• David Jones taps IBM for multi-channel platform

  David Jones Limited (ASX:DJS) has contracted IBM to provide a new multi-channel retail sales platform.

• UXC buys NZ Oracle JDE provider

  IT services company UXC Limited (ASX:UXC) has acquired New Zealand's Jireh Consulting Services in a cash-and-stock deal.

• Telstra says NBN deal is close

  Telstra chief executive David Thodey says a decision by the competition watchdog on the telco's participation in the National Broadband Network (NBN) will be made soon.

• Oracle extends SAP rivalry with Taleo buy

  Oracle is escalating its rivalry with German business-software maker SAP and plans to pay $US1.9 billion ($A1.77 billion) for Taleo Corp, a company that helps businesses hire and manage their employees.

• LinkedIn's Q4 earnings strong, revenue doubles

  LinkedIn is reporting a strong fourth quarter as the online professional networking service added 14 million members. Its net income and revenue beat Wall Street's expectations.

• Five-year plan: 8 problems IT must solve

  There's a reason that so many businesses create five-year plans: If they're reasonable, they're achievable. Setting goals within that timeframe allows room for prioritization and opportunities to deal with the unexpected.

• Five best features in the Office 2010 beta

  Microsoft has unleashed the public beta of Microsoft Office 2010. The Office 2010 beta includes updated versions of Word, excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Access, Publisher, InfoPath, SharePoint Workspace, and Communicator. You can download it right now from the Microsoft Office 2010 beta site.

• Five programs you can afford in a financial meltdown

  It's the afternoon of September 30th and for reasons beyond my understanding the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) is up more than 3.5 percent after yesterday's financial fiasco. Hello, Wall Street, what part of "No one has a new bailout deal; the House hated the old deal, and it's the week of Rosh Hashanah so it won't be a full week at Congress anyway" do you not understand? Even if you believe the bailout will magically work wonders for the economy -- I don't -- it's not going to happen this week.

Whitepapers about business

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  Forecasting & Planning - Achieving the correct staffing levels with continually fluctuating demands

  Managing a high performing service operation in today’s complex environment requires a complete rethink of the way the operation is managed. Accepting current capacity without a real understanding of the fluctuating demand will lead to inconsistent performance. This white paper looks at the applications and processes available to achieve a balanced demand capacity curve, which will deliver consistent high quality service, satisfied customers and good margins.

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  Visual Collaboration: Boost Employee Productivity and Drive Customer Interaction

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  Storage Virtualisation - What to Know and What to Look For

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  Building Virtualised Datacenters and Private Clouds: The Critical Role of Unified and Converged IT Infrastructure