Disney's Pixar Buy Will Accelerate Change in Media Industry (Gartner)

The Walt Disney Co.'s purchase of Pixar Animation Studios puts two of the media industry's most effective change-makers under one corporate roof.

Where On Demand Stands (Line56)

Salesforce.com's release of AppExchange offers a chance to examine the state of play

Microsoft to Launch Internet Research Lab (Forbes)

Microsoft Corp. is creating a research lab devoted solely to developing Internet technology, as part of efforts to move products to market faster and better compete with rivals such as Google Inc.

Disney's Pixar Buyout A 'Near-Perfect Strategic Fit' (Forbes)

Merrill Lynch research analyst Jessica Reif Cohen maintained a "buy" rating and $31 price target on The Walt Disney Co. after the media giant said it would acquire Pixar Animation Studios for $7.4 billion in an all-stock deal announced late Tuesday.

The Aging Workforce (Accenture, May 2005)

Companies in developed nations, as well as those in many developing countries, face a major workforce-related challenge: Depending on the industry sector, as much as half of
the workforce will be eligible for retirement in the next five to 10 years. Worse yet, this development is not a short-term problem, as the working-age population will continue to age
over the next 30 to 40 years. This challenge is compounded by the fact that there is a much smaller talent pool coming up behind retiring baby boomers. With workers aging and fewer
people in succeeding generations, companies will experience a significant exodus of talent and experience in the next two decades and a dearth of new employees to step into roles
requiring specialized skills that are in short supply.

Keeping the know-how of a retiring generation (FT)

If the average age of the scientists in your company’s R&D department is 48, surely there is no need to worry yet about losing expertise if one of them retires? Wrong, says David DeLong: “I want to know which of the key people are 56, 58 or 60 – who is getting ready to walk out the door.”

Disney in $7.4bn Pixar deal (FT)

Walt Disney on Tuesday agreed to acquire Pixar, the animated film studio, in a $7.4bn deal it hopes will revive its animation department and better position the company to compete in a media industry being remade by digital technology.

Data management: A growing and expensive problem (FT)

Just 20 years ago, everything that meant anything to an organisation would have been in a database, says Phil Tee. In five years time, he says, less than 10 per cent could be there – the rest will be files on employees’ hard disks or corporate storage systems.

Classifying unstructured data according to business policy is a hot topic in the enterprise IT sector, with other small companies such as Kazeon, Arkivio, Scentric and StoredIQ all trying to establish positions.

A powerful idea whose time may be still to come (FT)

How can I squeeze more value from my people using IT?

Magic Quadrant for Integrated Workplace Management Systems, 2005 (Gartner)

The integrated workplace management system
market has evolved rapidly during the past year
with new entrants, consolidations and departures.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
The integrated workplace management system market is
rapidly evolving. Clients should validate vendor financial
health, operational capability and product road maps.
When selecting a vendor, focus on client references, with
an emphasis on customer service, pricing and the
references' installation experience. Pay particular attention
to breadth of functionality, adoption of current Web
technologies such as service-oriented architecture, and
service quality assurance methodologies.

Market Definition/Description
The IWMS market began to emerge in the late 1990s, with
rapid evolution in the past three years. The market is
characterized by enterprise-level software solutions that
integrate four key components of functionality: project
management; real estate portfolio and lease management;
space management (moves, adds and changes [MAC]);
and maintenance management. The software operates
from a single database, and it offers workflow tools,
executive dashboards, and predefined and customized
reporting capabilities. Most suite applications will
interoperate with other enterprise applications, such as
enterprise resource planning (ERP), supply chain
management (SCM) and human capital management
(HCM), via Web services technology.

Microsoft to offer production-ready Vista technologies (InfoWorld)

Microsoft releases 'Go-Live' versions of Web services, workflow software

PIM- und Cross-Media-Lösung von crossbase überzeugt Neukunden (contentmanager.de)

Das hochintegrierte Product Information Management (PIM) auf Basis der crossbase-Datenbank wird für verschiedene Zwecke, z.B. zur datenbankgestützten Erstellung von Print- und Onlinekatalogen oder für die Bereitstellung von Katalogdaten für Handelspartner genutzt.

salesforce.com AppExchange Opens for Business (AMR)

This week salesforce.com hosted the North American launch of its Winter ’06 release in San Francisco and rolled out the new AppExchange, an online directory of applications that partners can use to offer complementary Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications. salesforce.com executives likened it to iTunes for enterprise applications.

