Recent Enterprise News

Facebook malware scam takes hold

A "worrying number" of Facebook users are sharing a link to a malware-laden fake CNN news page reporting the U.S. has attacked Iran and Saudi Arabia, security firm Sophos said Friday.

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 5:05 pm

The future of hypervisors

The world of hypervisors is complicated by the fact that there are proprietary and open source tools, each with different strengths and weaknesses. One expert says the difference between the two is that innovation is coming out of the open source products at a quicker pace. But another expert doesn't quite believe that first to market is the key to success. He says this market is too important to be downloading open source bits frequently. With that dilemma, enterprises instead turn to commercially supported products.

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 4:14 pm

Micron CEO dies in plane crash

Steve Appleton, chairman and CEO of memory and semiconductor maker Micron, was killed in a small plane accident in Boise, Idaho, on Friday. "Our hearts go out to his wife, Dalynn, his children and his family during this tragic time," the company said in a statement. [ Keep up on the day's tech news headlines with InfoWorld's Today's Headlines: Wrap Up newsletter. ]

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 1:47 pm

Systems management, cloud services likely in Dell's software acquisition plans

Dell's formation of a new software group, which was announced Thursday, could be the forerunner to a string of acquisitions by the vendor, with some observers predicting a focus on systems management and cloud services provisioning.

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 1:40 pm

Is Windows Phone really under Sinofsky?

Details about Windows Phone 8 are bustin' out all over. And while those technical details are devastating for Windows Phone 7.5 "Tango" sales, there's a bigger picture.

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 10:38 am

PHP 5.3.10 fixes critical remote code execution vulnerability

The PHP Group released PHP 5.3.10 on Thursday in order to address a critical security flaw that can be exploited to execute arbitrary code on servers running an older version of the Web development platform. The vulnerability is identified as CVE-2012-0830 and was discovered by Stefan Esser, an independent security consultant and creator of the popular Suhosin security extension for PHP.

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 8:57 am

Google won't delay new privacy policy despite E.U. concerns

Google does not plan to delay its new privacy policy despite calls from Europe's data protection watchdog.

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 8:52 am

Microsoft researchers say anonymized data isn't so anonymous

Data routinely gathered in Web logs -- IP address, cookie ID, operating system, browser type, user-agent strings -- can threaten online privacy because they can be used to identify the activity of individual machines, Microsoft researchers say. At the same time, analysis of such data when anonymized can help detect malicious activity and so improve overall Internet security, they add.

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 6:10 am

H-1B workers are better paid, more educated, study finds

H-1B workers are better educated than U.S. born workers and earn more, according to a new study by an independent research group. The report by two economists at the non-partisan Public Policy Institute of California, also found that, on average, H-1B workers are about 10 years younger than U.S. born workers.

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 5:48 am

Symantec warns of Android Trojans that mutate with every download

Researchers from security vendor Symantec have identified a new premium-rate SMS Android Trojan horse that modifies its code every time it gets downloaded in order to bypass antivirus detection. This technique is known as server-side polymorphism and has already existed in the world of desktop malware for many years, but mobile malware creators have only now begun to adopt it.

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 5:31 am

RIM offers free PlayBook to attract Android developers

Research in Motion is trying to woo developers by giving a free BlackBerry PlayBook tablet to coders who port their Android application for its BlackBerry Tablet OS. The promotion, announced on Twitter by Alec Saunders, RIM's vice president for developer relations, comes as RIM struggles to generate int

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 5:13 am

Apple updates Lion, patches 51 bugs in Mac OS X

Apple this week patched 51 vulnerabilities in Mac OS X, most of them critical, in 2012's first security update. Both Mac OS X 10.7, aka Lion, and 10.6, better known as Snow Leopard, were updated with fixes. The two operating systems were last updated in mid-October 2011.

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 5:02 am

Google finally scans malware-ridden Android Market

In an effort to improve security in its Android Market, Google has been using a service providing automated scanning of applications submitted to the mobile application store, Google revealed on Thursday afternoon. Code-named Bouncer, the service scans the market for potentially malicious software without disrupting the user experience or requiring developers to submit to an application approval process, said Hiroshi Lockheimer, vice of engineering for Android, in a blog post:

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 4:00 am

Where's Waldo?

Go back to your student days and try to remember your best textbooks... They always started out with the basics, then went deeper and deeper. Each chapter led you stepwise through a concept, using examples, painting a picture then rounding...

Posted on 7 December 2011 | 3:29 am

Say goodbye to the organisational hierarchies please

It all started by John Tropea's post, then the discussion moved onto Google+. My first comment was "I'm still puzzled why all still accepts "organisational hierarchies" as a given... after all they're nothing but frameworks for work processes, of the...

Posted on 25 October 2011 | 7:05 am

Gamification, dashboards, search and enterprise failure

Ooh, I love a good disagreemnt, and when my friend JP Rangaswami who's views I respect highly, writes a post that I heartily disagrees with I'm tickled pink! It was his views on Gamification and Dashboards in the enterprise that...

Posted on 27 September 2011 | 5:43 am

Evidence vs. belief and enterprise software

Just recently "evidence vs belief based management" has been raised again, and that's good, it should be in the forefront at all times if you ask me. The whole thing seems utterly unbelievable, the indisputable fact [sic] that hugely important...

Posted on 6 September 2011 | 6:50 am

Strategic software vs non-strategic software

I can just as well be upfront about it and invite ridicule at once: There is no business / enterprise software that is first and foremost built to enable strategies, and thus could be termed "strategic". Let's look at some...

Posted on 2 August 2011 | 7:29 am

Stifling growth? Challenge some assumptions!

McKinsey Quarterly has an article in their May edition - "Preparing your organization for growth" - that yet again reminds me about the total inability to ask the right question. Or question any assumptions at all. If you live in...

Posted on 24 May 2011 | 7:49 am

Enterprise software's wrong focus

Let me start by refining my earlier "who's you customer" post: Primary customer/user: This is where your value delivered is appreciated. It's the daily users and the real reason why you have a business at all. But alas, they often...

Posted on 12 May 2011 | 7:52 am

Software and the Complexity Excuse

I am a bit fed up with the (mis)use of the term 'complex' as an excuse for not doing the right thing. Especially in Enterprise Software: Costs, implementation times and unwillingness to make me something bespoke - "it's because enterprise...

Posted on 26 April 2011 | 7:39 am

Social Media - Nouns but no Verbs

Practical use of Information Technology seems to follow the same maturity trajectory as languages. But being a young phenomena IT still has a way to go: It has the words in place, i.e. the data model is often precise enough,...

Posted on 6 April 2011 | 7:00 am

Gamification?

One recent buzzword that I hear a lot is "gamification". Especially gamification of utterly boring Enterprise Software and consumer experiences in commercial transactions. A heroic attempt to solve one of life's mysteries; why work sometimes drifts towards boring and in...

Posted on 23 March 2011 | 10:16 am

On Productivity

"Productive effort, measured in terms of the rate of output per unit of input" And I bet you that the next word that is popping up in your head now is efficiency: "Achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or...

Posted on 1 March 2011 | 6:04 am

Social Business and the Command & Control Excuse

A few days ago I had the usual pleasure of reading one of Euan's posts, where there was one paragraph that triggered something in my mind: "On the same day I get an email from a senior official in a...

Posted on 8 February 2011 | 2:27 am

Work is Communication

Work relies on, no, consists of two things: brains and hands communication Brains and hands: The appropriate and best-possible ability must be available, that's a good start. But what can brains and hands do unless they know what to do?...

Posted on 27 January 2011 | 5:48 am

Get rid of the Calendar, and the Watch too

Those are leftovers from the industrial age and the biggest impediment to an effective society. Before I hear the protest I can just as well agree that sometimes it's needed; like when I'm to meet somebody for a spot of...

Posted on 4 January 2011 | 8:20 am

Strategy, Business Model, and Who's Your Customer

As a vendor or SI you can approach the delivery of enterprise software in two ways: The good old and safe way; accept the premises, scope their processes and ways, then deliver something that makes the existing more efficient. Do...

Posted on 14 December 2010 | 10:44 am

"Business" is nothing but "Social Networks"

We have a plethora of hugely successful cloud based social networks, but why only fulfil banal social needs? Those way up in the Maslow pyramid kind of needs. Why stop there? [This was inspired By @dahowlett's post the other day...

Posted on 24 November 2010 | 8:13 am

Don't touch the core

Or how SAP chooses stability over change. Sounds smart on the surface until you start to think: Change is the only possible path to survival, stability can only be temporary, that's a law of nature. Now back from yet another...

Posted on 19 October 2010 | 6:25 am

Romans, Barbarians, and Innovation.

Yesterday, Thomas Friedman of NYT quoted from the historian Lewis Mumford’s book, “The Condition of Man,” about the development of civilisation. Mumford was describing Rome’s decline: “Everyone aimed at security: no one accepted responsibility. What was plainly lacking, long before...

Posted on 6 October 2010 | 3:57 am

Creating a new business: The old way or the smart way

@jobsworth tweeted the other day "Whenever I hear talk about business models, I am reminded of Peter Drucker's wonderful cautionary words: People make shoes, not money" I would venture that it's because the term "Business Model" today is mostly understood...

Posted on 21 September 2010 | 2:34 am

Who killed big corp innovation?

The Product Manager. Look no further, that's the one, the main Big Corp innovation killer. OK, do take that with a pinch of salt. It's not personal either, if you're a PM, it's not your fault. But please read on,...

Posted on 7 September 2010 | 6:53 am

Enterprise Software Innovation - mostly Spray Paint and Fast Food

As Vinnie puts it, "Big Tech is Broken - badly". And broken needs fixing, but is the patient ready for that? I wonder if the issue is a semantic issue; how the fix, the innovation, is understood. If you don't...

Posted on 24 August 2010 | 7:30 am

Business Software is in need of some leaps and bounds!

Most business software is created to help you do what you do today, in the same manner, but hopefully better, faster, and with less effort. Efficiency is the siren call. But alas, the usefulness and ROI of upgrading have a...

Posted on 11 August 2010 | 5:49 am

Unlearn or Challenge?

What's the diff? David Heinemeir Hansson of 37signals and Ruby on Rails fame spoke at Stanford the other day - Unlearn your MBA! Good concept of course, provocative title for a talk for business students, and old stuff is old...

Posted on 30 July 2010 | 10:57 am

Summer and all that

Been quiet for awhile now, and not because I've had a spot of vacation, quite the opposite. Delivery-time now, meaning programming, helping to build a new business model (and delivery using Thingamy of course) for a very interesting and ambitious...

Posted on 29 July 2010 | 9:36 am

Simple errors and big consequences, same procedure as always.

Hat tip to Eapen Thomas who pointed me to this year's commencement speech at Stanford’s School of Medicine given by Atul Gawande. Here is an excerpt of what he told the graduating class: We’ve been obsessed in medicine with having...

Posted on 30 June 2010 | 6:36 am

Three types of GUIs - past, present and the future

There are three types of Graphical User Interfaces: First we had to interact with our early IT tools, as on our Apple IIs with Visicalc, then we had to face an ever increasing number of apps that made our screen...

Posted on 8 June 2010 | 7:42 am

SAPPHIRE Now - huge surprise, good stuff and a couple of important issues

I have to admit I went to Orlando and this year's SAPPHIRE Now with lower than normal expectations. Boy was I surprised, and in a good way. Overall I found a turbocharged and far, far nimbler SAP. To the extent...

Posted on 21 May 2010 | 8:52 am

Plans, Budgets, Deadlines, not what you think

You know the stuff that makes the corporation hum and spin it's wheels, the workflow mechanism, the process framework activities and not the value creation work per se: Plans, Budgets, Deadlines, Rules, Meetings, Reports... Are they as efficient as they...

Posted on 11 May 2010 | 7:24 am

How business hoodwinks itself

When you create a new company you have an idea, some sketches, then you develop a product or a service while trying to understand your potential customers by listening and testing. Then the production/service org gets cranking, channels established and...

Posted on 20 April 2010 | 9:12 am

Fixing Greece

I've been chirping about how automating the flow part of workflows, by adding a proper IT based process framework to BRPs, would suggest a possible 67% increase in World Wide GDP. But I completely forgot an important issue; Corruption and...

Posted on 16 April 2010 | 6:15 am

Disregarding BRP is like being long on subprime CDOs

Now and then. If you, as a developer and vendor of products, create a new product that has the promise of value for your customer you're onto something. Say going back a few years starting up Facebook or creating the...

Posted on 13 April 2010 | 8:56 am

Organisational Effectiveness vs. Personal Efficiency

Wherever you turn you'll find that Enterprise Software is on a never ending quest to increase your personal efficiency. It says so on the vendor's site, it seeps through in discussion about User Interfaces, one is constantly reminded how good...

Posted on 19 March 2010 | 10:37 am

Happiness and a better Enterprise Software Data Model

Funny thing, seems the human brain uses same tricks as Enterprise Software to save disk space :) Thanks to Zia I found Daniel Kahneman at Ted's site (go see): Kahneman's premise being "confusion between experience and memory: basically it’s between...

Posted on 16 March 2010 | 10:20 am

Enterprise Apps User Interface - the wrong discussion

Imagine an Enterprise App with UI design lifted from World of Warcraft? A tad gothic? But games work, kids dive into them in droves and never seem to scratch their heads. Electronic games now being a bigger industry than the...

Posted on 10 March 2010 | 7:38 am

Elegant Organisations? Daily Simplicity? Fugetaboutit!

"Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem" Occam's razor keeps it simple - "entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity". Or in short form; simple is better. A basic philosophy of science - simple is better. Einstein could be a signatory...

Posted on 2 March 2010 | 8:13 am

Enterprise Software's blind spot

A Project is a temporary activity or sequence of activities with a specific goal initiated by an issue, an idea or a request, often with multiple participants. It is usually unstructured, at least somewhat unpredictable and hence Barely Repeatable. There...

Posted on 19 February 2010 | 9:31 am

Work Flows and Wealth Creation

Inseparable since the beginning. Following the last post about Information, Knowledge, Wisdom and Innovation let's add one particularly interesting and dynamic object organiser, an object by itself: The Workflow. The representation of a particular sequence where value is created and...

Posted on 2 February 2010 | 7:16 am

Information, Knowledge, Wisdom, and Innovation

These four concepts makes humanity move forward. They're basic requirements for every day work as well as for Big Important Decisions, hence nothing to take lightly. Indeed, if possible to grasp, sort, handle, and model efficiently we would all be...

Posted on 19 January 2010 | 7:42 am

Process Engine + Social Media -> Thingamy and ESME

For a long while I've been keeping an eye on the E 2.0, collaboration and social media efforts meant for enterprise use. I have to admit to being a sceptic, still viewing such as mainly single-task tools with little or...

Posted on 7 January 2010 | 3:34 am

How not to do it - 12sprints and Chatter

More and more Enterprise Software vendors (and users) have their "aha!" moments, getting the reality that "unstructured", Barely Repeatable Processes are immensely important. Not only happens about 60% of all work in such processes, but no proper process based IT...

Posted on 21 December 2009 | 4:09 am

BizTechTalk Briefs 08/24/2011

Infographic Of The Day: An Animated GIF Of The Music Industry's Death | Co. Design Interesting data on the rise/fall of music delivery - eye-wateringly ugly animated GIF - Tufte would have a field day with this. Small multiples or...

Posted on 24 August 2011 | 7:30 am

BizTechTalk Briefs 08/22/2011

The University of Untyped – Untyping I love the idea of teams getting together to specifically learn together. That's one of the many reasons I'm joining up with several teams to round out 2010 and into 2011. Only so much...

Posted on 22 August 2011 | 7:30 am

BizTechTalk Briefs 08/19/2011

Gamification 101 | BigDoor Big collection of gamification tips, links, glossaries, articles - provided by BigDoor, a gamification platform. Very rich set of information here. tags: gamification Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Posted on 19 August 2011 | 7:30 am

BizTechTalk Briefs 08/17/2011

About | Influitive: Customer Advocacy Program Experts "We Believe in Two Big but simple ideas: * Game-otivation: Making it fun for advocates to do their best work. We think that it should be just as engaging for advocates to help...

Posted on 17 August 2011 | 7:30 am

BizTechTalk Briefs 07/29/2011

Welcome to the Brave New World of Persuasion Profiling | Magazine Taking persuasion to the next level (ultimately) in mapping reactions to target interactions downstream (next page, next button) to what an individual reacts to. Key takeaway point - people...

Posted on 29 July 2011 | 7:30 am

Sebastien International - Episode 6 � San Francisco

In October 2010, Australian entrepreneur Sebastien Eckersley-Maslin embarked on a bold business challenge: become the Smallest Multinational in the World. Follow Sebastien's whirlwind journey around the world as he attempts to prove that with the right entrepreneurial spirit, you don't need to be big to be big. Sebastien International tells the inspiring story of a unique business adventure.

Episode 6 - San Francisco

Sebastien's journey ends appropriately in the venture capitalist capital of the world. Has he done enough so far to convince potential investors, or will he return to Sydney Australia with much still to be done?

HOW TO WRITE A BUSINESS SYSTEM (AND WRITE YOURSELF OUT OF A JOB)

It is always my goal or aim in my startups to build the business to a point where it can be sold to someone else - hopefully at a large profit which makes the journey to get there all the more worthwhile!

One of the best things any business can do to improve the value at the point of sale is to systemise all aspects of the business. An organisation that is well documented and does not require the specific talent(s) of the founder will sell more easily (and for a higher price) than one that the founder has all the corporate IP in their head.

Whilst you could wait until you're thinking of selling to start documenting, it is far more efficient to begin writing processes and systems from the day you start. The bonus from this is you get to experience much higher efficiency and be in control even when you're on the other side of the world working remotely!

The franchise model

If I haven't convinced you, and you think you can't afford to spend the time documenting your processes think about fast food chains (or any successful franchise for that matter).

McDonalds isn't in the business of selling hamburgers - they (the corporate) sell franchises - highly systemised businesses that are so well documented that 16 year old employees can run them.

So start thinking of your business as a franchise. How can you document every aspect of your business so someone can pick it up and run it with almost the same efficiency as you.

How can you write yourself out of a Job?

Writing a system

The first step is to have a system for writing systems. This may seem a little silly, but it will ensure you have a consistent approach to documenting your processes - and it will enable you to get your staff (if you have any) to contribute by writing systems on their jobs too.

I teach a Systems course as part of a NSW Government Program and go in to much more detail but here's a basic guide for getting started.

Each system should be broken down into four sections:

• What is the system?
A paragraph or two explaining what this system is
• Why do this system?
A paragraph or two explaining why you would implement this system and what benefit it provides the organisation. If you're struggling to answer this section you might want to reconsider if you need this system at all!
• When do you use this system?
When would you break out this system, how does it fit in with other systems and where does it sit in your workflow.
• Process
A step by step guide or checklist with very easy to follow steps of how to go about this system.

Keep your systems in an easily accessible place, preferably an online secure location (such as dropbox) but you can use a private wiki or a specific systemisation too.

I actually wrote a web-based software application to manage systems and manage people working through them, but even a simple text file in a shared drive is a good start.

Finally you should have a step in your system to somehow capture the results and provide a feedback loop so you or your staff can tweek and improve it as you learn more and work through the processes.

 

Posted on 17 February 2011 | 4:12 am

Sebastien International - Episode 5 � New York

In October 2010, Australian entrepreneur Sebastien Eckersley-Maslin embarked on a bold business challenge: become the Smallest Multinational in the World. Follow Sebastien's whirlwind journey around the world as he attempts to prove that with the right entrepreneurial spirit, you don't need to be big to be big. Sebastien International tells the inspiring story of a unique business adventure.

Episode 5 - New York

It's the toughest city in the world to crack and New York first-timer Sebastien certainly has his work cut out. But a meeting with a contact Sebastien describes as "like someone from The Godfather" is promising, and an encounter with a celebrity mentor soon have Seb on top of the world in the Big Apple.

 

The business idea - one for one for a better world

There's nothing like arriving in a city of 8.2 million people to remind you that you're a very small fish in a global pool of movers and shakers. That's why, as an entrepreneur trying to get noticed in New York, it's important to have a strong support network - either business or personal - that can help open doors.

But don't be fooled by the warm welcome at the door. If you don't have a mighty powerful business proposition, the door won't open twice.

Fortunately, the ‘one for one' model has already been proven by a handful of entrepreneurs around the world - another key to getting serious airtime in New York, and critical for me when I had only a matter of weeks to put together a business plan and take it around the world.

So what does a One-for-one business do?

The idea is simple but powerful: Every time you buy something, a one-for-one business donates the same item to someone in need.

It's charity as part of everyday life and it empowers you to make a difference, one transaction at a time.

The revenue model is that of a ‘for profit' business, proving you can have a charitable aspect and still be profitable. Where it makes money is through selling one-for-one branded products - from FMCG to financial services products. The criteria is that they have either a very low cost-per-sale, so a donation with every purchase does not significantly affect the bottom line, or, the commercial platform is a scalable online service that requires minimal resources to operate.

Currently, the model is providing shoes, spectacles and condoms to the underprivileged in African and Asia, and it's no surprise that the philosophy has been embraced in New York - a place where generosity is as much a sign of success as profitability. But it will take significant interest from the global business community before ‘one for one' marketed products become synonymous with supporting third world communities.

Until then, the one for one business platform will remain the domain of that handful of dedicated entrepreneurs. Without wishing myself out of a job, I sincerely hope the landscape changes soon.

Find previous episodes here...

ep 1, ep 2, ep 3, ep 4

Posted on 19 January 2011 | 8:03 am

Sebastien International - Episode 4 � Paris

In October 2010, Australian entrepreneur Sebastien Eckersley-Maslin embarked on a bold business challenge: become the Smallest Multinational in the World. Follow Sebastien's whirlwind journey around the world as he attempts to prove that with the right entrepreneurial spirit, you don't need to be big to be big. Sebastien International tells the inspiring story of a unique business adventure.

Episode 4 - Paris

Nothing is going right in France for Sebastien. His hotel room is double booked and he's failed to secure any meetings. Will he be down and out in Paris, or can Sebastien pull something out of the entrepreneurial bag?

OVERCOMING OBSTACLES

We face them all the time. It doesn't matter if you're an entrepreneur, a business person, a writer*, an athlete or an entire country. These are the complications that hinder the progression of your goals. However, I find, with the right balance of strategic thinking and a good dose of persistence, obstacles can actually turn into prime motivators. *I particularly suffer from writers' block!

Map it out

The proverbial has hit the fan. The first thing I do is pick myself off the ground and try to work out what happened, why it happened and where I was going. Map this out. Not only will this process create a path of logic, it may help identify new obstacles you can avoid. I personally use butcher paper and whiteboards as I find they promote brevity and keep things nice and visual, but use any process that works for you.

Test what you know

Don't ever underestimate the value of past experiences and how they can apply now - empirical methodology is where scientists start when they enter unexplored territory and you can use some of this in your own problem solving. Take some time out, think about how you have dealt with major obstacles in the past and what the resolution involved. You might pull out a forgotten tactic, an emotional response, or a resource that can help you push through. This might also be a good time to hit up your contacts on LinkedIn and see what you can learn from their experiences. (As it's always better to learn from someone else's mistakes!)

Return to your vision

Sometimes the most confronting thing you can be asked when you're starting out is "why" you're doing it. As the diary becomes full and the business plan stretches in different directions, it's easy to let your vision sit unnoticed in the background and that's when issues arise. Before they threaten your business confidence, dig out the original vision and remind yourself of why. If what you're doing doesn't align itself with your primary goal and original vision then you should ask yourself "why you are not" doing it.

Go to lunch

Lunch could be a sandwich in the park with the sunglasses on and the headphones in, it could be 3 courses and wine with a trusted friend, or it could be a metaphor for simply making some space in your head. Whatever it is for you, make sure you do it to clear your mind. In Paris I had a few issues with the direction of the business, I took a lunch break (aka gastronomic adventure) in the Eiffel Tower and came back refreshed, clear minded and scored a meeting within minutes of returning to the office. (Evidenced in the Paris video above)

Whilst it's desirable to have everything go your way, the truth is something will not quite work out. Stepping away calmly and asking the right questions of yourself and others are the best things you can possibly do when things don't go to plan.

Sebastien Eckersley-Maslin

Catch episode 1 here

Catch episode 2 here

Catch episode 3 here

Posted on 4 January 2011 | 3:29 am

Sebastien International - Episode 3 � London

Sebastien International - The Web Series

In October 2010, Australian entrepreneur Sebastien Eckersley-Maslin embarked on a bold business challenge: become the Smallest Multinational in the World. Follow Sebastien's whirlwind journey around the world as he attempts to prove that with the right entrepreneurial spirit, you don't need to be big to be big. Sebastien International tells the inspiring story of a unique business adventure.

Episode 3 - London

Sebastien has just two days to strike a deal in London and a tube strike has brought the city to a stand still. It's far from ideal for the young man who is trying to become the world's smallest multinational, but as every successful entrepreneur knows - it's about how you adapt and overcome.

Top apps when you're on the road

If there is anything that my last business trip to London taught me, it's to make sure you've got your apps in order before you go.

With the right technology you can be prepared for anything, even a tube strike the day you've got a major presentation, an interview and a networking event.

Here are some of the apps I rely on to stay productive - on the road and in the back of a London cab:

Todo
- a very powerful to do list designed for both the iPhone and iPad. You can create projects and checklists and even get a little help in ‘Getting Things Done' GTD. More about Todo

Cisco Mobile
With this app I can make ‘local' calls from any office number in my virtual network and make calls over a Wi-Fi network to save on roaming charges. This app only works as part of an enterprise buy, but anyone connected to Servcorp Online can benefit from it. More about Cisco Mobile

Dropbox
A great cloud computing app, dropbox let's you access your files from anywhere, syncs from multiple computers so you'll always have the latest version of the file, and it lets you share files with others via a private URL - it's simple and beautiful and a great timesaver. More about Dropbox

Servcorp Meetings
Book a meeting room anywhere in the world, arrange lunch, tea and coffee, request a white board for a presentation or make sure a personal assistant is on hand to translate. The meetings app highlights what's truly unique about Servcorp's Virtual Office packages. More about Servcorp Meetings

Flight Track
This app allows you to stay on top of last minute changes to your travel schedule. Check the times and status of flights anywhere in the world, view boarding gate numbers, baggage claim numbers, temperature in destination cities and much more. More about Flight Track

LinkedIn
All the contacts of the world via a very intuitive application. Don't underestimate the power of LinkedIn, particularly when you're on the road. The portal is a constant source of inspiration and can put you within reach of business opportunities in an instant. More about LinkedIn app

Of the 300,000 or so apps now available for iOS, there must be a few more that Business Management readers can add to this list.

Sebastien Eckersley-Maslin

To see episode 1 click here.

To see episode 2 click here.

To see episode 4 click here.

Posted on 16 December 2010 | 3:26 am

California's High-Speed Rail Network

Below is a video outlining California's potential high-speed rail network (HSR), which, if everything goes to plan, will begin construction in 2012, with the main line, linking San Francisco and Los Angeles completed by 2015.

Currently, there are 500 million travellers' trips between the states different regions, which analysts estimate will increase to one billion travellers by 2030. California's HSR will service 10 percent of those commuters.


The track will run for 800 miles, and incorporate San Francisco, San Jose, Merced, Sacremento, Fresno, Bakersfield, Palmdale, Los Angeles, Anaheim and San Diego. The train is projected to run at 220 miles-per-hour which would halve the travel time for travellers.

As an environmental option, the HSR is three times more efficient than air travel and five times more efficient than cars - a key component in the US' turn towards reducing its carbon footprint. In total, the HSR should reduce California's oil use by 12.7 million barrels annually.

With construction of the HSR beginning in 2012, 650,000 contracting construction jobs will be created, along with 450,000 permanent positions - which will constitute the largest public works on US soil in 50 years.

Related articles:

Intersate Wars | Business Management | Tourism Management | Business Management | Enterprise Search | Business Management | Honda | Business Management

Posted on 10 December 2010 | 1:51 am

Borders Disastrous Third Quarter, Loses $74 Million

Borders, the Ann Arbor-based bookseller, has failed to turn around a poor 2010 with revenue falling 17.6 percent in the third quarter, to $470.9 million. The loss from continuing operations was $74.4 million compared to a loss of $37.7 million a year ago.

The losses impacted the share price, with the chain losing $1.03 a share in the three months up to the end of October. Sales on Borders.com fell 8.6% to $12.5 million in the third quarter. It reduced its inventory by $233.7 million in the quarter. But it signed up more than 580,000 customers for its rewards plus program, bringing in $11 million in revenue.

Borders Group President Mike Edwards said during a conference call with analysts that a new strategic plan had not been in place long enough to improve results.

"We have a comprehensive, executable plan in place that supports our goal of transforming the iconic Borders brand into a profitable economic model over time," Edwards said on the call.

Borders faces a number of challenges ongoing challenges. It is competing directly as a walk in store with store giants like Walmart and Barnes & Noble, and online against the likes of Amazon.

"With Google, Amazon and Walmart, you have three 800-pound gorillas in the room. And you are a 98-pound competitor," Dalto said of Borders.

"If you go four years with all these losses, the core of your strategy is not working," Dalto said. "It is faulty. This just shows it."

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Posted on 10 December 2010 | 1:51 am

Hackers Crash Mastercard Site, Claim Cyberwar

 

WikiLeaks has hailed a ‘cyberwar' after hackers have illegally brought down Mastercard's official website mastercard.com, after the credit card company stopped donations going to the whistle-blowing website.

The hackers, dubbing themselves Anonymous, launched ‘Operation: Payback' following Mastercard's halting of donations by overloading the Mastercard website, making it unavailable at around lunchtime (and still unavailable at the time of writing).

A message on Twitter from @Anon_Operation, read: 'WE ARE GLAD TO TELL YOU THAT http://www.mastercard.com/ is DOWN AND IT'S CONFIRMED! '#ddos #wikileaks Operation:Payback(is a b****!) #PAYBACK'

Another, from AnonyWatcher, added - in a play on MasterCard's advertising: 'There are some things Wikileaks can't do. For everything else, there's Operation Payback.'

WikiLeaks Europe - also on Twitter - declared it was 'cyberwar'. The organisation said: 'Group That Took Down Swiss Bank Site Have Now Taken Down Mastercard.com.'

Mastercard said Monday that it was blocking payments because WikiLeaks was engaging in illegal activity, and soon after Visa followed suit as did other US organisations embarrassed by the site continues to embarrass the US political elite by publishing leaked diplomatic cables.

In a statement today, Mastercard confirmed it is "experiencing heavy traffic on its external corporate website" but claims it "remains accessible" and that "there is no impact whatsoever on our cardholders' ability to use their card for secure transactions."

The boycott has angered DataCell, the Iceland-based firm that enables Wikileaks to accept card payments. In a statement, DataCell CEO Andreas Fink confirmed that DataCell has "decided to take up immediate legal actions to make donations possible again."

Fink goes on: "The suspension of payments towards Wikileaks is a violation of the agreements with their customers. Visa users have explicitly expressed their will to send their donations to Wikileaks and Visa is not fulfilling this wish. It will probably hurt their brand much much more to block payments towards Wikileaks than to have them occur. Visa customers are contacting us in masses to confirm that they really donate and they are not happy about Visa rejecting them. It is obvious that Visa is under political pressure to close us down."

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Posted on 8 December 2010 | 8:15 am

Sebastien International - Episode 2 - Tokyo

Sebastien International - The Web Series

In October 2010, Australian entrepreneur Sebastien Eckersley-Maslin embarked on a bold business challenge: become the Smallest Multinational in the World. Follow Sebastien's whirlwind journey around the world as he attempts to prove that with the right entrepreneurial spirit, you don't need to be big to be big. Sebastien International tells the inspiring story of a unique business adventure.

Episode 2 - Tokyo

In February 2010, Sebastien Eckersley Maslin left the Australian Navy and became an Entrepreneur. Shortly after, he started a successful business in seven days with just AU$500. And now, he's taking on his biggest challenge ever: become the Smallest Multinational in the World. In episode 2, we join Sebastien in Tokyo.

 

Doing business in Japan is like a lesson in fine art. While the pace of Tokyo can make your head spin at street level, step inside the cool calm of any highrise and the attention to time honoured traditions is as detailed as an 18th century block print.

You'll also find that being skilled in these customs is powerful currency. The Japanese are extremely polite and place significance on respect and social rank. From ceremonial rituals like the exchange of business cards, to the importance of attire and the formality of meetings, etiquette is to be observed with reverence. Here are some tips that will help you make a good first impression and build a lasting relationship with your Japanese partners.

1. Exchanging business cards
The exchange of business cards during a meeting is a ceremony in itself. Always present your business card to the most senior member at the meeting first. Always bow when presenting or receiving a business card and handle with both hands. Always treat the business card with respect, take the time to read it carefully, never write on it or play with it. A symbol of your name and your credibility, business cards are very important in Japanese business culture.

2. What to wear
Business attire must be formal. Wear a dark suit with a white shirt and subdued tie, but steer clear of a black suit and tie worn with a white shirt, as this is traditional Japanese funeral attire. A red tie is traditionally the colour of someone heroic. The combination of red and white (tie and shirt) is also a symbol for auspicious or happy occasions (business meetings). Men in power - like the Presidents of the United States - are often seen sporting dark power suits with white shirts and a red tie.

3. Business meetings
Punctuality is a must in Japan. Arrive 10 minutes early and plan a detailed agenda. Wait to be seated in the meeting room, as it is customary for the most important or senior associate to sit the furthest away from the door. Business meetings are about relationship building and decisions are rarely made on the spot. Meetings may feel a bit slow and key details are often discussed in a round-about way - but don't mistake indirectness as non-commitment. Be patient, it will pay off. Silence is also a virtue, if things go quiet during a meeting do not panic, reflection is taking place.

4. Language
Another important aspect to consider is language. If you don't speak Japanese, your meetings will be done through an interpreter. Documents, presentations and even business cards need to be translated. It's important to find yourself a trusted partner on the ground in Japan to help you with these services and anticipate your needs if you visit regularly. This is where the services of a virtual office provider like Servcorp can be invaluable.

5. The Experience
The natural partner to a Tokyo business trip is a stay in a capsule hotel. You might choose a regular city hotel or even the more traditional Ryokan for the majority of your stay, but if you have a sense of adventure it's an experience not to be missed. Once inside, the capsules are larger than they appear, but still definitely not for the claustrophobic. Or those particularly sensitive to hospital style robes, communal showers and smoking. Sometimes all at once!

They might seem like small things, but the few pointers above can make all the difference to a trip to Japan for business. Take some time to consider them before you go and you'll be glad you did your homework.

Sebastien Eckersley-Maslin

Catch Episode 1 here.

And episode 3 here.

And episode 4 here.

Posted on 7 December 2010 | 3:26 am

Ian Read to Replace Jeffrey Kindler as Pfizer CEO

Pfizer, the world's largest pharmaceutical company has announced that CEO Jeffrey Kindler has retired, paving the way for global biopharmaceutical operations, Ian Read, as his successor.

Jeffrey Kindler cited his retirement was due to the "extremely demanding" role and the effects it had on him personally.

"The combination of meeting the requirements of our many stakeholders around the world and the 24/7 nature of my responsibilities has made this period extremely demanding on me personally," said Kindler in a prepared statement released late Sunday. "I am excited at the opportunity to recharge my batteries, spend some rare time with my family, and prepare for the next challenge in my career."

Ian Read will inherit a company who has reduced its workforce by 6000 employees, and its shares fall by 35 percent to $16.73, as of Dec. 3 in New York Stock Exchange trading. Pfizer will also lose patent protection in the U.S. next year for Lipitor, which had $11.4 billion in sales last year. While the drugmaker moved to make up for the loss by paying $68 billion last year to acquire Wyeth, adding the Enbrel arthritis treatment and Prevnar pneumonia vaccine, it also has had four setbacks this year in developing its research pipeline.

Pfizer also said yesterday it was creating a $75 million fund and new compliance panel to settle shareholders' lawsuits that charge top company officials failed to stop illegal marketing of drugs. Pfizer last year paid $2.3 billion to settle US claims it marketed treatments for unapproved purposes.

"It is in the best interests of the company and our shareholders to reach an agreement that allows us to put this matter behind us on favorable terms," Pfizer's Kerins said in an e-mail to Bloomberg. "Subject to court approval, the agreement includes measures that reinforce and build on existing provisions of our compliance program and that formalize actions the directors and officers undertook in connection with matters at issue."

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Posted on 6 December 2010 | 6:46 am

Samsung Galaxy Tab Hits 1 Million Sales

It may not have sold with the speed of its rival iPad, but the recently available Samsung Galaxy tablet has reached the one million sales plateau after only two months on the market.

The mark is a positive result for Samsung, who had come under scrutiny from Apple's Steve Jobs about the size of the Galaxy screen. At Apple's quarterly review, Job's claimed that a 10-inch screen was "the minimum required to create great tablet apps." He also expressed that 7-inch tablets like the Galaxy would be "DOA, dead on arrival and manufacturers will realize they're too small and abandon them next year. They'll then increase the size, abandoning the customers and developers who bought into the smaller format."

Despite a successful result for the Galaxy, the tablet still took a month longer to sell the same number of units as the iPad, however the result is still positive for Samsung and Google Android, the tablets operating system.

Samsung's success could be attributed to the popularity of its Galaxy S smartphones, which is sold by the majority of US carriers. According to a ComScore survey, 24.2 percent of the 3000 surveyed said they were using a Samsung phone or a similar Samsung device.

iPad have now estimated to have sold eight million tablets since hitting the market earlier this year, with fourth quarter sales peaking at four million.

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Posted on 6 December 2010 | 2:58 am

Google Comes Under Scrutiny from EU

The European Commission has launched an investigation against Google Inc. in light of claims that the company has abused its dominant position by penalising the search results of competing services.

Ciao.de, Foundem.co.uk, and Ejustice.fr prompted the antitrust investigation after making allegations that Google manipulates its search results to promote its own services above those offered by competitors. Foundem said in its complaint filed against Google in February 2010, "Google is exploiting its dominance of search in ways that stifle innovation, suppress competition, and erode consumer choice."

Should the allegations be proven that Google has abused a dominant position in online search, this would be in violation of European Union rules. However, the European Commission stresses that the launch of the investigation does not imply that it has any proof of infringements and states, "It only signifies that the Commission will conduct an in-depth investigation of the case as a matter of priority."

The Commission will probe whether Google has decreased the ranking of unpaid search results of competitors' services in favor of its own. It will also look into whether the ‘Quality Score' was lowered by Google, which influences the amount paid by advertisers to have their ad displayed with the search result.

Google denies deliberately lowering the ranking of competitors. In the case of Foundem, Google ascertains that the poor page ranking is due to that fact that the website duplicates a majority of its content from other sites.

However, the search engine giant has agreed to work with the EC. "Since we started Google we have worked hard to do the right thing by our users and our industry," Google stated, "But there's always going to be room for improvement, and so we'll be working with the Commission to address any concerns."

It is predicted to take six months for the EC to arrive at a conclusion over the investigation. In the worst-case scenario for Google, they could be fined up to $2.4 billion by the EC, although this is unlikely. To date, the largest fine raised in a similar case was against Intel for £930 million.

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Posted on 1 December 2010 | 8:06 am

JPMorgan Staff to Trial iPad

According to Bloomberg, JP Morgan is to issue its investment banking staff with iPad tablets as part of a six-month trial.

"We believe there are real benefits in our working environment that can be realised using this device - as well as the personal productivity and enjoyment that come as part of the package," two managing directors at New York-based JPMorgan said in an e-mail obtained by Bloomberg News.

Depending on its success we will evaluate if we should repeat this one time initiative and/or expand it to others," they are quoted as saying.

JPMorgan outlined that the trial will allow associates to access e-mails, contacts, calendar and attachments via the iPad, as well as have the ability to mark-up and annotate confidential documents and make client presentations, says Bloomberg.

"There are a variety of ways to leverage the iPad. Some work off-the-shelf whilst others rely on JPMorgan software/security tools," the managing directors wrote in the e-mail. "Depending on its success we will evaluate if we should repeat this one time initiative and/or expand it to others.

Shift away from RIM

With JPMorgan staff utilizing the iPad, competitors like Research in Motion (RIM) will have its work cut out to reconnect with financial institutions - RIM specifically have been the mobile of choice for Wall Street financiers, according to Finextra. In response, RIM has announced its plans to launch a tablet computer in Q1 of 2011. But it may be too late, as big ticket banks - including JPMorgan, BNP Paribas, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse - roll out client applications for the iPad.

The shake-up of the corporate smartphone market was demonstrated last month when it emerged that Bank of America and Citi are the latest financial services giants to consider letting their staff use iPhones and Google Android-based handsets as an alternative to BlackBerrys for corporate e-mail, following in the footsteps of JP Morgan Chase and Standard Chartered.

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Posted on 1 December 2010 | 7:57 am

Sebastien International - Episode 1 � Sydney

Sebastien International - The Web Series

In October 2010, Australian entrepreneur Sebastien Eckersley-Maslin embarked on a bold business challenge: become the Smallest Multinational in the World. Follow Sebastien's whirlwind journey around the world as he attempts to prove that with the right entrepreneurial spirit, you don't need to be big to be big. Sebastien International tells the inspiring story of a unique business adventure.

Episode 1 - Sydney

In February 2010, Sebastien Eckersley Maslin left the Australian Navy and became an Entrepreneur. Shortly after, he started a successful business in seven days with just AU$500. And now, he's taking on his biggest challenge ever: become the Smallest Multinational in the World. In episode 1, we join Seb at home in Sydney, preparing to set off to establish his business in Tokyo, Paris, London, New York and San Francisco in just 12 days.

So Sebastein, tell BM what you're doing right now.

Basically I'm in the middle of a round the world trip to become the world's smallest multi-national. It's a bit of a challenge. I'm also going do it in record time - two weeks. That's the end objective.

I'm no stranger to challenges. I've done a few of these business challenges in the past. One was a start-up in 7 days for under $500.00, a business which is still going today quite successfully. This is all just basically a way of inspiring other people and pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved in really just demonstrating that someone doesn't really have to be big to be big.

Tell us a bit more about Sebastien International. Sebastian International is the global organization. It's just a name. It's a branding exercise. The real business itself is called One for One, and it's basically an organization that for every product that you purchase through us, we donate a like product to someone of need.

It's just a really good way of increasing social conscience in consumers. I found through a lot of research that charities are fantastic and do a lot of good in the world, but people sometimes get a little disenfranchised about the whole charity concept.

They can't really see exactly what their donations actually do because charities work on a much larger scale. What One for One does is it gives people a direct understanding of exactly what their contribution is doing. So, for example, with a bottled water product, you buy a bottled water through One for One and we donate clean drinking water to a child in South Africa for a month. It's a very clear understanding of exactly what their purchases have done.

So talk us through the business model

Firstly, the One for One organization will promote other businesses in this space that currently do this, and there are others out there that already use this concept. We've got them on board already.

Secondly, we really want to show with One for One is that businesses can still have a charitable aspect and be profitable at the same time, and going to show that by having our own product line. So that's really where the actual business sense is.

So the One for One group is more of the marketing and PR aspect to the organization. We'll make our revenue in business in the actual One for One product line.

So why philanthropy?

Well for two reasons. One, I was heavily involved in the Club Kidpreneur Program in Australia, which is a not-for-profit organization that teaches our primary school children basic leader skills. I helped write the curriculum for that. I felt really good about doing that and I wanted to continue down that path.

Secondly, because this challenge is over a very short amount of time I needed a product or an idea that people would jump on and support. One for One is something people will get really excited about because they can see that you're doing good in the world.

It seemed like a really natural fit for this opportunity to go around the world and make a global organization, and also change the way people think and perceive products and consumerism.

Biggest challenges?

There have been a few challenges, some of which we've managed to overcome on the way. The biggest challenge is time. I'm doing this in a very short amount of time, but things are going well and the support of the virtual office provider, Servcorp, just made it so much easier because I had the staff, systems and office space I could call my own.

The other real challenge is that large organizations have long lead times. They'll only meet businesses who want to sell them something in certain time periods and if you're not in that one week period they won't even talk to you. So it's a bit of a challenge to get around that. Calling lots of personal favors, using LinkedIn to identify the exact individual I want to talk to and leveraging my network and going through agents is my way around that.

Catch episode 2 here.

And episode 3 here.

Ad episode 4 here.

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Posted on 1 December 2010 | 3:27 am

Google Could Buy Groupon Deals Site

Google, the internet giant is in talks to buy Groupon for $6 billion, according to sources from the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

The move would solidify Google's move into the local advertising space, adding a welcome addition to its multibillion-dollar online advertising business. The purchase would also extend Google's dominance against surging competition from Facebook, which has rolled out its own deals initiative last month.

If the deal is completed, it would be Google's biggest acquisition ever, easily surpassing the $3.1 billion it spent for online display advertising firm DoubleClick in 2007 and the $1.6 billion for YouTube in 2006.

"I give it a 70-30 chance of going through," says Martin Tobias, CEO and founder of Groupon rival Tippr. "It's something that Google needs to do."

Groupon has seen a meteoric rise since it began only two years ago. In just two years, Groupon has staked claims in more than 300 markets worldwide and has more than 33 million subscribers, making it one of the fastest-growing companies in history. The local advertising market is extremely lucrative, and according to BIA/Kelsey, a consulting firm, total spending will reach $133 billion in the US this year. According to analysts Groupon's customers will spend $500 million through the website this year.

The possible buy-out is not without risk for Google, as Groupon has stiff competitors, yet Lou Kerner, a social media analyst at Wedbush Securities, said he's betting that Groupon has staying power.

