News Briefs for the Week Ending
07/29/2011
Copyright 2011, Faulkner Information Services. All Rights Reserved.
Docid:00020009
Publication Date: 1107
Publication Type: NEWS
ACQUISITIONS & DIVESTITURES
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General Dynamics Completes Acquisition of Fortress Technologies
General Dynamics completed its acquisition of Fortress Technologies, a provider of secure wireless networking equipment for the US military and other government customers. The acquired company will be
managed by General Dynamics C4 Systems, and will be leveraged to enhance General Dynamics’ own secure, Wi-Fi-based tactical wireless communication systems. No financial terms for the transaction were disclosed.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
Google Acquires Pittsburgh Pattern Recognition
Google acquired Pittsburgh Pattern Recognition (PittPat), a developer of "computer vision technology". The acquired company’s primary product allows systems to
recognize individual faces within an image, and automatically match the person pictured with a stored identity. PittPat said similar technology is already being used in Google products such as Image Search, YouTube, Picasa, and Goggles. Although the
company’s facial recognition tech may be added to the those products, the most likely destination for the software is Google’s new Google+ social network. This would allow it to match Facebook’s ability to automatically tag individuals in images based on
facial recognition. No financial terms for the transaction were disclosed.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
McKesson Completes Acquisition of Portico Systems
McKesson completed its acquisition of Portico Systems, a maker of integrated provider management solutions. The company said it plans to use the acquired company’s assets to help payers utilize value-based
reimbursement models and provider networks. McKesson plans on doing this by creating new products which combine Portico’s technology with its own payment and decision management tools. No financial terms for the agreement were disclosed.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
NCR Makes $28.00 Per Share Tender Offer for All Radiant Systems Shares
NCR made a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Radiant Systems via its wholly owned subsidiary, Ranger Acquisition Corporation. NCR proposed a payment of $28.00 per share, net to the seller in cash
for the all outstanding shares. The offer has already been approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies, and shareholders are encouraged by the Board of Radiant Systems to accept the offer. The offer is valid until August 19, 2011.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
Oracle Acquires Ksplice, Plans Zero Downtime Linux Version
Oracle acquired Ksplice, the maker of a zero downtime update technology for Linux. Oracle plans to use the acquired company’s technology to enhance the security and availability of its own Oracle Linux products. The
company said this will make it the only enterprise Linux provider capable of applying patches and updates without requiring a reboot. No financial terms for the acquisition were disclosed.
Source: Vendor, 7/21/2011
Oracle Agrees to Acquire Customer Service Assistance Firm InQuira
Oracle signed an agreement to acquire InQuira, a provider of service knowledge management software that supports both Web self-service and agent-assisted services. The company specializes in helping customers in need
of support to find more relevant answers for their problems in knowledge databases. Oracle plans to leverage the acquisition to improve its own cross channel customer support offerings. No financial terms were disclosed.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
Polycom Completes Acquisition of HP’s Visual Collaboration Business
Polycom closed its acquisition of HP’s Visual Collaboration business. As per the closure agreement, Polycom will now serve as an exclusive partner to HP for telepresence and certain video UC (Unified Communications)
solutions, including commercial sale and internal HP deployments. Polycom said the acquisition effectively doubles its video communications market share, and will help expand its channel community. Also included in the agreement is a provision which will
see Polycom providing its enterprise-grade video applications for HP’s webOS platform. No financial terms were disclosed.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
Qualcomm Buys Gesture Recognition Technology Assets
Qualcomm said it has acquired engineering and intellectual property rights from GestureTek, a developer of gesture recognition technology, for an undisclosed sum. The
acquisition gives Qualcomm ownership of specific intellectual property assets related to gesture recognition, as well as engineering resources, the company said. GestureTek is retaining other assets related to its gesture-controlled public display and
digital signage business. Qualcomm said gesture recognition technology will be integrated into its current and next-generation Snapdragon processors, giving OEMs the capability to produce smartphones, tablets, and home entertainment devices with user
interfaces based on natural human gestures.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
Safran Acquires L-1 Identity Solutions for $1.09 Billion
Safran has finalized the acquisition of L-1 Identity Solutions for a total cash amount of $1.09 billion USD ($12 per share). L-1 will join Safran’s existing security business,
operating under Morpho, and will be renamed MorphoTrust.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
ALLIANCES & JOINT VENTURES
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Microsoft Signs 4-Year Windows Linux Support Agreement with SUSE
Microsoft and SUSE signed a four-year extension to the Windows/Linux interoperability and support agreement originally signed between Novell and Microsoft five years ago. This extends the relationship through
January 1, 2016. Microsoft has also committed to a $100 million investment in SUSE Linux Enterprise certificates for customers receiving Linux support from SUSE.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
NCR Signs Strategic Alliance with Scopus Tecnologia
NCR signed a strategic agreement with Scopus Tecnologia to manufacture and develop ATMs for the Brazilian market. As part of the agreement, Scopus will acquire a 49 percent equity stake in NCR Manaus, NCR’s
Brazilian manufacturing and engineering operations. The duo plans to install a total of 30,000 ATMs in branches of Banco Bradesco, Scopus’ parent company, over the next 5 years. The first portion of this long-term order will be for 6,000 ATMs. No financial
terms for the agreement were disclosed.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
Nielsen Signs Agreement for Audience Measurement Data with Kantar
Nielsen signed an agreement with Kantar Media that will allow it to collect viewer data from Kantar’s DIRECTView service for use in local TV audience measurement. Nielsen said the data will be combined with
the information collected by its own Nielsen’s National People Meter panel service to create a more complete picture of the TV audience. The DIRECTView service will also allow Nielsen to measure time-shifted, and recorded program as well as live shows. No
financial terms for the alliance were disclosed.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
SAP Teams with Google for Location-Based Business Analytics
SAP announced an alliance with Google which will see it incorporating location-based data capabilities into its business analytics software. The company said it plans to allow
customers to interact with real-time information via Google Maps. SAP claimed this will allow customers to apply a geospatial aspect to their data, improving their conception of global, regional, and local trends. SAP suggested uses for this technology
such as tracking dropped call data, examining tax collections, and pinpointing hot zones of consumer complaints. The new offering will be included in several upcoming SAP enterprise products, including SAP BusinessObjects and mobile apps.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
Verizon, Energy Department Partnering
Verizon and the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop ways to reduce energy use at Verizon locations
and in the IT and communications industry in general. Verizon said it is a first-of-its-kind agreement between an industry company and a national laboratory owned by the Energy Department.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
BIOMETRICS
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Morpho Terminal Receives Okay from French Agency
MorphoAccess VP, a multimodal physical access control terminal, has received authorization from the CNIL, France’s Data Protection Authority. The offering from Morpho uses finger
vein and fingerprint recognition to protect against identity fraud.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
BUSINESS CONTINUITY
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GAO: Agencies Need Guidance for Telework During Emergencies
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reviewed information pertaining to telework for federal employees during emergencies like blizzards. The agency recommended in its report that the Office of Personnel Management consult with other agencies and develop a definition and set of practices for implementing telework into their emergency planning.
Source: GAO, 7/22/2011
CARRIER SERVICES
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France Telecom, Iliad to Deploy Fiber-Optic Network in Rural France
Total Telecom reported that French Internet service provider Iliad has signed a deal with France Telecom to co-finance the roll
out of a fiber-optic network to five million French homes in rural areas, the company said. Under the agreement, which is the first of its kind in France, Iliad will contribute an undisclosed amount of money to France Telecom, which will lay the high-speed
fiber network. In exchange, Iliad will have the right to sell high-speed Internet connections to the homes hooked up to the network.
Source: TotalTelecom, 7/25/2011
France Telecom Signs Agreement with Google for Chat Service in Africa
France Telecom signed an agreement with Google which will gives its Orange mobile carrier access to Google services across Africa. Specifically, Orange is interested in
providing the Gmail SMS Chat service to its customers in developing nations. Already available in Senegal, Uganda, and Kenya, Orange plans to add four additional countries: Cameroon, C“te d’Ivoire, Guinea Conakry, and Niger. The carrier said it believes
the service will be popular in areas where cellular service is common, but PCs are rare. The duo said the Gmail SMS Chat service is only the first of several collaborations they have planned.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
LightSquared, Sprint Confirm Network Sharing Deal
Sprint and LightSquared have confirmed a network-sharing deal widely-reported in the past several weeks.
The deal includes spectrum hosting and network services, 4G wholesale, and 3G roaming. Under terms of the 15-year agreement, LightSquared will pay Sprint $9 billion in cash and an estimated $4.5 billion in credits for LTE and satellite equipment. In
exchange, Sprint will host LightSquared’s spectrum and provide network services, while LightSquared will have roaming access to Sprint’s 3G network. LightSquared said the agreement will save the company $13 billion in capital investments and operating
costs over the next eight years, and enable it to deploy its proposed satellite/terrestrial broadband network more quickly than originally planned. The deal between Sprint and LightSquared is contingent on the Federal
Communications Commission approving LightSquared’s use of spectrum, which – under the company’s original network proposal – proved to cause GPS interference. LightSquared has formulated a new proposal for its network operation but critics say it will still disrupt GPS signals. “We believe LightSquared, in
cooperation with the FCC and adjacent spectrum users, is taking proactive steps to address and resolve these issues in a timely manner,” Steve Elfman, president of network operations for Sprint, said in a statement.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
Swisscom Launches New Vivo Tutto Plan with Mobile Subscription
Swisscom launched a new Vivo Casa subscription package. This Vivo Tutto package is the first offering by the company to include TV, fixed-line telephony, and Internet, as well as a mobile subscription. The new
package includes free mobile calls to the Swisscom fixed-line network, and is available to current subscribers to Swisscom’s NATEL liberty medio, NATEL liberty largo, or flat-rate BeFree plans. Plan prices range from CHF 45 per month to CHF 125 per month.
