Software piracy: the net unfolds

"One of the most under-reported business scandals of the last decade" is how one industry official describes software piracy, the subject of this issue's cover story by Andrew Fisher. The internet is adding a new dimension to an old industry problem - and some of the biggest names in business software are the victims.

Elsewhere, our main focus is an in-depth look at online recruitment while we also reflect on the latest developments in IT for retailing.

ONLINE RECRUITMENT

Overview
Web-based recruitment sites have multiplied in their thousands over the past four or five years. Now, a period of consolidation is expected.

Brief history
The sector started out modestly, but tiny job boards have grown into mighty career networks.

Pure plays vs clicks and mortar
In the late 1990s, it was an either/or debate. Now a combination of online and offline is considered the best approach.

Economic background
Job sites are learning that advertising revenue is no longer a viable business model for much of the online sector.

Ethical and legal issues
False CVs, phantom jobs, phoney job sites - the online recruitment sector has all these rackets and plenty more, prompting legislative moves and attempts at self-regulation.

Career-specific websites
General sites serve a purpose, but as the market grows, the proportion of specialist sites will increase.

Graduate and MBA recruitment
The web is making significant inroads into the graduate recruitment sector ² little wonder when you consider the skills profile of many of the candidates.

IT staff recruitment
The internet seems ideally suited for recruiting scarce IT staff, but traditional methods remain central.

Dotcom recruitment
Some dotcoms have used the internet, but many simply do not have the time to or resources to process the responses, and resort to traditional methods.

Recruitment software
Improvements in software for indexing, classifying and searching are needed to spur the industry's development.

Wireless recruiting
A few Wap-based recruitment services are beginning to appear, but most are merely testbeds for more advanced services on the horizon.

Headhunters
The brash, upbeat world of the dotcoms just doesn't cut it in the world of executive recruitment. There, old-style tactics do the talking.

Print vs. online
While newspapers remain the top media source for jobs in Europe, there are good prospects for both the print media and online recruitment markets.

Online testing
Automating psychometric procedures would seem to make perfect sense. However, it can cause as many problems as it solves.

PROFILES
Close-up looks at two sites, FreeAgent.com and eLance, which cater for freelance or contract workers and their prospective employers.

"Companies don't appreciate how many CVs they can generate by using their websites for recruitment," says Antal's Tony Goodwin.

Articles on three of the biggest names in online recruitment, Monster.com, StepStone and Jobline. Plus: MrTed, a recruiting software ASP, and Verity, whose software is used to plough through CVs automatically.

Using company websites
Managers are discovering that advertising vacancies on a corporate website can raise unexpected problems.

Benefits of intranets
A significant mind-shift is needed to allow intranets to be used in managing labour resources, but the effort can benefit directors and staff alike.

Setting up corporate sites
Staff need to be able to easily locate the latest vacancies - and to be thoroughly convinced they should be working for your company, rather than a competitor.

IT IN RETAILING

Overview
Retailers are having to be all the things that their customers want them to be. This is spurring new uses of IT, both in-store and throughout the supply chain.

Labour shortages
Full employment combined with low status mean the retail sector finds it hard to fill vacancies. A number of IT-based solutions are available.

IXRetail initiative
A new approach to helping retailers deal with a mish-mash of legacy systems.

Mobile commerce
US retailers are optimistic that m-commerce -with 'personalised' communications - offers plenty of potential for both customers and retail staff.

Case study: Saks 5th Avenue
The US store's first transactional website has gone live with 40,000 items, but this is just the start of its internet ambitions.

Online credit options
Evolving new payment methods may be the means to expand online commerce, retailers are hoping.

ONLINE CUSTOMERS

Profile: Mandrakesoft
"We are in the business of building communities," says Henri Poole, chief executive of this French software company which publishes the Linux-Mandrake "distribution."

Customer self-service
A new trend emerges as online customers become increasingly demanding, forcing suppliers to change their attitudes.

FT.com discussion forum
Last month, a federal appeals court in San Francisco ordered the company to stop its 55m-plus users from swapping copyrighted tunes without charge. Forum participants consider whether this is the tip of the iceberg.

VIEWPOINT
Many people bemoan the net as an intrusive nuisance, but this network of networks is becoming less visible, a sure sign of its huge success, says Sun Microsystems' Ed Zander.