"What we've seen is new businesses on the Internet can emerge and be immensely valuable. Quite often, the first company in these kinds of new and emerging fields on the Internet gain market share and continue to be the leaders," he said. "There's every reason to believe that Groupon will continue to grow and continue to command significant market share."

"Google's got the cash to spend, and Groupon is one of the few properties worth hunting. If Google buys Groupon, we will have to wait and see if it's worth the premium Google has to pay," BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis said.

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Posted on 1 December 2010 | 2:28 am

Walmart Buying 51 Percent Stake in Massmart

Walmart - the biggest retailer in the world - has made a formal bid for the South African Massmart, a deal that would help Walmart's move into the fast-growing African market.

"South Africa possesses attractive market dynamics, favorable demographic trends and a growing economy," executive vice president Andy Bond said in a statement.

According to Reuters the offer is 148 rand a share, or 15.2 billion rand ($2.13 billion) which would account for a 51 percent stake, meaning Walmart would have the majority share. In September Walmart confirmed it was looking to purchase all of the South African retailer, but scaled back its bid to 51 percent in order to keep the retailer listed in Johannesburg - something that was critical in gaining regulatory approval.

Massmart, with 290 stores in 13 countries in Africa, is the continent's third-largest distributor of consumer goods, the leading retailer of general merchandise, liquor and home improvement equipment and supplies, and it is the leading wholesaler of basic foods.

"The more we learn about South Africa and the surrounding countries the more we are convinced that this is an important region with attractive growth characteristics," said Doug McMillon, president and chief executive of Wal-Mart International. "This combination fits perfectly with our strategy to enter high-growth markets in which we can apply our global expertise and generate strong returns."

Walmart were quick to reiterate that it will honor all existing contracts with organized labor bodies after labor unions spoke out against the proposed tie-up, accusing Walmart of poor labor relations and arguing its arrival in South Africa will hurt suppliers.

Walmart's overseas business now accounts for 25 percent of its total revenue.

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Posted on 29 November 2010 | 2:34 am

Lego Lays Building Blocks for New Business Model

Traditionally a family run business, Lego Group has made drastic changes within its business strategy bringing on Jorgen Vig Knudstorp as CEO.

From its humble beginnings in 1932, Lego has gone from strength to strength and has grown to be a global enterprise and a household name; it is now the fifth-largest toy manufacturer globally.

However, after decades of success, the toy giant began to lose footing in 1998, and by 2003 had made record losses. Kjelf Kirk Kristiansen, grandson of Lego's founder, put a substantial sum of his own money into the company, but it soon became apparent that a more dramatic change was needed. In 2004, the decision was made for 36-year-old Jorgen Vig Knudstorp to replace Kristiansen as CEO. This marked a significant transformation in Lego's business model, as, for the first time, the company would be run by someone removed from the Kristiansen family.

Although he had only been with the company for three years, Knudstorp had the advantage of being able to offer a unique perspective as an outsider to the company. After graduating from the University of Aarhus, Denmark, with a BA in Economics and PhD in Business Economics, Knudstorp began his career as an Engagement Consultant at McKinsey & Company before joining Lego Group as Director of Strategic Development in 2001.

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Since taking up the position of CEO, Knudstorp has driven the design of Lego's new business model and system around the question ‘why do we exist'? Instead of diversifying the business further into new areas, he encouraged the concept of ‘rediscovering Lego' and focusing on what made Lego unique as a company. "So, that was the question; getting back to the simple thing that makes you really unique, and then everything else evolves from that question," he tells MeetTheBoss.tv.

Knudstorp believes that Lego's diversification strategy in the 1990s was too ambitious and fast moving, "I think it's a golden rule in business that most companies don't die from starvation; they die from indigestion because there is so much opportunity if you open your eyes to it," he explains. "One rule I stick to is that you can only really build an adjacency to your core business every three to five years because it is such a major undertaking in terms of culture and capabilities. That's what we did wrong in the past: rather than doing it every three to five years, we did three to five adjacencies every year. That is what nearly killed us."

Focus returned to Lego's most successful and traditional favourites - its building system for children - and abandoned products such as Legoland, which had become a distraction from the company's main product line. Emphasis was placed on the quality of the moulding and the precision of the manufacturing process.

Under Jorgen's leadership, Lego's profits have again skyrocketed from a €259 million net loss in 2004, to making an astonishing €181.5 million net profit in 2008. The future is once again looking bright for the Danish toy company.

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Posted on 26 November 2010 | 8:14 am

Johnson & Johnson Recalls Benadryl Allergy Tablets

Johnson & Johnson has recalled four million packages of Children's Benadryl allergy tablets and 800,000 bottles of junior-strength Motrin caplets. The news is a setback for the world's largest healthcare manufacturer, as it is still reeling from a number of recent high-profile recalls.

Although J&J didn't confirm particulars about the recall, it did state that the products were safe and were still useable, citing that there were "insufficiencies in the development of the manufacturing process."

"There is no indication that the recalled products do not meet quality standards," the company said in a notice posted last week on the individual websites of the drugs, "and this recall is not being undertaken on the basis of adverse effects."

The recalls were made at in Fort Washington, after a review of manufacturing procedures at McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a subsidiary based there. The review was launched back in April after a FDA inspection uncovered several deficiencies. McNeil also ordered the recall of 146 million bottles of children's medication made at the facility, including liquid Tylenol, Motrin, and Benadryl. The plant remains closed.

Specifically, children's Benadryl allergy Fastmelt tablets, in cherry and grape flavours, and junior-strength Motrin caplets, 24 count were recalled. The medicines have a wide circulation, including distribution in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Belize, Barbados, St. Martin, and St. Thomas.

The recall adds further pressure on J&J, who recalled thousands of vials of anti-cancer drug Velcade following reports of white particles floating in the medicine. The recalls were carried initiated in January and June in Europe, Japan, Malaysia and the US. Europe was the most affected, with 195,000 vials requested back.

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Posted on 24 November 2010 | 7:31 am

The Turn Back to Globalization in HR

Globalization across workforces has seen exponential growth in the last two decades, and after a dip during the most recent recession, is now emerging again within HR, creating challenges as well as opportunities, and tremendous uncertainty.

In a new major study by the IBM Institute for Business Value, more than 700 chief HR officers and senior executives from 61 countries and 31 industries worldwide found that China and India are leading the way by increasingly hiring in North America and Europe. In fact, the study found 45 percent of companies in India and 33 percent of companies in China plan to increase their head count in North America alone.

The study outlines the new global workforce that is emerging as companies start to deploy talent globally once again in order to achieve their corporate objectives.

In the past, North America has always been perceived as a fertile state for workers from the east, however there is a distinct change today, as North American companies' struggle to stop top talent from seeking better opportunities in the east.

"Western companies used to be able to attract workers from India or China, for example, because of the quality of life they could have here. But the economies there are growing fast, and the quality of life and lifestyle available to people from those countries in their home country is quickly becoming similar to that in North America. The bright people of the world may want to stay where they were or go back home," says Ian Cook, director, research & learning at the B.C. Human Resources Management Association.

The market for skilled workers is back to being global and highly competitive. "You can't think of it in any other terms and therefore it is expensive to play in it because you've got relocation costs, all the costs of managing talent and competing for it across the globe," Mr. Cook says.

Many of the world's top HR executives will be at the HR Summit to discuss globalization issues, as well as important HR topics including creating a corporate culture of health, developing an integrated talent management strategy, CHRO challenges for 2011, the importance of effective compensation plans and methods for businesses keen to retain their top talent.

Those on hand will include: David Fairhurst, VP People, McDonald's; Ceree Eberly, Chief People Officer, The Coca-Cola Company; Desiree Dancy, Chief Diversity Officer and VP Corporate Human Resources, The New York Times Company; Michele Golden, VP Talent Management, Time Warner; Shannon Brown, CHRO, FedEx and Felicia Fields, Group VP HR and Corporate Services, Ford Motor Company.

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Posted on 24 November 2010 | 3:51 am

PayPal to Introduce Online Purchasing on TV?

PayPal is working with a US cable TV consortium to develop a new 'T-commerce' initiative in which consumers can pay for goods and services on their television.

The prototype service is being created at Canoe Ventures Innovation Lab, according to reports it is a 'test bed' environment created by the cable collective. Canoe's members include Bright House Networks, Cablevision Systems, Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox Communications, and Time Warner Cable.

The consortium has invited Catalina Marketing, Delivery Agent, FourthWall Media, icueTV, and PayPal to address the use of RFI and T-commerce in interactive television.

Osama Bedier, vice president of platform, mobile and new ventures at PayPal explains the concept on the company blog:

"Today, I'm happy to say we're one step closer to equipping every living room in America with T-commerce powered by PayPal. We're working with Canoe Ventures, which was founded by the country's leading cable operators to create interactive products and services, to make this a reality. Other major players that have joined us include Catalina Marketing, Delivery Agent, FourthWall Media and icueTV. Canoe's "test bed" is Canoe Ventures Innovation Lab, where work is already underway.

"Together, we are pushing forward the very future of television as an interactive shopping experience that harnesses the ease and safety of PayPal. Imagine this: lounging on your couch and channel surfing, then finding that perfect birthday present. A few clicks of your remote, and you've purchased the gift via your PayPal account. Pretty cool, right?!

"We at PayPal believe that the wallet should live and will live "in the cloud." Internet-connected devices will be the very fabric of the digital lifestyle. And as televisions increasingly become Internet enabled, they open up whole new avenues for new ways to connect and sell to consumers directly. We are proud to support our developers as they push forward with this vision."

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Posted on 23 November 2010 | 8:46 am

The Daily - Murdoch�s Exclusive Tablet Alternative

Rupert Murdoch, the News Corp. CEO is planning on an iPad newspaper, according to reports. ‘The Daily', as it will be called, will have 100+ staff and break stories like similar news outlets.

Unlike Reuters and other online news resources, ‘The Daily' won't be free, with initial costs around $.99 a week. ‘The Daily' will not have foreign correspondents or any staff in Washington D.C.

"There are three managing editors," reports John Koblin of WWD Media. "Mike Nizza, a veteran of The New York Times, AOL News and The Atlantic; Steve Alperin, a producer at ABC News, and Pete Picton, an online editor at The Sun in the U.K. Alperin's TV experience gives a hint to a valuable part of the newsroom: In addition to journalists, there will be plenty of people producing videos. Also, there will be lots of design staff."

‘The Daily' will be exclusive to the iPad and other tablets, meaning it will not be available on normal desktops, or printed as a hard copy. According to reports, "It will be produced into the evening, and then a button will be pushed and it will be ‘printed' for the next morning. There will be updates - the number of which is still under discussion - but not at the velocity or with the urgency of a news website."

Murdoch is outlaying $30 million for the news outlet.

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Posted on 23 November 2010 | 2:13 am

Photos of New Orleans Neighborhoods: The Marigny

Here is another in my series on New Orleans neighborhoods taken in December 2011. This post covers the Marigny neighborhood. The Marigny (often referred to as Faubourg Marigny) is a subdistrict of the Bywater District Area, its boundaries as defined...

Posted on 5 February 2012 | 2:35 am

Links for 2012-02-04 [del.icio.us]

Snippets - Corporate EpistemologyCulture Eats Strategy For Lunch | Fast Company http://johntropea.tumblr.com/post/17074784855/gauge-your-culture-look-at-the-way-decisions-areLotusphere: IBM demos social lab projects including business gamification tool - The Frontline - a blog from V3.co.ukInfoQ: Social + Lean = Agile http://johntropea.tumblr.com/post/17079954786/where-compliance-dictates-specific-proceduresBabies should not be ...

Posted on 5 February 2012 | 1:44 am

Social Wisdom in Seattle

First, I wanted to give readers a heads up that I’ll be in Seattle this Friday and Saturday. I’ll spend Friday afternoon at the University of Washington, meeting with some of their outstanding computer science doctoral students. My schedule filled up with unexpected haste! But if you’re on campus and urgently want [...]

Posted on 4 February 2012 | 1:08 pm

New Orleans Restaurants December 2011

On this trip I wanted try as many new places as I could. I started off with dinner at the Maringy Brasserie, 640 Frenchmen Street near the music clubs (504) 945-4472. I had an excellent blackened red fish with crawfish...

Posted on 4 February 2012 | 2:33 am

Links for 2012-02-03 [del.icio.us]

Wanted: Knowledge Assets – Dead or Alive? « All of us are smarter than any of us… http://johntropea.tumblr.com/post/16971322682/km-a-balance-of-extractionism-and-connectivism5 Social Business Truths « I'm Not Actually a GeekKnowledge Management in 2012? Probably Dead

Posted on 4 February 2012 | 1:33 am

Big Data: Will Open Source Software Challenge BI & Analytics Software Vendors

Predictive Analytics has been billed as the next big thing for almost fifteen years, but hasn’t gained mass acceptance so far the way ERP and CRM solutions have. One of the main reason for this is the high upfront investment required in Software, Hardware and Talent for implementing a Predictive Analytics solution. As a result, only [...]

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 6:53 pm

Announcing A New Blogging Relationship with Forbes

A few weeks ago, I posted an update on my blogging activities that explained why I was blogging less here. That post also promised some additional news in the near future about a new blogging relationship. I am happy to … Continue reading →

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 4:08 pm

Citi Pond at Bryant Park, and New York Public Library, 1:00PM

Photographed from the 24th floor of 1065 Avenue of the Americas (Bryant Park Corporation). Permalink

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 8:54 am

Your Brand is About Emotion

I know I’ve talked about it in the past, but it bears repeating, your brand is entirely about evoking an emotional response…we buy from brands we like.  In fact, if your brand invokes anything less than passion, you’re missing the mark and that means you’re missing opportunity. While I work with, and talk about, this [...]

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 7:47 am

Teams in organisations need both Online pages and Online groups

Usually Business Units (BU’s) have a HTML profile page on the Intranet…this is where you go to read what a BU is about, what they offer, who the contacts are, etc…but these pages are usually slow to update and non-interactive. Some BU’s suggested to me that since their online Community of Practice (online group) [...]

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 6:47 am

Remember When Social Media Was Simple and Mostly Blogs?

I was reading a blog post, Corporations at Risk From Social Media Adoption Issues, by Brett Greene, or maybe it is an online newspaper article since it is on the Huffington Post, with the tag line: the internet newspaper: news,...

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 2:36 am

Links for 2012-02-02 [del.icio.us]

In The Next Version - Don’t Cross The StreamsSnippets - Window of viability : resilience vs efficiencySnippets - Constraints in the unknowableThe Interplay Games Experiment — DeepFUN http://johntropea.tumblr.com/post/16922311266/the-kids-who-had-played-together-worked-better

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 1:35 am

The Global Handset Business In A Chart

via ben-evans.com

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 12:46 pm

URL Management for a Global Business

I just published my first blog post on the Lionbridge blogs site.  It’s all about managing URLs for global websites and discusses when to use TLDs, sub-domains, and paths.  Here is the link:  URL Management for a Global Business.

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 8:54 am

Links for 2012-02-01 [del.icio.us]

Patterns amid Complexity | Synthesis http://johntropea.tumblr.com/post/16861898993/complex-systems-include-patterns-randomness-does-notinformal coalitions: A lateral view of organizational complexity – Part 2: Non-linear dynamics http://johntropea.tumblr.com/post/16862125242/polarization-from-categorisation http://johntropea.tumblr.com/post/16862907116/the-criticality-of-initial-conditions40 Social Media Curation Sites and Tools ...

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 1:41 am

Network Security Podcast, Episode 266

We’re a day late, but we still managed to get this week’s show recorded! Rich is soaking up sun (or “teaching”, as he claims) in Cancún, Mexico, so we decided to rope in the illustrious Mike “Rybolov” Smith to discuss, surprise-surprise, privacy and monitoring. Network Security Podcast, Episode 266, February 1, 2012 Time:  42:36 Show Notes: [...]

Posted on 1 February 2012 | 1:45 pm

Standing Desk 2.0

If you follow the blog, you may remember several months ago that I built myself a standing desk out of some cheap lumber and plywood I had in the garage.  It took an afternoon to build and was a proof of concept as to whether or not I’d actually like working at a standing desk.  [...]

Posted on 26 January 2012 | 7:59 pm

Kill pcAnywhere right now!

If you haven’t already heard, the code base for Symantec’s pcAnywhere was stolen in 2006, and bad guys are now using that code against the installed base of users in the wild.  This sort of compromise really isn’t anything that new or different.  But what is different is that Symantec is now telling users to [...]

Posted on 25 January 2012 | 7:40 pm

Network Security Podcast, Episode 265

Unless you were hiding under a rock the last few weeks you’ve probably heard about the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), Protect IP Act (PIPA) and their even more evil brother Anti-counterfiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).  Many sites went dark last week, including Securosis, in protest and SOPA/PIPA were at least stalemated for the moment, if [...]

Posted on 24 January 2012 | 7:04 pm

SOPA was only an opening salvo

I generally try to stay out of the political arena on the blog, mostly because politics is such a contentious topic in and of itself.  And I’ve been staying away from SOPA in particular because there’s been so much coverage that one more voice added to the choir wouldn’t have done anything.  The music and [...]

Posted on 20 January 2012 | 7:41 am

Network Security Podcast, Episode 264

As Zach prepares for his jaunt down to Miami Beach, Rich waxes paranoid about his newfangled Microsoft-powered car — and the prospect of Martin remotely hacking throttling the engine.  It’s hard to imagine a few of Rich’s ‘friends’ won’t try hard to get their hands on his new remote and the system port on his [...]

Posted on 10 January 2012 | 5:10 pm

Open tabs 01/09/12

Still feels a little funny to be putting the ’12′ in the year column, doesn’t it?  I’m sure the feeling will go away by March or April.  And it’s getting started as an interesting year already, with Symantec’s source code and courts approving warrantless GPS monitoring.  I bet neither of those were captured in the [...]

Posted on 9 January 2012 | 7:24 am

Network Security Podcast, Episode 263

It’s our first show of the New Year… wherein Rich describes server upgrades good and bad, being a victim in a data breach, and we discuss the rest of the latest news. We have to say, it’s a weird start to the year. Network Security Podcast, Episode 263, January 3, 2012 Time: 36:45 Show Notes: [...]

Posted on 3 January 2012 | 5:20 pm

Open Tabs 12/26/11

Christmas is over!  I hope yours was good, but I personally find the whole build up and let down stressful and I’m glad when it’s done with.  Especially the part where my kids are home from school for a week and whine every time I tell them to get out of the house for a [...]

Posted on 26 December 2011 | 7:00 am

Southern Fried Network Security Podcast

This is Martin, and while I know we said we weren’t going to do another podcast this year, I got started talking to Martin Fisher over at the Southern Fried Podcast and we decided, “What the heck, let’s do one more this year and thank all our listeners for supporting us!”  It was supposed to [...]

Posted on 20 December 2011 | 5:27 pm

facebook knows so much about you! Will they succeed in advertising to you?

People click on facebook ads at half the rate of banner ads! Given their planned IPO, will they be successful in the long run making money from advertising? More importantly how about the creepiness factor in facebook pitching you knowing so much about you, your friends and what all of you like or dislike?

Posted on 5 February 2012 | 2:32 pm

Private and National Oil Majors - who needs who more?

When asked to name the Oil Majors, names such as Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, Chevron and Total are the first to come to one’s mind. The likes of National Iranian Oil Company, Saudi Aramco, PDVSA (Venezuela) and Gazprom come later. But the fact is that it is the latter - the state backed oil firms - who are the true claimants to the title “Oil Majors”

Posted on 5 February 2012 | 12:16 pm

Linux divisions

Linus Torvalds released Linux on 5 October 1991, and by 1998 IBM was experimenting with it. In 2000 it was properly available on mainframes – along with the specialty processor IFL (Integrated Facility for Linux). The rest, as they say, is history.

Posted on 5 February 2012 | 5:05 am

Apple Revises Snow Leopard Security Update and Pulls 10.7.3 Delta Update

As you probably noticed, Macs are definitely outside my expertise (and interest). However, I suspect some of you are using (or know someone who is using) a Mac, so I thought it was worth posting this. Apple Revises Snow Leopard Security Update and ...

Posted on 5 February 2012 | 4:09 am

MODELing with Analytic Function, A Second Example

A MODEL approach to a problem on Tom Kyte's ASKTOM

Posted on 4 February 2012 | 4:42 pm

Project Management Lite: Estimating–Intro

The estimating methodology has as its objectives: •    to ensure that estimates are prepared based upon the production of specific, unambiguous and quantitative deliverables •    to ensure that several estimators...

Posted on 4 February 2012 | 12:21 pm

The Grime is the Crime

Well I expected the fifty yards of cable to be doing something, or going somewhere and connecting some piece of equipment to some other piece of equipment instead of just being coiled up...

Posted on 4 February 2012 | 1:09 am

APAR Friday 2: A HIPER closed for RECOVER

(Posted February 3, 2012) I know I already did an “APAR Friday” post for today, that’s why the title has a 2 in it.  The other reason for a second post is that I came across something interesting tonight.  I try to scan as many closed APARs as possible to find bet...

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 9:47 pm

Chess is a Great Teacher: Life Lessons from Chess Grandmaster Henrik Danielsen

An article devoted to Chessgrandmaster Heinrik Danielsen, and how his chess videos relate to IT Strategy.

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 5:03 pm

Clouds Are Like Electricity: Dont Be Scared

IT clouds (compute, applications, storage, and services) are like electricity in that they can be scary or confusing to some while being enabling or a necessity s to others not to mention being a polarizing force depending on where you sit or view them.

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 4:22 pm

Do You Recognize Exceptional Performers?

I think everyone has experienced this at least once. The manager who feels the need to take personal credit for everything good that happens on the team or in the department. If anyone notices something the team...

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 12:04 pm

Disabling SSL v2 in Server 2008 x64 and Server 2008 R2

Clear instructions go a long way, especially concerning registry changes! Microsoft could learn a lot about technical writing from it's users as you'll discover in this article!

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 11:14 am

Ending the Con-Fusion Over PeopleSoft and Middleware

So even though versions of PeopleTools from 8.48 forward are considered “optimized,” it seems clear that only someone on a full employment for programmers mission could view this solution as optimal.

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 10:52 am

DB2 Best Practices -- 16.6 -- Subsystem Health Specifics

To measure overall DB2 subsystem health we break it down into classes ...

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 10:00 am

Federal Mobile Strategy: Increasing Access to Mission-Critical Data & Streamlining IT

Last August, I wrote a blog post discussing the federal cloud computing initiative launched by then-U.S. CIO Vivek Kundra and his Cloud-First policy developed to motivate agencies to adopt cloud computing projects and reduce overall spending and energy expenditure. On the heels of his endeavor comes a new federal mobile strategy intended to increase productivity and realize cost-savings.

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 8:48 am

It is the fine points which count.

Modern operating systems are pretty much equal in terms of functionality nowadays. It doesn't matter what operating system you use there are programs for that operating system which give you the ability to do anything you wish on a computer.

 

Naturally the way in which your computing goals can be achieved will possibly be different. For example. Perhaps you wish to make a table

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 8:12 am

APAR Friday: HIPER - Potential optimization problem using frequency, histogram statistics

(Posted February 3, 2012) Although gathering frequency and histogram statistics can in some cases be a performance life saver, it seems there are occasions that those same frequency and histogram statistics can also get you into to trouble in the from of a not too good access path being chosen. APAR PM54681 could remedy the situation.

Posted on 3 February 2012 | 3:47 am

Monitoring connectivity for multiple database servers

The need has come up lately for needing to monitor connectivity issues for 100+ MSSQL servers and 20 Oracle servers. What is a good, quick way of doing this?

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 6:55 pm

The Three Ps of Mentoring and Being Mentored

I have been fortunate over the course of my career to benefit from the advice of some very smart people who were willing to mentor and teach me. That being said, I wish I could say that every "boss" or manager I've...

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 10:53 am

Megaupload's Series of Unfortunate Events

The recent government shutdown of Megaupload, a massive file-sharing service said to house a substantial amount of copyrighted media, has put into motion a series of unfortunate events and provided valuable lessons learned.

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 9:01 am

We Need to Define Business Requirements for ERP: Where Do We Start?

Most businesses know that ERP success hinges on an ability to translate business needs into ERP needs. The problem is that many may not know how to define business needs in an appropriate way. Which business needs are relevant? At what stage of a project should they be defined? And, what's a good methodology to ensure that all of the right rocks are turned over? In this article, we breakdown an

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 8:32 am

Symantec drops don't-use advice, gives pcAnywhere all-clear

Looks like Symantec has taken what it feels are sufficient actions to retract the “Do not use”  alert for pcAnywhere. Be sure to apply the patches (or upgrade to 12.5) and read the article from Network World before you jump back in… Symantec dr...

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 4:26 am

Cloud computing in financial service organizations

While technology seems to be the cost and time efficiency driver in many industries, cloud computing is the emerging solution for the financial service industry, especially capital markets.

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 4:11 am

What You Should Know About ERP Systems and SOX Compliance

Nearly a decade after the implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) at publicly traded US-based companies, the verdict is still out on whether or not the law has had a material impact on fraud, breakdown in internal controls, and other problems that the regulation is intended to address. Regardless, SOX is a reality that impacts many organizations in many ways, including how they implement

Posted on 1 February 2012 | 4:31 pm

A somewhat new parm for workload manager (WLM)

(Posted February 1, 2012) Way back on March 16, 2011 an APAR closed that impacted how many WLM environment address spaces WLM would choose to start or leave started.  traditionally WLM will decide when to start and when to stop one of its environment address spaces. ...

Posted on 1 February 2012 | 2:57 pm

Proctor & Gamble shifting advertising from TV and billboards to facebook and google?

P&G's CEO has suddenly discovered that advertising on facebook and Google can be a substitute for spending money on TV, Billboards and other forms of advertising. Is search and social media the new ways to reach billions of people?

Posted on 1 February 2012 | 2:39 pm

Top 10 Predictions for 2012- ERP Implementations

This Blog talks about the top 10 predictions for 2012- ERP Implementations based on Author's perspective of where the market is headed and how the services are likely to be delivered.

Posted on 1 February 2012 | 10:59 am

Oracle ADF-Swing going the way of the dinosaur!

One of my favorite technologies is going extinct! Time for Grails based Web 2.0 development.

Posted on 1 February 2012 | 7:03 am

Firefox & Thunderbird 10.0 have been released

If you are on the bleeding edge or automatically updating, both Firefox and Thunderbird 10.0 have been released. http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/ http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/

Posted on 1 February 2012 | 4:48 am

Some examples of the entertainment industry making things look like magic

I know that many of us cringe at some of the absurd simplifications that movies and TV make about computers and software. My favorite was in War Games (with Matthew Broderick) how suddenly every computer had text to voice, but they all had to use mod...

Posted on 1 February 2012 | 4:37 am

Citizen gateway gov.uk runs on Amazon

Can it be that the UK government actually gets the cloud? Its gov.uk trial runs on Amazon and is aiming for savings of 80 to 90 percent.

Posted on 1 February 2012 | 7:39 am

Planetary-scale computing

If you really want to know how to build a cloud, look at how Google architects its data center infrastructure to produce economies of scale at a global level

Posted on 31 January 2012 | 12:56 pm

Why you can't afford to resist the cloud

Large and small enterprises are creating new business opportunities through their use of the cloud, at the expense of those who are slower to adapt.

Posted on 27 January 2012 | 2:48 pm

Opening enterprise collaboration to the world

UK-headquartered cloud collaboration platform Huddle is targeting enterprise customers with an unlimited user edition and a generous uptime guarantee.

Posted on 24 January 2012 | 4:06 pm

The cloud is forked

Enterprises are adopting two types of cloud. One is less risky but inherently flawed. The other offers greater rewards but very few so far have succeeded with it.

Posted on 22 January 2012 | 2:44 pm

Shock as tech news site researches own story

Kudos to InfoWorld for researching and breaking its story about the sudden-death vulnerability built into every Oracle database. This is a classic piece of technology journalism, researched over a two-month period during which the editorial team “conducted our own tests, verified information with sources we believe to be reliable, and consulted extensively with Oracle itself.”Such [...]

Posted on 18 January 2012 | 5:46 am

2011: the cloud has landed

Cloud became mainstream in 2011. Looking back, it’s extraordinary to see how far we’ve come in the year.

Posted on 27 December 2011 | 11:54 am

Santa's army of electronic helpers

Even on Christmas Day, consumers today can download gifts and purchases, served by a silent army of electronic servers and switches.

Posted on 25 December 2011 | 5:20 pm

Ambivalence in Europe and the cloud

The UK wielding its veto in Europe reminds me of the attitude many IT folk have towards cloud. The good news is that providers are starting to recognise and accommodate enterprise concerns.

Posted on 15 December 2011 | 11:40 am

Appirio acquires Saaspoint for push into Europe

US-based cloud integrator Appirio has announced it is buying long-established European pureplay Salesforce.com integrator Saaspoint to lead its charge into Europe.

Posted on 9 December 2011 | 1:42 am

Are There Too Many Storage Solutions?

It's a challenge to sort through the maze of storage products to find a solution to your problem--but it's better than not having choices.

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Posted on 30 January 2012 | 12:18 pm

Smartphone Adoption Higher In Europe

More U.S. consumers hold on to feature phones and dumb phones. Are U.S. carriers to blame?

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Posted on 30 January 2012 | 10:46 am

Solid State Storage Can Save You Money

Solid-state storage is still expensive. Is it worth the benefits?

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Posted on 26 January 2012 | 11:29 am

Smartphone Option Overload Confuses Consumers

Vendors have bombarded consumers with conflicting information about smartphone costs, network data speeds, and features, slowing adoption and upgrade rates.

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Posted on 26 January 2012 | 8:54 am

Google Has Lost Control Of Android Fragmentation

Fragmentation allows variety among device makers, but can cause frustration for developers and lower satisfaction among end users.

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Posted on 25 January 2012 | 10:17 am

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Posted on 25 January 2012 | 10:17 am

RIM Investors Give Thumbs Down On New CEO

Stock drops after new chief Thorsten Heins said he'll stay the course laid out by his predecessors.

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Posted on 24 January 2012 | 9:45 am

Windows Phone Predicted To Overtake iOS By 2015

Nokia partnership will launch Microsoft's platform to second place in global smartphone market share, iSuppli forecasts.

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Posted on 23 January 2012 | 9:35 am

Solid State Disk's True Cost

IT pros focus on SSD's hefty startup costs, but you must consider other costs when evaluating the storage technology.

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Posted on 20 January 2012 | 10:40 am

Can Nokia Crack The Verizon Nut?

To be successful in North America, you have to have a device on the biggest network, Verizon.

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Posted on 20 January 2012 | 9:30 am

Why RIM Should Cut BlackBerry Losses

RIM's best move may be to cut its losses on BlackBerry 10 and adopt Android or Windows Phone instead.

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Posted on 19 January 2012 | 9:55 am

Biggest Storage Trend of 2012

Performance management skills--in both software and IT professionals--promises to be the biggest storage story this year.

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Posted on 18 January 2012 | 8:00 am

Microsoft Releases Windows 8 Tablet Specs

Microsoft's forthcoming tablets have the bar set high for minimum hardware requirements.

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Posted on 18 January 2012 | 6:30 am

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Posted on 17 January 2012 | 12:54 pm

RIM Taps Goldman Sachs To Explore Options

Is hiring the investment firm a sign that the BlackBerry maker is ready to seriously entertain buyout offers?

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Posted on 17 January 2012 | 12:54 pm

Big Data Changes Storage Needs

Growth of unstructured data forces IT managers to look for new ways to scale storage capabilities, with cloud storage a leading option.

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Posted on 13 January 2012 | 2:07 pm

Verizon Gains More Than Consumers With LTE Shift

To ease traffic on its 3G network, Verizon wants all future smartphone releases to support LTE.

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Posted on 13 January 2012 | 12:59 pm

Windows Phones To Flood Market In 2012

Microsoft failed to gain much ground in the mobile phone market in 2011, but its partners should help it grab a piece of the market this year.

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Posted on 12 January 2012 | 1:02 pm

Nokia Promises Exclusive Phones To U.S. Carriers

Will unique devices appease carriers and change Nokia's Microsoft Phone fortunes?

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Posted on 11 January 2012 | 1:06 pm

2 Storage Management Trends To Watch In 2012

Why are consolidated storage and compute infrastructures hot now? Storage management issues can cause virtualization projects to slow down or stall.

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Posted on 10 January 2012 | 12:55 pm

Tips For Multi-Platform Mobile App Development

New Forrester report has advice for enterprises supporting the consumerization of IT.

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Posted on 10 January 2012 | 9:01 am

Apple's Cool Factor Waning?

Apple's best years are behind it, opines one financial reporter. Really? We don't see anyone getting a Samsung tattoo.

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Posted on 6 January 2012 | 12:30 pm

Flash Dependent Storage Systems Take Off In 2012

Whether flash-only, or a combination of flash and mechanical storage, the technology is poised for significant gains.

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Posted on 5 January 2012 | 12:06 pm

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Posted on 5 January 2012 | 12:06 pm

SMS Text Messaging Declines

SMS isn't going away, but looks to have peaked. That hits carriers in the pocketbook.

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Posted on 5 January 2012 | 9:30 am

Will Windows Phone Take Off In 2012?

Microsoft has two updates planned for its mobile platform next year, and its application store has a lot of apps. Will it spur sales?

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Posted on 29 December 2011 | 7:17 am

Will RAID Die In 2012?

The time it takes to rebuild a RAID-protected volume makes it unwieldy with today's high-capacity drives.

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Posted on 28 December 2011 | 10:33 am

Androids Everywhere, But Update Model Broken

In 2011, 93 different Android phones have been released across nine U.S. carriers. But there's a downside to this diversity.

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Posted on 28 December 2011 | 8:00 am

Will The FAA Relax Electronic Device Restrictions?

Longstanding rules that require you to turn off your iPads and Kindles during airplane takeoff and landing may have no basis in science.

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Posted on 28 December 2011 | 7:25 am

Mobile App Inventory Crosses 1 Million Mark

Apple's App Store is the biggest, but it's the only one of seven app stores that didn't post double-digit growth in 2011.

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Posted on 22 December 2011 | 8:55 am

Move Data Closer To Apps

The future of location-based storage tiering will be dependent on vendors being able to orchestrate movement of active data closer to the application.

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Posted on 21 December 2011 | 1:11 pm

Android Lost Ground In November

After two years on the rise, Google declined in mobile ad impressions in November. Will the Kindle Fire reverse the recent trend?

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Posted on 21 December 2011 | 9:15 am

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Posted on 21 December 2011 | 9:15 am

Data Tiering By Storage Location

Tiering systems in the future will move data within storage systems, to different storage systems, and even into the server hosting the application.

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Posted on 20 December 2011 | 10:34 am

PlayBook: An Anchor Dragging RIM Down

Even BlackBerry owners don't want Research In Motion's tablet. When will RIM cut its losses and move on?

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Posted on 20 December 2011 | 10:15 am

Why Developers Still Target iOS Ahead Of Android

There potentially is more money to be made developing for Apple's iPhone, even though Android has more users.

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Posted on 19 December 2011 | 9:17 am

Young Adults Drive Smartphone Sales

It is no surprise that the younger generation is in love with smartphones, but all age groups are increasingly embracing the technology.

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Posted on 16 December 2011 | 11:13 am

Why Your Phone Hasn't Been Updated Yet

A smartphone may be smaller than a computer, and many are also tougher to update.

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Posted on 15 December 2011 | 11:30 am

Are Storage Vendors Shopping For SSD Companies?

This is the beginning of a larger trend where storage systems vendors get serious about integrating solid-state storage companies into their portfolios.

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Posted on 15 December 2011 | 9:02 am

NTSB Cellphone Ban Highlights Mishmash Of State Rules

While many states have laws covering driver texting and mobile phone use, it's a patchwork of rules, with different levels of enforcement.

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Posted on 14 December 2011 | 11:00 am

Microsoft Shakes Up Windows Phone Management

Will Andy Lees' move from president of the Windows Phone division improve the mobile platform's fortunes?

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Posted on 13 December 2011 | 12:10 pm

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Posted on 13 December 2011 | 12:10 pm

Will Solid-State Storage Kill Tiering?

Even when solid-state storage dominates the data center, mechanical storage and tape will still have a major role to play in your storage infrastructure.

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Posted on 13 December 2011 | 9:15 am

Open Source WebOS: A Win For Windows Phone?

Microsoft's mobile business will get a big boost from HP's decision to open source webOS, says one analyst. Is his logic sound?

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Posted on 12 December 2011 | 10:59 am

Hard Drives Get Squeezed

A number of developments are speeding the transition to solid-state storage.

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Posted on 9 December 2011 | 11:30 am

BlackBerry, Android Users Still Want iPads

Platform loyalty only goes so far: Android and BlackBerry phone owners prefer Apple's tablet product.

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Posted on 9 December 2011 | 10:51 am

Nokia Lumia Coming To T-Mobile Dec. 14?

Wireless companies will hold a joint event next week, but details remain sparse.

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Posted on 8 December 2011 | 9:47 am

Kindle Fire: Too Small, Too Large?

Usability guru Jakob Nielsen says Amazon's 7-inch tablet is too small for full-size websites, but mobile sites offer poor user experience.

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Posted on 7 December 2011 | 9:30 am

Will RIM Make It To 2013?

There is little doubt BlackBerry devices will be in use, but the company is ripe for a buyout.

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Posted on 6 December 2011 | 10:45 am

Android, Samsung Maintain Top Mobile Market Spots

Google's operating system, Apple's iPhone gain from RIM's continual slide in mobile market share, reports ComScore.

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Posted on 5 December 2011 | 11:38 am

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Posted on 5 December 2011 | 11:38 am

Carrier IQ: Senate Demands Answers

U.S. Senate weighs in on the Carrier IQ phone-snooping issue.

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Posted on 2 December 2011 | 7:50 am

Must-Have Features In Your Next Storage System

Storage managers should prioritize capabilities like thin provisioning, snapshots, replication, and cloning--along with price.

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Posted on 1 December 2011 | 12:26 pm

Sprint Beefs Up Network For iPhone

Carrier takes action to remedy users' reports of subpar smartphone speeds.

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Posted on 1 December 2011 | 9:59 am

Microsoft Apps Coming To Apple iOS

Microsoft apps like Office, Azure, and SharePoint may soon show up on iOS and Android devices.

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Posted on 30 November 2011 | 10:51 am

Your Next Storage System

IT managers should be making plans to update their storage infrastructure in 2012. Consider these tips to sort through all the new features, capabilities, and options.

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Posted on 29 November 2011 | 10:38 am

Cloudyn Monitors and Optimizes AWS Usage

The service aims to help cloud users cut their costs

Posted on 5 February 2012 | 10:00 pm

Micron Appoints COO Durcan As CEO After Appleton's Death

Mark Durcan, formerly chief operating officer, will replace Steve Appleton, who died in a plane crash

Posted on 4 February 2012 | 10:00 pm

EMC Ramps Up Flash Game with VFCache, 'Thunder' Appliance

VFCache, code-named Lightning, will provide flash storage as cache on PCIe cards inside servers

Posted on 4 February 2012 | 10:00 pm

Relax, Facebook Timeline Paranoia is Misguided

Everyone seems to be all in a tizzy over the impending switch to the new Facebook Timeline layout. It's going to be OK people

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 10:00 pm

The Future of Hypervisors

The world of hypervisors is complicated by the fact that there are proprietary and open source tools, each with different strengths and weaknesses.

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 10:00 pm

AMD's Move Could Pave the Way for ARM in Future Chips

AMD's CTO said the company will employ other chip architectures if they meet the needs of its customers

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 10:00 pm

Social Media Takes Over the Super Bowl

Remember the days when watching the Super Bowl meant eating lots of chips, hanging out with friends and, most importantly, being glued to the TV?

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 10:00 pm

Facebook Malware Scam Takes Hold

A link to malware purporting to be CNN coverage of a US attack on Iran is reaching hundreds of thousands of Facebook users

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 10:00 pm

How NOT to Get a Job 101: Hack Marriott, Extort Execs for Work

The Department of Justice today said a man who sent malicious code to Marriott International Corporation, threatening to reveal confidential information taken from the company's computers if Marriott did not offer him a job, has been sent to prison for his criminal endeavor.

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 10:00 pm

Microsoft Wraps Up Ads Aimed At Google with IE9 Pitch

Microsoft today wrapped up a three-day campaign against rival Google by claiming its newest browser, Internet Explorer 9 (IE9), is superior in stopping users from being tracked by online advertisers.

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 10:00 pm

BMC and VCE Partnership Shows Consortium Is Gaining Power

Is there strength in numbers? The deal VCE recently struck with BMC suggests that a consortium of companies layering in best-in-class technology might be a more effective approach to win large-scale government and enterprise customers in the private cloud space, writes CIO.com's Rob Enderle.

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 10:00 pm

Energy Saving Software Might Help You Save Power

I'm all for saving energy, especially if it means saving money on my utility bills. But I'm not sure that Energy Saving (a!20, 14-day free trial), an application designed to help you monitor and reduce your use of energy and other resources, can really help with that task.

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 10:00 pm

Smartphone Shipments Outpaced PCs in 2011 for First Time

Smartphone shipments overtook personal computers -- including tablets, laptops, netbooks and desktops -- for the first time in 2011, according to new research from Canalys.

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 10:00 pm

Social Media Fuels Planned Parenthood Backers in Komen Protest

Fueled by a firestorm of outrage on Twitter and Facebook, the people behind the Susan G. Komen For the Cure Friday backed off their decision to cut funding of Planned Parenthood programs.

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 10:00 pm

Micron CEO Dies in Plane Crash

Steve Appleton died Friday in a plane accident in Boise, Idaho, Micron said

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 10:00 pm

Google Tests a New Version of the Black Bar

While Google hasn't abandoned the navigation bar launched last year, both the old and the new interface are used today. If you load google.com in Chrome's incognito mode, the old interface shows up more often than the new UI.

Posted on 6 February 2012 | 12:41 am

First Legal Streaming Super Bowl A Success, But Audience Still Denied The Real Show

Lately, we’ve been seeing more and more big television events come with an online streaming counterpart.

Posted on 5 February 2012 | 10:06 pm

Internet video sites roll out ambitious original programming

After years of experimenting, the top video destinations on the Web are suddenly flush with original programming: documentaries, reality shows and scripted series. Over the next few months, YouTube, Netflix and Hulu will roll out their most ambitious original programming  …

Posted on 5 February 2012 | 9:17 pm

Senate: Bigger US role in corporate cybersecurity

Legislation set to come out in the days ahead is intended to ensure that computer systems running power plants and other essential parts of the country's infrastructure are protected from hackers, terrorists or other criminals.  The developing Senate plan that would bol …

Posted on 5 February 2012 | 4:12 pm

Coming Soon: A Wireless EV Highway Charging System?

Stanford University researchers this week announced they have designed a road-based, high-efficiency wireless charging system for electric vehicles.

Posted on 5 February 2012 | 12:43 pm

Exclusive: Windows Phone 8 Detailed

Details on the Windows 8 Phone are starting to slip out…

Posted on 5 February 2012 | 12:30 pm

Tor Project: Overview

Tor is a network of virtual tunnels that allows people and groups to improve their privacy and security on the Internet. It also enables software developers to create new communication tools with built-in privacy features.

Posted on 5 February 2012 | 12:17 pm

Microsoft is planning to bring Xbox Live to Apple iPhone and iPad

Microsoft is planning to bring Xbox Live to Apple iPhone and iPad Microsoft is planning to bring more Xbox Live gaming to Apple’s iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, as well as Google’s Android platform.

Posted on 5 February 2012 | 10:59 am

Kindle Fire owners 'less satisfied' than Apple iPad owners

Amazon Kindle Fire owners are less satisfied than those who own an Apple iPad, according to a new survey.

Posted on 5 February 2012 | 9:45 am

Is Twitter Ready For Some Football?

Sunday's Super Bowl is full of betting possibilities, but one line we couldn't find in Vegas is whether or not Twitter will crash because of heavy traffic during the game. This year's NFL playoffs have already set one record for the most tweeted sports moment in history, when  …

Posted on 5 February 2012 | 9:24 am

Virtual Reality Contact Lenses Offer 3D Panorama

Contact lenses that help enhance normal vision with megapixel 3D panoramic images are being designed by scientists using military funding. For those who do not want to rely on contact lenses, future versions could involve lenses directly implanted within the eye, researchers a …

Posted on 5 February 2012 | 7:49 am

HP: webOS Will Be Better Than Android, iOS

In an interview with CRN, HP CEO Meg Whitman said that the newly open-sourced webOS mobile operating system will be better than both Google's Android and Apple's iOS platform.

Posted on 4 February 2012 | 9:22 pm

Giants Website Prematurely Reveals Super Bowl Winner [PIC]

The New York Giants official website accidentally announced the winner of Super Bowl XLVI more than 24 hours before Sunday’s big game even started, by the look of images floating around the web. The error was immortalized Saturday in this TwitPic screenshot, which Jeff Fri …

Posted on 4 February 2012 | 6:07 pm

You Will Never Kill Piracy, and Piracy Will Never Kill You

Now that the SOPA and PIPA fights have died down, and Hollywood prepares their next salvo against internet freedom with ACTA and PCIP, it’s worth pausing to consider how the war on piracy could actually be won. It can’t, is the short answer, and one these companies …

Posted on 4 February 2012 | 4:49 pm

Google Docs Will Improve Paragraph Styles and Add More Fonts

An upcoming Google Docs update will bring a better interface for selecting paragraph styles and new features that lets you customize styles.

Posted on 4 February 2012 | 3:09 pm

Google Groups Themes

Just in case you don't like the Google Groups interface and want to customize it, there's a new light gray theme you can try. Just click the settings button, click "Themes" and select the "soft gray" theme. This only works in the new Google Groups interface.

