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A quick search of the Indeed.com job aggregator site returned 11,045 jobs seeking PHP skills compared to 2,027 CF jobs. Even Ruby on Rails, which is a much newer technology receiving a major boost when Apple packaged it with OS X v10.5 in 2007, returned 1,550 jobs openings on Indeed.com.

4. Wireless Application Protocol

Yes, people were able to browse the Internet in the late 1990s before Apple’s СiPhone. Web site operators would rewrite their content to the WAP’s

Wireless Markup Language, enabling users to access Web services such as email, stock results and news headlines using their cell phones and PDAs. WAP was not well received at the beginning because WAP sites were slow and lacked the richness of the Web. WAP has also seen different levels of uptake worldwide because of the different wireless regulations and standards around the world. WAP has since evolved and is a feature of Multimedia Messaging Service, but there are now a new generation of competing mobile Web browsers, including Opera Mobile and the iPhone’s Safari browser.

и3. Visual J++

legal wrangleбАthat lasted three years. Microsoft eventually replaced J++ with Microsoft .Net.

Skills pay for Microsoft’s version of Java declined 37.5% last year, according

to the Foote Partners’ study. The life of J++, which is available with

Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0, was not a smooth one. Although Sun

Microsystems licensed Java to Microsoft to develop J++, Microsoft failed to

implement some features of the official Java standard while implementing

other extensions of its own. Sun sued Microsoft for licensing violations in a Д

2. Novell NetWare

Novell’s network operating system was the de facto standard for LANs in the 1990s, running on more than 70% of enterprise networks. But Novell failed to compete with the marketing might of Microsoft.ИNovell tried to put up a good fight by acquiring WordPerfect to compete with Windows Office, but that move failed to ignite the market and Novell eventually sold WordPerfect to Corel in 1996. Novell certifications such as Certified Novell Engineer, Master Certified Novell Engineer, Certified Novell Certified Directory Engineer, and Novell Administrator were once hot certs in the industry, but now they are featured in Foote Partners’ list of skills that decreased in value in 2008. Hiring managers want Windows Server and Linux skills instead.

1. Asynchronous Transfer Mode

ATM was popular in the late 1990s, particularly among carriers, as the answer to overworked frame relay for wide-area networking. It was considered more scalable than frame relay and offered inherent QoS support. It was also marketed as a LAN platform, but that was its weakness. According to Wikipedia, ATM failed to gain wide acceptance in the LAN

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where IP makes more sense for unifying voice and data on the network. Wikipedia notes that ATM will continue to be deployed by carriers that have committed to existing ATM deployments, but the technology is increasingly challenged by speed and traffic shaping requirements of converged voice and

data networks. A growing number of carriers are now using Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS), which integrates the label-switching capabilities of ATM with the packet orientation of IP. IT skills researcher Foote Partners listed ATM in its IT Skills and Certification Pay Index as a non-certified IT skill that has decreased in value in 2008.

СPDF - PORTABLE DOCUMENT FORMAT

иFooter for each page of the document. The Header indicates that a new page is starting. Likewise, the Footer indicates that the page has ended. The Content is the part of the file that contains information viewable by the user.

In recent years, the PDF file format has emerged as a standard for

sharing documents between users or posting information to the Internet.

WhereбАone PDF file may differ from another is in the format of the content. Many different formats may be used including formatted text, unformatted ASCII text, raster images, vector images, or any combination of these. It is the nature of this content that determines how the final PDF file will function. Many terms have been created and used to describe the PDF

All PDF files are structured the same way, with a Header, Content, and

This setup differs from a traditional word processing file (such as a

Microsoft Word .doc file) that contains a single column of information and is only paginated when printed. In the PDF file, each page is a holding area for that page’s specific block of information.

PDF Normal

Also known as True PDF and Real PDF, these documents represent the ideal PDF files for most applications. These documents have been created and published using PDF software. The content includes the original formatted text of the document. Tables in the document are also usually published as formatted text. Graphics or pictures will usually appear as cut images inserted into the text.

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PDF Normal documents allow the user to search text and copy/paste into other files. And, because most of the information in these files is text, the file size is greatly reduced making these files easy to use and ideal to exchange.

PDF Images

The PDF Image is also called the Wrapped PDF or the PDF Wrapped СTIFF. In these files, the content is simply an image file. The image file could be in many formats (GIF, TIFF, JPG, etc.), and of many subjects (scanned page, picture, graphic design). The most common use is a scanned page in TIFF format. To create a PDF Image file from TIFF images, PDF creation иsoftware is used to insert the PDF Header and Footer information around the image to make it a PDF page. This process of “wrapping” the image with the

PDF information is why these are often referred to as Wrapped PDFs.

Text searching and text copy/paste functions are not available with this type of PDFбАfile because the only information they contain is image information. Although a scanned page may appear to contain text, it is actually just a bitmap of that text and not the text itself. Because of the large size of image files, the file size of the resulting PDF files can be quite large. As such, the files can occasionally be difficult to use.

