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Microsoft Dynamics leader named
Register - Sep 14, 2006
News of the appointment came in the week SAP, the world's largest provider of business applications, laid out its vision and roadmap for ERP and CRM at its annual TechEd conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. MBS vice president Doug Burgum announced he was stepping down last year, since which time Microsoft has since been conducting the search for a leader. Burgum, who joined in 2001 as chief executive of the acquired Great Plains Software, is leaving Microsoft. The focus on someone with a strong technology background is significant, as Microsoft wants to integrate MBS applications' functionality and workflows with new versions of Office.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/14/microsoft_dynamics_leader/
Why Google Loves The Little Guys
Forbes - Sep 18, 2006
Yahoo! has been slower to let developers profit, but a new delivery advertising platform will probably change that. It better, since now mashups with Yahoo! software often sport Google-driven ads and not Yahoo!'s own ad service, called the Publisher Network. Microsoft officials say it will leverage its existing developer network, plus the mashup newbies, with its forthcoming Windows Live product. Already, it boasts mashups from Microsoft's Virtual Earth map service on Marriot's Web site. As the Web moguls see it, the Internet has evolved from a method of transmitting information to its own computing platform, as novel as the personal computer was in the late 1970s, or client-server networks were in the '80s. And when you have a new platform, you win by getting people to work for you for free. The big winner in PCs was Microsoft, which spent millions on developer conferences and Visual Basic, its software toolkit for developers.
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2006/09/17/mashup-search-google-tech-cz_qh_0918google.html
Google, Intuit Pair Up Against a Foe
BusinessWeek - Sep 14, 2006
"Beyond desktop software, Google is also integrating its services into online business software. In August, Salesforce. com (CRM) and NetSuite said they will incorporate AdWords into online customer-management applications. But Schmidt was quick to distinguish those arrangements from the Intuit deal because the QuickBooks desktop software will give millions of small businesses who have not yet ventured onto the Internet the ability to do so—and in the process, he hopes, bring Google millions of new customers.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2006/tc20060914_725426.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_technology
Murdoch to Bid Satellite Goodbye
BusinessWeek - Sep 18, 2006
2 billion last year, which could be a basis for setting a price for the DirecTV stake. "It's hard to imagine that they could command a price higher than one-and-a-half times revenue," says Susan Kalla, an independent media and telecom analyst. The negotiations are being handled for the most part by Liberty CEO Greg Maffei, a former Microsoft (MSFT) and Oracle (ORCL) executive, and News Corp. Chief Financial Officer David DeVoe, one person familiar with the talks said. Murdoch is said to be keeping tabs on the talks, although he is believed to have been on vacation in Italy and Greece. That same source said other deals, including the sale of News Corp. TV stations, have been on the table.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2006/tc20060918_564376.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_businessweek+exclusives
The Business Mash
Forbes - Sep 18, 2006
"We want 300,000 applications to work off of Salesforce," he says. It is no knock on him to say that he has 210 so far. Each application is a novel use of Salesforce's (nyse:.
http://www.forbes.com/2006/09/17/google-mashup-salesforce-tech-cz_qh_0918googlecorp.html?partner=rss
Eclipse: The billion-dollar baby?
