Mel Duvall

Agriculture powerhouse Monsanto learned to use technology to genetically modify seeds-including corn, cotton and soybean-so farmers can generate greater yields per acre and weather drought while using fewer herbicides and pesticides. In 2003, Monsanto undertook an analysis of its data center storage and processing capacity needs. Retrofitting the data center was considered, but the company […]

The Green 500 list compiled by researchers at Virginia Tech is intended to draw attention to idea that designers of supercomputers should pay more attention to the energy consumption, not just speed or computational prowess. “In the world of supercomputers, the thinking has traditionally focused entirely on performance,” says Virginia Tech associate professor Wu Feng, […]

STORY HIGHLIGHTS: 85 percent of all retail purchasing decisions are made at the store shelf Retailers are expected to spend $10.4 billion on software by 2011 76 percent of retail software implementation will be hosted at a central location Top three retail software vendors in 2006 were: SAP ($210 million), Oracle ($205 million) and Microsoft […]

Shoppers are expected to set their alarms early Friday morning to hit the stores in droves, but theyll also find a few goodies waiting for them in their e-mail inboxes, too. In what has been an increasing trend in recent years, online retailers are preparing a wide range of promotions and deals to capitalize on […]

The $163 billion global conglomerates information-technology strategy and performance mirror the companys corporate philosophy—to be the leader in the markets in which it operates. The I.T. group follows a number of best practices. But how good is it? At General Electrics annual meeting in Greenville, S.C., in late April, Jeffrey Immelt, the companys CEO and […]

NCR announced plans this week to spin off its Teradata data-warehousing subsidiary as an independent company. NCR, which is best known as a provider of ATMs and retail checkout machines, had sales of $4.5 billion in 2005, excluding Teradata. The Teradata division, one of the biggest players in the data warehousing and business intelligence market, […]

Enterprise software giant SAP is looking to bolster its position in the service-oriented architecture arena, by launching a variety of consulting services aimed at helping customers transition to SOA. The new consulting services will help customers develop a road map to transition their enterprise systems to SOA, according to Bernd-Michael Rumpf, head of SAPs Global […]

Global consulting firm KPMG on Aug. 29 announced the promotion of Stuart Campbell, head of the firms audit and advisory services practice, into the additional role of CIO. KPMG chairman Mike Rake said Campbell, 53, will lead the firms global technology initiatives and sit on its international executive team. He will also continue to be […]

Technology consulting firm Accenture said on July 19 that it will invest $450 million over the next three years on developing new capabilities in service-oriented architecture—further proof of the technologys momentum in big business. As part of the investment, Accenture will create a new research lab, develop a blueprint for SOA implementation and expand SOA […]

Grocery giant Supervalu has hired retail industry veteran Paul Singer as its CIO to assist the company in digesting its recent $17.4 billion acquisition of the Albertsons grocery chain. Minneapolis-based Supervalu last week named Singer, who served as CIO of retailer Target from 2000 to 2005, as its new CIO and senior vice president. He […]

Americas Internet and cyber infrastructure have become such a critical backbone for the exchange of information, that any major disruption could have significant economic and security repercussions. The report, issued on June 23 by the Business Roundtable, a group comprised of chief executives of 160 of the countrys largest companies, calls on the federal government […]

SAP still brings home more dollars from its CRM software business than anyone else, but Oracle is closing in on the German giant. Last year, SAP was the top vendor by revenue in the customer relationship management category with about 26 percent of the market, followed by Siebel with 17 percent and Oracle with 6.4 […]