Thursday, October 30, 2008

Magic Quadrant for Horizontal Portal Products

Magic Quadrant for Horizontal Portal Products

In the 2008 Portal Magic Quadrant, Microsoft remained in the Leaders quadrant, moving a great deal towards the right on the vision axis and closing the gap between us and IBM. We were placed on the same level for the ability to execute axis as last year. We are also ahead of Oracle and SAS in both vision and ability to execute, exhibiting momentum against them as well.

Gartner gives Microsoft credit for the explosive demand SharePoint has experienced over the past year, listing SharePoint’s significant adoption by enterprises as a strength. In fact, SharePoint’s explosive growth is also referenced in the market overview section, offering yet another proof point of the significant impact the product has made in the industry.

Gartner also calls out that Microsoft is successfully fostering deployments through Enterprise licensing agreements, use as team-based collaboration document management driving use for other initiatives, as well as SharePoint Online as a SaaS horizontal portal as being key strengths for the company.

http://mediaproducts.gartner.com/reprints/microsoft/vol6/article2/article2.html

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Microsoft looks to cloud to open new windows

Microsoft looks to cloud to open new windows
By Richard Waters in San Francisco

Published: October 23 2008 19:43 | Last updated: October 23 2008 21:43

After years of hesitation, Microsoft is finally ready to take a big leap into the world of internet-based computing.

That, at least, has been the message for much of this year from senior executives, including chief executive Steve Ballmer.

The wraps are set to be taken off at a conference that the company is throwing for software developers in Los Angeles that starts on Monday.

Depending on what it has up its sleeve, Microsoft’s move could propel it into a new internet-based approach to computing that has become all the talk of the tech world.

Known as “cloud computing”, this involves a greater centralisation of processing power and information storage in large networks of datacentres.

Rather than relying on computing power from corporate servers or desktop PCs, applications and services created in this new “cloud” are delivered over the internet and often accessed through a simple web browser.

If Microsoft fails to lay out a compelling plan for how it will adapt to this new world, however, it would add to a nagging concern among investors and customers that the company is falling behind in the biggest transition to hit information technology in years – and could further open the door to rivals.

“The market is going to look for something big,” said Frank Gens, a technology analyst at IDC.

“If they do it in dribs and drabs, if they come out with a half-hearted ‘cloud’ deployment, it will open the way for IBM, or for Amazon and Google.”

The software company has already hinted at what it has up its sleeve.

Mr Ballmer recently promised that next week will bring an “operating system that runs in the internet” – something he dubbed “Windows Cloud”.

The clear message: having dominated the PC-era of computing, Microsoft believes it is now ready to move to a new arena.

Microsoft’s attempt to reposition its core software reflects a broader change that is forcing all the big tech companies to rethink their approach.

“Platform shifts like this come along every 15 or 20 years,” said Sean Poulley, vice-president of cloud services for IBM’s software division.

Tech executives argue over how new this trend really is or how quickly it will take hold, but generally agree on its significance.

In the consumer world, advertising-supported internet services like those offered by Google have already won a big following.

Corporate IT departments, which account for the lion’s share of the tech business, have started to inch towards a similar approach.

About 4 per cent of IT budgets are currently spent on the business applications, infrastructure software, servers and storage technologies that support cloud computing, according to IDC.

But by 2012, with the share up to 9 per cent, spending on this new approach to technology will account for a quarter of the annual growth in technology spending, making it an important new market for the entire industry.

Much of the attention around cloud computing so far has focused on services, such as Google’s online word-processing service or the corporate applications from Salesforce.com.

Microsoft’s announcement next week, however, will shift the focus back to the guts of the technology behind this shift: the infrastructure of datacentres that supports it, and the software “operating system” that supports online services, in much the way that the current Windows PC operating system supports applications that run on a PC.

The scramble to win a piece of this new market is in its early stages. “There will be a number of years when there will be a lot of competition and confusion,” said Nick Carr, author of The Big Switch, a recent book about the coming transition. “Over time, I think it will resolve to a small number of platforms.”

Big IT suppliers like IBM on the one hand, and internet companies like Amazon have already dipped their toe in this water.

As the technology industry’s pre-eminent “platform” company, Microsoft’s promised move has attracted considerable anticipation.

The biggest question that has hung over Microsoft, and the one to which next week’s event may provide an answer: how far, and how fast, will the company push as it reorientates its business around the web?

This is largely an economic decision.

Microsoft’s current highly lucrative business relies on sales of PC and server software, mainly to business customers.

If these customers turn away from that computing approach and instead buy services delivered from the “cloud”, often at low monthly subscription rates based on how much they use, it could undermine the company’s core business model, said Mr Gens.

To compensate for that, Microsoft will have to run fast to create new markets for cloud-based services, for instance among small businesses and consumers, as well as in emerging markets, he added.

