Tech Watch: Dramatic drop in demand for hi-tech workers

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Microsoft Finally Reissues Botched IE Patch
PC World - Aug 24, 2006
The reissued patch is important because it "fully resolves" a serious security bug Microsoft introduced with. Microsoft acknowledges that there were problems with its update soon after it was issued. Web sites that used HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) 1... Microsoft acknowledges that there were problems with its update soon after it was issued. Web sites that used HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) 1. 1 compression to speed up the downloading of images could cause the browser to fail, and users of Web-based applications such as PeopleSoft, Siebel, and Sage CRM had problems with the software. The issue does not affect users of Microsoft's latest Service Pack 2 version of Windows XP, but users of Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 on Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 and Windows XP Service Pack 1 are affected, Microsoft says. Coming Through Auto Update Last week, Microsoft released a "hotfix" download that addressed these problems, but the software vendor also decided to take the unusual step of announcing that it would rerelease the entire update (called MS06-042). This would ensure that subscribers to Microsoft's automatic update services would receive the fixed patch. That update had been slated for release on August 22, but it was ultimately delayed because of an "issue discovered in final testing," Microsoft says.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/126917-1/article.html?tk=nl_dnxnws

Tech Watch: Dramatic drop in demand for hi-tech workers
Jerusalem Post - Sep 5, 2006
Information Technology services provider Matrix IT has bought Effect CRM for NIS 10 million, Matrix said Monday. The acquisition will give Herzliya-based Matrix entry into the CRM (customer relations management) market. Effect CRM, also located in Herzliya, will operate as a Matrix subsidiary specializing in customer relations management based on its Microsoft CRM systems. Effect CRM is a strategic partner of Microsoft in the CRM arena. It implements projects using Microsoft's 3. 0 Dynamics platform, developing products and solutions around it. Following the acquisition, Effect CRM will operate under the same management.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154526005972&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Solutions Not Tools Provide Competitive Edge
CNET News.com - Aug 29, 2006
It is merely a set of virtual tools. They have a plan to monetize any hosted application suite through advertising and mining the data for aggregate trend data. The first reason should be enough to keep any smart business person away. The second reason, in light of recent AOL revelations, should be enough to make you run!Todays small businesses are looking for solutions that help them compete more effectively in local as well as global markets. They can not afford to be hobbled by inferior applications that offer little more than virtualized versions of non-integrated 1980s-vintage shareware... It is merely a set of virtual tools. They have a plan to monetize any hosted application suite through advertising and mining the data for aggregate trend data. The first reason should be enough to keep any smart business person away. The second reason, in light of recent AOL revelations, should be enough to make you run!Todays small businesses are looking for solutions that help them compete more effectively in local as well as global markets. They can not afford to be hobbled by inferior applications that offer little more than virtualized versions of non-integrated 1980s-vintage shareware.
http://news.com.com/5208-12_3-0.html?forumID=1&threadID=20633&messageID=178857&start=-1

Google Goes for the Suite Spot
BusinessWeek - Aug 28, 2006
-->In recent months, there has been much speculation about how Google (GOOG) could attack Microsoft's (MSFT) highly profitable Office franchise, as the search giant has experimented with its own versions of word processing, spreadsheet, and other software programs. Now, Google is firing a direct shot at Microsoft Office by introducing a free, integrated suite of personal productivity applications.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2006/tc20060828_390534.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_businessweek+exclusives

Oracle: Most Fusion development still to come
InfoWorld - Aug 25, 2006
"We're leveraging the best ideas in E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft and Siebel CRM," Wookey said. "We're integrating a bit of yours, mine and ours. " For instance, on the CRM side, Oracle is using Siebel as a starting point, while using PeopleSoft technology as its initial discussion focus for work on new user interfaces. The development teams involved in Fusion are a balanced mix of talents from different applications, including staff from smaller purchases such as transportation management software vendor Global Logistics Technologies, he said. Oracle is currently busy determining the best approach to deliver the functionality it believes users will want to see in Fusion. Next year, the vendor will focus on carrying out the engineering work to put those capabilities in place, Wookey said. While SAP will continue to be Oracle's primary competition for the next few years, Wookey sees Microsoft more of a potential threat over the long term... Oracle is currently busy determining the best approach to deliver the functionality it believes users will want to see in Fusion. Next year, the vendor will focus on carrying out the engineering work to put those capabilities in place, Wookey said. While SAP will continue to be Oracle's primary competition for the next few years, Wookey sees Microsoft more of a potential threat over the long term. The only three companies he believes have a viable middleware platform going forward are Oracle, Microsoft and IBM. So, given the important of middleware to enterprise applications, does he think that IBM might re-enter the applications market it quit in 1999? "I don't know," Wookey said. "We ask them that question all the time and they say, 'No'.
http://www.infoworld.com/archives/emailPrint.jsp?R=printThis&A=/article/06/08/25/HNfusiondevelopment_1.html

