Tag: SalesForce

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Supplier Report: 12/13/2014

sn_cloudcity

IBM

  • IBM banking software can take any file on your computer:

    “[you agree lot let] the Program remotely to collect any files or other information from your computer that IBM security experts suspect may be related to malware or other malicious activity, or that may be associated with general Program malfunction.”

    http://boingboing.net/2014/12/12/ibms-banking-security-softwa.html

  • Looks like the Apple/IBM partnership is starting to take shape… (dozens of articles about the 1st round of apps)

    On Wednesday December 10, 2014, the two companies delivered the first iOS-exclusive apps under the partnership, which have wide-ranging implications and could be used across a broad spectrum of industries. The applications include: Plan Flight, designed to help airlines better manage fuel; Trusted Advice, which will assist financial advisors in managing client portfolios; and Case Advice, which helps government workers manage the workload of caseworkers based on real-time analytics .

    http://www.nasdaq.com/article/apple-and-ibms-enterprise-partnership-bears-fruit-cm422720

  • Free Watson services for business are now in BETA:
    http://blog.executivebiz.com/2014/12/ibm-rolls-out-beta-version-of-watson-analytics/
  • Follow-up on that IBM/Twitter deal from a few months ago:

    Under the deal, IBM will gain full and unrestricted real time access to all public tweets, as well as and archives of past public tweets. The applications proper use of this data could be hugely significant. For instance, scientists could use analysis of Twitter data to learn more detailed information about how widely earthquakes are felt, giving more detailed information than is currently available, especially in less-studied areas. Or, health officials could use it like a Google Flu Tracker on steroids, providing detailed data on disease symptoms and transmission as they spread across areas.

    http://www.business2community.com/twitter/twitter-ibm-unlikely-partnership-will-enrich-business-decision-making-01086912

Oracle

HP

Other

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Supplier Report: 11/29/2014

IBM

Oracle

Slow news week for Oracle.  There were a couple of terrible press releases for work overseas, but that is about it.  

HP

Other

  • Can you run a business from a mobile phone?

    There’s no question that the mobile phone has become an essential tool for decision makers at all levels. But can it serve as the only tool? A survey of 511 executives conducted by Forbes Insights for Google last year found found that nine out of ten executives used smartphones for business, even while they were in the office. And here’s the clincher: 10 percent  said smartphones were their exclusive device for day-to-day basis for decision making.

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/joemckendrick/2014/11/24/can-you-run-a-business-entirely-from-a-mobile-phone/

  • Concerns about Splunk’s earnings:

    Splunk differs from the traditional sense of big data in that it’s analyzing machines rather than businesses and industries. Splunk’s software gathers and analyzes data found on websites, servers, networks, mobile devices, and so on. It then sells that data to enterprise customers for the purpose of mitigating security risk, preventing fraud, improving service performance, and reducing operating costs.

    Meanwhile, big data peer Tableau trades at less than 15 times trailing-12-month sales, and roughly 10 times next year’s expected sales of $551 million. In addition to being a cheaper stock relative to sales, Tableau is growing faster. During Tableau’s last quarter, it grew revenue 71% year over year and is expected to grow revenue by 41% in 2015, both of which are greater than Splunk’s year-over-year performance.

    http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/11/28/what-concerns-me-most-about-splunk-inc-after-earni.aspx

  • Tableau software showing serious gains:

    Tableau also announced it has reached more than 5,000 customer accounts in the EMEA region. Customer accounts include Audi AG, Switzerland Global Enterprise, St. George´s Healthcare NHS Trust, and French banking firm BNP Paribas.

    http://www.financial-news.co.uk/25389/2014/11/tableau-software-grows-100-in-emea-20141128082500/

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Supplier Report: 11/15/2014

Photo: Tim Parkinson, Flickr

IBM

  1. IBM sells US Government $325M in supercomputers (they are the fastest computers ever made):
    http://www.crn.com/news/components-peripherals/300074813/ibm-cheers-325m-supercomputer-and-openpower-cpu-win.htm
  2. IBM CFO: Not all revenue is good revenue:

    “In just the last 10 years, we were split 30, 33 and 36 hardware, software and services and now our hardware business just last year was down to seven percent of our profit, and services was nearly half and software was nearly the other half,” he explains.

    http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/blog/techflash/2014/11/ibm-cfo-schroeter-all-revenue-is-not-good-revenue.html

  3. Apparently this is big news: Ginni Rometty was granted membership to Augusta golf course. (She was denied 2 years ago, there is like 60 articles on this topic).
    http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/56436d16-6b6e-11e4-ae52-00144feabdc0.html
  4. IBM Watson group introducing mobile health app:

