A recent ITWeb executive forum revealed that many South African corporate management teams are taking a serious look at IT governance initiatives, not only because of the potential legal implications of unmanaged risk but because it makes sound business sense.

Reports of the demise of online shopping have - to paraphrase Mark Twain - been greatly exaggerated. Retailers that remain in this sector are generally optimistic of mega-sales during the coming festive season.

The old roadmap to corporate success has changed forever. What does it take for the new millennium business leader to get ahead?

Global consulting groups have developed different models as they respond to the challenge of separation from auditing practices. SA has not been unaffected, with local consulting firms also changing the way they do business.

SA`s B2B marketplace has been characterised by failed ventures, the inability of most players to deliver on the anticipated reductions in transaction costs, wide-scale integration issues and unsatisfactory service levels. Yet a surprising amount of optimism still prevails in this space.

SA users and vendors alike agree that when it comes to business intelligence, it`s business benefits and not brands that make the difference between market leaders and market followers.

Software quality is a many-splendoured thing. Although the toughest job is often reserved for testers, and the biggest stick reserved for project managers, ultimately, as always, the buck stops with directors.

Despite the fact that total cost of ownership is the latest industry buzzword, many organisations seem unaware of how many factors come into play when working out the total cost of ownership of any given product.

SA has the skills base, the advantage of low costs thanks to a weak currency, good tertiary education, world-class developers and applications with the potential for global adoption. So why is the country not a software development hub?

Depending on whom you talk to, software patents can either wreck the local economy or be a boon to developers here and abroad. But many agree patents are inevitable if SA doesn`t pick a side soon.

ROI is a term vendors used to throw about with gay abandon while delivering sales pitches to prospective clients. But since the IT stock slide, getting a measurable return out of new IT investments is a necessity rather than an added bonus.

Data warehousing does not have a good reputation as too many companies have been burnt by badly planned installations. However, a new wave of business value-directed implementations may reverse this trend and restore faith in the data warehouse.