Customers will be required to sign a new 12 to 24-month contract when signing up for the service.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
Telecom New Zealand Doubles the Data Allowance on Several Plans
Telecom New Zealand announced plans to double the data caps for many customers on its broadband services. Starting in August, customers on the Total Home, Total Home Starter, and Total Home Lite packages will be
receiving twice their previous data allowances at no extra charge. Additionally, customers on the Total Home Broadband and the Total Home suite of optional add on packages will also receive 20 GB of extra data per month. Telecom New Zealand said it decided
to boost the available data after it noticed customers were using a third more data this year than last year. The carrier has set up an information page for customers wishing to know more about the
changes.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
Verizon Wireless Boosts Coverage for Annual Iowa Bike Ride
Verizon Wireless said it is boosting network capacity in cities and highways along this year’s route for the Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI), which runs July 24-30. The
company is also deploying temporary cell sites, known as COWS (Cell on Wheels) or COLTS (Cell on Light Trucks), in five communities along the route.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
Windstream Expands Business Services to Columbus, GA
Windstream is expanding its business service into Columbus, Georgia, offering a full suite of voice and data communication services. Windstream’s business services include dedicated high-speed Ethernet
Internet, VoIP converged communications systems, MPLS networking, managed services, and data center.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
CLOUD COMPUTING
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CA Launches Lineup of 10 New Cloud Solutions
CA launched a lineup of 10 new cloud solutions designed to improve customer visibility and portability. The new products include CA Business Service Insight 8.0, a cloud initiative planning and assurance solution; CA
Automation Suite for Data Centers 12.5, an integrated solution for data center management; CA AppLogic 3.0, software for designing and delivering virtual business services; CA Automation Suite for Clouds 1.0, a provisioning solution for cloud
infrastructure building; and CA Virtual Placement Manager 1.0, which automatically assigns workloads. A full list of the new services, as well as more details about each, are available from CA’s press release.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
Cisco Deploys Desktop Virtualization Platform for Geometric
Cisco Systems provided large-scale desktop virtualization for Geometric, a company that specializes in product lifecycle management, engineering services, and offshore product development. The implementation is based
on Virtualization Experience Infrastructure (VXI) – a platform for delivering applications to any device within any workplace environment – which uses Cisco, NetApp, and Citrix Systems technology. It will allow Geometric employees to access a
server-hosted, virtual desktop from any location and virtually any device, within a cloud infrastructure. Geometric plans to provide virtual desktop access, and is working toward deploying a virtual desktop technology for 3D graphics applications.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
Dell Introduces OpenStack Cloud Solution for IaaS
Dell announced a cloud product – the OpenStack Cloud Solution – for providing open-source Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) services as an alternative to existing cloud options based on proprietary, licensed software
models. It integrates the OpenStack cloud OS, PowerEdge servers, and a Dell-developed OpenStack Installer and services. It also includes a reference architecture for helping customers integrate, deploy, and manage IT resources in an OpenStack
environment.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
Unisys Helps Complete 17,000 Person Transition to Google Apps
Unisys said it has completed the task of helping the US General Services Administration (GSA) transition to Google Apps for
Government, Google’s cloud-based email and collaboration platform. The task included transitioning 17,000 users. Unisys said the GSA is the first federal agency to move all its employees to a cloud-based email solution. In a related announcement,
Unisys revealed that it will release a new product called Collaborative Office Solutions. This offering will provide designed to ease the transition from a legacy system to Google Apps for Government.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS & EQUIPMENT
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Cisco Helping Establish Smart+Connected in Malaysia
Cisco Systems is working with UEM Land Holdings Berhad and Iskandar Investment Berhad to develop an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Services Smart City master plan for transforming Nusajaya,
Malaysia into a Smart+Connected Community. The agreement is aligned with a government initiative to establish a Digital Malaysia master plan, for creating integrated and interconnected developments across all sectors of the economy.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
Clearwire Launching New Personal Hotspot Device
Clearwire announced the upcoming availability of the CLEAR Spot 4G – Apollo, a new personal hotspot that supports a range of Wi-Fi-enabled devices. It can connect up to eight Wi-Fi devices at 4G speeds, Clearwire
said. The new device is manufactured by Gemtek and costs $99 (plus tax) or can be leased for $6 per month (plus tax). The Apollo is 3.4″ square, weighs less than five ounces, and runs on a rechargeable battery that provides up to six hours of continuous
use. It will be available for purchase from retail stores and dealers, as well as online, beginning in late July.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
Hibernia Atlantic Connects to UK Colo Facility
Hibernia Atlantic announced that it is now connected to UK Grid’s Manchester One @ Synergy House, a carrier-neutral colocation facility located in Manchester, UK. The Hibernia Atlantic network provides
European and North American customers with direct Trans-Atlantic connectivity.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
Level 3 Providing Web Site Upgrade, Security for RIU Hotels
Level 3 said it has been selected to provide its High Performing Websites solutions for RIU Hotels & Resorts, which operates more than 100 hotels in 19 countries. RIU is based in Spain. Level 3’s solutions will be
used to improve RIU Web site speed, performance, and content security.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
Nokia Siemens to Provide Next-Gen Network for M-net
Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) agreed to provide its Next Generation Network (NGN) and IP Multimedia Subsystem platforms for M-net Telekommunikations – an operator in Bavaria, Germany – to upgrade its
softswitch infrastructure, strengthening its voice services and allowing it to offer new services for business and individual customers. NSN is migrating M-net’s embedded legacy switch base to an open NGN platform, and has already implemented its IMS and
hiQ platform for M-net to better provide VoIP services.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
NTT Launches Ethernet Virtual Private Line Service in Europe, Asia
NTT has launched its new Ethernet Virtual Private Line service – called Global Virtual Link – in nine more countries. Previously introduced in the US by NTT America, the
service will now be offered in six European countries (France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the UK) and three countries in Asia (Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore). Customers that subscribe to Global Virtual Link will be able to get global
point-to-point connections over NTT’s open network. A content provider or an ISP, for example, could use the service to establish direct connections at their geographically-dispersed Point of Presence locations and data centers to exchange data at speeds
that scale from 100 Mbps to 10 Gbps.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
Zayo to Provide PeakColo with Dark Fiber
Zayo – a provider of bandwidth, colocation, and dark fiber infrastructure services – has signed a multi-year agreement with Denver-based PeakColo, which offers colocation and
cloud-based services and platforms. Under the agreement, Zayo will provide PeakColo with dark fiber that will serve as the core connection point in PeakColo’s western-area network, enabling PeakColo to upgrade cloud services for customers in its Colorado
and Arizona data centers.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
CONFERENCING
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Alcatel Introduces Visual Collaboration Portfolio
Alcatel-Lucent announced a new suite of visual collaboration products for providing video-based telepresence across the enterprise. The suite includes an interactive Whiteboard Solution, which integrates
content-sharing and employee workgroup collaboration, Web-based conferencing clients for employee desktops, and infrastructure and dedicated endpoints.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
Skype 5.5 for Windows Launches with Facebook Integration
Skype released version 5.5 of its video conferencing software for Windows. New features in this version focus on the new, deeper Facebook integration resulting from Facebook’s
Skype-powered video chat service. Other updates include improved controls for single and group video chats, enhanced video call reliability, and several design changes. Skype 5.5 is available for download from
Skype’s Web site.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
CONSULTING & MANAGED SERVICES
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HP to Provide IT Support Services for US DoJ
HP Enterprise Services was selected to provide IT support services for the US Department of Justice, under its $1.1 billion USD IT Support Services 4 (ITSS-4) contract. HP Enterprise Services will offer the DoJ
software, application development, systems and software engineering, Web development, and IT services. ITSS-4 covers a base-year period of performance and six available, one-year options.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
Raytheon Posts Improved Revenue, Dropping Profits on Stock Repurchase
Raytheon reported its financial results for the second quarter of its 2011 fiscal year. Net sales for the quarter totaled $6.22 billion, up 4% from the $5.97 billion reported for the same period in 2010. Net income
fell to $496 million, down from the $515 million reported a year ago. Earnings per share, however, rose to $1.39, up from $1.34 over the same period. The dipping profits during the quarter were partially due to the company’ repurchasing 6.4 million shares
of its own stock for a total of $313 million. On these results Raytheon posted an outlook for FY 2011 including predicted net sales of $25.5 billion to $25.9 billion, and earnings per share of $5.50 to $5.65.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
Teradata Expands Managed Services with Development and Sustainment
Teradata expanded its Teradata Managed Services capabilities to include application lifecycle development and sustainment services. The company also now offers assistance to customers developing business
intelligence applications, including report creation, ad-hoc query development or analytical modeling, and integration enhancements for new data sources to the data warehouse. More information about these new offerings can be found at Teradata’s Managed Services page.
Source: Vendor, 7/22/2011
Verizon Wins Australian Defense Department Managed Services Contract
Under a five-year agreement worth more than AU$50 million (US$52 million), Verizon will provide the Australia Department of Defense with a fully managed, dual-Internet
gateway solution and professional services support to link the department’s 110,000 employees, other government agencies, industry partners, and the general public. Verizon Business said the system has the
flexibility to quickly accommodate new functions and expansion. To further reinforce system availability and security, each Internet gateway will be housed in a separate and geographically-diverse Verizon data center location, the company said.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
CRM
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Open Text Releases New Customers Experience Management Solution
Open Text released its new Customer Experience Management solution. Developed in collaboration with VML, a digital marketing agency, the new solution aims to provide users with social business strategies,
customer-centric online and mobile marketing, and global brand management. The solution is also capable of delivering tailored customer communications through both online and offline methods. More information is available from Customer Experience Management product page.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
CYBERCRIME
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Imperva Study: Web Applications Attacked Every Two Minutes
A study from data security company Imperva found that Web applications, on average, experience twenty seven attacks per hour, or roughly one attack every two
minutes. Imperva monitored actual application attack traffic over a period of six months from December 2010 through May 201, including attacks witnessed via The Onion Router (TOR), as well as attacks targeting 30
different enterprise and government Web applications. According to Imperva’s study, the US leads the world in originating Web application attacks. Some 61 percent of these attacks come from bots in the US even though botnet command-and-control servers are
not necessarily located in the United States. Rob Rachwald, director of security at Imperva, said attack automation is becoming prevalent as hackers increasingly deploy automated tools to try to break into Web sites.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
DATA BREACHES
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Report: South Korean Sites Hit by Massive Attack, Data Breach
Hackers have launched an attack on an Internet portal and blogging site in South Korea, and the attack appears to have originated from a location in China, Reuters reported. The attack has resulted in a breach of
personal data, affecting more than 35 million people. The portal and blogging site are both owned by SK Communications. South Korean police are investigating the incident, according to the Reuters report.
