Give me five!
Microsoft to deliver CRM in China
InfoWorld - May 24, 2006
Brad Wilson, general manager for Microsoft Dynamics CRM, said that CDC's recent acquisition of c360 Solutions made it an ideal partner to implement the software in China. "C360 is a long-time partner of ours," Wilson said. CDC is "betting on Microsoft CRM as a growth engine," he said. Microsoft is launching Dynamics CRM 3. 0 in China for the first time because it is a "hugely dynamic economy" and "lots and lots of companies are building and maintaining relationships with lots and lots of customers," he said. The company is releasing the software in 22 languages, including simplified Chinese but not traditional Chinese, according to Claus Minet of Microsoft Business Solutions in Beijing. Simplified Chinese is used primarily on the Chinese mainland and in Singapore, with traditional Chinese used in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other Chinese communities worldwide.
http://www.infoworld.com/archives/emailPrint.jsp?R=printThis&A=/article/06/05/24/78628_HNmicrosoftcrmchina_1.html
SAP and on-demand: 'The switch is tougher' - page 2 |...
CNET News.com - May 19, 2006
Are there other product areas that you are looking at?
Kagermann: The hybrid approach is the key approach. You will see more applications as we move to this more sophisticated model. This model is cheaper in terms of hosting. We believe it is the right approach... I think this is a larger market, and this is more effective for that. It doesn't help us if we are going after companies with two or three users. Let's talk about Microsoft: You've gone from. It seems like SAP and Microsoft have come to a sort of detente, where you have mapped out areas where you will compete and areas where you will team up to compete with Oracle and others. Is that a fair assessment?
Kagermann: Yes.
http://news.com.com/SAP+and+on-demand+The+switch+is+tougher+-+page+2/2008-1012_3-6074296-2.html
Salesforce.com Faces Margin Pressures - Forbes.com
Forbes - May 18, 2006
Rudow, an analyst for Piper Jaffray, maintained his "market perform" rating due to the company's continued heavy investment in top-line growth that will likely limit near-term margin expansion. Rudow lowered his price target on Salesforce.
http://www.forbes.com/markets/2006/05/18/salesforce-0518markets07.html
SAP pushes service-oriented architecture
VNUNet.com - May 22, 2006
Prior said, “SAP is going for SOA in a big way, so it has to open up itsdevelopment architecture. This lets industry-specific communities work togetherto define the SOA components that will make the most sense for them. ”But Prior advised that firms will need enterprise architects “who understandhow services are used across the IT department, rather than the current silomodel of an SAP team, a Microsoft camp, WebSphere experts and so on”. It is due forrelease this summer. Permalink to this story... This lets industry-specific communities work togetherto define the SOA components that will make the most sense for them. ”But Prior advised that firms will need enterprise architects “who understandhow services are used across the IT department, rather than the current silomodel of an SAP team, a Microsoft camp, WebSphere experts and so on”. It is due forrelease this summer. Permalink to this story.
http://www.vnunet.com/articles/print/2156548
Microsoft Sweeps Into Security
BusinessWeek - May 31, 2006
computer owners still lack even basic security software. Those unprotected machines are prime pickings for criminal groups looking for "zombies," or computers they can take over to do their nefarious bidding. But how panicked should McAfee, Symantec, and their investors be? The security landscape has changed pretty dramatically since Microsoft first threatened to shake things up. And Microsoft has a lot of proving left to do. Here are five of the biggest questions it will need to answer:1. How Secure Can Microsoft Be? Figuring out what vendor offers the best protection and the most comprehensive package is hard, even for seasoned analysts. For a harried consumer who simply wants to feel safe, it can be nearly impossible.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/may2006/tc20060531_497986.htm?chan=technology_technology+index+page_more+of+today's+top+stories
IBM to highlight governance at Rational conference
InfoWorld - May 25, 2006
Also, Duncan in an interview emphasized the momentum of IBM's partner programs such as PartnerWorld Industry Networks, in which the company is assisting more than 6,000 software partners. The program includes third-party companies who have found themselves suddenly competing with Oracle or Microsoft after those vendors made acquisitions, he said. "If you are a CRM business, all of a sudden Oracle has acquired Siebel. That is a major competitor," Duncan said. Microsoft, with its purchases of Great Plains and Navision, also has gotten into the applications business, he said. But many smaller players remain in the applications space, Duncan indicated. "Despite there appearing to be consolidation in the marketplace, at the same time the market is more highly fragmented than it has ever been," Duncan said.