Posted on 4 February 2012 | 3:01 pm

Google Instant, Disabled For Slow Computers

Google Instant is supposed to make searching faster, but you need a pretty good Internet connection, a modern browser and a decent computer.

Posted on 4 February 2012 | 2:55 pm

Bye Bye Blue Sky Documentary by Patrick Pasin

For more than 20 years, people all over the world, first in the USA and Canada, have noticed strange persistent trails in the sky done by airplanes. In the meantime, people are more and more ill (Alzheimer, cancer, autism, MS, etc.).

Posted on 4 February 2012 | 2:18 pm

Anti-SOPA forces have ISP snooping bill in their crosshairs

The latest campaign is designed to build on last month's remarkable protests, which included Wikipedia going dark for a day and Google and Amazon.com posting anti-SOPA warnings on their home pages. Irate voters overwhelmed the U.S.

Posted on 4 February 2012 | 1:01 pm

PSN accounts to become Sony Entertainment Network accounts

Sony has announced that PlayStation Network accounts will become known as Sony Entertainment Network (SEN) accounts.The rebranding has been implemented to create a "comprehensive network platform" of services across games, movies, music and other media.

Posted on 4 February 2012 | 12:13 pm

MIT Developing Paintable Solar Cells Made Of Plants

In a report published by Scientific Reports, researchers say they’re successfully working toward making low-cost solar cells from plants.

Posted on 4 February 2012 | 11:51 am

Autonomous Quadrotors Fly Amazing Formations

Roboticists at the University of Pennsylvania’s GRASP are able to get as many as 20 of their autonomous microcopters to fly in formation and perform complex maneuvers flawlessly. In an impressive new video, the GRASP — General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perc …

Posted on 4 February 2012 | 9:47 am

San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant: Hundreds of Damaged Tubes Discovered, Small Radiation Release Confirmed

Workers at the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant have discovered hundreds of damaged tubes in a nuclear reactor that is currently offline.

Posted on 4 February 2012 | 9:41 am

Member of the European Parliament: We Need Copyright Reform, Not ACTA!

As a Member of the European Parliament, I very much welcome the increased attention the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) has received in the past weeks. It has taken a while for massive outcry to emerge, but we are seeing protest voices getting louder and louder.

Posted on 4 February 2012 | 9:30 am

Bird numbers plummet around stricken Fukushima plant

Many species show "dramatically" elevated DNA mutation rates, developmental abnormalities and extinctions, they add, while insect life has been significantly reduced.

Posted on 4 February 2012 | 8:35 am

SEO Firm Oracle Digital Announces Expansion to Regional Western...

As the National Broadband Network expands into regional Western Australia this year, more people and businesses are expected to head online and create more opportunities for local businesses.

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9167912.htm

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GL Conveys the Availability of its Frame Relay Protocol Analyzer...

GL Communications Inc. conveyed today the availability of its product Frame Relay Protocol Analyzer software.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/GLCommunicationsInc/FrameRelayProtocolAnalyze/prweb9165186.htm

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Quay West Suites Brisbane Hotel Unveils a 5-Star Makeover

Located directly opposite the stunning Botanic Gardens, Quay West Suites Brisbane hotel has just unveiled a 5-star makeover; once again, cementing itself as one of Brisbane’s premier, luxury hotels.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160766.htm

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90 Million Americans Will Be Snoring This Valentines Day

Sleep Group Solutions teaches Dentists how to treat snoring and sleep apnea, through dental continuing education courses

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163686.htm

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American Support Has Named Chad Rycenga As Its New CIO

Rycenga brings expertise in cable systems to Chapel Hill, N.C.-based contact center.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9162457.htm

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Millicorp Announces the Release of MilliTalk 2.0 Their Evolutionary...

MilliTalk releases next major upgrade to iPhone and iPad calling app. Three new plans include free and inexpensive credit for national and international calling.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9162544.htm

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Contact At Once! Automotive Chat Receives “Highest Rated” DrivingSales...

Contact At Once! ranked #1 in Dealer Satisfaction in Chat Provider Category for second year in a row.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/automotive-chat/drivingsales-award/prweb9163977.htm

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Steve Bederman, Former CEO of TouchStar, Announces New Executive Team...

Steve Bederman has staffed his latest venture, thē Corporation, a gateway company to escort non-US software and technology firms into the US, with software and technology veterans. Thē Corporation...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012US-market-Entry/02US-business-expansion/prweb9164497.htm

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Dealer HD Develops New Behavioral Chat Product Powered by Contact At...

Product monitors shopper activity and serves proactive chat greeting relevant to the automotive shopper’s activities.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/automotive-chat/dealerhd-behavioral-chat/prweb9164686.htm

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Business Phone Supplier TelcoDepot.com Launches New Discount on...

Business phone system supplier TelcoDepot.com has launched a new discount scheme for Quintum T1/PRI Gateways for Response Point ordered from its online phone store.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165074.htm

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Phone System Supplier TelcoDepot.com Introduces New Discount on Aastra...

Online Phone System supplier TelcoDepot.com has introduced a new discount on Aastra 6755i IP Phones purchased from its online phone system store.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165118.htm

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Business Phone Supplier TelcoDepot.com Offers New Discount on Aastra...

Business phone system supplier TelcoDepot.com is offering a new discount on the high quality Aastra 6757i IP Phones available from its online phone store as part of its campaign to add value for...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165131.htm

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Phone Equipment Provider TelcoDepot.com Offers New Low Price on Aastra...

Business phone system supplier TelcoDepot.com is offering a new discount on the high quality Aastra 6731i IP Phones available from its online phone store as part of its campaign to add value for...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165149.htm

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NY Printer 4OVER4.COM Introduces New Die Cut Hangtags Printing Service...

Printing Business 4OVER4.COM has launched a new die-cut hangtags printing service on its online print ordering store. Customers can now access die-cut hangtags printing with many new paper types,...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165172.htm

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NY Printer 4OVER4.COM Launches Improved Greeting Cards Printing...

NYC Printing Company 4OVER4.COM has launched an improved greeting cards printing service. 4OVER4 greeting cards are now available in new paper types and more quality printing options.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165205.htm

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Galaxy Nexus gets Strong 2000mAh Extended Battery from Mugen Power

New 2000mAh battery extends the life of Galaxy Nexus by 14%.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Galaxy/Nexus/prweb9165832.htm

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American Support Remains Committed to Putting Veterans to Work

Chapel Hill, N.C.-based company continues to focus its hiring efforts on veterans

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9166785.htm

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iiNet Research Finds Young Adults Feign IT Ignorance

Despite being branded the tech-generation, young adult Australians are downplaying their tech skills to avoid being nominated the resident IT expert for family and friends, according to a new study...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9157358.htm

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Total Phase Wins Test & Measurement World's Best in Test Award...

The Beagle USB 5000 SuperSpeed Protocol Analyzer wins the 2012 Best in Test award in the Bus and Logic Analyzer category at an awards ceremony held in conjunction with DesignCon 2012 in Santa Clara,...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160674.htm

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Winemaker’s Degustation Event at Treasury Restaurant in Melbourne...

In collaboration with one of Tasmania’s finest winemaker’s, Treasury Restaurant is hosting a lavish degustation dinner in conjunction with award-winning Bay of Fires wines on 23rd February 2012.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160794.htm

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AvaHost.Net Web Hosting Provider Upgrades their VPS Hosting Service

AvaHost.net hosting provider doubled the parameters for their VPS hosting: instead of 512 Mb RAM and 40 Gb hard drive storage the customer will get 1024 Mb of RAM and 80 Gb of disk at the same price.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9162800.htm

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NitroDesk Announces IBM® Lotus Notes® Support in TouchDown

NitroDesk announce Lotus Notes support in the next release of TouchDown at the end of Q1.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163242.htm

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HOBI International Marks 20th Anniversary as Industry Leading ITAD...

R2 certified IT asset disposition company maintains reputation as comprehensive solutions provider.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164148.htm

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Step-by-step Guides to Jailbreak and/or Unlock iPhone 4S/4 and iPad...

Amazing news http://www.BestUnlockiPhone.com released for those who want to unlock and/or jailbreak their iphone. An updated software version to unlock...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9161542.htm

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Cellularflip.com Pays You Cash for Your Cell Phones & Gadgets

Cellularflip.com has introduced a new website where consumers can quickly get cash for old consumer electronics such as cellphones and tablets. Visitors to the site are asked the brand or model of...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9154434.htm

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GL Conveys The Availability Of Its SS7 Protocol Analyzer Software

GL Communications Inc. conveyed today the availability of its product SS7 Protocol Analyzer software.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/GLCommunicationsInc/SS7-c7-Protocol/prweb9157784.htm

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Mobistar Employs Momac-Led Mobile Strategy to Reduce OPEX and Boost...

Momac, a leading provider of customer engagement interface solutions for mobile operators, and Belgian operator Mobistar have deployed an on-device self-service strategy intended to reduce overall...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9158395.htm

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Clear-Coat.com Sponsors iPad 2 Giveaway Through Facebook and Twitter

Clear-Coat.com announced a sweepstakes through Facebook and Twitter for a new iPad 2. The company says they will be focusing on giving back to fans with giveaways throughout 2012 via social media,...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9159222.htm

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Phone System Supplier TelcoDepot.com Introduces New Discount on...

Online Phone System supplier TelcoDepot.com has introduced a new discount on Allworx Tx 24 button console modules purchased from its online phone system store.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9161707.htm

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Business Phone Supplier TelcoDepot.com Launches New Discount on Aastra...

Business phone system supplier TelcoDepot.com has launched a new discount scheme for Aastra 560M/M675i 60 Key Expansion Modules ordered from its online phone store.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9161751.htm

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Business Phone Supplier TelcoDepot.com Offers New Discount on Clear...

Business phone system supplier TelcoDepot.com is offering a new discount on the high quality Clear One Max IP Response Point phones available from its online phone store as part of its campaign to add...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9161785.htm

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Business Phone Supplier TelcoDepot.com Offers New Discount on Aastra...

Business phone system supplier TelcoDepot.com is offering a new discount on the high quality Aastra 6753i VoIP Phones available from its online phone store as part of its campaign to add value for...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9161803.htm

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Ecommerce Phone System Supplier TelcoDepot.com Announces Reduced Price...

Online Phone System supplier TelcoDepot.com has announced a reduced price offer on all Aastra 6730i IP Phones ordered from its online store.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9161821.htm

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Taptu Announces Blogger Outreach Competition, Blog App-lifier, Opens...

Taptu taps into blogosphere, creating a mutually beneficial, two month-long contest that rewards the winners with a free custom news app reflective of their blog content

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163213.htm

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TDS(r) Opens Bid Process for Broadband Stimulus Bids Project in Minn.,...

This week, TDS Telecommunications Corp. (TDS®) hosted three pre-bid meetings. The company outlined 12 projects that will expand the company’s broadband network to more than 8,300 customers in...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163265.htm

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Calise & Co., LLC Launches Information Technology (IT) Recruiting...

Opening of Calise's IT Practice Provides New Level of Service to Client Base

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160180.htm

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QualityLogic to Map MultiSpeak® to OpenADE/ESPI, OpenADR, SEP 2

QualityLogic has reached a tentative agreement with the MultiSpeak Initiative to provide data mapping analysis between MultiSpeak and OpenADE/ESPI, OpenADR, and Smart Energy Profile 2.0.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9136257.htm

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MailChimp Module for Miva Merchant

Miva Merchant’s new integration with MailChimp makes growing email subscribers easy and seamless.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9154514.htm

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Continuent Partners With ForLinux In UK

Continuent is increasing its presence in Europe to offer our solutions and services for the open source database business sector in the region. ForLinux is Continuent's new partner in UK and...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9155665.htm

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iiNet plays Cupid by helping those looking for love online

iiNet, Australia's second largest DSL broadband provider, has released an online dating-themed fact sheet to help those looking for love avoid a broken heart, a broken computer or a dwindling...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9157362.htm

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Advantages of a Wireless Security System

Alarm.com Offers Five Benefits to a Wireless Home Alarm System

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9157499.htm

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AppsGeyser Launches Newest Feature Allowing Anyone to Convert...

AppsGeyser’s simple 2-step process for app creation is being extended to the local desktop, opening the door to an even larger global audience. If a user can send an email with attachment, then that...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9157878.htm

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Star2Star’s StarSystem Named Product of the Year

Star2Star wins Product of the Year award for fifth straight year

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9159510.htm

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Profile Defenders Unveils New Look

Profile Defenders, Protecting the Online Reputation of Individuals and Companies Throughout The United States, Is Proud to Show Off Their New Site Design

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9159826.htm

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Shunra Announces Open Integration and Development of a Mobile App...

Shunra, the recognized authority in network virtualization and application performance engineering, today announced a mobile app performance platform that delivers the capabilities, services and...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/shunramobileapplication/performanceplatform/prweb9160150.htm

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TelOnline Announced that the Digium D-Series Phones will be Available...

TelOnline a telephony solutions provider, announced that the Digium D-Series phones will be available to pre-order today to their customers, distributed April 2012. It complements the products and...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/telonline-IP-phones/ip-telephony-solution/prweb9160382.htm

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Prolexic Launches “Protected by Prolexic” Program

Protected by Prolexic Logo on Customers’ Web Sites Indicates Gold Standard Defense Against DDoS Attacks

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160713.htm

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Vertical Consultants Obtains Win-Fall Cell Tower Rent Increase for...

A recent cell tower lease review completed by Vertical Consultants led to the discovery of Verizon's undeclared and unauthorized use of land for one of their clients. This secured a significant...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/cell-tower-lease/buyouts-cell-site-rates/prweb9160877.htm

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Inilex Showcases SkyLINK and SkyLINK PROTECT at NADA

GPS-enabled car theft recovery solutions offer tremendous perceived value with customers, present considerable upsell opportunities for F&I departments

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/auto/GPS/prweb9161175.htm

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Stealth Electric Bikes Canada to Exhibit at Toronto International...

Stealth Electric Bikes Canada will be exhibiting Stealth Electric Bikes at the Spring 2012 Toronto International Bicycle Show.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9161391.htm

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Jeewat Bijlani Joins Houghton International as Vice President of...

Mr. Bijlani will play a key role in Houghton’s global and regional growth initiatives

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9166045.htm

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The Business Finance Store Discusses How to Make Money Flipping Real...

The Business Finance Store discusses the costs associated with real estate flipping and ways to fund the investment.

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9167571.htm

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National Agents Alliance Invites Local Teachers to Meet Jon Gordon,...

Principal Julie Hancock of Marvin B. Smith Elementary started reading Jon Gordon’s books over the summer, but she had no idea her staff would meet with the best-selling author of The Energy Bus on...

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/national-agents-alliance/jon-gordon/prweb9165844.htm

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The Business Finance Store Highlights Lending Opportunities for Small...

The Business Finance Store highlights lending opportunities for small business from Bank of America.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9167531.htm

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Startup Business Course "How To Open A Doggy Day Care" is...

Americans spent thirty billion dollars on their dogs last year even in a recession, says Shoestring Publishing course on how to start a doggy day care.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9168441.htm

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Business Owners Shocked by New 1099K

All owners of U.S. businesses that accept credit cards recently received a 1099-K. Electronic Merchant Systems provides insight and assistance.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9157688.htm

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Casa Forma Are Set to Launch Their Own Exclusive Range of Deluxe...

Casa Forma, the London based luxury interior and architectural design firm are set to launch their own exclusive range of deluxe candles in March 2012 to coincide with the launch of their new website.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9161736.htm

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Procurement Partners Receives LTC LINK Elite Supplier Award

Procurement Partners is awarded "Elite Supplier" distinction from LTC LINK for its consultative and innovative approach to meeting the needs of long term care providers.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164521.htm

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US Storage Centers (USSC) Awarded Self Storage Management and...

REIM Corporation owns and operated storage properties throughout New England; all branded as All American Self Storage. REIM Corp selected US Storage Centers to oversee all management of the Natick...

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164637.htm

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NAPW South Atlanta Local Chapter Welcomed a Diverse Group of...

The South Atlanta Local Chapter of National Association of Professional Women kicked off 2012 with a lunch meeting at Monarch Towers and networking among the diverse group of accomplished women.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/NAPW2012/SouthAtlanta/prweb9166671.htm

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NAPW Buffalo Local Chapter Discussed Guest Speakers From Among Local...

National Association of Professional Women Buffalo Local Chapter held a networking meeting this January and discussed the invitation of guest speakers from among area experts in business, finance, and...

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/NAPW2012/Buffalo/prweb9166825.htm

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National Property Management Directory, Rental Choice (.com) Announces...

National Property Management Directory, Rental Choice (.com) Announces Advertising Partnership with Oregon based Property Management Company Markus & Associates.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/propertymanagement/companies/prweb9167250.htm

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Infoshred Celebrates Completion of New Facility One Year After Roof...

Infoshred, a company devoted to secure off-site and on-site document destruction and document storage, moved its final container into a newly constructed facility, nearly one year after suffering a...

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9168246.htm

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New Lean Progress Assessment from TBM Consulting Group Scores...

TBM Consulting has developed a detailed online lean assessment designed to help business leaders validate their continuous improvement (CI) initiatives. The assessment will score organizations on...

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163715.htm

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MatchWare Releases NoteControl, Innovative Software to Simplify...

With its powerful capture tool bar, integration with WorldCat.org and cutting edge Microsoft Word export, MatchWare brings ease to writing research papers with their innovative research and citation...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9086484.htm

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Jacksonville Lean Consortium Leader Will Deliver a Plenary Session on...

Consortium co-founder, Jerry Bussell, will tell managers and executives attending the Lean Transformation Summit how collaborative learning accelerates continuous improvement efforts.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/LeanConfeerence/02/prweb9159832.htm

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American Support Has Named Chad Rycenga As Its New CIO

Rycenga brings expertise in cable systems to Chapel Hill, N.C.-based contact center.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9162457.htm

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CUSTOMS Info Updates Ci Search to Reflect Latest US HTS changes

CUSTOMS Info’s flagship product “Ci Search” has been updated to include changes to the 2012 US Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS).

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163497.htm

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Learning Executives More Confident in Q4 2011

ASTD index shows more report substantial increase in ability to meet learning needs.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163700.htm

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The Business Finance Store Discusses Top Startups for 2012

The Business Finance Store discusses the findings from a recent IBIS World study and how entrepreneurs can strategically place themselves in particular industries to ensure success.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164564.htm

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MEDIA RELEASE: ASI Says T-Shirt Printers Big Winners in Big Game

Promo products companies printing 25,000+ shirts overnight after Super Bowl

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165609.htm

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American Support Remains Committed to Putting Veterans to Work

Chapel Hill, N.C.-based company continues to focus its hiring efforts on veterans

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9166785.htm

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Startup Business Course Bonuses Now Launched From Shoestring...

Bonuses include startup bootcamp, social media, marketing course, credit repair, time management, Think And Grow Rich by Napolean Hill, and more.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9167254.htm

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Your Nice Apartment Use Video To Advertise Their Stylish Apartments...

In February 2012 property management company Your Nice Apartment, who specialize in renting stylish apartments, villas and houses in London and on the French Riviera, have now become the first rental...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9157963.htm

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American Fruits and Flavors Chooses Intelex Technologies to Boost...

Company leverages training and document software to maintain SQF certification, prepare for FSMA.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9158931.htm

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Attendance on Demand® Service Centers Program Honored in Global...

Attendance on Demand named a finalist in “Best Partner Network Expansion Program of the Year” category for its Service Centers Program.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160234.htm

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Attendance on Demand® Deployment Honored in Global Excellence...

Time and Attendance Service Deployment at Doctors Vision Center named a finalist in “Best Deployment and Case Studies – USA” Category.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160311.htm

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Algonquin Studios Co-Founder Receives Press Coverage from .Net...

Adrian Roselli, cofounder and Senior Usability Engineer at Algonquin Studios, was recently featured in an article on .Net Magazine. The web site covered Mr. Roselli’s stance on the continued usage of...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160660.htm

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Grand Golf Resorts of Florida Offers a New “Triple Option” Meetings...

Three renowned Sunshine State resorts -- Innisbrook, Reunion and Hammock Beach -- offer Super Bowl-inspired, early spring rate, beginning at $239

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163244.htm

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The Business Families Foundation Launches A Free Game App For Youth On...

Following the success of its first free app, the Business Families Foundation (BFF) is proud to announce the launch of its newest app, an awareness game on family business dynamics for youth.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163256.htm

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CIT Announces Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund (CRCF)...

CRCF invites eligible applicants to apply for $2.2 million of remaining FY2012 CRCF funds.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/CIT/CRCFWinter2012/prweb9163309.htm

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TayganPoint Co-Founder Recieves Prestigious Award

Joy Taylor, co-founder of TayganPoint Consulting Group, was named one of New Jersey's Best 50 Business Women.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163446.htm

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Prudential Rubloff Announces The Formation of Rubloff Insurance

Industry veteran George H. Moloney III tapped to lead new division

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165939.htm

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HOA Management(.com), a National Directory for HOA Management...

HOA Management (.com) is proud to announce a new advertising partnership with Gaughan Companies. Gaughan Companies will be featured as a premier association management partner on HOA Management...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/hoamanagement/companies/prweb9165986.htm

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Ken Hall Joins CURE Leasing & Maintenance as Vice President of...

CURE Leasing & Maintenance announces new Vice President of Maintenance and Call Center Operations.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160201.htm

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Imperial Properties Launches New Financial Service for Self-Managed...

iFinancial by Imperial Properties provides complete accounting and financial services to self-managed Condominium Corporations.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160549.htm

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After the CFD Forum: Understanding it as a Specified Investment...

The Lehman Brothers mini-bond saga in 2008 resulted in about 10,000 retail investors in Singapore losing all or a large part of their investments when the American investment bank collapsed, and the...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9157922.htm

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Audit Service Line of the Big Four Accounting Firms Rebounds in 2011,...

One-of-a-kind study reveals unique insights into the world’s largest accounting firms: Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers PwC. Their exclusive look at eight years of Audit’s...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011BigFour/2011AuditPerformance/prweb9127726.htm

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Aurora Health Care Selects strategicplanningMD's Strategic...

One of the nation's leading health systems for quality and patient safety teams up with strategicplanningMD to deploy state-of-the-art strategic planning software across two hospitals in its north...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9129135.htm

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A Plus Warehouse Announces Roller Conveyor Madness Sale

Many companies need roller conveyors every day. Through a special deal with major conveyor manufacturers , A Plus Warehouse is able to offer a respectable roller conveyor promotion.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/roller-conveyor-madness/apluswarehouse/prweb9147373.htm

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SmartWatt Energy to Exhibit at AESP’s 22nd National Conference and...

SmartWatt Energy, Inc., a leader in small business direct install program administration for utilities, will be exhibiting at the Association of Energy Services Professionals’ (AESP) 22nd National...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9154977.htm

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Joe Paterno - Why His Living Legacy Will Out Weigh His Asterisk

Robert Michael Fried's new book, Igniting Your True Purpose and Passion, highlights the need to create a living legacy.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160820.htm

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The Business Finance Store Provides Tips for Small Business Success...

The Business Finance Store discusses how small business owners can plan their sales strategies using information on items consumers can’t live without and those they chose to forgo in tight times.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9161073.htm

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Titleist 2012 Logo Golf Balls Launched by Promology101

Promology101, an Atlanta based promotional marketing company, introduces four new 2012...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/titleist_2012/golfballs_corporatelogo/prweb9161091.htm

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Aurora WDC Celebrates 17 Years of Intelligence Excellence, Announces...

From humble origins in the western Wisconsin resort town of Chetek, Aurora WDC shared a vision of how better intelligence could enable organizations to make more effective decisions. Aurora...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/competitive/intelligence/prweb9161261.htm

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WHYGO Automates 200 Public Video Conferencing Facilities Across Europe

Whygo expands its public video conferencing room network of real-time live availability & instant confirmation venues by a further 200 facilities across Europe this week.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9136831.htm

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Professional Group Honors Anthem College Instructor Virginia Berney

16-Year Billing & Coding veteran is AAHAM's Member of the Year in Minnesota.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Anthemcollege/Facultyaward/prweb9150916.htm

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The Drucker Exchange to Post Blog Items in Six Languages

The Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University announced today that, once a month, it will feature select posts from its daily blog, the Drucker Exchange, in six languages: Chinese, Hindi,...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/theDx/Translations/prweb9151541.htm

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ASA and IMPACT Sign Partnering Agreement

Organizations seek to leverage each other’s strengths to benefit construction industry.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9153172.htm

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EmployeeTimeClocks.com Joins uAttend Distribution Network

EmployeeTimeClocks.com is a certified reseller of uAttend time clocks and time tracking software. “Promoting uAttend was the right decision,” said Wagner, company president and founder.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9153579.htm

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Lectora Provides Tips & Tricks for Mobile Learning in Upcoming...

mLearning Webinar Instructs Best Ways to Create Mobile e-Learning Content Successfully Using Lectora e-Learning Software

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165837.htm

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Fargo Interactive Agency Launches New Website: Onsharp.com

With simplicity and education in mind, Onsharp is proud to announce the launch of its new website, http://www.onsharp.com. The redesigned site highlights the...

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163398.htm

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TruEffect Selects Chief Revenue Officer, Jeff Bruce, to Head up its...

Explosive growth leads to opening a New York office to service major brands and agencies.

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165499.htm

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New Tank War Game Brings World Wonders to iPhone

Tank-O-Mania is a new action shooter game for iPhone where player operates a tank to liberate famous world wonders including the Taj Mahal, Statue of Liberty, Sphinx and more.

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165810.htm

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BookMyGroup Chooses Sydnia as its Software Development Partner to...

Sydnia, a software consulting & development agency based out of Dallas, TX has been selected by BookMyGroup to build their next generation online group reservation system.

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9166336.htm

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LogFire WMS Adds Labor Productivity Tracking and Analytics Dashboard

Improved supply chain and employee performance visibility fuels improved, data-driven decisions and optimizes overall supply chain performance

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/logfire/modex/prweb9166515.htm

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EASE Releases v7.0 of Its Lean Manufacturing Process Automation...

All of EASE’s modules, including: Engineered Labor Standards, Line Balancing and Work Instructions are now offered as a web-based application. Organizations can access the EASE suite of manufacturing...

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9167034.htm

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Combining Your Digital Photos into Stunning Collages with Picture...

PearlMountain Technology has recently announced the new release of Picture Collage Maker for Mac, which is an easy-to-use app that helps you create eye-catching photo collages on the Mac OS X. This...

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9167807.htm

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AQS Congratulates Canal Insurance on Winning a Celent Model Carrier...

AQS congratulates Canal Insurance Company on being named a Model Carrier by Celent for its innovative use of technology in the area of Product Design, Definition, and Development.

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163984.htm

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QuickLessons Invests In Quality and Usability Enhancements with Amazon...

QuickLessons continuously seeks to improves its platform, anticipating the need to provide scalability to its solutions to continue to deliver them seamlessly to all of its customers worldwide and has...

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9166021.htm

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GL Conveys the Availability of its Frame Relay Protocol Analyzer...

GL Communications Inc. conveyed today the availability of its product Frame Relay Protocol Analyzer software.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/GLCommunicationsInc/FrameRelayProtocolAnalyze/prweb9165186.htm

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Procurement Partners Receives LTC LINK Elite Supplier Award

Procurement Partners is awarded "Elite Supplier" distinction from LTC LINK for its consultative and innovative approach to meeting the needs of long term care providers.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164521.htm

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AOA Auto Accessories 2012 Trend Report: Protection Products Gain...

Auto dealers continued to generate profits from accessories sales in 2011; average dealership generated over $260,000 for the year, with 45% average gross profit margin

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164676.htm

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MigenBlog.com Offers Discount Software Just in Time for Tax Season

MigenBlog.com offers deals on accounting software programs including Quickbooks, TurboTax and Quicken.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9161520.htm

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MatchWare Releases NoteControl, Innovative Software to Simplify...

With its powerful capture tool bar, integration with WorldCat.org and cutting edge Microsoft Word export, MatchWare brings ease to writing research papers with their innovative research and citation...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9086484.htm

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BlueHostCoupon.us Announces New 2012 Coupon Code for BlueHost

BlueHostCoupon.us announces their new 2012 BlueHost coupon code. Use this exclusive BlueHost coupon to get the best deal on BlueHost web hosting.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/bluehost/coupon-2012/prweb9158803.htm

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CUSTOMS Info Updates Ci Search to Reflect Latest US HTS changes

CUSTOMS Info’s flagship product “Ci Search” has been updated to include changes to the 2012 US Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS).

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163497.htm

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HigherVisibility Named Third Best eCommerce SEO Company by topseos.com...

The independent authority on search vendors, topseos.com, has named HigherVisibility as the third best ecommerce SEO company for February 2012.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163593.htm

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CIOsynergy Announces INDUSA as Official Sponsor for directIT Chicago...

INDUSA a CMM Level 4 certified Software Solutions and Consulting Company, has confirmed Sponsorship of directIT Chicago, February 9, 2012.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163768.htm

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Avalara OEM Partnerships Increase a Record 41% in 2011 Sales Tax...

The rapid growth of Avalara’s original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partnerships represents a milestone on the company’s quest to become the de facto transactional tax service provider across all...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163946.htm

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"How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge From Small Discoveries"...

Carahsoft Technology Corp., the trusted Government IT solutions provider and Platinum sponsor, today announced the keynote speakers and program lineup for the 2012 Adobe Government Assembly: Adobe...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/AdobeGovAssembly/2012/prweb9165323.htm

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50 SW Installs Software Release to Support Next GPS IIF Launch

50 SW installs software release to support next GPS IIF launch.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9167152.htm

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Traq Software Stresses 7 Important Principals for Test Management

Yet again, 2011 saw major software failures from major companies. Traq Software see failures in process contributing significantly to failures like these. Most forget these seven key test management...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9157861.htm

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eCube Systems Announces Strategic Relationship with Nevatech and MSE...

eCube markets SOA management, Microsoft MSE replacement technology and related consulting services based on Sentinet API management platform from Nevatech

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/mse-replacement-soa/sentinet-wcf-ecube/prweb9158633.htm

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Going Paperless in the Navajo Nation

DocUnited Imaging is pleased to announce records management education for the Navajo Nation.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9159530.htm

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Attendance on Demand® Service Centers Program Honored in Global...

Attendance on Demand named a finalist in “Best Partner Network Expansion Program of the Year” category for its Service Centers Program.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160234.htm

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Attendance on Demand® Deployment Honored in Global Excellence...

Time and Attendance Service Deployment at Doctors Vision Center named a finalist in “Best Deployment and Case Studies – USA” Category.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160311.htm

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Algonquin Studios Co-Founder Receives Press Coverage from .Net...

Adrian Roselli, cofounder and Senior Usability Engineer at Algonquin Studios, was recently featured in an article on .Net Magazine. The web site covered Mr. Roselli’s stance on the continued usage of...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160660.htm

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New methods for assessing the durability of adhesive bonds introduced...

Adhesive bonding is increasingly used in the development of lightweight vehicle bodies. In addition to improving structural rigidity, it provides a means of joining high strength steels, aluminum...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160774.htm

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Mobile App Developer i4software Awarded Best of Show at Macworld 2012...

i4software, a leading iPhone and iPad app developer, was awarded Best of Show at Macworld 2012, where it introduced its latest app, Video Camera, to rave reviews.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9162546.htm

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AvaHost.Net Web Hosting Provider Upgrades their VPS Hosting Service

AvaHost.net hosting provider doubled the parameters for their VPS hosting: instead of 512 Mb RAM and 40 Gb hard drive storage the customer will get 1024 Mb of RAM and 80 Gb of disk at the same price.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9162800.htm

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QuoteWerks Releases Enhanced Quote Importer for Dell Quotes

QuoteWerks enables Dell resellers to quickly create detailed quotes and proposals with the newly enhanced Quote Importer.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/QuoteWerks/DellQuote/prweb9163106.htm

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NitroDesk Announces IBM® Lotus Notes® Support in TouchDown

NitroDesk announce Lotus Notes support in the next release of TouchDown at the end of Q1.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163242.htm

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IntelliChief Presents Document Management for the Rental Industry at...

IntelliChief to present how their solution brings the rental industry paperless

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163579.htm

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iCIMS to Offer E-Verify® As Part of Onboarding Solution

Partnership with Tracker Corp. expands to offer customers a fully integrated experience.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163850.htm

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Global Encryption Software Market to Reach US$1.8 Billion by 2015,...

GIA announces the release of a comprehensive global outlook on Encryption Systems and Digital Certificates market. Increasing use of the Internet by corporates and consumers is bringing to the...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/encryption_systems/digital_certificates/prweb9164868.htm

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Global Market for Satellites Related Products and Services to Reach...

GIA announces the release of a comprehensive global outlook on the Satellites Industry. Growth in the global satellites market is expected to be driven by opportunities in the satellite services...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/satellite_equipment/satellite_services/prweb9164892.htm

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Health Care DataWorks, Leading Provider of Business Intelligence...

Health Care Dataworks, a Central Ohio company that launched three years ago to provide business intelligence solutions that enable healthcare organizations to improve their quality of care and reduce...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165578.htm

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West Point Team Honored for Excellence in Analysis, Utilizing a...

Dr. Wilbur B. Payne Memorial Award presented at the Army Operations Research Symposium in Ft. Lee, VA

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9159831.htm

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New Job Board Software for Job Board Operators and Recruitment Firms:...

New job board software released with webJobs 4.3.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9154505.htm

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iCommissions.com Affiliate Network Announces New Investment and...

Internet marketing industry veteran iCommissions.com has teamed up with JBR Media Ventures, named one of the fastest-growing companies in America by Inc. Magazine.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9155263.htm

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Kentico Recognizes Discover Ireland as the Site of the Year 2011

Kentico Software (http://www.kentico.com), the Web content management system vendor, has announced the Kentico Site of the Year 2011 Award winners. The Discover...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9158533.htm

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Select Business Solutions, a Provider of Mainframe Reporting and Data...

Highlights of this new release are enhancements or changes to the VSAM Interface, IMS Interface, JDBC Interface, Java Interface and the Copybook facility.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9158987.htm

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Aurora Health Care Selects strategicplanningMD's Strategic...

One of the nation's leading health systems for quality and patient safety teams up with strategicplanningMD to deploy state-of-the-art strategic planning software across two hospitals in its north...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9129135.htm

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In Sync with Google: Appointment-Plus Enterprise Scheduling Software...

The latest integration from the premier enterprise scheduling software provider allows organizations to instantly transfer scheduling appointment information from their Appointment-Plus scheduler...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9146059.htm

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GL Conveys The Availability Of Its SS7 Protocol Analyzer Software

GL Communications Inc. conveyed today the availability of its product SS7 Protocol Analyzer software.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/GLCommunicationsInc/SS7-c7-Protocol/prweb9157784.htm

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Mobistar Employs Momac-Led Mobile Strategy to Reduce OPEX and Boost...

Momac, a leading provider of customer engagement interface solutions for mobile operators, and Belgian operator Mobistar have deployed an on-device self-service strategy intended to reduce overall...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9158395.htm

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St. Louis Catholic Youth Council (CYC) Chooses SportsSignup as the...

More than 100 parishes and youth sports organizations throughout St. Louis to offer safe and secure online registration for more than 75,000 young athletes

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/SportsSignup-registration/cyc-cyo-registration/prweb9159319.htm

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The Best Link Building Companies Ranked by topseos.com for February...

The independent authority on Search vendors, topseos.com, has released their list of the best link building companies for February 2012.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9159492.htm

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The Best Link Building Agencies Named by topseos.co.uk for February...

The independent authority on Search vendors in the United Kingdom, tospeos.co.uk, has released their list of the best link building agencies for February 2012.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9159570.htm

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Online Insurance Marketplace Announces an Increase in Searches for...

Online Insurance Marketplace (OnlineInsuranceMarketPlace.com) Announces an Increase in Searches for Keyword, "How Much is Life Insurance"

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/howmuchislifeinsurance/familylifeinsurance/prweb9166637.htm

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SEO Firm Oracle Digital Announces Expansion to Regional Western...

As the National Broadband Network expands into regional Western Australia this year, more people and businesses are expected to head online and create more opportunities for local businesses.

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9167912.htm

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Aim2Game Giving Away Over $5,000 in Prizes and Gear to Celebrate...

Founded in 2003, Aim2Game has been recently reorganized with a new management team and backing by capital investors. To celebrate the relaunch of their game server hosting services, Aim2Game is giving...

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/game/servers/prweb9168512.htm

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Aware Bear Computer Repair Pittsford New York DELL Laptop Service and...

Aware Bear Computer Repair in Pittsford New York offers DELL laptop service and repair in The Greater Rochester New York Area. Aware Bear offers a brand new 10% discount good thru 2012 to all military...

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/DELL-Laptop-Services/Repair-Rochester-New-York/prweb9168685.htm

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North Carolina Student and Fund Manager Launches AVF North Carolina 65...

Bringing an innovative perspective to economic planning, Patrick Goldin, General Partner of the Alain Value Fund LP (AVF) launched a freely available, composite index composed of North Carolina's...

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9143961.htm

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GL Conveys the Availability of its Frame Relay Protocol Analyzer...

GL Communications Inc. conveyed today the availability of its product Frame Relay Protocol Analyzer software.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/GLCommunicationsInc/FrameRelayProtocolAnalyze/prweb9165186.htm

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Internet Marketing Company Reveals Results of the Poll, "Which...

Internet Marketing Company (http://www.internetmarketingcompany.biz) Reveals Results of the Poll, "Which Link Building Strategy Works Best...

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/searchenginemarketing/internetmarketingservices/prweb9166606.htm

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Procurement Partners Receives LTC LINK Elite Supplier Award

Procurement Partners is awarded "Elite Supplier" distinction from LTC LINK for its consultative and innovative approach to meeting the needs of long term care providers.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164521.htm

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Get Ready for the 2012 Tax Season with Aware Bear Computers in...

Aware Bear Computers in Rochester New York is offering a $69 virus removal special in Rochester. Get ready to file taxes online without the worry of being a victim online fraud caused by a virus.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/aware-bear-computers-ny/rochester-aware-bear-comp/prweb9168150.htm

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BlueHostCoupon.us Announces New 2012 Coupon Code for BlueHost

BlueHostCoupon.us announces their new 2012 BlueHost coupon code. Use this exclusive BlueHost coupon to get the best deal on BlueHost web hosting.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/bluehost/coupon-2012/prweb9158803.htm

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Namecheap Welcomes the Drupal Association

To support Namecheap's opposition of SOPA and PIPA and to help preserve the open web, the Drupal Association has decided to move its SSL certificate to Namecheap.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9162274.htm

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CUSTOMS Info Updates Ci Search to Reflect Latest US HTS changes

CUSTOMS Info’s flagship product “Ci Search” has been updated to include changes to the 2012 US Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS).

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163497.htm

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HigherVisibility Named Third Best eCommerce SEO Company by topseos.com...

The independent authority on search vendors, topseos.com, has named HigherVisibility as the third best ecommerce SEO company for February 2012.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163593.htm

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CIOsynergy Announces INDUSA as Official Sponsor for directIT Chicago...

INDUSA a CMM Level 4 certified Software Solutions and Consulting Company, has confirmed Sponsorship of directIT Chicago, February 9, 2012.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163768.htm

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Steve Bederman, Former CEO of TouchStar, Announces New Executive Team...

Steve Bederman has staffed his latest venture, thē Corporation, a gateway company to escort non-US software and technology firms into the US, with software and technology veterans. Thē Corporation...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012US-market-Entry/02US-business-expansion/prweb9164497.htm

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Nearly $4,000 in Prizes to be Awarded at Namecheap's Super Weekend...

To follow its annual tradition, Namecheap.com will be hosting a football trivia contest with domain name credit and iPad giveaways.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164786.htm

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"How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge From Small Discoveries"...

Carahsoft Technology Corp., the trusted Government IT solutions provider and Platinum sponsor, today announced the keynote speakers and program lineup for the 2012 Adobe Government Assembly: Adobe...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/AdobeGovAssembly/2012/prweb9165323.htm

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Link Building Company Announces Increase in Search for Keyword,...

Link Building Company (http://www.linkbuilding.org) Announces an Increase in the Search for Keyword, "Link Building Packages"

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/bestlinkbuildingpackages/cheaplinkbuildingservices/prweb9166588.htm

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Going Paperless in the Navajo Nation

DocUnited Imaging is pleased to announce records management education for the Navajo Nation.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9159530.htm

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HOBI International Marks 20th Anniversary as Industry Leading ITAD...

R2 certified IT asset disposition company maintains reputation as comprehensive solutions provider.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164148.htm

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Global Market for Satellites Related Products and Services to Reach...

GIA announces the release of a comprehensive global outlook on the Satellites Industry. Growth in the global satellites market is expected to be driven by opportunities in the satellite services...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/satellite_equipment/satellite_services/prweb9164892.htm

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World and Chinese Animation Industry Examined in New Research Report...

The total output value of China’s animation industry is expected to reach RMB 120 billion by 2015, with the market scale of overall industry chain to surpass RMB 200 billion. New market research...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165274.htm

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Topical NFC Market Research Study by MarketsandMarkets Recently...

The growth of the NFC applications market is expected to be exponential with the revenue growth from $7,686 million in 2011 to $34,515 million by 2016, at an estimated CAGR of 35% from 2011 to 2016....

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165293.htm

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Health Care DataWorks, Leading Provider of Business Intelligence...

Health Care Dataworks, a Central Ohio company that launched three years ago to provide business intelligence solutions that enable healthcare organizations to improve their quality of care and reduce...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165578.htm

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Leading Educational Content Provider netTrekker Becomes “Knovation”

Company transformation breaks down educational barriers with expanded portfolio, restructured leadership team and breakthrough digital learning solutions

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165747.htm

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New Visual ERP.net™ Release Features Innovative ‘Polar Bear’ Interface

The latest version of this popular, fashion-focused business software incorporates an aesthetic user experience that advances usability and productivity across a wide range of business processes.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9158440.htm

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Black Watch Data Expands Reach into the Nordic Countries

Black Watch Data and Just IT Consulting of Finland have joined forces to bring new solutions for Data Governance and Data Management to Finland and the Scandinavian market.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9159350.htm

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Research Proves Best Performing Companies Employ a CISO to Lead a...

Research done by SC Magazine proves that organizations that have a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) have higher profit margins, generate more revenue, and display increased productivity.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9152501.htm

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McCann E-Investigations Houston Computer Forensics Division Releases...

McCann E-Investigations (McCann EI) releases the first in a series of articles on infidelity; targeting family law. This article provides 25 ways in which a cheating spouse may try to hide an illicit...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/McCann-EI-02-2012/25-ways-cheaters-hide/prweb9154912.htm

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Lake Highlands Doctors Express Announces Patient Friendly Summary of...

Carol Ansley, owner of Dallas neighborhood Lake Highlands Doctors Express, announced the urgent-care center will be providing level of care pricing for self-paying patients.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9156522.htm

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GL Conveys The Availability Of Its SS7 Protocol Analyzer Software

GL Communications Inc. conveyed today the availability of its product SS7 Protocol Analyzer software.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/GLCommunicationsInc/SS7-c7-Protocol/prweb9157784.htm

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Level Platforms Remote Monitoring and Management Now Pre-Installed...

Installed on every Intel AppUp Small Business Service server, Level Platforms Managed Workplace® helps service providers lower costs, increase revenue and improve customer response time.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9158955.htm

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The Best Link Building Companies Ranked by topseos.com for February...

The independent authority on Search vendors, topseos.com, has released their list of the best link building companies for February 2012.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9159492.htm

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The Best Link Building Agencies Named by topseos.co.uk for February...

The independent authority on Search vendors in the United Kingdom, tospeos.co.uk, has released their list of the best link building agencies for February 2012.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9159570.htm

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CapSite to Present at ZirMed’s Annual Thrive User Conference

CapSite announced today that Gino Johnson, CapSite Sr. VP and GM will be presenting at ZirMed’s upcoming Thrive User Conference.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9159601.htm

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The Best Search Engine Optimisation Companies Ranked in the United...

topseos.co.uk, the independent authority on search vendors in the United Kingdom, has released their list of the best SEO Companies for February 2012.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9159629.htm

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WebHostRanking.com Names vServer Center February Host of the Month

Web Host Ranking, a leading web hosting review site, has chosen vServer Center as the recipient of their prestigious Host of the Month award because of the exceptional web hosting service they...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/best/web-hosting/prweb9159704.htm

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Individuals Polled on Whether They Would Ever Donate Their Life...

Online Insurance Marketplace (http://www.OnlineInsuranceMarketPlace.com) Announces Results of the Poll, "Would You Ever Donate You Life...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/10yearlifeinsurance/whentobuylifeinsurance/prweb9159783.htm

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JoomlaHosting.Co Launches New Website for Joomla Hosting Reviews and...

JoomlaHosting.Co’s purpose of launching a new website is to provide customers a helpful resource in the realm of Joomla hosting. This new site combines customer reviews, editor ratings, tutorials,...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Joomla/Hosting/prweb9159891.htm

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RDT Systems, a Retail Technology Solutions Provider to Small and...

RDT’s offering has expanded to include an entire suite of retail automation applications.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160122.htm

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Joe Paterno - Why His Living Legacy Will Out Weigh His Asterisk

Robert Michael Fried's new book, Igniting Your True Purpose and Passion, highlights the need to create a living legacy.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160820.htm

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CIOsynergy Announces LongJump as Official Sponsor for the directIT...

LongJump, a company that has been leading cloud application technologies since it burst on the scene in 2003, has confirmed sponsorship of directIT Chicago, February 9, 2012.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160995.htm

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The Best Search Engine Optimization Companies Ranked in India by...

topseos.in, the independent authority on search vendors in India, has released their list of the best SEO Companies for February 2012.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9161343.htm

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The Best Search Engine Optimization Companies Ranked in Australia by...

topseos.com.au, the independent authority on search vendors in Australia, has released their list of the best SEO Companies for February 2012.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9161363.htm

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The Best Link Building Companies in Australia Named by topseos.com.au...

