John S. McCright

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has sanctioned Big Four accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP, saying it had an improper business relationship with enterprise software maker PeopleSoft Inc. The commission on Friday issued a decision that bars E&Y from accepting new audit clients for six months, requires the firm to hire an independent advisor […]

The European Commission has taken a little heat off of Oracle Corp., saying this week that it is suspending its investigation into the antitrust implications of Oracles proposed acquisition of PeopleSoft Inc. The commission, which has the power to block the proposed $9.4 billion deal from going through in Europe, is halting its investigation while […]

Forty years after introducing its first mainframe server, IBM continues to polish the venerable computing platform with new systems and enhancements. Big Blue this week rolled out a new midsize mainframe, the zSeries 890, that promises all of the scalability, flexibility and security that the mainframe has always offered. But the new box, which is […]

Intel looks to walk the fine line between faster performance and lower power consumption with four new mobile processors it rolled out this morning. The Low Voltage Pentium M, for instance, runs at a blazing 1.3 GHz but consumes only 12 watts of power. The other new chips are the Ultra Low Voltage Pentium M, […]

In its drive to assist companies facing compliance with more than 100 national and international rules and regulations, IBM on Monday rolled out three new software packages designed to ease the tracking and management of compliance-related data. The middleware is built around three principal IBM software packages—Content Manager, Tivoli and Lotus Workplace. The first, called […]

An upgrade to the SOXA accelerator software from HandySoft and Plumtree makes it easier for companies to monitor financial data that would affect their Sarbanes-Oxley Act compliance, officials said. SOXA Accelerator 2.0, which will be unveiled next week, combines HandySofts business process management capabilities and Plumtrees portal expertise. Enhanced workflow and forms capabilities roll up […]

Software updates from PeopleSoft Inc. and SAP AG enable users of their respective CRM applications to better analyze customer and constituent data for marketing and customer care activities, the companies said. PeopleSofts Enterprise CRM for Wealth Management consolidates client information from multiple sources within diverse organizations. PeopleSoft, of Pleasanton, Calif., introduced the software last week. […]

In retailing, empty shelves mean lost sales. Ocean State Jobbers Inc., a midsize retail chain, keeps its shelves stocked by keeping its supply chain full of lower-cost housewares, gardening supplies, sporting goods, toys and home décor from around the world. Keeping the goods in the pipeline means buyers must remain constantly on the lookout for […]

Major oems Hewlett-Packard Co. and IBM are offering upgraded systems, software and services targeted at the increasingly coveted small- and midsize-business customers. HP this week will roll out the second round of offerings in its Smart Office campaign targeting SMBs. The products are part of a $750 million development effort announced in the fall. At […]

Aztec Business Solutions LLP, a VAR in Carrollton, Texas, uses the hundreds of consultants it has deployed at customer sites to generate ideas for new software applications and even companies. The latest company to emerge from this VAR-based incubator is Boardroom Software Inc., which was established last fall. The company last month released its first […]