Source: Reuters, 7/28/2011
DBMS
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CSC Licenses its Insurance Industry Data Model to Pan-American Life
CSC licensed version 3.0 of its Insurance Industry Data Model to Pan-American Life Insurance Company of New Orleans. The Data Model attempts to unify multiple sources of information into a complete, logical
representation of data across an insurance enterprise. Pan-American plans to use the solution to improve the clarity of its producer activity and productivity in an effort to leverage the information for enhanced decision-making. No financial terms for the
licensing agreement were disclosed.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
DESKTOPS
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Fujitsu Deploys PCs and System for Japan School District
Fujitsu Japan deployed 8,000 PCs for the Education Center of the Chiba City Board of Education in Japan, for faculty and student use at 176 special needs elementary and junior high schools. Fujitsu also collaborated
with the group to develop a Cabinet Integration System, a large-scale, thin-client system to provide instructors with remote access to a school’s information and communications technology (ICT) environment. The same ICT terminals can be accessed by both
students and faculty, through separate ID input and card verification methods.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE
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Adobe to Close InMarket, AIR Marketplace
Adobe announced plans to discontinue its Adobe InMarket product. The company said it will instead support publication to third-party app stores via the
tools in individual applications, such as those already found in its Flash Builder 4.5 and Flash Professional CS5.5 products. Adobe suggested that all users download any data or analytics they wish to retain before August 31, 2011, after which all
user data will be taken offline. On a related note, Adobe is also closing the Adobe AIR Marketplace. The company said the offering became redundant after numerous third-party app stores began supporting software developed on Adobe AIR technology.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
Oracle Releases Java Platform, Standard Edition 7
Oracle released Java Platform, Standard Edition 7, the first new release of the platform since Oracle took it over from Sun
Microsystems. New features in this version include language changes designed to increase developer productivity and simplify programming; improved support for dynamic languages such as Ruby, Python, and JavaScript; a new multicore-ready API; support for a
wider array of file attributes; new networking and security features; Unicode 6.0 support; and numerous updated libraries. More information about the latest release is available from the Java Platform, Standard Edition product page.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
ENTERPRISE APPLICATION SOFTWARE
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Sirius Using Automony iManage Suite
Autonomy announced that Sirius International, a property reinsurance provider, has begun using its end-to-end iManage solution suite for the purposes of document management and workflow automation. Specifically,
Sirius is using the company’s iManage WorkSite, iManage Universal Search, and iManage Workflow Manager products. The software is all powered by the company’s Intelligent Data Operating Layer (IDOL) technology, and provides conceptual and contextual
understanding of information, regardless of data type, format or language, Autonomy said.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
CSC Licenses its Agency Link Software to Erie Insurance
CSC licensed its Agency Link product to Erie Insurance to serve as an internal corporate front-end for its property and casualty (P&C) policy administration system. Erie
Insurance already used the company’s Series II product to handle policy administration for its P&C lines of business. The insurer said it believes the addition of Agency Link will improve the effectiveness of its software’s sales and service
functionalities. No financial terms were disclosed.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
Oracle Launches Solvency II Compliance Solution
Oracle launched its new Oracle Insurance Quantitative Management and Reporting for Hyperion Financial Management solution. Oracle said the new
offering will streamline compliance with Solvency II reporting mandates, as well as enabling carriers to better manage risk and financial capital. The software attempts to accomplish this by automatically generating reports, such as the Quantitative Impact
Study 5 (QIS5) and Quantitative Reporting Templates (QRT), both of which are mandatory under Solvency II’s rules. More information about the new product can be found on Oracle’s Insurance page.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
FINANCIAL
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Alcatel Posts Modest Sales Gain on IP, Networks Strength
Alcatel-Lucent‘s revenues were up 2.4 percent for the 2011 second quarter, ended June 30th, hitting 3.9 billion EUR ($5.6 billion USD) following stronger-than-usual revenue growth by Alcatel’s IP (35
percent), Networks (22 percent), and Optics (six percent) units. For the 2010 second quarter, revenues were 3.8 billion EUR. Profits were 43 million EUR, with 0.02 EUR per share, compared to 2010 second quarter losses of 184 million EUR, or 0.08 EUR loss
per share.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
Amazon Posts Huge Revenue Jump in Q2 on Success of Kindle E-Reader
Amazon posted its financial results for the second quarter of its 2011 fiscal year. The company’s revenue was $9.91 billion, a huge jump over the $6.56 billion it recorded a year ago. Despite this, net
income was down, year-over-year, to $191 million, compared to the $207 million reported for the second quarter of 2010. Earnings per share followed suit, dropping to $0.42 after reaching $0.46 during the same quarter in 2010. Jeff Bezos,
founder and CEO of Amazon, pointed to the Kindle devices, particularly the Kindle 3G with Special Offers as having played a major role in the revenue spike. The company also noted that the reduced net income was due to increased investments
made during the quarter.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
AmerisourceBergen Posts Sizable Increase in Profits for Q3 2011
AmerisourceBergen posted its financial results for the third quarter of its 2011 fiscal year. The company’s revenue totaled $20.2 billion, up 2.9%, year-over-year from $19.6 billion. Net income was $184.4
million, a 13% rise from the $163.2 million reported for the third quarter of 2010. This resulted in earnings per share of $0.67, up from the $0.58 reported for the same period, last year. On these results the company updated its FY 2011 guidance to
include earnings per share of $2.52 to $2.56 and a revenue growth of 2% to 4%.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
BMC Software Posts Increases Across the Board for Q1 2012
BMC Software posted its financial results for the first quarter of its 2012 fiscal year. The company’s revenue was $502.4 million, up from the $460.9 million reported for the same quarter in FY 2011. Net income was
$95.7 million, or $0.53 per share, up from the $92.8 million or $0.50 per share posted a year ago. On these results the company predicted revenue growth for FY 2012 to be in the “high single to low double digits” range.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
Boeing Posts Increased Revenue, 20% Jump in Profits for Q2
Boeing posted its financial results for the second quarter of its 2011 fiscal year. The company’s revenue was $16.5 billion, up 6% from the $15.57 billion reported for the same period in 2010. Net income was $941
million, or $1.25 per share, an impressive increase over the $787 million, or $1.06 per share posted a year ago. On these results the company increased its financial outlook for the fiscal year 2011, raising expected revenues to a range of $68 billion to
$71 billion, with an expected earnings per share total of $3.90 to $4.10.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
BroadVision Experiences 22 Percent Drop in Sales
BroadVision announced revenues of $4 million USD for the 2011 second quarter ended June 30, 2011, a 22 percent drop from 2010 second quarter revenues of $5.1 million. Losses were $1.5 billion, on $0.34 loss per
share, compared to 2010 second quarter losses of $400,000, or $0.09 per share.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
Broadvision Posts Decreased Revenues, Continued Net Losses for Q2
Broadvision released its financial results for the second quarter of its 2011 fiscal year. The company’s revenue totaled $3.99 million, down significantly from the $5.67 million posted for the same quarter in
2010. Making matters worse, the company suffered a net loss of $1.5 million, or $0.34 per share, although this was still less than the $2.37 million, or $0.53 per share, the company lost during the year-ago quarter. Dr Pehong Chen, President and CEO of
BroadVision said the company’s continued losses were due to the nature of its “channels-oriented business model,” which he said takes time to develop.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
Capgemini Posts Successful First Half Results for 2011
Capgemini posted its financial results for the first half of its 2011 fiscal year. The company’s revenues totaled EUR 4.75 billion, up 12.9% from a year ago, when the company took in EUR 4.21 billion. Operating
profit rose 20% to EUR 240 million, up from EUR 200 million for the first half of 2010. Group profits came in at EUR 127 million, up 25.7% from the EUR 101 million reported for the first half of last year. On these results, Capgemini posted an expected
revenue growth of 9% to 10%.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
China Mobile Posts June Subscriber Numbers
China Mobile said that, as of the end of June, it has well over 616 million customers – 616,787,000, according to a press release. The carrier added 5.6 million customers in June.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
Citrix Reports Increased Revenue, Nearly Doubled Profits in Q2
Citrix posted its results for the second quarter of its 2011 fiscal year. Revenues for the quarter totaled $530.8 million, up from the $458.4 million reported for the second quarter of 2010. Net income was $81.4
million, nearly doubling the $47.5 million posted in the same quarter of last year. This translated to earnings per share of $0.43, up from the $0.25 reported a year ago. Citrix reported a financial outlook for FY 2011 including revenues in the range of
$2.16 billion to $2.19 billion, and earnings per share of $1.80 to $1.84.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
Comcast Board Okays Dividend
The Comcast board of directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.1125 a share on the company’s common stock. The quarterly dividend is payable on October 26, 2011 to shareholders of record as of the close of
business on October 5, 2011.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
Earthlink Posts Doubled Revenue, Quadrupled Profits for Q2 2011
Earthlink posted its financial results for the second quarter of its 2011 fiscal year. The company’s revenue was $363.5 million, more than double the $153 million is posted last year. Net income was $28 million,
more than four times the $6.54 million recorded for the year ago quarter. This translated to earnings per share of $0.26, versus an EPS of $0.06 for Q2 2010. The company pointed to increased momentum in its IP network services business, as well as new
opportunities created by its Managed Services capabilities as the main contributors to the quarter’s success.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
France Telecom Posts Increased Revenue, Decreased Profits
France Telecom posted its financial results for the first half of its 2011 fiscal year. The company’s revenue was EUR 22.57 billion, up from the EUR 22.87 billion posted for the same period last year. Net
income was EUR 1.95 billion, an extreme drop from the EUR 3.72 billion the company made during the first half of 2010. France Telecom said this discrepancy was largely due the to the contribution of discontinued operations relating to the foundation of
Everything Everywhere during the first half of 2010. The group increased its total active customers to 217.3 million during the half, up from a customer base of 198.97 million during the first half of last year. The largest gains were in the company’s
Personal Communication Service segment, which went from 158.3 million customers to 139.8 million customers during this time.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
Fujitsu Posts Losses, Sales Dip for the First Quarter
Fujitsu posted net losses of 20.4 billion JPY ($252 million USD) for the 2011 fiscal first quarter, ended June 30th, representing a drop of 22 billion JPY from the 2010 fiscal first quarter, but in line with
projections of business results announced last month. Revenues were 986 billion JPY, down nearly six percent from 2010 fiscal first quarter revenues. In Japan, sales fell by 5.3 percent – to 619.6 billion JPY – as the effects of the Japanese earthquake
adversely impacted car audio and navigation systems, mobile phones, and LSI devices. Net sales outside of Japan declined 6.7 percent due to the effect of the stronger JPY on exchange rates, and lower sales of electronic components and car audio and
navigation systems.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
General Dynamics Posts Mixed Results for Q2 2011
General Dynamics posted its financial results for the second quarter of its 2011 fiscal year. The company’s revenue totaled $7.88 billion, a 2.8% drop from the $8.1 billion posted a year ago. Net income was
$653 million, a very slight increase over the $648 million reported for the second quarter of 2010. This translated to earnings per share of $1.77, up from $1.69 for the year ago quarter. Based on these results, General Dynamics updated its FY 2011
guidance to include earnings of $7.15 to $7.20 per share.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
Global Crossing Reports Narrower Losses in Q2
Global Crossing reported that its second quarter loss narrowed to $34 million (or a loss of 57 cents per share) from a loss of $47 million (or a loss of 79 cents per share) in the same quarter a year earlier.