GXS Positioned in Visionary Quadrant in Product Information Management Magic Quadrant (GXS)

GAITHERSBURG, Md. — January 18, 2006 — GXS, a leading provider of business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce solutions, today announced that it has been positioned in the Visionary quadrant in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Product Information Management 20051, recently published by Gartner, Inc., a leading worldwide research and advisory firm. GXS was placed in the quadrant based on its ability to execute and vision in product information management (PIM). According to Gartner, no leader will emerge in the PIM market prior to 2007.

Salesforce.com launches AppExchange (CNET)

Salesforce.com on Tuesday announced the launch of AppExchange, an online marketplace for hosted business software applications.

Content Creation, Publishing at Heart of Apple's iLife '06 (Gartner)

The updates to Apple Computer's iLife suite will enable users to easily create and publish digital content. Content providers must not ignore the important opportunities that Apple's efforts represent.

Blogwatch 1/11/06 (Line56)

This week's featured post makes some interesting predictions for 2006

Produktdaten im Griff: Katalogverwaltung mit PIMs (contentmanager.de)

Elektronische Kataloge sind heutzutage neben dem klassischen Print-Katalog Alltag für mittelständische Unternehmen. Denn die Kunden erwarten, dass Ihr Lieferant e-ready ist. Hinter diesem Schlagwort verbirgt sich die Fähigkeit des Lieferanten, seine Produktkataloge
in elektronischer Form zur Verfügung zu stellen, sei es als CD-ROM, PDF-Katalog, Online-Shop oder im BMECat-Format zur Verwendung auf elektronischen Marktplätzen oder Inhouse-Katalogen.

Durch diese verschiedenen Anforderungen werden die Unternehmen jedoch vor große Probleme gestellt, die die Kosten für die Katalogerstellung explodieren lassen und die Verwaltung umfassender Produktdatenmengen stellt sie zusätzlich vor große Herausforderungen. Zur Lösung dieser Probleme werden so genannte PIM-Systeme (Product Information Management System)
eingesetzt.

Google Announcement Sets Stage for Video Marketplace in 2006 (Gartner)

Google announced a video marketplace that leverages search to help consumers find and download content from major TV networks, the NBA and consumer content creators -- and in some cases move that content to their iPods.

Sage buys Verus for £184m in cash deal (FT)

Sage, the UK’s largest listed software company, on Monday said it would expand its US business beyond accounting products with the acquisition of payment processor Verus Financial Management.

Information Fabric: Enterprise Data Virtualization (Forrester/BEA)

Enterprises are facing the growing challenges of using disparate sources of data managed by di.erent applications, including problems with data integration, security, performance, availability, and quality. Business users want fast, real-time, and reliable information to make business decisions, while IT wants to lower costs, minimize complexity, and improve operational e.ciency. New technology is emerging that Forrester has coined "information fabric," a term de.ned as a virtualized data layer that integrates heterogeneous data and content repositories in real time. This technology is provided via middleware components that deliver quality information — "the truth" — when and where it’s needed. Products from several major vendors like BEA Systems, IBM, and Oracle — as well as others from small innovators like Tangosol — are evolving to provide information fabric, but today custom integration is required to weave them together. The potential bene.ts of this technology are so great that enterprises
should develop a strategy to leverage information fabric technology as it becomes more widely available.

Big Returns (Line56)

Here's our coverage of the beginning of the IRS portal revolution, going back to 2002

CES blog: Everyone loves a good tech war (FT)

The early-1980s Betamax Wars are back with the ongoing struggle between the DVD formats. Sony is leading the Blu-ray charge, Toshiba leads the HD DVD army - and the Consumer Electronics Show is the latest theatre of operations.

Gates unveils new range of media players (FT)

Video, whether in high definition or transferred to a hand-held device, took centre stage as Bill Gates delivered the opening address at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

PHP Content Management Vendor Turns Five (NewsForge)

Adam Sackey writes "Anyone who says Open Source can't work as a business model has another success story to counter their claim as this month the PHP Content Management vendor Simian Systems turns 5 years old. Simian are the makers of the PHP CMS called Sitellite, which offers a more business and enterprise-oriented solution than many other Open Source PHP-based systems.

Polaris, Interwoven tie up for content management solutions (DQ Channels)

Polaris will work as an SI for Interwoven products and has trained resources on all products

Polaris Software Lab has entered into a partnership with Interwoven Inc to integrate Interwoven's advanced content management solutions with its products to provide enhanced customer experience to its clients. Interwoven provides enterprise content management solutions for businesses to solve critical challenges across departments, enterprises, or industries. Polaris is a global solutions specialist with a dedicated focus on the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) vertical.

Software 2006: Changes Ahead (Red Herring)

While software as a service and open source gain more traction in 2006, large software companies will have to adapt and change