Renee Boucher Ferguson

The news coming out of this years RFID Journal Live conference in Las Vegas has a collective focus on hardware: RFID tags and readers, and their expanding capabilities, emerging from vendors. OATSystems, IBM and Alien Technology, for example, announced May 2 the availability of a “smart reader”—a handheld device that has radio frequency identification applications […]

The courtship between Microsoft and SAP is growing more amorous by the day. The two companies announced May 2 that they will offer almost double the functionality initially outlined for Mendocino 1.0—before the joint development project even hits the streets. The companies also detailed their road map for the remainder of this year and announced […]

Relieving the very real forced-migration fears of its acquired customer base—particularly PeopleSoft and JD Edwards software users—Oracle announced April 25 it will continue to develop its individual lines of software indefinitely. More important, Oracle has said it will add substantive upgrades beyond the release of Fusion, its next-generation suite of applications, due about 2008. At […]

Radio-frequency identification technology, also known as RFID, has its supporters and detractors. Both groups now have something to talk about. A working group of major companies—IBM is the charter member—and advocacy groups announced May 1 a set of RFID best practices to protect consumer privacy as it relates to item level tagging. The group, led […]

Legacy system-integration software provider AttachmateWRQ, which itself is owned by an investment group, announced April 27 the acquisition of NetIQ for about $495 million, or $12.20 per share. NetIQ develops integrated systems and security management software. In addition to legacy integration, AttachmateWRQ focuses on multihost access, security and desktop management. The companies combined will share […]

The once high-flying supply chain management software provider Manugistics has succumbed to consolidation. Scottsdale, Ariz.-based JDA Software Group announced April 24 that it is acquiring SCM stalwart Manugistics for $211 million in cash, or $2.50 a share. By combining the two companies, JDA plans to establish itself as a leading, vertically focused global supply chain […]

Oracle is sitting on the fence when it comes to the midmarket—at least about building a separate suite for smaller companies when it builds out its next-generation suite of applications, dubbed Fusion. The possibility of a second suite, it seems, is on the table. “Theres been no decision,” said Lenley Hensarling, vice president and general […]

Nashville—At the annual Oracle Application User Group conference here—an event that typically draws tons of users but few Oracle executives—Oracle president Charles Phillips announced on April 25 that the company will continue to develop its separate application suites beyond its big-bang Fusion release. In his first keynote address at OAUG (a conference that now includes […]

After months of near-crippling it issues that denied thousands of pensioners access to retirement funds, caused customer accounting nightmares and prompted once-devoted customers to lodge formal complaints with regulatory authorities, officials at the beleaguered TIAA-CREF retirement fund company have pinpointed issues and are taking corrective action. Internal and external problems began surfacing at the Teachers […]

With its latest applica-tion suite, Lawson 9, on the market since March, and the acquisition of Intentia International expected to close April 24, Lawson Software laid out its product road map through 2008—in other words, the foreseeable future, if youre talking software years—at its annual CUE, or conference and user exchange. At the same time, […]

With interest rising seemingly daily around radio-frequency identification technology, Alien Technology is cashing in. The company announced April 14 that it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed $120 million IPO (initial public offering). Bear, Stearns & Co. is leading the IPO charge, with Cowen & Company, Robert W. Baird & Co. […]

TIAA-CREF officials are starting to see the light of day. After months of near-crippling IT troubles that denied thousands of pensioners access to their retirement funds, caused customer accounting nightmares, and prompted those once-devoted customers to lodge formal complaints with regulatory authorities, officials at the beleaguered retirement fund company have pinpointed sources of trouble and […]