Stories about: Textron

The latest approach to security is to put money where damage from a breach would be greatest.

Every year Dave Raspallo, CIO at Textron Financial, found himself having to replace a third of his 1,200 PCs. But he grew tired of the cost of the annual ritual, and he began swapping out his desktops for thin clients. Forty percent of those PCs are now gone, and many more will disappear next year.

It's one thing to use e-procurement technology to buy office supplies, through a process known as indirect procurement, because the goods aren't needed for the assembly line. But it's quite another to use the technology for direct procurement, such as buying the parts for manufacturing a helicopter. The complexity, importance and risks are much greater.

The first round of efforts by e-commerce standards bodies to harmonize XML-based technology with electronic data interchange (EDI) protocols is making the promised world of seamless business-to-business transactions look like a mirage.

Testing tools company Fluke Networks Inc. Thursday announced an agreement to acquire Microtest Inc. in a US$74 million share deal that furthers the consolidation of the test and measurement market. Microtest manufactures scanning and troubleshooting equipment for copper and fiber-optic cable, and network-attached storage (NAS) devices. Microtest's NAS devices have been discontinued.

EqualFooting.com's mission: to give small companies power to buy online everything needed to run a business.

Bank One Corp.'s WingspanBank.com, an attempt to create a stand-alone Internet-only bank, will be downgraded to a test lab.

Online financier VirtualBank will become a player in the physical world this fall, when it opens two branches to serve its niche customers - employees of high-tech firms.

Safeguard Scientifics, an incubator and operating company that specializes in Internet infrastructure technologies, has formed strategic alliances with IBM Corp. and Compaq Computer Corp. and received $50 million investments from both computing giants. The deals were announced at a Safeguard's conference on the digital economy being held this week.

Major hardware vendors are rolling out new services to help users deploy Microsoft Corp.'s upcoming Windows 2000 operating system.

As the focus on the millennium--bug problem moves from the data center to the boardroom, a growing number of companies - including Sears and Prudential - are establishing year 2000 war rooms to monitor crisiAs the focus on the millennium--bug problem moves from the data center to the boardroom, a growing number of companies - including Sears and Prudential - are establishing year 2000 war rooms to monitor crisis--management activities. In these command centers, senior management and millennium project teams will try to keep tabs on the progress of year 2000 tasks such as testing milestones and supplier--readiness through next year.s--management activities.