Tag: HP

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Supplier Report: 10/25/2014

Photo: The Atlantic

IBM

  1. IBM reports another bad quarter.  They revised 2015 earnings down.
    http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2014/10/20/big-blues-big-drag-on-the-dow/
  2. The pressure for IBM to split:
    http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-10-20/ibm-ceo-under-pressure-to-revive-tech-giant-after-plunge
  3. IBM’s transformation in the last three years is actually remarkable (good overview of their technology mix):
    http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/24/ibm-earnings-reflect-just-how-difficult-transformation-really-is/
  4. IBM’s employees say their fabled “roadmap” damaged the company:

    Ginni Rometty, said strong steps were taken that are part of the broader strategy of which the road map number was a part. “We are executing on a clear strategy that is moving IBM to higher value, and we’ve taken significant actions to exit nonstrategic elements of the business.” A key part of that was the news that IBM will transfer its semiconductor manufacturing operations, staff and facilities to GlobalFoundries.

    http://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/local/new-york/2014/10/24/ibm-workers-blame-roadmap/17823047/

  5. Another week, another partnership:  IBM announces partnership with Microsoft.  Promising cloud interoperability:
    http://www.cloudwedge.com/4891-ibm-and-microsoft-pledge-cloud-interoperability/
  6. IBM’s share buyback problem (looks like that has finally caught up with them):
    http://seekingalpha.com/article/2586775-ibm-dont-fall-for-the-illusion

Oracle

  1. Oregon cuts ties with Oracle’s health exchange:

    Oregon had planned to salvage some of the Oracle-built portal to enroll people in Medicaid, but officials have now decided to scrap that project as well and will use another state’s Medicaid enrollment system instead

    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/oregon-wont-oracles-technology-medicaid-194227969.html

  2. Oracle’s strategy to manage unstructured data:

    Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)’s new solution will manage both unstructured and structured data and integrate both owned and third-party metadata and provide business analytics platform. It also provides a data flows across various enterprise systems including ERP applications, data warehouses and Apache Hadoop.

    http://www.usmarketsdaily.com/oracle-corporation-nyseorcl-new-solution-a-comprehensive-data-management-system-5419

 

HP

  1. The trend is continuing – HP is looking to sell of a part of their H3C subsidiary.  Clearly this company is looking to become small and lean:
    http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2014/10/26/2003602908
  2. HP Sprout: 3D scanner and PC-esque device.  Could have potential use in the medical field….
    http://www.pcworld.com/article/2837500/hps-rumored-sprout-pc-sure-sounds-similar-to-this-oddball-printer-from-2011.html
  3. Why Chromebooks are good news for HP and Samsung (sales are growing in markets outside of North America)

    Chromebooks may be a temporary fad similar to the netbook, but the form-factor design and low-cost price tag draws considerable interest that may be a longer term trend,” according to Van Vactor. “Chromebooks may have more of a place in the market than originally anticipated, especially as more vendors jump on board and sales continue to grow.

    http://www.thestreet.com/story/12924618/1/why-soaring-chromebook-sales-are-great-news-for-google-acer-samsung-and-hp.html

    Note: I can see this become the future of corporate computing – going back to the thin client mentality.  Merge the growth of cloud computing and storage.  A cheap, light, easily replaceable device that contains no local data could be the future.

  4. HP offering OpenStack for Helion cloud platform:
    http://www.itworldcanada.com/article/hp-releases-commercial-openstack/98474
  5. WebOS is officially dead…
    http://www.telecoms.com/296122/hp-to-end-webos-cloud-services-in-january/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hp-to-end-webos-cloud-services-in-january

Other

  1. How SalesForce makes money (very basic overview for those not familiar with one of the largest cloud providers in the business):
    http://vator.tv/news/2014-10-25-how-does-salesforce-make-money
  2. Interesting perspective from SAP’s CEO on the growth of cloud and the impact on “traditional” IT companies:
    http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-wp-blm-news-bc-sap21-20141021-story.html
  3. Why is SalesForce so expensive (here is a public discussion about negotiating with a supplier and driving price down vs. incurring cost for productive boosts):
    http://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/feature/2376730/why-is-salesforce-so-expensive
  4. Should the CEO be the chairman too?
    http://fortune.com/2014/10/21/chairman-ceo/

 

Article Count: 672

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Supplier Report: 10/19/2014

Asteroids picture

IBM

Looks like IBM is really focusing on creating strategic partnerships: first with Apple and now with SAP.

