June 14, 2005

IN THE NEWS A 42-year-old office worker in Osaka was taken into custody Monday for allegedly setting up a phony Internet portal site to lure victims into giving personal data, according to the Associated Press. Japanese police said this was Japan's first arrest linked to phishing. Kazuma Yabuno allegedly defrauded users with his phony Yafoo! site. In other Asia-Pacific news, according to the AP Hong Kong announced it plans to enact an antispam law next year to crack down on companies that send unsolicited emails or make automated telemarketing calls to consumers. In a move to expand customers' access to diverse data types Informatica announced a comprehensive OEM, technology, and marketing partnership with Itemfield. Under the agreement Informatica will embed core Itemfield technology within the Informatica PowerCenter data integration platform to provide a new platform for processing forms of unstructured and structured data, including email, Word files, spreadsheets, presentations, and .PDF documents. NEW PRODUCTS Peregrine Systems announced the launch of Optimal IT at its global user conference this week. It is designed to integrate service and asset management with business intelligence, predictive analytics, decision modeling, simulation, and optimization into any existing IT management system. Optimal IT is designed to allow IT managers to predict the impact of decisions relating to staffing, infrastructure investments, and service levels on system downtime. Also at Synergy '05 in Las Vegas, the company introduced Service Center 6.1, the newest version of its flagship service management solution. New capabilities include expanded Information Technology Infrastructure Library support of service level management to enable users to align services with customer needs, consolidated configuration information through Active Configuration Management Database support, and increased alignment of day-to-day activities with business priorities through status monitoring, prioritization and administration enhancements. SPSS unveiled upgraded versions of the BI components within ShowCase Suite 7.0. SPSS ShowCase 7.0 includes enhancements to ShowCase Essbase, ShowCase Analyzer, and ShowCase Enterprise Reporting. The improvements, according to the company, are focused on strengthening an organization's ability to create, implement, and manage multiple analytic applications and to provide greater insight into business operations. NextNine, a provider of automated, remote service and support solutions, has made available NextNine Service Automation 3.5. This software offers enhancements to improve workflow and system efficiency with improvements to the customer site dashboard, remote diagnostics, and improved remote access. CUSTOMER WINS Alliance Data Systems, a provider of transaction, credit, and marketing services, announced that its Epsilon business unit has completed building a comprehensive database system for Pfizer. Epsilon also will manage and host Pfizer's database geared toward enhancing Pfizer's overall customer outreach efforts. Transatel has selected Capgemini and Epiphany for a new client management system. Transatel will use Epiphany service solution as the foundation of its CRM system to manage several million users of its telephony services, as well as operate CRM systems for multiple Mobile Virtual Network Operators. Related articles: SPSS Highlights Customers' Future Needs Capgemini Jolts Its Energy Operations to Life