In this article it speaks about how the global economic crisis has decreased the growth of India’s technology and business services industry.  With the economic downturn it is explained that these industries are facing cuts in the countries market share.  There is a dominance that India’s market holds for off shore technology and business services.  Analysts say that the countries share could sink to 40 percent by 2020, primarily as a result of competition from other countries, talent and infrastructure constraints and irregular weather.

Changes in the global market can also give India opportunity if companies become more creative in finding ways to lower labor costs.  Revenues for India’s business and technology services have grown 50 billion in 2008.  India’s National Association suggests that experts’ revenues could reach 60 billion a year by 2010, but with the economic downturn it could delay that reach by three to four quarters.

I think that this article went great with chapter 12.  With outsourcing becoming a growing and accepted approach for businesses India relies on outsourcing to create jobs and support the economy.  I feel that the numbers in terms of profit are ridiculous in what a benefit it is to India.  I would think that the economic downturn would create more of a profit for them and have companies look toward decreasing overhead and employees salary and lean toward outsourcing over seas.  If companies do end up finding alternative countries that are less in cost and more efficient, India would need to rethink possibilities of engaging new companies.

Kaka, N. (2009, August).  Strengthening India’s Off shoring Industry.  Retrieved November 18, 2009, from McKinsey Quarterly website: http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Strategy/Globalization/Strengthening_Indias_offshoring_industry_2372

This article introduced AtTask a software company that helps GCS a contractor provide real-time systems development for NASA.  GCS can effectively manage and support software tools by NASA, they contract large complex systems to make sure they meet the requirements in the software development life cycle.

NASA requires specific standards for every software tool for quality software development.  AtTask is able to allow status of development and show how GCS is doing or can improve during this process.  AtTask can also show notes and other communications within the application to follow government compliance with NASA standards.  This software can guide the software to be created correctly the first time around.

An audit trail is important to manage and get certifications of software, so AtTask automatically keeps track, which include: notes, documents, status charges associated with software tools used by NASA contractors.  GCS is also able to use AtTask’s help desk which guides the software support for NASA’s contractors to report project, task and issues to project managers through email.

This article I thought went exactly with chapter 11 because there was a focus on software development and the importance of having effective software for an organization to function.  Without having a reliable software development life cycle it can prevent the software to be an operative system and a loss of time and money.  AtTask is an awesome tool for GCS because it makes sure that every phase of the development process is completed and shows progress of the software, which makes NASA aware at all times.

AtTask Helps NASA Contractor GeoControl Systems (GCS) Provide Excellent Support to the Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) Program. (16  June). Business Wire.  Retrieved November 12, 2009, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 1748370801).

This article addresses the struggle of the economy and importance to look at your options and find ways that are inexpensive.  Microsoft Office can be easily substituted with free Google applications.  There is a combination of Google documents, Google voice, Google calendar and Gmail that become solutions used right that can save thousands of dollars in software costs.

Google Documents is the first application that allows businesses to upload, share and work together; documents such as spreadsheets, presentation forms and documents.  This application allows documents to be shared, but as well have a back up to all the files online in case your computer or local driver becomes damaged.

Google Voice is the second application that is currently still in the works.  It creates a phone number with an area code that rings all your phones and saves your voicemail online.  It can transcribe your voice mail to a text format.  It also allows to send out text messages to groups and coworkers from you computer to any numbers on your contacts.

Google Calendar is the virtual way to manage schedules and collaborate on projects.  This application is integrated with Gmail and it can schedule events and invite contacts to events.  All these applications are accessible through the websites and makes Google applications and small businesses to save money on software costs.

This is an awesome ERP substitute for a target small business company.  When creating databases it can be very expensive and can delay a business.  I think that Google has out done themselves and has really strived to be the main software company.  This software is very creative and ERP is all about bringing department functions to one single IT system and that is exactly what this does.  It helps to think outside the box and this article is a great suggestion.

