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Microsoft Cuts Cloud Collaboration Prices to Rival Google, Others

Microsoft Reduces Prices to Win CRM SaaS Business

M86 Acquires Finjan to Bolster Anti-Malware Capabilities

U.S. Economic Report Does Not Justify 2010 IT Budget Increase

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Cisco Will Target Large Enterprises for ScanSafe SaaS Services 30 October 2009 Cisco's acquisition of the market-leading secure Web gateway service provider ScanSafe represents a strategic commitment to the fast-growing market for security services delivered as software-as-a-service.

Dassault/IBM PLM Deal Will Produce Broad Benefits 29 October 2009 Dassault Systemes' agreement to acquire of IBM's product life cycle management sales and service operations is positive news for customers of Dassault Systemes and IBM PLM.

BMC Will Use Tideway Technology to Shore Up Its CMDB Offerings 26 October 2009 BMC Software has acquired Tideway Systems, the last stand-alone vendor that specialized in IT service dependency mapping. Tideway technology will help broaden the appeal of BMC's Atrium configuration management database.

Assess Your BCM Plan Against Proposed PS-Prep Standards 22 October 2009 The need for supply chain resilience could push still-unready organizations to attain business continuity management program certifications. Monitor the PS-Prep program and associated standards to ensure you are prepared.

Oracle's Proactive Support Success Relies on Customer Adoption 21 October 2009 Proactive support capabilities in My Oracle Support now span Oracle's entire product portfolio. Barriers to service adoption are likely to be nontechnical, such as a lack of awareness.

Cognizant/UBS 'Captive' Deal to Boost Mainland Europe Offshoring 20 October 2009 UBS's sale of its Indian "captive" frees up cash for UBS and gives Cognizant domain expertise and a foothold in mainland Europe. Increased competition will push other mainland European banks toward offshoring.

Oracle Moves Toward Integrating HFM, Enterprise GRC Manager 19 October 2009 As demonstrated at Oracle OpenWorld, the integration of functions in Hyperion Financial Management with Enterprise GRC Manager supports risk-based scoping of the chart of accounts for audit planning.

Starent Buy Would Strengthen Cisco's Mobile Carrier Strategy 16 October 2009 Starent Networks would give Cisco expertise in long-term-evolution Evolved Packet Core mobile switching software. This could help increase the customer base for the Cisco 7600 platform and enhance its competitiveness.

Purewire Brings Barracuda Networks Critical SaaS Capabilities 15 October 2009 The acquisition of Purewire's software-as-a-service capabilities will strengthen Barracuda Networks with small and midsize businesses. But time and resources will be needed to make Barracuda an enterprise player.

Ciena's Bid For Nortel MEN/Optical Unit Is a Calculated Risk 14 October 2009 Ciena aims to gain specific technologies from Nortel and deepen its North American carrier relationships. But merging similar Metro Ethernet and optical portfolios will create unavoidable integration challenges.

Compuware Acquires Gomez to Extend Its APM Capabilities 12 October 2009 Compuware is acquiring Gomez to extend its on-premises application performance monitoring capabilities to end users across the Internet. Compuware will need to retain Gomez's service business expertise in this area.

IBM Hits Cloud E-Mail Market With $3 Mailbox 9 October 2009 IBM has waded into the cloud-based e-mail market with LotusLive iNotes, a low-cost, low-function system for users with less sophisticated e-mail needs. IBM is a late joiner, but this market is still in its early days.

Adobe's New Collaboration Services Can Enhance Applications 9 October 2009 Adobe's LiveCycle Collaboration Service will allow application developers to make enterprise applications more valuable by embedding real-time collaboration functions that are Flash-based and hosted by Adobe cloud services.

Developers Benefit as Adobe Offers iPhone Support 9 October 2009 Apple's iPhone is a popular device for mobile applications, and Adobe is taking a practical approach to allow Flash developers to create applications for it.

Nvidia's Fermi Architecture Will Offer Improved Visual Computing 7 October 2009 Nvidia's Fermi architecture and software development tools are part of the next generation of high-performance visual computing. Its success depends on cost-effective production in quantity and fulfilling delivery targets.

Cisco Sharpens Video Focus With Deal to Acquire Tandberg 7 October 2009 Cisco plans to acquire videoconferencing provider Tandberg to gain access to advanced telepresence, endpoint and infrastructure technology. Cisco's globalization strategy will likely lead the combined entity out of Norway.

Microsoft Pushes Interoperability With XMPP Support 5 October 2009 Microsoft's long-delayed support for the XMPP protocol in its Office Communications Server product line is a competitive move aimed at strengthening its OCS base as it moves forward with UCC initiatives.

Ebix Buys E-Z Data to Strengthen U.S. Life Agent Support 5 October 2009 The purchase of E-Z Data expands Ebix's offering to independent life insurance agents. It expands Ebix's functionality by creating a platform for improved integration, and it also offers cross-selling opportunities.

FinancialForce.com Seeks to Capitalize on salesforce.com Platform 5 October 2009 FinancialForce.com, a new company formed by Coda and salesforce.com, is an important development in software-as-a-service-based financial management applications. However, FinancialForce is building from a small base.

Xerox Will Acquire BPO Service Muscle With ACS Purchase 1 October 2009 Xerox's planned purchase of Affiliated Computer Services should significantly enhance its business process outsourcing capabilities, provided Xerox can leverage its software and hardware advantages.

