Posts

Posted on

Supplier Report: 9/21/2014

The big news coming out this week is that Larry Ellison stepped down and IBM is making some of their employees retrain themselves and take a 10% pay cut (this was re-reported hundreds of times this week in the feed).

IBM

  1. IBM is forcing some employees into training (and taking a 10% pay cut):
    http://www.computerworld.com/article/2683239/ibm-cuts-pay-by-10-for-workers-picked-for-training.html
    NOTE: Personally, I am conflicted about this move.  I love that they are getting aggressive about training and keeping up with the times, but is this a cost cutting measure in sheep’s clothing?  
  2. IBM is helping AT&T move to SoftLayer:
    http://www.infotechlead.com/2014/09/19/ibm-supports-att-move-softlayer-platform-25417
  3. Ginni Rometty profile, highlights focus SoftLayer and Watson as a business engine:
    http://fortune.com/2014/09/18/ginni-rometty-ibm/
  4. With that said, IBM introduced a free version of watson:
    http://www.thenewsmarket.com/Releases/StoryDetailPage.aspx?GUID=dbdec8b0-d264-415c-bf23-63013d06600e&bhcp=1#

    Better details:
    http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2370565/ibm-brings-watson-analytics-to-all-with-freemium-model

HP

  1. A follow up from last week, what HP’s stake in Eucalyptus means:
    http://www.infoworld.com/article/2683073/cloud-computing/what-hps-buyout-of-eucalyptus-really-means.html
  2. HP is introducing cloud based load and performance testing (this is  interesting)
    http://talkincloud.com/cloud-computing/091514/hp-adds-cloud-based-load-testing-performance-testing-suite
  3. More cases of HP bribery…
    http://www.gantdaily.com/2014/09/14/hp-bribery-cases-mount/

Oracle

  1. Clearly, big news coming out of Oracle this week with Ellison stepping down:
    http://www.dbta.com/Editorial/News-Flashes/As-Larry-Ellison-Steps-Down-as-CEO-Industry-Insiders-Ponder-the-End-of-an-Era-99455.aspx

    Another article to reinforce the tone (Larry isn’t going anywhere):
    http://247wallst.com/technology-3/2014/09/19/larry-ellison-is-still-and-will-continue-to-be-ceo-of-oracle/

  2. Ellison is being replaced by:
    Safra Catz (She was the CFO)
    Mark Hurd (Yes, the same Mark Hurd from HP that had to resign due to a harassment lawsuit)
  3. ACQUISITION ALERT: Oracle buys Front Porch (management of big rich media formats and contents):
    http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/oracle-buys-front-porch-digital-nyse-orcl-1946913.htm

Career:

  1. Why top performers fail under pressure:
    http://lifehacker.com/why-top-performers-fail-under-pressure-and-how-not-to-1636824445
  2. Saw this last week and had to share – the biggest mistakes you make on your resume according to Google’s head of HR:
    https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20140917045901-24454816-the-5-biggest-mistakes-i-see-on-resumes-and-how-to-correct-them

Total Article count: 889

Posted on

Supplier Report: 9/14/2014

More “big thoughts” this week instead of cloud (bla bla bla)

IBM

  1. How IBM is going to help Apple sell more i-Devices (hint: applications)
    http://www.businessinsider.com/tim-cook-ibm-has-what-we-need-2014-9
  2. IBM is going after Cancer (Watson via Mayo-Clinic)
    http://www.nbcnews.com/watch/nbc-news-channel/ibm-takes-on-cancer-327192131802
  3. IBM looking into block-chain technology for the “internet of things” (non-computer devices talking to each other, like your pacemaker, your car, and your stove)
    http://www.coindesk.com/ibm-sees-role-block-chain-internet-things/

HP

  1. HP Russia pleads guilty of bribery (remember that international ethics workshop?) – $59M fine potentially
    http://www.bidnessetc.com/25519-hp-russia-pleads-guilty-in-bribery-probe-slapped-with-fine/
  2. HP buys cloud startup Eucalyptus (less than $100M, used to help build out HP’s “Helion” cloud
    http://www.itnews.com.au/News/392027,hp-buys-hybrid-cloud-startup-eucalyptus.aspx?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=iTnews+
  3. With that being said, here is an article that discusses why HP needs to go out and buy some companies (they are sitting on $70B cash)
    http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-09-08/rev-that-deal-engine-hp-dot-autonomy-is-history-real-m-and-a

Oracle

  1. Will Oracle’s acquisitions become profitable?
    http://seekingalpha.com/article/2489325-can-oracle-make-its-costly-acquisitions-count
  2. Oracle may buy WorkDay (big impact to our friend a few offices down)
    http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/09/08/why-buying-this-17-billion-company-makes-sense-for.aspx
  3. Oracle’s sudden stock turn around (sell to buy)
    http://investorplace.com/2014/09/orcl-oracle-predicting-bright-future/