Revenue rose 9.8% to $692 million from the year-earlier second quarter. John Legere, chief executive officer of Global Crossing said “We are building strong operating momentum as we prepare for our strategic combination with Level 3.” Level 3’s
acquisition of Global Crossing is currently under review by US regulatory agencies.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
IBM Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.75
IBM‘s Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per common share. This amount will be payable on September 10, 2011 to all stockholders of record by the close of business on August 10, 2011.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
Juniper Announces Preliminary Q2 Profits of $115 Million
Juniper Networks reported preliminary earnings of $115.6 million USD for the 2011 second quarter, ended June 30th, as it continues to fight lower-than-anticipated spending by customers, including Internet carriers
delaying purchases due to concerns about economic growth. Earnings per share are $0.21. Second quarter revenues were $1.12 billion, a 15 percent year-to-year jump that CEO Kevin Johnson attributes to momentum in its routing business and a return to solid
performance in switching.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
KPN Posts Declining Revenue, Profits in Q2
KPN posted its results of the second quarter of its 2011 fiscal year. The company’s revenue was EUR 3.29 billion, down 2.2% from the EUR 3.35 billion reported a year ago. Net profit fell 11% year-over year-, dropping
from EUR 465 million in Q2 2010 to EUR 414 million this quarter. This resulted in earnings per share of EUR 0.28, only a small 3.2% decrease from the EUR 0.29 reported during the same quarter of 2010. KPN blamed a weak market and “regulatory headwinds” as
being responsible for the declining numbers, especially in its domestic market.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
Level 3 Loss Widens in Second Quarter
Level 3 reported second quarter 2011 revenue of $932 million USD, up from $908 million for the second quarter 2010. The company posted a wider loss for the quarter, however, losing $181 million, or $0.11 per share.
This was wider than the $169 million, or 10 cents per share, loss it reported in Q2 2010. Level 3 recorded $14 million in costs associated with its pending Global Crossing acquisition. Level 3 Core Network Services revenue increased about 2 percent from
$729 million in the first quarter 2011 to $744 million in the second quarter 2011. Its overall Q2 2011 communications revenue was $913 million, up from $892 million in the second quarter 2010.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
Lockheed Martin Posts Improved Revenue, Declining Profits in Q2
Lockheed Martin posted its financial results for the second quarter of its 2011 fiscal year. The company’s revenue was $11.55 billion, up from the $11.28 billion reported for the same quarter in 2010. Net
income was $742 million, or $2.14 per share, down from the $824 million, or $2.22 per share reported for the same period last year. Bob Stevens, chairman and chief executive officer, said the reduced profits were due to efforts to “rightsize our business
for an environment that remains challenging”. On these results the company updated its FY 2011 guidance to include an expected revenue of $46 billion to $47 billion, and an earnings per share total of $7.35 to $7.55.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
Logitech CEO Resigns after Firm Posts Loss
Logitech Chief Executive Gerald Quindlen has resigned after the Swiss computer equipment maker posted a net loss for its fiscal first quarter 2012 and warned of lower full-year profits and sales. Quindlen will be
replaced by chairman and former chief executive Guerrino De Luca on an interim basis. For the quarter, Logitech recorded a net loss of $29.6 million compared with a net profit of $19.5 million a year earlier due to sustained weakness in Europe and a $34
million charge linked to price reductions for Logitech Revue, the set top box and keyboard controller it sells as part of its venture with the Google TV project. Logitech also lowered its outlook. For fiscal 2012, Logitech now expects sales of $2.5
billion instead of $2.6 billion.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
McKesson Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.20 per Share
McKesson‘s Board of Directors approved a dividend of $0.20 per share of its common stock. This amount will be payable on October 3, 2011, to stockholders of record on September 1, 2011.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
Motorola Solutions’ Sales Up With Gov’t, Enterprise Segments
Motorola Solutions announced that its sales of $2.1 billion USD for the 2011 second quarter – which closed June 30th – were driven by solid demand across both its government and enterprise
segments. In particular, government segment sales were $1.3 billion, a four percent increase from government sales in the 2010 second quarter. Revenues were up six percent, year to year. Operating earnings were $170 million, or $0.17 per share, compared to
2010 second quarter operating earnings of $161 million, or $0.01 per share. It also announced that its board of directors authorized the initiation of a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.22, per outstanding share of common stock.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
NCR Posts Gains Across the Boardin Q2, Raises FY 2011 Guidance
NCR posted its financial results for the second quarter of its 2012 fiscal year. The company’s revenue was $1.31 billion, up from the $1.17 billion reported for the same period in 2010. Net income was $33 million, also
up from the $31 million reported a year ago. This resulted in earnings per share of $0.22, almost double the $0.12 posted in the second quarter of 2010. On these results, NCR raised its guidance for FY 2011 to a year-over-year revenue growth of 6% to 8%
and an expected earnings per share total of $0.79 to $0.86.
Source: Vendor, 7/21/2011
NEC’s Losses Continue in Q2 of FY 2012
NEC posted its financial results for the first quarter of its 2012 fiscal year. The company’s revenues totaled JPY 669.1billion, up from the JPY 667.5 billion reported for the same period in the previous year. NEC
suffered a net loss of JPY 19.4 billion, a relative improvement from the JPY 23.2 billion loss posted during the second quarter of 2011. This resulted in a loss per share of JPY 11.43, compared to an loss total of JPY 16.61 recorded a year ago. NEC listed
a number of reasons for its continued losses, including rising transportation costs, a weak economy, and the impact of the March 2011 earthquake in east Japan. The company announced that it will not be distributing an interim dividend for 2011.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
Northrop Grumman Posts Lower Revenue, Profit
Northrop Grumman posted its second quarter financial results for the 2011 fiscal year. The company’s revenue totaled $6.56 billion, down from the $7.26 billion reported for the same period last year. Net income
was $520 million, or $1.81 per share, down significantly from the $740 million, or $2.34 per share reported a year ago. Wes Bush, chairman, chief executive officer and president of Northrop Grumman did not give a specific reason for the drop in sales and
profits, saying only that it was due to “several factors”. On these results the company updated its FY 2011 guidance to include a revenue of $27 billion, and an EPS range of $6.75 to $6.90.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
Polycom Reports Increased Revenue, Doubled Profits for Q2 2011
Polycom posted its financial results for the second quarter of its 2011 fiscal year. The company’s revenue was $365.6 million, up significantly from the $294.6 million reported for the same quarter in 2010. Net
income was $28.5 million, more than doubling Q2 2010’s total of $12.6 million. This raised earnings per share to $0.16, up from $0.07 during the same period. The company pointed to partnerships formed via its Polycom Open Collaboration Network as being the
driving force behind the quarter’s success, particularly its agreement with HP’s Visual Collaboration business.
Source: Vendor, 7/22/2011
Rogers Reports Mixed Quarterly Results
Canada’s Rogers Communications reported that its revenue for the second quarter 2011 was CAD $3.2 million (US $3.39 million), up 3 percent year-over-year. Quarterly net income was $423.5 million, or 78 cents per
share, compared with a net income of $467 million, or 80 cents per share, in the same period last year. Its adjusted earnings per share figure was 88 cents, however. Rogers’ wireless business, which accounts for nearly 56% of its total revenue, took a
competitive hit but revenue from its cable TV business more than offset the weakness of the wireless segment.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
SAP Sees Impressive Jump in Sales, Profits for Q2
SAP reported its financial results for the 2011 fiscal year. The company’s revenue was EUR 802 million, up 26% over the $637 million reported for the same quarter last year. Net income was EUR 588 million, a 20%
increase over the EUR 491 million reported for Q2 2010. This resulted in earnings per share of EUR 0.49, compared to the EUR 0.41 posted a year ago. The company pointed to SAP HANA, as well as its mobility and business analytics solutions for driving the
increased sales and profits for the quarter. SAP reaffirmed its FY 2011 guidance of 10% to 14% increase in revenue.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
Siemens Earnings Slide by Nearly Half for Quarter
Siemens reported that its profits fell 47 percent, to 763 million EUR ($1.1 billion USD) for the 2011 fiscal third quarter ended June 30th, falling short of analyst projections for the eighth consecutive quarter as
charges related to its healthcare business, computer services unit, and a fine paid to Areva exceeded 1.4 billion EUR. The company projects its earnings will exceed 7.5 billion EUR for the full fiscal year ended September 30th. Revenues rose two percent,
hitting 17.84 billion EUR, on strong sales for its international businesses.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
Sprint Posts Wider Loss in Second Quarter
Sprint Nextel has posted a second quarter loss of $847 million USD, or 28 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $760 million, or 25 cents a share. The results include equity losses of $588 million
related to investments and a charge of $52 million related to taxes incurred in Michigan from a new state law. Revenue rose 4 percent to $8.3 billion. Sprint added 1.1 million new customers in the second quarter, with much of that growth coming from its
prepaid and wholesale units. The carrier added 226,000 new contract customers in the second quarter. Sprint’s churn rate for contract customers improved to 1.75 percent from 1.81 percent in the first quarter.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
Symantec Revenue, Earnings Up
Symantec‘s revenues for the first quarter of its fiscal 2012 year were $1.65 billion USD, a 15% increase from the same quarter last year. Net income was $172 million compared with net income of $161 million for the
year-earlier period, while diluted earnings per share were $0.22 compared with $0.20 for the year ago quarter, an increase of 10% year-over-year.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
Telefonica Posts Improved Revenue, Pay TV and Broadband Growth in H1
Telefonica posted its financial results for the first half of its 2011 fiscal year. The company’s revenue was EUR 7.66 billion, up from the EUR 7.5 billion reported for the first half of last year. Net income
totaled EUR 582 million, up from EUR 535 million, reported for the same half of 2010. The carrier grew to a total of 57.3 million active customers, up from the 54.5 million recorded a year ago. The highest percentage of growth came from the company’s pay
TV service, which jumped 9.4% to reach 209,300 subscribers, while the worst performer was Teleconica’s narrowband Internet access business, which lost 13.7% of its subscribers to hold onto 464,400. However, this was more than offset by the 7.5% gain in
broadband Internet subscribers, which grew to 4.1 million during the half.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
Telia Sonera Completes Share Cancellation, Reduces Share Capital
Telia Sonera completed a decrease in its share capital, following approval for the transaction from the Swedish Companies Registrations Office. The decrease includes a total monetary value of SEK 513,191,782.40,
accounting for 160,372,432 shares, which were repurchased, and subsequently cancelled, by the company. This brings Telia Sonera’s total share capital to SEK 13,856,271,299.20, and reduces its number of outstanding shares to 4,330,084,781.
