Infrastructure

Business applications maker PeopleSoft Inc. has cut a deal with integration technology vendor Ascential Software Corp. to handle the integration plumbing for its line of corporate performance management software.

Database development and administration are complex tasks, particularly when you're working with various flavors in a mixed environment. Quest Central 4.0 eases the process, by giving developers useful tools to produce efficient code before they produce a database, and by giving administrators tools to help track problems.

Dell Inc.'s networking division looked inward on Monday, eyeing the cores of data centres and small- and medium-sized enterprise LANs with a pair of Ethernet switches that also act as routers.

Archrivals IBM Corp. and Microsoft Corp. will formally roll out software and technical support programs at the LinuxWorld Exposition next week in hopes of luring corporate and third-party developers either toward or away from Linux environments, respectively.

Instant messaging/presence is at an inflection point today. The lack of standards-based interoperable IM/presence systems makes it difficult for IT to control and monitor deployment of this popular business tool. Proprietary networks and protocols also impede IM users from communicating with others outside their organizations.

Organizers of the 2006 FIFA World Cup soccer games in Germany plan to issue tickets with smart tags in what is expected to be the largest-ever deployment of radio frequency identification (RFID ) technology at a sporting event.

Continuing its assault on the highly competitive market for mobile phones designed to deliver high-speed, application-rich data services, Nokia Corp. is targeting the second quarter of 2004 for delivery of its first smart phone in the Americas.

Salesforce.com Inc. has created a plug-in for Microsoft Corp.'s Office that allows users to import data from the Salesforce.com online CRM (customer relationship management) service into Word, Excel and Outlook, the company said Wednesday.