As the following pages will demonstrate, the evidence is that improving Business Transaction Assurance presents a real bottom-line opportunity and is moving high up the business agenda. However, companies' current systems are not equipped with the necessary tools to manage and control such transactions. 

As technology evolves, there is a never-ending question to designers and implementers: "What is coming next?" The answer is "Collaboration." The move to collaboration is strengthened by the actions of Cisco and Microsoft, as they have each unveiled several collaborative technologies and the means to integrate them utilizing Web 2.0 programming. 

Traditional approaches to risk management emphasize mitigation, focusing on the readily apparent risks facing a company in the areas of security, privacy, credit, regulatory, technology, fraud and more. These threats are, of course, important and must be addressed. 

Studies show that training has a positive impact on performance, for both students and their companies. More than 60% of IT managers believe that the skill of their teams is the most important success factor for critical IT functions.