The independent authority on Search vendors in Australia, topseos.com.au, has named their ten best link building companies for February 2012.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9161375.htm

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Startup America Partnership Rebrands Website to S.CO

Joins Forces with .CO Internet to Offer All Startup America Firms Free .CO Web Addresses

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9161657.htm

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HigherVisibility Named Second Best Search Engine Optimization Company...

The independent authority on Search vendors, topseos.com, has announced HigherVisibility the second best search engine optimization company for February 2012.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9161851.htm

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Network Services Company Signs with 1SYNC and SpecPage to Synchronize...

Network Services Company, a $10 billion global company with 1.3 million customer locations, has awarded a contract to 1SYNC and SpecPage to ensure the accuracy of product data it shares with...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9162271.htm

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Online Insurance Marketplace Announces an Increase in Searches for...

Online Insurance Marketplace (OnlineInsuranceMarketPlace.com) Announces an Increase in Searches for Keyword, "Insurance Life Insurance"

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/over50lifeinsurance/insurancelifeinsurance/prweb9163228.htm

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JETNET Releases December and Year-End 2011 Pre-owned Business Jet,...

JETNET LLC, the leading provider of corporate aviation information, has released December and 2011 year-end results for the pre-owned business jet, business turboprop, and helicopter markets.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163660.htm

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HomeSecurityGuru.com Report Analyzes Latest 2012 Detroit Crime Rates

The HomeSecurityGuru.com Detroit crime rate report analyzes the most recent statistics on violent crime and property crime in the city at the beginning of 2012.

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/detroit-crime-rates/2012-crime-rate-update/prweb9166304.htm

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Online Insurance Marketplace Announces an Increase in Searches for...

Online Insurance Marketplace (OnlineInsuranceMarketPlace.com) Announces an Increase in Searches for Keyword, "How Much is Life Insurance"

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/howmuchislifeinsurance/familylifeinsurance/prweb9166637.htm

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Red Nova Labs Expands Talent Pool with Four New Tech-Focused Employees

Three programmers and a search engine specialist join the fast-growing team in Kansas City.

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9166855.htm

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Unitus Seed Fund Launches with Three Social Enterprise Investments in...

New Unitus Labs Initiative Seeks to Accelerate Development of Innovative Startups Which Have the Potential to Significantly Benefit Families Living on Less Than $2 Per Day

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/unitus-seed-fund/launches-in-india/prweb9167349.htm

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Introducing Ashford.com Coupons on a Dedicated Webpage at...

Today CouponBuzz.com announced the launch of a dedicated webpage for Ashford.com coupons. This new section of the CouponBuzz.com site follows a recent marketing strategy of the internet coupon...

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9168554.htm

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TruEffect Selects Chief Revenue Officer, Jeff Bruce, to Head up its...

Explosive growth leads to opening a New York office to service major brands and agencies.

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165499.htm

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BookMyGroup Chooses Sydnia as its Software Development Partner to...

Sydnia, a software consulting & development agency based out of Dallas, TX has been selected by BookMyGroup to build their next generation online group reservation system.

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9166336.htm

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LogFire WMS Adds Labor Productivity Tracking and Analytics Dashboard

Improved supply chain and employee performance visibility fuels improved, data-driven decisions and optimizes overall supply chain performance

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/logfire/modex/prweb9166515.htm

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Uptempo Musicians Miranda & Tobar Win BIG At The Sundance Film...

The movie “Violeta Went to Heaven” with original music by Uptempo’s artists Miranda & Tobar was awarded with the World Cinema Dramatic Jury Prize.

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9167525.htm

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SEO Firm Oracle Digital Announces Expansion to Regional Western...

As the National Broadband Network expands into regional Western Australia this year, more people and businesses are expected to head online and create more opportunities for local businesses.

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9167912.htm

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Aim2Game Giving Away Over $5,000 in Prizes and Gear to Celebrate...

Founded in 2003, Aim2Game has been recently reorganized with a new management team and backing by capital investors. To celebrate the relaunch of their game server hosting services, Aim2Game is giving...

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/game/servers/prweb9168512.htm

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“75% of Democrats Believe Patriots Will Win Superbowl, Republicans...

Saygent asked a large group of people to predict the winner of the Super Bowl and went the extra step of asking them why. This voice poll takes crowd predictions to the next level.

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9168578.htm

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Aware Bear Computer Repair Pittsford New York DELL Laptop Service and...

Aware Bear Computer Repair in Pittsford New York offers DELL laptop service and repair in The Greater Rochester New York Area. Aware Bear offers a brand new 10% discount good thru 2012 to all military...

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/DELL-Laptop-Services/Repair-Rochester-New-York/prweb9168685.htm

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Ventureneer’s Stengel Takes Advocacy for Women Entrepreneurs to New...

Women entrepreneurs can look to Ventureneer for new resources and guidance to make their businesses grow.

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9168882.htm

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Aspire Goals 1.0 for iOS - Set and Achieve Goals Through Visualization

Digital Oddities today introduces Aspire Goals 1.0 for iOS, their new Productivity app for setting and achieving goals through motivational analysis and goal visualization. Achieving goals is 80%...

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164146.htm

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StrutPatent.com Publishes Report on Top Patent Recipients for January...

The latest report from StrutPatent.com provides insight on recent patents issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The report highlights top developments and trends for U.S. patents...

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/new-patents-issued/january-24-2012/prweb9165854.htm

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Internet Marketing Company Reveals Results of the Poll, "Which...

Internet Marketing Company (http://www.internetmarketingcompany.biz) Reveals Results of the Poll, "Which Link Building Strategy Works Best...

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/searchenginemarketing/internetmarketingservices/prweb9166606.htm

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20% Off Ice.com Coupon and Valentine’s Day Gift Guide Featured on...

CouponBuzz.com recently announced a 20% off site-wide coupon for Valentine’s Day that they are introducing on their new webpage dedicated to Ice.com coupons. Today they created a special link on the...

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9167866.htm

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iWedPress.com Unveils 30 New Designs for their Customizable Wedding...

iWedPress.com has added 30 new template theme designs to their numerous selections. The new themes provide more options to couples looking to put together online Psites to share details of their...

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9083308.htm

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New Home Sales Coach Offers 3 Steps to Hiring, Training (or Firing) a...

Rick Storlie of New Home Sales Coach has released a step-by-step recruiting, training and management process for home builders and remodelers hiring or training a salesperson.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9155886.htm

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Procurement Partners Receives LTC LINK Elite Supplier Award

Procurement Partners is awarded "Elite Supplier" distinction from LTC LINK for its consultative and innovative approach to meeting the needs of long term care providers.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164521.htm

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AOA Auto Accessories 2012 Trend Report: Protection Products Gain...

Auto dealers continued to generate profits from accessories sales in 2011; average dealership generated over $260,000 for the year, with 45% average gross profit margin

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164676.htm

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KPA Selected as a Strategic Partner by Fix Auto USA

Fix Auto USA has selected KPA as the strategic partner providing HR Software for Fix Auto USA

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/FixAutoUSA/HRManagement/prweb9166872.htm

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CinemaDeck Critic Edward E. Chapman Releases His List of 10 Best Films...

Reviewer Edward E. Chapman responds to the Oscars with his own choices for the best films of the year, and addresses some of the differences between his picks and those of the Academy.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9167003.htm

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National Property Management Directory, Rental Choice (.com) Announces...

National Property Management Directory, Rental Choice (.com) Announces Advertising Partnership with Oregon based Property Management Company Markus & Associates.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/propertymanagement/companies/prweb9167250.htm

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New Website Gives Users Access to Free Fonts

Recently launched, FreeFonts.info is a website that gives visitors instant access to cool fonts. Upon visiting the page, people are able to download fonts that come in thousands of different styles.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165008.htm

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BlueHostCoupon.us Announces New 2012 Coupon Code for BlueHost

BlueHostCoupon.us announces their new 2012 BlueHost coupon code. Use this exclusive BlueHost coupon to get the best deal on BlueHost web hosting.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/bluehost/coupon-2012/prweb9158803.htm

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Chiropractors: Get 90 Patients in 90 Days. Ben Cummings, Acclaimed...

Ben Cummings owns and operates the world’s largest Chiropractic Marketing Consultancy. In his latest blog post, Ben provides an informative PDF to teach Chiropractors how to implement his infamous...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/practicebuildingcenter/chiropracticmarketing/prweb9161665.htm

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Securenet Systems Announces Strategic Partnership with United Stations...

Securenet Systems, Inc. and United Stations Radio Networks, Inc. ("USRN") form a long-term marketing alliance where USRN will package Securenet Systems streaming services for their network...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/securenet-systems/radio-streaming/prweb9162117.htm

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Namecheap Welcomes the Drupal Association

To support Namecheap's opposition of SOPA and PIPA and to help preserve the open web, the Drupal Association has decided to move its SSL certificate to Namecheap.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9162274.htm

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Millicorp Announces the Release of MilliTalk 2.0 Their Evolutionary...

MilliTalk releases next major upgrade to iPhone and iPad calling app. Three new plans include free and inexpensive credit for national and international calling.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9162544.htm

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Homes.org Releases Mortgage Rates Update - How a Week of Market...

Homes.org releases latest weekly analysis of mortgage rates covering the reasons for the up and down interest rates, where current rates are at and which market reports are likely to have an effect on...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/mortgage-rate-update/market-reports-and-rates/prweb9162901.htm

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Huntington Beach Announces New Virtual Tour

New virtual tour of Huntington Beach will allow users to explore the city from the comfort of their own home.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163144.htm

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WestHost Launches Aggressive Promotion on .CO Domains

WestHost boasts rock-bottom price of $9.49 on .CO domains available for a limited time

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163232.htm

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Avalara OEM Partnerships Increase a Record 41% in 2011 Sales Tax...

The rapid growth of Avalara’s original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partnerships represents a milestone on the company’s quest to become the de facto transactional tax service provider across all...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163946.htm

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Competition for Best Brunch Heats Up

Competition heats up as MojoPages Awards voting for Best Brunch in the U.S. approaches its end.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164441.htm

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Steve Bederman, Former CEO of TouchStar, Announces New Executive Team...

Steve Bederman has staffed his latest venture, thē Corporation, a gateway company to escort non-US software and technology firms into the US, with software and technology veterans. Thē Corporation...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012US-market-Entry/02US-business-expansion/prweb9164497.htm

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Nearly $4,000 in Prizes to be Awarded at Namecheap's Super Weekend...

To follow its annual tradition, Namecheap.com will be hosting a football trivia contest with domain name credit and iPad giveaways.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164786.htm

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CouponBuzz Features Ice.com Coupon of 20% Off to Celebrate Valentine’s...

Today CouponBuzz.com announced a 20% off coupon for Ice.com, just in time for the big rush of online Valentine’s Day gift shopping. The special 20% off site-wide coupon is featured at the top of their...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164885.htm

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Business Phone Supplier TelcoDepot.com Launches New Discount on...

Business phone system supplier TelcoDepot.com has launched a new discount scheme for Quintum T1/PRI Gateways for Response Point ordered from its online phone store.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165074.htm

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Phone System Supplier TelcoDepot.com Introduces New Discount on Aastra...

Online Phone System supplier TelcoDepot.com has introduced a new discount on Aastra 6755i IP Phones purchased from its online phone system store.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165118.htm

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Business Phone Supplier TelcoDepot.com Offers New Discount on Aastra...

Business phone system supplier TelcoDepot.com is offering a new discount on the high quality Aastra 6757i IP Phones available from its online phone store as part of its campaign to add value for...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165131.htm

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Phone Equipment Provider TelcoDepot.com Offers New Low Price on Aastra...

Business phone system supplier TelcoDepot.com is offering a new discount on the high quality Aastra 6731i IP Phones available from its online phone store as part of its campaign to add value for...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165149.htm

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NY Printer 4OVER4.COM Introduces New Die Cut Hangtags Printing Service...

Printing Business 4OVER4.COM has launched a new die-cut hangtags printing service on its online print ordering store. Customers can now access die-cut hangtags printing with many new paper types,...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165172.htm

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NY Printer 4OVER4.COM Launches Improved Greeting Cards Printing...

NYC Printing Company 4OVER4.COM has launched an improved greeting cards printing service. 4OVER4 greeting cards are now available in new paper types and more quality printing options.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165205.htm

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Galaxy Nexus gets Strong 2000mAh Extended Battery from Mugen Power

New 2000mAh battery extends the life of Galaxy Nexus by 14%.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Galaxy/Nexus/prweb9165832.htm

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Link Building Company Announces Increase in Search for Keyword,...

Link Building Company (http://www.linkbuilding.org) Announces an Increase in the Search for Keyword, "Link Building Packages"

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/bestlinkbuildingpackages/cheaplinkbuildingservices/prweb9166588.htm

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Home Security Tips for Scared Adults Home Alone

Even adults get scared when they are home alone, according to two separate studies conducted by Wakefield Research and Go Glow Light. So what can you do to calm fears and stay safe? Home Security...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9166688.htm

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SpeedDash - Business Intelligence Dashboard By James Schramko Soon To...

James Schramko’s newest project, SpeedDash, is in its final development stage. The public version of it will hit the stands in the near future.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/James_Schramko/speeddash/prweb9167209.htm

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Optimal Payments announces NETELLER eWallet updates

NETELLER introduces free instant money transfers for eWallet members

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012Feb3/moneytransfer/prweb9154295.htm

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New Article: Five Criteria before Moving to a Cloud Computing Solution

A new article from eMazzanti Technologies captures five key concerns a CIO has about moving to cloud computing

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/cloud/recovery/prweb9159482.htm

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Red Nova Labs Expands Talent Pool with Four New Tech-Focused Employees

Three programmers and a search engine specialist join the fast-growing team in Kansas City.

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9166855.htm

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Super Bowl Gone to The Dogs & BARKCODE®!

Suzuki 2012 Super Bowl Campaign Features BARKCODE’s® Pet Recovery ID Tag

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9168964.htm

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New Tank War Game Brings World Wonders to iPhone

Tank-O-Mania is a new action shooter game for iPhone where player operates a tank to liberate famous world wonders including the Taj Mahal, Statue of Liberty, Sphinx and more.

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165810.htm

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New Software to Jailbreak/Unlock iPhone 4S, 3GS and iPhone 4 ios 5.0.1...

JailbreakPhone4s.com have just announced the release of an updated version of their latest software. This new update will unlock/jailbreak iPhone 4S/4 IOS 5.0.1. Unmatched by any other solution.

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165542.htm

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Aspire Goals 1.0 for iOS - Set and Achieve Goals Through Visualization

Digital Oddities today introduces Aspire Goals 1.0 for iOS, their new Productivity app for setting and achieving goals through motivational analysis and goal visualization. Achieving goals is 80%...

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164146.htm

Posted on

GL Conveys the Availability of its Frame Relay Protocol Analyzer...

GL Communications Inc. conveyed today the availability of its product Frame Relay Protocol Analyzer software.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/GLCommunicationsInc/FrameRelayProtocolAnalyze/prweb9165186.htm

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Quay West Suites Brisbane Hotel Unveils a 5-Star Makeover

Located directly opposite the stunning Botanic Gardens, Quay West Suites Brisbane hotel has just unveiled a 5-star makeover; once again, cementing itself as one of Brisbane’s premier, luxury hotels.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160766.htm

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Get Ready for the 2012 Tax Season with Aware Bear Computers in...

Aware Bear Computers in Rochester New York is offering a $69 virus removal special in Rochester. Get ready to file taxes online without the worry of being a victim online fraud caused by a virus.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/aware-bear-computers-ny/rochester-aware-bear-comp/prweb9168150.htm

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Hartford Business Journal to Host e-Marketing & Technology Summit

Event will educate business leaders on the latest technology and online marketing trends including web design, search engine optimization, e-newsletters and social media.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163746.htm

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Happy Talking Penguin for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch Introduces Peepo...

iOS users from the ages of 1 to 100 can now meet a 3D Virtual Peepo the Penguin, in the stunningly animated and richly interactive Happy Talking Penguin app, built by SiXiTS - some of the best and...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9152580.htm

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Premium Verizon Retailer Opens New Store in Palatka

Cellular Sales opens new store, boosts local economy with new sales jobs.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9158708.htm

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Namecheap Welcomes the Drupal Association

To support Namecheap's opposition of SOPA and PIPA and to help preserve the open web, the Drupal Association has decided to move its SSL certificate to Namecheap.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9162274.htm

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Nearly $4,000 in Prizes to be Awarded at Namecheap's Super Weekend...

To follow its annual tradition, Namecheap.com will be hosting a football trivia contest with domain name credit and iPad giveaways.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164786.htm

Posted on

Business Phone Supplier TelcoDepot.com Launches New Discount on...

Business phone system supplier TelcoDepot.com has launched a new discount scheme for Quintum T1/PRI Gateways for Response Point ordered from its online phone store.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165074.htm

Posted on

Phone System Supplier TelcoDepot.com Introduces New Discount on Aastra...

Online Phone System supplier TelcoDepot.com has introduced a new discount on Aastra 6755i IP Phones purchased from its online phone system store.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165118.htm

Posted on

Business Phone Supplier TelcoDepot.com Offers New Discount on Aastra...

Business phone system supplier TelcoDepot.com is offering a new discount on the high quality Aastra 6757i IP Phones available from its online phone store as part of its campaign to add value for...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165131.htm

Posted on

Phone Equipment Provider TelcoDepot.com Offers New Low Price on Aastra...

Business phone system supplier TelcoDepot.com is offering a new discount on the high quality Aastra 6731i IP Phones available from its online phone store as part of its campaign to add value for...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165149.htm

Posted on

NY Printer 4OVER4.COM Introduces New Die Cut Hangtags Printing Service...

Printing Business 4OVER4.COM has launched a new die-cut hangtags printing service on its online print ordering store. Customers can now access die-cut hangtags printing with many new paper types,...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165172.htm

Posted on

NY Printer 4OVER4.COM Launches Improved Greeting Cards Printing...

NYC Printing Company 4OVER4.COM has launched an improved greeting cards printing service. 4OVER4 greeting cards are now available in new paper types and more quality printing options.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165205.htm

Posted on

Galaxy Nexus gets Strong 2000mAh Extended Battery from Mugen Power

New 2000mAh battery extends the life of Galaxy Nexus by 14%.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Galaxy/Nexus/prweb9165832.htm

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Optimal Payments announces NETELLER eWallet updates

NETELLER introduces free instant money transfers for eWallet members

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012Feb3/moneytransfer/prweb9154295.htm

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iiNet Research Finds Young Adults Feign IT Ignorance

Despite being branded the tech-generation, young adult Australians are downplaying their tech skills to avoid being nominated the resident IT expert for family and friends, according to a new study...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9157358.htm

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Preparis Selected to Present at the 2012 Southeast Venture Conference

Leading technology innovators showcased from around the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9157563.htm

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Winemaker’s Degustation Event at Treasury Restaurant in Melbourne...

In collaboration with one of Tasmania’s finest winemaker’s, Treasury Restaurant is hosting a lavish degustation dinner in conjunction with award-winning Bay of Fires wines on 23rd February 2012.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160794.htm

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Start Improving Eating Habits Today with MealGuru!

US based EMP Company today announces the launch of the updated MealGuru for the iPad and iPad 2. The first meal planning solution of its kind on the App Store, this dynamic tool creates healthy meal...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9162029.htm

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Mobile App Developer i4software Awarded Best of Show at Macworld 2012...

i4software, a leading iPhone and iPad app developer, was awarded Best of Show at Macworld 2012, where it introduced its latest app, Video Camera, to rave reviews.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9162546.htm

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BlueVolt® Announces Record Fourth Quarter and 2011 Results For...

BlueVolt is pleased to announce its fourth quarter and 2011 business results.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163003.htm

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NitroDesk Announces IBM® Lotus Notes® Support in TouchDown

NitroDesk announce Lotus Notes support in the next release of TouchDown at the end of Q1.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163242.htm

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CIT Announces Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund (CRCF)...

CRCF invites eligible applicants to apply for $2.2 million of remaining FY2012 CRCF funds.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/CIT/CRCFWinter2012/prweb9163309.htm

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HOBI International Marks 20th Anniversary as Industry Leading ITAD...

R2 certified IT asset disposition company maintains reputation as comprehensive solutions provider.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164148.htm

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Sunstorm Takes the iTunes App Store By Storm: 75 Million Downloads and...

What does it take to make an app empire? Sunstorm Interactive CEO Anthony Campiti knows - his three year old software company has been a consistent success with 13 top ranked games including ICEE...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164541.htm

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Aware Bear Computer Repair in Pittsford New York Goes Green and Starts...

Aware Bear Computer Repair in Pittsford, New York announces a brand new community vegetable garden project in the City of Rochester New York. Aware Bear Computer Repair in Pittsford, New York wants...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/awarebear-computer-repair/pittsford-new-york/prweb9164870.htm

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Global Franchising Industry to Reach US$3.96 Trillion by 2015,...

GIA announces the release of a comprehensive global outlook on the franchising industry. The nearly century old global franchising industry sector is quite profitable with low-risk and low cost of...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/franchising/franchisers_franchisees/prweb9164893.htm

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Topical NFC Market Research Study by MarketsandMarkets Recently...

The growth of the NFC applications market is expected to be exponential with the revenue growth from $7,686 million in 2011 to $34,515 million by 2016, at an estimated CAGR of 35% from 2011 to 2016....

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165293.htm

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Travel to Beautiful Sedona at a Discount With The Call of Sedona App

The Call of Sedona App is an ultimate blend of technology and spirituality, enabling users to enjoy the meditation and hiking experience of beautiful Sedona, without leaving home. The App is being...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9167408.htm

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ConnectMe QR Announces Launch of Mobile Website and QR Code Editor

Mobile marketing company ConnectMe QR™ announced today the launch of the much anticipated Advanced mobile website and QR code Editor for their flagship product, the mCard™- an around-the-clock,...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160550.htm

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Updated Version of Diptic is Now Available

Diptic, a popular photography app, has released a new update and now boasts double the layouts and unique features for photo and layout selection.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160914.htm

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New Apple iOS Game for the iPhone and iPad, Game Fury Balls: Worlds of...

The Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch maze game, Fury Balls: Worlds of Chaos has just been released by Curvature Studios. The game allows users to navigate a ball maze filled with havoc using the...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9158858.htm

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Celebrate Digital Learning Day Today by Securing your Online Accounts

Securing Our eCity encourages everyone to take steps for stronger protection.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160365.htm

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Engine Shop moving experiential marketing into the digital realm

Experiential sports, entertainment and lifestyle marketing agency specializes in creating and producing integrated event-based programs for its clients while focusing on digital, social and mobile...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9151364.htm

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Cellularflip.com Pays You Cash for Your Cell Phones & Gadgets

Cellularflip.com has introduced a new website where consumers can quickly get cash for old consumer electronics such as cellphones and tablets. Visitors to the site are asked the brand or model of...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9154434.htm

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Tweet Land - The Before and After of Videogames

Tweet Land is the first gaming platform in the world that plays with reality and is now available for download on the Apple AppStore starting January 31st. Everything said in Twitter could affect the...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9157476.htm

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GL Conveys The Availability Of Its SS7 Protocol Analyzer Software

GL Communications Inc. conveyed today the availability of its product SS7 Protocol Analyzer software.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/GLCommunicationsInc/SS7-c7-Protocol/prweb9157784.htm

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Mobistar Employs Momac-Led Mobile Strategy to Reduce OPEX and Boost...

Momac, a leading provider of customer engagement interface solutions for mobile operators, and Belgian operator Mobistar have deployed an on-device self-service strategy intended to reduce overall...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9158395.htm

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Premium Verizon Retailer Creates New Sales Jobs

Cellular Sales opens new store, invests in the future of local economy.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9158683.htm

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Level Platforms Remote Monitoring and Management Now Pre-Installed...

Installed on every Intel AppUp Small Business Service server, Level Platforms Managed Workplace® helps service providers lower costs, increase revenue and improve customer response time.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9158955.htm

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Clear-Coat.com Sponsors iPad 2 Giveaway Through Facebook and Twitter

Clear-Coat.com announced a sweepstakes through Facebook and Twitter for a new iPad 2. The company says they will be focusing on giving back to fans with giveaways throughout 2012 via social media,...

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9159222.htm

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RDT Systems, a Retail Technology Solutions Provider to Small and...

RDT’s offering has expanded to include an entire suite of retail automation applications.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160122.htm

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PerfectServe Secures $10.9 Million in New Financing

Financing round led by PJC Capital LLC to drive increased investments in growth and innovation

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160541.htm

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New Article: Five Criteria before Moving to a Cloud Computing Solution

A new article from eMazzanti Technologies captures five key concerns a CIO has about moving to cloud computing

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/cloud/recovery/prweb9159482.htm

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Lectora Provides Tips & Tricks for Mobile Learning in Upcoming...

mLearning Webinar Instructs Best Ways to Create Mobile e-Learning Content Successfully Using Lectora e-Learning Software

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165837.htm

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Online Insurance Marketplace Announces an Increase in Searches for...

Online Insurance Marketplace (OnlineInsuranceMarketPlace.com) Announces an Increase in Searches for Keyword, "How Much is Life Insurance"

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/howmuchislifeinsurance/familylifeinsurance/prweb9166637.htm

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Medical Cannabis’ Harborside Health Center Launches Groundbreaking New...

QuantaCann cannabis testing system makes revolutionary changes in the industry with on-site testing for medical cannabis safety, strains and potency. Since beta testing and implementation, Harborside...

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/medical-marijuana/testing/prweb9167451.htm

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Introducing Ashford.com Coupons on a Dedicated Webpage at...

Today CouponBuzz.com announced the launch of a dedicated webpage for Ashford.com coupons. This new section of the CouponBuzz.com site follows a recent marketing strategy of the internet coupon...

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9168554.htm

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Fargo Interactive Agency Launches New Website: Onsharp.com

With simplicity and education in mind, Onsharp is proud to announce the launch of its new website, http://www.onsharp.com. The redesigned site highlights the...

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163398.htm

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LogFire WMS Adds Labor Productivity Tracking and Analytics Dashboard

Improved supply chain and employee performance visibility fuels improved, data-driven decisions and optimizes overall supply chain performance

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/logfire/modex/prweb9166515.htm

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Aware Bear Computer Repair Pittsford New York DELL Laptop Service and...

Aware Bear Computer Repair in Pittsford New York offers DELL laptop service and repair in The Greater Rochester New York Area. Aware Bear offers a brand new 10% discount good thru 2012 to all military...

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/DELL-Laptop-Services/Repair-Rochester-New-York/prweb9168685.htm

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New Software to Jailbreak/Unlock iPhone 4S, 3GS and iPhone 4 ios 5.0.1...

JailbreakPhone4s.com have just announced the release of an updated version of their latest software. This new update will unlock/jailbreak iPhone 4S/4 IOS 5.0.1. Unmatched by any other solution.

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165542.htm

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Aspire Goals 1.0 for iOS - Set and Achieve Goals Through Visualization

Digital Oddities today introduces Aspire Goals 1.0 for iOS, their new Productivity app for setting and achieving goals through motivational analysis and goal visualization. Achieving goals is 80%...

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164146.htm

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GL Conveys the Availability of its Frame Relay Protocol Analyzer...

GL Communications Inc. conveyed today the availability of its product Frame Relay Protocol Analyzer software.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/GLCommunicationsInc/FrameRelayProtocolAnalyze/prweb9165186.htm

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Internet Marketing Company Reveals Results of the Poll, "Which...

Internet Marketing Company (http://www.internetmarketingcompany.biz) Reveals Results of the Poll, "Which Link Building Strategy Works Best...

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/searchenginemarketing/internetmarketingservices/prweb9166606.htm

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20% Off Ice.com Coupon and Valentine’s Day Gift Guide Featured on...

CouponBuzz.com recently announced a 20% off site-wide coupon for Valentine’s Day that they are introducing on their new webpage dedicated to Ice.com coupons. Today they created a special link on the...

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9167866.htm

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Procurement Partners Receives LTC LINK Elite Supplier Award

Procurement Partners is awarded "Elite Supplier" distinction from LTC LINK for its consultative and innovative approach to meeting the needs of long term care providers.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164521.htm

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AOA Auto Accessories 2012 Trend Report: Protection Products Gain...

Auto dealers continued to generate profits from accessories sales in 2011; average dealership generated over $260,000 for the year, with 45% average gross profit margin

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164676.htm

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National Property Management Directory, Rental Choice (.com) Announces...

National Property Management Directory, Rental Choice (.com) Announces Advertising Partnership with Oregon based Property Management Company Markus & Associates.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/propertymanagement/companies/prweb9167250.htm

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Get Ready for the 2012 Tax Season with Aware Bear Computers in...

Aware Bear Computers in Rochester New York is offering a $69 virus removal special in Rochester. Get ready to file taxes online without the worry of being a victim online fraud caused by a virus.

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/aware-bear-computers-ny/rochester-aware-bear-comp/prweb9168150.htm

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New Website Gives Users Access to Free Fonts

Recently launched, FreeFonts.info is a website that gives visitors instant access to cool fonts. Upon visiting the page, people are able to download fonts that come in thousands of different styles.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165008.htm

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Namecheap Welcomes the Drupal Association

To support Namecheap's opposition of SOPA and PIPA and to help preserve the open web, the Drupal Association has decided to move its SSL certificate to Namecheap.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9162274.htm

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Huntington Beach Announces New Virtual Tour

New virtual tour of Huntington Beach will allow users to explore the city from the comfort of their own home.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163144.htm

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WestHost Launches Aggressive Promotion on .CO Domains

WestHost boasts rock-bottom price of $9.49 on .CO domains available for a limited time

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163232.htm

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HigherVisibility Named Third Best eCommerce SEO Company by topseos.com...

The independent authority on search vendors, topseos.com, has named HigherVisibility as the third best ecommerce SEO company for February 2012.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163593.htm

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CIOsynergy Announces INDUSA as Official Sponsor for directIT Chicago...

INDUSA a CMM Level 4 certified Software Solutions and Consulting Company, has confirmed Sponsorship of directIT Chicago, February 9, 2012.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163768.htm

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Nearly $4,000 in Prizes to be Awarded at Namecheap's Super Weekend...

To follow its annual tradition, Namecheap.com will be hosting a football trivia contest with domain name credit and iPad giveaways.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164786.htm

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CouponBuzz Features Ice.com Coupon of 20% Off to Celebrate Valentine’s...

Today CouponBuzz.com announced a 20% off coupon for Ice.com, just in time for the big rush of online Valentine’s Day gift shopping. The special 20% off site-wide coupon is featured at the top of their...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164885.htm

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"How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge From Small Discoveries"...

Carahsoft Technology Corp., the trusted Government IT solutions provider and Platinum sponsor, today announced the keynote speakers and program lineup for the 2012 Adobe Government Assembly: Adobe...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/AdobeGovAssembly/2012/prweb9165323.htm

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Galaxy Nexus gets Strong 2000mAh Extended Battery from Mugen Power

New 2000mAh battery extends the life of Galaxy Nexus by 14%.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Galaxy/Nexus/prweb9165832.htm

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Link Building Company Announces Increase in Search for Keyword,...

Link Building Company (http://www.linkbuilding.org) Announces an Increase in the Search for Keyword, "Link Building Packages"

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/bestlinkbuildingpackages/cheaplinkbuildingservices/prweb9166588.htm

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iiNet Research Finds Young Adults Feign IT Ignorance

Despite being branded the tech-generation, young adult Australians are downplaying their tech skills to avoid being nominated the resident IT expert for family and friends, according to a new study...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9157358.htm

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Traq Software Stresses 7 Important Principals for Test Management

Yet again, 2011 saw major software failures from major companies. Traq Software see failures in process contributing significantly to failures like these. Most forget these seven key test management...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9157861.htm

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New Free Flash Game Portal NextPlz.com Launches

NextPlz.com is a new flash game portal with a powerful recommendation engine that quickly learns players’ likes/dislikes and serves up new games based on these personal preferences.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9158378.htm

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eCube Systems Announces Strategic Relationship with Nevatech and MSE...

eCube markets SOA management, Microsoft MSE replacement technology and related consulting services based on Sentinet API management platform from Nevatech

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/mse-replacement-soa/sentinet-wcf-ecube/prweb9158633.htm

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SharePoint Solutions Announces Free SharePoint Training Video Series

SharePoint Solutions, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, today announced the release of the first two videos of a new free SharePoint training video series titled, SharePoint 101–What Makes...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160126.htm

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Total Phase Wins Test & Measurement World's Best in Test Award...

The Beagle USB 5000 SuperSpeed Protocol Analyzer wins the 2012 Best in Test award in the Bus and Logic Analyzer category at an awards ceremony held in conjunction with DesignCon 2012 in Santa Clara,...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160674.htm

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Top Maryland SEO Company Opens New Office in North Carolina

Blue Corona, one of the fastest growing online marketing and SEO companies in the country, opened a new office in Charlotte, NC. The move, part of a regional expansion program, is intended to provide...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9162087.htm

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AvaHost.Net Web Hosting Provider Upgrades their VPS Hosting Service

AvaHost.net hosting provider doubled the parameters for their VPS hosting: instead of 512 Mb RAM and 40 Gb hard drive storage the customer will get 1024 Mb of RAM and 80 Gb of disk at the same price.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9162800.htm

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QuoteWerks Releases Enhanced Quote Importer for Dell Quotes

QuoteWerks enables Dell resellers to quickly create detailed quotes and proposals with the newly enhanced Quote Importer.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/QuoteWerks/DellQuote/prweb9163106.htm

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Senator Scott Brown Visits Symbotic in Wilmington, MA

Symbotic is recognized as a contributor to job creation in the Bay State area.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163112.htm

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Nurturing Company Culture Outside the Office Wins Agency Top Employer...

On the heels of being named “The #1 Best Communications and Professional Services Company To Work For in BC” by BC Business Magazine, 6S Marketing is placed on Eluta’s Top 50 Employers in BC list for...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163293.htm

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ASI and Billhighway Announce Group/Chapter Financial Platform for iMIS

Advanced Solutions International (ASI), the leading global provider of web-based software for member- and donor-based not-for-profits, announces that iMIS customers with group/chapter organizational...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/association_software/not-for-profit_software/prweb9163571.htm

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IntelliChief Presents Document Management for the Rental Industry at...

IntelliChief to present how their solution brings the rental industry paperless

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163579.htm

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HOBI International Marks 20th Anniversary as Industry Leading ITAD...

R2 certified IT asset disposition company maintains reputation as comprehensive solutions provider.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164148.htm

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Fremont Micro Devices Appoints CTC & Millennium as Sales...

Companies with specialized skills have been named to represent the Fremont Micro Devices Integrated Circuit lines. FMD affirms its strategic initiative to provide customers with local design and...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164518.htm

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Global Encryption Software Market to Reach US$1.8 Billion by 2015,...

GIA announces the release of a comprehensive global outlook on Encryption Systems and Digital Certificates market. Increasing use of the Internet by corporates and consumers is bringing to the...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/encryption_systems/digital_certificates/prweb9164868.htm

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Global Market for Satellites Related Products and Services to Reach...

GIA announces the release of a comprehensive global outlook on the Satellites Industry. Growth in the global satellites market is expected to be driven by opportunities in the satellite services...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/satellite_equipment/satellite_services/prweb9164892.htm

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Health Care DataWorks, Leading Provider of Business Intelligence...

Health Care Dataworks, a Central Ohio company that launched three years ago to provide business intelligence solutions that enable healthcare organizations to improve their quality of care and reduce...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165578.htm

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HOA Management(.com), a National Directory for HOA Management...

HOA Management (.com) is proud to announce a new advertising partnership with Gaughan Companies. Gaughan Companies will be featured as a premier association management partner on HOA Management...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/hoamanagement/companies/prweb9165986.htm

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Print Audit® Introduces Disruptive New MPS Business Model

Print Audit has launched Print Audit Premier, a new subscription plan that provides access to all of Print Audit's products for one low monthly fee.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160553.htm

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IPextreme’s Warren Savage to speak at GSA IP Summit

Warren Savage, president and CEO of IPextreme and GSA IP Working Group Chair, will deliver opening remarks and moderate a panel discussion on the topic: What Keeps You Up at Night?

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9161048.htm

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GL Conveys The Availability Of Its SS7 Protocol Analyzer Software

GL Communications Inc. conveyed today the availability of its product SS7 Protocol Analyzer software.

(PRWeb February 02, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/GLCommunicationsInc/SS7-c7-Protocol/prweb9157784.htm

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New Article: Five Criteria before Moving to a Cloud Computing Solution

A new article from eMazzanti Technologies captures five key concerns a CIO has about moving to cloud computing

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/cloud/recovery/prweb9159482.htm

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Fargo Interactive Agency Launches New Website: Onsharp.com

With simplicity and education in mind, Onsharp is proud to announce the launch of its new website, http://www.onsharp.com. The redesigned site highlights the...

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163398.htm

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TruEffect Selects Chief Revenue Officer, Jeff Bruce, to Head up its...

Explosive growth leads to opening a New York office to service major brands and agencies.

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165499.htm

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Xtiva Financial Systems Successfully Completes SSAE-16 Audit

After 6 straight years of SAS 70 audits, Xtiva has converted over to the new SSAE 16 standard

(PRWeb February 05, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9166500.htm

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New Lean Progress Assessment from TBM Consulting Group Scores...

TBM Consulting has developed a detailed online lean assessment designed to help business leaders validate their continuous improvement (CI) initiatives. The assessment will score organizations on...

(PRWeb February 04, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163715.htm

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Namecheap Welcomes the Drupal Association

To support Namecheap's opposition of SOPA and PIPA and to help preserve the open web, the Drupal Association has decided to move its SSL certificate to Namecheap.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9162274.htm

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HigherVisibility Named Third Best eCommerce SEO Company by topseos.com...

The independent authority on search vendors, topseos.com, has named HigherVisibility as the third best ecommerce SEO company for February 2012.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163593.htm

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Learning Executives More Confident in Q4 2011

ASTD index shows more report substantial increase in ability to meet learning needs.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163700.htm

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CIOsynergy Announces INDUSA as Official Sponsor for directIT Chicago...

INDUSA a CMM Level 4 certified Software Solutions and Consulting Company, has confirmed Sponsorship of directIT Chicago, February 9, 2012.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163768.htm

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Avalara OEM Partnerships Increase a Record 41% in 2011 Sales Tax...

The rapid growth of Avalara’s original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partnerships represents a milestone on the company’s quest to become the de facto transactional tax service provider across all...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163946.htm

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Steve Bederman, Former CEO of TouchStar, Announces New Executive Team...

Steve Bederman has staffed his latest venture, thē Corporation, a gateway company to escort non-US software and technology firms into the US, with software and technology veterans. Thē Corporation...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012US-market-Entry/02US-business-expansion/prweb9164497.htm

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Nearly $4,000 in Prizes to be Awarded at Namecheap's Super Weekend...

To follow its annual tradition, Namecheap.com will be hosting a football trivia contest with domain name credit and iPad giveaways.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9164786.htm

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Business Phone Supplier TelcoDepot.com Launches New Discount on...

Business phone system supplier TelcoDepot.com has launched a new discount scheme for Quintum T1/PRI Gateways for Response Point ordered from its online phone store.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165074.htm

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Phone System Supplier TelcoDepot.com Introduces New Discount on Aastra...

Online Phone System supplier TelcoDepot.com has introduced a new discount on Aastra 6755i IP Phones purchased from its online phone system store.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165118.htm

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Business Phone Supplier TelcoDepot.com Offers New Discount on Aastra...

Business phone system supplier TelcoDepot.com is offering a new discount on the high quality Aastra 6757i IP Phones available from its online phone store as part of its campaign to add value for...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165131.htm

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Phone Equipment Provider TelcoDepot.com Offers New Low Price on Aastra...

Business phone system supplier TelcoDepot.com is offering a new discount on the high quality Aastra 6731i IP Phones available from its online phone store as part of its campaign to add value for...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165149.htm

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NY Printer 4OVER4.COM Introduces New Die Cut Hangtags Printing Service...

Printing Business 4OVER4.COM has launched a new die-cut hangtags printing service on its online print ordering store. Customers can now access die-cut hangtags printing with many new paper types,...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165172.htm

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NY Printer 4OVER4.COM Launches Improved Greeting Cards Printing...

NYC Printing Company 4OVER4.COM has launched an improved greeting cards printing service. 4OVER4 greeting cards are now available in new paper types and more quality printing options.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9165205.htm

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"How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge From Small Discoveries"...

Carahsoft Technology Corp., the trusted Government IT solutions provider and Platinum sponsor, today announced the keynote speakers and program lineup for the 2012 Adobe Government Assembly: Adobe...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/AdobeGovAssembly/2012/prweb9165323.htm

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Optimal Payments announces NETELLER eWallet updates

NETELLER introduces free instant money transfers for eWallet members

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012Feb3/moneytransfer/prweb9154295.htm

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Preparis Selected to Present at the 2012 Southeast Venture Conference

Leading technology innovators showcased from around the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9157563.htm

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Traq Software Stresses 7 Important Principals for Test Management

Yet again, 2011 saw major software failures from major companies. Traq Software see failures in process contributing significantly to failures like these. Most forget these seven key test management...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9157861.htm

Posted on

eCube Systems Announces Strategic Relationship with Nevatech and MSE...

eCube markets SOA management, Microsoft MSE replacement technology and related consulting services based on Sentinet API management platform from Nevatech

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/mse-replacement-soa/sentinet-wcf-ecube/prweb9158633.htm

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Going Paperless in the Navajo Nation

DocUnited Imaging is pleased to announce records management education for the Navajo Nation.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9159530.htm

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Re-introducing the Titan Security System - Titan Security System is...

Today, the engineers and security experts who originally developed Titan are releasing an all-new version that revolutionizes the concept of command-and-control.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9160407.htm

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QuoteWerks Releases Enhanced Quote Importer for Dell Quotes

QuoteWerks enables Dell resellers to quickly create detailed quotes and proposals with the newly enhanced Quote Importer.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/QuoteWerks/DellQuote/prweb9163106.htm

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NitroDesk Announces IBM® Lotus Notes® Support in TouchDown

NitroDesk announce Lotus Notes support in the next release of TouchDown at the end of Q1.

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163242.htm

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ASI and Billhighway Announce Group/Chapter Financial Platform for iMIS

Advanced Solutions International (ASI), the leading global provider of web-based software for member- and donor-based not-for-profits, announces that iMIS customers with group/chapter organizational...

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/association_software/not-for-profit_software/prweb9163571.htm

Posted on

IntelliChief Presents Document Management for the Rental Industry at...

IntelliChief to present how their solution brings the rental industry paperless

(PRWeb February 03, 2012)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9163579.htm

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Geography More Important than Industry in IT Salaries

Over at Computer Economics, we've just published our 2012 IT Salary Report, as we've been doing for over 20 years.

The headline this year is that IT workers in the U.S. will only receive a 2.8% pay increase, at the median, as shown in the Figure nearby. Even organizations at the 75th percentile are budgeting for only a 3.0% wage increase for IT professionals. That lags well behind the 3.4% rise in the Consumer Price Index for the 12-month period through November 2011.

A short summary of these top line trends can be found a post on the Computer Economics website.

Influence of Industry Sector on IT Pay Scales

Although the general trend for U.S. IT salaries is interesting, what I find more interesting is an analysis of factors that affect IT salaries. After we published this report this morning, we received a media inquiry from a reporter covering healthcare IT. She wanted to know, did we have any data on IT salaries specific to the healthcare industry?

Fortunately, this year for the first time, we provided an analysis of IT salaries by industry sector, based on data we acquired from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. These "pay relatives" by industry sector complement those that we also provide for over 400 metropolitan areas.

So, to answer her question directly: according to the industry sector data, IT compensation in the healthcare sector is about 82% of the national median. For example, if you are a desktop support technician in the healthcare industry, you can expect to make only 82 cents on the dollar, compared to desktop support personnel nationwide.

A Misleading Statistic

These "pay relatives" by industry sector can be misleading, however. In this example, healthcare organizations tend to be located in all metropolitan areas, both urban and rural, that vary widely in their cost of living. Other industries--financial services firms for example--tend to be concentrated in large metropolitan areas, like New York, Boston, and San Francisco, which have higher cost of living indexes. Low and behold, when we look at the pay relative for the finance and insurance sector, we see that it is 104% of the national median.

So, in our opinion, IT workers in financial services firms on average across the U.S. are paid more than their counterparts in healthcare organizations, not because financial services firms pay more, but because they tend to be located in metropolitan areas with higher costs of living.

Implications for IT Managers

Therefore, if you are using the Computer Economics salary tables to evaluate pay scales in your organization, you are better off to put most of your emphasis on the geographic cut of the data than the industry sector cut.

There are exceptions to this rule, of course. For example, business analysts or applications developers with experience implementing electronic medical records are in high demand right now. Healthcare organizations will likely need to pay a premium to recruit and retain IT professionals with this experience. Likewise, financial institutions are likely to be at the top of the pay scale for IT security professionals with experience in financial transaction processing environments. In the applications area, IT management, business analysis, and other business-oriented positions, industry-specific experience almost always commands top dollar.

But for most other IT positions, such as data center operations, system administration, help desk, desktop support, and other jobs that are not highly industry-specific, consider the geographic dimension as the most important in benchmarking IT pay scales. Essentially, if the person holding the job can move from one industry to another, with little or no retraining, the pay scale for that job is highly dependent on the geography, not the industry.

A full description of the Computer Economics 2012 IT Salary Report, with free sample pages is available.