Rice, K.  (2009, October 13). Google Apps Can Save Your Business Money.  Retrieved November 4, 2009, from erp.com website: http://www.erp.com/component/content/article/52-implementation/5233-google-apps-can-save-your-business-money.html

In this article it introduced how Microsoft integrated its CRM software to Twitter.  This is the most recent move that a software company as big as Microsoft has tried to link up with Twitter.  They added three new add-on modules that are being released from their Dynamics CRM.  This technology is able to retrieve messages that are being discussed using the Twitter service and Dynamic companies receive information from a tool that analyzes the discussion among those companies.

Microsoft decided to introduce this to Twitter since it has become a phenomena.  Twitter will help Dynamic users boost their sales databases.  With this information Twitter usernames will be converted into Dynamics CRM records and sales that will later develop into data phone numbers.

This CRM is only compatible with Twitter, but Microsoft is looking forward to eventually distributing with other social networks.  The article also explains how this could influence Twitter to end up getting in the CRM game.   By providing a service that tracks and analysis conversations around particular brands and advertise.

There is going to be two types of CRM’s that include modules that help Dynamic customers manage sales opportunities with their partners and for connecting to CRM Dynamics portal.  This service will be free to download for their existing customers.

I found this article to be inventive there are so many possibilities with Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace that have created this virtual world that is connected to reality.  I feel that Microsoft is taking the right step to approach companies before someone else does and enhance their services.  This is so beneficial to those existing Dynamic customers because it gives them more of an idea of their targeted audience.  Then they can start targeting advertisements and market towards a specific genre or age group.

Kanaracus, C. (2009, July 09) Microsoft Ties Dynamics To CRM to Twitter.  Retrieved October 28, 2009 from PC World Web Site: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/168163/microsoft_ties_dynamics_crm_to_twitter.html

In this article it talked about RFID technology that is being used to safety handle raw materials and finished products in the food industry. This has opened up new doors to technology and speed up the process of manufactured goods and materials. Scientists from North Carolina State University have gathered and created this type of technology.

With the supply chain management (SCM), RFID tags are being used to track food products while being shipped and stored. They use multiple tags that can be read at any point of day and provide automatic product shipments from warehouses to retail stores.

There are two new kinds of RFID tags that were created. The first one is the FreshTime RFID tags that are used to monitor the shelf life of food. The tag is able to sense the temperature of the food and can determine how long it should stay on the shelf. The second type of RFID tag that was created is the ThermAssure RF. This is a new RFID system that has capabilities to combine tracking and temperature measurements for foods such as meat, fruit and dairy products to remain at a safe temperature during transportation and storage. This system has become very popular amongst companies that ship wine, produce, seafood, meat, poultry, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

With the way that technology is going this will be able to help the quality of food that people are buying and at the same time provide a quicker turnaround for the items that are in high demand. I think that this is a great way to use technology, it is able to make sure that the food will not spoil when being transported. This will prevent loss of money for products that spoil quicker and use our resources to provide food to the areas that are most needed and not wasted.

RFID Technology May Help in Keeping Foods Safe. (2009, Septemeber 24). Retrieved October 14, 2009, from Communications of the ACM website: http://cacm.acm.org/news/42662-rfid-technology-may-help-in-keeping-foods-safe/fulltext

This article talked about Skype a software company that provides millions of people and businesses to communicate through videos, instant messages and files with other Skype users. Skype provided a new business click-to-call product that will turn online search for businesses into calls for businesses. This is a business funded product that makes it easy and convenient for Skype consumers to call for free. The way that it would work is a call that is funded by a business will be highlighted with a blue free call button next to the number. This automatic phone recognition will provide more than 480 million registered users to call a business for free.

Calls that are not funded by a business can still call via Skype but will be charged. This has created a partnership for a European Directory and Skype. This will offer 700,000 businesses across Europe for free consumer calls. The partnering with European Directories is described that it will only provide more advertisers and connect customer in a new way. Having 700,000 businesses will also advertise businesses in Europe that can be over looked on the Internet.

I feel that this article went great with chapter seven. The discussion of the telecommunications and conversation of VoIP is growing. Skype has made communicating internationally and locally a lot more convenient. Having this new feature on Skype will create a higher conversion for a business. This is like searching the yellow pages and finding the company you are looking for and immediately dials the number. If this creates a positive impact than it will only drive other business owners to use Skype and will become an exclusive telecommunication system.

