Home :. Table of Contents :. Index :. Nikkei Computer October 31, 2005 Issue

Nikkei Computer

October 31, 2005 Issue <<Contents>>

FEATURE 1 The Looming “Yodobashi Shock” Work restructuring based on IC tags has been launched - Experiments have been conducted on IC tags in Japan, but their practical application has yet to materialize.  Finally, however, a Japanese company has started to make active use of them.  That company is Yodobashi Camera, and it has asked 30 manufacturers of products that it sells through its retail outlets to equip their products with IC tags.  Yodobashi’s full-scale application of the tags will begin in May 2006.  This article examines the impact of the “Yodobashi Shock.” - Get the full picture of Yodobashi’s IC-tag-based system - Denso and Mitsukoshi speed up their application of IC tags - Learn how NEC Personal Products and Hitachi are using IC tags FEATURE 2 Virtualization Technology Grows Increasingly Feasible - The advancement of processors encourages the incorporation of the technology into the next-generation information system infrastructure FEATURE 3 Turning Video Cameras into Sensors - They can even detect the “meaning” of movements by using a moving image recognition system

REPORT

[Inside]

- AXA Life Insurance outsources its system development and maintenance to Accenture

- Other stories


[News & Trends]

- Nippon Keidanren raises the issue of the government’s e-Japan strategy and presses for numerical targets

- Fujitsu and its group companies intend to improve their productivity

- Japan Post steps up efforts to prepare itself for the planned breakup and privatization

- Johnan Shinkin Bank’s decision to adopt palm authentication reveals the uphill battle that the technology faces

- Riken is a main entity for the development of a 10-petaflops supercomputer

- The participation of ÆON and Ito-Yokado makes a data-sharing system for the distribution industry more feasible

- JTB plans to thoroughly review its system for promoting the introduction of IT in accordance with the restructuring of its group companies

- A succession of tools for improving Ajax’s development environment have been launched

- KDDI and PoweredCom plan to merge in January 2006-Marubeni Infotec has lowered its earnings forecast due to a system-integration failure


[From BusinessWeek]
- Dell’s customer satisfaction levels have declined


[From InformationWeek]
- Major companies in the United States are increasing their use of open-source software


[News Flash for Each Industry]

- Service: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Narita Airport start a joint experiment based on IC tags, which allows airline passengers to travel from Narita to JFK “with their hands empty”

- Distribution: CAA uses grid-computing technology to auction secondhand cars

- Manufacturing: Toyota Auto Body assesses the environmental load of its products at the development stage

PEOPLE

Interview
Katsuto Momii: President & CEO, Nihon Unisys, Ltd.
- We are determined to become a growing company again and achieve operating margin of seven percent


Real Feelings Expressed by Top Executives
Isao Kishi: Senior Corporate Officer, Senior Vice President, Information Systems, Astellas Pharma Inc.
- It is essential to develop the ability to accurately determine what is necessary for a company to grow

CASE STUDIES

Investigation of a Noteworthy Project
Marubeni Corporation
- The company has consolidated R/3 databases that were located separately in 10 divisions   

An Absolute Solution for Enhancing IT Strategy
Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co., Ltd.
- It took seven years for the company to unify its group’s mission-critical systems

A Computer That Does Not Work
Security companies, gas stations, and convenience stores
- The crisis that hit the Kinki area lasted 72 hours

Serialized Novel: Path to Renovation of a Legacy System
- Part 11: Outrageous Estimates

MANAGEMENT/TECHNOLOGY

Key Points in System Design for Increasing Business Value
- You can determine the appropriateness of the costs of a new project by measuring those costs as a percentage of the company’s total IT budget and affordability

A Practical Project-Management Course for Users
- You can prevent a project being delayed by managing its progress status

Techniques for Management Reforms that Can Be Used Immediately — Business Integration in M&A
- The objective of IT systems is to maximize the organizational ability to support business activities 

Useful Legal Advice for When You Are in Trouble
- It is important to require employees to manage copyright appropriately and to clarify their responsibilities

IT Keywords You Should Have Known a Long Time Ago
- ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)