The goal of IEM is not to help companies achieve the highest level but to simply offer a clear path for companies to follow in working toward incremental improvement based on their market demands.

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Cisco Introduces New Unified Communications System

Cisco Systems, Inc. has announced the Cisco Unified Communications system, a new suite of voice, data and video products and applications specifically designed to help organizations of all sizes to communicate more effectively. The system will allow customers to integrate their communications system with their IT infrastructure, streamlining business processes for the way effective businesses need to work today.

The Cisco Unified Communications system is an open and extensible platform for real-time communications based on presence, mobility and the intelligent information network. By using the IT data network as the service delivery platform, the system helps workers to reach the right resource the first time by delivering presence and preference information to an organization’s employees.

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DFA Passport Direct Marks 5th Year

Safe and quick renewal and delivery services through the convenience of a phone call - this is what the Department of Foreign Affairs, with citizen service partner, Pilipinas Teleserv, Inc., has been providing passport applicants for five years now.

Launched in 2001, DFA Passport Direct has already processed over 380,000 passports and has assisted more than one million Filipinos with necessary information on passport requirements and renewal through its door-to-door pickup and delivery service, 24/7 accessibility, and nationwide coverage, made possible through its 737-1000 hotline.

"Pilipinas Teleserv, through DFA Passport Direct, complements the services that our department has, especially in providing quality services to passport applicants," says Department of Foreign Affairs acting assistant secretary Domingo Lucenario.  DFA Passport Direct offers hassle-free services for passport applicants and is fully aimed at improving the citizen service experience.

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Google Buys Writely for million

Google Inc. has bought the maker of Writely, an online word processing program that gives the online search engine leader another potential weapon in its escalating battle with Microsoft Corp. The acquisition of Upstartle, disclosed Thursday on Google's Web site, continues the Mountain View, Calif.-based company's effort to assemble a suite of software applications that are tethered to an Internet connection instead of a single computer's hard drive.

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Bug Found in Motorala Razr Mobile Phones

Motorola announced that a bug was found in their Razr line of mobile phones - the defect causes calls on some units to disconnect.  Motorola was also quick to say that it is working to fix the problem and no phones was recalled so far.

Because of the bug, both Cingular Wireless and T-Mobile U-S-A have temporarily stopped selling Motorola's Razr phones.

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Google Settles Click Fraud Suit for M

Google has agreed to pay up to M to settle a class action lawsuit filed last year in Arkansas state court, alleging that Google and other online search engine companies overcharged for pay-per-click advertising, in which advertisers pay a fee every time an internet user clicks on their ads. "Click fraud" occurs when fraudulent users click repeatedly, with no intention of buying. Motives for malicious clicking vary, but the result is increased cost to companies for unproductive Web traffic.

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EU Warns Microsoft Anew

New reports show Microsoft's compliance with a landmark antitrust ruling continues to be "entirely inadequate" and the company may soon face a fine up to 2 million euros daily, the European Commission said. European Union regulators accused Microsoft Corp. of defying a March 2004 antitrust order by providing "incomplete, inaccurate and unusable" data about the workings of its Windows operating system. 

Microsoft has challenged the 2004 decision and a hearing on its underlying case is set before the Court of First Instance in Luxembourg starting April 24.

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Kevin Mitnick - From Bad to Good

From being the world's most famous computer hacker, Kevin Mitnick is now teaching companies how to guard their system against intruders.  "Hackers find the hole in the human firewall," Mitnick told an information technology security conference in Johannesburg, South Africa. "What's the biggest hole? It's the illusion of invulnerability." 

To prove his point, Mitnick was able to find the social security number of former U.S. President George Bush and the driver's license number and maiden name of actor Leonardo DiCaprio's mother within 15 seconds. "The problem is that it is a good human quality to give people the benefit of the doubt, and unless you've been burned, or you're paranoid, then you will probably trust them," he said.