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IT Budgets vs. Tech Industry Spending: What's the Difference?

Posted on 17 January 2012 | 3:32 pm

Enterprise IT Buyers: Don’t Listen to Financial Analysts

Wall StreetWhen it comes to enterprise IT decisions, I have come to the conclusion that buyers shouldn’t read the financial press. There are industry analysts and there are financial analysts, and they address two distinct audiences.

Exhibit A is this Business Insider post, entitled, The Awful Economy Is Really Going To Hurt SAP. Here’s the post’s lede:

SAP's hot new software, HANA, has been a relative flop, said BofA Analyst Chandra Sriraman this morning.

HANA was hailed as groundbreaking when it was introduced about a year ago. It sits in a computer's memory so it literally runs while the computer processes transactions.

There's just one problem: No one is buying it.
The post goes on to quote Sriramen concerning why he feels that SAP “will be hurt by slower demand from its key manufacturing customers, depressed business confidence and the financial mess in Europe.”

Now, what are prospective buyer of SAP’s software supposed to make of this commentary? That the prospect should not move forward? If I am an SAP customer, should I be concerned?

The answer, of course, is no--because financial analysts, like this one, do not have SAP customers or prospects as their audience.

Two Stakeholder Groups

Putting aside the cute part about "HANA…literally [running] while the computer processes transactions" and Sriramen’s conclusion that SAP faces an "awful" 2012 (I happen to think he is wrong), let's understand the difference between a financial analyst and an industry analyst.

Every publicly-held enterprise IT vendor (or any publicly held company) has many stakeholders: shareholders (investors), customers, employees, business partners, suppliers, and the community at large. But for purposes of this discussion, let’s focus on the two primary groups of stakeholders: customers and investors. What are the objectives of these two groups?
  • Customers are interested in the value of the vendor's product (its benefits and costs), the quality of the vendor's service, the vendor’s ability to innovate, and the long-term viability of the vendor itself.
  • Investors, of course, are also interested in these things. But--and this is the key point--investors are not interested in these things directly. They are interested in these things in terms of what they mean for the stock price, short-term and long-term.
Investors want to see that the product has value, because companies that offer such products tend to have growing stock prices. They want to see excellent customer service, because it contributes to customer retention, which has a positive effect on the stock price. They want to see that the vendor is innovative, because innovation drives growth and growing companies command a higher price-earnings ratio. Moreover, they want to see a long-term sustainable business, because this protects the stock price.

But there are also some things that investors are interested in that customers should not at all be concerned about.
  • Intrinsic value of the shares. Investors spend a lot of time comparing the intrinsic value of the vendor’s shares (what they should be worth based on fundamentals) versus the current stock price. Stocks that are undervalued by the market tend to rise over the long term.
  • Market expectations. Investors—especially short-term investors—spend a lot of time trying to forecast prospective company financial performance for the next reporting period versus management guidance and market expectations. Companies that outperform market expectations will usually see a jump in their stock price.
  • Economic outlook. Investors also spend a lot of time refining their outlook for the economy in general or for the industry sector and geographies that the vendor serves, because the vendor’s stock price tends to rise and fall according to these economic outlooks.
It’s easy to see, then, why customers should not be concerned about these things. Consider, for example, a prospect that is considering SAP’s HANA. If HANA is a good choice for that prospect, it makes no difference how HANA affects SAP’s share price. The market may be underestimating or overestimating HANA’s contribution to SAP’s financial performance. But either way, that has nothing to do with whether HANA is a good choice for that prospect.

Generally, financial analysts do not have the depth of understanding that good industry analysts do, concerning a vendor’s products or customer experiences. They may do reference checks, as best they can, but because they do not deal with customers of the vendor on a day-to-day basis, they lack the direct experience in seeing how the vendor actually performs in the field.

For example, last week, my associate at Constellation Research Alan Lepofsky and I provided a short briefing call for a financial analyst from a well-known Wall Street investment firm on the subject of CRM vendors. At the end of the call, the financial analyst remarked that what he liked about our call was our ability to refer to specific examples with specific customers. This is why financial analysts ask for briefings from industry analysts, but seldom do you see the reverse.

Another example: my associate Ray Wang recently gave a short on-camera interview with CNBC on the news that SAP had made a bid for SuccessFactors, an HRM cloud computing provider. Ray deals with enterprise IT sellers and buyers every day. But the questions from the CNBC hosts had nothing to do with whether either SAP or SuccessFactors were good choices for enterprise IT buyers. Rather, their only concern was what SAP’s bid for SuccessFactors meant for investors. Here are some examples of the questions they asked Ray:
“What are the big names that pop to your mind here that could be the next ones to [be acquired] in the cloud space?”

“What about the pioneer in the SaaS market, valued at $17 billion, Salesforce.com [being acquired]?”

“So, Ray, NetSuite is up nearly 10% today, which is I think an all-time high. Would you rush into this stock right now or is it too much, too fast?”

“Hey Ray, how does this make you feel about SAP here? SAP is a company that for the most part trailed Oracle, it stayed out of the M&A game, it seems very hungry to do deals here—that’s great, it worked for Oracle…but are they getting out of their core competency, are they spending more [for SuccessFactors] than they should here?”
Now, if I were an enterprise IT buyer and I got 10 minutes on the phone with Ray, are these the questions I would ask him? I think not.

The Right Advisor for the Right Audience

Lest anyone think I am railing against investors--I am not. As a free-market capitalist, I believe that private investment is the best way to pick winners and losers in the marketplace. I trust individuals and organizations putting their own capital at risk more than I trust some government bureaucrat deciding which organization or industry to favor.

Furthermore, the best financial analysts often have interesting insights. I do read them from time to time, because they see things from a different perspective (the investor’s perspective). As my late business partner used to say, financial analysts are using “a different algebra.” Seeing things from the investor perspective can help me, as an industry analyst, understand why a vendor may be behaving in a certain way. For example, why a vendor is targeting a certain market segment or de-emphasizing a certain line of business.

But I do believe it is important for enterprise IT buyers to understand that their objectives and success are not always aligned with the immediate interests of investors, and they shouldn't pay too much attention to the short-term stock market performance of an enterprise IT provider.

So, just as shareholders shouldn’t ask me for investment advice, enterprise IT buyers shouldn't read financial analysts for advice on technology decisions.

Update: my friend Jon Appleby has a great post, critiquing the same financial analysis post I referenced here. My friend Vijay Vijayasankar also has a good post on the Bank of America analysis, and has added a comment to my post here.

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SAP in Transition on Mobile, Cloud, and In-Memory Computing
IT Budgets vs. Tech Industry Spending: What's the Difference?

Posted on 18 December 2011 | 8:24 am

SAP in Transition on Mobile, Cloud, and In-Memory Computing

I attended two days at SAP’s SapphireNOW conference in Madrid earlier this month, at the end of a month-long trip to Spain and Italy. The trip to Madrid gave me a good opportunity to catch up with the latest developments with SAP since the Sapphire conference last May in Orlando.

Jim Hagemann Snabe gave the Wednesday keynote, which I found tighter and more balanced than similar messages delivered in Orlando. Back then, the keynotes seemed to overly emphasis HANA, SAP’s new in-memory database technology. Although HANA is still hugely important to SAP, the message is now more balanced between SAP’s three focus areas of innovation: mobile, cloud, and in-memory computing.

I also appreciated Snabe's tone, focusing positively on SAP’s roadmap and customer success stories. This was a welcome change from recent keynotes by the CEOs of some of SAP’s competitors, whose bar-room brawling style might be more entertaining but doesn’t provide much real insight. Personally, I find Snabe’s low-key approach much more palatable, and I have to believe customers feel this way also.

So, in a nutshell, here is my bottom line: I see SAP in a period of transition with cloud computing, mobility applications, and in-memory computing. There is progress, but success is not ensured.

Business ByDesign Has Momentum, but Line of Business Apps Lagging

SAP has two major cloud initiatives: its Business ByDesign (ByD) ERP suite for small businesses and its Line of Business (LoB) SaaS applications, which complement its Business Suite.

Concerning ByD, SAP is on target to reach 1,000 customers sold by year end, although SAP executives indicate that reaching that goal might come down to the wire. Although reaching or exceeding that number will matter to some SAP folks’ year-end bonuses, I would view anything close as being a significant accomplishment. My consulting team at Strativa recently evaluated ByD in a competitive deal and came away favorably impressed. Customer reference checks during the Madrid conference were also encouraging. I believe SAP has a winner with ByD: both for subsidiaries of its large customers and in net-new small business deals. Those who question the viability of ByD at this point should reconsider their assumptions.

On the Line-of-Business side, progress is not as impressive. SAP has one SaaS application—Sales On Demand—in general release. But don’t expect to see other applications any time soon. Travel On-Demand (mostly expense reporting) will go into beta in Q1, 2012, according to Sven Denecken and Kevin Nix, who head up LoB development. Career On-Demand is scheduled to go to the first beta customer in Q2, 2012. In addition, Kevin and Sven told me of another LoB application now in development: Social Service and Marketing On-Demand. I have no target date for this product.

SAP positions these LoB applications as people-centric applications, helping end-users accomplish their daily activities. Although this is an interesting approach, the LoB apps do not have very broad functional footprints. For example, Sales On-Demand is primarily focused on the collaboration of pre-sales teams and others as they coordinate their activities for specific prospects. It is by no means a complete CRM package—it is not even a complete sales force automation app. Likewise, Career On-Demand is not a complete talent management system. Rather it is focused on helping people manage their goals, objectives, and daily activities and to see what others across the organization are working on. Finally, Social Service and Marketing is narrowly focused on processing incidents originating from Twitter and other social media channels.

In my view, the LoB applications are a defensive play by SAP, aimed at keeping its installed base from leaving the SAP-fold for newer cloud-based providers. For example, in my view, Sales On-Demand is aimed at keeping SAP CRM customers from considering Salesforce.com. Likewise, Career On-Demand is meant to keep SAP HRMS customers from considering Workday. Finally, Travel On-Demand is SAP’s answer to Concur’s expense management system. SAP may be successful in getting its installed base to adopt some of these LoB applications, but because they are not complete solutions, I do not think they are an adequate response to the threat from Salesforce.com, Workday, Concur, and others. Furthermore, it is hard to imagine non-SAP customers purchasing these solutions.

The other problem with the LoB applications, frankly, is that they are a late response by SAP. Salesforce.com, Workday, and Concur have been developing and marketing their applications for years. In the case of Salesforce.com, over 10 years, and SAP is only now starting to respond? It’s like the student who turns in (hopefully) a well-written essay, but misses the deadline.

So, on my scorecard, SAP gets an “A” for ByDesign and a “C” for its line of business applications.

Turning the Ship on Mobile Applications

On the mobility front, SAP appears to be making good progress. Based on a briefing I received, there are now 50 mobility apps available in the new SAP Store. Of these 38 are authored by SAP and 12 are from partners. There are 200 more in the development pipeline (split between SAP and partners is not clear to me).

All of the current apps in development are based on the Sybase Unwired Platform (SUP), and this is where there are some issues. The SUP is a general platform for mobility device development and management. It allows a developer to write an application and have it deployed on multiple devices, such as RIM’s Blackberry, Apple’s iPhone/iPad, Android devices, and Windows phones. It also provides an enterprise-class management platform for back-end data access, application provisioning, user and device management, and security. So from the perspective of ensuring that its mobility apps are enterprise-class, I can understand why SAP would want mobile applications developed by partners to be certified for SUP.

The problem, however, comes from the developer perspective. Many of the best mobile apps development these days are coming from small shops, and current SAP licensing practices by SUP are, shall we say, burdensome for small developers. Based on briefings we received, it appears SAP understands the obstacles in the way of small developers and wants to show some flexibility on this issue. There is talk of allowing developers to work outside of SUP and then submitting their applications for certification. There was even talk at some point of allowing apps to be sold via the SAP Store that do not run on top of SUP, but that is by no means current policy.

My colleague Dennis Howlett has a deeper dive on SAP's mobility progress.

So, it would appear that on the mobility front, SAP is in transition. They are making good progress, but they need to follow through on their good intentions to become more developer- and partner-friendly in mobile apps development.

In-Memory Computing Still Rings SAP's Bell

Although the Madrid messaging was balanced among the three areas of innovation, you can still sense the excitement among SAP executives when they come to the subject of in-memory computing. They honestly feel that its in-memory technology (HANA) will leap-frog SAP over its competition. In a small group briefing with Vishal Sikka, he spent significant time talking about the value proposition of in-memory computing to provide faster answers to business queries, without the constraints of data structures such as cubes. The value of HANA has already been demonstrated in a limited number of one-off proof of concept projects for select customers, many of whom were featured in the Orlando conference.

The next step is to scale up HANA adoption by using it as a customer platform for SAP’s business warehouse (BW) deployments. In a sidebar conversation with Sanjay Poonen, SAP’s President of Global Solutions, he indicated this is where most SAP customers will first realize the value of HANA.

Ultimately, though, SAP intends to bring in HANA underneath parts of the Business Suite—we had one briefing from a customer looking to run HANA underneath its trade promotion processing to more quickly analyze pricing trends. SAP has a far-reaching vision for HANA to ultimately become the data platform for many of its products.

So SAP is also in transition with in-memory computing: moving it from a small number of proof-of-concept case studies to a broader adoption by its customer base. This migration has only just begun.

Can SAP Make The Needed Transitions?

For the largest enterprise software vendor in the world, the roadmap is good. But is it possible for SAP to complete the needed transitions? There are strong economic rewards up front for HANA, which are big ticket license sales. But will SAP be willing to devote the resources necessary for its cloud solutions and mobility applications to be successful, where the deals are smaller? The signs are encouraging, but success is not ensured.
  1. Progress is good with mobility apps, but the partner model needs to be improved. When small mobile developer partners, like Graham Robinson, tell me they are happy with SAP’s support then I will be convinced that SAP stands a good chance of being successful. The words coming from SAP executives are the right sounds, but I’m waiting to hear confirmation from small developers that SAP’s actions are following its words.

  2. It is going to be interesting to see how SAP’s cloud computing programs proceed. For SAP, cloud is both a sustaining innovation and a disruptive innovation (to use the terminology of Clayton Christensen). From the standpoint of SAP’s large customers with many small subsidiaries, ByD is a sustaining innovation because it gives them something to offer for their subsidiaries. Many competitors, such as Microsoft Dynamics, Epicor, NetSuite, and Plex, are targeting these subsidiaries in a so-called "two-tier ERP" strategy. Thus, ByD preserves and extends the revenues that SAP receives from these large customers.

    The larger question is whether ByD can consistently beat out cloud-based competitors such as NetSuite, Plex, or Rootstock for net new deals in small organizations. As I indicated, the signs so far are good. But will SAP be willing to invest what it takes for such small deals? Furthermore, will SAP be willing to let ByD naturally grow up-market and start to disrupt (cannibalize) its sales of SAP All-in-One or even its Business Suite? If so, then I would declare victory for ByD as a truly disruptive innovation.

    I do not view SAP’s LoB applications as disruptive. These apps are targeted primarily at SAP’s installed base and are therefore a sustaining innovation for SAP. They do not need to be best-in-class. They only need to be good enough to keep customers from going with SFDC, Workday, Concur, or other pure best-of-breed cloud solutions. But, as noted earlier, these are not complete solutions and may not be enough to keep SAP customers from looking elsewhere. Also, they are unlikely to find much of an audience outside of SAP’s installed base.

  3. Although I would agree generally with Vishal’s assessment about HANA, from an economic standpoint, in-memory computing does not require SAP to transition its thinking or business model. From an economic standpoint, in-memory computing is a sustaining innovation for SAP. SAP can use in-memory computing to continue to sell big-ticket licenses to big-ticket customers and receive large annuities in the form of maintenance fees. It is not like cloud and mobile which require that SAP make changes in its expectations on how it will make money in the future.
So in terms of transition, I think SAP has made the most progress with cloud computing, with Business ByDesign but not with its line of business applications. The direction with mobility applications is good, and SAP is making the right noises about working with small developers, but it is too early to see words translated into action. Finally, even though in-memory computing is still early in its roll out, it stands a good chance of success if SAP can gain adoption beyond its initial proof cases, because it does not require SAP to change its business model.

I made some of the same points in a very short interview with Dennis Howlett, during the Madrid conference. You can watch the interview below.



Postscript: I’ll repeat here what I said to my SAP host when I bid goodbye from the Madrid conference: I know some of us often give SAP a hard time. But we do it for one reason: we care about SAP’s customers, just as SAP does, and we want SAP to be successful for their sake.

Disclosure: SAP paid part of my travel expenses to attend the Madrid conference.

Posted on 15 November 2011 | 3:17 pm

Cutting Through the Fog of Cloud Computing Definitions

In recent years, the term "cloud computing" has been used and abused by vendors and their marketing groups to denote just about anything the vendor offers other than on-premise systems. Analysts too have piled on, each offering their own definition of cloud computing. This 2009 Wall Street Journal article outlined the confusion. The result has been fruitless arguments over what is "true cloud" or "false cloud," as in the recent tit-for-tat speeches by Larry Ellison and Marc Benioff during Oracle Open World.

Such debates are likely to continue, but now there is at least one official source for the definition of cloud computing. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an arm of the US Department of Commerce, has now published The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing. Though other standards bodies may (or may already have) published their own definitions, NIST carries particular weight as it is often referenced in U.S. governmental procurement. The NIST definition is vendor-agnostic and buyer-centric.

The NIST Definition

The NIST document is short--the body of the document comprises just three pages, with the definition itself taking up less than two pages. In it, the authors describe the essential characteristics, service models, and deployment models for cloud computing.
  • The five essential characteristics are: on-demand service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, and measured service.
  • They go on to then list three service models, which should be already familiar to most observers: software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and infrastructure as a service (IaaS).
  • Finally, they list four possible deployment models for cloud computing: private cloud, community cloud, public cloud, and hybrid cloud.
In my mind, the section that is most useful for distinguishing what is or is not cloud computing is the first one, the "essential characteristics." So, let me quote NIST directly (emphasis mine).
Essential characteristics:
  • On-demand self-service. A consumer can unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with each service provider.

  • Broad network access. Capabilities are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and workstations).

  • Resource pooling. The provider’s computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to consumer demand. There is a sense of location independence in that the customer generally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher level of abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter). Examples of resources include storage, processing, memory, and network bandwidth.

  • Rapid elasticity. Capabilities can be elastically provisioned and released, in some cases automatically, to scale rapidly outward and inward commensurate with demand. To the consumer, the capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be appropriated in any quantity at any time.

  • Measured service. Cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported, providing transparency for both the provider and consumer of the utilized service.
Keep these key points in mind.

Cutting Through the Ellison/Benioff Fog

So, let's apply these characteristics to what Larry Ellison and Marc Benioff each describe as cloud computing. In my opinion, both are right and both are wrong.

Benioff's service, Salesforce.com, certainly meets the NIST definition of cloud computing, both in its CRM application, which meets NIST's definition of SaaS, and in its Force.com offering, which meets the definition of PaaS. He is also correct in criticizing the labeling of Oracle's Exalogic hardware as a "cloud in a box." By my reading of NIST's essential characteristics, one could construct a cloud service using Oracle's hardware, but the hardware itself should not be considered a cloud.

But if Benioff is referring to Oracle's newly announced Public Cloud Services as a "false cloud," he is wrong. Oracle's Public Cloud Services certainly meet the NIST definition of cloud computing. But it is primarily an IaaS offering, similar to Amazon's EC2. Assuming that Oracle will offer development capabilities on top of its Public Cloud Service, those would be PaaS, and if it chooses to run applications on top of its Public Cloud Service, such as Oracle CRM On-Demand, those would be SaaS.

On the other hand, Ellison is wrong to label Salesforce.com's PaaS offering as a "false cloud." Ellision's argument is that Force.com utilizes proprietary extensions to Java and other programming languages, which make it difficult to migrate applications to other cloud providers. But there is nothing in the NIST definition of cloud computing that requires interoperability between different cloud service providers, as desirable as that may be. Ellison is simply turning what he sees as a disadvantage of Benioff's cloud into an argument that it is by definition not a cloud.

Cutting Through the Application Hosting Fog

The NIST definition is also useful for cutting through vendor marketing efforts to label anything they do off-premise as cloud computing. In particular, application vendors that simply host their on-premise solutions in their own, or partner, data centers should not be labeling those as cloud computing. In particular, simple hosting of an application does not qualify as cloud computing because it lacks the essential characteristics (see bolded sections in the quoted definition above).

With a hosted application, the customer generally cannot "unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human interaction." In addition, with a hosted application there is generally no "sense of location independence." Rather, the customer usually knows the data center and may even know the data center, cage, or rack in which his hosted application resides, even if the application is hosted on a virtual server. Finally, with a hosted application, computing resources generally cannot be "elastically provisioned and released, in some cases automatically, to scale rapidly outward and inward commensurate with demand." Rather, the customer must negotiate provision of additional computing resources.

Notice also that the NIST definition does not mention anything about how cloud services are contracted. Some vendors point to subscription pricing as evidence of their hosted applications being cloud offerings. According to NIST, how the customer pays for the service has no bearing as to whether the service is cloud computing. It could be subscription pricing, it could be a perpetual license, or it could be something else.

The marketing hype and confusion over cloud computing will no doubt continue. But at least now NIST offers a reasonable and objective definition.

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Posted on 6 November 2011 | 1:30 am

How to Become a Chief Innovation Officer

I had a real treat this week: I was invited to give a presentation to 25 CIOs at Infor's European CIO Advisory Council meeting, in Maranello, Italy. If you are not familiar with Maranello, it's famous as the town of the headquarters of Ferrari, which is an Infor customer. More on Ferrari at the end of this post.

Infor's Integration Strategy

The event was kicked off by Infor's CEO, Charles Phillips, who came into the top job last December, from his previous position as Oracle's co-President. It was a good opportunity for me to see how Charles deals up close with Infor customers, some of whom were meeting him here for the first time. Charles demonstrated a detailed knowledge of Infor's product portfolio and an ability to outline complex product strategy in business terms.

To that point, Charles gave the best explanation I've heard to date on Infor's integration strategy. Infor's Intelligent and Open Network (ION) is a lightweight middleware product that provides integration between various Infor products, between those products and third-party applications, and between those products and customer/partner developed systems. It is "lightweight" in that it is not optimized for specific transactions or point-to-point integration. Rather each application publishes a complete XML document for each transaction (e.g. a sales order), to which other ION-aware applications can subscribe asynchronously. ION stores all XML documents in a business vault, for reporting purposes and, I assume, to satisfy any regulatory compliance needs for audit trails.

According to Charles, ION is not appropriate for every application (e.g. an equities trading platform requiring subsecond response time would not be a fit), but it meets the need in a simple way for enterprise business applications, such as ERP, CRM and supply chain management. Infor is now in the process of ION-enabling each of its products for approximately 93 business transactions.

The best part is that ION ships as just three CDs, which, according to Infor, can be installed in about 10 minutes.

Infor's Challenge

So are all Infor customers ready to move forward with ION? Not quite. From group discussions and hallway conversations, it is clear that Infor's challenge is to get customers to current releases of their Infor products, where they can take advantages of Infor's new capabilities.

To be fair, this problem is not unique to Infor but common to all enterprise software vendors with large and long-standing installed bases. Many customers purchased their ERP systems years ago, and for good and not-so-good reasons they may have made hundreds or thousands of code modifications. Although they may have seemed justified at the time, these modifications now make it nearly impossible for customers to upgrade. In successful case studies mentioned by Infor executives, the only thing that seems to work is to take a clean-sheet-of-paper approach: put the latest software version in front of users in a conference room pilot and ask, "What's missing?" If you start with the assumption that each previous modification is still needed, the whole project collapses under its own weight.

How to Become a Chief Innovation Officer

This background turned out to be a good set-up for my presentation. I shared that the job of the CIO is becoming more difficult. CIO budget increases in most companies are severely limited, while at the same time CIOs are being asked to do more: support business change (which is increasing) as well as new technology innovations, such as mobile applications, business intelligence, new customer-facing systems, and social business.

The risk for CIOs under these pressures is that they may become, essentially, irrelevant. According to our research at Computer Economics, 75% of CIO budgets go toward ongoing support, leaving only 25% for innovation. With limited time and money, the CIO is forced to defer many business requests for new initiatives, and when users can't get what they need from the CIO, they begin to develop their own systems and IT capabilities. Eventually, the business stops asking the CIO for new stuff, and the CIO slowly becomes just a "Chief Infrastructure Officer," maintaining existing systems.

In such an environment, how can the CIO grow into a "Chief Innovation Officer?" I outlined the key steps.
  1. Optimize the Infrastructure. The first step is to lower on-going support costs to free up money for innovation. Understand your current cost structure and where there are opportunities to upgrade and consolidate the infrastructure and applications portfolio. Adopt key IT management best practices for incident management, problem management, and change management, which further lower costs and improve service levels. Cloud computing can also play a role here as a way of quickly rolling out new systems that build upon the organization's core transactional processing systems.

  2. Become a Chief Integration Officer and Chief Intelligence Officer. Once the infrastructure has been optimized, the CIO now has the credibility and ability to expand his or her role to become a Chief Integration Officer (focused on end-to-end business processes and customer/supplier integration) as well as a Chief Intelligence Officer (focused on turning internal and external data into useful information and deploying it to the organization through a variety of channels).

  3. Become a Chief Innovation Officer. The CIO is now not only reacting to and supporting the business strategy but also leading the business into new IT-enabled products and services.
I finished with a warning. Becoming a Chief Innovation Officer is not a one-time promotion. Today's innovation becomes tomorrow's infrastructure. Just as personal computers and email were once seen as innovations in IT, today they are just part of the infrastructure. Any CIO today who is focused on PC maintenance or email administration risks becoming irrelevant. So also, tomorrow, mobile applications, tablet computing, and business intelligence will become commonplace as elements of tomorrow's infrastructure. The CIO's challenge is to continually learn and grow.

The Need for Speed

Our two days together were not all work and no play. As part of the event festivities, Infor arranged a tour of the Ferrari Museum and a Ferrari test drive around Maranello for all the attendees. I put together a little video of my Ferrari driving experience, which you can view below.



Disclosure: As a client of Constellation Research, Infor paid for my participation in this event.

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Posted on 28 October 2011 | 5:01 am

Risks and Opportunities with SAP's Platform Economics

Unless you hang around with SAP developers or independent SAP analysts, you may not be aware that there is a conflict brewing over how SAP wants to charge for its new technology platforms. Specifically, the Sybase Unwired Platform (SUP), which SAP acquired for developing mobile applications, and the SAP Netweaver Gateway, which SAP built to allow third-party applications and devices to connect seamlessly with SAP back-end processes.

The conflict is this: SAP wants to make money, on some basis, for SUP and the Netweaver Gateway, while any fees charged for these platforms discourage third-party development and increase the cost for customers.

Dennis Howlett has been hammering on this subject for many months, encouraging SAP (pleading might be a more appropriate word) to offer these platforms at low-cost or no-charge. He calls it the "Apple model," in recognition of how the free-nature of Apple's development platform has enabled thousands of developers to write third-party applications for Apple's iPhone and iPad. At SAP's annual user conference in Orlando this year, I heard him bring up this point directly with SAP co-CEO Bill McDermott. Bill appeared interested, but non-committal. After the conference, Dennis wrote about SAP's mobile platform, on a downbeat note:

The main problem comes in the licensing model. I find it staggeringly backward thinking that SAP almost invariably finds it necessary to monetize everything that has running code attached to it. That world has been left behind. If SAP could mobilise itself to think differently to the way it is accustomed it could (almost) easily bulk up without having to find another mega acquisition that inevitably amplifies disruption.
Now, just this week, Dennis called my attention to a post written by a third-party SAP developer Graham Robinson on SAP's own SDN site, which strongly confirms SAP's problem:
So let's say I come up with my own killer app. It is an all-singing all-dancing mobile application that will provide huge business benefit to lots of SAP customers. In fact it is so good I can sell the idea to my favourite customers (those that trust me) with a business case that they will jump at. So I have the idea, I have the funding and foundation customer commitment - I am ready to go. So time to decide what technology I should use to build my application with. Let me focus on NetWeaver Gateway but I think similar arguments apply to the [Sybase] Unwired Platform.

....I see NetWeaver Gateway as a programmer productivity tool. It provides a method for exposing SAP functionality using those standards mentioned - but we ABAP developers have been able to do that for years....I am not saying I am not interested in a toolset and/or framework from SAP that does this sort of thing as well, I am. But really the value proposition is that NetWeaver Gateway will save me development time on the backend in publishing the services I want to consume in my application.

BTW - I do not believe NetWeaver Gateway saves me any time developing the front end application despite all the great "app in a minute" demos we have seen. Whether I use NetWeaver Gateway to expose services or I handcraft my own as long as I conform to industry accepted standards the front end development tool should be able to introspect and the runtime consume these services identically.

So back to my killer app. Why should I take the funds my customer has committed to my app and pass some of them onto SAP? Even assuming I could get a straight answer from SAP on what the price would be - why should I do it unless the benefits outweigh the costs? How can a recurring pricing model on a piece of technology be weighed up against the value of saving me development time on a project I already have approval for? And why should I just let dollars go to SAP for my idea? And by the way my customers' employees (the target audience for my killer app) are already licensed to use SAP anyway. Why should they pay again? ....

Returning briefly to the [Sybase] Unwired Platform - how do I justify the cost (albeit unqualified) of this platform against the benefits of my single, albeit killer, app? I can't. And even if I could why would I confuse my customer with extra technology and extra licensing when I don't need to? I wouldn't
....

The real problem is that SAP are struggling to find a way to monetise the millions, probably billions, of users they envisage connecting to their customers' SAP systems via the internet. These will be their customers' customers, their customers' suppliers, their customers' prospects, Joe Average searching for the cheapest widget. Basically it could be everyone in the world with a smart phone.

This is a new-ish problem, but I am sure SAP looked for old business models to learn from. I suspect the business model they took on board is that of the utility companies. IDEA! Let's put a meter on the edge of the SAP landscape and charge for use just like the electricity, gas and water meters on the edge of everyones property. (In case I wasn't obvious enough - SAP NetWeaver Gateway is the meter) Kar-ching! Brilliant! [Emphasis mine.]
Read the whole thing, as Graham goes into more depth in his full post.

Some Monetization May Be Appropriate

After reading Graham's post, I reconnected with Dennis Howlett on this subject. Interestingly, Dennis does see an opportunity for SAP to monetize these two platforms for a select group of customers--its largest customers, who will use these platforms for their own revenue generation. Dennis writes:
SAP believes its largest customers will pay for SUP because they will use it to develop apps for their own purposes from which SAP would likely see little or no economic benefit. These companies - as Gartner has indicated - could easily turn into applications suppliers in their own right, building their own IP on the side of what SAP can offer for the benefit of their ecosystems. The nearest equivalent would be the proprietary EDI mechanisms the likes of Toyota and Dell created which went right through their supply chains.

That's a model I would expect to emerge because the value that can be driven is clear, clean and in the control of the channel master. Therefore, there is a case for SAP charging that fits their model and satisfies the needs of those very large customers. But it will be limited to SAP's top 400-500 customers and does not bring with it a sustainable model. At best it is a series of one-off deals that in total would likely be worth no more than $2 billion in license revenue and $450 million in annual maintenance, based upon past performance, Sybase pricing, discounts, bundling and the like.

However, such models cannot hope to cover all eventualities or for that matter the whole of the market. We can envisage thousands of situational, ad hoc, even one-off applications where the need for fast tracking is paramount or where value comes from volume usage. This is already happening in the Salesforce.com universe where cloud brokers like Appirio are working on a 4-6 week develop/release cadence for proof-of-concept to initial deployments. Having ready access (which has to include easy, clean, cheap licensing) is the only model framework that will encourage those types of developer shop to flesh out the 80% SAP claims it wants to see from its ecosystem. In other words, it is no longer about the fear of leaving money on the table. It is about investing now for benefit that accrues to everyone.
He concludes, "If SAP does that, then it will fulfill its promise of being a good citizen in the enterprise apps landscape."

SAP at a Tipping Point

I'm not sure SAP realizes how precarious its position is, and it works two ways.
  1. SAP charging for the SUP and Netweaver Gateway creates "friction" for both developers and customers. As Graham points out, he has no real economic incentive to develop for these platforms, which will eat into the budget his customers have allocated for his development projects.

  2. The desktop analogy: when you license SAP, do you pay an additional license fee to use your desktop computer as a user interface? Of course not. SAP customers are already paying maintenance fees for enhancements to their SAP products. Why should those customers have to pay SAP an additional license fee to use a mobile device instead of a desktop computer? Even if those mobile applications add functionality to the SAP applications the customer has licensed--isn't that what the customer is supposed to get by paying maintenance fees?
SAP charging for the SUP and Netweaver Gateway further opens the door to competitors, such as Workday, who are bundling mobile applications at no charge. I fear that SAP is just giving customers another reason to consider alternatives to SAP.

My own work with SAP customers tells me that, in many accounts, SAP is not at the center of the action as it thinks it is, especially when it comes to line-of-business users, which SAP hungers after. Many of these customers are actively looking for new functionality, and they generally take a look at SAP's offerings. But it doesn't take much to nudge them into the welcoming arms of another provider, whether it be for CRM, customer service, or --yes--mobility applications. SAP argues that the integrated nature of its Business Suite and ability to support end-to-end processes gives it a strong advantage with its installed base. My work with SAP customers tells me otherwise. Yes, there are benefits to integration. But that alone is not enough to keep customers in the SAP fold when there are strong economic incentives, or perceived functionality advantages, from competing solutions. Throw up an economic disincentive to adoption of SAP's SUP or Netweaver Gateway, and customers may be quick to look elsewhere. Many won't migrate away from SAP, but they'll wall it off and implement new stuff around it from competing suppliers.

The Entitlement Mentality

What concerns me about SAP's attempt to monetize these two platforms is, once again, the mentality of entitlement. We saw it previously with the battle over SAP's attempt to increase its maintenance fees across the board to 22%. SAP consistently gives the impression that, because of its market dominance in the past, that it is somehow entitled, not only to continuing revenue from its customers, but an increasing share. It does not give the impression that it is concerned about losing ground to upstarts in the cloud, such as Workday or NetSuite, or its traditional competitors, such as Oracle, Microsoft, Infor, IFS, or dozens of others with niche industry functionality.

SAP apparently views its SUP platform and Netweaver Gateway as a way to gain new revenue. I view them primarily as a way of keeping the revenue it's already receiving.

SAP's Opportunity

If SAP can free itself from its entitlement mentality, it has an enormous opportunity with its installed base, which is the largest in the world, including many or most of the world's largest companies.

Such companies have a huge legacy investment in SAP, both in terms of historical data and business processes built around SAP software. Many of these customers would love to stick with SAP for mobile applications, which by most accounts will become the primary way that business users connect with business applications. If the SUP is low or no cost for the majority of customers, it will encourage thousands of developers, such as Graham, to embrace it, and tens of thousands of customers to make it part of their applications infrastructure. The same economics apply to the Netweaver Gateway. If SAP really wants to lock-in its customers, it should offer these platforms to the majority of its customers at low or no charge. This will liberate business value to SAP's installed base, ensuring SAP's relevance for years to come.

Whether SAP truly recognizes this risk and opportunity remains to be seen.

Updates: Others have been pounding away on these points for some time. Here are some other good perspectives on this subject.
  • Jarret Pazahanick: Is SAP Using the Right Mobility Strategy. Jarret, an SAP mentor, outlines several ways in which SAP could make more money by not charging for SUP.

  • Dennis Howlett, John Appleby, and Vijay Vijayasankar discuss in this 13 minute video the need for SAP to roll out an Apple-style apps store model, including – in their view – the need to give away the platform. SAP’s progress on mobility is assessed, and they ask, “Is SAP Listening?”

  • Jon Reed covers a lot of ground in his post on SAP at the Crossroads, but be sure to read section 4 toward the bottom on "How Can SAP Win the Hearts and Minds of Developers?" As a bonus, there is an excellent video interview of Graham Robinson who makes many of the same points as he did in his blog post quoted at the top of this post.
I'll add more links as I come across them.

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Posted on 18 October 2011 | 3:50 am

Breakthrough in Material Planning: Demand Driven MRP

For the first time in over 30 years, Material Requirements Planning (MRP), is undergoing a fundamental improvement. A major new development, dubbed Demand Driven MRP (DDMRP) is moving from theory to practice, and the results are impressive. If you care about manufacturing ERP, you would be wise to pay attention.

Carol Ptak recently called my attention to her work with Chad Smith at the Demand Driven Institute, which they founded in 2010 to promote the concepts of DDMRP. I've known Carol for many years, through her work as past President and CEO of APICS and her time at PeopleSoft, where she was an early proponent of making MRP more "demand driven." I wrote a brief blog post in 2003 covering this subject (see: PeopleSoft Strengthens Its Manufacturing Offerings by Acquiring Demand Flow).

So, I jumped at the opportunity to set up a briefing on DDMRP with Carol and Chad for me and my associates Bob Gilson and Nick Hann at Strativa.

Bringing MRP into the 21st Century

Before we look at some of the key concepts of DDMRP, let's review the history of material planning.

MRP, first developed in limited fashion in the 1950s and 60s, really took off in the 1970s, when computer systems enabled widespread adoption and APICS undertook the "MRP Crusade" to popularize it. It was a great advance over previous material planning techniques, such as statistical order point (popularized during the Second World War), which viewed each inventory item separately. The big conceptual breakthrough of MRP was to separate dependent demand (sub-assemblies and purchased items) from independent demand (e.g. finished goods and service parts). MRP, therefore, provided a holistic, or system-wide view of inventory.

MRP (material requirements planning) morphed in the late 1970s and 80s into MRP II (manufacturing resource planning) and ultimately ERP (enterprise resource planning). But the heart of today's ERP systems (at least in the manufacturing sector) is still the MRP processing logic that is essentially unchanged since the 1970s.

In practice, MRP relied heavily on demand forecasts to drive planning and used safety stock inventory to cover variability in lead-times and forecast errors. The results, though far better than the old order point systems, were often excess inventory and less-than-acceptable customer service levels.

Just-in-Time (JIT) inventory and lean manufacturing techniques were, in part, a reaction to the complexity of MRP and a desire to obtain better outcomes. Introduced in the 1980s, JIT was a simplification in material planning and it took inspiration from the quality management movement and Toyota Production System in Japan. JIT is essentially a "pull system"--relying upon simple demand signals, such as Kanbans, from customers to suppliers up and down the supply chain, often with little or no computerized support. Unlike MRP, which viewed inventory as an asset, JIT viewed inventory as a "waste" and sought to minimize it wherever possible by minimizing variation in supply and demand, and reducing setup times to enable smaller lot sizes. But its emphasis on inventory reduction, lack of a system-wide view of inventory, and incomplete planning equation created brittle supply chains, subject to disruptions.

Embracing and Extending MRP and JIT

Demand Driven MRP is not a completely new method: it builds upon and extends the concepts of MRP while borrowing the best features of lean manufacturing. Like lean manufacturing, it seeks to "align efforts and resources as close as possible to actual demand" (a so-called pull system) while at the same time, like MRP, provide "visibility to the total requirements and status picture across the enterprise."

The authors' background in the Theory of Constraints is evident. They are not looking to compromise between MRP and lean manufacturing. Rather they recognize and seek to satisfy the legitimate objectives of both. For example:
  1. The greatest extension of DDMRP is the introduction of supply chain modeling prior to generating material plans, as shown in steps 1-3 in the Figure at the top of this post. Here, the organization determines the optimum places where inventory should be held. This is a step that MRP simply does not address. MRP and even Advanced Planning systems (APS) generally take inventory stocking points and safety stock levels as givens and plans within them. At the opposite end of the spectrum, JIT techniques are blind to the overall supply chain. Each node of a pure pull system is only sensitive to the demand at the next downstream operation. DDMRP, on the other hand, models where inventory should be held in order to minimize lead times and reduce variability where it matters the most.

  2. In terms of inventory, DDMRP stakes out a middle ground between MRP and lean manufacturing. It does not view inventory as a waste, as lean manufacturing does with its goal of "zero inventory," and it does not seek to establish safety stock levels in a static way, as MRP generally does. Rather it seeks to hold the right amount of inventory at the right place in the supply chain "to promote flow but minimize working capital," and "to size and dynamically adjust those strategic stock positions" based on a set of rules dominated by six factors.

  3. DDMRP deals with lead times in a more realistic fashion than traditional MRP, which in calculating manufacturing lead time assumes all components are in stock, or in calculating cumulative lead times assumes nothing is in stock. Neither are good assumptions in most environments today. DDMRP introduces a concept it calls Actively Synchronized Replenishment (ASR) Lead Time (ASRLT), which represents "the longest unprotected sequences in the bill of material" where "protection" is defined by strategic stocking points. These points decouple, compress, and ultimately define the calculated lead time of an item.

  4. MRP is only a planning tool and JIT is only an execution tool, whereas DDMRP is both a planning tool (in the modeling and planning stages) and an execution tool, in the execution stage (see Figure at top of this post).

  5. DDMRP greatly reduces the emphasis on accurate forecasts in driving supply plans. Demand is driven entirely or largely by actual customer demand (typically sales orders), which can then be satisfied from compressed lead time due to the strategically placed inventories at the subassembly or component level.
These are just a few of the key concepts of DDMRP. For a more complete view, see the additional resources listed at the end of this post.

If there is any doubt that DDMRP is a major breakthrough, consider this: the book everyone considers the "Bible" of MRP was written in 1974 by the late Joseph Orlicky, and the second edition was authored in 1994 by the late George Plossl. McGraw-Hill, publisher of Orlicky's Material Requirements Planning has just released the third edition, which is authored by Carol Ptak and Chad Smith, the brains behind DDMRP. This third edition now incorporates the concepts of DDMRP, building upon the work done by Orlicky and Plossl, two of the fathers of MRP.

Proof in the Pudding

Think DDMRP is just a nice theory? Not so. The benefits have already been demonstrated by at least two early adopters:
  1. Oregon Freeze Dry, after adopting DDMRP, saw a 20% increase in sales 20% and 60% inventory reduction in one division, along with 60% reduction in make-to-order lead-time and 20% inventory reduction in another division.

  2. LeTourneau Technologies (LTI) is an interesting case study in the natural resources sector. The firm implemented DDMRP in one of its two plants, while letting the other plant continue with traditional MRP. Both plants had similar resources, bills of material, and material planning personnel.

    During a boom and decline cycle of 2005 to 2008, the DDRMP plant grew revenues from $270M to over $620M, while growing inventory by only about $80M. In contrast, the traditional MRP plant experienced the similar growth in revenues, but inventories grew at the same pace. When the recession hit in 2008, the DDMRP plant , however, was well positioned with lean inventories while the traditional MRP plant was exposed to a huge amount of inventory liability.
Additional case studies should begin to appear as other organizations gain experience with these new methods.

What's Next?

I believe that enterprise software vendors, especially those focused on supply chain management, are going to move quickly to begin to incorporate DDMRP concepts into their systems. So far, there is only one software provider that has done so, Replenishment+® from Demand Driven Technologies, of which Chad Smith is a paid advisor. However, I see indications that some other vendors are moving in this direction. In other words, I do not believe availability of software is going to be an obstacle.

If there is any obstacle to wholesale adoption of DDMRP, it is going to be in the general level of resource planning skills in many manufacturing organizations. The concepts behind DDMRP are not simple. Many practitioners tasked with responsibility for MRP systems today do not have a deep understanding of MRP principles, even of traditional MRP circa 1974. How are they going to grasp the concepts behind DDMRP? I think this will be the key limitation hindering widespread adoption, unless manufacturing organizations are willing to re-invest in professional development in a sustained way. Conceptual education--not just software training--is going to be key.

A corollary observation is this: production and material planning is going to become an even more critical function for manufacturing and distribution firms. It always has been, of course, but it will become even more critical in industries where some players have the skills to adopt DDMRP and others don't. No longer just a back-office function, resource management should once again become an inviting career path for young people.

Additional Resources

There is much more to DDRMP than I can outline here, such as its ability to accommodate seasonality, ramp up/down in production, and end-of-life scenarios, all of which are troublesome for traditional MRP systems and especially lean-manufacturing systems. Therefore, it is best to point readers to the following resources.
  • Demand Driven MRP. The flagship DDMRP website maintained by Carol and Chad, with a good introduction to DDRMP. Free white papers, videos, and podcasts are available on a number of DDMRP topics.

  • Demand Driven Institute. The educational and consulting organization promoting the concepts of DDMRP. The textbook I mentioned earlier, Orlicky's Material Requirements Planning, Third Edition, is also available here, with a supplemental DVD.

  • Orlicky's MRP. This is the official website of the new edition of Orlicky's Material Requirements Planning.
There are several white papers and videos linked at these sites that go into more depth on DDMRP. Training classes are now being rolled out. In addition, the authors will be presenting more on this subject at the APICS International Conference in Pittsburgh, October 23-35. If you are planning to be at this conference you will be wise to register for this session, as it will probably be standing room only.

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Posted on 22 September 2011 | 5:16 pm

Kenandy: A New Cloud ERP Provider Emerges from Stealth Mode

There's news for those of us interested in manufacturing ERP: a new cloud ERP provider is having its coming-out party this week at Dreamforce, the annual user conference of Salesforce.com. Kenandy, which is built entirely on Salesforce.com's platform, provides core manufacturing functionality, such as inventory, shop orders, purchase orders, and material planning. Founded in 2010, Kenandy already has one customer live and a handful of others sold and in implementation.

