Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2000 14:28:01 +0000 From: Wilson Yau <wilson@netproject.com> Subject: New Series of Netproject Seminars With the Y2K issue out of the way now is time to address some of the fundamental architectural issues of e-commerce. The time and investment required to build systems that enable e-commerce is such that most organisations will only have one shot at getting it right. E-commerce requires very secure, reliable and stable systems. The question has to be asked 'Can these systems be achieved using proprietary technologies?' Just as the Internet and the World Wide Web require protocols that are in the public domain, so will e-commerce. Open Source is being adopted by those who see it more than a simple alternative to existing technologies, it is seen as an essential enabling technology for e-commerce. Systems based on Open Source give significant benefits including large reductions in the cost of computing and an increase in efficiency. Those that successfully make an early move into e-commerce will be the winners. It takes time to change an organisations culture. The culture of being dependent on vendor specific system software and software development tools must change to one of engineering systems that are vendor independent. Now is the time for those who are responsible for their organisations IT strategy to learn about the developments in the area of Open Source, to understand how to deploy and support systems based on Open Source technology, how to migrate existing systems from where they are now to where they need to be. The work we are doing together with our members is helping them make an early move into the new world of global ecommerce. Several Netproject members have started working on the deployment of Linux on the desktop. It is recognised that there is a need for a secure desktop operating system that is free from the threat of viruses. One of the major issues this work is addressing is the management of the transition from the current proprietary desktop to a robust, stable and cost effective alternative. Mobile computing is growing rapidly. We will be running a series of workshops examining the deployment of new networking technologies, including TCP/IP V6 the 128 bit Internet protocol, Bluetooth, the Infra Red protocol for cable less computing and WAP the wireless application protocol. Netproject members see mobile computing as an important and major growth area. It is an area that will be monitored very closely and the leading authorities are being invited to work with Netproject. It is accepted that many companies have made 'strategic' decisions to deploy Active Directory. The potential pitfalls of using technology with proprietary extensions are that organisations will not be able to do e-commerce with organisations that have not deployed Active Directories. We will be running a workshop showing how to use Microsoft Active Directories to enable interworking with those who use industry standard directory service protocols. The work we are doing is exciting and of great value. If you are interested in discussing the work we are doing or would like to get involved please contact me either by email or give me a call on 020 8715 0072. Eddie Bleasdale 23rd Feb 2000 Schedule of events for 2000 Linux, Open Source & E-Business - Management Briefing 24th Feb 2000 The developments taking place around Linux & Open Source are too important to be ignored. Business managers, strategists and IT managers need an informed view of how best to respond. This briefing gives a clear understanding of what is happening with Linux and Open Source. Note: This briefing is also run on site for organisations who want their senior IT managers and business strategists to get a early consensus on the way forward for their Organisations. Directory Services 13th April 2000 This workshop, to be moderated by Dr Andrew Findlay, will examine the issues of implementing a PKI with Microsoft Active Directory. What should you be doing to get ready? What are the potential pitfalls of using technology that is proprietary? What parts of Active Directory should be used? What should be avoided? Case studies will also be given from Organisations that have implemented large-scale directory services Personal Computing - Strategies & Directions 11th May 2000 Netproject members have initiated a project into deploying Linux on the desktop. This workshop will review the progress of this project. Issues that are considered important by the members include: Securing the desktop Applications & Users Integrating smart card readers and biometric scanners into the PC. Review of personal productivity applications, StarOffice, GNOME, KDE, Corel. Mobile Computing 21st June 2000 More mobile computing devices will be sold this year than PCs and cars combined. By 2004 40% of business to consumer transactions will be over mobile networks. This workshop will review the technology that will enable organisations to move successfully into mobile computing What is Internet 2 and what are the migration issues. The 32 bit IP4 Internet address space will soon run out of spare addresses. IP6 will take over from IP4 and will enable both 32 bit and 128 bit addressing to co-exist. A detailed review will be undertaken of what IP6 offers and the migration issues of moving from IP4. The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) offers information mobility. A description of the protocols will be given and the proposed ways that they will be used. Bluetooth is an infra red protocol that is designed to allow the wireless office. What does Bluetooth offer and what are the deployment issues? Towards Secure Single Sign On 5th July 2000 Secure Single Sign On is an essential component for e-business in that it allows users to log onto the network once and access all the resources for which they have authority. E-business will require a globally consistent solution that enable users from external organisations to be authorised to access resources. The issues this workshop will explore include how to achieve computing without firewalls. The role of policy based computing. The issues of authentication & authorisation of users. Secure electronic commerce Sept 2000 We are now seeing a significant increase in the number of attacks against Organisations that are attempting to do commerce over the Internet. Trojan attacks have started and will get more sophisticated. Corporate web sites have been illegally modified with false press releases that have temporarily shifted the Organisations market valuation. Confidence in e-commerce is being whittled away. This workshop will examine the major threats that have to be addressed and how these can be best countered. Smart Card - Update Nov 2000 The latest developments taking place in smart cards will be explored. Case studies of the large-scale deployment of smart cards will be given. Clustered Computing Dec 2000 This workshop will examine the latest developments in clustered computing from both the very high reliability standpoint and also from the view of very high performance massively parallel processing systems, including the Beowulf project. Case studies will be given of the deployment of these systems. Best Regards, Wilson Yau Project Co-ordinator Netproject