InfoWorld - Sep 18, 2006
, in early September, with foundation executives touting the success of the open source application development project in attracting developer interest and support from big-name players such as IBM. InfoWorld Editor at Large Paul Krill caught up with The foundation’s Executive Director Mike Milinkovich to talk about the organization’s accomplishments, competition with Microsoft and Sun, respecting Java and the road ahead. InfoWorld: How much money would you estimate is being generated by Eclipse-based software, or is the main attraction to Eclipse still that it’s all free?Mike Milinkovich: I wish we actually had good numbers on trying to estimate the size of the Eclipse ecosystem. I’m quite confident that it’s in the billion-dollar range and probably more, but we just don’t have the hard numbers. But what you said about the attraction to Eclipse being free -- the economics of the Eclipse model is a little bit different than that, because the Eclipse community as a whole is almost uniquely focused on enabling a commercially profitable ecosystem around the free platform. So yes, we do provide open source tools and frameworks from Eclipse, and those are provided for free... Do you see that as a trend where software companies, particularly open source software companies, don’t have salespeople because they don’t see the need?MM: Historically enterprise software has been sold through [a] direct salesforce channel. I do believe over time, we’re starting to see success in open source software products in areas which have been traditionally the realm of the direct sales force. I’m thinking of things like Sugar CRM and Compiere [ERP] and open source products like this. Those environments or those products have very, very low cost of sales, so as customers get more used to that, I think that over time, yeah, there are going to be fewer and fewer software salesmen. IW: Is anything going on as far as Sun joining Eclipse or merging NetBeans and Eclipse?MM: Nope, absolutely not. They’ve made it pretty clear that they’re not really interested in doing anything other than continuing to push their NetBean strategy. IW: What do you think of their being two kind of rival camps? Is it good for competition?MM: Well we’re certainly not shy of competition, and frankly we’re winning.
http://www.infoworld.com/archives/emailPrint.jsp?R=printThis&A=/article/06/09/18/38NMmain_1.html
Comments on ‘Groping your way around the mobile device maze’
Register - Sep 19, 2006
Talk about project creep. And it wasn't just the users, it was their managers, the board. Firstly they needed access to mail and CRM, then they needed GPRS too, (ouch) then they definately needed MP3 - because someone had the smart idea of recording post sales notes on the device and uploading them into the CRM system so that sales could subsequently listen to the notes as they drove to the follow-up meeting. We almost got close to a stanard too - but then it broke down once again when we came to finding appropriate hands-free kits, and headsets. I think my overall point is that finding devices is bad enough but once you get into the true requirements for every user in your orgaisation it's not just the devices that you have to care about - it's all the peripherals too, which turn the whole thing into such an incredible pain. I beleive this points to a number of shortfalls in th emobile market altogether - there's no one that can provied the full range of services - we need one of the big boys Mobile firms to buy garmin, sony, B&O, IBM and plenty more before this becomes a soltuion you can take off the shelf... And my users don't need "push" email for the enviroment they work in they just need "always available" email which this solution provides. Finally I can change the phones without changing the PDA anytime. One option I did look at was Dataviz, Roadsync which gives Microsoft Exchange email to Smartphones, if reading email and a quick reply is all thats needed maybe just some software will fit the bill. My advice is answer the questions :-How often do i need my email?How big a phone am i willing to carry?How important are email attachments?How much money have i got?How much money have i investe in what i have? (carkits, cables, etc)What do i do with the email when i get it?RegardsAll I want! By Nicholas WrightPosted Tuesday 19th September 2006 13:41 GMTGimme an XDA II equivalent that will actually fit in my pocket, won't behave like it's running on an 8088 processor, can actually be turned off to save power, doesn't have a camera button that you press everytime you come in contact with the device, not a huge screen but one big enough to surf the web now and then without squinting, and is actually integrated with the hardware. A life saving website is one that takes people's requirements and tells them their ideal phone!It's for business By Greg MortimerPosted Tuesday 19th September 2006 13:49 GMTAssuming we're talking here about business mobile email devices, if an organisation is seriously considering MP3 playing functionality or camera spec that points to something very wrong in their policy making process (unless they're niche markets that actually use that technology for business reasons, maybe estate agents snapping flat interiors or music biz peeps). You want your organisation to buy you a "cool" device? Go buy one yourself, why should the rest of the organisation fund your vanity?So moving swiftly on, looking at sensible options, I recently evaluated an O2 XDA Exec as an alternative to our Blackberry fleet. We've had berrys every since they arrived in the UK and there's no real imperative to move from that platform (apart from the recent patent litigation scare), but the talk about Windows mobile 5 "push email" had me interested.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/19/mobile_devices_maze/comments/