Early this week, several people forwarded me advance word on Kenandy from a Wall Street journal blog post. Normally, the launch of a new cloud provider would not warrant this kind of attention. But this launch has an interesting twist: the brains behind Kenandy is none other than Sandra Kurtzig. She is the original founder and CEO of ASK Group, the developer of the well-known ManMan ERP system--more or less the SAP of the 1980s. She retired something like 10 years ago, but was convinced to come out for an encore by Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.com and her neighbor on a beach in Hawaii. Kenandy has venture funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and its managing partner Ray Lane sits on Kenandy's board.

Kenandy's Angle

I scored an interview with Sandra and her CMO Rod Butters yesterday, prior to Sandra's appearance on stage with Marc Benioff this morning at Dreamforce. I had a lot of questions for Sandra, and she was forthcoming with answers.
  1. Kenandy is positioning itself for small and midsize manufacturers ($15M - $300M), especially those that source, manufacture, and distribute products through contract manufacturers and channel partners. Sandra noted that ERP vendors with systems designed in the 1970s and 80s (such as ManMan) assumed their customers were vertically integrated. Her perspective is that this orientation has carried forward in the design assumptions of the leading on-premise ERP providers today, which have their roots in systems built during that time period. This is not a good assumption today, as even small and midsize manufacturers are contracting large parts of their operations offshore and have complex distribution relationships with channel partners. Such organizations need an extended ERP system, and Kenandy is being designed with these scenarios in mind.

  2. Built on Salesforce.com's platform, Kenandy is a full multi-tenant SaaS offering. An organization can run multiple facilities within a single tenant, or it can set up multiple tenants, for its contract manufacturers or business partners, for example, and gain inventory and production visibility up and down its supply chain. (Disclaimer: I have not evaluated Kenandy on any functionality points to confirm these features).

  3. Kenandy expects very short implementation times. Its first customer, Den-Mat, a maker of dental products, went live in two weeks, converting from a legacy IBM Series i (AS/400) system.

  4. Kenandy is focusing on manufacturing functionality and depending on other cloud providers to fill out other parts of the enterprise suite. For example, there is integration (of course) with Salesforce.com for CRM, and with FinancialForce.com for financials. In addition, Sandra claims that integration with customer's legacy systems (e.g. Quickbooks) are always an option.

  5. Development of Kenandy is being led directly by Sandra: in other words, she is not only the founder and CEO. Like many start-up software firms, she is also the brains behind the product and the chief product management executive. She is working with a small group of internal developers and is supplemented by development resources from Persistent Systems in India.
I also took a walk to the Expo floor and got a quick view of Kenandy's system. I also met the "Ken" of Kenandy. (The firm is named after Sandra's two sons, Ken and Andy).

A Market with Lots of Open Space

I am currently working on a research report on cloud-based ERP systems, so I was quite interested in seeing a new competitor emerge in this market. In my view the market is wide open. There are only a handful of pure multi-tenant SaaS ERP providers, and even few that can support the needs of manufacturers. These providers include NetSuite, SAP's Business ByDesign, Workday, Plex, and Rootstock.

Compare this to the dozens or scores of ERP providers that we could choose from in the 1980s and 1990s. Today the market for traditional on-premise ERP systems is dominated by two vendors: SAP and Oracle. Microsoft occupies a strong secondary place, especially in the SMB space. Many of the other players have been acquired by Infor and Oracle, though several good providers, such as IFS, Epicor, QAD, Syspro remain independent.

Nevertheless, the broad industry trend is moving to cloud computing, and manufacturers that want full-suite ERP in the cloud have few choices. Therefore, the market is wide open. As I mentioned to Sandra, it's like the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock. There is a whole continent waiting for anyone so inclined to stake a claim. There's no need to argue about property lines with neighbors. Just go out, pick a few verticals, geographies, and organization sizes, and build out your offering. There is plenty of room to grow.

Other providers are already doing so. Plex was first out of the gate, with a full cloud-based ERP offering dating back to the middle of the last decade, and they continue to gain momentum. SAP's launch of Business ByDesign is also gaining traction, not only in subsidiaries of SAP's traditional large customer base, but in net new SMBs as well. Rootstock, not as well known, has a credible offering for manufacturers (especially project-based) on NetSuite's platform, and it has now migrated its manufacturing ERP offering to Salesforce.com's platform. Moreover, other on-premise vendors, such as Epicor and Infor, have enabled their products to operate in a multi-tenant cloud deployment model.

But there are large swaths of open space. Kenandy is a welcome new player.

Update, 10:02 a.m.: Sandy is on stage now at Dreamforce. She's wearing a button with the letters ERP crossed out. Marc asks, "Your previous firm ASK built on HP's platform, right?" She jokes, "Is HP still in business?" Ray Lane, an HP board member, is standing next to her. Sandy mentions Salesforce.com's investment in Kenandy. Ray, as mentioned in my post above, is also an investor, and now relates the story of Sandy showing up in Ray's office, asking for money. Ray, who like Sandy, is well over the median age at Dreamforce, admonishes the audience, "Don't think our generation is through yet!"

Update, 10:20 a.m.: Dennis Howlett looks at manufacturing cloud ERP developments.

Update, Sep. 6: Dennis Howlett interviews me live about my thoughts on Kenandy. Click on the image below to watch the interview.

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Posted on 1 September 2011 | 9:40 am

Twenty Years of ERP Lessons Learned



I gave a keynote presentation last week at the Manufacturing ERP Experience conference in Chicago. Because the primary attendees were end-users and prospective buyers of ERP systems, I wanted to share something on current ERP trends and best practices for success.

But this presented a challenge: I've been speaking about ERP for over 20 years. How would a presentation on this subject be different today than one I would have given 20 years ago?

So, during the keynote, I thought of at least three ways in which ERP is different today, and one way in which it is still the same.

ERP as a Platform

Twenty years ago, ERP was viewed, in effect, as the final destination. For example, CRM was not yet popularized (Siebel was founded in 1993). In most companies, business intelligence was limited to report-writing or custom-built data warehouses. Mobility apps and collaboration systems were a long way off in the future. Even email was not well-established in business communications. So, ERP was where most of the action was, especially in the manufacturing sector, where it has its roots.

Although ERP was a hot topic in the early 1990s, today we understand that ERP really doesn't do all things equally well. Even the acronym "Enterprise Resource Planning" (an evolution of "Material Requirements Planning" and "Manufacturing Resource Planning" systems of the 70s and 80s) is a misnomer. ERP is not primarily a planning system, it's a transaction processing system. Its benefits are primarily in standardizing and automating business processes. To perform what-if planning, or to understand trends hidden in the data, or to gain a 360-view of customers, for example, you need to go beyond ERP.

Does that mean ERP is just one of many investments that an organization can choose to make in enterprise systems? Not at all. ERP plays a unique role in the applications portfolio, as the foundation for so many other things that organizations want to do.

Sure, you can go out and implement CRM as a standalone system, but CRM works better when it is integrated with ERP for end-to-end business processes. Some organizations have implemented supply chain management without ERP, but SCM is more powerful when it builds upon ERP as the system of record. Likewise, business intelligence systems, collaboration systems, and mobility apps add more value when they have ERP as their foundation.

Today, ERP is critical as the transaction processing hub of the organization and the system of record for major organizational entities, such customers, suppliers, people, orders, and accounting entries. In many respects, we can think of ERP as the new IT infrastructure, as a standard platform for building out the rest of an organization's enterprise applications portfolio.

Recognition of the Risks of ERP

The second way I think things have changed is in how organizations perceive the risks of ERP. Everyone has read about he horror stories of failed ERP implementations. Names like Hershey, Waste Management, and Nike are well-known examples. Many times the understanding strikes closer to home: most business leaders by now have either experienced for themselves, or heard from their peers, what can go wrong with an ERP implementation.

This wasn't the case 20 years ago. Executives often believed the hype of software vendors who claimed that implementation could be rapid or painless, or that business leaders could go about their jobs while the vendor, or a systems integration partner, did the hard work for them.

Very few executives believe this any more.

General Acceptance of Key Success Factors

Similarly, twenty years ago, executives were quicker to believe that new software could solve their problems, or that systems could be customized to match how the organization did business in the past. ERP projects were often viewed as "computer projects," not business projects.

Today, I find that business leaders have a better understanding of best practices for successful ERP implementation. They realize that ERP means changing now the organization does business. They usually recognize that top management needs to be committed and that it will require participation by all affected functions. They often realize that it is best to pick a system that fits the business, and as much as possible to avoid customizing software code.

But Outcomes Have Not Improved

So, if ERP plays a critical role, and executives understand the risks and best practices, then organizations must be more successful with ERP today then they were 20 years ago, right?

Sadly, I don't think this is the case. According to our 2011 survey, 38% of ERP projects exceed their budgets for total cost of ownership. Furthermore, as I indicated in my keynote, the risks of ERP go beyond cost overruns: ERP is particularly subject to functionality risks (the project was within budget, but the system doesn't satisfy key requirements), adoption risks (the project was within budget, but the organization is not fully using it), and benefit risks (the project was within budget, but the expected benefits are not realized).

So, what is the answer? The answer is that business leaders need to be reminded again and again about these lessons learned, and they need to execute on these best practices. So, while I could have given (and did give) much of this presentation 20 years ago, the lessons are still relevant.

You can watch a video excerpt of my presentation at the top of this post. The complete presentation is also available on Youtube. And, if you'd like a copy of the slides, please email me. My contact information is in the right hand column.

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Posted on 28 August 2011 | 3:30 pm

IT Budgets vs. Tech Industry Spending: What's the Difference?

According to our research at Computer Economics, we reported that 2010 IT budgets showed no growth at the median. At the same time, IDC reported the global IT market grew by 8%.

So which is it?

Over the years, I see a lot of confusion between these two metrics, so let's start with some basic definitions.

  • IT Budgets: This is the view from within an IT organization, of all IT-related spending.

  • Tech Industry Spending: This is the view of the technology industry and the investor community, of the total market for technology-related products and services.
As you can see, these are related but entirely different measures. Unfortunately, many industry observers refer to both of these metrics as "IT spending."

So, What's the Difference?

Even though much tech industry spending comes from corporate IT budgets, tech vendors have a lot of revenue that comes from outside IT budgets. Furthermore, corporate IT budgets contain quite a bit of spending that does not go to tech vendors. Here are the big three differences.
  1. Consumer tech spending. Not all tech industry revenues come from corporate IT buyers. For example, Apple just surpassed Exxon as the world's largest corporation, by market cap. How much of Apple's revenues are derived from consumer tech spending vs. business IT spending? Surely, the majority. Microsoft has a much stronger business focus, but still a large percentage of Microsoft's revenues are consumer-related.

  2. Corporate IT spending outside the IT budget. Not all corporate IT spending is in the corporate IT budget. The percentage varies by organization, but typically 20-50% of what could be considered "information technology" spending can take place under departmental budget authority. Some of this is "rogue spending," for example, when a sales group buys a few seats of Salesforce.com, without approval or oversight from the IT department. But a lot of it is by design. For example, in most manufacturing companies, spending on computerized machine tools is entirely within the manufacturing operations budget. Such machinery has an enormous amount of computing power and there is typically an entire group within manufacturing devoted to programming these machines. But the machines themselves and the staff members that program them are typically outside the IT budget.

    Similarly, as my friend Vinnie likes to point out, products in nearly every industry today are becoming "smart products," with embedded computing power--not just automobiles, but even washers, driers, and refrigerators have IT capabilities. Do you think the technology spending that goes into designing and building products is under the manufacturer's IT budget? My observation is, almost never. Such spending accrues to the benefit of Intel, Cisco, and other tech vendors, but it is outside the corporate IT budget.

  3. IT budgetary lines that are not tech industry spending. Finally, not everything in the corporate IT budget goes to technology vendors. The biggest item, of course, is personnel costs. Typically 40-50% of the corporate IT budget goes toward salaries of internal support staff, such as programmers, data center personnel, network personnel, and managers. Microsoft, Intel, and Cisco never see that money. So, right off the top, half of the IT budget does not show up in tech vendor revenues.
In addition, there are other corporate IT budget line items, such as facilities, power and utilities, and supplies that are typically not technology-related. Therefore, these show up in IT budget trends, but not in tech vendor market statistics.

When to Use Each Metric

Each of these measures is useful, but for different purposes. If you are a corporate CIO, you are interested in how your organization's IT spending compares against other, peer, organizations. You would like to know how your IT spending and staffing levels and their mix compares against industry standards. Therefore, you are really focused on IT budget metrics. Though they may make interesting reading, reports of tech industry revenues are not your primary focus.

On the other hand, if you are a technology vendor or an investor in the technology sector, you are really interested in how tech industry spending is expanding or contracting. You would like to know about overall tech industry revenues, and you would really like to know specifically about spending forecasts in the market you compete in. You are not interested in the typical corporate IT budget, unless your products or services are highly focused on that market.

What about consultants? If you are a consultant to IT organizations, your interest should be on IT budgetary metrics. Conversely, if you are a consultant to IT product/service providers, you probably want to focus on tech industry spending metrics.

So, when you read reports about IT spending trends, understand the context. Is the report referring to the IT budgets within user organizations, or the revenues of technology vendors? Those are two different things.

Related Links

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Posted on 11 August 2011 | 10:39 am

Microsoft as the Good Guys

I spent a good part of this week at Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) in Los Angeles, and I came away with this thought: in enterprise IT, Microsoft is turning into one of the "good guys."

When Microsoft ruled the world

First, let's turn back the clock. Around the turn of the last century, Microsoft had a lock on personal computing, especially with its Windows desktop OS and its Office productivity suite. Apple was in a far distant second place. Netscape had a head start with a Web browser but was soon crushed by Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Linux made inroads at the server level but never gained traction on the desktop. Microsoft on the desktop was like IBM in the data center in the 1980s. It was commonly said, whatever market Microsoft chooses to go after, it will soon dominate. The US Department of Justice and European Union pursued Microsoft on antitrust grounds, like the US did with IBM years before. But these actions seemed to do little to slow Microsoft's momentum.

But, what a difference a decade makes. The desktop is rapidly losing ground as the center of personal computing. Smartphones and tablet computer usage are exploding, and Microsoft has a tiny market share on both. Apple still has a small market share for desktops, especially in the enterprise, but it is now the choice for all the "cool kids." Microsoft still has a majority and growing share of the workload in corporate data centers (over half, even in large organizations, per our research at Computer Economics), but it is late to the game in cloud computing, which threatens the very reason-to-be for corporate data centers, long-term. Its search engine, Bing, has some interesting technology, but faces an uphill battle against Google, which dominates the search ad business. Therefore, in many markets, Microsoft is the underdog.

So, it was entirely fitting that the WPC Tuesday keynote this week began with a version of Coldplay's song," whose first line is, "I used to rule the world:

I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own

I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemies' eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing
"Now the old king is dead, long live the king!"
One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castle stands
Upon pillars of salt, and pillars of sand

There were signs of humility in the keynotes, such as Steve Ballmer remarking that the market share of Windows Phone had gone "from very small to very small." Even in touting success, such as with the roll-out of Windows 7 and Office 2010, there was none of the bluster we too-often see from certain enterprise vendors. Ballmer even had a hard time getting the partner audience to give a good hiss at the mention of a competitor.

So, as I'm listening to keynotes and conducting one-on-one interviews with Microsoft executives and partners, I'm getting the feeling that Microsoft is losing its place as everyone's favorite punching bag. In fact, it has a real opportunity to be the good guys in the enterprise IT marketplace.

I see this in three ways.

1. Offering safe platforms

Microsoft takes a lot of criticism for its proprietary technologies--especially from open source advocates (of which, I am one). I still believe that open source technologies, such as Linux, AJAX, and others, are a great foundation for building enterprise software. But, increasingly, independent software vendors (ISVs) are seeing Microsoft as another safe alternative.

It is not generally known, for example, that SAP--the granddaddy of enterprise software--is using Microsoft Visual Studios as the platform for scripting custom logic in its new Business ByDesign (ByD) cloud-based ERP system. SAP formerly did nearly all development in its proprietary ABAP language as well as in Java. But now, SAP apparently feels that Microsoft's C# is a better choice, at least for ByD. When I asked SAP about this a few months ago, an SAP executive told me, it's because most of the target market for ByD--small business--is already using Microsoft technologies.

This week, at the WPC, I ran into an executive of a Tier II ERP vendor, which competes with Microsoft Dynamics. I was surprised to see him at a Microsoft event. Why was he here, I asked. "Because, we're a Microsoft partner," he replied. "We use .NET, Lync, Sharepoint, and Microsoft's business intelligence capabilities as part of our product strategy. We're also using Azure to build cloud-based mobility apps."

Later in my one-on-one interviews with Microsoft executives, I asked about this. How can you compete with these enterprise software vendors in your Dynamics business, yet turn around and support them with your technology? The answer, in so many words, is that in the big picture, Microsoft will be more successful by being a safe platform provider for other vendors, than it will be by hoarding its technologies only for use by its own applications business.

So, at a time when other enterprise software vendors are questioning their commitment to Java, in light of Oracle's acquisition of Sun, Microsoft is starting to look like one of the good guys.

2. Focusing on cloud-value

Despite Steve Ballmer's talk about being "all in with the cloud," Microsoft's actual progress has been slow. From this perspective, Microsoft is seen as a laggard, falling behind cloud infrastructure providers such as Amazon, as well as SaaS providers, such as Salesforce.com and NetSuite. This has been my view for some time, and I still feel this way.

But from interviews with Dynamics executives, it's clear that there is some deep thinking going on about the cloud. Specifically, what is the value of cloud computing to customers? Is it only in cost-savings through outsourcing the infrastructure to a low-cost platform? Is it with all workloads equally, or with certain workloads? Are there parts of the enterprise suite that customers will more likely want to retain in-house, or with a trusted third party hosting provider, while moving other parts to a shared multi-tenant environment? What scenarios favor multi-tenant as the preferred architecture, due to the relationship between the tenants?

With many enterprise IT vendors today, where you stand on the cloud depends on where you sit. If you are a NetSuite or Salesforce.com, the only valid strategy is to have everything delivered as a pure multi-tenant SaaS offering. If you are a Larry Ellison, SaaS is a myth, or if you are a Harry Debes, the SaaS industry will collapse in two years.

But, with Microsoft there's no such dogmatism. Rather, it is thinking hard about where customers find the most value in cloud computing and is working to prioritize its migration to the cloud to focus on those value propositions. I just wish they would get there faster.

3. Enabling entrepreneurs

The third way in which Microsoft is the good guy is in the opportunity it offers to entrepreneurs. We all know that Microsoft's sells a lot of products to small and mid-size businesses. But Microsoft is also small-business-friendly in its partner channel. Attending the WPC is a real eye-opener: thousands of partners, mostly small businesses, many entrepreneurial, enabled by Microsoft's channel program. During these economic times, when everyone is championing small business as the key to economic prosperity, Microsoft is enabling thousands of entrepreneurs and small businesses worldwide to grow and compete successfully. In fact, IDC recently estimated the total 2010 revenue of the Microsoft partner ecosystem at US $580 billion. Compare that to Microsoft's revenue of approximately $60B, and you can see that every dollar Microsoft makes results in about 8 or 9 dollars of revenue for its partners. That's a big opportunity for Microsoft's 640,000 partners worldwide.

My interviews with three Microsoft partners also gave me insight into how these small businesses are winning in these difficult times. I interviewed Jeff Geisler, owner of Socius, a traditional CPA-type partner, which is growing steadily through the recession by acquiring smaller firms. I also met with Steve Thompson and Jim Sheehan from PowerObjects, a Microsoft CRM partner with strong development capabilities. Finally, I had a sit-down with Paul Tilling and Bob Hadingham at LexisNexis. Paul and Bob's group is an independent software developer in the UK that has taken its software for law firm practice management and is migrating it to Dynamics AX as its underlying platform. These three businesses have different focuses, but each is betting its business on Microsoft's partner channel.

With some other enterprise IT vendors, being a partner is a risky bet, as you sometimes find yourself competing against the vendor's direct sales force. Or, the vendor has a shifting strategy on where it wants to allow its partners to do business. Microsoft, by running 95% of its revenue through the channel, has no such conflict.

A closing thought

The choice of venue--Los Angeles--was entirely suiting to this theme. The city has seen hard times over the past several years. The glow is off the Golden State. The land of opportunity has been slow to recover from the recession. Our state budget is deep in the red and the business climate is going from bad to worse. It's a microcosm of most of the nation.

Microsoft could have chosen San Francisco or Silicon Valley, where it would have been just one more tech conference. Instead, it chose Los Angeles, where it could make a difference. In fact, I'm told, this was the largest business conference ever in Los Angeles, and was estimated to bring $45 million for local businesses.

So, once again, Microsoft is the good guy.

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Posted on 14 July 2011 | 11:42 am

The IT Spending Recovery and Implications for Enterprise Software

Computer Economics has just published its 22nd annual IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks study. The latest data, based on our survey from the first half of 2011, shows that the US and Canada have emerged from the IT spending recession of the past two years. At the same time, the recovery is weak and organizations have not returned to the IT spending growth rates of the middle part of the previous decade.

That said, some industry sectors are showing IT spending growth rates well above the median 2.0% for the composite sample, as shown in the accompanying figure. The insurance sector leads the way, at 5.0% growth in IT operational spending, followed by wholesale distribution, discrete manufacturing, high tech, healthcare, and process manufacturing, which all beat the composite median.


To no surprise, the sector dragging the averages down is government. Median IT operational spending by governments is falling 3%, the second year in a row that IT organizations in the government sector have reduced spending. The retail and banking and finance sectors also continue to show below-average growth in median IT spending, at 1% and 1.1% respectively.

Other key findings include:

  • IT operational budgets as a percentage of revenue is 1.6% this year, down from 1.8% of revenue in 2010, as revenue gains outpace investment in IT.
  • In a continuation of a six-year trend, IT operational spending per user this year is declining to $6,667, down from $7,002 the prior year, on an inflation-adjusted basis. The long-term trend is indicative of improving IT operational efficiency but is being pushed further by the cost-cutting of the past three years.
  • After three years of zero growth, IT capital spending is up 1.8% at the median. Discrete manufacturing, energy and utilities, and high-tech sectors show the strongest growth in capital investment.
  • The modest increase in IT spending this year is not reflected in IT hiring plans: only 34% of organizations are increasing IT headcount, while 27% are reducing staff levels.
A free 40+ page executive summary of the IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks study is available, along with a description of the full report.

Implications for Enterprise Software

The recovery in IT spending is certainly good news for enterprise software buyers and sellers. The stronger-than-average recovery in the manufacturing and distribution sectors is especially welcome, as these sectors were hammered hard early in the recession. In our soon-to-be-completed technology trends survey, we are already seeing signs of increasing interest in expanding ERP systems, replacing legacy systems, and new investments in CRM, supply chain management, business intelligence, and mobility applications.

At the same time, our data shows the recovery is weak. Although many organizations are now willing to spend, they still have one foot on the brake, ready to cut back or postpone new spending initiatives if the recovery slows. Fear of a double-dip recession is far from over.

This cautionary mood means that sellers should expect buyers to negotiate hard on price. Flexibility in payment terms, with milestone payments instead of cash up front will also be well received. With its subscription-based pricing and avoidance of large up-front costs, software-as-a-service (SaaS) will continue to be an attractive option for many buyers. Finally, many buyers will be looking to add new functionality to existing systems, rather than completely replace them. Vendors that are able to play well with others will benefit the most in this environment.

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Posted on 7 July 2011 | 1:55 pm

In defense of incremental innovation

As regular readers know, I am a fan of Clayton Christensen, author of The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail. Christensen is the one who first coined the phrase disruptive innovation, which has become almost a cliche these days for anything "new" in the world of technology.

But when we say a certain innovation, or a certain technology, is disruptive, what does that mean? Disruptive of what? Disruptive to whom? Without a clear explanation, the term is ambiguous.

This became quite clear in a sales presentation that I gave recently with my Constellation Research associate Ray Wang. We were giving our usual stump speech and came to the part where we outline Constellation's focus on "disruptive technologies." Several individuals in the room grimaced. One of them spoke up and said something to the effect of, we are a conservative organization--we're not sure we are ready to be disrupted. Ironically, this is a high-tech company, at the forefront of its industry in terms of innovation. Yet, when it came to its own information systems, the word disruption was not viewed as a good thing.

Should our client (we did win the deal) have been concerned? I don't think so. Go back and read Christensen's book. In it, he is quite clear that the disruption caused by a new technology is not disruptive to technology buyers--it is disruptive to technology sellers, especially the sellers of older technologies that are replaced by the new technologies. In fact, buyers find the new technology anything but disruptive. They find it simpler, easier, and cheaper to use. It is the sellers of the old technology, which is more sophisticated, more feature-rich, and more expensive that are disrupted by the newer, cheaper, simpler technology.

The vendor's responsibility

This thought came back to me last week when I read a post by my friend and associate Vinnie Mirchandani, who attended, as did I, SAP's user conference in Orlando, Florida. In Sapphire Now: Innovation at the Edges, he writes:
But if there is plenty of innovation at the edges, the core [SAP's core products, such as ECC and the rest of its Business Suite] still seems fairly static. The lightbulb still has not gone on that if on-demand functionality can be delivered for sub-$100 a user a month, there is little justification for on-premise price points to be 10, 15, 20x that. That if Apple and Google and amazon can build mobile ecosystems of hundreds of thousands of applications and games with a cottage industry of entrepreneurs, SAP cannot continue to magically expect its current SI and outsourcing partners to match that speed or those price points. If small teams can build fairly ambitious HANA applications part-time in a matter of days, SAP’s and its partner’s project time scales need to be similarly compressed. if on-demand benchmarks are showing frequent upgrades and importantly instant propagation throughout the customer base, SAP cannot afford to have old-school and grudging multi-year customer base migrations at the core.

That is SAP’s next big challenge. It has picked up a whole bunch of hammers and sickles as it innovates at the edges. It now needs to use them to bombard the core.
Now, I have no argument with the thought that SAP needs to transform its core products with the same technologies that it is using to develop its new "edge" products, such as its line-of-business applications. In fact, SAP co-founder Hasso Plattner and board member Vishal Sikka emphasized this same point in small group discussions I participated in.

Where I do have a different point of view, however, is with any thought that SAP's existing customers would be well-served by a disruptive transition of SAP's core products. Call it the curse of the installed base or whatever you want. But the fact is that thousands of organizations use SAP's core products to run mission-critical systems that support their businesses. SAP cannot, and should not, disrupt or otherwise undermine the investment that those customers have made. Whatever SAP does in the way of innovation, it should do so in a way that preserves and extends those customer investments.

It's not that SAP doesn't know how to rewrite its core products. It's already developed a full ERP replacement built on a true multi-tenant, in-memory SaaS platform: its Business ByDesign product for small and mid-size businesses. And it is using the same platform to deploy its "edge" products, which Vinnie refers to. Ultimately, it intends to migrate functionality from the core to these new technologies.

Lest anyone think I'm an apologist for SAP, please search this blog for posts I have written about SAP since 2002, the majority of which are critical of SAP. But on this point, I respect what SAP is trying to do.

The customer view

Customers of SAP, Oracle, and other legacy vendors are in a difficult position. Many, such as the client I referred to earlier, see value in new technologies, such as mobile applications, cloud computing, and in-memory analytics. But the value does not justify a complete replacement of their core systems, which may be stable and meeting their basic requirements. Why replace those systems? How can the customer extend the value of those legacy or core systems, while at the same time acquiring and implementing new technologies?

Rather than focus on acquisition and implementation of a new technology just because it is new, I would prefer to focus on business value. If an old technology has value, why replace it? If a new technology is not cost-justified, or not justified for strategic reasons, why implement it? If an existing technology is already implemented, what is the business case for change?

That is the need that SAP (and Oracle, and other vendors with large installed bases of customers) is trying to address. It's not easy. In fact, one might say that if SAP can meet this need, SAP would be quite innovative. It would be like allowing a driver to swap out the engine while the automobile is moving down the highway at 75 miles-per-hour. I'm having a hard time thinking of an example where a legacy enterprise software vendor has made such a transition.

So, what most companies, especially large companies need is incremental innovation: implementation of new technologies for new applications, while at the same time preserving and extending the life of their existing systems, while over the long term incorporating these new technologies into those core systems. The alternative--ripping and replacing those core systems--is painful, expensive, and, yes, too disruptive for most organizations.

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Posted on 29 May 2011 | 1:32 pm

SAP innovating with cloud, mobile and in-memory computing

Based on my attendance at SAP's SAPPHIRE NOW conference this week, SAP appears to be making major advances in three strategic themes of innovation. But to succeed, it needs to do two things equally well: reach new customers with leading-edge technology while at the same allowing its legacy customers to adopt these technologies in an incremental way.

I arrived in Orlando Sunday evening just in time for dinner with SAP’s co-CEO Jim Snabe and a small group of bloggers. It was a chance to get to know Jim up close and exchange views on SAP and the enterprise software market. The conversation was very frank, and most of it was off-the-record. Jim described his own roots at SAP as well as his vision for the future, which currently revolves around three broad themes of innovation: cloud, mobile, and in-memory computing. Not surprisingly, these turned out to be major themes throughout the keynotes and briefing sessions I’ve attended.

Cloud computing

As Jim pre-announced with us Sunday evening, SAP just sold customer No. 500 for Business ByDesign (ByD), its pure SaaS solution for small and midsize businesses. This puts SAP ahead of its goal to reach 1,000 customers by the end of 2011, a point of pride. On Monday, I met in a small group briefing with Rainer Zinow, who is in a leadership position with both ByD and SAP's new line-of-business applications for customers of SAP’s Business Suite. The ByD platform, though originally developed for the small business offering, now serves as the platform for all of SAP’s on-demand applications, such as its Sales On-Demand.

On Monday, I also took time to walk out to the show floor for a test drive of the ByD application. I was impressed by the extent of functionality offered by the product, though I did find screens to be crowded and a bit difficult to navigate at first. Some of this might be resolved at implementation, as screens can be customized to reduce the amount of information displayed.

On Tuesday, I interviewed an early ByD adopter, who confirmed that they did find it helpful to configure screens to remove unnecessary information. This configuration can be easily accomplished by end-users. Nevertheless, it points out that once you get into implementation and change management, there’s not much difference between an on-demand and on-premise solution.

Mobile computing

SAP took a big step into mobile computing with its 2010 acquisition of Sybase. Much of the focus since the acquisition has been on development of the Sybase Unwired Platform (SUP), which provides the infrastructure for mobile applications (for example, device management). Now, with the platform now in place, the focus is turning to mobile apps themselves. SAP is showing dozens of mobile apps on the show floor. I got a look at some of them on the floor and also in a blogger briefing with SAP’s Ian Kimbell. Kimbell reports that initially it took SAP’s team a week or two to develop the initial apps, but after coming down the learning curve, the team now only required a couple of days to developa new application. This sort of productivity will hopefully lead to an explosion of innovative mobility applications, not just to replace desktop apps but to enable new business processes.

Some of the new apps are quite simple, such as expense reporting or management approvals, while others carry deeper functionality, such as those for patient data reporting or field service management. Some are developed directly by SAP, while others are being developed by partners. Most are or will be available through the newly announced SAP apps store.

See the video I shot, below, of some demonstrations of these mobile apps.


In-memory computing

Most enterprise software vendors consider cloud computing and mobility applications as the top two innovations currently disrupting the enterprise software marketplace. But SAP consistently lists a third innovation: in-memory computing. The strategic place of in-memory computing was made clear in my meeting with SAP co-founder and current Supervisory Board chairman Hasso Plattner.

In memory computing is simply an computing architecture where an entire database resides in main memory and all reads/writes are performed directly in memory, instead of in disk storage. (In SAP’s implementation, disk storage is still used as staging area for source data, for failover integrity, and to archive inactive data.) In-memory computing is enabled by the rapidly the improving price-performance of computer processors and memory, allowing main memory to reach into many terabytes, limited only by the number of nodes in the cluster.

SAP’s flagship use of in-memory computing is in its HANA in-memory appliance, although the technology is also being deployed in other applications, including SAP’s Business ByDesign, described earlier. SAP referenced a number of early HANA adopters during the keynotes, most of which focus on business analytics with very large data sets. Early adopters include:
  • Colgate Palmolive, which uses HANA to generate detailed real-time sales reporting for customers. The firm is also working with SAP now on a HANA application for trade promotions management.

  • Medidata, a SaaS-provider of clinical trials data management. The firm uses HANA to allow its customers (generally large drug and medical device developers) to analyze clinical trial data from around the world for trends in quality issues and to quickly take remedial action, potentially saving large amounts of money in each trial.

  • Caterpillar, the manufacturer of large earth-moving equipment, which uses HANA to analyze large numbers of product configuration options and design-to-order features. This application of HANA allows the firm to determine what configurations are feasible from instantly analyzing millions of rows of data.

  • Canoe Ventures, a joint-venture of several cable TV companies that uses HANA to customize delivery of ads to millions of individual viewers, allowing them to instantly request more information. This is an application that uses HANA for non-SAP data. Once the ad and viewership data is no longer needed, it returns to its sources. Nothing is held in a permanent data warehouse.
These are just four of the many case-studies presented by SAP board member Vishal Sikka and discussed further in my briefing with him after his keynote session.

As a data analysis tool, HANA competes with Oracle’s Exadata product line. In-memory computing itself is not unique to SAP. It is also employed by other enterprise system providers, such as Workday, as well as data analytics firms such as QlikTech.

Interestingly, SAP has at least two connections between in-memory computing and cloud computing. First, its cloud ERP offering, Business ByDesign, itself uses an in-memory computing architecture. Second, SAP plans to offer HANA as a service, running in SAP's own cloud, for customers that cannot afford or cannot justify an on-premise purchase of a HANA appliance.

What does it all mean?

SAP is one of the largest and oldest enterprise software providers. It has a large installed base. In pushing forward on these three fronts of innovation—cloud, mobility, and in-memory computing—it has two goals. First, to keep its installed base customers supplied with new technology, to keep them from looking elsewhere. Second, to provide new and interesting solutions to prospects that are not yet SAP customers.

These two goals can be seen in each of the three themes.
  • With its cloud offerings, SAP is aiming its line of business solutions, such as Sales OnDemand at its installed base, some of whom have been leaving the fold, choosing Salesforce.com for sales force automation rather than SAP’s own on-premise CRM solution (as evidenced in a recent deal I was involved in). At the same time, SAP is targeting its Business ByDesign service to new prospects--small and midsize companies--that are increasingly looking at cloud solutions, such as NetSuite. In addition, SAP thinks it has a winning strategy in selling ByD to small subsidiaries of its large customer base, which might otherwise look to Microsoft, Epicor, Infor, or QAD, for example, in a two-tier configuration.

  • With its Sybase Unwired Platform, SAP is trying to make life easier for its installed base customers, who otherwise would have to develop their own mobility applications or integrate offerings from a variety of providers to run on a variety of devices. At the same time, SAP thinks it can sell its mobility applications to companies outside of and separate from its installed base, potentially serving as an entry point for other SAP products. My associate Dennis Howlett thinks SAP should be even more aggressive in this strategy, by providing the Sybase Unwired Platform at low or even no cost, to gain a foothold in new organizations.

  • With its HANA in-memory data appliance, SAP is looking at providing supercharged data analytics capabilities to its own installed customer base, such as its Business Objects users. At the same time it has taken great pains to ensure that HANA plays equally well with non-SAP data, to position HANA as a general purposes data analytics solution, as shown in the Canoe Ventures case-study, outlined above.
Will SAP be successful in these three themes of innovation? It certainly has the resources to do so. Its large installed base throws off billions of dollars in maintenance fees that SAP can invest in new development. It also has a long and proud history of engineering excellence. And in its acquisitions of Sybase and Business Objects it gained the subject matter expertise and customer base to give it a foothold in mobility and analytics.

If there is any area where I might have reservations, however, it might be in cloud computing. Cloud solutions are an entirely different animal than on-premise systems, in terms of how they are developed, sold, delivered, and maintained. The revenue model is different, and as a public company, SAP is very sensitive to short-term constraints on its profitability.

When it comes to investing in the resources SAP needs to make ByD or the line of business applications successful, will SAP willingly pull resources away from its high-margin on-premise business or its multi-million dollar HANA deals? Those who are fans of Clayton Christensen understand the "Innovator's Dilemma." It is not an easy step for market leaders such as SAP. The leaders in the Business ByDesign and the line of business applications areas are certainly smart, talented, determined, and visionary. But will SAP as a whole stand behind their efforts when there is easier money to be made elsewhere?

Whether SAP as an organization can maintain the level of commitment needed to make them successful remains to be seen. The early results, with 500 new ByD customers is encouraging, but there are many more months and years ahead.

Note: SAP covered my travel expenses for this event.

Posted on 18 May 2011 | 8:45 pm

New details on Infor's Lawson acquisition

Confirming the rumors swirling for the past several weeks, Infor today announced that it is acquiring Lawson Software. (Technically, it is an affiliate of Infor's owner, Golden Gate Capital, doing the acquisition, but the practical outcome is that Lawson and Infor will now be one company.)

I received a quick phone briefing on the news from Duncan Angove, Infor's President of Products, Marketing and Support. Duncan himself is new with Infor as of last December, part of the new management team brought in from Oracle by CEO Charles Phillips.

The press release announcing the acquisition provides the primary talking points. But I wanted to get more details behind the announcement. Here's what I learned.

Product strategy

The acquisition is being driven by the top line (i.e. increasing revenues) and by the desire to create a "third-choice" for the top tier of enterprise buyers (i.e. someone other than SAP and Oracle) by delivering a strong offering for key industries. For example, Infor is interested not just in process manufacturing or "food and beverage," but "bakeries" and other sub-verticals. It intends to offer functionality that takes into account how bread dough rises at certain altitudes, or how long it takes an oven to reach its desired temperature, for example.

According to Duncan, there is little overlap between products of the two firms and they complement each other well. For example, Lawson has very strong presence in healthcare, and Infor does not have healthcare-specific offerings today. But Infor does have a strong asset management product, which is of great interest in hospitals, which must manage detailed information on medical device equipment. Infor sees the integration of Lawson's healthcare systems with Infor's EAM offering as an attractive offering.

Likewise, healthcare providers today face constraints due to the shortage of skilled nurses, and managing the productivity of nursing staff is a key driver of success. Lawson has strong human capital management (HCM) offerings for healthcare, which Infor intends to integrate with its own time-and-attendance and workforce scheduling applications (from its Workbrain acquisition), again, offering a more powerful solution.

On the Lawson M3 (formerly, Intentia) side, Infor sees strong synergies with its other manufacturing offerings, specifically with its product lifecycle management and supply chain products which many consider as best-of-breed.

Technology strategy

Here's where things get even more interesting. I wanted to find out how Infor viewed Lawson's M3 technology, which is 100% Java-based, in light of Infor's decision last year to standardize as much as possible on Microsoft.

Well, as it turns out, with the new management team in place, Infor has un-done its decision to standardize on Microsoft for key elements of its technology stack. Infor now prefers to stay "open" on the technology side. It will continue to leverage Microsoft Sharepoint but will leverage open source components for some elements of middleware, such as the Apache web server, OASIS standards for document exchange, and open source reporting tools. The technology stack will vary by product (e.g. Syteline will continue to be 100% Microsoft), but newly developed complementary products will not standardize on Microsoft SQL Server, for example, as had been Infor's statement of direction earlier.

As far as cloud deployments, Infor will continue to leverage the co-location data center services of Savvis and does not see a conflict with Lawson's strategy to host instances of its systems on Amazon's cloud. Infor currently uses Amazon's cloud to handle peak workload requirements, so it is not unfamiliar with Amazon's services.

Interestingly, Infor claims that the Infor/Lawson combination will have over 1 million users "in the cloud." The bulk of these will comprise Infor's current cloud-based users of its asset management and expense management systems, as well users of Enwise, a SaaS provider of HR service delivery and workforce communication solutions, which Lawson itself acquired in December 2010.

Impact on Lawson customers and employees

As with any software industry merger or acquisition, the primary concern is what the impact will be on customers, who have made large investments in Lawson software, and employees, who have invested their careers in Lawson. Concerning customers, Duncan maintains that, if Lawson was going to be acquired, Infor is the best place for its customers. It has committed not only to maintain current development efforts, but to expand them, with some of the 400 software developers it recently announced it was hiring. Lawson customers should see increased levels of investment with Lawson products, not lower.

Concerning Lawson's people, there is little doubt that there will be "efficiencies" (read: layoffs) in back office functions, but no plan to conduct layoffs among software developers. Infor sees no need to consolidate or push development offshore as a way of improving margins.

As in most cases like this, we'll have to wait to see what the real impact is on Lawson customers and employees.

My take

Infor's strategy to focus on specific industries, and sub-industries is a good one. It is quite similar to what Microsoft put forth in its Convergence conference for its Dynamics line of enterprise software products. The world has enough "broad spectrum" software that addresses a whole host of needs that no one company has, and thus carries a lot of unnecessary code, features, and configuration choices. Focusing on the differentiating requirements of specific industries (e.g. bakeries, breweries) is a better choice.

On the other hand, I think Infor's ambition to become a "third-choice" to SAP and Oracle might be a bit premature. In its ERP offerings, Infor is still a large collection of independently developed and maintained products. Lawson just adds two more (S3 and M3) to the portfolio. Nevertheless, there are enormous opportunities for Infor to establish itself as a strong contender in specific industries, short of being a "broad spectrum" provider like SAP and Oracle. There are also opportunities for Infor to position certain of its offerings in a two-tier configuration, with SAP or Oracle running for corporate or shared-services, with Infor offerings running at the plant or local office level. I would like to see Infor develop and promote out-of-the-box connectors with SAP and Oracle financials and shared services, such as order processing. That would strengthen its credibility further and would be quite attractive for many global organizations, which already are running Infor products in some of their locations.

Finally, the technology shift away from Microsoft, while understandable, represents the second or third major change in strategy over the past two or three years. Infor needs to make its technology strategy explicit and assure customers and partners that it plans to stick with it for the long run.

Related posts

Shifting strategy: Infor casts its lot with Microsoft
Update on Infor's Flex program: customers win
Lawson's cloud services: good start, but no SaaS

Posted on 26 April 2011 | 11:59 am

What’s new with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

Microsoft held its Convergence conference in Atlanta last week, and one of the big items on the agenda was the scheduled general availability this August for Dynamics AX 2012 (formerly known as Axapta). There are several areas in which this new version of AX is a real advance for Microsoft, positioning AX up-market more and more as a viable alternative to SAP and Oracle for many customers.

First, let’s see some areas where Microsoft is moving the ball forward with AX.

Microsoft Dynamics AX as an ISV platform

With this new release, Microsoft is positioning AX as more than just another ERP offering. It is now pushing AX as a platform for other independent software vendors (ISVs) and business partners to build out narrow industry-specific solutions. AX currently has strong functionality for manufacturing, public sector (in four countries currently), service industries, distribution, and retail (coming soon).

Of course, many other ERP vendors target specific industries. But Microsoft is going beyond this level of focus. It has a major effort underway to recruit ISVs and business partners to extend this industry-specific AX functionality with more narrow solutions to target certain sub-industries.

For example, Microsoft has already signed up Lexis Nexis to build its legal firm solutions on top of native AX functionality for professional services. Likewise, Aldata is providing fashion and apparel industry functionality on top of AX’s retail industry solution. In another example, Microsoft recently purchased intellectual property from Tyler Technologies for the public sector and rolled it into the AX core. Now Tyler is building solutions for the government and government contracting sectors on top of AX.

Few ERP vendors are moving as aggressively to position their products as a platform for other ISVs. Smaller ISVs often do not have the resources to keep their products up-to-date with the latest technologies. By building on top of AX, they can focus their efforts not the part that really counts--the industry-specific part--instead of modernizing legacy code or reinventing the wheel with another general ledger. In one-on-one analyst briefings, Microsoft executives tossed out approximate numbers of ISVs currently in discussion about following the example of Lexis Nexis, Aldata, and Tyler Technologies—if half this number commit to AX as a platform, it will be truly impressive.

International support

There are also improvements for global implementations. Dynamics currently has development centers in Brazil, Russia, India, and China (the so-called BRIC nations). It is rolling in localizations for these countries and others into the core product, which greatly improves its global support. AX traditionally has relied upon local partners to provide customizations, which may still be appropriate in some localities. But too many partner localizations sitting on top of one another can be cumbersome. So, Microsoft’s approach makes a lot of sense to take on more of these international requirements in the core product.

Expanded functionality

In terms of new functionality, there is much to like, with new core ERP features and functions for supplier relationship management and case management, a new constraint-based product configurator, public-fund accounting, project quotation and budget control for service businesses, better multi-entity capabilities, and embedded business intelligence and reporting. There is also a new role-based user interface, and enhanced interoperability with familiar Microsoft tools such as Word, Excel, Outlook, and Sharepoint.

From the first day keynote, it was clear that Dynamics AX has its share of whiz-bang features, thanks to its ability to leverage innovations coming from other parts of Microsoft. For example, Microsoft's Lachlan Cash showed a prototype the new AX visual Kanban display, manipulated by means of the user’s body motion, using Microsoft Kinect, which is technology used in Microsoft’s Xbox gaming console (see photo). Cash pointed out that such an application would be ideal in a down-and-dirty manufacturing plant, where it might not be advisable to have users touching a keyboard and mouse.

There is much more, too much to list here. A "what's new" fact sheet is available that outlines all the enhancements of this new release and is worth a careful read.

Cloud deployment options

During the conference, many observers headlined their reports, in effect, that Microsoft is “moving its Dynamics line to the cloud.” However, the reality is that Microsoft is moving AX to the cloud in stages. At present, prospects can have their AX systems hosted in partner data centers. When the 2012 version is released in August, it will be continue to be available as a hosted solution in partner data centers, with hosting in Microsoft's Azure cloud available with the next major version after AX 2012.