Source: Vendor, 7/22/2011
Time Warner Cable Declares Quarterly Dividend
The board of directors of Time Warner Cable declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share on the company’s common stock, payable in cash on September 15, 2011 to stockholders of record at the close of
business on August 31, 2011.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
Toshiba Enters Share-Purchase Deal with Japan’s INCJ
Toshiba Japan signed shareholders’ and share purchase agreements with Innovation Network Corp. of Japan (INCJ) – a public-private partnership for promoting innovation
and extending the value of businesses in Japan – to make it a strategic investment partner for Toshiba’s acquisition of utilities energy management provider Landis+Gyr. INCJ will invest $680 million
USD, securing 40 percent of its equity, while Toshiba’s stake will include $1.02 billion, or 60 percent equity stake. Total cost of the acquisition will be $2.3 billion, including debts of $600 million that bring its cost to $1.62 billion.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
Toshiba Operating Profit Drops 88% Following Earthquake
Toshiba Japan reported that its quarterly operating profit fell 88 percent for the 2011 fiscal first quarter ended June 30th. This was impacted by both the relative international strength of the yen and the impact
of the earthquake that ravaged Japan last March, hitting its power operations in the process. Net profits were 470 million JPY, up 0.9 percent from 2010 fiscal first quart earnings. Sales fell 8.6 percent, year to year, to 1.33 trillion JPY.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
Unisys Blames Q2 Woes on Federal Market, ClearPath Sales
Unisys reported losses of $11.6 million, or $0.27 per share, for the 2011 second quarter ended June 30, 2011, impacted by continued softness in the US federal marketplace, plus lower sales of ClearPath systems. This
included charges of $45.7 million, related to debt reduction, and pre-tax debt charges of $13.5 million, related to the loss of non-income tax case concerning its former Brazilian manufacturing operations. The losses marked a significant drop compared to
2010 second quarter profits of $59.2 million, or $1.36 per share. Revenues were $937 million, down 10 percent from 2010 second quarter revenues of $1.04 billion.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
Unisys Posts Losses of $11.6 Million in Q2 2010
Unisys posted its second quarter financial results for the 2011 fiscal year. The company’s revenue was $842.7 million, down from the $892 million reported last year. The company suffered a net loss of $11.6 million
during the quarter, a massive drop from the $120.2 million in profits for Q2 2010. This resulted in a loss per share of $0.27, down from earnings per share of $2.77. Unisys blamed the disastrous results on the “continued softness in the U.S. Federal
marketplace” and much lower sales of its ClearPath systems.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
Unisys Declares Dividend of $1.5625
Unisys declared a dividend of $1.5625 per share on its outstanding 6.25% Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock, Series A. This amount will be payable on September 1, 2011 to all shareholders of record by the close of
business on August 15, 2011.
Source: Vendor, 7/21/2011
Vodafone Releases Interim Management Statement for Q2
Vodafone released its interim management statement for the quarter ended June 30, 2011. Group revenue totaled GBP 11.66 billion, up 3.5% from the same period in 2010. Most of the growth resulted from the company’s
operations in the AMEA regions, at 5.8% growth, year-over-year. Europe saw a more modest 1.2% growth for the quarter. The carrier posted a total of 11.2 million net additions to its subscriber base. This brought its total number of subscribers to 370.9
million, 79.1% of which are prepaid.
Source: Vendor, 7/22/2011
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS
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General Dynamics Wins Slot in US Army TEIS III Program Contract
General Dynamics received one of three slots on the US Army’s Total Engineering and Integration Services (TEIS) III program contract. Under the terms of the agreement, General Dynamics will support the US
Army Information Systems Engineering Command (USAISEC) and it customers. Work will include engineering and integration services across the spectrum of communications and IT systems. The contract has a total value of $892 million for all awardees over 5
year, if all options are exercised.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
Lockheed Martin Announces Government Data Center Revamp Program
Lockheed Martin announced a program with the US Department of Energy to increase the agency’s energy efficiency by consolidating data centers and installing information technology enhancements. The so called
Federal Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) will work side by side with the previously announced US government efforts to close a portion of the nation’s data centers as a cost-saving measure. The project will consist of an assessment and audit of
existing data centers, followed by the creation of construction projects to meet the energy and IT needs of each site. Each project will be required to generate enough savings to cover its own financing, and to create positive cashflow after its remodeling
reaches completion. No financial terms were disclosed.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
PAETEC Wins GSA Contract for Voice, Data, Internet Services
Telecom and data services company PAETEC said that the US General Services Administration (GSA) has awarded it a contract for a period of five years to provide voice, Internet, and
data services. The contract, called RLTC (Regional and Local Telephony Contract), represents multi-million dollar potential revenue annually, PAETEC said. The contract covers GSA’s Region 2 – including New York and New Jersey.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
SAIC Wins Spot on US Navy SPAWAR Procurement Contract
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) signed a contract with the US Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic to procure and deliver command and control (C2)equipment and services. SAIC will
provide program management and technical support services, as well as help procure equipment, systems, and supplies as needed. SAIC is one of six contractors named in the agreement. The contract has a one-year base period, four one-year options, and a
total value of more than $500 million for all awardees, if all options are exercised.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
ZTE Establishes National Security Network for Mauritius Police Force
ZTE announced that it has deployed a national security network for the Mauritius Police force. Based on its own Global open Trunking architecture, the location-based services network will dispatch police and
emergency services support to locations around the island nation. Data comm firm ZTE said the system can also be deployed for use by government organizations, the military, large-scale enterprises, sports events, national security departments, prison,
fire control, customs, and hospitals. This is the 40th country to deploy the company’s Global open Trunking architecture, ZTE said.
Source: Vendor, 7/22/2011
INDUSTRY CONFERENCES
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Telefonica O2 Signs on as Anchor Partner for Wired 2011 Event
Telefonica O2 signed an agreement with Wired magazine which will see it become the anchor partner for the publication’s Wired 2011 event in London. The event is designed to
bring together high-ranking members of various sectors of the tech industry in an effort to foster innovation. The partnership has a duration of three years.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
INTERNET
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Google Launches Page Speed Service to Speed Up Load Times
Google launched its new Page Speed Service, the latest product in its Page Speed family. According to Google, the new service is capable of automatically
decreasing the load times for a given Web page. It does this by scanning the customer’s Web page, rewriting the page using “Web performance best practices,” and serving it to visitors via its own servers around the globe. The page will remain unchanged
from the visitor’s viewpoint, but will load 25% to 60% faster, Google said. The search giant has set up a test page to let prospective customers test how much faster their Web pages could load by using the service.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
ICANN Requests Public Comment on Registrar Transfer Policies
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) opened a public comment period for responses to the Preliminary Issue Report on the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy Part C. The document addresses three areas of concern: the “Change of Control” function ,and its
current state; whether time limiting Form Of Authorization (FOA)s would prevent fraudulent transfers out; and whether the process should require the use of IANA IDs rather than proprietary IDs. The comment period will be open until August 25, 2011.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
ICANN Publishes Version 3.0 of IDN Implementation Guidelines
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) published version 3.0 of its Internationalized Domain
Name Implementation Guidelines for public comment. The document contains a list of general standards that all top-level domain registries deploying IDNs are required to follow. This draft is an update to version 2.2, and includes revisions to the
Internationalized Domain Names for Applications protocol. The public comment period will be open until August 26, 2011.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
LAPTOPS
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Acer Rolls Out New TravelMate Timeline Laptops
Acer International announced new Intel-based, 14- and 15-inch TravelMate Timeline series laptops. The new TravelMates are available in the US and Canada, and cost between $799.99 and $999.999
USD.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
Asus Taking Preorders for New Eee PC X101 Netbooks
Asus International plans to release new low-end 10-inch netbooks for its Eee PC X101 line. The new Intel-based models will be available at select retailers for below $200 USD, and will ship in September.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
LEGAL
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Oracle Told to Reduce Damages Sought in Case Against Google
Google won a minor victory in its legal battle with Oracle over alleged intellectual property infringement resulting from the use of Java technology in its Android operating
system. Presiding Judge William Alsup decided that the $2.6 billion sought by Oracle was out of the question and suggested a started point of $100 million instead. Despite the judge’s decision, Oracle still has the option to seek damages far in excess of the $100 million suggestion. On a more negative note for Google, the judge approved
of Oracle’s inclusion of associated advertising revenue in the royalty base of the suit. The case is scheduled to begin in October 2011.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
Google and Author’s Guild Strongly Encouraged to Settle Soon by Judge
The date for the next status conference in the Author’s Guild case against Google over its Google Books service has been set for September 15 by presiding Judge Denny Chin. According to a statement from the Author’s Guild, the judge also warned that a settlement must be reached soon, saying that he will impose a “discovery deadline” if no
settlement results from the next meeting. The parties in the dispute have only met twice since the March 22 rejection of Google’s original settlement proposal. Neither meeting has resulted in any progress toward a resolution.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
InterDigital Suing Nokia, Huawei, ZTE; Claims Patent Infringement
Telecompaper reported that InterDigital has filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission against Nokia, Huawei Technologies, and ZTE alleging patent infringement. InterDigital is asking for a ban on future sales and imports to the US of the three companies’ mobile devices. The complaint
covers WCDMA and cdma2000 mobile phones, USB sticks, mobile hotspots, and tablets, as well as components of such devices. InterDigital also filed a complaint in the US District Court for the District of Delaware alleging that the companies’ 3G devices
infringe the same InterDigital patents. InterDigital said it held talks with Nokia, Huawei, and ZTE in an attempt to license its technology but was unable to reach an agreement, prompting the legal action. InterDigital is a chip design company that holds
some 10,000 patents related to wireless chips found in modems for mobile phones and USB sticks.