    However, the abundance of data about our health and health concerns creates a problem: how do we manage it all? That’s where Watson comes in. Watson’s cognitive computing abilities sort through all that data and finds exactly what you need based on your medical history and genetic information.

    http://www.techtimes.com/articles/20172/20141113/ibms-watson-wants-to-help-you-manage-your-health.htm

  5. IBM Study: IT Departments Build Shared Value, Shared Belief with Business Leaders
    Credit: IBMhttp://public.dhe.ibm.com/common/ssi/ecm/en/gbe03627usen/GBE03627USEN.PDF
  6. IBM’s heavy SoftLayer push beings – offering $10,000 credits and free access to BlueMix apps:
    http://www.cloudwedge.com/4891-ibm-offers-startups-10k-per-month-in-softlayer-credits/They are specifically targeting start-ups (giving them free support and mentoring as well)
    http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2014/11/10/ibm-wants-startups-on-its-cloud/

Oracle

  1. Oracle allowing SAP to pay only $349M in a $1.3B legal copyright (TomorrowNow) settlement:
    http://www.nasdaq.com/article/oracle-settles-for-sap-to-pay-359m-in-copyright-suit-analyst-blog-cm414331
  2. Monopoly claim against Oracle can proceed:

    Sun released its UNIX-based Solaris operating system in 1992. Sun provided end users free updates of its copyrighted, proprietary Solaris system, bug fixes and firmware for free. But that ended in 2011, when Oracle purchased Sun Microsystems, and required customers to sign exclusive contracts tying them to Oracle support services.

    http://www.courthousenews.com/2014/11/12/oracle-not-off-the-hook-in-monopoly-case.htm

  3. Oracle’s corporate pay system still under fire:

    Oracle took great troubles in the previous year to face complaints about how much it paid top executives of the firm. Larry Ellison, founder of oracle even took a pay cut. Yet the firm investors persist to signal their condemnation of the firm’s compensation performs. For the third year in line, more investors voted beside than for a nonbinding suggestion to support the pay awarded to firm executives.

    http://www.streetwisereport.com/will-oracle-corporation-nyseorcl-skyrocket-on-pay-cuts-adobe-systems-incorporated-nasdaqadbe-channeladvisor-corp-nyseecom/16098/

HP

  1. HP under fire for Israeli support at the Palestine borders:

    The company supplies products and services to the Israeli “Ministry of Defense” and the Israeli Navy, and maintains a presence in an illegal West Bank settlement. It also supplies and maintains a high-tech system of ID controls at Israel’s brutal and sadistic network of racist checkpoints in the West Bank.

    http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/adri-nieuwhof/hp-spins-israeli-checkpoints-role-reducing-friction-palestinians

  2. HP releases mobile device management system (focus is on mid and small sized companies):

    Rather than confining the use of IT management services in the cloud to smartphones and tablets, Park says the time has come to simplify the management of all mobile computing devices. While large enterprise IT organizations usually have dedicated solutions to manage devices, Park notes that the average SMB organization is now being overwhelmed because every employee now has multiple devices to be managed.

    http://www.itbusinessedge.com/blogs/it-unmasked/hp-unfurls-mobile-device-management-service-in-the-cloud.html

Other

  1. There has been a security flaw in Windows since Win05 that was just recently patched:
    http://www.businessinsider.com.au/microsoft-fixes-19-year-old-bug-in-windows-2014-11
    PS: If this is another shell shock situation, forget my name 🙂 [NOTE: It was patched in May]
  2. SalesForce drops $640M on San Francisco office:
    http://www.marketwatch.com/story/salesforce-signs-agreement-to-purchase-50-fremont-street-building-expanding-worldwide-headquarters-in-san-francisco-2014-11-12
  3. Microsoft’s SaaS Cloud Strategy is working:
    They are avoiding a hardware show-down with Amazon and Google and pushing their SaaS product line and making smart partnerships with companies like DropBox and SalesForce.
    http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/11/10/this-is-why-microsoft-corporation-will-win-the-clo.aspx

Article Count: 766

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Supplier Report: 11/01/2014

Photo: Tim Parkinson, Flickr

IBM

  1. 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. 
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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?
  5. 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
  6. IBM offering 0% leasing on Power7+ and Power8 Iron (24 months):
    http://www.itjungle.com/tfh/tfh102714-story10.html

Oracle

  1. Comparing Oracle, Adobe, and SalesForce (a little stock heavy, but still interesting):
    http://seekingalpha.com/article/2624965-comparing-americas-3-largest-application-software-companies
  2. 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

  1. 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-system 

    I 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

  2. 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
  3. 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

  1. 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
  2. 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

  3. 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
  4. 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/

  5. 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

  6. 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
Posted on

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