Although options for cloud-based deployment with the AX 2012 version are currently limited to hosting in partner data centers, this should be sufficient for most customers. As pointed out in the analyst briefings, customers today tend to be conservative in moving their core ERP functions such as financial applications off-premise, although they may be interested cloud deployment for selected functions, such as CRM, time and expense reporting, and applications that support the mobile workforce. As Microsoft and its ISV partners build out complementary products on Azure, all customers will benefit, whether they have AX hosted on Azure or continue with on-premise deployment. So, Microsoft still has time to build out its cloud deployment options.

Where does AX fit?

Considering all of the above, Microsoft Dynamics AX is a strong candidate for organizations in the mid-tier and above, especially for those with the following characteristics:
  1. Organizations in sectors targeted by AX, specifically manufacturing, distribution, retail, public sector, and services. These are major industry groups covering a broad swath of business types.

  2. Organizations that have standardized or want to standardize on Microsoft's technology stack, such as Windows Server and MS SQL Server.

  3. Organizations where users want to leverage their familiarity Microsoft's end-user productivity tools, such as Microsoft Office, Exchange/Outlook, and Sharepoint.

  4. Organizations needing an ERP system that can scale globally to multiple international locations without incurring the overhead and expense of an SAP or Oracle.

  5. Or, conversely, organizations that have SAP or Oracle running for centralized functions such as financials and HR, but desire a lower-cost, small footprint solution for local operations or satellite offices/plants—the so-called “two-tier” strategy.
Finally, organizations running multiple legacy systems that want to consolidate to a single modern platform are well advised to short-list Dynamics AX. Its backing by Microsoft in many cases will be enough to warrant AX a closer look. With the enterprise software industry undergoing consolidation over the past decade, Microsoft’s continued investment in AX gives customers and prospects the assurance that AX is not at risk for being acquired and orphaned.

A practical way forward

The enhancements introduced in Dynamics AX 2012 are not revolutionary, but rather reflect the continued evolution of a product that has become the centerpiece of Microsoft’s ERP strategy.

Microsoft’s promotion of AX as a platform is an interesting product strategy, enabling ISVs and business partners to build out more focused industry solutions (the so-called “last mile” of the solution). This approach blends well with Microsoft’s partner strategy, allowing partners to find new ways to make money while increasing the attractiveness of AX as a niche solution in a variety of sub-industries. As more and more prospects choose cloud-based solutions, traditional sources of partner revenue (e.g. hardware sales, networking, etc.) will dry up, and partners will need to provide more of a value-add. Industry-specialization is their ticket.

Microsoft is also moving in the right direction in strengthening AX for multinational organizations. Microsoft’s efforts now make AX a real alternative to SAP and Oracle, either as a complete replacement or as part of a two-tier deployment, with SAP or Oracle operating at headquarters and AX running in satellite locations. For those uncomfortable with a de-facto duopoly at the top end of enterprise ERP, the emergence of Microsoft Dynamics AX as a viable option is a welcome development.

Update, May 18: corrected timing of hosting options for AX 2012.

Related posts

Update on Microsoft Dynamics products and plans

Posted on 19 April 2011 | 3:49 pm

Take our Technology Trends survey, and share in the final report

Over at Computer Economics, our Technology Trends Survey for 2011 is now underway, and we are looking for qualified IT executives to take 10 minutes to tell us about their 2011 technology investment plans. The results will be published in our final report this summer.

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Posted on 10 March 2011 | 3:36 pm

When smartphones disrupt medical devices

I'm here at the Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) West conference, one of several shows running concurrently in the Anaheim, CA convention center this week.

Along with the trade show, there is an excellent conference program. I am especially interested the tracks on disruptive technologies in the medical device industry as well as updates on the regulatory environment with the US Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory bodies globally.

Here are some highlights of what I've heard so far.

Global competition for innovation

Tracy Lefteroff of Pricewaterhouse Coopers outlined opportunities and barriers in worldwide medical device innovation, based on a PwC survey.

The results are not good for the US.
  • The US is becoming increasingly unfriendly to innovation. Israel is the easiest place to get regulatory approval for new medical device technologies, followed by the EU and India. The US ranks lower down the list. So, if you need treatment involving innovative technology, you may need to go outside the US.
  • The US carries the highest cost per hospital bed, and fewer beds per capita than any other global region--by far.
  • Industry participants expect that the regulatory environment in the US will become even more restrictive in the future.
  • On the positive side, the US is still the best place to raise money for new medical technologies and it also one of the easiest markets to enter, once you have an approved product.
There may be hope, however. Lefteroff reports great interest in Washington to see the regulatory environment improve. Why? Jobs in the medical device industry are leaving the US for more friendly jurisdictions, and in the current environment, anything we can do to improve the employment situation is attractive, on both sides of the political aisle.

Disruptive technologies in the medical device industry

Jeff Brown from UBM TechInsights followed with an insightful look at how consumer technologies are disrupting established ways of addressing patient needs. Brown showed as new technologies reach critical mass, their IP is often transfered into other established technologies, disrupting them and driving down the cost and size of the established products. For example, digital camera capabilities increased and the cost dropped to the point that the technology could be incorporated into cell phones. Today, many consumers do not carry digital cameras, as the cameras in their cell phones are "good enough."

Although Brown covered several disruptive technologies in the medical device industry, much of his presentation focused on how smartphones (e.g. Apple's iPhone) are becoming and will become part of future so-called mobile health (mHealth) solutions.

For example:
  • The AliveCor EKG sleeve turns your iPhone into an electrocardiogram monitor. Note however that the device is not cleared for marketing in the US. More on that issue in a minute.
  • iStethoscope Expert, a free primitive iPhone application, uses the native microphone in the iPhone to listen to and record your heartbeat.
  • Hearing aids, which at the high-end can cost thousands of dollars, are about to be disrupted by blue tooth earpieces connected to smartphones.
In these and many other examples, Brown pointed out the tremendous improvement in capability that comes when standalone devices (e.g. hearing aids, stethoscopes, EKG monitors) are replaced by devices that connect to smartphones. They not only perform the same function as the device they are displacing but they can go beyond with their ability to record and store data and to communicate with other devices.

For example, a traditional hearing aid can only do one thing: help you listen better. But a hearing aid that is connected to a smart phone can take advantage of the smart phone's capability to record and store conversations. In fact, a smartphone could take that recorded conversation and convert it into text and email it to you. One can imagine many applications, even for people that are not hearing impaired.

Innovation vs. regulation

Brown briefly covered the regulatory issues that constrain the convergence of new technologies with medical device solutions. Current FDA regulations treats many of these new applications and distruptive technologies as medical devices, depending on their intended use to diagnose or treat disease, or to affect the structure or function of the human body. This classification puts FDA squarely in the middle of commercialization of such products.

As Lefteroff indicated earlier, other jurisdictions are friendlier environments for introduction of these new converged technologies. It may be that some of these solutions will take hold first in developing countries, where their low cost and "good enough" capabilities will allow them to be perfected and proven.

It is ironic that, while the underlying technologies may have been developed by US companies (e.g Apple), their application as medical devices may only come to the US after they have been established and proven in other geographies.

Related posts

FDA still enforcing regulations for validation of enterprise software

Posted on 7 February 2011 | 6:24 pm

Avoiding project death by ROI

I had an unusual experience recently: a client demanded an exhaustive ROI calculation for a project, and the client approved the investment.

How to kill a project

Why is that unusual? First, some background. Over the years, my consulting firm, Strativa, has developed a methodology for building the business case for enterprise IT projects (or, any initiative for that matter). We identify the perceived benefits of the new system (for example), trace them back to features/capabilities of the new system, then quantify the direct financial impact. We also identify the time-phased project costs so we can calculate the ROI, whether by a simple break-even calculation or a more sophisticated internal rate of return. The whole methodology is implemented in an elaborate Excel workbook.

Although we are quite proud of this tool, I have noticed a pattern in cases where we use it. Often, when a client demands an exhaustive ROI calculation ("show me the money"), the project does not get approved. This is true even in cases where our calculations show a strong ROI.

Although I am a great believer in the need to demonstrate financial return, I have come to the conclusion that, in practice, too many executives ask for the business case not to determine whether they should make the investment, but to find an excuse for why they should not.

Now, having said that, there are some cases where an organization's capital expenditure processes require a formal business case. Here, the project sponsor requests the business case not as a means to kill the project but merely to get funding for a project that he or she already wants to do. But apart from these cases, what explains the correlation between client demands to see an ROI and projects being killed?

The "ROI Trap"

My hypothesis is that, due to a reluctance to say "no" directly, ROI calculations are often a convenient way to refuse projects that management simply doesn't want to do.

This "ROI trap" can take several forms:
  • Management argues the project budget is underestimated
  • Management argues the benefits are overly optimistic
  • Management argues the benefits cannot be connected to the proposed initiative
That final point is the most subtle. For example, benefits involving increased sales are the most difficult to get by management review. A new sales force automation (SFA) system, for example, might be justified in part by increased revenue from new sales. The rationale would be that sales people today only spend about 50% of their time selling. The rest of their time is spent looking for information, administrative activities, and reporting to management. By providing faster access to information and automating much of this administrative overhead, sales people can spend more time selling, which should result in increased revenue per salesperson.

The problem, however, is that the organization is planning to do all sorts of things to increase sales, such as any number of marketing programs and new product introductions. If sales do increase after the new system is implemented, how will management know that the improvement is due to the new system and not to other things that the organization is doing? Therefore, when presented with a SFA business case that relies in part on increased sales, the easiest thing for management to do is to say, we don't see the connection.

Who owns the business case?

Is there a way out of this trap? We have found that there is one important key to having a business case approved: management ownership of the benefits statement.

Here is how we now prepare the business case for a new system or business initiative. We hold a series of workshops to collaborate with the client's project team and stakeholders around five questions:
  1. What the objectives for the proposed investment?
  2. How will the project meet those objectives?
  3. What financial metrics would improve if those objectives were met?
  4. What are the baseline measurements for those metrics today?
  5. What percentage improvement would be achieved in those metrics if the project is approved?
We often find, however, that even among the project sponsor, project team, and key stakeholders there can be significant disagreement, especially in answering the fifth question. The reason is simple: stakeholders are going on record that they believe the project will yield certain benefits, and if the project is approved they are in effect taking responsibility for meeting those improvements in performance.

A success story

Now, back to our recent client project, which involved selection and approval of a new customer relationship management (CRM) system.

Early in the project, the client made it clear that a strong business case would be needed for a new CRM system to be approved. Based on my past experience, alarm bells went off in my head. What were the chances that this selection would end in "no decision," to the disappointment of the project team and the vendors asked to bid on the project?

Knowing about "the ROI trap," our consultants took a collaborative approach to the business case. Instead of going off in a corner and coming back with the proposed business case, they brought the client's team into the room and asked the five questions outlined above. The CFO was particularly strong in telling the team: if you say these things are benefits, you can expect your sales quotas and budgets to reflect what you say. Translation: they would be held accountable. The CFO even went so far as to ask us to break down the benefits by region, so that the regional sales managers could be held accountable.

The result? A business case that, perhaps, was understated (due to the desire not to set too high a bar) but one that was still quite positive, and most importantly, one that had the ownership of the stakeholders who would be responsible for implementation.

In the end, the project was approved, and contracts have been signed.

Lessons learned

No one likes to be held accountable, and if the business case for a new initiative is the consultant's work only it becomes an easy excuse for stakeholders to escape responsibility. Collaboration is the key: combining the consultant's methodology and industry knowledge with the client's ownership of the goals and metrics. Then, when it comes time to present the business case, it is not the consultant's presentation but the project team and stakeholders arguing in favor of the investment.

Footnote: way back in 2004, I explored the psychological dynamics of the ROI trap, based on the work of Max Bazerman. These are still quite relevant today. See the related posts below for more discussion.

Related posts

Escaping the ROI trap
Escaping the ROI trap, Part 2

*Image courtesy of Ramberg Media Group.

Posted on 6 February 2011 | 9:02 am

Apply for Our 2011 IT Spending Survey

For more than two decades, the annual Computer Economics IT spending survey has been the authoritative source for IT spending and staffing benchmarks for IT executives.

Our 2011 survey is now underway, but we're looking for additional survey respondents.

What's in it for you? We've sweetened the deal this year. If you qualify for and complete the online survey, we'll send you nearly $2,500 worth of research publications, including the composite benchmarks from this year's study.

Click here to see if you qualify, and to apply online >>

Posted on 20 January 2011 | 8:07 am

IT spending outlook for 2011 and implications for enterprise software

Over at Computer Economics, our end-of-year update on IT spending and staffing trends is showing some incrementally positive good news.

IT spending outlook

First, based on our Q4 survey of US and Canadian IT end-user organizations, we are forecasting IT operational budgets to increase 2.0% at the median. This might not seem like a big jump, but if it holds (and we'll know when we conduct our annual survey in Q1 2011), it will be an improvement over the past two years, when budgets were flat at the median.

Figure 1 shows the trend for this metric since 2006.

Median Annual Change in IT Operational Budgets: 2006-2011

However, don't expect big increases in IT staff hiring, at least in early 2011. Although 27% of IT shops say they've been adding to headcount over the past three months, 14% were cutting headcount, for a net gain in only 13% of IT organizations, as shown in Figure 2.

On the other hand, on a positive note, those IT professionals who are employed are already seeing an increase in their work hours. Over the past three months, a net 47% of IT organizations have been allowing their staff members to work more hours, which could include overtime or cessation of furlough days.

On another positive note, nearly half of all IT organizations have been increasing their work on major projects over the past three months. That, of course, could be a large part of what is driving the increasing staff hours.

Finally, in welcome news for IT staff augmentation firms and contract service providers, a net 31% of IT organizations have been increasing their use of contractors and temps over the past three months. Again, this may be tied to the renewal of major project work.

Percent Increasing Minus Percent Decreasing Each Expense Over Past Three Months

Implications for enterprise software

For customers and vendors of enterprise software, what does it mean? First, the overall trend for IT operational spending may be moderate, but it is positive. The news on the capital spending side is likewise positive, with over half of our respondents expecting to spending more for IT capital investments. Our full report has details.

Second, the underlying dynamics in IT organizations are shifting. Whereas last year, and the year before, many of our respondents were canceling or deferring major projects, laying off IT staff, and cutting work hours, the picture over the past three months is exactly the opposite. New project work is increasing, new hiring is exceeding layoffs by a small amount, work hours are being extended, and IT contractors are getting the nod. All of these are positive signs.

Bottom line

I wouldn't expect 2011 to be a boom for IT spending--not only in comparison to the late 1990s, but even compared to the 2006-2007 time period, which was sort of a mini-boom compared to today. Still, after the last two to three years, any improvement is welcome.

We know from our previous years' surveys that many organizations cut back dramatically on major new initiatives, including enterprise software projects. As a result, many needed improvements were put off, and users are clamoring for relief. While economic recovery is still weak, organizations that make those investments now will be in much better shape when business conditions improve. In addition, most vendors of enterprise software are still in a deal-making mood: prices for software and for services are still a buyers-market.

Therefore, now is a good time to be making those investments.

The full report, Outlook for IT Spending and Staffing in 2011, is available on the Computer Economics website.

Related posts
Computer Economics: IT Spending and Staffing Benchmarks 2010/2011: IT Ratios and IT Cost/Budget Metrics by Industry Sector and Organization Size

Posted on 13 December 2010 | 3:28 pm

First impressions: Salesforce.com far outgrows its name

I'm here in San Francisco covering Dreamforce 2010, the annual conference of Salesforce.com (SFDC).

Over the past several years, and especially from the keynotes given thus far, it is apparent that Salesforce.com needs a corporate name change. With roots as SaaS provider of salesforce automation system, the firm's services have expanded to a broad set of applications and applications development platform services.

More on that in a minute, but first, check out the energy and enthusiasm on display here at Dreamforce--from CEO Mark Benioff's on-stage cheer-leading to the vigor of the exposition floor. For example, one small developer told me last night that on the first day of the expo, he walked away with 75 good sales leads. I shot some quick video, which can give you a little window into the vibe, in spite of the dreary, rainy weather outside.



Okay, back to the issue: does SFDC need a name change? Just consider the following:
  1. SFDC's own functionality has been expanded to include customer service applications, bringing its footprint further into complete CRM territory.

  2. Back in 2006, the company opened up its development platform to third-parties, allowing them to build their own commercial applications and sell them via its AppExchange marketplace. The platform itself has since been renamed Force.com. Since then, independent software vendors have developed something like 1000 products on AppExchange, either as extensions to or in addition to Salesforce.com's own products.

  3. Earlier this year, SFDC announced its intent to acquire Jigsaw Data Corp, which provides current data on businesses and contact information, putting SFDC into the data services business.

  4. Earlier this year as well, SFDC introduced its Twitter-like capability, dubbed Chatter, which provides a secure, private social/collaboration environment from within SFDC's services and systems built on Force.com.

  5. Building out its platform-as-a-service (PaaS) capabilities, SFDC earlier this year launched a joint-venture with VMware to provide Java development capabilities as part of its Force.com platform, allowing third-party developers to use Java instead of SFDC's own proprietary development language. Furthermore, just yesterday, SFDC announced its agreement to acquire Heroku, a PaaS provider for the Ruby-on-Rails development platform. Ruby is an increasingly popular development platform for rapid application development, including many social and mobile applications.

  6. Another announcement during the conference this year: SFDC is introducing something called Database.com, which gives developers a cloud-based database capability, even if they are not building on SFDC's own Force.com platform.
This is just a partial list of the ways in which SFDC has moved far beyond salesforce automation to become something of a cloud-based development environment. So, as I said, at some point, I think a name-change would be in order.

For a deeper dive on the Heroku acquisition and the Database.com announcement, see the post from my colleague, Dennis Howlett, Salesforce's Database.com as a game changer now they've acquired Heroku?

Posted on 8 December 2010 | 3:22 pm

Rimini Street to Oracle: don't expect us to roll over

As everyone knows by now, Oracle won a huge ($1.3 billion) judgment in its lawsuit against SAP/TomorrowNow (TN) for copyright infringement. SAP had acquired its now-shuttered TN unit to provide third-party support for some Oracle business applications in hopes of winning those customers over to SAP. SAP is considering an appeal of the jury verdict, the largest ever in a copyright case.

In the meantime, Oracle has a lawsuit pending against another third-party support provider, Rimini Street. At first glance, Rimini Street "looks like" TN in that both are/were providers of third-party support for Oracle applications. Furthermore, Oracle's lawsuit makes similar allegations--some of it appears to have been cut and pasted from its suit against SAP.

So it would be easy to assume that Oracle's hand against Rimini Street has been strengthened by its win against SAP.

Why Rimini Street isn't TomorrowNow

It would be easy, but it would be wrong. Here's why:
  • Admission of liability. Nearly from the start, SAP admitted that something was wrong down at its TN unit. By the time the case went to trial, SAP had basically thrown in the towel, admitting not only that TN had violated Oracle's copyrights but that SAP itself knew about the illegal behavior.

    In contrast, Rimini Street is making no such admissions. It has from the beginning steadfastly rejected all allegations that it is violating or has violated Oracle's IP rights. In several interviews I've conducted with the firm's executives over the past three years, it has claimed to have established clear policies and standards to prevent such misuse and has offered to have Oracle audit its practices. Oracle has refused such offers, choosing instead to file a lawsuit. So much for allowing Rimini Street to compete fairly.

  • Counter-punching. From the start, SAP was playing defense against Oracle's allegations. It never counter-sued or alleged misdeeds on the part of Oracle.

    In constrast, Rimini Street is fighting back. In a statement sent to me by Rimini Street last week, the firm writes, "While SAP chose not to challenge Oracle's allegations of liability, Rimini Street is aggressively challenging Oracle's allegations and prosecuting its own claims against Oracle."

    It goes on, "While SAP chose not to challenge Oracle's allegations, Rimini Street has countersued, accusing Oracle of defamation and using illegal and unfair practices to stifle competition for the lucrative support and maintenance business. Rimini Street intends to stop what it believes are Oracle's illegal actions and is seeking to hold Oracle responsible for its conduct."

    In other words, if Oracle thought Rimini Street would simply roll over, it thought wrong.
I suspect Oracle would like to have these two lawsuits run together in the mind of customers, prospects, and the general public. But, Rimini Street appears determined not to let that happen.

SAP's hands were tied against Oracle

The ironic part of the Oracle v. SAP/TN case is that SAP couldn't mount a vigorous defense without shooting itself (forget about the foot!) in the head. SAP, like Oracle, is addicted to its lucrative maintenance business. It is baffling why SAP chose to acquire TN in the first place, for some tactical advantage in converting a few Oracle customers to SAP? While undermining its whole business model for sustaining revenues from its installed base? What was SAP thinking?

So, when Oracle filed suit against SAP, what was SAP supposed to do--counter-sue Oracle for restraint of trade and unfair competition, and thereby conceding to any large hungry system integrator or competitor (think, IBM or HP) that its own installed base maintenance revenues were ripe for picking? Of course, SAP had to defend itself. But it couldn't defend itself too strongly, lest it wind up giving legal precedent to the third-party support industry. As it turns out, as the case proceeded through discovery, Rimini Street announced it would begin offering third-party support services for SAP's customers in addition to the services it was offering to Oracle customers. So, SAP was stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place.

Rimini Street has no such baggage. It can and appears to be willing to mount a vigorous defense of its own rights to offer third-party support services, based on the contractual rights of customers to self-maintain their licensed software, while respecting the IP rights of OEM software vendors.

Why Rimini Street's case is important

As Rimini Street stresses in its statement this week, "both Oracle and SAP have acknowledged that third-party support is legal." I covered this point back in 2008 in a post entitled, Legal basis for third-party ERP support industry. In a little-noticed letter filed by SAP as part of pretrial discovery, TomorrowNow strongly asserted its legal right to offer third-party support for PeopleSoft customers, and PeopleSoft backed down from its claim that such support was illegal. Furthermore, to my knowledge, Oracle has not gone so far as to argue that TN had no right to offer support. Only that it did so by stealing Oracle's IP.

Rimini Street is strongly claiming not to be infringing on Oracle's IP. If it can back up that claim in court, then, in my opinion, a strong legal precedent will be established for the third-party support industry. Furthermore, if Rimini Street is successful in its counter-claim against Oracle, it will strongly restrict the attempts of vendors to prevent customers from seeking third-party support--which, ironically, SAP itself appears to have tried to do in 2009!

Strange, isn't it? SAP was defending itself as a provider of third-party support for Oracle customers, while at the same time apparently trying to prevent its own customers from using third-party support.

So, SAP was fighting Oracle with one hand tied behind its back. As Rimini Street's statement now points out, "Had SAP availed itself of the claims and defenses pleaded by Rimini Street in its case against Oracle, SAP would have placed its own policies and third party revenues in jeopardy. "

So, why is the Rimini Street case important? Because the rights of customers to not be locked into a single source for maintenance and support needs to be preserved. As I've written many times in the past, when you buy a Lexus, you have the right to take that Lexus to any third-party repair shop. Lexus cannot try to stop you or threaten to void your warranty if you do so. If they tried, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and 50 state attorneys general probably would file suit. Why should the enterprise software industry be any different?

DoJ is reported to be looking into the Oracle/SAP matter. If so, and while it's learning about this industry, it should also take a look at the restraint of trade and antitrust implications of both SAP and Oracle's behavior in attempting to prevent a viable third-party support industry.

Statement from Rimini Street

Here is the full statement from Rimini Street, sent to me last week.
While SAP chose not to challenge Oracle's allegations of liability, Rimini Street is aggressively challenging Oracle's allegations and prosecuting its own claims against Oracle.

We believe the resolution of the Oracle vs. SAP case does not impact Rimini Street’s case against Oracle and does not change anything in the fast-growing third-party support market.

A few key facts:

Both Oracle and SAP have acknowledged that third-party support is legal. Oracle's claims relate to the specific processes and procedures used to provide support for their products. The processes and procedures used by Rimini Street are very different from those used by SAP.

The only substantive similarity between the offerings of SAP/TN and Rimini Street is that they both provide third party support at 50% off the software vendor's annual fees. As clearly articulated in the court documents and the thousands of pages of process documents provided to Oracle by Rimini Street, every other aspect of Rimini Street’s operations is significantly different that the operations of SAP/TN. Oracle knows this to be true.

We believe the magnitude of the damages award is a result of SAP's peculiar decision to concede liability and ultimately not challenge Oracle's claims. It bears noting that SAP, like Oracle, derives many billions of dollars from maintenance and update services to its customers with profit margins not unlike Oracle’s.

SAP’s practices and conduct in their attempts to chill growth of third party maintenance are similar to Oracle’s. Had SAP availed itself of the claims and defenses pleaded by Rimini Street in its case against Oracle, SAP would have placed its own policies and third party revenues in jeopardy. SAP abandoned these claims and defenses at its own peril, as the size of the damages award illustrates. While SAP chose not to challenge Oracle's allegations, Rimini Street intends to stop what it believes are Oracle's illegal anti-competitive actions and will hold Oracle responsible for its actions.

While SAP chose not to challenge Oracle's allegations, Rimini Street has countersued, accusing Oracle of defamation and using illegal and unfair practices to stifle competition for the lucrative support and maintenance business. Rimini Street intends to stop what it believes are Oracle's illegal actions and is seeking to hold Oracle responsible for its conduct.
Update, 1:40 p.m.: Dennis Howlett has a good post on the long-term implications for customers if vendors can get away with squashing the nascent third-party maintenance industry.

Related posts

SAP and third-party maintenance: good for me but not for thee
Legal basis for third-party ERP support industry
Oracle slams Rimini Street with lawsuit over third-party maintenance

Posted on 29 November 2010 | 8:07 am

Oracle applications customers: wedded bliss or battered wives?

The results of my Oracle Apps customer survey have just been published by Computer Economics, and I've been fielding calls from media representatives on the findings. The most common question: if customers are so unhappy with the quality and cost of Oracle apps support, why do they keep spending money with Oracle? Why do they stay in this relationship?

It's not an easy question to answer. But first, let's summarize several main findings of our study.

Three negatives for Oracle

The Computer Economics Media Alert and Research Byte provide a more complete description of the report. But let me point out three major negatives for Oracle in the findings:
  • Apps customers unhappy with Oracle support. There is no way to avoid the conclusion that there is tremendous customer dissatisfaction with the quality and cost of Oracle support. Specifically, 42% are dissatisfied with the quality, while 58% are dissatisfied with the cost. This is across the board for all products, including E-Business Suite users, but is especially pronounced among PeopleSoft customers. The respondent comments in this section are devastating.

  • Fusion apps not top-of-mind for Oracle customers. Oracle’s next-generation applications, dubbed Fusion Applications, are not on the radar for most customers, with only 10% planning to migrate to Fusion. There is substantial difference in migration plans, depending on the Oracle product currently installed.

  • Oracle apps customers not flocking to Sun hardware. Only 25% of Oracle application customers are currently users of Sun hardware, but among these customers, expectations for increasing support costs are high. Very few Oracle application customers have plans for Oracle’s new Exadata storage systems.
As I said, not good news for Oracle.

But most customers sticking with Oracle

At the same time, despite their dissatisfaction with Oracle support, their lack of interest in Fusion, and their complaints about Sun costs, only 25% of our respondents expect Oracle to have a smaller share of their IT budgets over the next three years. Another 37% indicated such factors as organic growth, purchase of additional Oracle applications, and standardization on Oracle technology would result in Oracle having an even larger share of their IT budgets. The remaining respondents judged Oracle’s share of their IT spending would be about the same in three years.

In other words, whatever their complaints, the majority of Oracle apps customers do not plan on changing course.

So why do customers stay?

This is the big question. If things are as bad as our respondents say they are, why aren't they moving en masse away from Oracle? We didn't specifically ask this question in our survey, but based on many of the comments, I can postulate three types of Oracle apps customers:
  1. Organizations that have standardized on Oracle products. These are like married couples in a committed loving relationship--they may have their squabbles from time to time, but their commitment is secure. These include died-in-the-wool "red stack" customers, those that have committed to do most new development on Oracle database and tools. Most of these customers are running E-Business Suite and have no intention of leaving. These are the ones that are most likely to be considering a migration to Fusion Apps, when they are generally available. These also include users of other Oracle applications, such as JD Edwards, PeopleSoft, and Siebel, who are generally satisfied and see no overriding reason to abandon them.

  2. Organizations that find breaking up hard to do. These are like wives that would like to divorce but decide to stick it out for the kids' sake. They are miserable, but they are going to hang in there, at least for the time being, as making a change is simply too difficult. Many customers have made substantial investments in their current Oracle systems, either in predecessor applications (e.g. PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, Siebel) that Oracle acquired, or in Oracle's own E-Business Suite. In many cases, it's not easy to replace these systems. The apps are deeply embedded as part of how business is done, or if enhancements have been built on top of these apps.

  3. Organizations that don't see an alternative. These are like wives that would like to be married to someone else, but don't see any attractive choices. These organizations are likely to be running Oracle's E-Business Suite. If they are of sufficient size and complexity, they may perceive that there is really only one other choice: SAP, another large Tier I vendor. From what they've heard--rightly or wrongly--that might not be a happy marriage either. And, they don't realize that in many cases, there are other choices, whether as a complete replacement for Oracle or as a partially replacement as part of a so-called two-tier ERP strategy.
Nevertheless, comments from respondents make it clear: a substantial minority of customers are planning to completely or partially replace Oracle in their applications portfolio. They are planning either for a total replacement of their existing apps, or to make new investments with technology from other vendors, around the edges, especially with SaaS solutions.

Make no mistake: Oracle has some great software and some great people. My own dealings with Oracle find that there are many outstanding professionals within the ranks of its applications business and its partners--smart folks that really care about serving customers.

For example, I know quite a bit about FDA requirements for electronic records and electronic signatures, and I find Oracle's approach with its E-Business Suite to be about the best I've seen from any vendor. Furthermore, by many accounts, its next-generation Fusion Apps raise the bar for ease of use, embedded analytics, and enterprise collaboration. I could list many other examples. As in any relationship--for many, being an Oracle customer has its good days and its bad days.

Chances squandered

Ultimately, though, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that Oracle is missing a major opportunity. By its own admission, Oracle makes at least 85% margin on its maintenance and support programs. In fact, it's nearly ALL profit. If Oracle would just take a 2% or 5% hit on that margin and invest it into improving the quality and reducing the cost of its support programs, it could probably reduce the level of complaints and engender tremendous good will among its installed base. Customer retention would not only increase, but it would open the door to additional purchases from these customers. And it would be a positive response to the threat of third-party maintenance.

Postscript: So, is Oracle planning any improvements in its service and support programs? It's possible. Oracle recently brought Charles Rozwat, a respected Oracle executive, back from an extended leave of absence, to head up its worldwide support organization, and he reports directly to co-President Mark Hurd. But I have no idea what changes may be planned. Oracle refused my repeated requests to make Rozwat--or anyone else--available to discuss these matters.

The full report, Go-Forward Strategies for Oracle Application Customers, is available for sale on the Computer Economics website.

Related posts

Oracle confirms: maintenance fees are virtually all profit
Oracle profits strong, thanks to your maintenance payments

Posted on 21 November 2010 | 9:34 am

Update on Microsoft Dynamics products and plans

I'm participating today and tomorrow at Microsoft's Dynamics Fall Analyst Event--a series of briefings at Microsoft's facilities here in greater Seattle area. I won't attempt to do a complete rehash of what was presented, but rather a few key impressions.

  • CRM is where the action is. Although Microsoft Dynamics ERP products (AX, NAV, GP, SL) were presented, the discussion always seemed to lead off with MS Dynamics CRM. I'm left with the impression that many of the new deals are for CRM, although ERP deals probably carry a higher average price.

    Why would this be? It is probably no coincidence that the CRM product is the most recently developed, with the most up-to-date architecture, and the most innovative features, such as new mobility options being introduced in the 2011 version. Such characteristics garner more mind-share from partners and prospects. Some good new features are being introduced in the ERP products as well (e.g. we saw some interesting new features in AX for retail) but one senses that these enhancements do not generate the sort of excitement as what Dynamics is doing with CRM.

    It also helps that Microsoft is aggressively discounting the CRM product on a promotional basis, as discussed in a moment.

  • Microsoft Dynamics serious about going "all in" on the cloud. Traditional on-premise license sales may still account for the bulk of Dynamics sales, but the most interesting developments are in its cloud offerings. These offerings are still in a state of flux--hosted deployments are currently provided by Microsoft partners. But uptake has been good, as evidenced by the four customers Microsoft put forward to tell their stories and take questions from the analysts gathered here. Microsoft's Azure services--primarily platform-as-a-service (PaaS) and software-as-a-service (SaaS) are still being built out. But we had a fairly deep dive into what Azure's data centers look like, and what the build-out of services will include. It's an impressive initiative and an enormous investment by Microsoft.

  • Microsoft not afraid to compete on price. As just mentioned, Microsoft is offering promotional pricing on its CRM product with online deployment, starting at $34 per user per month. This is well below the entry point for Salesforce.com, generally perceived as the leader in SaaS CRM.

    I've often wondered why more vendors don't take this approach, to compete explicitly on price, especially under current economic conditions. As my late business partner, an expert on strategy, told me: there are only two basic business strategies--low-cost leader and differentiation (everything else). But most software providers choose to compete based on their claim to be able to offer something "unique"--something that demands a premium price. The reality, however, is that as the ERP and CRM markets mature, premium pricing for advanced functionality may not be the best path to success. Frankly, many prospects these days just want a good, basic product they can grow with, offered at a reasonable or low price. Never underestimate the power of lowest price.

    Now, Microsoft will never concede the uniqueness or superiority of their product offering. Nevertheless, its willingness to compete on price shows that they understand what is really driving deals these days. I've heard that Oracle is also aggressively competing on price for its Oracle CRM On-Demand offering, further confirming where the basis for competition is moving--at least for CRM.

    And, it's no coincidence that these two low-priced products are both on-demand offerings. To sustain a low-price strategy you have to have a low-cost delivery model, which only an on-demand offering can provide.

  • The partner channel continues to be a key to success. Microsoft Dynamics sells nearly all (if not all) of its deals through sales and implementation partners. For all the changes in the products, there is no change in this sales model. Nevertheless, I was interested to find that the Dynamics partner classifications of gold, silver, etc. has become muddled, with the majority of partners listed in the "gold" category. This is upside-down and absolutely of no use to prospects or customers. As in the mythical town of Lake Wobegon, all the children are above average. Or, more directly, if everyone is gold, then no one is gold.

    Microsoft realizes the problem with the classification of its partners and is taking steps to address it. However, I had one Twitter conversation with a Microsoft business partner who feels the certification exams are meaningless--a complaint we've heard concerning other vendors as well.

    To be fair, some impartial observers consider Microsoft's partner program to be better than most. Nevertheless, as critical as its partners are to Microsoft, it is essential that it put real teeth into its certification and classification processes.
Dynamics is in an interesting, and in some ways, difficult position. It is a business unit of one of the world's largest technology companies, with access to deep pockets and technology that for many organizations is "industry standard." At the same time, many of Dynamics' competitors, such as Epicor, Infor (Syteline), or Syspro, are building on the same technology--which means that the "big" Microsoft enjoys the same or similar pull-through of Microsoft technology, whether the deal is won by Dynamics or one of these competitors. So, in some ways, Dynamics is an independent software vendor (ISV) that happens to be located within Microsoft's four walls.

Current economic conditions are not easy times for Dynamics competitors, however. The new developments across all of Dynamics products show the benefits of being inside those four walls.

I'll update this post, as appropriate, based on additional insights gained tonite and tomorrow.

Related posts
Key success factor for SaaS suites: functional parity
Shifting strategy: Infor casts its lot with Microsoft
Enterprise software: who wants to be the low-cost leader?
Recession prompts great financing deals from IT vendors

Posted on 11 November 2010 | 4:52 pm

FAA reauthorization would create NextGen czar UPDATED

A four year, $63.6 billion Federal Aviation Administration authorization bill agreed to by a conference committee of House and Senate lawmakers would require creation of a Chief NextGen Officer. The bill would also authorize the agency to spend nearly $16 billion annually on the air traffic control modernization effort.

Already being dubbed the "NextGen czar," the officer will report to the FAA administrator, should Congress approve the bill and the president sign it. The bill is likely to gain approval on both fronts and could pass Congress as early as Feb. 3. The bill would end a series of short-term authorizations the agency has operated under since 2008. During a month-long period in mid-2011, the agency underwent a partial shutdown after Congress failed to approve another temporary extension.

The authorization bill also affirms the agency's decision to require ADS-B Out avionics on board most airplanes by 2020, and doesn't make the deadline 2015 as previous authorization had required. Language from an earlier version of the authorization bill making ADS-B In mandatory also is not included in the final, conference version. ADS-B is the backbone of NextGen, which seeks to largely replace radars with Global Positioning System-derived data for tracking aircraft positions.  

The bill also requires the Transportation secretary to accelerate the integrating of unmanned aerial vehicles into national airspace by producing a plan within 270 days of the bill's passage into law. The plan would be incorporated into the NextGen implementation plan.

UPDATED Feb. 2, 3:00 p.m.: NextGen authorization figures added to story.

For more:
- download the FAA authorization conference bill (.pdf)
- download the conference committee's joint explanatory statement (.pdf)

Related Articles:
Top FAA execs lack institutional knowledge, says official; agency must be prepared for cuts 
ERAM now IOC at four more ARTCCs, says FAA 
Auditors question FAA oversight of ADS-B towers

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 11:06 am

FBI calls cyber attacks a top terror threat; HASC Chairman: Kill BRAC;

> HASC Chairman: Kill BRAC. Article (DoD Buzz)
> $638M contract to deliver Navy ships with common computing network. Article (NextGov)
> White House pushes Congress to fast track reorganization authority. Article (Federal Times)
> FBI calls cyber attacks a top terror threat. Article (InfoWeek)
> MyTSA mobile app expanding. Article (FedScoop)

And Finally... Inside the offices of LEGO. Article (Dezeen)

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 10:34 am

DHS authority would increase under Lungren cybersec bill

Cybersecurity legislation now moving through the House would increase the Homeland Security Department's authority to coordinate cybersecurity activities across government, identify risks and performance standards throughout the private sector, and establish a cyber-threat information sharing body.

Despite having the same bill number, H.R. 3674 (.pdf), and sponsor, the bill passed Feb. 1 by the House Homeland Security subcommittee on cybersecurity, infrastructure protection and security technologies was an amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by subcommittee chairman Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.)--indicating significant changes from the December version. In addition, the subcommittee agreed to eight amendments before a unanimous voice vote on the Promoting and Enhancing Cybersecurity and Information Sharing Effectiveness Act of 2011, or the PRECISE Act.

Lungren's bill draws heavily from recommendations made by a cybersecurity task force, led by Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) in October 2011.

"We know voluntary guidelines simply have not worked," said bill co-sponsor Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) in a statement, adding that government must set "security guidelines and ensure they are followed" by federal agencies and critical infrastructure companies.

If passed in its current state, DHS will make a determination on what is and is not considered "critical infrastructure" that requires federal cybersecurity oversight. DHS's ability to enforce cybersecurity standards is unclear, however, as the bill would not allow DHS to penalize or fine critical infrastructure companies that do not follow it's guidance.

If approved in its current state, DHS would be required to stand up the National Information Sharing Organization, or NISO. This industry controlled, non-profit group would facilitate best practices, provide technical assistance, and information sharing across critical infrastructure and the federal government.

DHS would also establish a federally-run, online portal for existing groups to coordinate online training, best practices, and other cybersecurity integration efforts. DHS would have to coordinate a plan for using federal cyber assets for disaster response efforts.

Among the approved amendments to the rewritten version of H.R. 3674 is a requirement, proposed by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), that DHS report to Congress which foreign actors and terrorist groups pose the most significant cybersecurity threat to critical infrastructure. Another accepted amendment, from Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-Penn.), seeks to eliminate redundant requirements on agencies and critical infrastructure once reviewed against DHS-identified risks.

H.R. 3674, as amended during the Feb. 1 markup, will be sent to full committee.

"As for the process, after we report this bill out to the whole House it's a bit unclear," said to Kevin Gronberg, senior counsel to the House Committee on Homeland Security.

Cybersecurity-related bills from various committees could be passed separately off the floor and conferenced with the Senate bill, or they could be held in the house and combined for a broader bill, Gronberg said.

An adviser to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) recently committed to bringing up cyber legislation early this year.

For more:
- download H.R. 3674 as introduced in subcommittee (.pdf)
- see the Langevin press release
- see a statement from the House Homeland Security Committee

Related Articles:
Panel: Even the best cyber legislation won't fix security problems
Private sector cybersecurity info sharing could run roughshod over privacy
Privacy concerns over House Intelligence cybersecurity info sharing bill
House Cybersecurity Task Force suggests incentives, info-sharing

Posted on 2 February 2012 | 10:07 am

EU official says identity management must be based on multiple biometrics

Identity management in the European Union must be based on the collection of biometric information from individuals, said Frank Paul, head of unit for large scale IT systems and biometrics within the European Commission's directorate general of home affairs.

"We also believe that in an ideal world, you have to take 13," he added, referring to data collections of 10 fingerprints, two iris scans and one facial image. Paul spoke Feb. 1 during a panel of an identity management conference hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

A robust biometrics-based identity management system could replace identity cards, Paul added. "You might as well use the biometrics as your authentication. You don't need any token," he said.

The notion of a national identity card, particularly one containing biometric information, is politically contentious within the United States. When in 2006 the federal government began issuing passports with a chip containing digitized photos, a minor controversy arose. Paul, however, said the U.S. passport doesn't contain enough biometric information.

"You have digitized the information that has been around 100 years. You've digitized the biographic information on the data page and you've digitized the photo"--a level of information, Paul said, that "will not take us to the necessary level that we require."

A passport with more biometric data could permit automated border crossings, Paul added.

During the same panel, Ruth Annus, head of migration and border policy department within the Estonian ministry of the interior, said her country's national identity card does not contain biometric information.

A lost or stolen identity card could be used by a third party online, she said, if its owner also kept with it the two certificates the government also issues, a personal identification certificate and a digital signature certificate.

"If people act properly and at least don't keep together the PIN codes with the card, then the card is useless," she said. "Of course, it is one of the challenges to tell people not to keep your passwords or your PIN codes together with the certificate," she added.  

For more:
- go to a CSIS webpage with archived recordings of the identity management conference

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Posted on 2 February 2012 | 8:33 am

NIST releases NSTIC pilots solicitation

Federal efforts to build an online identity ecosystem moved forward Feb. 1 with a National Institute of Standards and Technology call for proposals for five to eight pilot projects lasting up to 2 years.

NIST manages a program known as the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, which seeks to create a new web-based authentication methodology. NSTIC envisions the creation of two types of intermediaries that together would verify the identity and eligibility of an Internet user wishing to conduct a secure transaction, such as accessing sensitive information. Identity providers would provide a credential, such as a downloadable certificate, verifying that a person is who he says he is, while attribute providers would store characteristic information about that individual--things such as age.

In a federal funding opportunity (.pdf), NIST says it has money enough to make pilot project cooperative agreement awards worth between $1.25 million and $2 million annually. Among the barriers that have prevented robust identity management solutions from taking root so far that NIST says the pilot projects will explore options to overcome is a lack of common standards for privacy protection and data re-use.

NIST also wants pilot projects to address matters such as interoperability standards, liability in case of identity system failure and usability.

"I certainly like smart cards and one-time passwords, but the reality is a lot of folks in the consumer market completely rejected them," said Jeremy Grant, NIST senior executive advisor for identity management, while speaking the same day at an event put on by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

NSTIC, he said, is not an attempt to abolish privacy on the Internet.

"The government has no problem with dogs on the Internet. In fact, dogs on the Internet are often a great thing," he said.

Rather, NSTIC is meant to boost confidence in identity assertions when needed for sensitive transactions, Grant said.

Among the technologies NIST says it could fund are "identity exchange hubs that can quickly validate  and process strong credentials" and solution that show interoperability between technologies such as smart cards, one-time passwords, or digital certificates.

Commercial and non-profit organizations, as well as state and local governments are eligible to submit proposals, the funding opportunity says. NIST plans to hold a proposer's conference on Feb. 15; proposals are due on March 7.

For more:
- download the NSTIC federal funding opportunity
- go to a NIST press release on release of the funding opportunity
- download the NSTIC strategy paper

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Posted on 1 February 2012 | 9:45 pm

Berry: Paper and pencil for now in retirement processing

Retirement benefits processing at the Office of Personnel Management will remain paper-and-pencil bound "for the foreseeable future," OPM Director John Berry Feb. 1 while testifying before a Senate panel.

The agency unveiled a plan (.pdf) in mid-January to eliminate the claims backlog (currently 62,000) by July 2013 and to reduce by then the time it takes to process retirement claims to 60 days or less from the 156 days OPM says on average it takes today. The plan also calls for the agency to pursue "partial, progressive information technology improvements" rather than make a fifth attempt at modernizing all its legacy IT systems.

The agency's immediate priority is to hire additional staff to deal manually with claims, Berry said. He testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee on oversight of government management.

Staff numbers at the agency, Berry added, were reduced in anticipation of a modernization effort succeeding, and when the latest attempt failed in February 2011, OPM was left shorthanded.

"I just need the bodies back, get them trained, to get us through the next few years until we can get more IT solutions up and running," he said.

OPM faces much skepticism of its ability to modernize anything.

"The deficit in the IT management capability is very extreme at OPM," said Valerie Melvin, Government Accountability Office director of information management and human capital.

The backlog reduction plan does "not address how the agency intends to modify the many legacy systems" OPM has and the agency must actively work to address the IT management deficiencies that led to past failures, she said.