Mozilla Goes Mainstream
BusinessWeek - Aug 30, 2006
Today the number has grown to more than 65,000. Firefox has not only managed to wrest 10% of the browser market from Microsoft (MSFT) in about two years, it zoomed past other browser upstarts Opera and Apple's (AAPL) Safari, which together have less than 3% share. Even Microsoft can't ignore Firefox. Earlier this month a team of Mozilla developers was invited to Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Wash. , to noodle over how Firefox could work better with Microsoft's Vista operating system. But as Mozilla prepares for the October release of the next version of Firefox, the group is facing its biggest challenge yet: Going mainstream. Firefox's share of the market, however impressive, has been flat after rapid growth in 2004 and 2005.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2006/tc20060830_824598.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_businessweek+exclusives

RightNow strengthens CRM hosting for blue-chips
VNUNet.com - Sep 6, 2006
“Software as a service is not just for small andmedium-sized businesses anymore, it’s growing up in the enterprise. ”Analytics capabilities have also been enhanced with historical trending andcustomisable dashboards and home pages; and pre-developed templates for verticalsolutions and job roles are available. RightNow’s architecture has also been revamped to integrate with MicrosoftOutlook. “We were finding over 90 percent of our customers were using Outlook soit just made sense,” said Mittelstaedt. A subsequent release, due next year and codenamed Emerald, will integratesalesforce automation and workflow capabilities collected with RightNow’spurchase of Salesnet earlier this year. The RightNow release comes as CRM spending is growing, partly as buyersreplace and upgrade first-generation systems. Gartner research suggests EuropeanCRM revenues grew almost 10 percent in 2005, spurred on by the boom insubscription-based online software... “We were finding over 90 percent of our customers were using Outlook soit just made sense,” said Mittelstaedt. A subsequent release, due next year and codenamed Emerald, will integratesalesforce automation and workflow capabilities collected with RightNow’spurchase of Salesnet earlier this year. The RightNow release comes as CRM spending is growing, partly as buyersreplace and upgrade first-generation systems. Gartner research suggests EuropeanCRM revenues grew almost 10 percent in 2005, spurred on by the boom insubscription-based online software.
http://www.vnunet.com/itweek/news/2163693/rightnow-strengthens-crm

Meet the iTunes Wannabes
BusinessWeek - Sep 5, 2006
The company has sold more than 50 million iPods around the world and except in the case of MySpace, songs downloaded through non-iTunes players won't work on the iPod. Until a new player compatible with these services gains popularity, it is unlikely that massive numbers will switch their music buying habits, says Mulligan. Microsoft (MSFT) plans to mount a challenge by the end of 2006 with its Zune media player. However, it is unlikely to take a big bite out of iPod sales, Shaw Wu, an analyst at American Technology Research, wrote in a recent research note. For starters, the Toshiba-made device is too similar to a Toshiba's Gigabeat and includes wannabe iPod components such as a fake clickwheel, Wu noted. Wu described the device as "underwhelming," citing specs filed with the Federal Communications Commission. Zune is more likely to cannibalize sales from other companies, such as Creative Technologies (CREAF) and Sony (SNE), which use Microsoft hardware in their media players.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2006/tc20060905_083985.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_businessweek+exclusives

Hiwire's High-Wire Act
BusinessWeek - Aug 29, 2006
In April, Modeo also said it will deploy in top 30 markets in 2007. The company hasn't provided any news updates on its business since April, however. Nonetheless, Modeo has some powerful allies: It's part of the Mobile DTV Alliance, which includes representatives from Intel (INTC), Microsoft, Motorola (MOT), Nokia (NOK), Texas Instruments (TXN), and Sony Ericsson. In August, Alcatel (ALA) and Samsung Telecommunications America joined the alliance. Hiwire is in the midst of discussions to join the alliance as well, though, says Wills. Should all else fail, Hiwire has a back-up. It's preparing a trial of a wireless broadband network in Phoenix.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2006/tc20060829_420214.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_technology

Take care.

