News and analysis to 6th March 2003
Sun goes back
to college
In an attempt to catch prospective users and developers
before the commercial inhibitor function of the brain is fully developed, Sun
Microsystems is more or less giving away its software to students. This will be
worth circa $1bn to the academic community. If this fails to grow the next
generation of Sun ‘raving fans’ we may see Sun technology migrating towards the
health service, in particular hospital neonatal units.
Remember – Servers aren’t just for Christmas
According to market analyst IDC server sales for Q4 02 are
up 15.2% on Q3 02. This is the strongest sequential growth in the server
marketplace in three years. IBM topped the 2002 server rankings with £13bn in
sales. HP was number two with $12.3bn. Sun Microsystems picked up the bronze
with $6bn.
Where’s the earning in e-learning?
A poll of IT executives in one hundred mid-sized UK firms
suggests that e-learning is failing to gain traction because there is no clear
return on investment. This coupled with
required investment in IT infrastructure, lukewarm feedback from users and a
lack of Board level understanding also suggests that the e-learning industry
looks set to remain in the ‘early adopter’ phase for the foreseeable future.
Hey that’s my padlock!
That little yellow padlock displayed at the foot of the
browser is a prerequisite for conducting financial transactions on the web. The
technology underpinning it is referred to as SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). Well
according to Reuters a Mr Leon Stambler (Should be Scrambler?) is suing
Verisign an RSA Security for $20m damages as he claims they have infringed his
SSL related patents. When it comes to security it is very difficult to know
whom to trust.
Mobiles to get Flash
Don’t you love those websites that insist that you pause to
enjoy their Jean Michel Jarresque light shows prior to getting to the
information you need. The associated technology is called Flash from a company
called Macromedia. Having saturated the desktop market place they are now
looking for new platforms. Most recently Macromedia has signed a deal to have
Flash loaded up on NTT Docomo’s next wave of i-Mode (like Wap only popular)
handsets. Over time telcos will grow to love this new technology that will add
large chunks of time to the bill as users wait for the light show to conclude
prior to saying hello.
ERM – Employee Relationship Management
Rarely do you see technology firms make the rankings for
fastest growth or greatest returns these days, but they are still a force to be
reckoned with when it comes to best companies to work for. UK newspaper The
Sunday Times ranked Microsoft, No. 1, Peoplesoft No. 4, Electronic Arts No. 9,
Cisco Systems, No. 14, SAP No. 17 and Computer Associates No. 23.
Trustworthy Computing Initiative II
Microsoft has now completed year one of its Trustworthy
Computing Initiative, designed to publicly acknowledge that the software giant
is taking security concerns related to its software seriously. The three
priorities for year two are patch management, raising security consciousness
within Microsoft, and the production of more security guidelines and utilities.
I guess a total overhaul of their security software architecture is a year
three priority.
..queue…Please wait your email is in a queue…Please..
It’s all very well offering your products online, but not if
the associated customer service is below par. According to Jupiter Research
even though organizations are spending more on online Customer Relationship
Management, they are failing to reap the full benefit of their investment
because they are failing to provide an appropriate level of online customer
service. Only 54% of companies
responded to emails within 24 hours, which consequently drives people to use
the phone or look elsewhere. By the way, according to Gartner Group 42% of CRM
software purchased is actually unused.
From grid to griddle computing
IBM is investing heavily in convincing the world that grid
computing, an architecture that makes best use of your IT resources, is the way
ahead. This took an interesting turn recently when IBM demanded the return of
over 100,000 monitors because they might catch fire. Complaints relating to
overheating and emanating smoke have been received. Worried readers might like
to click here: http://www.pc.ibm.com/g51recall/.
I know they claim their technology is hot, but this I think is a gimmick too
far.
