Email has changed the way we communicate at work and in our personal lives, but the technology has also given rise to problems, particularly in the office. WA Business News looks at the issues to be overcome and how WA businesses are going about it.
Perth seems an unlikely place for the development of tools to manage a globally ubiquitous product such as Microsoft Outlook, but by some coincidence two local firms have based their time management solutions around this common software.
The internet may have revolutionised information access, but email has gone one step further in the way it has broken down traditional hierarchies, offering almost unfettered access to all.
Online real estate sites are logging on to the opportunities provided by Google Maps technology as national and local providers race to get connected to the world's leading search engine.
Corporate entertaining has gone from strength to strength in the wake of the resources boom, as companies devote larger budgets to networking activities and team development.
The morning after federal Liberal MP Dennis Jensen was disendorsed by his party's Tangney preselection panel for a former federal ministerial staffer originally from South Australia, State Scene was telephoned by an interstate journalist who got straight
Il Divo, Amici Forever and Charlotte Church may be making sweet harmonies on the world stage, but performers trained at a small studio in central Midland are also delighting audiences with their unique operatic style.
Gary Beadle is at the top of his game. The Luxe Bar general manager has just scooped the pool in the highly contested 2006 WA Suntory Cup, beating a field of Perth's elite bartenders.
The unearthing of two truffles weighing nearly 300 grams and 750 grams each during a recent Truffle Hunt Day has further entrenched Manjimup's Wine and Truffle Co's viability.
BHP Billiton's Ravensthorpe nickel project is in line for the invidious honour of having the biggest cost blow-out of all the major projects in Western Australia in recent years.
Western Australia's strong economic growth has spurred the development of new power generating capacity, with five power stations collectively worth $1.4 billion currently under construction in the South West.
While the iron ore and oil and gas sectors dominate the outlook for project investment, Western Australia is in line to host a diverse range of projects in other sectors worth more than $5 billion.
The liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry stands to become the most significant part of the resources sector if projects proposed for waters off the coast of Western Australia come to fruition.
Increased private sector involvement in infrastructure development is one option for the state government as it seeks to manage rising costs and rising demand for new infrastructure.
Perth-based national retail advisory group Retail Pace is under new management, after former director Darryll Askworth sold it for an undisclosed sum last month.
Two former executive directors of local property group Clarke & Hawkins Management have split from the business to form boutique development and investment vehicle Qube Property Group Pty Ltd, taking more than $1 billion of projects with them.
Freo Machinery is a long-established provider of crane hire, concrete sawing and drilling, heavy haulage road trains, logistical support and civil construction services to industry across Western Australia.
It's an exciting time of year for all those involved in the wine industry, with retail shelves stocked with the first offerings from the 2006 vintage and wine journos writing reviews intended to entice and inspire consumers.
Towards the end of last month, State Scene was invited to a salubrious business lunch that was attended by a state Liberal MP, who quite promptly made it clear he was factionally unaligned.
One of the big questions going around is whether Western Australia is heading for yet another one of its cyclical busts or if, just maybe, the state is going to snub its nose at history.