Other

  1. EMC look to sell of a stake in VMWare?
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/11/us-vmware-emc-corp-sale-idUSKBN0H618S20140911
  2. No shock here, HP and IBM want to buy VMWare:
    http://www.infotechlead.com/2014/09/11/hp-and-ibm-target-vmware-as-emc-plans-to-exit-25252
  3. SalesForce CEO sells $3.6M in stock
    http://tickerreport.com/banking-finance/296148/salesforce-com-inc-ceo-sells-3615600-in-stock-crm/

Career

  1. Getting motivated after a vacation:
    http://zenhabits.net/vacation/
  2. When the going gets tough, make a temporary plan:
    http://calnewport.com/blog/2014/09/09/deep-habits-when-the-going-gets-tough-build-a-temporary-plan/?utm_source=feedly&utm_reader=feedly&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=deep-habits-when-the-going-gets-tough-build-a-temporary-plan
  3. Meetings = Clutter:
    https://signalvnoise.com/posts/3768-clutter-is-taking-a-toll-on-both-morale-and
Posted on

Supplier Report: 9/7/2014

The patterns displayed over the last 4 months continue. Cloud is a major focus for all of these companies.  All three are dealing bad deals biting them back.  Re-invention is looming for all of these companies and the IT field in general, the curiosity is how each organization plans to address that change and how that impacts, educates, and assists us.

IBM

  1. IBM hiring more domestic workers over concerns of Obama administration backlash and visa issues:

    IBM’s ‘Jobs at IBM’ website currently lists about 6,750 jobs, of which nearly a third, 2,150, are in the US. India follows way behind at a little over 700, and China is third with about 650. More striking are the entry level positions. Of the total of 446 entry level positions open as on September 2, as many as 172, or nearly 40%, are in the US. In India, there are a mere five.

    http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/IBM-now-hires-more-in-US-than-India-amid-tax-visa-worries/articleshow/41830687.cms

  2. Accenture going after IBM in product lifecycle management:
    http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/2014/09/04/why-accenture-thinks-it-can-rattle-ibm-in-plm/
  3. How mobility is changing the enterprise (IBM white paper):
    http://public.dhe.ibm.com/common/ssi/ecm/en/gbe03614usen/GBE03614USEN.PDF
  4. SoftLayer’s “bare metal” (30 min deployments, rent by the hour) to the cloud:
    http://www.dbta.com/Editorial/News-Flashes/IBM-SoftLayer-Brings-Bare-Metal-to-the-Cloud-99095.aspx
  5. IBM’s debt load: ($47.5B in debt, $18B matures in the next 3 years)
    http://seekingalpha.com/article/2456845-ibm-a-huge-debt-load

HP

  1. HP introducing tools to monitor “shadow it” deployments. (Kev – this links into our conversation last week about cloud technology).
    http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2014/09/05/cisco-h-p-use-shadow-it-as-a-roadmap/
  2. More background on the HP/Autonomy fight (this reads more like an angry divorce, but it gives insight into the mentality of HP when it comes to Autonomy and integration).
    http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-2745522/Hewlett-Packard-ramps-fight-against-Autonomy-court-files.html

    Wait… there is a whole website dedicate to this case!
    http://autonomyaccounts.org/

    One more article with the highlights of the 90 pages (they cooked up imaginary deals):
    http://recode.net/2014/09/05/hp-lays-out-detailed-case-against-former-autonomy-execs/

  3. HP’s focus on “new it” (basically their 5 year tech investment plan):
    http://marketrealist.com/2014/09/hps-multi-year-restructuring-plan-focuses-new-style/
  4. HP’s prepping for the next round of server wars:
    http://thevarguy.com/computer-technology-hardware-solutions-and-news/082814/hp-gears-next-phase-server-war-embargo-1230-pm
  5. Note: there are a bunch HP articles about the laptop power cord recall.  Doesn’t impact us, but since there were at least 60 mentions of it, I thought I should mention it (6 million power bricks are being recalled)
    http://money.cnn.com/2014/08/26/technology/hp-laptop-cord-recall/

Oracle

  1. Oracle loses $1.3B appeal for SAP ruling:
    http://www.stockwisedaily.com/oracle-corporation-orcl-looses-appeal-to-restore-1-3b-verdict-in-sap-se-sap-case/235085/
  2. Why Oracle will grow (they had bad quarter results)
    http://www.gurufocus.com/news/276146/heres-why-oracle-should-continue-getting-better-in-the-future

Other

  1. Lenovo’s mean, lean, supply chain:
    http://www.ebnonline.com/author.asp?section_id=1084&doc_id=274642&itc=ebnonline_gnews

Career

  1. I won’t call this an ibm item, but an IBM report is showing companies are using “citizen developers” to drive innovation (sound familiar team?)
    http://www.gisuser.com/content/view/33881/2/
  2. Keeping conference calls on track: the # key rule:
    http://lifehacker.com/keep-conference-calls-on-target-with-the-pound-key-1629324850
    I don’t see this going over well in our office, but an interesting concept to discuss and explore
  3. Cleaning your gadgets without ruining them:
    http://lifehacker.com/5875667/how-to-properly-clean-all-your-gadgets-without-ruining-them
    PS: Joey’s #1 rule of cube-guest-etiquette: “don’t touch the monitor!”