Google Uses the Salesforce

Nice meeting you!

Salesforce.com shares jump as it turns in a loss
Register - Aug 18, 2006
is delivering the promise of on-demand services to nearly 25,000 customers with more than 500,000 subscribers around the world today. The comment was presumably a dig at Microsoft's CRM software and Oracle's Siebel venture. The firm netted 57,000 new subscibers to its services in the quarter, up 63 per cent on the Q2 2005 total. ® Track this type of story as a. Related storiesSalesforce.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/18/salesforce_q2_2006/

Google Uses the Salesforce
Motley Fool - Aug 23, 2006
After a free 30-day trial, Salesforce customers can pay $300 a month to continue the service, which manages paid-search campaigns while also tracking potential leads. With nearly 25,000 corporate clients and more than half a million subscribers to its hosted applications, Salesforce -- which provides online services for employees to track customer leads, accounts, marketing campaigns -- is no slouch. If successful, Salesforce. com's service has many implications.
http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2006/mft06082302.htm?ref=foolwatch

Critical Flaw Found in IE Patch
PC World - Aug 23, 2006
Patched browsers would crash when using Web-based versions of several applications, including PeopleSoft, Siebel, and Sage CRM. Web sites that used HTTP 1. 1 compression to speed up the downloading of images could also cause the browser to fail. These issues are described on.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,126879-c,browserbugs/article.html

TechWeek: Shorts Drive the August Rally
thestreet.com - Aug 19, 2006
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) , Salesforce. com (CRM) and BEA Systems (BEAS) delivered stronger-than-expected earnings, while Dell (DELL) found new ways to scare customers and investors. And when Microsoft (MSFT) figured out that its "modified Dutch auction had flopped," it changed the timing on the buyback offer. All of this gave the market a solid bounce, with the Nasdaq, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index and the Goldman Sachs Software Index all on the rise. To be sure, the solid earnings reports were an important driver this week. But interviews with money managers and equity strategists suggest that the rally wasn't all that solid. One big factor: short covering.
http://www.thestreet.com/p/pf/newsanalysis/techsoftware/10304744.html

Salesforce.com buys into Google AdWords | CNET News.com
CNET News.com - Aug 21, 2006
is trying to get information from Google AdWords to knowing who the customer is can be kind of a difficult thing," Benioff said. "You tend to lose the link between CRM (customer relationship management) and Google ads. caro -->


Now on News.
http://news.com.com/Salesforce.com+buys+into+Google+AdWords/2100-1014_3-6108046.html

SAP: Tapped for Bigger Things
BusinessWeek - Aug 22, 2006
In 2004, SAP furthered its commitment to ESA by announcing a three-year road map through which it expects to deliver increasingly service-oriented solutions to the market annually, until the entire portfolio of the company's solutions is based on ESA by 2007. Recent product introductions have included SAP CRM on-demand (February, 2006) and mySAP ERP 2005 (May, 2006). THREE GROWTH DRIVERS. We think that a key driver of SAP's recent growth has been the company's notable progress in selling its products to SMB customers. In its recent June-quarter release, the company reported that 30% of its software revenues over the trailing four quarters came from the midmarket... Finally, we have a favorable view of SAP's ability and willingness to collaborate and partner with other technology companies, large and small. A recent example of this is the May, 2006, introduction of Duet software for Microsoft Office and SAP, launched and jointly developed with Microsoft (MSFT). This product brings SAP's ERP data into the workflow of a broader base of users by incorporating Microsoft's ubiquitous Office as a user interface. We expect the primary appeal of Duet to be for the SAP ERP-installed base, with the potential to raise ERP users by four times within its current client base, according to the company. We view these efforts favorably as a less risky, and potentially much cheaper, way to grow its business.
http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/aug2006/pi20060822_581271.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_investing

See you later.

Salesforce.com shares gain amid upbeat Citigroup comments - MarketWatc...

