Briefs

Computerworld - E-Learning for Banks

The American Bankers Association (ABA) in Washington recently announced plans to offer Internet-based training courses through its subsidiary, the American Institute of Banking, by the end of the summer. About 100 courses, planned for the initial rollout, are aimed at banks' front-line customer service employees. The first module, according to ABA spokesman Adrian Paul, will focus on compliance with banking laws. The new electronic-learning programs won't be limited to ABA members, Paul said, though members will receive a discount.

ERP Spending to Drop

According to a recent survey by Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner Group Inc., large companies plan to devote, on average, 3.61% of their revenue on information technology next year, plus 1.67% on capital spending. Companies expect to spend 17% of their IT budgets on enterprise resource planning implementation and support, compared with more than 22% last year. Gartner surveyed executives from more than 500 firms with an average of $1.6 billion in revenue and 6,200 employees.

Dot-Coms Don't Count, Say Employers

Previous work experience at a dot-com doesn't help a candidate during the hiring process, according to online recruiter BrilliantPeople.com, a subsidiary of Management Recruiters International Inc. in Cleveland. Despite the public's enthusiasm for Internet jobs, 64% of the 3,400 executives surveyed said they don't perceive that experience as an asset.

Yahoo Launches E-Payments Program

Yahoo Inc. in Santa Clara, Calif., last week jumped into the person-to-person online payments market with the launch of its PayDirect service, in cooperation with CIBC National Bank, a subsidiary of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in Toronto. The service, similar to PayPal (offered by Palo Alto, Calif.-based X.com Corp.), lets users send, receive and request payments via e-mail by linking their Yahoo PayDirect accounts to their credit or debit cards or bank accounts.

Search Is on for Execs

The members of the New York-based Association of Executive Search Consultants reported a 20% increase in searches from the first to second quarters. The growth of the Internet economy has driven much of this increase, and most searches are conducted for e-commerce executives, the association reported. The number of searches for online media and e-commerce executives has increased by 721% from last year. Conversely, biotechnology searches have declined during the past few years.

Riverdeep, Edmark Form School Ties

Ireland-based Riverdeep PLC has announced that it will acquire the assets of Redmond, Wash.-based Edmark Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of IBM, for 4.6 million American Depositary Shares, valued at $85 million. IBM will hold about 14% of the corporation's stock. Riverdeep develops educationalsoftware for kindergarten through 12th-grade classrooms, and Edmark specializes in software for kindergarten through eighth-grade students with special needs. About 46,000 schools use Edmark's software, says the company.

AOL Makes Japanese Wireless Alliance

Dulles, Va.-based America Online Inc. and Tokyo-based wireless giant NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc. (DoCoMo) will jointly develop wireless Internet services in Japan, according to sources. Each company would invest $100 million in AOL Japan, and AOL Japan would become the DoCoMo exclusive fixed-line Internet service provider. AOL Japan will also receive preferential treatment on its i-mode wireless service, allowing subscribers to access e-mail and Web sites via smart phones.