Oracle had a big week with their stock rallying thanks to cloud growth driven by the acquisition of NetSuite. This put Mr. Ellison in a bragging mood which led to some shots against Microsoft and Amazon (both companies are currently beating Oracle in cloud revenue and customers).
On the topic of Microsoft, there are rumors that they may purchase Citrix. Citrix quietly put word to the market that they would entertain a sale. There is some logic to Microsoft owning Citrix, but is the price right?
IBM is looking to stay on President Trump’s good side by committing to hire 2000 veterans over the next 4 years, but do the vets want to work for big blue?
Acquisitions
- Could and should Microsoft buy Citrix?
Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources, reported on March 13 that Citrix is working with Goldman Sachs to seek potential suitors for the company.
Microsoft and Citrix have worked closely for years on remote desktop services. The pair have been working on delivering the promised Windows 10 desktop on Azure offering, as well as a replacement for Microsoft’s Azure RemoteApp.
There have been many industry watchers who’ve been advocating for and expecting Microsoft to buy Citrix for nearly a decade, if not longer.
http://www.zdnet.com/article/could-and-should-microsoft-buy-citrix/
- Intel buys Mobileye in $15.3B deal, moves its automotive unit to Israel
Specifically, “Under the terms of the agreement, a subsidiary of Intel will commence a tender offer to acquire all of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares of Mobileye for $63.54 per share in cash, representing a fully-diluted equity value of approximately $15.3 billion and an enterprise value of $14.7 billion,” the company noted in a statement. The deal is expected to close in about nine months, Intel said.
Mobileye today covers a range of technology and services, including sensor fusion, mapping, front- and rear-facing camera tech and, beginning in 2018, crowdsourcing data for high-definition maps, as well as driving policy intelligence underlying driving decisions. This deal will bring under Intel’s umbrella not only a much bigger range of the different pieces that go into autonomous driving systems, but also a number of relationships with automakers. In the call today, Mobileye’s CTO and co-founder Amnon Shashua said the company is working with 27 car manufacturers, including 10 production programs with Audi, BMW and others going into 2017.
Artificial Intelligence
- Microsoft Applies AI in the Healthcare Industry to Realize Care Anywhere
As the aging population, has become more active in the society, Microsoft Taiwan has also devoted itself to developing a more comprehensive medical ecosystem. With the aid of technology such as AI, natural speech, and robots, time spent on waiting to receive medical care, diagnosis, prescribing, and applying for healthcare coverage is decreased and the processes are optimized. These types of technology can effective assist medical personnel in monitoring the patient’s condition after appointments, which leads to more effective home healthcare, a decrease in the number of hospital visits or examinations, and an overall reduction in wasted medical resources. Furthermore, patients are able to enjoy remote healthcare in the comfort of their homes. For both service providers and users of the healthcare system, the application of new technologies paves the way to achieving equal and efficient medical resource allocation.”
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/microsoft-applies-ai-healthcare-industry-140700837.html
Cloud
- Amazon Chime – Did AWS Buy the Wrong Company?
So, how is AWS being disruptive? It’s not the offering — a Brady Bunch-style format for viewing who’s on a call is not at all cutting edge. Amazon Chime is perfectly fine for small-scale, cloud-based meetings, but doesn’t have enough differentiation or hooks to seriously challenge the established enterprise players. Rather, what’s disruptive is AWS’s go-to-market strategy. Cloud lowers the barriers to entry, especially when you run a massive public cloud. All AWS has to do is just drop Chime into the market and see what happens.
http://www.nojitter.com/post/240172487/amazon-chime–did-aws-buy-the-wrong-company
- Cloud computing growth lifts Oracle’s profits, and its shares
As in previous quarters, Oracle showed particular strength in two cloud categories: online applications known as software as a service, or SaaS, and platform as a service, or PaaS, a collection of technologies for creating and deploying those applications. In those two areas, Oracle’s revenues shot up 73 percent, to $1 billion, the first time they’ve topped that milestone. The growth was likely helped by Oracle’s $9.3 billion NetSuite acquisition last year, since this is the first quarter after the closing of the deal.
