Laura’s Insights ITIC Blog

National Advertising Council Tells Oracle to Discontinue Misleading IBM Ads

2012, Laura's Insights ITIC Blog, News / By

The always heated ongoing rivalry between Oracle and IBM, just got more contentious, with the recent news that the National Advertising Division (NAD) has called out Oracle for publishing misleading ads in The Wall Street Journal and The Economist claiming Oracle’s T4-4 server is 2x faster and 66% cheaper than IBM’s comparable P795 server.

NAD, a division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, based in New York City recommended that Oracle discontinue “certain comparative performance and pricing claims” in the national newspaper ads and on the www.Oracle.com website. Specifically, the NAD took exception to Oracle advertisements claim that “Oracle’s SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 system retails for $1.2 million whereas IBM’s P795 high end server costs $4.5 million – an improbable $3.3 million price discrepancy.

The NAD functions as an objective and impartial self-regulatory forum for the advertising industry. In its official determination, the NAD took pains to remain objective. It noted that both the advertiser (Oracle) and the challenger (IBM) produce high quality computer systems. …

National Advertising Council Tells Oracle to Discontinue Misleading IBM AdsRead More »

National Advertising Council Tells Oracle to Discontinue Misleading IBM Ads Read More »

IBM STG Group Posts Positive Gains, Offers Strong Strategy & Growth Roadmap

2011, Laura's Insights ITIC Blog, News / By

Vendor sponsored Analyst conferences are oftentimes long on self-congratulatory hyperbole and short on substance. That wasn’t the case with IBM’s Systems and Technology Group Analyst conference held last week in Rye Brook, NY.

The STG conference, led by Rod Adkins, Senior Vice President of the STG Group, showcased the division’s solid accomplishments over the last several years and detailed the current and future product roadmap and investment strategy. Investments focused around three major areas: Systems, growth markets and strategic acquisitions. Adkins could have easily added a fourth category: patents. The U.S. Patent Office granted IBM’s STG division 2,680 patents in 2010 and it could exceed that number in 2011. One only has to scan the headlines and peruse the ongoing patent purchasing frenzy and the plethora of lawsuits involving all of the major vendors to realize the pivotal role patents play as both and offensive and defensive weapon. IBM, in its Centenary year, holds more patents than any other U.S. technology vendor.

STG 2011 Milestones

Noting that STG is aligned with IBM’s overall growth strategy, Adkins detailed the division’s milestones throughout the first three quarters in 2011. They included: …

IBM STG Group Posts Positive Gains, Offers Strong Strategy & Growth RoadmapRead More »

IBM STG Group Posts Positive Gains, Offers Strong Strategy & Growth Roadmap Read More »

Spring 2011: Hackers Had a Bonanza

Laura's Insights ITIC Blog, News / By

Hackers have had a bonanza in April, May and June (so far). Nary has a day gone by without news of yet another major attack. Here’s a partial list of some of the most publicized hacks of the last 10 weeks:

RSA Security: On April 1, in a move akin to raiding Fort Knox, RSA’s Secure ID technology (one of the industry’s gold standards in security software) was hacked. RSA executives described the hack as “very sophisticated.” They characterized it as an advanced persistent threat (APT)-type targeted attack. It used a routine tactic – a phishing Email that contained an infected attachment that was triggered when opened.

Epsilon:  This Irving, TX –based company handles customer email messaging for over 150 firms, including large banks and retailers like Best Buy, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and L.L.Bean. In April, millions of consumers learned that Epsilon’s networks were breached when they received Emails from their banks and credit card companies informing them that the hack might have exposed their names and Email addresses to the hackers. Epsilon released a statement assuring consumers that only Email addresses and names were compromised and that no sensitive data was disclosed. …

Spring 2011: Hackers Had a BonanzaRead More »

Spring 2011: Hackers Had a Bonanza Read More »

Security Wars: Time to Use Continuous Monitoring Tools to Thwart Hackers

Laura's Insights ITIC Blog, News / By

It’s time for corporations to wise up and use the latest, most effective weapons to safeguard and secure their data.

High tech devices, software applications, Emails, user accounts, social media and networks – even those presumed safe — are being hacked with alarming alacrity and ease.

Security tools, encryption and updating your networks with the latest patches are certainly necessary, but they are not enough. Corporations must arm themselves with the latest security tools and devices in order to effectively combat the new breed of malware, malicious code and ever more proficient hackers. I’m referring to the new breed of continuous monitoring tools that identify, detect and shut down vulnerabilities before hackers can find and exploit them. …

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Security Wars: Time to Use Continuous Monitoring Tools to Thwart Hackers Read More »

2011 in High Tech YTD Part 3: Cisco Pulls Plug on Flip, Focuses on Core Competencies

Laura's Insights ITIC Blog / By

Cisco Pulls the Plug on Flip

Following two consecutive fiscal quarters, Cisco Systems shocked the industry three weeks ago with the news that it will cease to manufacture its popular Flip video camera and will lay off the division’s 550 workers, substantially reducing its consumer businesses.

Also within the past two weeks, Cisco unveiled a voluntary retirement program aimed at workers 50 years old whose age plus tenure at the company equals 60; these workers have from May 10 through June 24 to opt in. This is the first time in two years that Cisco instituted such a cost cutting policy.

Cisco recently hired Gary Moore as Chief Operating Officer to fine tune its re-focused initiatives. …

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2011 in High Tech YTD Part 3: Cisco Pulls Plug on Flip, Focuses on Core Competencies Read More »

2011 in High Tech YTD Part 2: Management Shakeups at Google, HP, Microsoft etc.