Open Mashup Alliance Needs More Support to Create Standardization 30 September 2009 Proprietary approaches have slowed the adoption of enterprise mashup capabilities. The OMA offers a vendor-driven standards-based approach, but its efforts will be hampered by lack of support from larger players.

U.S. Healthcare Reform Bill Would Require Insurers to Modify IT 28 September 2009 A U.S. Senate healthcare reform proposal would create Web-based insurance exchanges to promote universal coverage. Healthcare insurers must begin to act now to make necessary IT and business operation changes.

Acquisition of ESS Could Help IHS Broaden Its Focus on EH&S 24 September 2009 IHS's acquisition of Environmental Support Systems is a sign that the environmental, health and safety market is still consolidating. ESS's experience with a broad solution set could help IHS expand its focus.

Dell's Perot Systems Buy Continues IT Service Consolidation 24 September 2009 With its planned purchase of Perot Systems, Dell makes its long-anticipated move to become a full IT service provider. Further consolidation in the IT service industry is likely.

HP and Canon Alliance Will Benefit MPS Customers 22 September 2009 The HP/Canon partnership enhances the companies' copy and print capabilities. But more importantly, the new alliance puts competitive pressure on managed print service megavendors such as Ricoh and Xerox.

Sun Oracle Database Machine Focuses on Optimizing Mixed Workloads 22 September 2009 The Sun Oracle Database Machine hints at Oracle's plans to meld its software into Sun hardware after the acquisition closes, stressing high-performance database management system I/O throughput to mixed workloads.

With Mint.com, Intuit Aims to Offer Range of Financial Brands 18 September 2009 In buying the online personal financial management site, Intuit will exploit the Mint.com brand -- a small but growing brand in the new direct-to-consumer financial services arena -- and leverage its technology assets.

Adobe to Buy Omniture, Gain Differentiation and Integration 18 September 2009 The acquisition of Omniture would expand the breadth of Adobe's offerings by providing native Web analytics to creative, marketing and technology professionals.

NetQoS Acquisition Rounds Out CA's Network Management Portfolio 17 September 2009 CA's portfolio includes strong network fault management and network performance reporting, but has lacked the ability to analyze network traffic at a granular level. The acquisition of NetQoS will fill this gap.

Better Place's Boosted Strategy May Impact Partner Prospects 17 September 2009 The introduction of Better Place's service platform addresses a key success factor for electric-vehicle adoption, but it could interfere with other industry initiatives and imperil some partnership opportunities.

IEEE Ratifies 802.11n to Begin New Era of High-Speed WLANs 17 September 2009 The ratification of the IEEE 802.11n-2009 amendment standardizes a tenfold increase in wireless LAN throughput while providing robust access-layer communication for data, voice and video applications.

Pitney Bowes Enters High-Speed Production Printer Market 16 September 2009 Developed with HP, the IntelliJet 30 Printing System is Pitney Bowes' entry into the high-speed production printer market. Its success will depend on Pitney Bowes' execution of marketing and sales.

Symantec Norton 2010 Releases Offer 'Quorum' Security Approach 16 September 2009 Norton Internet Security 2010 and Norton AntiVirus 2010 will use "Quorum" technology, which focuses on the gray area between whitelisting and blacklisting strategies. This may supplement a global whitelisting effort.

Vericept Deal Will Bolster Trustwave PCI Managed Services 15 September 2009 Trustwave customers will benefit from its acquisition of Vericept, but the deal will have a limited effect on the data loss prevention market and will likely not result in Vericept's resurgence in the market.

Avaya Faces Hard Work After Winning Bid for Nortel Enterprise 15 September 2009 Avaya offered the winning bid in the auction for Nortel Enterprise Solutions. But the deal still faces regulatory approval, and Avaya must take on the daunting challenge of merging two large communications players.

RightNow to Acquire HiveLive to Extend Social CRM Ability 10 September 2009 RightNow Technologies will expand into social software with the planned acquisition of HiveLive, following RightNow's strategy that a CRM suite tied to online communities will positively impact consumer-centric businesses.

CEP Market Consolidates Further as Informatica Buys Agent Logic 10 September 2009 The complex-event-processing software market is still consolidating. By acquiring Agent Logic, Informatica will add real-time data and event correlation capabilities to its arsenal of data integration technology.

Mammoth Korean IT Initiative Aims to Improve Support Services 9 September 2009 The Korean government has unveiled its fourth-generation ICT policy. To succeed, this initiative must look beyond its key strategies and focus on the interrelationships among the five elements.

3D Systems Likely to Continue Desktop Factory 3D Printer Plans 8 September 2009 3D Systems acquired the assets of shuttered industry pioneer Desktop Factory. The deal is further evidence of the unsettled, emerging state of low-cost, three-dimensional printing technology.

EMC Seeks to Extend Its E-Discovery Position With Kazeon Buy 4 September 2009 The acquisition of Kazeon will enhance EMC's e-discovery offerings with policy management, litigation hold and other functions. Kazeon technology will also play a key role in EMC's information governance strategy.

Symphony Takeover Keeps MSC Customers Safe for Now 4 September 2009 MSC Software and Symphony Technology Group outlined terms and conditions to privatize MSC in a proxy statement filed 31 August 2009. Existing customers are safe for now, but investing in new applications could be risky.

Dell's 2Q10 Results Show Continued Weakness in Hardware Market 3 September 2009 Dell's fiscal 2Q10 results confirm that weakened demand continues to affect the hardware market. Although the market hasn't improved significantly since the previous quarter, demand appears to have stabilized.

