Bob Woods

First, it launched its S60 sedan exclusively online. Now, Volvo Cars of North America, a subsidiary of the Swedish-based automaker, is again going online to promote a new product — this time, it’s the new XC90 sport-utility vehicle. Volvo said it would team with AOL Time Warner’s America Online and its various brands in an […]

Protecting information and the data networks upon which it travels will take a combination of private and public efforts, a top Bush administration official said. Some of those in the private sector, though, say working for the government doesn’t make much business sense. Paul Kurtz, the senior director for national security under President Bush’s Critical […]

Proving that instant messaging (IM) can be used for more than finding out if a co-worker is done with a project, or if a customer is having a problem, a second company is entering the world of IM-based intelligent agents. New York City-based Artificial Life Inc. (ALife), which until now has provided intelligent agents for […]

Beleaguered networking concern Lucent Technologies has cut its quarterly revenue expectations, and said the path to profitability will be a longer one than first thought. Lucent has previously said it expected to return to profitability in fiscal 2002. But “large service providers continue to reduce or defer their spending as they rethink their business plans […]

Avaya Inc. , a major voice, data network and communications provider, said both its second quarter revenues and losses will fall short of expectations, as it lays off more than 8 percent of its workforce and restructures to save up to $200 million a year. In addition, Warburg Pincus said it would buy $100 million […]

Want to generate more sales from an e-commerce site? Beef up your electronic customer relationship management (eCRM), according to a new survey by eCRM provider KANA . Key findings of the survey include: 56% of consumers said interactions over the Web or via e-mail represent their most positive customer experience 33% of consumers indicated that […]

Ikimbo Inc. has made a powerful friend in the business consulting sector, as the real-time communications product provider signs a distribution pact with Deloitte & Touche LLP. Terms of the deal call for Deloitte & Touche will become a preferred integration services provider for Reston, Va.-based Ikimbo’s secure, real-time communication platform. With the alliance, Deloitte […]

Enterprise instant-messaging developer Imici said it has entered into a one-year promotion/revenue-sharing pact with internet.com. Through the deal, Imici’s Business Messenger will be promoted throughout internet.com’s network of technology and business Web sites. In return, internet.com will get a cut of revenue generated from any account referred from an internet.com content site. Visitors to the […]

Leading semiconductor concern Intel Corp. started its assault on the optical-networking sector back in 1999. Today, the company is creating a new front in its efforts to be a dominant player in the area of “light” networking. Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel said it will expand into designing and making integrated passive components for third-party companies. […]

While the telecommunications sector continues in its slump, Internet protocol (IP)-based services like instant messaging and video conferencing will bring the beleaguered sector $28 billion in new revenues over the next five years, according to Insight Research. IP-based services, like IM, unified messaging and audio conferencing, can be created less expensively than traditional phone services, […]

IT management systems provider XcelleNet Inc. said it is allying with Research in Motion Limited (RIM) to jointly market XcelleNet’s mobile management solution to companies using RIM’s BlackBerry handheld mobile units. When used with XcelleNet, IT managers will be able to wirelessly track the location of each BlackBerry handheld, determine what software is running on […]

Tulsa, Okla.-based optical-network provider Williams Communications Group said it is considering filing for a negotiated bankruptcy as a way to bolster its bottom line. While the company has been mulling various restructuring offerings, Williams’ Chief Financial Officer Scott Schubert was on the record as late as Feb. 13 as saying that a reorganization plan would […]