Think IBM and images of large enterprise, big business implementations usually come to mind. But if president and CEO Sam Palmisano has his way, in a few years SMB sales will replace financial services as the biggest part of Big Blue's business.
September 3, 2004: Brandon police go wireless
The adoption of new technologies by frontline police officers can be difficult, but a computer-aided dispatch and fleet tracking system from Xwave has already paid dividends for the police department in Brandon, Man.
November 25, 2003: IDC study shows poor data quality in analytics
Data quality remains the top challenge to Canadian organizations making better use of data analytics through data warehousing, according to an IDC Canada study.
June 28, 2002: Ingram Micro's West side story
Don't tell Kevin Murai the IT industry is slowing down.
While SAP Canada president and managing director Robert Courteau sees competing in a global economy as the biggest challenge facing Canadian companies, the German enterprise software developer is now without its own challenges in the Canadian market.
May 30, 2005: Greenpeace Targets HP over environmental practices
A study designed to explore Canadian awareness of e-waste issues points to HP as a leader, but environmental group Greenpeace has launched an international campaign lambasting the manufacturer for its product disposal practices.:
March 16, 2004: BC outsourcing plan sparks privacy fears
Handing over control of the province's Medical Services Plan to American IT companies could create conflicts with the US Patriot Act, critics warn.
February 4, 2004: CityFido service unleashes wireless carrier dogfight
A Microcell offer to lure away wireline customers in B.C. has prompted competition so fierce an analyst firm is calling for peace. Plus: Can you trademark a dog?
BlackBerry users are once again getting their CrackBerry fix after a network outage caused widespread service disruptions accross North America.
November 6, 2006: IT helps Toronto airport authority take flight
There may be some 60 airlines at Toronto's Pearson International Airport, but there's only one common-use IT environment.
August 22, 2005: Spyware eyes bigger bucks, says report
Spyware is getting more dangerous and has become a greater threat for the enterprise, according to the latest quarterly state of spyware report from Boulder, Co.-based Webroot Software.
August 8, 2005: Play fair, Ontario court tells former Cygnal exec
An Ontartio Superior Court ruling Wednesday barring former Cygnal Technologies senior executive James Taylor's new company, Activo Inc., from unfairly competing with Cygnal for a year is only the latest example of IT companies on both sides of the border getting tough with former employees.
It's been a busy year for Ron Hovsepian, with the Novell president and CEO presiding over a cntroversial pact with Microsoft will trying to carve out a role for Novell, and Linux, beyond the data centre.
March 15, 2006: Cisco's Chambers: The network has become the platform
To succeed in the rapidly evolving technology world, Cisco Systems president and CEO John Chambers said you need to place your bets on where the market is going five years ahead of time, and change your company to be there when that future arrives.
August 26, 2005: First boosts compliance with hosted e-mail storage
Like diamonds, e-mails are forever. Or at least, it would seem like forever for companies required to implement e-mail archiving - for three to five years - to comply with regulatory and legal requirements.
When you've only got an hour and a half to hawk your wares, every minute counts. For the Vancouver Canucks, drafting a new technology platform was the answer to the weak spot in their retail lineup.
April 11, 2006: Gaming enters the enterprise world
There was a time when many games had a keystroke, known as "The Boss Key." If a gamer notied the boss heading toward his cubicle, he would hit Alt-B and have his golf game replaced with a spreadsheet application screenshot. Tapping Alt-B again once the boss had left would have sent him back to the links. Such has long been the relationship between the corporate world and the gaming world.
February 3, 2006: Teams give IT a sporting chance
Could the jocks and the nerds of the world unite? With the about of technology that is popping up over the world of professional sports, the answer seems to be a definite yes.
January 6, 2006: Keeping ahead of the Avian Flu
When a worker with SARS-like symptoms kept going to work during the SARS scare in 2003, HP Canada's Markham, Ont.-office was forced to send nearly 200 workers into isolation. With talk of a possible Avian Flu pandemic in the headlines, companies would be wise to consider how IT can help keep a business operating in a quarantine situation, some observers say.
While Jeff Wacker looks more IT manager than mad scientist, as the futurist for Plano, Tex.-based EDS Corp. he does spend his days looking past the nuts and bolts of IT to what's coming down the road.
September 1, 2005: Ontario urged to beef up project expertise
A task force headed by former federal Auditor General Denis Desautels has some advice for the Ontario government on how to better manage large IT projects.
Burgeoning Canadian municipalities might want to pay attention to what the City of Calgary just learned: if you want to get out of the hole, stop digging.
In the wake of Vancouver city council's rejection of a big-box Wal-Mart outlet, another controversy is brewing on northern Vancouver Island, the next B.C. beachhead for the U.S.-based retail giant.
May 26, 2005: Alpine resort's plan hits unseasonal moguls
The weather gods weren't kind to Mount Washington Alpine Resort this year, but the Vancouver Island ski destination is still optimistic about next year and is making big plans for 2010.
March 17, 2005: Duke Point utility sets deadline in process
A cloud has settled over the future of BC Hydro's controversial $285-million gas-fired generation plant at Duke Point near Nanaimo, as the utility vows to cancel the project if court appeals filed against it aren't resolved by the end of June.