Nokia Booklet 3G Targets an Opportunity Beyond Smartphones 26 August 2009 Nokia faces heavy competition for the mini-notebook market opportunity. While Booklet 3G includes some standout hardware features, differentiation will depend on how Nokia chooses to integrate it with services like Ovi.

Major Financial Services Firms Call Online Banking Dangerous 31 August 2009 FS ISAC has warned its members that online business banking is not safe. Its alert highlights the lack of regulatory protections for business accounts and the danger posed by sophisticated criminal hacking capabilities.

Exchange Support in New Mac OS Will Create End User Demand 26 August 2009 "Snow Leopard," Apple's Mac OS X 10.6, is most noted for its native support of Microsoft Exchange 2007 for e-mail and calendaring. While Exchange support is appealing, it does not signal Apple's enterprise readiness.

Quarterly Financial Results Position HP for Growth in 2010 21 August 2009 HP's financial results reflect a troubled economy but also indicate that the bottom of the downturn is likely behind us. IT buyers should use downturn activity constraints to evaluate strategic opportunities with vendors.

Accenture Leadership Changes Show Integrated Delivery Focus 17 August 2009 Accenture's reorganization primarily affects its design of service delivery units. It appears to accentuate end-to-end delivery of services and business processes.

Keane's New President and CEO Will Support Growth Plans 17 August 2009 Keane has made a smart move by appointing highly experienced IT service executive John W. McCain as its new CEO.

Nexsan, FalconStor Team Up to Challenge Deduplication Leaders 17 August 2009 The new Nexsan DeDupe SG family of deduplication appliances will be a powerful competitor to deduplication appliances from vendors such as Data Domain, IBM and Quantum, especially on energy and space savings.

Social Software Vendors Jostle for Enterprise Attention 14 August 2009 A series of recent announcements indicates that large software vendors and social software vendors are moving toward one another. Social vendors want to speed up enterprise adoption and large vendors want to offer customers viable options for social functions.

SpringSource Buy Extends VMware's Market Reach 14 August 2009 VMware's plan to acquire the Java technology leader SpringSource would expand the range of its product strategies from virtualization to cloud computing platforms.

New GM/eBay Promo Must Ensure Total Transaction Transparency 12 August 2009 The General Motors/eBay "click and buy" promotion in California advances an alternative retailing concept and further empowers the consumer. Aligning technology with process changes will be key to the program's success.

MQSoftware Buy Helps BMC Application Management Capabilities 10 August 2009 BMC Software's acquisition of MQSoftware will provide it with improved application management capabilities, especially for WebSphere, where it has lagged. Customers of both companies should benefit.

ExcellerateHRO Drops Utility Platform for Comprehensive HR BPO 6 August 2009 ExcellerateHRO, owned by EDS/HP, is discontinuing its utility-based delivery platform for comprehensive HR BPO. It continues to offer benefits administration BPO, but use caution until EDS clarifies its strategy.

McAfee to Enter E-Mail Security As a Service With MX Logic 6 August 2009 With its MX Logic acquisition, McAfee will finally get into the security-as-a-service landscape, but gaining sales and product management traction may prove to be more difficult.

U.S. Firms Could Benefit From New Solar Electricity Financing 5 August 2009 New funding for solar power purchase agreements from Borrego Solar and Renewable Ventures could help U.S. enterprises reduce electricity costs by adopting photovoltaic systems without a large capital expenditure.

WatchGuard Strengthens Protections With BorderWare Acquisition 5 August 2009 New e-mail and other protections may make WatchGuard Technologies' offerings more attractive to enterprise customers. But WatchGuard must diversify its sales and marketing to maximize this acquisition's potential.

IBM Mainframe Price Actions Lower TCO for Linux Workloads 31 July 2009 IBM has improved the price/performance ratio of its high-end mainframe for new workloads, particularly for running Linux work on System z.

Ericsson's Bid for Nortel Assets Shakes Up Wireless Market 30 July 2009 By winning parts of Nortel's wireless business, Ericsson puts pressure on Nokia Siemens Networks, Alcatel-Lucent, Motorola and Huawei as they pursue network migration contracts with North American wireless carriers.

DRI and NFPA Announce New BCM Auditor Certifications 29 July 2009 Two new business continuity management auditor certifications will enhance recipients' professional knowledge, although they don't yet qualify a recipient to conduct certification audits for BS 25999 or PS-Prep.

Coalition to Lobby U.S. Government to Promote Open Source 28 July 2009 A large group of vendors and U.S. universities organizes to boost awareness and advocate more governmental use of open-source software to save money on application development.

GoldenGate Buy Will Boost Oracle in Data Integration Tools 28 July 2009 Oracle will become more competitive in data integration tools and may enhance its high-availability products by buying GoldenGate. Non-Oracle customers should wait for product road maps to gauge Oracle's commitment.

Yahoo Moves To Make E-mail a Social Hub 24 July 2009 Yahoo seeks to address a gap in its business strategy with the acquisition of Xoopit, which will enable Yahoo to transform its popular consumer e-mail service into a hub for diverse multivendor social interactions.

Wolters Kluwer's Axentis Acquisition Fills Gaps, Raises Issues 22 July 2009 Wolters Kluwer's CCH division's acquisition of Axentis offers the potential for a strongly competitive enterprise governance, risk and compliance platform. CCH must develop a common platform for its GRC offerings first.

