CRM for SMEs
In London this week, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates launched Microsoft CRM software for "customer relationship marketing". It is aimed at small businesses with 25 to 1,000 staff, where CRM has often been seen as too expensive. Microsoft CRM has been available in the US, but the new version 1.2 has been announced in eight languages in 47 territories. It is also the first Microsoft business software to be built in Microsoft.net, and a software development kit is available for download. Microsoft is recruiting UK partners such as Scala, K3 and Documation to build on the software and sell it into horizontal and vertical markets. It is not platform-independent: Microsoft CRM uses Outlook 2003 as a client, and integrates with other Microsoft software including Windows Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2003 or, for smaller companies, Windows Small Business Server 2003 Premium Edition.
AOL antispam
AOL is testing an authentication protocol designed to stop spam. The Sender Permitted From (SPF) protocol is designed to block forged emails, spam and certain Trojan horses. SPF creates an audit trail of where the email originated. This will show if a message was sent from a recognised address or a false, spoofed, email address. The company hopes this will enable AOL users to recognise spam more easily and it may also pinpoint spammers and virus distributors. http://spf.pobox.com
Linux manager
Hewlett-Packard is developing a version of its OpenView Operations (OVO) system monitoring application to run on Linux. A straightforward port of the Unix system is not possible because of fundamental differences between the two systems and the fact that the Unix version is 10 years old. OVO for Linux is therefore being written anew, and some of the code will be ported back to Unix to refresh the ageing system. The Linux version of OVO will start to appear next year with modules for security management and for the finance industry. www.openview.hp.com
Small talk
Agilent Technologies is reducing the size of its mobile phone electronics. The components, called film bulk acoustic resonator duplexers, are about a third of the size of current units and will allow future phones to be much smaller. They also make room for more advanced features and could result in Bluetooth becoming a standard feature on all phones, for hands-free operation. Agilent is a major supplier of electronic parts for mobile phones and nine of the 10 top manufacturers use them. Samples will be available next month, and phones incorporating the components should be available by June. www.agilent.com
Licensed to chat
MI5 last week ran an hour-long chatroom session for potential recruits, on graduate job site Prospects.ac.uk, to attract applicants for its 60 graduate positions. Security service staff said they visit some graduate recruitment fairs, but do not advertise in advance for security reasons. Potential IT spooks were told that MI5 prefers techies with "several years work experience", rather than students fresh out of university. And a questioner who asked "is it possible to have a career with the MI5 and still stick to your moral beliefs and values?" was answered: "Yes." www.prospects.ac.uk
No strings
Fujitsu Siemens Computers and Vodafone UK are launching a wireless PC package based on contracts similar to those used for mobile phones. Targeting small to medium enterprises, the Connect2air offering includes a Fujitsu Siemens laptop or Tablet PC with Intel Centrino processor, Wi-Fi capability and a wide area GPRS connection. The laptops, which currently cost from £1,139, will be charged at a one-off price starting at £99 each. The contract will add £89 per month or more for a minimum of 24 months. Connet2air includes telephone and on-site support, and will be available from March 1 at Carphone Warehouse and online through Microwarehouse and Insight. www.carphonewarehouse.com
www.microwarehouse.co.uk
www.insight.com
www.Connect2air.co.uk
Biometric visas
From March, visa applicants from Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda will have to undergo a fingerprint scan, which can be checked against asylum claimants without documents. Visitors from Sri Lanka have faced similar checks since July, and the Home Office says this helped identify seven asylum seekers who destroyed their documents. It says the asylum scheme "sits together" with plans for a compulsory national biometric identity card, but adds that the choice of fingerprints for visas does not affect the technology trials for the identity card, which also includes face and iris scanning.
