Lee Copeland

General Motors last week launched its latest Web-based application for car owners, marking the first time it has relied on an offshore organization for a big application development project.

Ford Motor Co. has a list of IT projects it wants to tackle this year, including boosting security systems, shoring up network infrastructure and maintaining its core applications. But first, the automotive giant needs to beef up its in-house IT talent.

Some say the IT job market is the worst it

As the economic slump spills into 2002, out-of-work IT professionals may have a difficult time finding work if they limit their searches to job Web sites.

To speed the development of a critical Web-based financial system, Caterpillar Financial Services Corp. made Agile methods a part of its project plan.

Crafting an application platform that can handle up to US$300 billion in automaker business each year is a daunting idea. For Covisint, the start-up tasked with mastering that challenge, so is the reality.

Bring two seasoned rocket scientists together and you might be surprised at the result: Mobular Technologies, a technology start-up that makes a searchable e-mail product suited for e-mail marketing campaigns.

With so many technology vendors struggling financially as corporate users hold the line on spending, some savvy IT managers are adding new clauses into licensing and outsourcing contracts to ensure smooth operations should a key supplier go belly-up.