  1. IBM creates a cloud service for “internet of things”:
    I keep reading “this could happen” or “when this occurs”, interesting idea, but sounds like more of a press release than some concrete at the moment: 
    http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2376409/ibm-announces-internet-of-things-cloud-services
  2. Facebook’s market cap exceed IBMs:
    http://qz.com/283216/facebook-is-now-bigger-than-ibm/
  3. Check out Oracle point #2 – looks like IBM is starting a partnership with SAP using HANA technology:
    http://www.efinancehub.com/sachimo/for-hewlett-packard-company-nysehpq-a-lonely-journey-in-cloud-computing/1214830.htmlMore IBM focused article (looks like HANA will be available via SoftLayer):
    http://www.informationweek.in/informationweek/press-releases/298316/ibm-sap-partner-accelerate-enterprise-cloud-adoption
  4. Expected IBM Q3 earnings: beats estimates by $3.99 per share…
    System Z sales were up 6%, growth markets down 9%, cloud is up 70% for the year:

    Dragging down IBM’s revenue for the quarter were its services business, down 3 percent year-to-year, and its systems and technology group, which took a 17 percent beating. Consensus for revenue had been for IBM to make $24.7 billion, $1 billion more than it realized.

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2013/10/16/ibm-q3-revenues-slid/

Oracle

  1. SAP CEO Bill McDermott is calling out Oracle’s DB technology saying their new HANA format will eventually beat disk based databases:
    http://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/death-of-oracle-corporation-orcls-innovation-by-saps-ceo-bill-mcdermott-331883/
  2. This made me curious to what a HANA database was:


    SAP HANA, short for “High-Performance Analytic Appliance” is an in-memory, column-oriented, relational database management system developed and marketed by SAP SE.[1][2] HANA’s architecture is designed to handle both high transaction rates and complex query processing on the same platform.[3]In addition to the database engine, HANA includes an embedded web server and version control repository that can be used for application development. HANA applications can be created using server-side JavaScript and HTML.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAP_HANA

  3. Oracle technology a keystone in home automation and security applications:
    http://wallstreetpr.com/oracle-corporation-nyseorcl-helps-securitas-direct-manage-maximum-of-100-million-verisure-alarm-signals-a-day-34279
  4. On that note, looks like Oracle is focusing on the “internet of things”:

    Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) hired former Snapchat and Google engineering executive Peter Magnusson to run a refashioned offering that helps its corporate customers handle more tech tasks in the cloud.

    http://www.wallstreetscope.com/why-making-dramatic-moves-homeaway-nasdaqaway-oracle-corporation-nyseorcl-allied-motion-technologies-inc-nasdaqamot-national-instruments-corporation-nasdaqnati-applied-materials-nas/2532053/

HP

  1. What was HP doing wrong?
    Standard wrap – too much focus on hardware and printers, not enough on cloud, and they need to doing more acquisitions and investment (btw – does it seem like R&I doesn’t exist anymore – it is just go off an buy a small start up.  Although IBM is very clear about their research expenditures and investments).  http://www.fool.com/investing/value/2014/10/17/heres-what-hewlett-packard-company-is-doing-wrong.aspx
  2.  EMC merger talks are officially dead:
    https://www.pehub.com/2014/10/tech-firms-hp-emc-call-off-merger-talks-reuters/
  3. Like planetary bodies crashing apart and clumping back together, these split-offs might start a new dawn of mergers:
    http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-10-15/spinoffs-could-set-stage-for-next-merger-wave
  4. Interesting Rumor: Will Lenovo purchase the hardware focused HP company?
    http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1206&MainCatID=12&id=20141012000128

Other

  1. EMC is purchasing a small cloud company called Cloudscaling Group Inc.  It is expected to be for less than $50M
    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-13/emc-acquiring-cloud-computing-startup-cloudscaling.html
  2. Expect a trend of large, older tech firms to break up:
    http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2014/10/16/all-tech-giants-doomed-to-break-up-like-ebay-and.html

 Article count: 983

NOTE: I am taking career information off of this report and spinning it out as its own things on the blog.   Also, I am working on a similar report to this for the healthcare industry.   Reach out if you are interested in that report (still working out the bugs in those feeds).  

