Stories by: Winnie Lai

When the combined Hewlett-Packard and Compaq Computer company debuts on May 7, Compaq employees will be in regional and local leadership positions of the new US$21 billion company throughout Asia-Pacific, with the exception of China and Japan.

Under public criticism for promoting an oligopoly in the local software market, the Hong Kong government has for the first time outlined its stance towards the use of open-source technology in the support of public service provision.

Officials from SAS Institute said the company is well positioned to take advantage of the growing interests in CRM among an increasing number of IT departments.

With the arrival of the new year, Veritas Software Corp. is facing much more intense competition from not only its long-time rival, EMC Corp., but also from its hardware partners as they awaken to the profitability of the storage software market. During his visit to Hong Kong to host a kick-off meeting with his Asia-Pacific staff, Veritas Chairman, President and CEO, Gary Bloom sat down with Computerworld Hong Kong Senior Reporter Winnie Lai to outline the storage software developer's new year's resolutions and how he sees the company can differentiate from its competition.

While systems management software developer BMC Software Inc. has traditionally focused on the mainframe arena, revenue from products catering to open-system platforms such as Unix and Windows NT has been increasing substantially, according to company officials.

Hong Kong-based regional Internet service provider Asia Online, last week announced a new strategic focus on managed network and security services, Web site and application hosting, and Internet connectivity for medium and large businesses. The company said it believes profit margins are larger in these segments.

Smart cards could be set for a consumer-driven course, including functions that stretch beyond basic payments, according to a recent survey of smart-card usage in Asia-Pacific.

Officials from Handspring Inc. said during the Hong Kong launch of the company's latest offering, Visor Edge, that a broad range of applications and accessories for its PDAs (personal digital assistants) will be the key driver behind their market acceptance.

The Airport Authority of Hong Kong (AAHK) rules the airspace at the Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok. Last week, the organization extended its control to the airwaves, too.

The Hong Kong government last week launched the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) in a bid to coordinate computer security issues in this Special Administrative Region of China.

Traditionally focused on customers involved in pure research and development and technical computing applications, Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI) is now aiming to broaden its market share in the financial and biotech industries, according to an official from the company.