Carleton University places a premium on bandwidth to handle virtual simulation, and to ensure it can keep up with future demand.
May 28, 2004: Open Windows of opportunity
Open source is starting to creep into the IT deecision-making process, according to a survey from CATAAlliance.
July 18, 2003: Canfor connects disparate workforce
With more than 6,000 employees scattered across British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec and Washington State, Vancouver-based forest products company Canfor Corp. needed a way to keep those employees informed of industry happenings and feeling they're part of the company.
A Comox Man who has been waiting more than 15 months for a hip replacement found out less than 48 hours before the scheduled surgery it would be cancelled because his doctor was going overseas to join the relief effort in Indonesia.
October 2004: Building Better Buying
Under pressures familiar to most public purchasers, the Fraser Health Authority took steps to consolidate and standardize its procurement practices across the board... and reaps the benefits.
June 2004: Greening the Games
Green procurement key for the 2010 Vancouver/Whistler Winter Olympic Games.
(Files are in Adobe Acrobat format)
With the adoption of the 802..3af protocol for Power over Ethernet (PoE) by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) last summer, vendors are developing new standard-compliant products.
January 2003: Add 'detecting unauthorized wireless access points' to your job description
As wireless LANs are adopted by more and more workplaces, IT managers are being presented with a whole new set of challenges.
November 2002: Combined IP network will help carrier reduce costs, IDC analyst says
Telus Corp.'s chief technology officer says his firm built converged network in order to lead the telecom pack.
The widespread blackout that struck Ontario and the Eastern U.S. this summer is a wake-up call highlighting the vulnerability of North America's power grid to cyber attack, according to a Canadian researcher.
April 2003: SPAN uses intelligence tool to sniff out problems
With 4,000 nodes on a network sprawling across British Columbia, tracking down problems on the Shared Provincial Access Network (SPAN) reported by one of the 50,000 users is no easy task.
June 2002: CPSIN added to tech toolbox
The shadow of Sept. 11, 2001 hung heavy over the mountains of Whistler, B.C. as delegates at a recent conference discussed ways to improve public safety by sharing information.
When seven people died and more than 2,000 became ill three years ago after an e-coli outbreak in Walkerton's water system, many people started to think how a recurrence could be prevented.
(File is in Adobe Acrobat format)
June 2002: BC Tech Voice Preview
As managing editor I produced this preview of a new monthly publication to be launched for the province's technology community. A lack of financial backing killed the project before the first issue could be published..
(File is in Adobe Acrobat format)
With the current turmoil in the financial markets, securing financing to get your company through the economic downturn is no easy task. When all the options have been explored, the kitty is nearly empty and the creditors are nipping at your heals, bankruptcy protection may be your only option.
December 2001: After the IPO
Many a startup company begins in somebody's basement with the big dream of going public on a major exchange. For those that get that far there should be a word of warning -- the work has just begun.
August 2001: Social workers
For the past few years, the tend in tech has been for companies to become socially active. While many will extol the virtues of good citizenship, the bottom line is that compaies are hoping social responsibility will transalate into better potential hires and more sales.
March 2001:The Mosel Saga
The bid to lure chip maker Mosel Vitelic to Canada was an exercice in frustration and futility. nearly three years later, mosel has yet to set up shop in Canada and many involved would prefer it stay that way.
Business leaders, like other hockey fans, are still seething from the Ottawa Senators' playoff collapse, but they're not willing to turn their backs on the franchise yet.
March 30, 2001: Sedona declares bankruptcy, lays off 95 people
Ottawa-based Sedona Networks declared bankruptcy on Friday, leaving its 95 remaining employees out of work. The company cited the downturn in the telecommunications market and an inability to raise new operating capital for the move.
February 14, 2001: Growth halted as Ottawa copes with $94 million shortfall
All capital spending, including much needed infrastructure improvements and the city's share of a proposed convention centre, is under review as Ottawa tries to cope with a $94 million budgetary shortfall, it was announced at a city council meeting on Wednesday.
January 24, 2001: Stock punished after Corel announces restructuring
Derek Burney's message, when he unveiled Ottawa's Corel Corp. restructuring plan on Tuesday, was simple: stay the course, steady the ship. The announcement, while not flashy, was characteristic of Burney's six-month-old tenure as Corel's president and CEO.
After tying Carleton's career goal-scoring record two games into the season, Ravens' soccer star Erika Myer set the new standard in game 10, with her 26th.
February 18, 1999: Budget boosts research and jobs
It's not the education budget part two, but the 1999 federal budget will give research and innovation at Canadian universities a signifigant boost.
February 4, 1999: Beware the Superdogs
Around 6,000 people came to the Corel Centre Jan. 31 to see a bizarre spectacle: Star Wars meets a dogshow.
January 29, 1998: Day of Action hard on Van Loon
The Tory building foyer was buzzing with the sounds of student activism Jan. 28 as union leaders, politicians, the media and about 200 students gathered for a national Day of Action.