Articles by Keith Regan

It is safe to say that every company is expecting an economic recovery. And while predicting the time frame for its arrival is far from an exact science, experts say wise companies have already decided how they will react when the long-awaited turnaround begins Of course, after three years of dealing with slow economies, global uncertainty and layo...

Sun Microsystems has unveiled a new line of server and storage technology, marking a first step toward delivering on its promise to bring new products to market each quarter. The company also has cut the ribbon on a partnership program aimed at helping TV networks and other businesses improve workflow. Sun used conferences on both the East and Wes...

With the books closed on the first quarter of 2003, two business software markers have warned that their results will come in below expectations. Meanwhile, research firm IDC said continuing uncertainty has prompted it to lower its IT spending forecast for the year. The warnings came from database software maker Sybase, which said second-quarter r...

Gateway (NYSE: GTW) has announced it will take advantage of a grace period, gaining an additional two weeks to file its annual report as it continues an internal review of how it accounted for revenue in 2000 and 2001. In a statement, the company cited two reasons for the delay: work being done in conjunction with a Securities and Exchange Commiss...

A year after launching its Trustworthy Computing initiative, Microsoft still suffers from a security image problem, with key executives at 75 percent of companies polled by Forrester Research saying they worry about vulnerabilities in the software firm's products Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Forrester said its survey of IT experts at 35 companies...

When PayPal filed for its successful IPO last year, it listed a slew of competitors in the online payment arena. But those rivals, including Citibank, Wells Fargo, Yahoo, Microsoft and the U.S. Postal Service, barely sport as much market share combined as PayPal commands on its own. Already, the company has outlasted rivals like Beenz.com and far ...

When it comes to choosing a server to boost e-business efficiency, technology buyers have no shortage of options. Sometimes, even analysts cannot agree on which machines are best for enterprises that want to rev up the pace at which they conduct business. Because of intense competition in the e-business server marketplace, the best server technologies -- and what is best for a particular enterprise -- may change rapidly as innovations are introduced at a steady pace...

Checking off another item on its turnaround to-do list, Lucent Technologies has agreed to settle a series of 54 class-action shareholder lawsuits, almost all relating to whether Lucent misled investors by providing incomplete financial reports. Lucent said the settlement, which requires court approval, will cost about US$420 million. The company p...

In the latest in a series of moves designed to jump-start revenue growth at its beleaguered but still-dominant online service, AOL has rolled out a service that enables users to receive telephone voice mail in their e-mail inboxes and to hear their e-mail over the phone. AOL Voicemail, which is being pitched first as a premium upgrade service for ...

The hype surrounding Web services, a technology that many once thought was destined to revive the Internet economy, has faded. In its wake has come slow but steady adoption as businesses find ways to leverage Web services to increase efficiency and improve customer relationships. Believers in Web services say this is still a true disruptive techno...

In 2003, half of all information technology projects involving third-party consulting will be considered unsuccessful by executives who oversee them, according to a new report from Gartner, because they fail to deliver expected return on investment or operational value. The research firm's findings, unveiled at its annual ITxpo in San Diego, Calif...

Internet traffic to online news sites and U.S. government pages surged as the U.S.-led war with Iraq got under way, with some sites experiencing a 50 percent increase in visitors, according to Web measurement companies. The surge came without any reports of disruptions or widespread slowdowns, even though many of the leading news sites have only r...

Lured by promises of increased security, lower costs or simply the chance to align themselves with a company other than Microsoft, many enterprises are turning to Linux systems. More often than not, that means tapping Linux vendor Red Hat, which has come to dominate the market and has made its name synonymous with the open source OS alternative. "...

Taking aim at a cost structure that analysts say has been a millstone in the brutally competitive market for PCs, Gateway has announced plans to lay off 1,900 workers and close 80 of its retail stores. The company said the 17 percent workforce reduction and the store closings will produce cost savings of about US$200 million per year going forward...

Computer makers sold some 72,000 tablet handheld computers during the fourth quarter, marking a "good start" for sales of what some have hailed as a revolutionary computing tool, according to research firm IDC. The sales figures represent about six weeks' worth of availability worldwide. About half of all sales were made in the United States, acco...

The market for personal computers will not grow as quickly as previously expected during 2003, primarily because government budget woes will deflate spending in that key sector, a new report says. IDC is changing its growth forecast for PC unit sales to 6.9 percent for 2003, down from a December prediction of 8.3 percent growth. The number of unit...

Some of the biggest names in technology -- including Amazon, Google and Yahoo! -- share something in common: At least at first, they grew to become household names with little, if any, help from traditional advertising. Only recently have most of these well-known companies ventured into television, radio or mass-media print advertising. Instead, t...

Federal investigators reportedly have widened their probe into AOL's accounting practices during the dot-com boom years, focusing on whether AOL aided and abetted the artificial inflation of revenue reports at partner companies, including embattled Homestore.com The Washington Post reported the probe is concentrating on the actions of two former AO...

While sometimes warranted, changing databases is a huge undertaking for almost any enterprise. An IT department embarking on such an endeavorshould plan for a major upheaval, with sizeable up-front costs, a host of compatibility issues and the need to retrain key employees. Still, some companies seem to be doing it. A recent IDC report showed that sector leader Oracle is losing market share to rivals IBM and Microsoft...

Microsoft has shipped a beta version of its much-hyped Greenwich platform in an effort to elbow its way into an already-crowded market for enterprise instant messaging (IM). The server software allows instant messaging to be built on an extensible platform that can be customized and modified to include additional functionality and accommodate more...