Home :. Table of Contents :. Index :. Nikkei Computer May 15, 2006 Issue

Nikkei Computer

May 15, 2006 Issue <<Contents>>

FEATURE 1 The Power of BPM The speed of business can be increased further - Business process management (BPM) defines business processes by putting them into the form of a diagram and then interprets and implements them using systems.  By so doing, BPM facilitates the smooth and accurate operation of the processing that encompasses multiple business processes.  An increasing number of companies have become aware of the effectiveness of BPM and have started to use the approach.   This article examines the “power of BPM,” with a focus on the efforts of leading companies and the latest trends in BPM tools. - A company finds BPM: The CIO of Seiko Instruments talks about his firm’s experience - The shift to BPM has already started: Leading corporate users have started to undertake BPM projects, and IT vendors are enthusiastic - This is what you can do using BPM tools: From modeling to system linkage FEATURE 2 IT Can Create a 10-Second “Grace” Period Now is the time to put anti-earthquake measures into practice

REPORT

[Inside]

- As early as in July, Uniqlo plans to integrate its mission-critical systems throughout its global branches

- Fujitsu has newly established a sales team that specializes in storage systems


[News & Trends]

- Twenty vendors have jointly proposed that outsourcing services should be provided in a way that allows profits to be shared by corporate users and IT vendors

- Making use of their experience in compliance with the SOX law in the United States, IT vendors provide services to support internal control

- As new lineups of notebook PCs for corporate use are launched, the competitive landscape of the market is changing

- Microsoft plans to launch ERP packaged software in Japan as early as in April 2007

- Fujitsu and Hitachi have released strong financial reports, especially in the software & service business sector

- “Blog plus RSS” has emerged as a tool for sharing in-house information

- A provisional version of IT skill standards for users (Users’ Information Systems Skill Standards or UISS) has been officially released

- ANA intends to reduce costs by ¥7 billion by replacing its existing mainframe-based systems with open systems

- A number of newly established banks have adopted “Made-in-India” accounting system packages

PEOPLE

Interview
Jeff Raikes: President, Microsoft Business Division, Microsoft Corporation (USA)

- Our company extracts employees’ potential using software


Real Feelings Expressed by Top Executives
Tohru Yasaka: Vice President, CIT Asia Pacific Region, Pfizer Japan Inc.

- IT divisions should be aware that they are part of a corporate entity

CASE STUDIES

Investigation of a Noteworthy Project
Toyama Chemical Co., Ltd.

- At the initiative of frontline workers, the company has introduced a document management system


Absolute Solutions for Enhancing IT Strategy
AFLAC Japan (Japan unit of the American Family Life Assurance Company)

- The company has recently renewed the process of IT plan development by using the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) approach


A Computer That Does Not Work
Six shinkin banks in Hokkaido Prefecture

- Malfunctioning hardware caused a delay in the performance of services for almost a whole day at the six banks


[Novel / Cyber Lawless Area]

Second Chapter: Employee Monitoring (3)

MANAGEMENT/TECHNOLOGY

Key Points in System Design for Increasing Business Value
- It is imperative to establish objective evaluation criteria on the basis of the idea of system lifecycle


A Practical Project-Management Course for Users
- It is important to take internal control into consideration when you define project requirements


Techniques for Management Reforms That Can Be Used Immediately — Internal Control
- In application control, IT is used to manage risks and prevent human errors


Useful Legal Advice for When You Are in Trouble
- We tend to forget about trademark registration; it is in fact easy to search whether or not similar trademarks exist and apply for the registration of a trademark.


IT Keywords You Should Have Known Long Ago

Visual Basic