GigaSpaces Focuses on Cloud-Enabled XTP With XAP 7.0 21 July 2009 GigaSpaces' eXtreme Application Platform 7.0 is one of the first industry examples of a cloud-enabled, extreme transaction processing platform. It gives GigaSpaces a technology advantage over IBM, Microsoft and Oracle.

Bid for Nortel Enterprise Assets Will Fortify Avaya's Position 21 July 2009 If Avaya's bid for Nortel's enterprise division succeeds, Avaya will have leading market share in enterprise voice, re-enter the data market and grow its channels. But other potential buyers still have a chance to bid.

Allegiance Buys Inquisite to Strengthen Focus on EFM 20 July 2009 Enterprise feedback management solution provider Allegiance has purchased a complementary competitor, Inquisite. This is part of Allegiance's strategic push in this crowded market.

HP MPS Payback Guarantee Could Cut Costs in More Than One Way 20 July 2009 Office print cost savings are "low-hanging fruit," yet most enterprises are reticent about implementing managed print services. HP intends to overcome those objections with its guaranteed payback program.

Changes in Microsoft Office 2010 Require Careful Evaluation 20 July 2009 Office 2010 offers collaboration tools and a free Web version aimed at recouping mind share from competitors. The Web version will suffice for some, but users should consider privacy issues and the limited feature set.

Software AG Plans IDS Scheer Buy to Solidify BPM Direction 17 July 2009 Software AG's plan to buy IDS Scheer is evidence of its goal to be a leader in business process management disciplines and technologies.

Google Chrome OS Points to Cloud- and Standards-Oriented Future 14 July 2009 Google's blog entry outlining its strategy to develop the Google Chrome operating system has sparked chatter in technological circles. Nevertheless, Google's plan will not affect enterprises for many years.

SecureWorks/VeriSign Deal Answers Some Questions, but Not All 10 July 2009 The long-awaited sale of VeriSign's managed security services business will help to ensure continuity of its services. But SecureWorks, the new owner, will need to rationalize different technologies and contractual commitments.

Indian Budget Signals a Shift Toward Policy Continuity 9 July 2009 India's Budget for 2009-10 didn't include the bold reformist policies that enterprises expected. Instead it indicated a move toward policy continuity and included some positive announcements for the IT industry.

Attacks Show Lack of Basic Internet Protections 9 July 2009 A highly publicized series of "cyberattacks" really just represents business as usual on the Internet. Businesses and government agencies that depend of the Internet should already have protections against such attacks.

Google Drops Gmail Beta Label in Nod to Enterprise 8 July 2009 Google stripped the beta label from its commercial Gmail services. This move eliminates a symbolic barrier to enterprise adoption and shows that Google is taking the enterprise market more seriously.

Data Encryption Not Enough to Prevent FTP Credential Theft 6 July 2009 The reported theft of 88,000 FTP credentials reaffirms that using SSL technologies or encrypting the payload is not enough to secure managed file transfer solutions and avoid regulatory and compliance audits.

'Green Dam' Delay Gives China Market PC Vendors a Respite 6 July 2009 PC vendors serving the China market should hold off making any sizeable investment in the now-controversial Green Dam software until the situation that led to the government delaying the installation mandate clears up.

QinetiQ/Cyveillance Deal Will Boost Cyberintelligence Market 1 July 2009 The U.S. government has approved QinetiQ of North America's acquisition of Cyveillance. Gartner expects further deals as firms seek competency in cyberintelligence as a competitive edge in national cybersecurity efforts.

I-many Deal Will Benefit Revenue Management Software Market 30 June 2009 I-many's change in ownership and the release of its latest contract analytics product will benefit both users of its contract management solutions and the larger pharmaceutical industry market for these solutions.

VIP's Clear Demise Leaves Fate of Personal Data Unclear 30 June 2009 The abrupt demise of Clear, a fast-track airport security system for U.S. travelers, raises serious questions regarding the private and secure disposal and transfer of databases full of sensitive information.

Nokia/Intel Collaboration Raises Stakes in Mobile Chip Market 29 June 2009 The broad mobile collaboration between Intel and Nokia validates Intel's mobile strategy. The announcement is strong on good intentions, but weak in offering concrete actions.

Microsoft Frees Up Its Consumer Security Software Product 26 June 2009 Microsoft's free consumer security offering, Microsoft Security Essentials, will spur more free offerings from its competitors. But Gartner expects adoption to be slowed by users' preference for security-focused vendors.

Microsoft Brings Consumer Energy Efficiency Into Hohm 26 June 2009 Microsoft's move confirms our prediction that end-user energy efficiency will be a consumer technology vendor play. With Hohm, Microsoft departs from its model by owning the application rather than supporting partners.

Enterprises Should Demand Windows Upgrade Option 26 June 2009 Microsoft has limited the number of free Windows 7 upgrades that can be claimed via its Windows Upgrade Option. Organizations need to understand their Windows 7 requirements and obtain rights for the best value.

IBM-Siemens Pact Opens New Ways to Streamline PLM Processes 23 June 2009 The IBM-Siemens technology integration opens new product life cycle management opportunities. Gartner views the potential ability to manage embedded software more integrally as the most important benefit of the integration.

Bid for Wireless Assets Means Big Changes for Nortel Customers 23 June 2009 Nokia Siemens Networks has bid for part of Nortel's wireless division. The deal should add value for CDMA and LTE carrier customers. But other Nortel customers must prepare for further sale announcements in coming weeks.

Bull Blade Servers Aim for the High-Performance Computing Market 22 June 2009 The new bullx family gives Bull a purpose-built high-performance computing architecture that it hopes will distinguish it from commodity clusters, particularly for the divisional and supercomputing end of the market.