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Supplier Report: 10/12/2014

IBM

Light news cycle for IBM this week in light of the HP split.  Most of the news this week is PR fluff about Watson.

  1. IBM building a Watson facility in NYC
    http://www.bidnessetc.com/27063-ibms-watson-facility-opens-in-new-york-city/
  2. Samsung is going after IBM and Apple:
    Note: They are seeing a 60% drop in profits for Q3 2014
    http://seekingalpha.com/article/2551995-samsung-cio-wages-war-against-apple-ibm-and-blackberry-in-enterprise-mobility
  3. IBM scores a canadian government contract to provide data centers…

    IBM Canada has won a multi-year contract to provide and manage one of the new data centres the federal government needs as it consolidates IT infrastructure under its Shared Services program.

    http://www.itworldcanada.com/article/breaking-new-ibm-wins-federal-data-centre-contract/98060

 

Oracle

  1. Has the easy money already been made at Oracle?
    http://seekingalpha.com/article/2553795-has-the-easy-money-already-been-made-in-oracle
  2. Update on the Google vs. Oracle copyright case:
    http://www.stockwisedaily.com/google-inc-googl-wants-copyright-case-with-oracle-corporation-orcl-decided-by-u-s-supreme-court/236821/
    Many high tech developers believe that if the Supreme Court upholds the ruling by the appeals court, it will have a big impact on software innovation
  3. Oracle’s $13B buyback:

    Between the shift in the C-suite and the company’s disappointing financial results for the quarter, most analysts paid little attention to Oracle’s announcement that it had authorized a stock repurchase plan under which it could spend as much as $13 billion on its shares

    http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/10/08/will-oracle-corporations-13-billion-buyback-plan-p.aspx

HP

You know the big story this week is going to be the HP split since they announced it last Sunday night (and missed my news cycle).

  1. Why the HP split could be the biggest news story of the year:

    Roughly one-third of HP’s total assets consisted of Goodwill alone during its most recent quarterly report. It’s a company that has simply become too large, too complex, and too reliant on unsustainable growth strategies to go without the kind of drastic overhaul we saw this week.

    https://time.com/money/3490785/hewlett-packard-hp-split/

  2. More on the split:

    Another expected change announced by HP is in the current chairmanship. Dion Wiesler, the existing Head of PC and printer department, will take over as CEO. Meg Whitman will step down to nonexecutive chairmanship.

    http://stocks.org/company/the-hewlett-packard-nysehpq-and-hp-saga/26457/

  3. Like I was telling some of you this week, this HP split has me thinking the EMC merger is still alive:

    EMC Corp., the $58 billion data-storage company, is speculated to be among targets Whitman is eyeing. None of Hewlett-Packard’s past deal disappointments — from Autonomy Corp. to Palm Inc. — approached that size. While talks with EMC are said to have stalled because of disagreements over price and other issues, Whitman made remarks this week that led some analysts to think a transaction is still in the works.

    http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-10-08/hp-s-deal-flops-are-whitman-s-cautionary-tale-real-m-and-a

  4. More on the EMC and post-split HP merger thoughts:
    http://www.bidnessetc.com/26895-emc-and-hp-could-merge/
  5. And here is an article on why a merger would be a bad idea:
    http://www.eweek.com/servers/why-its-still-not-a-great-idea-for-hp-and-emc-to-merge.html

Other

  1. An account planning guide to buying salesforce (but it can be used for any supplier – I want you to read this one, good stuff)
    http://customerthink.com/12-steps-to-account-planning-in-2015/
  2. Infographic of SalesForce users (interesting demographic info):
    https://venturebeat.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/mintigo-infographic-rgb1.jpg
  3. Did anybody know that Symantec was also splitting?