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Microsoft patch can cause IE crashes
USA Today - Aug 16, 2006
After people apply the MS06-042 update, rated "critical" by Microsoft, IE may crash when certain websites are viewed, the company said in a notice on its customer support website. The problem affects IE 6 with Service Pack 1 on Windows XP and Windows 2000 systems, it said. "Microsoft has identified an issue with the security update MS06-042," the company said in a statement Tuesday. It plans to re-release the bulletin and patch on Aug. 22 for all affected users. The problem occurs when IE users view websites that use version 1. 1 of HTTP alongside compression, according to Microsoft's notice... HTTP, or hypertext transfer protocol, is the standard protocol used to browse websites. IE users on security mailing lists have reported browser crashes when using PeopleSoft applications that have Web-based interfaces. Others report running into problems when using other applications, including Microsoft's own customer relationship management, or CRM, tools. "We are running PeopleSoft for administration systems, and our Windows 2000 SP4 and Windows XP SP1 running Internet Explorer 6. 0 SP1 crash when they got into the PeopleSoft pages," Fred Dunn, a systems administrator at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, said in an e-mail interview. Dunn called Microsoft's product support service, which recommended disabling the use of HTTP 1. 1 in IE's advanced settings menu.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/cnet/2006-08-16-ie-patch-crash_x.htm

Salesforce.com shares gain amid upbeat Citigroup comments - MarketWatc...
MarketWatch - Aug 10, 2006
Thill rates Salesforce's stock buy with a price target of $44. The brokerage rates Microsoft's shares hold... com has been able to build a strong mindshare for its market-leading on-demand CRM application," Thill asserted. As an example, he said that fewer than 10% of prospective customers at a recent company event said they were considering alternative products for their customer-relationship management needs. The threat posed by Microsoft is "one of the many challenges" the relative upstart must overcome in order to sustain its brisk growth, according to the analyst. Salesforce faces intense competition, not only from Redmond, Wash. -based Microsoft, but also from other giants like Germany's SAP AG (.
http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B03C08781-DDD2-41A1-BAED-ADBE38FB74DB%7D&dist=rss&siteid=mktw

Fulham FC is using CRM to boost its relationship with supporters -...
VNUNet.com - Aug 3, 2006
‘Our ticketing database is a core part of the business, so we started there,cleansing the data, getting rid of duplications and errors. ’The club now uses business intelligence software VenueView. This includes atool, Query Builder, which operates on Microsoft’s SQL database engine, allowingusers to interrogate validated data. It also uses contact management CRM software from VenueCast tocross-reference information and identify spending patterns, attendance rates andtrends, with information displayed graphically on a dashboard. ‘The match against Manchester United last October was not a sell-out,’ says Mcgrory. ‘The marketing department did not know what the problem was, and did nothave the IT tools to analyse why it did not happen,’ says McGrory. ‘Now we have the business intelligence to work out which campaigns aresuccessful... ’The club now uses business intelligence software VenueView. This includes atool, Query Builder, which operates on Microsoft’s SQL database engine, allowingusers to interrogate validated data. It also uses contact management CRM software from VenueCast tocross-reference information and identify spending patterns, attendance rates andtrends, with information displayed graphically on a dashboard. ‘The match against Manchester United last October was not a sell-out,’ says Mcgrory. ‘The marketing department did not know what the problem was, and did nothave the IT tools to analyse why it did not happen,’ says McGrory. ‘Now we have the business intelligence to work out which campaigns aresuccessful. We can profile customers in the database and run targeted campaigns.
http://www.vnunet.com/computing/analysis/2161735/database-fan-base

SugarCRM and AMD to star at LinuxWorld
VNUNet.com - Aug 10, 2006
The support follows the announcement earlier this year of a collaborativedevelopment agreement with Microsoft. The fruits of that pact will be seen intighter integration with IIS, Active Directory and SQL Server, the firm said. The addition of the Microsoft support should give Sugar more sway withenterprises by offering a more palatable combination of open-source andtraditional commercial software for risk-averse buyers that might balk at theprospect of a broader reliance on open-source products. Elsewhere in the release, Sugar is edging closer to the feature sets ofveteran enterprise products with broader international support, user-definedpage views, a self-service portal and more granular sales forecasting. Two-year-old Sugar is making a significant name for itself, having picked upover 600 paying customers including multimedia content creation softwaredeveloper Avid and security firm InterAct Public Safety Systems. The 65-stafffirm’s executive team includes ex-managers from eCRM pioneers such as E. piphanyand Broadvision... Some experts believe that after a spate of mergers and acquisitions and therise of on-demand vendors, there could be room for a newcomer to make a splashin the CRM sector. “Sugar is up and coming and this release will [appeal to] the many companiesthat live and breathe Microsoft,” said David Bradshaw of analyst firm Ovum. “CRMis still a market that’s got legs and there’s a lot of change going on. There’sroom for a worthy new player and open source might be the way to thrive. ”However, others are not as sweet on Sugar’s prospects. “I am not a big fan of Sugar and I believe they are losing their niche,” saidDenis Pombriant of Beagle Research. “A few years ago something like Sugar wouldhave been a big hit, especially against Siebel.
http://www.vnunet.com/itweek/news/2162090/sugarcrm-amd-star-linuxworld