Laura's Insights ITIC Blog / By

Revolving Door

In contrast to Apple’s stunning success, the first calendar quarter of 2011 was a revolving door for other Silicon Valley companies and executives. There were management shifts, shakeups and ousters at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Google, Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Microsoft. They were variously aimed at jumpstarting product momentum (AMD, Microsoft), polishing a tarnished image and placating stockholders (HP) and providing an orderly transition of power (Google).

You need a scorecard to keep up with all the comings and goings.

AMD’s board ousted chief executive Dirk Meyer in mid-January after only 18 months on the job. It then appointed Senior Vice President and CFO Thomas Seifert, as interim CEO while the search goes on for a permanent chief executive. Siefert continues as chief financial officer and says he does not want to be considered for the permanent CEO position. This is probably a smart move. AMD’s flamboyant co-founder Jerry Sanders spent 33 years as CEO (1969 to 2002), but everyone who’s followed has had a short tenure. …

2011 in High Tech YTD Part 2: Management Shakeups at Google, HP, Microsoft etc.Read More »

2011 in High Tech YTD Part 2: Management Shakeups at Google, HP, Microsoft etc. Read More »

2011 YTD in High Tech: Bold Aggressive Actions

Laura's Insights ITIC Blog, News / By

It’s hard to believe but the first quarter of 2011 is now a memory and we’re well into spring. The tone for the year in high technology was set in early January: fast, bold, aggressive action and sweeping management changes.

In the first four months of the year high tech vendors moved quickly and decisively to seize opportunities in established sectors (smart phones, virtualization, back-up and disaster recovery) and emerging markets (cloud computing, tablet devices and unified storage management). As 2011 unfolds, it’s apparent that high technology vendors are willing to shift strategies and shed executives in order to stay one step ahead of or keep pace with competitors. The competition is cutthroat and unrelenting. No vendor, no matter how dominant its market share, how pristine its balance sheet or how deep its order backlog and book to bill ratio dares relax or rest on its laurels for even a nanosecond.

Recaps of some of the year’s highlights thus far are very revealing. …

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2011 YTD in High Tech: Bold Aggressive Actions Read More »

iPad2 Smashes Sales Records

Laura's Insights ITIC Blog / By

It’s thinner. It’s faster. It’s here. It’s… Sold Out.

The “It” is the iPad2.

And with about 600,000 iPad2 units sold in the first three days of shipment – roughly twice as fast as the original – the iPad can now officially take its place in the pantheon of celebrated phenomena alongside the hula hoop, the Rubik cube, Elvis, Marilyn, Beatlemania, Bieber Fever et al.

Faster than you can say “I gotta have it” Apple’s iPad2 flew off the shelves on Friday and Saturday, dashing any notion (as well as the hopes of more than a few competitors) that the device and the public’s appetite for it has waned in the past year.

The iPad2 was out of stock at every one of the over three dozen Apple Retail stores that I phoned over the last 72 hours. The phone lines were jammed and I spent about five to 10 minutes typical in the busiest locations. …

iPad2 Smashes Sales RecordsRead More »

iPad2 Smashes Sales Records Read More »

The Patent Game: Everybody’s Playing, You Snooze, You Lose

Laura's Insights ITIC Blog / By

“Let the future tell the truth, and evaluate each one according to his work and accomplishments. The present is theirs; the future, for which I have really worked, is mine.”

— Nikola Tesla

Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla have a lot in common with Apple, Google, HTC, and Motorola & Research in Motion.

They were/are all warriors in the ongoing war to see who can amass the largest number of the most lucrative technology patents. Edison and Tesla waged their battle from the late 1860s through the 1920s and the stakes were just as high then as they are now.

Nary has a week gone by without mention of the latest contretemps among the high tech industry titans. There’s been no cessation of hostilities during the holiday season. If anything, top tier companies have become even more aggressive about solidifying and extending their dominance in and out of their core competencies as 2010 comes to a close. …

The Patent Game: Everybody’s Playing, You Snooze, You LoseRead More »

The Patent Game: Everybody’s Playing, You Snooze, You Lose Read More »

As Ellison Rips Rivals, Oracle Services Slip, Support Prices Soar

Laura's Insights ITIC Blog, News / By

Memo to Larry Ellison: The Roman Coliseum halted gladiator combats around 435 A.D. SAP has thrown in the towel and has no interest in continuing a court battle. Hewlett-Packard executives are refusing to accept service on your lawsuits and HP’s newly named chief executive Leo Apotheker is laying low, presumably dodging your increasingly vituperative verbal assaults. You’ve got no takers for the bloody, bare knuckles brawl you crave. What does that tell you?

It should signal an end to the Circus Maximus sideshow but it won’t.

No one desires this much attention or sticks their chin out spoiling for a fight like Ellison. And in an industry like high tech that’s overflowing with giant egos, that’s saying something. It’s true that Ellison’s antics always make for reams and reams of good copy. Reporters calling for comments on the latest developments don’t even bother to suppress their mirth. Enough is enough, though. The Larry Ellison Show would be more amusing if corporate customers weren’t getting caught in the crossfire. …

As Ellison Rips Rivals, Oracle Services Slip, Support Prices SoarRead More »

As Ellison Rips Rivals, Oracle Services Slip, Support Prices Soar Read More »

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