U.S. Financial System Regulatory Overhaul Brings More Scrutiny 19 June 2009 Regulatory reforms proposed by the Obama administration will require CIOs and IT managers to review their risk management and compliance activities and investments.

Comment on Meaningful Use of EHR but Understand It First 18 June 2009 The draft criteria on the "meaningful use" of electronic health records offer healthcare providers and other stakeholders an opportunity to influence the complex process that leads to the final criteria.

HP and Fortify Aim to Advance Application Security Testing 17 June 2009 HP's partnership with Fortify indicates growing industry understanding that application security testing, both static and dynamic, should be an integral part of software life cycle processes and platforms.

Microsoft Bows to Growth of Online FSNs in Closing Money Plus 17 June 2009 The end is near for software-based financial management consumer tools. Financial social networks and other online options will better meet consumers' money management and planning needs, at less effort and cost.

Antenna-Dexterra Deal Further Advances Mobile Consolidation 17 June 2009 Antenna's Dexterra purchase reflects rising consolidation in mobile applications. The combined entity will be stronger than the separate parts, if Antenna can integrate the platforms and stay focused on its core business.

Siemens to Provide Important SaaS Talent Management Test Case 15 June 2009 Siemens' selection of SuccessFactors will provide an important test case for implementation of a large, complex, global software-as-a-service talent management suite.

Google Gmail Support for Outlook Challenges Exchange 10 June 2009 Taking its campaign to capture enterprise e-mail seats to a new level, Google released client-side code which allows Outlook to work natively against the Gmail back end.

YouSendIt Seeks Wider Enterprise Adoption Through Prosumers 9 June 2009 Moving files between users represents the most ad hoc, unmanaged and ungoverned aspect of file transfer. YouSendIt Tracker for iPhone could enhance IT governance by giving enterprises greater visibility into file traffic.

OutStart/Hot Lava Merger Advances Support for Social Learning 8 June 2009 OutStart's merger with mobile content and learning provider Hot Lava Software is another indicator of the growing market for supporting social learning with content "courselets" delivered on demand.

New Identity Federation Moves Should Help Increase Adoption 8 June 2009 New developments in Liberty Alliance interoperability testing, and especially increased multiprotocol support from Microsoft, should ease enterprises' concerns about competing identity federation mechanisms.

Dell 1Q10 Results Offer Proof of Market Downturn's Severity 5 June 2009 Dell's fiscal 1Q10 results show that, like other hardware vendors, the weak economy has affected it. But Dell hopes that business changes it is making will drive improvements and position it for the eventual recovery.

SolarMagic Design Tackles Solar Panel Obstruction Issues 3 June 2009 The innovative design of National Semiconductor's SolarMagic power optimizer could help improve the power output and return on investment of photovoltaic solar energy systems.

Continental's AutoLinQ to Fuel In-Car Web Applications 2 June 2009 Continental's AutoLinQ open platform approach will reduce barriers for developers and automakers to offer contextual, driving-specific Web experiences and lead to new business models.

EMC Continues Acquisitions Strategy With Configuresoft Buy 2 June 2009 EMC's planned purchase of Configuresoft continues its strategy of filling out its portfolio of IT operations management solutions and broadens its compliance focus.

The Web Wins Whether or Not Google Wave Succeeds 2 June 2009 Google Wave demonstrates substantial innovation in product, platform and protocol. This initiative will take many years to affect the enterprise but will change competition and opportunities in the workplace IT market.

Nokia's Ovi Maps Aims to Change Navigation Value Proposition 27 May 2009 Nokia has expanded and opened Ovi Maps to consumers and developers with the goal of designing a contextual, location-aware service foundation. This will directly impact automotive and navigation solution companies.

Solidcore Acquisition Helps McAfee Span Security and Operations 27 May 2009 This deal will add Solidcore's lockdown and change control solution to a broad security portfolio. It expands McAfee's presence in the server and dedicated device security market, but won't impact PC security until 2011.

HP's 2Q09 Results Dim Hopes for Imminent IT Industry Recovery 22 May 2009 HP's 2Q09 earnings results reflect the company's strategy during the economic downturn. This includes strategic and tactical cost-cutting to maintain margins, and squeezing inventory and supply chains to release cash.

Historic Indian Election Results Bode Well for Indian IT 21 May 2009 India has voted its current government to a second five-year term. This could help deliver the political stability, legal reforms and economic growth needed to enable Indian industry to integrate and expand globally.

Oracle's Deal With Virtual Iron Alters Virtualization Market 20 May 2009 Oracle's acquisition of Virtual Iron would strengthen its position in the virtualization space and help to polarize the Xen market around Citrix and Oracle with Sun. It would have lasting effects on Microsoft and VMware.

Battery Switch Demo Is Critical Step for Better Place 20 May 2009 For electric vehicle services provider Better Place, getting traction for its automated battery switching technology in the form of government and auto company buy-in is crucial to its long-term development strategy.

HP and Microsoft Unite for the Coming UCC War 20 May 2009 HP and Microsoft escalated the battle to supply unified communication and collaboration services to enterprises with a partnership that will deliver integration, sales/marketing and joint product development.

Antitrust Ruling Against Intel Unlikely to Have Lasting Effect 19 May 2009 The European Commission has fined Intel for engaging in anticompetitive activities. Gartner believes Intel's recent dominance is due to market forces at work and not because the company has engaged in illegal practices.