Re: WWDC: Microsoft updates Universal status of Mac apps
Macworld - Aug 8, 2006
BootCamp for the abiltiy to run games natively. Parallels for running business apps that will never get ported to the Mac. A few like Access, Project or using MS CRM which is dependent on Active X if you access it via web. At least with Office for Mac having nearly full compatability, thats a one big check mark in favor of considering Macs in the workplace without the added purchase of Windows license and compatability headaches for IT managers to deal with. Well minimum headaches with compatability.
http://www.macworld.com/forums/ubbthreads/printthread.php?Board=newsthread&main=435198&type=post

Microsoft to introduce subscription-based ERP software
Heise Online - Aug 11, 2006
The role of Microsoft's business partners in this is to host the applications and see to it that the users need not take care of either installing or maintaining the software. Gates' company played the on-demand card that at Microsoft goes by the name of Live for the first time.
http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/80697

Knuckledusters donned in software great war
Inquirer - Aug 4, 2006
Knuckledusters donned in software great war The Mahabharata's got nothing on this one By Martin Veitch: Friday, 04 August 2006, 10:14 AM IS the prosaic world of enterprise software due to be the next destination for a technology dust-up in the greattradition of Intel versus AMD, Sun versus Microsoft, SCO versus IBM and the rest? Yup. com's Marc Benioff has always kept the knuckledusters handy in case of meeting the opposition. An avidreader of The Art of War by Chinese general Sun Tzu, the bear-like CEO is usually ready to rumble when the suggestion of acompetitor doing anything right is made. Some of his reported barbs aim at his old employer Oracle... "He sums up his attitude with this burst of testosterone:"We believe in the art of war. We are trying to get our competition to attack us with angry, virulent energy, so wecan transform that into larger market share. "With SAP he is ever-keen to remind his audience of SAP's unwillingness to name CRM installations. Having dismissed Salesforce as "not even a competitor" in the past, however, the usually conservative German giantmay be gearing up for its own war of words. SAP VC Jeff Nolan runs an excellent blog that often strays way off the ERP behemoth's position.
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=33479

Racing to market with SOA
InfoWorld - Aug 9, 2006
But SOA or not, Zag couldn’t develop all the needed applications in time. So the company acquired Autoland, a credit-union auto-buying service. Autoland’s technology included call center and CRM applications for the automobile industry, as well as back-end transaction handling. Zag’s own technology was based on Java, whereas Autoland’s technology was largely based on COM (Common Object Model) and Visual Basic, with a smaller set of. Net and Microsoft SQL Server components, as well... Autoland’s technology included call center and CRM applications for the automobile industry, as well as back-end transaction handling. Zag’s own technology was based on Java, whereas Autoland’s technology was largely based on COM (Common Object Model) and Visual Basic, with a smaller set of. Net and Microsoft SQL Server components, as well.
http://www.infoworld.com/archives/emailPrint.jsp?R=printThis&A=/article/06/08/09/33FEzag_1.html

LivePerson Continues to Chatter
Motley Fool - Aug 4, 2006
After all, abandoned online shopping carts are rampant, and serve to frustrate online retailers who often have little clue why the shopper failed to complete the purchase. For an online business, that is a valuable differentiator, as it serves to improve customer loyalty and satisfaction. Still, LivePerson isn't alone in the online conversion space; many other small companies, primarily CRM vendors like RightNow, are seeking to improve conversion rates by analyzing customer interactions as well. It also wouldn't be much of a stretch if a large Internet advertising giant like Google or Microsoft (Nasdaq:... For an online business, that is a valuable differentiator, as it serves to improve customer loyalty and satisfaction. Still, LivePerson isn't alone in the online conversion space; many other small companies, primarily CRM vendors like RightNow, are seeking to improve conversion rates by analyzing customer interactions as well. It also wouldn't be much of a stretch if a large Internet advertising giant like Google or Microsoft (Nasdaq:.
http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2006/mft06080403.htm

See you soon.