Skype Rolls out Business Funded Click-to-Call and Partners with European Directories. (6 October). Business Wire, Retrieved October 8, 2009, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 1873261051).

Sun Microsystems a vendor of computers will be added in the 2009 Guinness Book of World Records for their data warehouse. In November of 2007 The Guinness Book worked close together with Sun and Sybase to complete a category that never existed of the world’s largest data warehouse. The warehouse was built by Sun Microsystems and is powered by Suns SPARC Enterprise M9000 server. Its capability is of one petabyte of raw data. That is compared to six trillion rows of transactional data and 185 million searchable documents like emails, reports and spreadsheets. “The data warehouse demonstrates the capability of the M9000 server and all its big features such as throughput, capacity and tolerance,” Sharon Elwell the director of the Sun Servers said.

The article also briefly talked about the partnership that was made with Sybase and BMM soft to build the warehouse. The warehouse is more than 34 times larger than the largest industry known benchmark and twice the size of the largest commercial data warehouse. Sun built something very small that only consists of three cabinets and one server. It is eco friendly and consumes 91 percent less energy.

I chose this article because chapter six focused on information and data which is ran by a database. Having a data warehouse is important for a business and to be able to retrieve information so quickly while doing that is a plus. Sun Microsystems was very creative to come up with a way to take little space and be so fast. This is a breakthrough for technology because it usually takes 29 cabinets and 3 servers for a conventional warehouse to function. This will only inspire to create something as powerful or more with less space.

Ganapati, P. (2008). Sun Microsystems’ Data Warehouse in 2009 Guinness Book. Retrieved September 30, 2009 from Wired.Com Web Site: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2008/09/sun-microsystem/

NetSurity is a data backup restoration provider that has begun to prepare Florida’s businesses for the upcoming hurricane season by using offsite storage to protect data on computers and servers. Ronny Delgado the president of NetSurity said that preparing for hurricane season is one of the biggest priorities. Delgado and his team have been installing backup and disaster recovery solutions for business owners. The way that the information data is protected is the NetSurity team places a rapid restore server in the company’s network.

NetSurity technology is so realiable, that it is able to allow a company to be up and running within 1 to 24 hours from the time a server fails. Everything from photos to client information is transmitted 2 to 6 times daily to the off shore centers. The article describes this built-in archiving system as more convenient and less cost efficient than tapes. “We’ve spent the past month responding to an increased demand in data protection due to businesses having an interest in hurricane defense,” said Jairo Avila, vice president of NetSurity. “Our team has been designing and configuring long-term solutions for businesses, large and small.

A large number of businesses in Florida start to look into businesses such as NetSurity before Hurricane season because that is when they need it the most. I found this article to be in common with chapter five. One of the components for enterprise architecture is information architecture and backup and restoration is an important feature. I feel that establishing these types of services is important because it can protect a company all year round disasters such as lightening strikes, power surges or even an employee doing an error.

Hurricane Preparations Begin With Protecting Computer Server Data Recommends NetSurity. (10 July). Business Wire. Retrieved September 24, 2009, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 1782469881).

In this article two independent privacy security firms ranked Verizon as the most trusted communications company for privacy. It was ranked No. 2 nationally and was the only telecommunications company on the list of top 20. The companies were chosen by Poneman Institute which is an information security research company and Truste an internet privacy service seal provider.

Kathy Zanowic the chief privacy officer for Verizon said that it is a top priority for Verizon and in order for their customers to use the full capabilities of their products and services it is important for their information to remain private. There was a two-stage survey that was conducted. The first was companies were rated by consumers on who they thought were the “most trusted.” The second stage included the top 20 were judged by an expert panel from the Poneman Institute that analyzed the clarity and readability of the privacy statement, notices, access to account information, cookie management, in and out of network data sharing practices, as well as customer service staff.

I found this article to fit in with chapter four, information security and privacy. I found it relieving to know that there are businesses out there that do have your best intention at mind. With the way technology is going and the use of mobile phones it’s good to know that companies do not only want to offer you a service, but a reliable one. Especially since the capabilities that cellular phones carry allows you to store, upload, download information that might be confidential.

