Articles by Helen Gallagher

At Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI), the numbers told the story: About 180 customer-service reps were using old "green screen" technology. With dumb terminals connected to a claims-processing system, trying to handle a total of 900,000 calls per year Each call took about 10 minutes, and customers were kept on hold while reps navigate...

CRM software revenues are expected to reach US$30 billion in the next several years, according to research firm Cahners In-Stat. Even so, CRM implementation projects are often cited for high failure rates. One point of failure that is hard to measure, even with the best monitoring software, is the unhappy customer who just goes away You may have be...

Cisco Systems on Monday announced plans to acquire Riverhead Networks, a privately held provider of technology that could help prevent distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on corporate networks, for US$39 million in cash Riverhead's technology will enhance Cisco's suite of integrated security products by providing behavior-based protection....

Google recently announced the integration of local search results into Google.com. Currently in beta, Google Local allows users to find relevant local information with neighborhood business listings, maps, directions and Web links. Combining sources from its catalog in excess of 4.3 billion Web pages, a local search result can suddenly become very...

Yahoo on Thursday announced an offering that will marry its instant messaging offering with British Telecommunications' BT Communicator service, creating a call management package that integrates PC-to-phone calling, Internet call waiting and directory lookup with Yahoo's Messenger service Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has been slow to catch ...

Research firm IDC has predicted overall PC semiconductor revenue, from desktop and mobile units combined, will grow 18 percent to US$53.6 billion in 2004, marking the highest annual growth rate expected during the study's forecast period. From 2003 to 2008, IDC forecast, the PC semiconductor market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8 percent, rising from $45.4 billion to $66.1 billion over those five years...

A quiet trading day on Wall Street segued into a small dip after market close Thursday when semiconductor leader Intel narrowed its first-quarter revenue expectations. This morning, however, Intel's stock dropped more steeply, shedding more than 2 percent of its value on the news. Intel announced Thursday that its revenue in the first quarter will...

Spurred by rulings designed to improve corporate accountability, companies are scrambling to comply with an escalating burden of legislative record-keeping requirements -- and they are spending millions of dollars on consultants, lawyers, auditors and new technology in the process. Now, IBM has stepped up to the plate with an offering designed to ease the burden of compliance...

Although companies are tightening the security of Windows-based servers, they face some unknown risks when corporate data takes to the streets. After all, wireless Internet connectivity on notebook computers and PDAs carries all of the risks seen within corporate walls, but the dangers are magnified when security is lacking. "Portable devices have...

Computer security experts thought the impact of MyDoom would fade on February 12th, as the program was reportedly designed to terminate itself on that date. Instead, MyDoom's creators are suspected of masterminding a new malware attack that started Monday. The new worm, Doomjuice, landed on every computer still harboring the original MyDoom.A or M...

Venture capital commitments ended 2003 on an up note, with the fourth-quarter amount raised closing at US$5.2 billion. That amount represented almost half -- 47.8 percent -- of the total amount raised in all of 2003. The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) reports that for the full year, funds raised $10.8 billion in 2,715 companies, a lev...

Microsoft on Monday issued a critical update bulletin affecting users of its Internet Explorer (IE) Web browser. The cumulative update contains eight patches to prevent security breaches. The notice comes nearly a week ahead of the company's normal monthly update, planned for the second Tuesday of the month.

PeopleSoft on Thursday reported earnings that paint a mixed picture, with revenue up but net profit down as a result of charges related to its J.D. Edwards acquisition Revenue in the fourth quarter reached US$685 million, including $185 million in license revenue. Of that amount, $112 million, or 15.3 percent of total revenue, went to the bottom li...