Source: Telecompaper, 7/27/2011
MALWARE WATCH
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German Police Warn of New Trojan Targeting Banking Customers
The German Federal Criminal Police, known as the BKA, have warned consumers about a banking Trojan that uses new tactics to trick victims into transferring their money into a criminal’s account, Krebs on
Security reported. The malware pops up when a customer logs into a financial account.
Source: Krebs, 7/28/2011
Google AdWords Messages Are a Scam, Warns Sophos
Sophos is cautioning users about messages that appear to come from Google AdWords, but are really part of a phishing scam. The messages attempt to trick users into visiting a malicious Web site that looks like the
Google AdWords login page, and then uses phishing techniques to steal credentials.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
Overdue Credit Card Message? Sophos Says It Might be a Trojan
A new Trojan that attempts to scare recipients into clicking on the attached zip file is circulating around the Internet, Sophos has warned. The malware, known as “Troj/Invo-Zip,” is hidden in a file that presents
itself as a message from a credit card company that states that the recipient is a week late on payment and faces additional charge fees. Once the user clicks to open the zip file, the Trojan is unleashed.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
MOBILE APPS
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Coveo Adds Knowledge 360 Solutions and Enterprise Search 2.0 to Apps
Coveo extended its lineup of mobile apps to include its new Knowledge 360 Solutions and Enterprise Search 2.0 platform. Coveo said the new app is capable of bringing correlated records of customers, cases, solutions,
prospects, and more to field workers wherever they have an Internet connection. The application is available for both smartphones and tablet PCs. The Blackberry version of Knowledge 360 is available now, while the iPhone, iPad, and Android versions are
still in beta.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
France Telecom’s Orange and BNP Pariba Create Online Banking Service
France Telecom‘s Orange signed a trademark license agreement with BNP Paribas which will see the pair launching a new mobile banking service in November 2011. The new services will be available in all 2,250
BNP Paribas branches, as well as online. They will include a variety of mobile payments and mobile bank functions, such as transfers and deposits. The companies plan to transition all BNP Paribas customers onto the new service within 3 years.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
Opera Teams with UTV Indiagames in India
Opera formed an alliance with UTV Indiagames which will bring the company’s gaming products to the Opera Mini Speed Dial in India. The new offering will include puzzle, action, and strategy titles, and will be
available from anywhere with cellular reception. Customers will also be able to purchase wallpapers, music, and videos from the UTV service. No financial terms for the alliance were disclosed.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
OPERATING SYSTEMS
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Debian 7 “Wheezy” to add Multiarch Support
The Debian project announced plans to include multiarch support in the next release of its operating system, Debian 7, “Wheezy”. Slated for release in 2013, the updated operating system will include a new filesystem
hierarchy with respect to library and header paths. The organization said the addition of multiarch support will make “programs and libraries of different hardware architectures easily installable in parallel on the very same system.” Debian claimed the
change will bring it close to its goal of being a truly universal operating system.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
Mozilla Announces Plans for Its Own Web-Based Operating System
Mozilla announced plans to launch its own Web-based operating system on its corporate blog. The development project, titled Boot to
Gecko, will focus on several areas: developing new Web APIs, including support for functions such as telephony, SMS, image capture, USB, Bluetooth, and NFC; a new privilege model to allow for the safe exposure of these new capabilities to pages and
applications; a booting prototype based on a low-level substrate designed around the Android operating system; and a library of applications created for the new OS, or ported from existing operating systems. Mozilla says it plans to keep the development
process completely transparent, and will always make the source code of its current build available to developers.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
PERSONNEL AND ORGANIZATION
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Charter Appoints Jay A. Rolls as New SVP and CFO
Charter Communications appointed Jay A. Rolls to the role of Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. Rolls’ duties will include leading the company’s engineering and architecture teams, as well as
serving as Charter’s primary liaison to industry organizations, including the R&D firm CableLabs. Prior to joining Charter, Rolls served as Senior Vice President, Technology at Cox Communications.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
Citrix Appoints Three New Members to Executive Team
Citrix appointed three new members to its executive team. First, Erin Hintz has joined the company as vice president, global marketing and ecommerce, Online Services Division. Hintz will be responsible for leading
the Online Services Division, and will manage the company’s GoToMeeting and GoToMyPC product lines. Hints came to the company from its acquisition of Delrina, where she was a public relations executive. Second, Shankar Iyer was named vice president of
product management, Receiver and End-user Services. He will be responsible for cloud and end-user services relating to the Citrix Receiver product line. Prior to this appointment, Iyer served as vice president of products and new business initiatives at
WebEx. Lastly, Bob Schultz is the new group vice president and general manager, Enterprise Desktops and Applications. He will lead the Citrix XenDesktop and Citrix XenApp product lines. Schultz came to Citrix from HP, where he served as vice president of
operations, planning and strategy.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
EarthLink Sharpens Business Services Focus
EarthLink has named Mae Squier-Dow as President of its Premier Business Solutions group, and Vikram Desai as President of National Accounts. EarthLink said the two new units were developed to create a
customer-focused approach for its growing business service base. Squier-Dow and Desai will report directly to EarthLink Chairman and CEO Rolla Huff.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
France Telecom Appoints Marc Blanchet as Director, Enterprise France
France Telecom named Marc Blanchet as the new Director of Enterprise France, effective October 1, 2011. He will be tasked with improving customer satisfaction, increasing revenues, and selling convergent and
IT services on the markets he is responsible for. Blanchet’s new division is responsible for marketing Orange Business Service across the entirety of France. Marc Blanchet has been with France Telecom his entire career, serving in various roles of
increasing responsibility. Prior to this appointment he held the office of Senior Vice President of Global Communication Solutions.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
IBM Founds Services Innovation Lab
IBM created Services Innovation Lab (SIL), its new lab dedicated to the expansion of real-time analytics and software automation. Consisting initially of about 200 technology experts, the lab will offer its findings to
improve IBM’s own services, as well as its global services delivery capabilities. The SIL will operate from IBM labs around the globe, including locations in New York, California, China, Israel, India, Japan, Switzerland, and Brazil.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
Juniper Names Former MS Exec Muglia as EVP, Software
Juniper Networks announced that former 23-year Microsoft executive Robert Muglia will join the firm as EVP, Software Solutions, a new role focused on end-to-end software strategy.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
Motorola Solutions Names New Director Board Member
Motorola Solutions named Kenneth C. Dahlberg – most recently chairman and CEO of SAIC prior to his 2010 retirement – to its director board. Dahlberg is also a former EVP with General Dynamics,
and former president and CEO with Raytheon Systems.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
Progress Software Appoints Dan Veitkus VPS and GM of EMEA Region
Progress Software appointed Dan Veitkus to the position of Vice President and General Manager, Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). His responsibilities will include the management of single, integrated and
customer-focused sales, as well as professional services and support organizations across the EMEA region. Prior to this appointment, Veitkus served as EMEA Vice President and General Manager of Channels and Alliances for Novell.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
Research in Motion to Cut 2,000 Jobs
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) announced it plans to cut about 11 percent of its workforce – some 2,000 jobs – to slash costs as it struggles against smartphone competitors including Apple and Google. The
announcement comes a month after the Canadian company revealed that it would reduce headcount for the first time in a decade. RIM also announced a slew of senior management changes, including the
retirement of Chief Operating Officer (COO) Don Morrison, currently on medical leave. Morrison has been with RIM for 10 years. Thorsten Heins is taking on an expanded role of COO, Product and Sales, and Jim Rowan is taking on an expanded role of COO,
Operations. He will also now oversee the Organizational Development and Facilities Management functions. Following the completion of the workforce reduction, RIM’s global workforce is expected to be approximately 17,000 people.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
SAP Appoints Jennifer Morgan as New president of SAP Public Services
SAP appointed Jennifer Morgan as president of SAP Public Services. She will be responsible for managing all SAP sales to the federal government, including the Department of Defense, federal civilian agencies, and
Homeland Security, as well as sales to state and local governments, defense and security firms, and higher education institutions. Prior to this promotion, Morgan served as vice president for the Federal Civilian division of SAP Public Services.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
Siemens Reappoints CEO Loscher, Two Board Members
Siemens‘ Supervisory Board reappointed Peter Loscher to a five-year term as president and CEO, and reappointed Siegfried Russwurm and Peter Solmssen as Managing Board members. The new contracts come into effect on
April 1, 2012. Loscher has headed Siemens since July 2007.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
Sprint Amends Contracts with Cell Tower Company
Sprint announced it has amended “important contracts” with Crown Castle to enable the delivery of its next-generation network. The agreement affects more than 10,000 of
Sprint’s nationwide cell sites, the carrier said. Work has begun on thousands of sites and renegotiation of existing contracts with tower companies is “an important step” in launching the sites later this year, Sprint said. Crown Castle owns, operates, and
leases towers and other infrastructure for wireless communications. No other details about the modified contracts were released.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
SugarCRM Appoints John Mertic as Community Manager
SugarCRM appointed John Mertic as the new manager for its open source community. The company says it chose to create the community manager position after its network of users reached more than 800,000, all running
SugarCRM’s Community Edition product. Mertic is an author that has written several books on the topic of CRM, including a guidebook for SugarCRM’s own products.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
T-Mobile USA Exits Radio Shack Agreement; Verizon Comes On Board
RadioShack announced a new partnership with Verizon Wireless and the end to its relationship with T-Mobile USA. Radio Shack
will sell Verizon Wireless products in all 4300 of its company-owned retail locations. The deal is expected to be more profitable for the retailer. For its part, T-Mobile USA issued a statement saying: “After careful consideration, we decided that in order to increase the effectiveness of our retail network and in line with our sales strategy,
T-Mobile will exit RadioShack retail locations, effective September 15, 2011.” T-Mobile USA said it plans to announce “new channel growth” in the coming weeks, that it claims will more than double the number of RadioShack locations currently offering
T-Mobile products and services.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
Telstra Names Tracey Gavegan as Group Managing Director, HR
Telstra appointed Tracey Gavegan as Group Managing Director, Human Resources. The new role will see Gavegan reported to Chief Executive Officer, David Thodey. Gavegan is a 25 year veteran of the industry, having
joined Telstra in 2006. She has held various offices of increasing status in the HR department since.