Nortel's 1Q09 Earnings Show Why Customers Need Contingency Plans 18 May 2009 Nortel's continuing losses will not only deter potential sales, but spur many customers to develop backup plans and look elsewhere.

Saba-IBM Collaboration Bolsters Support for Social Learning 15 May 2009 A new agreement between Saba and IBM reinforces the importance of learning in achieving the larger goal of talent development to support of business performance. Both companies will benefit from this relationship.

SumTotal Bidding War Signals Change, but Clients Shouldn't Panic 14 May 2009 Two private equity firms are vying to buy SumTotal Systems, one of the largest vendors in the corporate learning systems market. Despite the likely acquisition, current SumTotal customers shouldn't expect much to change.

Clear Standards Buy Will Add GHG Management to SAP Solutions 14 May 2009 SAP's deal to purchase Clear Standards is the first of many acquisitions that Gartner expects major software vendors to make within the rapidly evolving technology area of greenhouse gas emissions management.

Acquisitions Would Benefit Micro Focus by Broadening Its Message 13 May 2009 Borland's and Compuware's automated software quality tools for distributed platforms will increase Micro Focus' revenue and broaden its message. But it will be challenged to manage complex and overlapping product lines.

Participation Key to Heartland Effort 13 May 2009 Heartland Payment Systems will offer end-to-end encryption to re-establish its credibility as a secure processor and strengthen its security practices. To work, its plan must be adopted by merchants and card brands.

Windows 7 Will Affect Vista Deployment 13 May 2009 Microsoft expects to ship Windows 7 in time for the 2009 holiday shopping season. Organizations with a Windows Vista project well underway should stay the course, but most others should target Windows 7.

Exeros Expands IBM's Mapping, Metadata Discovery Capabilities 12 May 2009 Exeros adds to IBM's capabilities for capturing metadata and discovering relationships within and across structured data sources. The technology must be proven through more deployments and become embedded in IBM products.

IBM Pushes Into the Cloud With Cloud Implementation Services 12 May 2009 IBM's implementation service offering for private cloud computing provides a strong entry point for larger organizations. But smaller enterprises may want to look elsewhere for scalable, flexible testing resources.

Open Text Pads Its ECM Portfolio With Vignette Buy 11 May 2009 Buying Vignette will remove Open Text's last big independent rival in enterprise content management. Open Text and smaller players will benefit, but the deal won't affect either vendor's ECM customers in the short run.

New Benchmarking to Guide SAP Enterprise Support Fees 5 May 2009 SAP has introduced collaborative benchmarking for Enterprise Support and reduced yearly fee increases for its installed base, but not all clients will achieve the same value as benchmarked clients.

SAP and Teradata Partnership Will Strengthen Joint Solution 1 May 2009 A partnership between SAP and Teradata that focuses on NetWeaver Business Warehouse will help joint customers of the two vendors, but won't solve key integration problems.

Microsoft's Vine Alerting Software Not Yet Up to Twitter 1 May 2009 Microsoft's Vine enables users to organize and disseminate information within a community and track friends and family in an emergency. Vine will need more functions and integration to challenge social sites like Twitter.

Tough Chip Market Could Lead Renesas, NEC Electronics to Merge 30 April 2009 A planned merger of Renesas Technology and NEC Electronics would create the No. 3 semiconductor company worldwide and the No. 1 chip maker in Japan. The proposed deal would require formidable integration efforts to succeed.

IBM DB2 9.7 Shakes Up the DBMS Market With Oracle Compatibility 29 April 2009 A feature in the IBM DB2 9.7 that will enable users to more easily replace the Oracle database management system with the DB2 DBMS has important implications for the commercial, off-the-shelf software applications community.

'Swine Flu' Means Test Transaction Document Recovery Plans Now 28 April 2009 The worldwide swine flu outbreak and the media attention surrounding it should not lead enterprises to panic. But they must take this opportunity to test their print and mail business continuity plans.

EU Insurers Must Act Now to Meet Solvency II Deadline 28 April 2009 The European Parliament has taken a first step toward harmonizing risk management for insurers in the European Union by approving the Solvency II framework. But delegates quashed stronger plans for cross-border regulation.

Ventyx Expands Offering With nMarket Acquisition 28 April 2009 In acquiring nMarket, Ventyx broadens its portfolio to cover the wholesale market's needs. A smooth transition will be required for nMarket to retain its position of strength.

HP's Matrix Simplifies BladeSystem Infrastructure 27 April 2009 HP's BladeSystem Matrix prepackages and preintegrates servers, networking, storage, software infrastructure and orchestration for simplified acquisition and faster deployment.

The 'Swine Flu' Is a Reason to Plan, Not Panic 27 April 2009 Enterprises should not overreact to the worldwide swine flu outbreak and the media attention surrounding it. But they should take this event as a wake-up call and review and test their pandemic response plans.

IBM Services Revenue Under Pressure but Margins Expand 24 April 2009 IBM Global Services' 1Q09 results show its continued resiliency in the current economic environment, with cost controls driving IBM's profits. As expected, outsourcing outpaces consulting and system integration.

Oracle/Sun Deal Is Not About IAM, but IAM Could Be Impacted 24 April 2009 Oracle's plan to acquire Sun wasn't driven by a need for identity and access management functions, and its plans for Sun's IAM solutions aren't yet clear. IAM customers should stay informed and prepare for changes.

Oracle's Acquisition of Sun Could Change Java's Course 23 April 2009 If Oracle owns the Java trademark and controls the Java Community Process, it could strategically secure Java and gain control over its future direction. But the Java community's reaction to its ownership is critical.

