IBM Wireless, Google FPO, Cognos BI, Symatech Whole Security, HP IQ, MS and AOL, China Chambers…
Consolidation? What Consolidation? - sandhill.com
Piece “Finally. The Oracle-Siebel deal is done and the industry can stop speculating about it. Interestingly however, the deal seems to have woken some observers from a deep sleep. Consolidation has been going on for years. The latest deals - specifically Oracle’s aggressive buys - have simply made the trend front page news.”
Microsoft’s Alacris acquisition boosts ID management - searchwin2000.techtarget
Piece “For companies that make public key encryption and smart cards part of their security strategy, Microsoft’s acquisition of Alacris Inc., and the subsequent integration of this technology into Windows, could potentially cut time and expenses out of otherwise costly projects.”
HP’s Latest Acquisition: Peregrine Systems, To Be Bought For $425M - HP Aim: To Create World-Beating Comprehensive Distributed Enterprise Management Software Solution - in.sys-con
Piece “Peregrine’s capabilities include asset tracking, expense controls, process automation, service control, service alignment, enterprise discovery, IT executive dashboard as well as outsourcing, business continuity and consolidation management. Upon the close of the acquisition, said HP yesterday, Peregrine will be integrated into the HP OpenView business unit to create the industry’s most comprehensive distributed enterprise management software solution.”
Siebel buy puts Oracle in CRM top spot - computerworld.co.nz
Piece “Oracle stands to gain try-leading CRM functionality and extra clout as one of the handful of IT giants left standing in an increasingly consolidated industry — all as a result of its planned acquisition of Siebel Systems for US$5.85 billion (NZ$8.3 billion), say analysts.
Meanwhile, Siebel customers appear to be cautiously optimistic about the impact of the news on their technology investments.
“Where does this put Oracle? Right in IBM’s face,” says James Governor, principal with analyst firm RedMonk. “Nobody can argue with Oracle’s scale now.”
Technology’s growing acquisition appetite - news.com
Piece “If technology companies ranging from software powerhouse Oracle to fast-growing Net hotshot Skype could share a motto, it would be that oft-ridiculed fast-food pitch. On Monday, Oracle announced it plans to acquire rival Siebel Systems for $5.8 billion. The same day, online auctioneer eBay announced plans to acquire Skype for $2.6 billion in cash and stock.
“We’re seeing larger and larger deals come through,” said Richard Peterson, a market strategist for Thomson Financial, a financial data provider. “The average deal size is over $35 million this year for tech companies big and small, and that’s more than double the $17 million in 2002.” Last year, the average deal size was nearly $25 million. “
Cisco’s Chambers lectures on China - computerworld.com.au
Piece “Cisco CEO John Chambers described the need for his firm to develop the network market in China and the company’s strategy on acquisitions at a lecture at MIT’s campus.
In a wide-ranging talk in front of MIT students and faculty, Chambers said China poses great opportunity for Cisco, as the country has an increasingly higher-educated talent pool of engineers and is training ten times the number of workers in engineering, math and sciences as the U.S. The salary gap between engineers in China and parts of the world will also force Cisco to be more productive on a revenue-per-employee basis, with the potential of moving more research and engineering work overseas. “
New Google feature sorts through blogs - Test search engine likely to undercut smaller rival sites - unlvrebelyell
Piece “Google Inc. introduced a search engine Wednesday devoted to scanning blogs, the increasingly popular online journals that allow users to easily and frequently sound off about everything from politics to dating to natural disasters.
The new feature, released as a test at google.com/blogsearch, is expected to give the so-called blogosphere increased visibility. But Google’s entry also poses a serious threat to the handful of small Web sites that have similar technology, such as Technorati, Feedster and IceRocket, according to analysts. “
Praise, skepticism greet Oracle-Siebel merger - zdnet
Piece “”This (Siebel) acquisition will be easier,” said Larry Ellison, Oracle’s chief executive, during a conference call with analysts. “PeopleSoft had just acquired J.D. Edwards, and that made it more complex. This deal is also friendly, so we know a lot more about Siebel than we did with PeopleSoft. It makes Siebel a much less risky transaction.”
Microsoft in merger talks with AOL - mcall.com
Piece “Humbled by the surging fortunes of Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc., two titans of the Internet’s early days — Microsoft Corp. and Time Warner Inc.’s America Online — might scrap their historic rivalry and join forces.
Microsoft’s MSN and AOL are negotiating to combine some or all of their online operations — including their free e-mail and instant-messaging services as well as widely viewed portal pages, according to people familiar with the talks.”
HP snaps up AppIQ - integratedmar
Piece “HP and AppIQ share a common culture of innovation around standards and a partner-centric business model, the companies said. The deal will see the merger of AppIQ’s storage area network (SAN) management and storage resource management (SRM) software into HP’s realm. “
Symantec hooks anti-phishing firm WholeSecurity - theregister.co.uk
Piece “WholeSecurity has developed software designed to black malware based on its behaviour rather than by the more traditional approach of pattern recognition through regular anti-virus signature updates. WholeSecurity’s Confidence Online Phish Finder is included as the anti-phsihing component of eBay’s toolbar. Symantec plans to use WholSecurity’s technology to bolster its defences against fast spreading worms and so-called zero day attacks that target exploits for which a patch is yet to be issued.”
Cognos: Big Step In BI - crn.com
Piece “That availability puts Cognos on the same schedule of other major business intelligence vendors, including Business Objects and Hyperion, which also are expected to unleash major upgrades in November. At issue, then, is which vendor can leapfrog the others in the highly lucrative BI market. One mark in Cognos’ favor: combining its ReportNet reporting software, PowerPlay analytic product, NoticeCast event manager, Metrics Manager scorecard software and DecisionStream ETL software on one server. “
Google Offering Raises $4.18B - redherring
Piece “Follow-on offering at $295 per share came as web giant introduced Blog Search. Google raised $4.18 billion in its much-anticipated follow-on offering late Wednesday, giving the company cash likely to be used for rapid expansion and new services.”
Competitive Intelligence on a Shoestring - msnbc
Piece “Does the following scenario sound familiar to you? You have an idea for a product or service, and you’re reasonably certain the market for the product exists, so now you want to check out the competition. But you’re in startup mode or have very limited financial resources. So just how do you go about investigating your competitors and gathering information without spending a fortune?”
IBM Focuses on Wireless Technology - newsfactor
Piece “As IBM celebrated the 40th anniversary of its Research Triangle Park facility Thursday, officials announced plans to establish on the RTP campus the company’s only center for wireless technology.
The center, which will occupy a quarter of a working 20,000-square-foot warehouse, will convert existing technology into wireless solutions, said Deidre Lenderking, who will lead the center’s efforts.”