    The Symantec divide will split its security and storage divisions from one another, as declining PC sales in the age of mobile are causing demand for its Norton antivirus software to lag.

    http://investorplace.com/2014/10/symantec-symc-stock-split-hpq-ebay/

Career

  1. When work-life balance doesn’t work, try work-life integration (this is my general approach):
    http://mashable.com/2014/10/04/work-life-integration/
  2. Defeat hard tasks with a concentration circuit:
    http://calnewport.com/blog/2014/10/08/deep-habits-conquer-hard-tasks-with-concentration-circuits/

 

Article Count: 1487

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Supplier Report: 9/28/2014

Big news coming out of this week is EMC.  It isn’t just VMWare that they were looking to move (which btw is 54% of their market value).  We also have some clear evidence that IBM is executing against the cloud and mobile strategy while HP still deals with the fallout of their bribe scandal and Autonomy purchase.

IBM:

  1. IBM creating secure banking apps for Busan Bank:
    http://finchannel.com/index.php/technology/item/38986-busan-bank-selects-ibm-to-enhance-customer-experience-with-new-mobile-apps
    (Customer less interesting – although banking – but another step in their mobile platform reinvention)
  2. And another article highlighting “Bluemix” – their platform as a service hosted on Softlayer:
    http://www.infotechlead.com/2014/09/25/ibm-bluemix-wins-new-customers-analytics-customer-engagement-25538
  3. Softlayer going after Amazon cloud services:
    https://gigaom.com/2014/09/25/ibm-softlayer-woos-startups-running-amazon-web-services-rackspace/
  4. IBM launches a watson b2b tool – which competes with some of their own existing tools (need to know more about this vs. Blueworks Live).
    http://www.mrweb.com/drno/news19743.htm

HP:

  1. More information on last week’s note about on EMC/Vmare:
    http://www.bidnessetc.com/26229-cisco-not-interested-in-emc-corporation/
    Looks like HP and EMC (whole company) were in merger talks for 2 years but recently fell through.  Cisco is also not interested.
  2. HP could face a 10-year ban on selling to the Canadian gov due to the Russian bribe scandal:
    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/hp-faces-10-year-ban-as-canadian-governments-technology-supplier/article20774807/
  3. U.S. judge scrutinizes HP shareholder deal in Autonomy case
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/26/hp-autonomy-lawsuit-idUSL2N0RQ33V20140926
  4. HP is giving away SDS (software defined storage) software to drive usage:
    http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/555812/hp-gives-away-software-defined-storage-drive-adoption/

Oracle:

  1. Oracle is still rumored to be interested in EMC… need to pay attention to this one.
  2. Hurd wants to go after Microsoft’s cloud business (Microsoft? Very “meh” statement – M$ “Azure” platform isn’t setting the world on fire)
    http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/22/hurd-oracle-takes-on-microsoft-in-the-cloud/
  3. A little more on why Ellison stepped down (not much is changing)
    http://www.techtimes.com/articles/15962/20140919/larry-ellison-oracle-ceo-no-more-heres-why-he-quit-and-what-he-will-do-now.htm
    (PS: He made $67M in Oracle’s fiscal 2014)

Other:

  1. More on EMC:
    http://www.benchmarkmonitor.com/emc-nyseemc-likely-to-announce-a-major-change-in-the-coming-weeks/182917/
  2. More information on the “bash” bug (impacts unix/linux/apple shells)
    http://money.cnn.com/2014/09/24/technology/security/bash-bug/

Career:

  1. Improving yourself by understanding what traits you don’t like in others:
    http://qz.com/271074/how-to-stop-comparing-yourself-to-everyone-else-at-work/
  2. Having owned a business, this is very sage advice that we can apply to our positions: When starting a partnership, have an exist strategy:
    http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/237699
  3. Getting more from difficult people by asking questions:
    http://www.dumblittleman.com/2014/09/secret-technique-get-want-difficult-people.html?utm_source=feedly

Article Count: 1014

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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