New MicroStrategy BI Platform Offering Reduces Risk of Silos 22 April 2009 MicroStrategy now offers upgradeable free and departmental versions of its business intelligence platform. For the new packaging and branding to succeed, MicroStrategy must overcome its reputation as a high-end vendor.

Oracle/Sun Deal Will Change Competitive Landscape in IT 22 April 2009 Acquiring Sun Microsystems will propel Oracle into the IT hardware market and enable it to exploit the Java and Solaris software brands. But Oracle will also have to work at ensuring its open-source solutions remain viable.

Broadridge Enhances Financial Social Networking for Investors 20 April 2009 Investment services providers should look at the Broadridge Financial Solutions' The Investor Network as a model for exploiting their own data or technologies in innovative ways.

IBM GBS Breaks Ground on Analytic Solutions Practice 17 April 2009 IBM's Business Analytics and Optimization practice integrates its Research Center for Business Optimization into Global Business Services, and links GBS more closely with IBM's software group to develop analytic solutions.

Terracotta v.3 Will Foster Greater Competition in DCP Market 17 April 2009 Terracotta v.3 server is a distributed caching platform focused on Java application database offloading. Organizations should explore using DCPs to improve performance and scalability and to reduce costs.

Recognize the Security Risks of Twitter, Other 'Consumer' Tools 15 April 2009 Malware attacks against the Twitter social networking service highlight the risks of using consumer-grade technologies for business. These services are not going away, so enterprises need to take security measures.

Deal Strengthens Cisco's Data Center Automation Plans 14 April 2009 The acquisition of Tidal Software will enable Cisco to dedicate a new business unit to creating and implementing its data center automation strategy, which has become a priority since the Unified Computing System launch.

Tech Mahindra Will Face Hurdles Integrating Satyam 14 April 2009 Tech Mahindra, an India-based, niche IT services company, won the bid to buy Satyam. However, it will face tougher-than-usual obstacles absorbing Satyam and joining the ranks of upper-echelon offshore firms.

FIS/Metavante Deal May Boost Prices in Core Banking 8 April 2009 With Metavante, Fidelity National Information Services gains expertise in architectural strategy and outsourcing that can fuel expansion. However, banks may pay the price with less vendor competition and higher prices.

SunEdison Milestone Signals Gain in Momentum for Solar Energy 7 April 2009 SunEdison has delivered 100 million kilowatt-hours of photovoltaic-generated electricity. This five-year milestone affirms the solar-energy-as-a-service model which has helped enterprises lower their electricity costs.

Formation of Fujitsu America Signals Bold Expansion Plans 7 April 2009 Fujitsu's creation of Fujitsu America will aid its expansion in North America and provide a much-needed structure to optimize North American competitive opportunities.

Rackable Systems Will Enhance Strengths With SGI Acquisition 6 April 2009 Rackable Systems has announced plans to acquire Silicon Graphics. The economic climate has challenged both vendors, so users should look for rapid conclusion of the merger and execution of the converged company strategy.

SAP-Syclo Co-innovation Enhances Mobile Field Service Offerings 6 April 2009 SAP has extended its relationship with Syclo, a mobile enterprise application platform vendor, to offer field service management on mobile devices. The deal is part of SAP's broader mobile partnership initiative.

Siemens Serious, Timely Move Into Pharmaceuticals MOM 3 April 2009 Siemens' acquisition of specialist life science manufacturing operations management supplier Elan Software is another confirmation of Siemens' strategy to become the leading industrial software supplier.

If You Are 'Too Big to Fail': Prepare EA for Divestiture 1 April 2009 The Obama administration's proposed regulation on any business deemed "too big to fail" highlights an opportunity for enterprise architecture teams to help management make proactive decisions.

IBM Users Should Experiment With Sametime Unified Telephony 1 April 2009 IBM's Sametime Unified Telephony will put telephony devices on a real-time collaboration platform. The product has great potential, but enterprises should not make a major commitment until SUT shows it is stable.

Accenture Results Show Downturn Is Hitting IT Services Hard 1 April 2009 Accenture's latest financial results show that its outlook for 2009 has weakened because of a steep drop in demand. We expect to see other IT service providers announcing lower results as the year unfolds.

Conficker Is a Serious Threat but the 1 April 'Deadline' Is Not 31 March 2009 The Conficker worm represents a serious threat to enterprise and home PCs, but the approaching "deadline" is not as urgent as the media hype suggests. Gartner does not expect a widespread system meltdown on 1 April.

Ensure That Systems Are Protected Against Firefox Flaws 30 March 2009 A critical vulnerability in the widely used Mozilla Firefox Web browser highlights the need for enterprises to secure unsupported "alternative" browsers. Ensure that only the patched version of Firefox is installed.

Getronics Workspace Alliance Must Lower Risk to Grow Globally 27 March 2009 This new alliance aims to combine its members' local delivery capability to offer globally consistent workspace outsourcing services. It needs to synchronize efforts to minimize risk and emerge as a viable alternative.

Sale of BearingPoint Units Could Disrupt Projects Short Term 27 March 2009 BearingPoint plans to sell major business units to Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Clients should get more stability in the long run, but the distraction caused by these sales could result in disruptions.

Liaison Deal Drives A2A and B2B Project Convergence 24 March 2009 Liaison's purchase of First Thought strengthens its blended approach to application-to-application and business-to-business integration. But Liaison's modest size will remain a challenge in Europe.