OPM Inspector General Patrick McFarland said retirement adjudication requires the use of 80 different IT systems that interface with approximately 400 external systems.

Berry, in response to a question, said a commercial-off-the-shelf-system is not a viable replacement for OPM's legacy systems. The last attempt, dubbed RetirEZ, was meant to be a COTS solution but personnel found that the federal retirement system has too many variations, he said.

"What they found was they could not modify the off the shelf system to accommodate all of these unique variables that existed in the federal process."

Berry also said some of the data used to calculate retirement pay arrives at OPM in paper form. "We're still managing thousands of--millions of--pieces of paper on an annual basis," he said.

For more:
- go to the hearing webpage (prepared testimonies and webcast available)

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Posted on 1 February 2012 | 7:33 pm

DARPA developing Terminator contact lenses; Documents lost as part of Energy.gov redesign;

> Gingrich: 'Grandiose' space plans are possible. Article (Florida Today)
> NATO networks vulnerable to cyber attack. Article (Danger Room)
> Rockefeller pushes for scaled-down rollout of new top level domains. Article (NextGov)
> Documents lost as part of Energy.gov redesign. Article (FCW)
> DARPA developing Terminator contact lenses. Article (GCN)

And Finally... First sign of the apocalypse? Embedded video

Posted on 1 February 2012 | 12:05 pm

Clapper sounds alarm on cyber capabilities of Iran, China and Russia

In unclassified testimony Jan. 31, top U.S. intelligence official James Clapper revealed little new but sounded alarm bells against an increasingly aggressive Iran and the cyber-intelligence capabilities of China and Russia.

"Iran's intelligence operations against the United States, including cyber capabilities, have dramatically increased in recent years in depth and complexity," said Clapper in his prepared testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Clapper has served as director of national intelligence since August 2010.

Foreign intelligence services have perpetuated network operations that have gone undetected, Clapper also said, adding that the focus of network penetrations has broadened to include harder-to-reach classified networks.

Russia and China have gained a global reputation over the past decade for directly, or indirectly through in-country proxy hackers, conducting cyber espionage on a massive scale. "Russia and China are aggressive and successful purveyors of economic espionage against the United States," Clapper said. Chinese officials in particular have denied their government is involved in state-sponsored hacking and have also accused the United States of perpetuating it against them.

That last claim is contested by cyber expert James Andrew Lewis in a recent report from the Brussels-based think tank the Security & Defence Agenda.

"Our laws don't allow us to favor one company over another," he said, making a state-sponsored campaign of intellectual property theft unlikely.

"Secondly, until recently they didn't have much in the way of technology we would want to steal," he added.

During his testimony, Clapper also sounded a warning about the insider threat, stating that "trusted insiders using their access for malicious intent represent one of today's primary threats to U.S. classified networks."

Among the greatest of challenges facing the intelligence community in regard to cyber threats in the next two years are providing timely and actionable warnings that include attribution information and vulnerabilities associated with the information technology supply chain used within U.S. networks, Clapper added.

For more:
- download Clapper's prepared testimony (.pdf)
- download the new SDA report  (.pdf)

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Posted on 1 February 2012 | 11:48 am

Survey: Federal IT skeptical of cloud computing benefits

Seventy one percent of federal IT workers say pressure to rapidly adopt cloud-computing technology creates security risks for their organizations, according to a survey from Ponemon Institute, conducted in September 2011 and published Jan. 12 by SafeGov.org.

Given that only 61 percent of respondents said their agencies use FISMA to assess cloud providers, it's no surprise 54 percent expect their agency to experience a security breach within 12 months from an insecure cloud provider. Twenty percent of IT professionals say one of their cloud service providers already suffered a security breach in the past 12 months.

The survey is based on responses from 432 federal employees from 20 agencies that already use or expect to use cloud solutions within 12 months. Seventy-one percent are agency managers or executives, 51 percent work in IT-related jobs and 49 percent are non-IT workers.

According to federal IT respondents, cost savings and security aren't the most reason for moving to the cloud. Rather, 69 percent say "political mandate" is the most important reason for moving to the cloud, followed by cost savings, 35 percent; interoperability, 34 percent; improved efficiency, 31 percent; and increased security, 4 percent.


Even though cost-savings rank second in order of importance, federal IT workers aren't convinced agencies understand the true long-term cost of migrating on-premise applications and data to a cloud environment. Sixty-five percent say they were not confident in their agency's understanding of long-term cost, while only 8 percent are very confident in their understanding.

Respondents also don't expect much in the way of cost savings from cloud migration. Only 6 percent say they expect "significant cost savings," 21 percent expect "some cost savings" and 39 percent expect spending to remain neutral. Twenty-four percent actually say moving to a cloud-computing environment will increase costs somewhat and 10 percent expect costs to increase significantly.

The survey shows federal IT professionals as skeptical of cost savings and sensitive to the potential risks associated with cloud computing.

"To improve confidence, the lead federal agencies such as OMB and GSA should...provide greater transparency about cloud security and more credible data about the true cost of cloud services," wrote Ponemon Institute Founder Larry Ponemon and Peerstone Research Chief Executive Jeff Gould in a blog post.

Ponemon and Gould say leadership should also provide agencies with information on total cost of ownership--not just initial acquisition. TCO includes the "costs of migration, training, business process reengineering, customization, unplanned implementation delays, and the mitigation of unexpected security threats," they add.

For more:
- download the survey results (.pdf)
- see the blog post

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Posted on 1 February 2012 | 11:15 am

White House standards memo sends strong signal, says Saunders

A Jan. 17 White House memo on the importance of private sector involvement in standards-setting sends an important message to federal agencies and foreign governments, said Mary Saunders, director of the standards coordination office in the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Senior executives of three White House Offices--the offices of Science And Technology Policy and Information And Regulatory Affairs, and the U.S. Trade Representative--signed the memo, which articulates principles for federal agencies to follow when developing standards.

Most standards developed and used in U.S. markets are created with little or no government involvement, the memo notes, and federal policy continues to be one of "reliance on private sector leadership, supplemented by federal government contributions to discrete standardization process," it adds.

Until the memo was signed, "we've never had out of the White House a strategic statement about the importance of standards to innovation, about the importance of the private sector-led system," Saunders said in an interview.

The federal government has taken a lead role in the development of standards for some industries in which there exists a national interest, including electronic health record systems and smart grid technologies. Standards-setting agencies within the federal government include the departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration and NIST itself.

The memo says agencies should ensure cooperation among each other, should clearly articulate priorities and ensure that the government has an exit strategy from the standards process development, said Saunders.

"That's a very important signal to set internationally, because we have other governments that take different approaches in this area, which we feel may stifle innovation," Saunders said.

The memo is the outcome of a 2010 NIST request for information soliciting feedback on federal standards-making practices. Respondents to the RFI brought up additional issues not dealt with in the memo, Saunders said, such as treatment of intellectual property, that could be the subject of follow up guidance.

For more:
- download the memo, M-12-08 (.pdf)
- go to standard.gov, which includes links to the 2010 RFI, comments received on it and policy recommendations produced in response to the comments

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Posted on 1 February 2012 | 9:21 am

Panel: Even the best cyber legislation won't fix security problems

In 3 to 4 weeks, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) plans to introduce cybersecurity legislation, but it won't truly fix anything--at most legislation will "raise the price of admission for the cyber battle," said Tommy Ross, Reid's senior intelligence and defense advisor.

"There's simply not going to be a technological solution that stops the most sophisticated foreign actors from successfully carrying out cyber attacks if they chose to do so," said Ross Jan. 17, while speaking at the State of the Net conference in Washington, D.C.

"The best we're going to do is put in place a system that [makes it harder and more expensive for a] less sophisticated actor," said Ross. And for more sophisticated actors, the United States will have to rely "on diplomacy, on deterrence, on intelligence and on other sorts of national policies that help us engage with foreign adversaries that might wish to carry out cyber attacks on that level," he said.

The cybersecurity conversation on the Hill has come a long way in the last year, said panelists. Most lawmakers now understand that passing a cyber bill won't signal completion and then they can be done with it, said Kevin Gronberg, senior counsel to the House Committee on Homeland Security. "This might as well be called the congressional work programs," Gronberg joked.

Ross agreed that legislation will have to be iterative and will rely heavily on the amendment process.

In addition to Reid's forthcoming proposal in the Senate, House committees are also working on legislation.

"The Lieberman-Collins bill [introduced in the previous Congress] was cut and pasted, introduced in the house and referred to nine different committees, which gives nine different chairman abilities to change or stop that bill completely. The speaker recognized this was a problem," said Gronberg.

A cybersecurity task force, led by Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) formulated cyber guidance and passed it along to committees in October 2011, asking each committee to draft legislation that applies to their area. On Feb. 1 the House Homeland Security subcommittee will mark up a draft, with a full committee having a markup shortly thereafter, said Gronberg.

"As for the process, after we report this bill out to the whole House it's a bit unclear," said Gronberg.

The bills could be passed separately off the floor and conferenced with the Senate bill. Or they could be held in the house and combined for a broader bill, Gronberg said.

The White House does agree with the House cybersecurity task force's recommendations to each committee "in concept," said Christopher Finan, director for cybersecurity legislation on the White House National Security Staff.

For more:
- watch an embedded video from the session

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Posted on 1 February 2012 | 9:09 am

Agencies not sharing enough information, says Karen Evans

Even by federal internal measures, information sharing remains a challenge, said Karen Evans, who occupied the position of federal chief information officer during most of the George W. Bush administration, while speaking Jan. 26 during a Washington, D.C. conference.

Reading aloud from the appendix of the Information Sharing Environment's 2011 annual report (.pdf) to Congress, Evans noted that a number of agencies have yet to create interconnection plans for sensitive but unclassified or controlled unclassified information in order to support the ISE.

"Here's one agency that has responded no. DoD--DoD has said ‘No, I do not have a plan to share the information,'" she said. Evans was on a panel during an all-day event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies .

"Department of State--'No, I don't have a plan.' HHS--'No, I don't have a plan. NCTC reported, 'No, I do not have a plan to interconnect,'" she added.

The question of whether agencies participating in the ISE have a plan for sharing terrorism and homeland security information across SBU/CUI networks garner even fewer positive responses.

"DNI, no. DOE, no response. Okay, Department of State, no. HHS, no. NCTC, no," Evans said.

The performance metrics included in the report appendix, Evans noted, were developed in 2007. ISE efforts in suspicious activity reporting have been successful, she said, but added that long-standing issues in information sharing have yet to be resolved.

Among them are access control to information. WikiLeaks' posting of diplomatic cables, she said, was not a problem of information sharing, but one of making sure that information is shared among people who have the correct roles and responsibilities. Another is the congressional appropriations process.

"There are more and more requirements that come from Congress about doing things horizontally, yet we're still authorized, and we're still appropriated vertically."

Alex Joel, civil liberties protection officer within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said that technology still remains a stumbling block--at least to the extent of the federal government being able to afford it.

"Whenever I ask for something from a technology perspective, I'm told, 'Gee, it's not in the budget,'" he said.

For more:
go to a CSIS webpage with archived video, audio and a partial transcript of the all-day event
- download the 2011 annual ISE report to Congress (.pdf)

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Posted on 1 February 2012 | 7:43 am

Aneesh Chopra to leave federal CTO post; ONC launches contests around EHR access;

> NASA launches multi-player Facebook game "Space Race Blastoff." Article (TheNextWeb)
> Aneesh Chopra to leave federal CTO post. Statement (White House)
> Obama to "hangout" on Google+ on Jan. 30. Article (O'Reilly Radar)
> ONC launches contests around EHR access. Article (ModernHealthcare)
> OPM introduces telework training tool. Article (NextGov)

And Finally... Apple uses fake products to ensure new employees can be trusted. Article (Gizmodo)

Posted on 30 January 2012 | 11:40 am

NARA, agencies revisit millions of pages to ensure proper declassification

In the 2 years since the National Archives and Records Administration created the National Declassification Center, 70 percent of its document backlog was assessed, but review efforts could slow or even miss the backlog-elimination deadline because agencies have to revisit millions of pages of documents.

The findings come from a bi-annual NDC report (.pdf) covering the reporting period from July 1, 2011 to Dec. 31, 2011.

NDC is concerned that some records in the backlog--including some already assessed prior to NDC's formation--lack the required Kyl-Lott review. The "Kyl-Lott Amendment" to the 2009 National Defense Authorization Act requires additional review for nuclear weapons-related restricted data and formerly restricted data prior to its declassification.

Now, NARA personnel are working with several agencies, including the State Department and Department of the Navy to conduct required page-level reviews.

"Agencies, including Army, DIA, USAF, NSA, CIA, JCS, and WHS, are willingly undertaking the RD/FRD page-level review not yet done in the records of other agencies that should have been done prior to the stand up of the NDC," according to the NARA review.

From mid-November 2011 to the end of the year, nearly 4 million pages were addressed using this inter-agency model, writes NARA.

Executive Order 13526, issued Dec. 29, 2009, stood up the NDC and instructs it to eliminate NARA's backlog of records currently accessioned but not fully-processed for public release by Dec. 31, 2013. At the time the backlog was 400 million-pages.

With the Kyl-Lott quality assurance review underway, report authors said more documents are being added to the backlog for review. NARA is unsure whether the once on-track backlog elimination effort will meet its Dec. 31, 2013 deadline.

For more:
- download the NARA report (.pdf)

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Posted on 30 January 2012 | 11:06 am

Panetta: DoD cyber spending won't be cut

Defense spending on cyber capabilities won't be subject to cuts as the Pentagon attempts to reduce its budget by $487 billion over the next decade, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters during a Jan. 26 press conference.

Cost cutting measures will include reducing by the end of fiscal 2017 active personnel in the Army down to 490,000 from 562,000 and the Marine Corps to 182,000 from 202,000, Panetta said, as well as the cancelation of some weapons systems.

However, cyber capabilities, special operations, ballistic missile defense, "the ability to project power in denied areas," and anti-weapons of mass destruction efforts will see their budget stay stable or grow, Panetta said.

The Pentagon will request $525 billion for its base budget during the coming fiscal year, Panetta said and $88.4 billion for overseas contingency operations--the latter being money that funds U.S. activities in Afghanistan and Iraq. Defense base funding is $531 billion in the current fiscal year, he added, and overseas contingency operations funding is $115 billion.

"The budget also seeks to retain the most flexible, versatile and technologically advanced platforms that we will need for the future. That involves unmanned systems, satellites, submarines, helicopters, aircraft carriers and fifth-generation aircraft," Panetta said.

For more:
- read a transcript of Panetta's Jan. 26 press conference

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Posted on 30 January 2012 | 10:49 am

Help desks get help at Peugeot, De Beers and University of Georgia

The help desk generally has not been a hotbed of innovation and efficiency in the enterprise. It isn't uncommon for large businesses to hold on to outdated, complicated ticket-tracking systems that offer little insight on performance. But that is beginning to change, writes Computerworld's John Brandon, who takes a look at help desk evolutions at Peugeot, De Beers, and the University of Georgia.  

Help desks have the potential to shed insight on an organization's recurring problems, says Jarod Greene, analyst with Gartner. What's more, the help desk goes a long way in shaping an IT group's perceived value. If the help desk looks old and tired, it doesn't reflect well on the entire IT department.

The help desk for the Netherlands unit of French auto manufacturer Peugeot supports 160 users at the headquarters and 179 dealerships around Europe. With 26 staff members, it manages to process approximately 3,750 tickets annually. In 2010, the group was able to resolve nearly 90 percent of support issues in an average of 2.4 days, but help desk manager Richard Nolting wanted to do better.

Peugeot was also looking for greater flexibility in the system and a more personal communication style. Nolting wanted users to be able to write their own personalized ticked, and he wanted technicians to be able to communicate with IT staff via SMS. A system from Kayako Studio was deployed, simplifying the query process and tracking all tickets. New tools allowed agents to enter user profiles when they create tickets and view all emails relating to support.

In the past year, Nolting's team reduced support resolution time from an average of 2.4 days to 1.8 days. The tracking features in the new system played an important role.

"Only well-documented processes can be transformed into structured workflows. So if the data is not captured in ticketing tools, it will be hard to find and re-use should the [same] issues ever arise again," says Gartner's Greene. Tools like Kayako "keep out-of-band conversations from going into the garbage, and let IT operations groups and administrative teams better understand work patterns in support of processes."

For more:
- see John Brandon's article at Computerworld

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Posted on 1 February 2012 | 2:49 pm

CFO has a role to play in ERP rollouts

When an ERP implementation goes south, the good news is that the CIO shouldn't have to handle it alone--the chief finance officer has a role to play as well. If the CFO plays an active role earlier on in the project, there may be less chance for failure, reports Fred O'Connor at Computerworld.

Despite a long and well-documented history of troubled ERP rollouts to learn from, the complex software systems remain a daunting challenge for enterprises. Analysts say that a variety of ERP vendors make unrealistic claims, and companies often aren't exactly sure what they're looking for anyway.

"It's like the company and the vendor have been speaking two different languages, and then things go wildly off track," said China Martens, analyst with Forrester Research. "Sometimes ERP vendors oversold it and are promising things it can't do. Other times the company hasn't been very clear on what it's trying to do."

This is a good time for CFOs to come in and help resolve the problems. Not only can they make definitive statements about the project's impact on revenue and operations, but they also can offer an enterprise-wide point of view regarding long-term needs. An ERP system should be able to scale to meet future financial goals, and a CFO can offer much-needed perspective.

CFOs may be attracted to new ERP deployment strategies developed in response to competitive pressure from cloud computing solutions, Martens said. Some vendors are touting packages that cover an entire deployment for a set fee. "They try to package something up that is the software, the services, the training and commitment to implementation and try to hit various mast ends," she said. "The idea is that everyone sits down, you map things out and there is a fixed price."

While this may sound alluring, customers have to be wary of where the vendor is cutting costs. In some cases, Martens said she has seen vendors scale back on services in order to offer a fixed price deployment.

For more:
- see Fred O'Connor's article at Computerworld

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Posted on 1 February 2012 | 2:44 pm

Not asking risky questions is risky business

Asking risky questions can lead to discomfort or even embarrassment, and the business culture has conditioned people to avoid those outcomes. However, by sidestepping such questions, risk is increased, warns Michael Santarcangelo in a post at CSO magazine.

"In the security industry, we often avoid asking risky questions. In the process, we increase our risk by missing out on opportunities to learn, to change our perspective and to build a series of shared experiences necessary for continued success," Santarcangelo writes.

Three possible outcomes are likely to result from asking a lot of questions: First, you learn something; second, your perspective changes; and third, you end up with more questions arising out of your new knowledge. No matter what, you increase communication, which in itself reduces risk.

Asking risky questions comes with the added benefit of relieving everyone else who had the same questions but were too afraid to ask.

For more:
- see Michael Santarcangelo's post at CSO

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Posted on 1 February 2012 | 2:37 pm

Enterprise architecture at Chubb Insurance

Chubb Insurance has spent about 10 years moving toward a comprehensive enterprise architecture, which allows it to address rapidly changing dynamics in markets and technologies. While the process is not yet complete, it shows the value that EA offers, particularly in an organization with a number of business units that are used to operating somewhat on their own, writes Madeline Weiss, director of the Advanced Practices Council at the Society for Information Management.

Chubb's EA reflects the federated structure of its business. A team of five enterprise architects, who report to a chief architect, work with lines of business architects to establish overall strategy and standards. The lines of business architects report to both the chief architect and the CIO of the corresponding line of business.

"Although this structure is harder to manage, its key advantage is that the lines of business CIOs and their IT staff are members of their business teams," Weiss writes in a post at CIOUpdate. "Given the trust between lines of business CIOs and their businesses, there was little resistance to the EA concept."

The architectural model, built on The Open Group Architecture Framework, is made up of five parts: architecture strategy, architecture definition, architecture governance, lines of business project implementation and enterprise shared assets and solutions.

Chubb's chief architect, Patrick Sullivan, says that establishing the proper culture goes a long way in eliminating the interference that typically arises from politics and personalities. "It's all about minimizing the processes, adding value and helping people understand basic architectural principles," he said. "We don't take a 'field of dreams' approach to architecture. Our programs are all business-oriented and attached to real value and real projects. Once leaders understand this, we get their support."

As a result of the EA initiative, in 2010 Chubb saved $600,000 by redistributing unused software site licenses. Time-to-market decisions can be made faster because of the effective processes and standards that have been put in place. Business unit CIOs are better able to convey the value of IT investments to non-IT business colleagues.

For more:
- see Madeline Weiss's article at CIOUpdate

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Posted on 1 February 2012 | 2:33 pm

Q&A: Disaster recovery when your business sits on the San Andreas Fault

Graniterock, a century-old provider of construction materials in Watsonville, Calif., operates a quarry that happens to sit on the San Andreas Fault. The company has 20 locations from Oakland to the Monterey Bay, connecting to the data center via a wide area network. If any CIO ever needed a sound data back-up and disaster recovery plan, it's Graniterock's Steve Snodgrass. Graniterock started using a hosted solution from WTS Inc. for its JD Edwards system in the late 1990s, eventually receiving disaster recovery and business continuity service as part of the package.

When hosting provider Velocity Technology Solutions recently acquired WTS, it expanded its place in the disaster recovery business. When a catastrophe hits, Velocity recalls a customer's data and ships it to an alternate data center, where the customer's hardware sits "ever-ready." Operating systems and applications are in place for hardware that matches the customer's production configuration. Customer data is restored from tape, with a recovery time of 48 hours.

In an interview with FierceCIO, Snodgrass, who holds the title of CFO as well as CIO at Graniterock, discussed his approach to disaster recovery in an earthquake-prone area.

FierceCIO: How large does the prospect of an earthquake loom for you?

Steve Snodgrass: I experienced an earthquake two nights ago, but we haven't had anything extensive since 1989. We were definitely affected by the 1989 earthquake. It was centered about 10 miles from where I sit. There was significant damage throughout California.

FCIO: What other types of catastrophes do you worry about?

Snodgrass: It's really just quakes that keep me up at night. Fire is generally a localized problem. If an earthquake takes down a building where our corporate data center is, it's going to take down a lot more than that.  The company has about 20 locations, and the data center is accessed by a wide area network. 

FCIO: What prompted you to go with your current disaster recovery solution?

Snodgrass: We installed JD Edwards in 1998 and ran it internally for two to three years. I come at IT from the finance side, and I looked at the system and said, I don't think I have the redundancy of personnel we need. What happens if your primary support on your ERP system gets hit by a truck? We have only one and a half people dedicated to the ERP implementation. This was around the year 2000, and finding good people and retaining them was a problem.

I called WTS [now Velocity Technology Solutions], which had basically started a hosting business. People generally were not going to hosted solutions or the cloud back in 2001. We didn't call it that, but that's what it was. We swallowed hard and chose them as a hosting provider. Over time they've improved their infrastructure and kept their price to us fairly constant.

FCIO: Can you describe a specific time when you were really glad that you had this solution in place?

Snodgrass: When you're a mid-market company you cannot afford to have multiple AS400s. What we've seen happen over the years is that Oracle will release upgrades to JD Edwards so it will no longer run on the operating system. The hosting provider has multiple AS400s, and when this happens we can migrate over in an orderly fashion. Without a hosted solution, a company our size would have to go out and rent AS400s. But we may not even have the space for them.  

FCIO: What are some of the other advantages of cloud-based solution over a non-cloud based solution?

Snodgrass: Part of the reason I still like the decision [to go with a hosted solution] is that their expertise and ability to run a data center far exceeds our ability to do so. I've been with this company for about 20 years, and the decision to go with WTS [now Velocity], when I revisit it, was probably one of the best decisions I've made in my career.

The reality is that we're a mid-market company. We have 600 employees, including nine on the IT team. We're a construction company--we're not an IT company. The economics are such that it would probably have cost us more to host a solution internally, and we would not have done as good a job.

Posted on 1 February 2012 | 2:23 pm

Big data or just big hype?

Big data analytics is widely heralded as the new do-or-die technology for businesses that want to gain or maintain an edge in our Darwinian economy. But bringing all those mountains of data together from myriad internal and external sources is about to become "uncomfortably cozy," warns Daniel W. Rasmus in a fascinating and provocative post at Fast Company.

The problem is not Big Data itself. The problem, in Rasmus's view, is that it can be used inappropriately and "stretched wantonly until its principles fray." Identifying, consolidating and applying effective governance to data makes good sense, but betting the farm on Big Data's ability to predict the future is over-stepping. Rasmus has some harsh words for the $1 billion Big Data project underway at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.

"Given the woes of Europe, spending €1-billion on such a project will likely prove to be wasted money...Whenever there is an existential problem facing the world, charlatans appear to dazzle the masses with feats of magic and wonder," he writes. "As Big Data becomes the next great savior of business and humanity, we need to remain skeptical of its promises as well as its applications and aspirations."

Rasmus outline several "existential threats" that he sees to Big Data's success, the first being human overconfidence. People do not recognize their limitations and they end up building faulty assumptions into their models, blind to whether a model is good or otherwise.

The next threat is the need to reinterpret models as new knowledge is gained and assumptions are overturned. "If organizations rely on Big Data to connect far-ranging databases," he writes, "who, it must be asked, will understand enough of the model to challenge its underlying assumptions, and re-craft those assumptions when the world, and the data that reflects it, changes?"

Complexity, stemming from nuanced and obscure models, is a threat in and of itself. If an organization maps out a complex Big Data plan, it has to consider how it will ensure continuity over time, as personnel and models change. They also have to build in an effective feedback loop so that people are alerted when models and theories are proven wrong.

Other threats to the success of Big Data include the absence of a theory, biases, hugely disruptive innovations and inappropriate motives.

"Big Data will no doubt be used to target advertising, reduce fraud, fight crime, find tax evaders, collect child support payments, create better health outcomes, and myri[a]d other activities from the mundane to the ridiculous. And along the way, the software companies and those who invested in Big Data will share their stories," Rasmus writes. "The future of Big Data lies not in the stories of anecdotal triumph that report sophisticated, but limited accomplishments--no, the future of Big Data rather lies in the darkness of context change, complexity, and overconfidence."

For more:
- Daniel W. Rasmus's article at Fast Company

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Posted on 29 January 2012 | 6:51 pm

Maybe what you need is 'journeyman coders'

If you are having a tough time finding the developers your organization needs, you may want to try another approach to hiring. The demand for expert programmers is on the rise, as are salaries, but maybe what you really need is "journeyman coders," suggests Neil McAllister at InfoWorld.

McCallister notes that most U.S. companies probably would prefer to hire domestically than offshore a job, but the immediate cost-savings in offshoring is sometimes irresistible. Part of the problem is that American software developers are often over-qualified for the job at hand. "Not every software development job requires a master's degree in computer science," McAllister writes. "Most entry-level positions involve little more than rote programming and code maintenance."

Job candidates for a developer position typically have completed at least four years of college, and entry-level wages don't look like a very appealing return on the investment. Teenagers, on the other hand, who "are steeped in computing and the Internet," might find those wages quite alluring.

"Learning to write software isn't like training to become a pharmacist, a dental assistant, or an HVAC technician, where students need access to expensive, specialized equipment and must pass government certification exams before they can practice their trades," McAllister writes. In fact, it's relatively cheap to get an education in computing these days. "Where once budding programmers studied from books that cost $40 apiece or more, today the equivalent material is available for free online."

The trick to get high school kids on board is to encourage their interest in computing and hold out job opportunities for them down the road. The Academy for Software Engineering, which will open in New York City in the fall, may offer the right incentives. There are no academic pre-requisites for attending the academy, McAllister writes, which "puts the lie to the idea that software development is something for the academic elite and that only the 'best and brightest' need apply."

"The vision of the Academy for Software Engineering is to help create a new breed of IT professional, one that's better acclimated to the realities of today's jobs market. It's up to U.S. companies to have vision enough to hire them," he concludes.

For more:
- see Neil McAllister's article at InfoWorld

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Posted on 29 January 2012 | 6:46 pm

John Deere drives an agile development process

Deere & Co. (a.k.a. John Deere) drove head-first into an agile software development process about a year ago, moving approximately 800 programmers--along with systems engineers, testers, and marketing and customer support personnel--out of their cubicles and into U-shaped pods. The sweeping change aims to remove obstacles to collaboration and speed the development process, reports Patrick Thibodeau at Computerworld.

Previously, software development reflected the way in which the company built products like tractors and combines, said Tony Thelen, the director of the Intelligent Solutions Group within the company's enterprise IT department. Requirements were set by one team and then handed off to the programmers. The company sought a process that would improve innovation and quality as well as speed.

"Breaking work down into smaller increments helped us with some of the quality aspects," Thelen said. "The incremental reviews of the work allowed us to put more eyes on the software code more often."

Implementing the agile approach in one fell swoop is not the typical way to get agile, but it has advantages over a more gradual rollout. For one, it can cut down on resistance to change. What's more, it can facilitate coordination, making it easier to get past any tendencies toward inertia.

For more:
-Patrick Thibodeau's article at Computerworld

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Posted on 29 January 2012 | 6:40 pm

IT couldn't save American Airlines

American Airlines is floundering, but its IT leadership can't be handed the blame. The company was once a pioneer in IT innovation, and while that trait is widely seen as necessary for survival in today's economy, it is not always enough to overcome larger market forces, writes Larry Tieman, former senior vice president at FedEx.

Tieman recalls in a post at InformationWeek that in the mid-1980s American Airlines had a top-notch IT team, led by Max Hopper, one of the creators of the Sabre reservation system. Its C-suite was packed with leaders who knew their way around IT.

"Hopper's organization, which went far beyond IT, was built around Sabre, which AA owned and which generated revenue on each booking. In 1985, about 10,000 reservation agencies used Sabre to book flights for all the major airlines. Sabre generated more profits for AA than its flights did," Tieman writes.

The company launched a highly innovative loyalty program, a low-fare search function, and other revenue-generating products in the 1980s.  However, in 1990 its parent company went into the red, and today it is seeking bankruptcy protection.

"AA may have had the best IT in the industry, but IT couldn't solve the industry's core cost and labor issues," Tieman writes. There was only so much IT could do in the realm of revenue management because airline ticket prices are determined in large part by forces beyond IT's control.  

While its IT innovations gave the company a competitive advantage, but only in the short run. Other airlines tended to copy American in swift measure. 

"AA in the 1980s was an IT-savvy company with a history of IT-based innovation. But those innovations were on the periphery of its core business and, ultimately, they couldn't change the fundamental economics of the industry," Tieman writes. "By the 1990s, AA was in financial trouble; it was experiencing fallout from its CONFIRM travel reservation system project, combining airline, hotel, and rental car information; and its top IT talent was leaving the company. It failed to duplicate the kinds of breakthrough innovations of the 1980s and became just another airline battling other airlines, fuel costs, labor trouble, and price-conscious customers."

For more:
- see Larry Tieman's post at InformationWeek

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Posted on 29 January 2012 | 6:30 pm

Computer passwords never were very secure

Password management remains an oddly thorny challenge, with businesses commonly foiled by poor user practices and other frailties of human nature. Why is the computer password such a perennial trial? It turns out, Wired's Robert McMillan reports, that those who invented it weren't really all that concerned about security.

It can't be said with 100 percent certainty, but the first computer password may have originated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the mid-1960s, McMillan writes. Researchers working on MIT's Compatible Time-Sharing System decided to create a password for each person who worked on a set of terminals so that they could maintain their own private files, according to Fernando Corbató, who headed the CTSS project. (Corbató thought that maybe the idea of the password started at IBM (NYSE: IBM), but IBM couldn't say one way or the other.)

The CTSS researchers could have opted instead for knowledge-based authentication, but that would have required more stored data, and they preferred not to allocate computing resources to that, said Fred Schneider, a computer science professor at Cornell University.

Plus, those researchers "didn't really care much about security," McMillan writes. When a programming bug mixed up the CTSS master password file and welcome message in 1966, the whole list of passwords was revealed to anybody logging on.

The password protection system was vulnerable in simpler ways as well, as one young researcher, Allan Scherr, demonstrated in 1962. Scherr needed more time on the system than his allotted hours gave him, so late one evening he found a way to get a complete list of the passwords and co-opt other researchers' time.

"There was a way to request files to be printed offline by submitting a punched card," Scherr recalled. "Late one Friday night, I submitted a request to print the password files and very early Saturday morning went to the file cabinet where printouts were placed and took the listing."

Then, because there is safety in numbers, Scherr shared the passwords with other users. But it took him 25 years before he fessed up to his supervisor at MIT.

For more:
- see Robert McMillan's article at Wired

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Posted on 29 January 2012 | 6:26 pm

Should young Americans bother studying technology?


We have a fundamental disconnect facing this country's technology labor force. On the one hand, we need young people to pursue careers in technology so we can regain our competitive edge as a nation. On the other hand, because of the pace of technological change, we will almost certainly leave these same people out of work and out of luck once the first gray hairs sprout upon their heads.

The disconnect stood out in stark relief for me after I read a New York Times piece on Sunday about the difficulty that tech professionals with 10 years' experience are having finding work. The article focuses on Silicon Valley, where there evidently are a lot of job openings--but not for anyone with much experience.

People older than 35 (yes, 35) "regularly face discrimination by technology companies," the article reports. In December, the unemployment rate in the South Bay region was higher than the national average, even though companies in the area are growing and hiring.

The phenomenon is aptly--if unwittingly--summed up by Lori Goler, the head of HR at Facebook, which seeks to recruit the "college student who built a company on the side, or an iPhone app over the weekend...We ask: Are they going to get to do what they love to do for fun at work?"

Here's the question the college student should ask: "Am I still going to think of this as fun after doing it 50-60 hours a week for 10 years? If I realize that it is, in fact, work, I will want to be compensated for it fairly, but instead I will be let go since I was hired because I was relatively cheap."

And that's where the disconnect lies. Everywhere we turn we hear about 1) the need for young people to go into technology and science to help the country and themselves; and 2) sincere efforts to encourage more students to enter these fields. Three quick examples:

  • In the State of the Union address Jan. 24, President Obama said: "Growing industries in science and technology have twice as many openings as we have workers who can do the job." The president wants companies to partner with community colleges to "teach people skills that businesses are looking for right now, from data management to high-tech manufacturing."
  • The Academy for Software Engineering in New York City, preparing to open in the fall, aims to address the domestic hiring problem by narrowing the gap between high-priced American developers and their low-priced counterparts overseas. By foregoing academic admissions requirements, the academy hopes to teach a more diverse range of the population to code.
  • The Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce recently put out a report on college degrees and earning opportunity (.pdf), concluding that high school students bound for college should pick their majors very carefully because unemployment and earnings are closely tied to majors. Recent college graduates with degrees in computers, mathematics and engineering earned considerably more than new graduates with any other degrees, including business and health, prompting a lot of career counselors to start nudging more teens onto this path.

A technology education no doubt lands fresh, new graduates jobs faster than an English degree does, all the while giving U.S. employers a greater domestic pool to fish from. But if that education lands those same people out on the street not long after they receive an invite to their 10-year class reunions, what good does it really do them? If a young person's life plans include anything like a mortgage and tuition for the offspring, half a career probably isn't going to cut it. - Caron

Posted on 29 January 2012 | 5:53 pm

Gartner: SaaS-based BI gains traction

Traditional on-site business intelligence appears to be losing some traction in the face of SaaS-based alternatives, according to a survey by Gartner. A third of the 1,364 IT managers polled reported plans to use a SaaS-based BI offering. The number who have already swapped out their existing on-premise product with SaaS or plan to soon was 17 percent.

"That means a lot of potential upside for the aforementioned new-look SaaS providers (although it should be noted that Birst went from a SaaS-only model to offering both SaaS and on-premises options)," writes Barb Darrow in a post at GigaOM. "Still, the momentum for SaaS is strong. Valuations of SaaS-oriented software companies are off the charts compared to their traditionalist rivals more rooted in the on-premise software world."

The lure of a SaaS BI solutions is too much to resist for a lot of businesses that are fed up with the cost, upgrade procedures, implementation challenges and infrastructure requirements of on-premise offerings, Darrow reports. SaaS holds out the promise of faster, cheaper business intelligence--even though this is yet to be verified. "Buyers often think that SaaS is cheaper, but the reality is that this is unproven," Gartner said.

Gartner found that SaaS may save money over an on-premise solution during the first five years but not after that. In the long term, the savings would come from a decrease in IT support expenses.

"Still, as long as there are savings from SaaS, even if they come from reduced personnel costs, it's likely corporate IT dollars will continue to flow to this model," Darrow writes.

For more:
- see Barb Darrow's post at GigaOM

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Posted on 25 January 2012 | 5:49 pm

iPhone 4S takes enterprise by storm

Good Technology activated more iPhone 4S devices than any other mobile device during the last quarter of 2011. The 4S outpaced the iPhone 4 and iPad 2, and it put the breaks on Android's rising share in the enterprise space.

Good tracks its customers' deployment of iOS and Android devices, and the latest numbers show that the 4S really gave Android a run for its money after hitting the shelves in mid-October. The 4S made up 31 percent of all activations during the quarter, while all Android smartphones put together accounted for just 35 percent.

Android had begun edging closer to Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) activation numbers earlier last year. From September to October, Android activations rose from around 30 percent to around 40 percent of total activations. In November they fell back down to 30 percent, and in December to 20 percent. For the quarter overall, Android activations remained steady.

In the tablet realm, Apple's devices continue to blow away the competition as far as the enterprise goes. A full 94 percent of all tablet activations by Good Technology were done for the iPad and iPad 2. The financial services industry proved to be the busiest in terms of iPad activation, making up 42 percent of the total, while the business and professional services and life sciences sectors followed.

Android-based tablets accounted for just 6 percent of the quarter's tablet activations. Good's Android tablet users have consistently favored the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

For more:
- download the Good Technology report (.pdf)

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Posted on 25 January 2012 | 5:45 pm

How IT and marketing can find common ground

There probably will never be too much advice on how IT and marketing can work toward common ground--particularly as marketing comes to rely more heavily on technology for its survival--and to that end comes a post from Michael Scissons at Fast Company.

CIOs and CMOs need to collaborate not only to ensure successful project deployments but also to manage data and mitigate risks, Scissons writes. The two disciplines need to share ownership of the goals and results of their initiatives.

Marketing's foray into emerging technologies to reach customers comes with new risks. Setting up a presence on a social networking site, for example, increases the complexity of risk management and compliance obligations. To lessen the risks, Scissons advises password protection for various social media channels, designated administrators for assigned controls, and approval alerts built into workflow processes.

To make use of the slew of data that social media can offer a business, the marketing department needs the IT department to show the way toward effective data management. At the same time, IT has to put in place the controls needed to secure the data.

It doesn't sound overly complicated, and yet Scissons isn't exactly optimistic. "Despite these simple topics to consider, relatively few companies are well positioned yet to develop strong IT and marketing partnerships," he writes.

For more:
- see Michael Scissons's post at Fast Company

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Posted on 25 January 2012 | 5:40 pm

Proposed E.U. data rules include 2 percent fine for lost data

Under a proposed update to the European Union's data protection law, companies could be fined as much as 2 percent of their annual sales for losing personal data or processing sensitive information without prior consent from the individual, reports Aoife White at Bloomberg.

The proposal also includes tougher breach notification rules, requiring organizations to inform victims and the appropriate regulatory agency within 24 hours of a breach.

On the bright side, breached companies would have to notify only the regulator in its home base, which could save as much as 2.3 billion euros annually by eliminating redundant reporting requirements, according to E.U. Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding.

A number of U.S. companies that do business in Europe have criticized the proposals. The Business Software Alliance said that the rules could "bog down companies with onerous compliance obligations which could inhibit digital innovation."

For more:
- see Aoife White's article at Bloomberg

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Posted on 25 January 2012 | 5:35 pm

New McAfee feature keeps spyware, adware off phones

Riding a wave of heightened concern about the security of data transmitted over smartphones and tablets, McAfee unveiled an upgraded version of its mobile security software, which provides anti-theft, antivirus, app protection and more. The program works with Android-based devices, BlackBerry smartphones and Symbian smartphones.

Mobile Security 2.0 offers more tools to protect devices against viruses, financial fraud and identity theft. It blocks unwanted phone numbers and spam using call and SMS filtering. One of the new features, App Alert, lets users know what an app is going to do with personal information it collects.

The software scans for viruses, spyware and phishing attempts in files, applications, texts and downloaded programs. The company boasts that it is the first to keep commercial spyware and adware off of devices even if the programs were "downloaded in conjunction with a program that the user wants."

To protect the data on lost devices, the software can remotely lock all data, remotely wipe data, and back data up. To give anyone who picks up a lost phone a shock, it comes with a remote alarm to make the device "scream."

For more:
- see McAfee release

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Posted on 31 January 2012 | 6:49 pm

T-Mobile, Square give small businesses easy way to take credit cards

Cash-only small businesses that would like to take credit cards if the money from transactions were deposited directly in their bank accounts within 24 hours have a new opportunity from T-Mobile. The company announced a partnership with Square Inc., maker of credit card readers, enabling small business owners to use their 4G smartphones and card readers to expand payment options.

"T-Mobile understands my needs as a small business owner," said Nikki Halgren, owner of The Gleeful Peacock, a handmade jewelry business. "They not only keep me connected on the go, but they've made it easy for me to get paid fast with my T-Mobile smartphone and Square. T-Mobile has made it simple and, as a result, I've nearly doubled my business over last year."

T-Mobile offers a number of applications aimed at small businesses, including the 4Gpro App Pack, which preloads on some smartphones and tablets a variety of popular business apps, including LinkedIn, DropBox, Evernote and Square.

For more:
- see the T-Mobile release

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Posted on 31 January 2012 | 6:46 pm

RIM's 'Be Bold' superheroes take a beating

RIM's (NASDAQ: RIMM) "Be Bold" marketing effort elicited some swift and harsh feedback this week. The "BeBold Team," made up of four colorful cartoon superheroes, made its debut in a post on the company's blog, "bravely stepping out of 2011 and into 2012 filled with unlimited possibilities." By mid-afternoon Tuesday it looked like they were quietly stepping back into obscurity as the company made it eminently clear that the superheroes did not constitute an ad campaign, but rather a simple infographic.

Here are a few of the more colorful reactions from around the web:

TechCrunch's Chris Velazco: "Somehow, when RIM's marketing department was brainstorming ways to get people to take them seriously as a worthwhile competitor in the smartphone market, the concept of using small ethnically-diverse cartoon superheroes not only came up but stuck...RIM is trying to humanize the brand (or in this case, super-humanize) in an attempt to show people that using a BlackBerry isn't a mark of the tragically uncool or the hopeless workaholic."

Engadget's Sharif Sakr: "It's a common human trait that, when faced with a series of calamities, the brain will retreat into a fantasy world in which everything is the exact opposite of reality...there's GoGo Girl, who 'saves the day with a brilliant strategy' (translation: we don't have a strategy). Then comes Justin Steele, who's 'always ready to stick up for his friends' (translation: we don't have friends). Trudy Foreal 'isn't afraid to call it as she sees it' (translation: our shareholders are complaining). Finally, the adventurous Max Stone is 'able to jump out of a plane' (translation: we're going to crash)."

Gizmodo's Jamie Condliffe: "This pink and purple mess looks a bit like an advertising executive just vomited his late-night cocktail onto a page and presented it to RIM. 'That'll do,' he probably thought. 'They're shafted anyway.'"

For more:
- see the RIM blog post
- see the TechCrunch post
- see the Engadget post
- see the Gizmodo post

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Posted on 31 January 2012 | 6:40 pm

A 'mobile help desk' in every pocket, from Salesforce.com

Salesforce.com unveiled a new application this week to put "a mobile help desk in every employee's pocket." The program, Desk.com, enables customer service agents to deal with customers at any time, from whererver they are, by phone, website, email or social network.  

The "help desk" provided by Desk.com Mobile lets agents respond to customers on demand and on the go, using the same filters they use on desktop clients. They can reassign cases, change case priority and modify customer data. The program works with the iPhone and Android phones as well as any other smartphones that support HTML5.

"We built Desk.com so that every company can deliver personal customer service in a social and mobile world," said said Alex Bard, vice president and general manager of Desk.com. "Desk.com is social at its core; its mobile app instantly lets any employee, anywhere, deliver awesome customer service; and it can be deployed quickly and easily."

Salesforce.com is touting the new program's ease-of-use, boasting that it can be deployed across a whole organization in one weekend. "With only four required fields, a company can register for its own social help desk in a matter of seconds," the company said. The user interface is as deemed as easy as Facebook or Gmail, and companies can view performance metrics at a glance. Reports cover the number of cases an agent has opened, replied to, resolved, reassigned or reopened, as well as data on handle time, response time and contact resolution, among other things.

For more:
- see the Salesforce.com release

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Posted on 31 January 2012 | 6:38 pm

IBM: Manage mobile, non-mobile devices from one platform

The Western New York Regional Information Center is tasked with managing hundreds of thousands of computing endpoints at over 100 school districts. Increasingly, teachers, administrators and students want to use their smartphones and tablets to connect to the school network, making management and security more complicated. Historically, to update security protection on computers and servers, someone had to drive to every site and manually conduct the updates.

With a new mobile security and management software platform from IBM--called Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices--the Center can accomplish this task automatically, IBM said this week. What's more, the new platform enables the Center to automate power settings and save an estimated $3.2 million annually.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) publicly unveiled the Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices Tuesday, touting its ability to manage smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops and servers from a single product. The platform works with Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iOS, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android, Nokia (NYSE: NOK) Symbian, and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows Mobile and Windows Phone devices.

It only takes a few hours to install the software, and it allows IT staff to set policies remotely, wipe data and detect potential data leaks. It can assist in enforcing password policies and in configuring network settings. It automatically identifies non-compliant devices and denies them email access or issues user notifications.

For more:
- see the IBM release

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Posted on 31 January 2012 | 6:20 pm