Source: Vendor, 7/22/2011
Verizon Wireless Launches Mobile Giving Campaign for Famine Relief
Verizon Wireless has launched a mobile giving program for customers wanting to contribute to relief efforts in East Africa, which is suffering from famine. The company said its customers can use their mobile
phones to make $10 donations to a variety of nonprofit organizations responding to the famine and the millions of people in need of food aid – including UNICEF, World Vision, and International Rescue Committee – by texting a specific word to the
organization’s short code. For the International Rescue Committee, text #AFRICA to 25383; for UNICEF, text FOOD to 864233; and for World Vision, text 4AFRICA to 20222. Verizon has waived text-messaging fees for the program.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
ZTE Establishes Group Finance Company
ZTE established its own group finance company, ZTE Group Finance Co Ltd. The new operation has a capital fund of RMB 1 billion, and will be based in Shenzhen, China. ZTE said the new business will operate as a
non-bank financial institution, and will be led by Wei Zaisheng, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of ZTE. ZTE said it hopes the foundation of the new business will increase its exposure to customers in the financial services
industry.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
PUBLIC SAFETY
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EU’s Security Agency Updates Emergency Response Map
ENISA, the European Union’s (European Union) network information and security agency, has published the updated version of the Computer Emergency
Response Teams (CERT) map. This map is updated twice a year and currently contains 165 CERTs throughout Europe.
Source: ENISA, 7/25/2011
LightSquared Plans Move to Next-Gen Public Safety Com Devices
LightSquared – which has provided satellite network services to federal, state, and local public safety agencies for emergency communications since 1996 – announced a plan to move to next-generation public
safety communications devices. As part of the plan, LightSquared said it will replace the current LightSquared public safety devices at no cost and continue to support older devices through 2014; work with the public safety community to design next-
generation LightSquared devices; and continue to support the SMART (Satellite Mutual Aid Radio Talkgroup) program.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
NIST to Conduct Study on Effects from Joplin Tornado
The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will conduct a full technical study on the impacts of the EF5 tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri in May. The multiple-vortex storm was the single deadliest
tornado in the United States in the 61 years since official records have been kept. Among the issues the study will address are determining characteristics of the wind hazard from the tornado and making recommendations for building-code improvements.
Source: NIST, 7/25/2011
REGULATORY & GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
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DHS Reports on Progress Made on 9/11 Commission Recommendations
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a report that details the progress DHS has made in fulfilling specific recommendations by the 9/11 Commission. DHS cites as progress the expansion of information sharing with both public and private partners; development and implementation of risk-based transportation security strategies; and enhanced
screening for explosives at airports.
Source: DHS, 7/21/2011
EU Publishes Report on Role of ENISA
The European Union (European Union) has published a report regarding the role of its network information
and security agency ENISA. The paper discusses the effectiveness of ENISA and presents suggestions for improving its efficiency in the future.
Source: ENISA, 7/28/2011
Securing Critical Infrastructure Is Essential for US, GAO Testifies
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) provided testimony regarding the importance of public-private partnerships to secure critical infrastructures. The GAO
described threats that face cyber-reliant critical infrastructures; and actions the federal government has taken, in partnership with the private sector, to identify and protect cyber-reliant critical infrastructures.
Source: GAO, 7/26/2011
NAB Claims National Broadband Plan “Threatens Millions of TV Viewers”
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) claims forty percent of full-power local television stations in the US might have to vacate their current TV channel assignment under the Federal Communication Commission‘s National Broadband Plan, and that a minimum of 210 of those stations could go off the air permanently. In a press
release, the industry group said its analysis found that 672 of the 1735 full-power TV stations in the US must be “cleared” from channels 31-51 to accommodate the FCC’s goal of reclaiming an additional 120 MHz of spectrum from broadcasters. Saying the
National Broadband Plan “threatens millions of TV viewers,” the NAB called on the FCC “to immediately make public its analyses of the NBP’s potential negative impact on viewers of free and local television.”
Source: NAB, 7/27/2011
NIST Releases Two Security Drafts
The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced the second public comment release of a report, identified as NISTIR 7275 Revision 4, which is the latest revision of an Extensible Markup Language (XML) based model that enables the standardized expression of
security configuration rules. NIST also is seeking public comments for a revision of Recommendation for the Triple Data Encryption Algorithm (TDEA) Block Cipher, which is identified as SP 800-67 Revision 1.
Source: NIST, 7/27/2011
US CERT Director Resigns
Computerworld reported that Randy Vickers, director of US-CERT, has resigned his position. Deputy director Lee Rock will act as interim director until a replacement is
named. US-CERT (United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team) is responsible for defending federal government computers and networks, and private networks deemed essential to the country’s infrastructure from cyber attacks.
Source: Computerworld, 7/28/2011
SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS
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Gilat Wins Contract for Satellite Network in Remote Region of Russia
Gilat Satellite Networks announced that it has been selected by Russian Yakutia Ministry of Finance to provide a full turnkey SkyEdge II broadband satellite network to serve new Ministry of Finance locations across
Sakha (Yakutia) Republic, one of Russia’s largest Federal Districts. Satellite-based connectivity is essential for communications in Yakutia, which has fewer than one million people spread over more than 3,100,000 square kilometers (1,937,500 square
miles), Gilat said. As part of the agreement, Gilat will provide the Ministry with a SkyEdge II platform, including hub installation, integration with previously installed Sky Edge platforms, and service support and maintenance. Gilat will also oversee the
installation of remote sites.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
Harris Wins $85 Million ASTI Program Contract
Harris Corp was named the prime contractor for the Alaskan Satellite Telecommunications Infrastructure (ASTI) program by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Under the terms of the agreement, Harris will be
tasked with replacing and upgrading the existing satellite communications network connecting the Alaskan Air Route Traffic Control Center in Anchorage with 64 FAA facilities across the region. Harris will also provide a new network management system,
system security enhancements, logistics support, and training. The contract has a five-year base period, a single five-year option, and a total value of more than $85 if the option is exercised.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
SEARCH
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Foxit Posts Advisories to Address Security Issues in Reader
Foxit has issued two security advisories regarding holes in Reader. The vendor advises that users update to version 5.0.2.0718 immediately.
Source: Secunia, 7/21/2011
Yahoo Completes Transition to Bing Back End in 6 New Countries
Yahoo announced the latest milestone in its efforts to transition its global back end to the Microsoft network. This time the company announced that Yahoo searches in six
additional countries are now powered by the Bing engine. The countries are New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela. Yahoo said it expects to complete additional transitions across Europe and Asia in
the coming months.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
SECURITY FLAWS & FIXES
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Oracle Releases Patches, Advisory for Flash Player Flaws
Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in Adobe Flash Player included in Solaris, resulting in the release of patches by Oracle to remedy these issues. An advisory has been issued to provide further information.
Source: Secunia, 7/25/2011
Apple Posts Advisory on iWork Flaws
Apple iWork contains several vulnerabilities that could result in the execution of arbitrary code. To address these flaws, Apple posted an advisory and announced that
users should update to version 9.1.
Source: Secunia, 7/26/2011
Apple Releases New Versions of iOS
To mitigate risks from a nine-year-old vulnerability, Apple has released iOS 4.3.5 for the iPhone (GSM model), iPod touch, and iPad, and iOS 4.2.10 for the iPhone (CDMA model). Two advisories provide information about
the updates and the vulnerability, which should immediately be patched to prevent attackers from intercepting and decrypting secure data.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
Microsoft Reissues Earlier Bulletin for Windows Client/Server
Microsoft updated a bulletin from July 12 that pertains to a vulnerability in the Windows Client/Server Run-time Subsystem. A link has
been added to the knowledge base article, and the original bulletin is considered “important.”
Source: Vendor, 7/21/2011
Microsoft Updates Critical Security Bulletin
Microsoft has added some further information to a critical security bulletin from April 12 regarding ActiveX kill bits. In addition,
Microsoft corrected the information in a bulletin that was originally released on July 28, 2009. That bulletin, which is deemed “moderate,” details vulnerabilities in the Active
Template Library that is included with Visual Studio.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
CorelDRAW Security Vulnerability Affects McAfee, Novell Products
Various vendor products have been affected by a CorelDRAW parser overflow vulnerability. This issue has been reported in Novell GroupWise and McAfee GroupShield. The only known
resolution is to disable parsing of CDR files.
Source: Secunia, 7/25/2011
SECURITY PRODUCTS & COMPANIES
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CNL Software to Deploy Physical Security Management in DC
CNL Software has been chosen to provide the integration and information management platform for the District of Columbia under its city-wide Situation Awareness Program. The program creates a unified and central
user interface to share video data across 5,000 CCTV cameras that are monitored by multiple district agencies.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
Mac OS X Lion Is Protected by Kaspersky Anti-Virus
Kaspersky Lab released an update for Anti-Virus 2011 for Mac that is fully compatible with Apple‘s Mac OS X Lion operating system. Existing users of Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2011
for Mac have received an automatic update to make the product compatible with the new version of Mac OS X Lion.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
March Networks’ Video Surveillance to be Deployed in Italy
March Networks has been selected to provide its Video Management System (VMS) platform and video analytics for the protection of 50 remote solar farms across southern Italy. Italy represents the second largest
market in the world for solar farms.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
Microsoft Opens New Malware Research and Response Lab in Germany
Microsoft has opened a new Malware Protection Center Research and Response Center in Munich. The lab is expected to help respond to cyber threats across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
Morpho Acquires Syagen Technology
Morpho Detection has completed the acquisition of Syagen Technology. Syagen provides mass spectrometry technology focused on security applications and will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Morpho
Detection.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
Sophos Boosts Security on BlockMaster’s USB Drives
Sophos and BlockMaster, a provider of managed secure USB drives, have signed a new OEM agreement to integrate Sophos’s anti-virus technology into SafeConsoleReady secure USB flash drives. Through this new agreement,
Sophos’s technology adds to the existing levels of security on SafeConsoleReady Devices, such as BlockMaster’s SafeStick and Kingston’s DTVP-M and DT4000-M, by preventing the spread of malware.
