In the third of his columns on intellectual capital, Ixchange CEO Derek Kreunen discusses turning innovative applications into packaged solutions.

I was thinking that the Net superpowers, either locally or abroad, couldn`t possibly deliver really interesting announcements two weeks in a row. But what do I know, things change, literally overnight.

After much speculation, the minister finally released the long-awaited licensing conditions for the third and fourth cellular operators last Thursday. Overall, there were no surprises other than the need for the additional operators to upgrade their networks to third-generation technology.

Business and technology convergence is a state of mind. Companies need to cultivate the maturity and mindset to take advantage of the exceptional paybacks that can be obtained from their IT investments.

A few months ago, I wrote a column here about Internet numbers - pondering the various statistics, both national and international, that are bandied about. Some are true, some false, and most somewhat questionable in terms of the methodology used to arrive at them.

Worrying about security is typically the domain of "the security" people, isn`t it? But how sound does one sleep when Fortune magazine runs articles like: "Who`s reading your e-mail? As the world gets networked, spies, rogue employees and bored teens are invading companies` computers to make mischief, steal trade secrets, even sabotage careers".

There are two major trends that I think warrant discussion here. The first concerns what we`ll call the "scalability issue" of Microsoft Internet server software; the second is about the fact that broadband Internet access is rapidly becoming a reality in North America.

Electronic recruitment comes under the spotlight as Greg Gunn spurs a discussion by asking whether e-recruitment could eventually replace traditional recruitment as we know it today.

It is a simple fact that organisational dependency on its infrastructure has grown to critical importance. In fact, one can say with confidence that organisations have become addicted to the infrastructure, which in turn means infrastructure management is emerging as the next big thing companies are focusing on.

Vodacom has embarked upon a somewhat ambitious quest, with CE Allan Knott-Craig being quoted as saying that yebo!net is hoping to capture 20% of the Internet access market by Christmas and 250 000 subscribers by 2000.

In the second of his columns on intellectual capital, Ixchange CEO Derek Kreunen looks at the challenge of attracting, retaining and advancing IT developers.

Technology is increasingly seen as a key business enabler. Executives who formulate their business strategies in the absence of an understanding and without a consideration of IT put their organisations at a distinct disadvantage. Today, companies do not have to choose between low-cost and differentiation strategies. IT makes both possible.

To many people, the World Wide Web is seen as the next great mass medium -- and to an extent, it may indeed fulfil that role some day. However, the Web`s greatest value does not lie in its potential to take over the role of television. Instead, it provides value through its numerous discrete, segmented sites and communities.