http://www.infoworld.com/archives/emailPrint.jsp?R=printThis&A=/article/06/05/25/78687_HNibmrational_1.html
A Lean, Mean, E-mailing Machine
BusinessWeek - May 31, 2006
0 software from Microsoft. But Motorola's design choices differentiate the Q from other Windows Mobile devices -- mostly in good ways. Before getting to them, it's important to understand that Microsoft (MSFT) provides Windows Mobile in two different flavors. The version called Smartphone is designed for cellular handsets used primarily for voice. The Pocket PC version, on the other hand, is for larger data-centric products, often with full keyboards, that are intended to compete with Treos and BlackBerrys. The Q splits the difference.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/may2006/tc20060531_704117.htm?sub=techmaven
How Linux is hurting Microsoft
it-analysis.com - May 19, 2006
Perhaps more significantly, when large numbers of commodity servers are deployed together—maybe as a grid—the economies of scale may create a preference for Linux over Windows, with Linux experts employed to support them. And it is not just Linux; some SaaS specialists are making use of other open source products as well. For example, RightNow Technologies, a hosted CRM provider, runs the world's largest installation of MySQL (the leading open source database), in this case on Dell boxes running Linux. Others, such as Salesforce. com, have stuck with a commercial database, in its case the Oracle database on Sun Solaris but its applications run on Linux; either way neither is using Windows. Microsoft is not taking all this lying down. It has a team focused on helping organisations develop hosted solutions based as much as possible on Microsoft technology... It has a team focused on helping organisations develop hosted solutions based as much as possible on Microsoft technology. It is also working with third parties such as 7 Global to help enable ISVs to deliver SaaS on the Microsoft platform. But Microsoft is coming from behind in this area, and if such a quantum shift was possible, and the whole world turned to the currently available SaaS applications over night, there would be lot of redundant Windows servers sitting in IT departments and a lot more of us relying on Linux and other open source products for delivery of our businesses IT requirements. Reader Comments Do you agree with what Bob Tarzey is saying? Perhaps you feel, or even know, different? Why not.
http://www.it-analysis.com/business/costs/content.php?cid=8502
SAP looks to replicate US success
InfoWorld - May 22, 2006
We're focusing on Brazil and Mexico in particular. We look to take best practices there up a notch. IDGNS: Is SAP planning on changing its 100-user minimum requirement for its on-demand CRM software?McDermott: We're a little flexible. The 100-user limit is a guideline. We won't go into 10 users and a credit card. That's for 1-800 call best-of-breed. We're aiming at business users... ) It'll be pieces of ERP, not the core process that go on-demand, they're the heart and lungs of the enterprise. IDGNS: What do you see happening to Oracle?McDermott: I feel for them. Database is their DNA and they have anemic growth in the low single digits They're under real pressure from Microsoft, IBM and, looming in the shadows, open source. Merging the code of the different applications they have has a level of complexity of rebuilding the Hoover Dam. They also have to merge cultures and people, it'll take three to seven years. Our race isn't with Oracle. We're running in a race without a finish line, to achieve customer satisfaction, that's never over.
http://www.infoworld.com/archives/emailPrint.jsp?R=printThis&A=/article/06/05/22/78566_HNsapusaim_1.html
SAP Dangles A Big, Fat Carrot
BusinessWeek - May 22, 2006
Segrich says the new generation of software that SAP plans to release next year will reach its peak demand three years later. To win the big prize, Kagermann and his staff will have to overcome challenges from Oracle, Microsoft (MSFT), and pesky up-and-comers such as Salesforce. (CRM) Oracle, in particular, is not to be taken lightly. As a result of a $20 billion acquisition binge, adding PeopleSoft Inc. and Siebel Systems Inc.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_21/b3985089.htm
Interview: Shai Agassi, SAP
iT News - May 19, 2006
Shai Agassi, the SAP executive board member responsible for product design and marketing, gave his perspective on SAP's channel approach, the software giant's latest moves and the competitive landscape in an interview with CRN Industry Editor Barbara Darrow at the Sapphire 2006 conference in Orlando, Fla. SAP used the annual event - this year combined with the Americas SAP Users Group conference - to announce the general availability of MySAP 2005 ERP, a new business-intelligence accelerator and an updated plan to offer "hybrid" on-premise and hosted CRM based on the same code foundation. CRN: What's your reaction to Sun Microsystems' news that they're open-sourcing Java?AGASSI: Before I comment on anything, I would like to see what the announcement is and understand it. We are a Java licensee and are happy with the license and have a relationship with Sun around that. If they change the nature of that license model, we would study it. I still don't understand it, so I don't want to comment... " In some cases they have the expertise, in some cases they don't. Not every partner has the same skill set, expertise and sales skills for every product. CRN: Well, with Duet (SAP's project with Microsoft to make SAP's back end accessible via Office front ends). That was an interesting contrast. SAP said it will not put Duet through its partners. Meanwhile, Microsoft is putting it through its partners. The same with your new business-intelligence appliance (developed with Intel, Hewlett-Packard and IBM).
http://www.itnews.com.au/newsstory.aspx?CIaNID=32788&src=site-marq
Salesforce launches AppExchange for OEMs
InfoWorld - May 30, 2006
Using his company’s first-ever Appforce conference, Benioff spoke to an audience of AppExchange partners, users, and developers, painting a picture of a future filled with browser-based “mashup” composite applications. The OEM version of the AppExchange service will allow on-demand service providers to use Salesforce. com as a platform for creating services and applications not tied to Salesforce applications or even CRM. Third-party providers will be able to access Salesforce. com services rather than spending time and money building their own, and they will get a built-in audience of potential customers receptive to the on-demand model, Benioff said. Third-party SaaS providers can use parts of the Salesforce. com platform, such as the OS, customization tools, Web Service APIs, workflow, and logic, said Kendall Collins, vice president of marketing at Salesforce... “It is not black or white,” Graf said. The way SAP sees it, some on-demand solutions will be “re-insourced” into a company, whereas others might go in the opposite direction. However, Denis Pombriant, managing principal at Beagle Research, called composite applications the future and said Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP should pay attention. “It delivers an order-of-magnitude lower cost for developers,” Pombriant said. AppExchange OEM Edition cost $25 per user, per month. OEM Edition users will be responsible for pricing and availability of their solutions.
http://www.infoworld.com/archives/emailPrint.jsp?R=printThis&A=/article/06/05/30/78643_22NNsalesforce_1.html
Goodbye.