Business 2.0...Big Innovations: Coghead - Sep. 18, 2006
CNNMoney.com - Sep 18, 2006
wjw -->The Disrupted: Initially, custom-software developers, but potentially almost all software-tool makersWhat if the next time you longed for a piece of software to help you do your job, you didn't have to grovel before IT or shell out big bucks to outside consultants? What if you could simply create the software yourself, in a few easy steps? That's the promise of Coghead, an online tool due out this month that promises a hassle-free world of roll-your-own apps. Using Coghead requires only basic computer literacy. The company says anyone who can code a simple Excel macro should have little trouble using Coghead to create even sophisticated enterprise apps like logistics trackers, CRM programs, or project management systems. A user logs on to Coghead's Web site and drags and drops a few buttons and labels onto a form, indicates relationships between the form's drop-down menus and text boxes, groups appropriate elements by drawing boxes around them -- and then launches the apps. "From my experience so far, the product is incredibly easy to use," says Liz Amaral, product management vice president at InsideTrack, a San Francisco firm that offers coaching services to college students and has been beta-testing Coghead. Coghead boasts an impressive entrepreneurial pedigree. Chief executive Paul McNamara is a former exec at computer graphics pioneer SGI and at open-source software leader Red Hat; CTO Greg Olsen co-founded Extricity, a business-integration software firm that Peregrine Systems bought for $227 million in 2001... Chief executive Paul McNamara is a former exec at computer graphics pioneer SGI and at open-source software leader Red Hat; CTO Greg Olsen co-founded Extricity, a business-integration software firm that Peregrine Systems bought for $227 million in 2001. They believe that they'll initially take business from software consultants and outsourcing firms that specialize in small, customized-software projects. But ultimately, Coghead could undermine much bigger markets and much bigger names, including the likes of.
http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/15/technology/disruptors_coghead.biz2/index.htm
A Needy Napster Searches for Takers
BusinessWeek - Sep 19, 2006
Napster (NAPS) lags far behind market leader Apple (AAPL), with its iPod-iTunes combination, and RealNetworks (RNWK), owner of the Rhapsody service. Microsoft (MSFT) plans its own music player, called Zune, and download service later this year (see BusinessWeek. Napster has appeared ripe for a buyout since wireless phone giant Nokia (NOK) acquired Loudeye (LOUD) in August (see BusinessWeek.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2006/tc20060919_053475.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_technology
Adobe Snoozes Toward Excellence
Motley Fool - Sep 15, 2006
Sure, the Macromedia acquisition was exciting, and there are still potential threats from Microsoft (Nasdaq:. Softy pushes its own platforms to rival Adobe's Flash and PDF formats in its new Vista operating system... With its software on 500 million PCs and Flash on 700 million PCs, mobile phones, and other devices, the company seems to be off to a good start. Adobe's collaboration with Salesforce.
http://www.fool.com/investing/value/2006/09/15/adobe-snoozes-toward-excellence.aspx
Siebel to aid Oracle push against SAP
Seattle Times - Sep 15, 2006
"Oracle was behind the curve so it needed to buy some big headline-making companies and feed off their technology," Williams said. "They really didn't have much choice, unless they wanted to see their stock price cut in half. They needed to keep their sales growing, and to do that, they need to cannibalize smaller companies. "
The big question is whether Oracle has bitten off more than it can chew, said Octavio Marenzi, chief executive of Celent, a technology consultancy... Siebel Systems is run by Tom Siebel, who has occasionally sniped at his former boss since leaving Oracle and starting his own company in 1993. But Siebel, who is his company's chairman and largest individual shareholder, welcomed Oracle's takeover offer, calling it a "wonderful, exciting event. "
Siebel Systems has been shrinking since 2001 amid weakening demand for its main product — customer-relationship-management, or CRM, software that helps companies analyze their sales patterns and market their products. The niche accounts for about $3. 5 billion in new software sales annually, according to technology-research company Gartner. But Siebel Systems has been losing market share to SAP, Oracle and Internet startup.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002490625_oracle13.html
Bye.
