Tom Yager

Jonathan Schwartz, executive vice-president of software at Sun Microsystems Inc., wears the satisfied smile of a politician who's so sure he'll be elected that he's already bought a house close to the capitol. In his view, the tally is a formality. Schwartz seemed ready to repaint the JavaOne banner outside the recent show at San Francisco's Moscone Center to read

The needs of transaction-oriented businesses

The needs of transaction-oriented businesses -- whether they're in telecommunications, finance, or retail -- are poorly met by most off-the-shelf software. The shortcomings of mainstream database management systems are reflected in posting delays and data lifetime limitations.

The Web Services Interoperability Organization (WS-I) agenda is embodied in Jupiter, Microsoft Corp.'s latest amorphous code-named initiative.

Any planning document coming out of IT these days is bound to make heavy use of the term "consolidate."

If an employee or contractor uses your network to trade music or pick up pirated software, your company could be liable.

The future of Web services in the enterprise lies not in hit-and-run applications such as stock quotes and weather updates.

Workers benefit from easy, searchable access to information published on company intranets and portals. The Rolodex, binders, and thick files of correspondence that used to weigh down every cubicle are dwindling; a copier jam is no longer a work-stopping emergency. But there is one term for electronic information that speaks to its crippling limitation: "online."