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Nikkei Computer

May 16, 2005 Issue <<Contents>>

FEATURE Effective Strategies for Introducing ITIL 20 companies make a full-fledged effort to take the lead in implementing ITIL - The IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is a set of best-practice guidelines for IT service management, and an increasing number of corporations have started applying it to actual operations. Unfortunately, it is not easy to incorporate ITIL into daily operations because it offers only completed forms without instructions on how it should be introduced. This article examines the efforts of 20 companies that have taken the lead in introducing ITIL. Part 1: Three perspectives to prevent missteps in ITIL introduction Part 2: How can managers enhance the motivation of employees involved in actual operations?

PEOPLE

Interview
- Now is the time to computerize administrative procedures, and we should carry out system innovation and work-restructuring at the same time
Yoichi Iha: Mayor, Ginowan City, Okinawa Prefecture


Real Feelings Expressed by Top Executives
- The president himself participated in a system-development project and encouraged discussion among the members of the team to foster their sense of responsibility for the project
Tokio Aoki: President, Marukome Co., Ltd.

NEWS

Reports

- Will dual-core processors change the landscape of the database market?

- The number of PC servers equipped with 64-bit processors is increasing rapidly

- The financial results for the fiscal year ended in March 2005 show a sharp contrast between NEC and its two competitors, Hitachi and Fujitsu, in the system-integration sector

- IBM Japan has changed its strategy for BTO (business transformation outsourcing) services and is developing services specially designed to meet the unique needs of Japanese companies

- There are limits to the new measures being taken by credit-card companies against phishing

- Thin client terminals have been thrust into the spotlight for the first time in 10 years

- The standard for skills in embedded software makes its debut

- One of the experts involved in a system failure at Waseda University talks about how they overcame the crisis

News Flash for Each Industry

- [Manufacturing] Marukome has implemented the transition of its mission-critical system from mainframe to windows-based servers

- [Finance] Shinsei Bank integrates its servers using virtual machine software

- [Service] The National Hospital Organization Kyoto Medical Center adopts IC tags to manage patients’ medication profiles

- [e-Japan] The Digital Communities Promotion Conference, a non-profit organization, dispatches experts to support CIOs in prefectural and municipal governments throughout Japan

CASE STUDIES

The Project
The Asahi Shimbun Company
- The company has established an authentication infrastructure based on PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) encryption while making all of its mission-critical systems accessible to over 8,000 users, including employees of its cooperating companies

A Computer That Does Not Work / The Examination of Misjudgment
Japan Freight Railway Company
- The company has abandoned its attempt to establish a new payroll system and brought suit against the vendor that failed to develop the system

Close-Up
From Workplaces Where a System Is Used Effectively
Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.
- The company spent two and a half years establishing an infrastructure for utilizing customer data comprised of some 10 million records

TECHNOLOGIES & PRODUCTS

Close-Up
More and more call centers adopt text-mining technologies

The A to Z of IT Pitfalls
Backup/Archives

New Products
Linux-based software into which NetWare functions are transplanted

IT MANAGEMENT

Shiro Baba’s “Essays in Idleness” for SEs
- The words of a senior staff member saved me from worrying about a promotion

Conditions for Becoming a Successful SE
- You should strive to guide others skillfully in the direction you want them to go