http://siliconangle.com/blog/2017/03/15/cloud-computing-growth-lifts-oracles-profits-shares/
Oracle’s Larry Ellison Belittles Amazon and MicrosoftOn an earnings phone call with analysts, Ellison said that Oracle now has “a huge technology lead” over Amazon Web Services and Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing service. Several times, he bragged that Oracle’s revamped cloud computing service is both cheaper and faster than the competition, and that it will eventually become Oracle’s crown jewel.
The Oracle co-founder is known for his grandiose statements and prodding of his business adversaries. But his comments on Wednesday entirely glossed over the fact that both Amazon and Microsoft’s cloud businesses are growing rapidly—and inconveniently to Oracle, exponentially bigger.
http://fortune.com/2017/03/15/oracle-larry-ellison-amazon-microsoft/
Datacenter
- Quantum computers are here — but what are they good for?
Quantum computers can be significantly faster and could eventually replace today’s PCs and servers. Quantum computing is one way to advance computing as today’s systems reach their physical and structural limits.
Progress has been slow, but researchers are discovering uses for existing quantum computers like D-Wave’s 2000Q, which has 2,000 qubits, and IBM’s 5-qubit systems. Both are based on different technologies, with IBM’s system being complex and more advanced in terms of technology. D-Wave’s quantum annealing system is a more practical and quick way to quantum computing but is much faster than today’s PCs.
Software/SaaS
- IBM pledge: Not only does Notes/Domino live, there’s no end in sight
“Notes/Domino 9.0 shipped in 2013, and IBM’s normal five-year support model meant that mainstream support could have ended in 2018. However, we know how important these products are to your business, and we are continuing to invest in new functionality. For IBM Notes/Domino 9.0, we have announced that product support will be extended through at least 2021, and extended support through at least 2024. There is no end of life planned for Notes and Domino, and we will continue to update the timeline for support as appropriate based on future releases and market requirements.”
http://www.networkworld.com/article/3179611/software/ibm-pledge-not-only-does-notes-domino-live-there-s-no-end-in-sight.html
If I walked into a company that is still rocking Lotus for their email (not some archaic forms system), I honestly might just walk right out. - Seeking Alpha recommends avoiding Workday
If you follow the enterprise software space, you’ll notice one thing: Oracle talks much more often about Workday than Salesforce. The reason is simple–the size of the prize is much bigger for ERP cloud applications, where WDAY competes and Salesforce doesn’t. IDC estimates that the ERP and HCM markets are almost 4x larger than the sales and service segments of enterprise software (and Salesforce currently controls the sales and service segments). Our worry is that Oracle is way ahead of the game in the ERP segment relative to Workday. Oracle has rewritten all of its ERP applications for the cloud. It did the same for its HCM and Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) applications, which are all now a part of its integrated SaaS suite. WDAY started with HCM, and it now offers some elements of ERP in the cloud, such as financial and payroll applications, though it doesn’t offer manufacturing or supply chain. And with the acquisition of NetSuite, Oracle is much more able to effectively address the SMB market segment.
Other
- Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer Could Get $23 Million Severance Package After Verizon Deal Closes
In order for Mayer to get the severance following the Verizon sale closing, she must be “terminated without cause” or she must leave terminate her agreement “for good reason” within one year of the change in control, according to the Yahoo filing.
- IBM plans to hire 2000 veterans
The company announced plans to hire 2,000 U.S. veterans over the next four years at the White House on Friday, March 17, during a meeting between President Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel regarding workforce development and vocational training. IBM CEO Ginni Rometty attended the meeting, along with a handful of other executives, including Dow Chemical’s (DOW) Andrew Liveris and Salesforce’s (CRM) Marc Benioff.
Photo: Evan Kirby