IBM
- Another week, another IBM partnership. IBM is shacking up with Twitter to help customers determine market trends for their business (ala Watson).
http://www.mrweb.com/drno/news19954.htm
This does make a lot of sense actually. - IBM also partnering with TenCent Cloud – they are based in China and the focus would be on small and medium sized business as well as the healthcare industry. Looks like TenCent will have IBM SaaS offerings:
http://www.sys-con.com/node/3220985
Note: TenCent provides internet to a billion people - A good summary of the partnerships IBM has made in the last 2 months (if you haven’t been reading this report).
http://www.businessinsider.com/ibm-ceo-ginni-rometty-does-have-a-vision-2014-10 - After all the news last week about their buyback program, IBM is buying back another/additional $5B in stock:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/10/28/4272139/ibm-boosts-buyback-plan-by-5-billion.html? - How IBM is going after Amazon’s cloud (nice view of their current product mix):
http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/software-platforms/ibm-cloud-services-take-on-amazon-redshift/d/d-id/1317011 - IBM offering 0% leasing on Power7+ and Power8 Iron (24 months):
http://www.itjungle.com/tfh/tfh102714-story10.html
Oracle
- Comparing Oracle, Adobe, and SalesForce (a little stock heavy, but still interesting):
http://seekingalpha.com/article/2624965-comparing-americas-3-largest-application-software-companies - Predicting Oracle’s future acquisitions:
Oracle announced the acquisition of TOA Technologies. TOA Technologies provides SaaS-based offerings focused on field service requests. Through the tools, companies cannot only monitor real-time field service requests but also schedule representatives and then use business analytics to monitor and view inventories and predict service windows. The solution helps them optimize their field service staff and operations. Oracle plans to integrate TOA’s offerings with their Service Cloud and Oracle ERP cloud solutions to help organizations deliver higher operational efficiency and improved customer satisfaction levels.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/2612245-oracles-future-cloud-acquisitions-some-predictions
HP
- Massive amount of coverage over HP’s Sprout 3D printer system (it is $1900)
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-10-29/hp-unveils-sprout-a-cheaper-faster-3-d-printing-systemI am very “meh” about the coverage on this product. While I see many applications for 3D printing, I think it is too soon for this product to be the boost that HP needs (especially when the company splits). Here is a little more on the technology:
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/571371/20141031/hp-sprout-keyboard-free-mouse-3d-desktop.htm - HP vs IBM – who has the better recovery plan? (Hint: For investors – it is IBM)
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/10/28/ibm-vs-hewlett-packard-which-company-has-the-bette.aspx - HP is looking to dump a Chinese networking company they own:
http://thevarguy.com/information-technology-merger-and-acquistion-news/102714/report-hp-looking-offload-china-networking-busines
Other
- Former IBM CEO (Louis Gerstner) on how global markets and e-Commerce will impact the life insurance market (holds true for other business areas as well):
http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2014/10/29/ex-ibm-chief-insurers-must-adapt-or-face-the-conse - How Microsoft is beating IBM at enterprise business:
IBM’s software, service and hardware revenue is too dependent on UNIX, and because IBM’s proprietary OS is shrinking in market share, the market for middleware will likely shrink in response.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/2600605-how-microsoft-pushed-ibm-out-of-the-enterprise
- Tableau gaining a name in data analysis market:
http://news.investors.com/investing-stock-spotlight/102714-723623-tableau-software-thrives-amid-booming-demand-for-software.htm - Michael Dell thinks Dell with thrive on their competitor’s “chaos”:
“I feel like Dell is doing the same thing as all of the other providers… except they entered the market fairly late,” said David Chou, CIO of the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
I think that is all you need to say…
http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2014/10/31/michael-dell-sees-advantage-in-rivals-chaos-and-confusion/ - SalesForce making an even bigger push into Healthcare industry:
Now Salesforce aims to bring in $1 billion in yearly revenues in coming years – about a fifth of its current annual sales – from health contracts, two people briefed on its plans told Reuters. The company expects to make such inroads despite entrenched competition and its own false starts in the sector, these sources said.
http://www.orthospinenews.com/salesforce-to-make-big-push-into-healthcare-industry
- Spanning has been purchased by EMC:
This company does a cloud backup service for SalesForce and the Google Apps products.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20141028006023/en/Spanning-Acquired-EMC-Corporation