Home :. Table of Contents :. Index :. Nikkei Computer June 26, 2006 Issue

Nikkei Computer

June 26, 2006 Issue <<Contents>>

FEATURE 1 The Risk of Getting into Trouble Due to a Lack of Knowledge about IT-related Laws - The risk of running into trouble due to a lack of understanding of the laws regarding information technology is increasing rapidly in Japan. For example, insufficient knowledge on the part of an information systems division about those laws can lead to violations of laws, a disruption of routine business operations, or involvement in a dispute or lawsuit with a vendor. Behind the increase in such risk is a series of laws that are directly related to the operations of information systems divisions and have been revised or put into effect. To cite a few examples, the Law concerning the Protection of Personal Information was enforced, the Unfair Competition Prevention Law was revised, and the “Bill for Partial Amendments to the Securities Law” (Financial Instruments Sales Law), known as the Japanese version of the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Law, was passed by the Diet. Also fueling the trend are efforts by the Tokyo Labor Bureau taken to strengthen the monitoring of violations of the Worker Dispatching Law, with particular emphasis on the enforcement of the law in the IT industry, as well as actions taken by vendors to pursue the responsibility of corporate users. This article unveils the current status of the risk and seeks measures for dealing with it. - “Common sense” in the IT industry is no longer valid - Measures to be taken immediately to make your company fit to deal with IT-related laws - Laws that information systems divisions must know FEATURE 2 Virtualization Technology Changes the Way to Manage Client Computers - A new type of client computer will debut whose efficiency of management is improved by incorporating virtualization technology into its processor. This includes desktop computers that will be launched by Intel in a new brand name “vPro.” Virtualization technology is able to run two operating systems at the same time. If it can be used fully, the management of computers becomes nearly as easy as that of a thin client. FEATURE 3 Corporate Investment in IT Has Increased by 2.3% Outlook for the Japanese IT market in 2006

REPORTS

[Inside]

- Yachiyo Bank will abandon all of its mainframe computers
- Fujitsu has started a project for improving the productivity of system development


[News & Trends]

- The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to formulate guidelines that aim at causing a revolution in the IT industry

- Middleware products that allow batch processing on open-sourced servers make their debut in succession

- Major manufacturers of blade servers have announced their lineups of new products

- Japanese IT vendors are betting on the Next-Generation Network (NGN) market opportunities

- A method for estimating the number of processes involved in software development drawing upon the experience of veteran project managers has become available in Japan

- Bill Gates, Chairman and Chief Software Architect of Microsoft, plans to retire in two years

- The Japanese version of the SOX Law has been passed by the Diet, but the standards for its implementation are not expected to be available until this fall at the earliest

- Fujitsu places emphasis on profitability in its SI/Service business


Actual Practice of Internal Control (2)

- Pfizer Japan has established a clear separation in duties and responsibilities among employees in response to the enforcement of the SOX Law in the United States


[From BusinessWeek]

- “Web 2.0” services and technologies are adopted by an increasing number of companies for internal use in the United States


[News Flash for Each Industry]

- Finance: Japan Post recruits personnel to operate its information systems from the private sector

- Other industries: Private information on approximately four million subscribers to KDDI’s Internet service has been leaked

PEOPLE

Interview
Tomohiko Suetsugu: President, Sun Microsystems Japan

- The workplace comes to life again


Shane Robison: Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Technology Officer, Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.

- One of our goals is to establish an unmanned data center


Real Feelings Expressed by Top Executives
Morimasa Sato: Executive Vice President and Director, FP Corporation

- The SCM system that we launched in June 2003 is now indispensable for our company

CASE STUDIES

Investigation of a Noteworthy Project
B-R 31 Ice Cream Co., Ltd.

- The company has successfully renovated its mission-critical system despite two policy reversals


Absolute Solutions for Enhancing IT Strategy
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

- The company’s “BEST Plan”, developed to play a central role in its global strategy, has started being implemented


A Computer That Does Not Work
Tottori University Hospital

- The electronic medical chart system was shut down for a whole day


[Novel / Cyber Lawless Area]

Second Chapter: Employee Monitoring (6)

MANAGEMENT/TECHNOLOGY

Hints for IT Managers
- Restructuring in IT divisions can be avoided by making preemptive moves


Risk Management That Brings a Project to Success
- You can understand the structure of risk by using a standard risk model


A Practical Project-Management Course for Users
- It is important to take measures for protecting personal information at the requirement definition stage


IT Project Recovery Management at the Site [New Series]
- The number of failed IT projects is not declining, and there are seven misunderstandings that hinder the recovery of a project


IT Keywords You Should Have Known Long Ago

EJB 3.0