Verizon Ranked as Most Trusted Communications Company for Privacy :Company Ranked No. 2 Nationally on 2009 List of ‘Most Trusted Companies for Privacy’. (16 September). PR Newswire. Retrieved September 17, 2009, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 1859960871)

I read this article about an online selling website called GlassesShop.com a B2C (Business to Consumer) company that will be providing lens index 1.499 and under for free of charge. Mr. King, CEO of the GlassesShop.com said that the purpose of this offer is to help people deal with the economic depression and to help promote future sales. With the economic crises reports have stated that the online turnover in the United States has only increased.

GlassesShop.com is a young company that started in 2005 but has recently boomed since the end of 2008. Many people doubted purchasing eye glasses online but the price point offered is hard to find in retail stores. This company is currently experiencing competition who Mr King has described the circumstances as the beginning to a new market. One out of every four people in the United States wear glasses which makes it a potential to grow as an industry. He believes that the eye wear industry will continue to thrive to replace retail stores in the near future.

GlassesShop.com had made negotiations with one of the largest Chinese lens manufacturer that were willing to make a cut price agreement. This article is a perfect example how Ebusiness works. The internet has only brought more opportunity to the ordinary person and is giving a really good deal for something that is a necessity. I personally have worn glasses since I was ten years old and glasses have always been an important thing to have and shop for. I think that the price points of glasses on this website are so competitive that I do not see a reason why anyone would prefer to buy glasses in a retail store than the internet.

GlassesShop.com Announced Lens Index 1.499 Free. (9 September). PR Newswire. Retrieved September 9, 2009, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 1855651381).

In this article called Robotic Delight it talked about the Ginza Sony Building in Tokyo Japan, which is a seven story technological building equipped with all the best modern televisions, gadgets and entertainment systems that Sony has to offer. Michael Conover the writer of this article writes about two things that stood out from his trip to the Ginza Building. The first thing was a 3D LCD aquarium that displayed a clear LCD definition that seemed as if he was looking at a real fish tank. The second thing that he found amazing was the dancing polyrhythmic Sony Rolly. This is a different kind of robot that does not mimic the usual type of robot that walks, for one thing it rolls. It is in the shape of a football and with its movements it can dance to music in a sequence of up to seven rolly’s at one time. It is priced at $299, which in his opinion did not seem reasonable in price for the market, but was a wonder to see.

I found this article to be perfect for chapter two because we have talked about AI (Artificial Intelligence) and the different types and robots are a leading type of technology. I found it very captivating and knowledgeable to see what is out there. In the article it also had a video of this robot which I got a chance to see and it was very interesting and a creative idea for a dancing robot. I know it has its own type of market that would be very interested in purchasing something like that.

Conover, Michael (2009) Robotic Delight, Retrieved September 2, 2009 from Communications of the ACM:blog@CACM Web site: http://cacm.acm.org/blogs/blog-cacm/39359-robotic-delight/fulltext

In this article Brand Building, Tweet by Tweet, it talked about saving money and building a brand by using free marketing tools such as Tweeter. With the downfall of the economy many businesses can learn how to incorporate Tweeter to get the word of mouth out. The writer explains the benefits of using Tweeter as influencing conversations and discussions on your brand, while reading peoples comments that provide the likes and dislikes of your business. Using the comments of people who like your brand you can contact them and elaborate on your brand/services and contacting the people that do not and find the reasons that are pushing them away. Tweeter can also benefit your supporters by offering free products, samples or gifts that will give them reasons to brag. It can as well advertise upcoming product lines and sales while diffusing the doubters.

I found this article to be incorporated with chapter one because IT is everything that is technical in your business and as Tweeter may seem a little unprofessional, it can be quite beneficial to incorporate and use. With the phenomena of Twitter, what better way to promote your brand and business but doing what everyone else is doing and raving about it. I have never used the system but I hear you can comment on the Tweet and I like how the writer spoke about using those comments as criticism. The theory in chapter one that fit into this article was the five forces models that helps determine the attractiveness of the industry and Tweeter is the perfect marketing tool to achieve that.

Weinberg, Tamar. (2009). Brand Building, Tweet by Tweet. Retrieved September 2, 2009, from Forbes.com Web site: http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/14/branding-twitter-facebook-breakthroughs-marketing.html