PDF Image + Text

This file type represents a compromise between PDF Normal and PDF Image files. To make these files, the author begins with a hardcopy document. The document is scanned to get a TIFF image making it similar to the PDF Image document describedДabove. But, the scan is then run through Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software such as OmniPage® to capture the text of document and the position of the text on the page. This text information is then added to the content part of the file.

When these files are viewed, the user sees the image on the screen. However, the text in the background is availableИfor text searching and copy/paste functions. Because these files contain both the image and text information, their file size is even larger than that of PDF Image files

ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING

SOFTWARE: TAKING THE PLUNGE

Successful companies are often filled with an excitement and energy that can fuel continued expansion. However, if a comprehensive system to manage the internal processes and procedures that serve as companies’ foundations are not in place, growth can become unwieldy. The very growth that had inspired so much promise can bring down a business as quickly as it helped it to rise – unless the enterprise is managed accordingly.

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Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software provides a solid foundation upon which organizations can not only grow, but also thrive. ERP helps to alleviate pressures on the enterprise by integrating all data and processes of an organization into a unified system.

This unity allows decision makers to understand, from the warehouse floor to the call center, exactly how the company functions, and what is

Сneeded to keep operations running smoothly.

A Myriad of Benefits

For a company that has grown to the point where an ERP system is the most logical next step, there are enormous benefits to be realized. For иexample, the centralization of key business data and applications is a critical feature for the enterprise. At the click of a mouse, it is possible for management to view important sales analysis data to identify profitable and unprofitable items, while another click of the mouse can provide command of purchasingбАfunctions by automating the planning purchasing and ordering process. A good enterprise system will provide a bird’s eye view of the company – maximizing its productivity and profitability across-the-board.

Streamlined operations save time, money and effort. ERP helps achieve efficiency by providing one integrated system and eliminates the need for duplicate data entry. Key company information is entered once and automatically routed to all appropriate databases. In addition, this provides real-time access to information. For instance, if a product order is entered via the call-center, that same information is immediately sent to the warehouse floor, where the order is filledДand inventory counts are automatically adjusted, providing an accurate display of what product is available for sale. An enterprise system is critical for company expansion because it is generally easier to scale the system and add functionality. An ERP solution is a unified, integrated system that simplifies employee training with the use of one common software solution. This also facilitatesИenhanced cross-training opportunities and appropriate allocation of resources.

With an ERP system, traditionally all data is stored on one scalable database, providing easy access to real-time information—invaluable in today’s economic environment. Additionally, a good ERP system runs on a reliable computing platform and provides a stable and secure environment. This is imperative for peace of mind, especially as it is the repository for critical company information. While enterprise software is often perceived as extremely complex, it needn’t be. ERP solutions should be simple to manage, easy to upgrade and readily expandable to support business growth, while at the same time facilitating easy employee training and reducing long-term expenses.

One of the most important components of an ERP system is the ability to extract and utilize key data. Effective, powerful data management tools

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built into an enterprise software system allow for flexible reporting options that include customized reports with the ability to save outputs in a variety of formats to match your company’s needs. In addition, ERP systems should incorporate Business Intelligence (BI) functions such as dashboards, therefore, eliminating the need to buy separate software tools to meet this need.

СEssentially, ERP allows companies to improve operational processes up

to a global scale, create efficiencies throughout the organization, expand relationships with suppliers, and continually improve customer satisfaction. This comprehensive view of the business provides decision makers with the ability to understand the consequences that one area of an organization has on another.

иimportant to perform a thorough analysis to determine which solution best matches a company’s needs. A comprehensive assessment of the options will narrow those that can supply the majority of the required functionality.

Vendor Selection—A Critical Component

There are numerous vendors in the ERP software industry, all offering

employeeбАproductivity and real bottom-line benefits, but it is also important to know what is right for your specific organization. Companies should ask:

your business improved operational performance. With so many choices, it is

The best enterprise software provides increased efficiencies, improved

• What functional specifications do we need?

• Is this software solution compatible to our company’s business model?

• How flexible are the applications?Д

• Can this software adapt to meet the growing needs of our company?

• Does this vendor have the requisite industry knowledge?

Ready, Set—Implement

Implementing ERP software is an important decision that requires an experienced vendor to guide companies throughИa process that can sometimes

be challenging. Preparation is a fundamental component and, if done well, can alleviate a myriad of roadblocks to an effective and timely enterprise implementation. A skilled ERP vendor, with industry specific knowledge, will ease this process and provide a detailed plan to guide companies to successful completion.

An experienced provider will analyze your business requirements, recommend industry best practices to streamline operations and personalize the system to meet a company’s precise needs. In addition, your enterprise software vendor will work with you to incorporate advanced software features to improve employee productivity.

That said, it is imperative that the implementation phase include comprehensive technical and end-user training. Without this critical component, employees will muddle their way through the new software. If

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