Maine Laptop Program to Cover All Secondary School Students 23 March 2009 Maine's education department will give a laptop to each junior- and senior-high public school student in the state. Officials in other states considering a similar program should ensure that all costs are accounted for.

Visa Heartland/RBS WorldPay Statement Brings Needed PCI Clarity 23 March 2009 A new Visa statement clarifies the positions of merchants concerned about the card brand's recent removal of two major payment processors from its list of Payment Card Industry-compliant service providers.

Wesabe Money Management Platform May Boost Online Banking 20 March 2009 Social banking tools available from online personal-finance-oriented social networks, such as Wesabe, will enable banks to introduce social computing capabilities on their Web sites faster and more economically.

Dutch Job Cuts Signal Increased Global Delivery Ratios 20 March 2009 Capgemini is the latest IT service provider in the Dutch IT services market to reduce staff numbers in the Netherlands. This signals the need to further exploit global delivery models as a core competency.

Unisys Efforts Could Boost It Up From 'Bottom Rung' List 19 March 2009 Unisys' inclusion on Moody's Investors Services' "Bottom Rung" list is bad publicity for the company. But Unisys is working at counteracting financial instability and is still executing well on its contractual obligations.

Cisco Differentiates Itself in the Server/Systems Market 16 March 2009 Cisco has entered the x86 server blade market with its Unified Computing System, optimized specifically around virtualization deployments. The offering is unique, but displacing incumbents will be difficult.

NorthgateArinso Shakes Up the HCM Market 13 March 2009 NorthgateArinso launched a modified version of SAP Human Capital Management as a multitenant on-demand offering. It has the potential to disrupt the HCM market, especially in Europe.

Google Voice Demands Enterprise Attention 13 March 2009 Google is aiming its new voice capabilities at consumers, but enterprise staff will likely use the services too. Enterprises must proactively develop policies for services like Google Voice.

Rural China PC Program Will Increase PC Shipments in 2009 10 March 2009 The Chinese government has named 14 PC vendors that will offer low-priced PCs in rural China through a subsidized program. Expect competition to heat up between large multinational companies and small local vendors.

First Solar Deal Will Restructure U.S. Utility-Scale PV Market 9 March 2009 First Solar's acquisition of OptiSolar's photovoltaic project pipeline is the first major deal in a wave of market consolidation Gartner expects to see in the solar energy industry during 2009.

Intel's Initiative With TSMC Is a Bold Reach for New Markets 6 March 2009 Intel will contract with TSMC for Atom system-on-chip manufacturing and design services. The move will create new market opportunities by giving Intel access to areas where it has never ventured and where others dominate.

Software AG Unveils AlignSpace, Its Social BPM Platform Vision 6 March 2009 By 1Q10, Software AG will offer AlignSpace, a software-as-service-based social platform for business process management practitioners. Its ambitious vision requires BPM professionals to interact in new ways.

Microsoft Accelerates a Trend by Flexing Its Patent Muscle 5 March 2009 Microsoft's patent infringement actions against TomTom are indicative of a broader trend by IT providers toward building and exploiting patent portfolios.

Early IBM Results Offer an Exception During Economic Downturn 4 March 2009 IBM says its business in January 2009 remained strong, consistent with 4Q08 results. Unlike many other technology providers, IBM is not suffering significantly from the economic downturn, due to its business model.

Citrix Essentials Clarifies Citrix/Microsoft Relationship 27 February 2009 The announcement of Citrix Essentials for Microsoft Hyper-V signals a significant upgrading of the relationship between two of the major virtualization market providers.

Obama Helicopter Plans Traced to Iran Highlight P2P Risks 27 February 2009 The reported transfer of information about the U.S. president's helicopter to a node in Iran clearly shows the security risks of peer-to-peer file sharing. Enterprises must act now to reduce their risk exposure.

BearingPoint Should Maintain Service Despite Chapter 11 Filing 26 February 2009 BearingPoint's U.S. business has filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors. The bankruptcy process should mitigate risk for clients, but they should develop contingency plans for business-critical work.

Two Technology Acquisitions Expand Novell's IAM Portfolio 26 February 2009 Newly acquired superuser privilege management and enterprise single sign-on tools will enhance Novell's identity and access management offerings. Enterprises evaluating tools in these areas should consider Novell.

Office 14 Delay Will Affect Value of Software Assurance 26 February 2009 Microsoft says it will not release Office 14 until 2010. This means some customers who renewed Software Assurance on Office in late 2006 and early 2007 will not get rights to a new version during their contract period.

Forward Planning Will Help Nortel-Radware Deal Run Smoothly 25 February 2009 Nortel's restructuring begins with the planned sale of its application acceleration portfolio to Radware. The deal is likely to be completed soon, and planning by both parties should limit the disruption to customers.

HP to Cut Pay, Not Jobs, for Long-Term Viability 25 February 2009 After reporting financial results for 1Q09, HP said it plans to cut employees' pay to save jobs. This move is a bold decision and a brave attempt to increase flexibility without carrying out additional layoffs.

U.S. Stimulus Package May Reorder Health Insurers' IT Plans 24 February 2009 The U.S. economic stimulus bill is unclear on the role of health insurers in the development of health information technology. Costs to health insurers to comply with ARRA can be high and the value uncertain.

U.S. Health Insurers Face COBRA Issues in Stimulus Package 24 February 2009 Health payers face new duties and costs due to changes in COBRA funding and eligibility in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This will strain already-challenged IT budgets and complicate business operations.