Microsoft`s .Net will offer developers the opportunity to program within a platform environment. Sun`s Java is already there.

The virus onslaught is growing stronger by the day and harder to protect against with single-point solutions, forcing businesses to re-evaluate their network strategies.

The database wars of the 1980s have left few contenders standing for the second round in which Microsoft plays a supporting role to Oracle and IBM.

Making sure your site is sticky enough to keep visitors coming back again and again is the key to ensuring a long-term online success story.

Staff retention is seen as a key challenge facing business today as a high staff turnover can cost a company tens of thousands of rands in lost productivity, recruitment and training expenses.

In an increasingly connected world, businesses can rarely afford to be "offline", and while disaster recovery plans may not contribute to the bottom line, they could well save a company from financial ruin.

Mobile marketing is on a steep growth curve in SA. Basheera Khan discusses operational and privacy issues with some of the leaders in this space.

As banks move customers out of the banking halls and onto the Internet, what assurance is there that these online services will be equally available to users of "non-standard" operating systems?

A look at the drivers behind growth in the online financial service industry, as well as areas in which current players are falling short.

The finance and IT industries are working together to usher in new business paradigms, but is either really ready for an entirely virtual future?

No longer the new kid on the block, Java is ready for the strict requirements of the enterprise, although its skills shortage and difficulty communicating its messages may still hold it back.

While the universal adage that "sex sells" is even more apt in the virtual world, the local online pornography industry still faces the same problems and limitations as any other online business.

The local ISP landscape could be facing a shake-up as the government intends creating a new breed of ISP to serve both business and consumer, while free dial-up providers continue to grow in number and pulling power.