News and Analysis to 23rd June 2005
Government quarantines open source
The UK Government is taking open source seriously by opening
an open source test laboratory. Local authorities will use the facility to
trial open source applications. In the spirit of open source will they make
their findings available to the wider community? And similarly will IBM have a
‘behind the scenes’ influential role to play?
Card sharks strike
(Black) hats off to the hackers that have stolen details of
40 million credit cards in what appears to be the largest hack on record.
MasterCard and Visa were both victims. Given that it is now law in some US
states to alert customers if their details have been compromised, this may be
the largest publicly known attack, as opposed to the largest ever. Such attacks
make a mockery of security ‘advances’ such as ‘chip and pin’.
Microsoft plans radio programme
Microsoft is planning to incorporate RFID (Radio Frequency
Identification) technology into its BizServer platform. RFID is essentially wireless
electronic barcoding. Companies are looking to drive costs out of their supply
chain and RFID has a role to play in this. The uptake has been slow to date. A
lack of RFID standards and concerns over privacy infringement are the main
inhibitors. Microsoft’s interest in RFID and CRM could well see the emergence
of a customer relationship solution that truly gives the full picture of the
customers buying habits, and even usage habits.
Terrorism doesn’t scare business, IT does
A survey by SunGard Availability Services states that the
increasing reliance on IT is driving the demand for business continuity and
disaster recovery services (53% of respondents). Terrorism accounted for 34% in
2003, but this year’s study shows a drop to 5%. This suggests that businesses
are more concerned about problems arising in the IT department, eg.
software/hardware failures, than the threat of terrorism. So will the IT
department become the covert entry point for post-carnage terrorists?
Intel’s customer harvesting programme
Intel sees China as an offshore customer-producer. It is
investing $200m in Chinese companies that are developing technologies that will
ultimately fuel demand for Intel chips. If you are a global leader and need to
keep your share price heading north, then growing your own customers is an
innovative way forward.
Siebel’s micro-dividend
Siebel has faced pressure from its shareholders to
distribute its $2.2bn cash stockpile (ideally before it is acquired). Siebel
pre-empted a possible shareholder revolt at its recent annual general meeting
by announcing a $0.025 per share dividend, which equates to 2% of the
stockpile. This token gesture will have the effect of both irritating investors
and turning Siebel from a growth stock to a value stock, which is somewhat
premature given the volatility of the CRM marketplace.
Geological changes face offshoring landscape
According to Indian government officials, India is careering
towards a labour shortage in respect of IT and BPO offshoring. The estimated
shortfall by 2009 will be a quarter of a million staff. This will force many
customers to look elsewhere. China is waiting in the wings. In a recent survey
conducted by DiamondCluster, 40% of the 210 outsourcing buyers polled expect to
establish operations in China within the next 3 to 5 years. This figure is up
from 8% last year.
