As instant messaging becomes an integral component of the application infrastructure necessary to meet strategic communication objectives, organizations abiding by SEC, NASD and HIPAA regulations will need to closely examine their IM and e-mail archival policies. FaceTime Communications, Jabber and others are moving to provide interoperable, secure, corporate-class IM-management products that enable compliance with regulatory acts while meeting organizations' archival needs.
It seems that every year we list spam as one issue you'll need to deal with in the following year. Unfortunately, it's likely we'll continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
During the past year, the amount of spam traversing the Internet increased at an alarming rate--based on our own experience, 60 percent to 70 percent of incoming mail is spam. And where there's pain, there's money to be made--anti-spam vendors have popped up like mushrooms overnight and, for the most part, have been successful in assembling a slew products that, when combined judiciously, shield your users from the worst.
But make no mistake: There's a long way to go before this war is won. That's because anti-spam measures are still largely reactive rather than proactive. A new technology is created to block spam, and spammers change their modus operandi and continue on their merry ways. Leading vendors are implementing adaptive technology based on artificial intelligence, which holds some promise, but this technology is young enough that the archnemesis of anti-spam technology--false positives--is still a very real problem.
The recently passed federal anti-spam bill, under which the Federal Trade Commission could create a do-not-spam list of e-mail addresses, is little more than political grandstanding. It's unenforceable, despite possible penalties of up to five years in prison, and spammers will soon find a way around it. For now, your best defense is to implement a number of technologies at the various layers.
Finally, CRM continues to be a focus for businesses of all sizes and one of the few software markets in which the ASP (application service provider) model delivers on its promise of decreasing total cost of ownership. CRM implementations in smaller organizations are driving the adoption of Web services and offering a simplified means of integrating the technology with existing systems.
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Network automation is gaining momentum. Here's how you can drive this powerful technology to its full potential.
Subsea cable alternatives can provide a level of comfort for those concerned about disruptions. Realistically, they will continue to play a small, but critical role in the short term.
