces operating costs by ¥100 million annually

PEOPLE

Interview
Susumu Furukawa: Former Operating Officer and CTO of Microsoft Japan, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Corp
- I will become a catalyst for re-energizing the IT industry


Interview
Bunshu Soh: Chairman & CEO, SOFTBRAIN Co., Ltd.
- We support work restructuring by making work processes visible


Real Feelings Expressed by Top Executives
Jun Mochizuki: CIO, Sompo Japan Insurance Inc.
- The company reviewed its organization in order to increase the speed of system development

CASE STUDIES

Investigation of a Noteworthy Project
Content-delivery system used at the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi
- The determination of specifications proceeded with difficulty, but an all-out effort ensured that the deadline was met

An Absolute Solution for Enhancing IT Strategy
Triumph International (Japan) Ltd.
- The company has improved its information system by determining workplace needs on a monthly basis

A Computer that Does Not Work
E-Net Japan Corporation
- The company cannot collect the proceeds of sales totaling ¥400 million due to problems with its Internet settlement system

Serialized Novel: Path to Renovating a Legacy System
- There is a fierce struggle over the initiative

MANAGEMENT/TECHNOLOGY

Key Points in System Design for Increasing Business Value
- It is imperative to understand how system contents, development period, and costs are important, and that can be done using system profiles

A Practical Project-Management Course for Users
- There are ways to ensure consistency between system requirements and business strategy

Techniques for Implementing Management Reforms — Six Sigma
- There are ways to make work processes visible in order to determine their financial effects

Useful Legal Advice for When You Are in Trouble
- Measures to be taken from the time of signing an agreement and during the development process to prevent trade secrets from being stolen and used

IT Keywords You Should Have Known a Long Time Ago
- Skype