News and Analysis to 21st November 2003
Forrester bullish
US research firm Forrester
has become very upbeat about Europe’s anticipated services spend. It
anticipates growth of 66% between now and 2008. With the next two years
providing strongest growth. It highlights Business Process Outsourcing,
offshore services and strategic consulting as the main drivers. If the
strategic consulting is to advise clients to outsource their business and IT
functions to offshore locations, then the post 2008 vision doesn’t look too
good for Europe.
Top of the Flops
Bigger is best as far as the
Supercomputing 2003 trade show in Phoenix Arizona is concerned. During which
the Top 500 most powerful ‘computers’ ranking was announced. It is based on the
rate at which the supercomputers perform what are called FLOating Point
instructions. Floating point implies that the numbers being processed are not
simple integers (eg. 1, 5, 73) but processing-intensive non-integers (1.2, 5.8,
73.245672). The number one (point zero zero) slot went to NEC’s Earth Simulator
with a score of 35.7 teraflops (tera is approximately 1,000 billion). Second
was HP’s ASCI Q machine, based on 8,192 Alpha servers scoring 13.9 teraflops.
Third was Virginia Tech’s ‘X’, which comprised 1,100 Apple workstations with a
score of 10 teraflops.
Gartner bullish
There is definitely
something in the air. US research firm Gartner announced at its recent Tech
Investor Summit that a key combination of technology advances, architectural
changes, market forces and best practices would lead to a good recovery for IT
in the near future, leading on to very strong growth in the longer term. They
claim that 2003 was the bottoming out year and that at least single digit
growth is expected in 2004 and 2005. This upbeat vision is both reassuring and
worrying. It is not clear what has changed to suggest that ‘happy days’ are
just around the corner. Caution is urged.
Talk the walk
Don’t walk and talk is the message from scientists at
Queensland University in Australia. Specifically when using a mobile
phone. Apparently our breathing plays a
part in protecting the spine. Our bodies are designed to exhale as our feet
touch the ground. This acts as a buffer, which protects our body against
jarring. Using mobile phones on the move exacerbates the problem by increasing
pressure across the shoulder. This could have serious implications for phone
vendors. How soon will we see health warnings on the side of our phones? It
might actually suit the 3G vendors, as one of the main technology problems is
how to handover the call when users move between cells.
Novell looking for a rematch
Novell just won’t lie down.
It was once one of the world’s most successful IT companies, until it became
apparent that Microsoft had purposely steered itself in the direction of
Novell’s core business, print and file sharing for networks. The collision was
devastating for Novell and it has been zigzagging along the side of the road in
a dazed state ever since. Until now that is. By purchasing German Linux vendor
SuSe, it is in danger of incurring the wrath of Microsoft, which is not known
to be a fan of Linux, because of its market-eroding effects on its Windows
family of operating systems. IBM appears to taking on Novell’s trainer role in
preparation for the big fight.
Coming soon - megahotspots
You thought the hotspot wave
of activity was focused on coffee bars, hotels and airports. Well think again.
Air-Wireless plans to roll out one big hotspot to cover the 5,000 square miles
that make up Northern Ireland. A similar venture is underway in Paris, France
where a hotspot MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) is planned, based on the 400
stations that make up the Paris metro. Such megahotspots will prove attractive
to relocating and new businesses.
Tech Sector health check
The main players
have all cooled slightly, but with the exception of IBM and CSC still look very
expensive. The recent upbeat market observations have had little impact on the
shares. A far as the market is concerned the good news has been costed in for
at least two months. It would not be an understatement to say that a poor
outlook would prompt a second technology bubble burst.
Test Yourself?
Auridian Consulting
helps its clients make business sense of IT, specifically the buzzwords,
issues, trends and opportunities. Try this multiple-choice exercise:
Scoring:
+2 points for every correct answer and –3 for every wrong one.
q
Maximum score 10
q
Minimum score –15
Can you get a positive score?
Identify which of the following statements are correct:
3G
A – Is a short-range
wireless technology
B – Will deliver
broadband to the palm
C – The next
generation of 3G is known as 3H
D – Is not yet
commercially available.
Unix
A – Is based on a
French military operating system known as Asterix
B – Is a popular
operating system
C – Comes in many
flavours
D – Is the preferred
platform for money traders.
The biggest
IT-related opportunities going forward include:
A – C#
B – Y2K
C – 802.11b
D - DKNY
Click here to find out how you got on.