Source: Vendor, 7/21/2011
Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Supports Mac OS X Lion
Sophos‘s Anti-Virus for Mac and Anti-Virus for Mac: Home Edition fully support Apple‘s Mac OS X Lion. Current users of Sophos Anti-Virus products for Mac will be fully protected
as soon as they upgrade to Mac OS X Lion.
Source: Vendor, 7/20/2011
Sophisticated Malware Is on the Rise
Symantec‘s July 2011 Intelligence
Report has revealed a significant rise in malware, noting that one in 280.9 emails were identified as malicious during the month. Another sobering revelation from Symantec: malware is frequently contained in an executable within an attached ZIP archive
file, often disguised as a PDF file or an office document. In July, the global ratio of spam in email traffic rose to 77.8% (one in 1.29 emails); an increase of 4.9 percentage points when compared with June 2011.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
Poll: Companies Lag in Social Network Archiving Technologies
Symantec announced the findings of its 2011 Social Media Protection Flash Poll which examined how organizations protect themselves from negative consequences of using social networking sites such as Facebook and
Twitter. The survey found that 82% of enterprises have discussed implementing archiving solutions to preserve sensitive business information transmitted through social media, but that less than one-fourth have actually implemented any of those
technologies.
Source: Vendor, 7/21/2011
SERVERS
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IBM Launches New z114 Mainframe Server for SMEs
IBM announced its latest zEnterprise System, the z114. Designed for use by small to medium-sized (SME) businesses, the server is capable of combining the workflows from hundreds of x86 servers, IBM said. Features
include support for both Linux and Windows operating systems, support for extra System x blades, 14 processor cores, and customizable specialty engine assignments. Prices for the z114 start at $75,000.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
SMART GRID TECHNOLOGY
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Accenture to Build Network Operations Center for Pepco
Accenture signed an agreement with Pepco, an energy delivery company for the US mid-Atlantic region. Under the terms of the agreement, Accenture will set up an integrated Network Operations Center (NOC), which
will be used to expand the utility’s ability to monitor technology related to its smart grid components. The utility company plans to use the NOC as a hub for its advanced meter infrastructure and distribution automation system. Accenture will strategize,
plan, analyze, design, test, and implement the project, as well as providing fault, performance, configuration, security, and inventory management in compliance with the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC). No financial terms were
disclosed.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
SMARTPHONES
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AT&T Rolling Out Android Updates
AT&T confirmed that upgrades to the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) platform are planned for all post-paid Android smartphones it introduced earlier this year. Motorola ATRIX 4G users began receiving an update to Android 2.3
yesterday and HTC Inspire 4G users will receive the update in the coming weeks, AT&T said. The HTC Status, which AT&T launched July 17, already runs the latest version of Android.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
Motorola Industrial Introduces Brazilian Smartphone for Claro
Motorola Industrial and Claro introduced the SPICE Key smartphone in Brazil. The Android model has a full QWERTY keyboard, touchscreen, and battery that accommodates eight hours of talk time or 30 days in standby,
3G mode. It is available for Claro clients at a cost of 99 BRL ($63 USD), which includes 250-MB Internet access.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
Nielsen: Android Leading Platform Race, Apple Still Leads Phone Makers
Nielsen released its findings on the US smartphone market in June 2011. The measurement company found that Google’s Android is the single largest platform on the
market, now accounting for 39% of all smartphones in the US. Android is followed by Apple’s iOS with 28% of the market, and RIM’s Blackberry OS with 20%. Despite the runaway success of Android, Apple remains the top device manufacturer in the US market,
thanks to the fact that it is the sole maker of iOS devices, while Android devices are manufactured by a variety of companies. Apple’s closest competitors were HTC, which accounts for 14% of the market with its Android devices, and Motorola, which accounts
for 11% with its Android-based smartphones.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
Sprint IDs Phones It Will Introduce for Direct Connect Service
Sprint announced the initial phones it plans to deploy in the fourth quarter of this year when the company launches its next-generation, push-to-talk service. The new service – SprintDirect Connect – will expand
network capacity and is expected to extend the company’s push-to-talk coverage to almost triple the square miles of Sprint’s current push-to-talk offering. The Sprint Direct Connect phones to be introduced this Fall will be the Kyocera DuraCore and the
Kyocera DuraMax. As previously announced, a third handset – a Motorola smartphone – will be described closer to the launch of Sprint Direct Connect, the company said.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
T-Mobile USA to Launch HTC Wildfire S Smartphone August 3
T-Mobile USA said the new HTC Wildfire S smartphone will be available online and through retailers on August 3rd. The smartphone comes equipped with HTC Sense and the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) operating system. It
also has a 5-megapixel camera, video recorder, and a virtual QWERTY keyboard with Swype for easy text input. The HTC Wildfire S will sell for $79.99 after a $50 mail-in-rebate, with a two-year service agreement and a qualifying voice and data plan.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
Vodafone Launches Pre-Paid Phone with Integrated Facebook Button
Vodafone launched its first pre-paid phone with a built-in Facebook button. The Vodafone 555 Blue features a pre-installed Facebook app; integrated Facebook messaging; single-click photo sharing; background updating; and a 2.4-inch landscape
display with QWERTY keypad. The device will launch soon across most Vodafone regions in the world.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
SOCIAL MEDIA
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comScore Releases Social Essentials Social Measurement Platform
comScore launched its new Social Essentials social measurement platform. The measurement company said the new product is
capable of helping online businesses quantify social media brand impressions and incorporate them into a measurement of marketing success. The initial release of the product will only support social interactions occurring on Facebook, while subsequent updates will add more social networks, the first of which will be Twitter. Measurements made possible by Social Essentials include the number of fans reached
with paid, earned, and owned social media brand impressions; the ability to compute planning metrics such as frequency and GRPs; and the behavioral impact of exposure to social media messages.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
STORAGE
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TAEC Unveils 24-Nanometer e-MMC Devices
Toshiba America Electronic Components introduced new, 24-nanometer e-MMC devices for its NAND Flash portfolio. The embedded memory modules have a density ranging from 2-128GB. They were developed for
smartphones, tablet PCs, eBooks, digital video cameras, printers, servers, and point-of-sale systems.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
STREAMING MEDIA
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Amazon Signs Licensing Agreement with NBCUniversal TV
Amazon signed a licensing agreement with NBCUniversal Domestic TV Distribution. The new contract will allow it to stream select Universal Pictures movies through its Prime Instant Video service. Amazon said this will
boost the total number of videos available on the Prime service to more than 9,000. The videos will be available to all Amazon Prime members eligible for the streaming video portion of the membership. This does not include members with student Prime
memberships. No financial terms for the agreement were disclosed.
Source: Vendor, 7/28/2011
AOL Launches AOL HD App for Connected TVs
AOL announced the launch of AOL HD a new application designed to deliver high-definition video to various connected TV platforms, including Boxee, Roku, and Yahoo! Connected TV. The app
will provide HD quality video and audio content as a free service. Programming will consist of three channels: entertainment, technology, and home. Each channel will feature subject appropriate content from one of AOL’s properties, including Moviefone,
Engadget, and HuffPost Entertainment. AOL HD is available now on the accompanying app store for each of the aforementioned connected TV platforms.
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
Cisco Spain Developing iPlus for Spanish IPTV Provider
Cisco Systems Spain signed an agreement with pay-per-use Spanish IP TV provider Digital+, for the development of its iPlus decoder. At present, the iPlus is available in more than 300,000 homes, with a base of more
than 1.8 million Digital+ clients.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
Pew Finds Online Video Viewing Way Up Year-Over-Year
The Pew Internet & American Life Project released the findings of a recent survey on online video viewing. The research group
found that 71% of online US adults use an online video site on a regular basis, including 28% that visit one daily. These numbers are up significantly from last year, when a similar survey found that 66% used such sites, with only 23% claiming daily use.
Interestingly, this year’s numbers also show rural and suburban users have caught up to their urban counterparts in online video viewing, with 68% of rural users, and 70% of suburban users watching online videos regularly. The report suggested the
continued rapid growth of online video viewing is due mainly to the proliferation of high-speed broadband around the country, and the growth of mega sites like YouTube, as well as the availability of online television
programming.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS
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HP Announces Unified Communications Products, Services
Hewlett-Packard (HP) announced new products and services for Unified Communications in the workplace. HP’s new Voice Transformation Solutions, Virtual Workplace Solutions, and Network Readiness services were created to
help integrate telephony with communications applications, such as video or IM.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
VOIP
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NEC Receives Skype Connect Certification for UNIVERGE SV8000
NEC received Skype certification for its UNIVERGE SV8000 Series Communications Servers; the products can now be marketed as “with Skype Connect”. The solution was required to undergo testing by a third-party to insure
it’s interoperability with the Skype network and the numerous devices on it. This certification allows for customers using the system to be billed through Skype, to receive inbound calls from other Skype users, to receive calls at a designated Skype phone
number, and to manage Skype calls using existing UNIVERGE features. NEC says it will continue to seek certification for its future SIP-enabled UNIVERGE solutions.
Source: Vendor, 7/26/2011
Vonage Adds Support for International Calls from Mobile Phones
Vonage announced a new feature which allows customers to utilize their home calling plans on any phone they own, including mobile devices. Extensions, as the new service is called, also lets customers use their
signature unlimited international calling plans to make calls to foreign contacts. Extensions requires the customer to register their mobile phone with Vonage. The device will then function as a “virtual calling card,” which applies any calling charges to
the user’s Vonage account, rather than their cell phone bill. The Extensions service is free to all Vonage customers
Source: Vendor, 7/27/2011
WEB COMMERCE
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Google Launches AdWord Express for Local Businesses
Google launched AdWords Express, a new advertising
solution designed to allow local businesses to begin advertising online in less than 5 minutes. The new product has been available, under the name Google Boost, to a small number of test customers since last year. AdWords Express allows users to create a
profile by answering several questions about their business. The service will then automatically generate an ad campaign, which it will automatically manage.
Source: Vendor, 7/25/2011
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