Oracle dismisses development as a fad

Larry Ellison, the outspoken head of Oracle, recently dismissed cloud computing as little more than a fad.

Many of the technologies included under these latest buzz words, he said, have long been in use.

“The computer industry is the only industry that is more fashion-driven than women’s fashion,” Mr Ellison said, though he added Oracle would adopt the phrase in its own marketing if it helped sales.

His cynicism points to two commonly-held complaints about cloud computing.

One is that this is merely a new term for a vision that has been around for years – even decades.

“Thin” computing, utility computing, application service providers, on demand computing, software-as-a-service: plenty of jargon has been invented before to describe the long-promised shift of computing on to a more efficient infrastructure of centralised servers.

The second complaint is that in the past, all of these supposedly revolutionary advances have come up short.

Computing still takes place as much on local “clients” – principally PCs – as on servers.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

A culture of security (FT.com)

A culture of security
By Lee Hezzlewood

Published: October 21 2008 15:55 | Last updated: October 21 2008 15:55

Data loss by major organisations keeps on happening. Why? The simple answer is that many organisations don’t have a “culture of security”.

Virtually all have passwords or biometric security to control access to systems, and swipe cards and high fences to control physical access, plus vetting of staff to check backgrounds and criminal connections. But not enough engender a culture of security with all staff, encouraging them to be aware of how security interacts with their day-to-day role, how they have a responsibility for the security of the information they work with, and how to protect that information and themselves.

As an IT security consultant, I am constantly assessing the security implications of a particular course of action – will this change affect the security of a system, does that person or role need that information, does the data need to be sanitised before being distributed, and so on.

While staff within an organisation should not go around constantly looking over their shoulders, organisations should be proactive in educating their staff about security. Teaching staff the basics should be as important as showing them the fire escapes and the canteen.

So why not add a security awareness element to staff induction processes? The program should be informative, educational, fun, and interactive for it to make an impact. Merely getting to staff to read and sign security policies is not enough. Few people will remember them and even fewer are unlikely ever to review them.

Existing staff need to go through a similar process on a regular basis as part of their annual review to ensure everyone has the same security grounding and a mechanism for continual improvement and assessment.

Hold open workshops or intranet forums designed to promote a security culture and raise awareness of specific topics. Make them interactive and encourage open and frank debate. Get staff to recommend improvements in security and have topical discussions on relevant news items. Try discussing how your organisation could fall victim to a security incident and what steps you could take to stop it happening.

It is vital, though, not to bore staff or patronise them. But educating them about security will raise their awareness of the risks and threats to them and the organisation and reduce your risk profile. A regular programme will keep the knowledge fresh and ensure staff are informed of new issues or changes to procedures.

Staff are the eyes and ears on the ground. With the right education and encouragement they can provide a valuable resource in preventing security incidents and perhaps reduce the chances of their organisation being the next news headline.


Lee Hezzlewood is an IT security consultant with Pentest Limited
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Outlook upbeat for Autonomy (FT.com)

Outlook upbeat for Autonomy
By Philip Stafford

Published: October 15 2008 18:02 | Last updated: October 15 2008 18:02

Mike Lynch, chief executive of Autonomy, predicted business for the search software company would remain strong for the rest of the year in spite of the economic slowdown.

As the group unveiled earnings at the top of expectations, Mr Lynch said most purchases were made due to regulatory-driven demand from banks and financial authorities, with both often gearing up for potential lawsuits.

“After death and taxes, the next best bet is litigation,” Mr Lynch joked. “We’re seeing sales up 300 per cent there.” He added that he was “comfortable” with the group’s outlook.

Autonomy had already announced it expected record third-quarter results as it benefited from a US legal decision at the start of the year, which ruled that lawyers had just 99 days to decide what electronic data could be used as evidence in a lawsuit. Autonomy’s products help businesses archive and retrieve materials such as e-mails and phone calls. The financial crisis and consolidations of banks during the past six weeks had helped business, Mr Lynch added.

Like many companies in the IT sector, shares in Autonomy have been hit by concerns of a broader economic slowdown.

But Rajeev Bahl, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, said: “The stock has everything you’d want, from revenue growth to rising margins, strong cash flow and a decent backlog – it ticks all the boxes.

“It’s just that the multiple the market is willing to pay for growth stocks has come down.”

Third-quarter revenues to September 30 rose 42 per cent to $127m. Pre-tax profit increased 162 per cent to $47.8m, while earnings per share rose from $0.06 to $0.16.

The average selling price for Autonomy’s technology was $395,000, up from $375,000. Shares in the company closed up 1p at 829p.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

Outlook upbeat for Autonomy (FT.com)

Outlook upbeat for Autonomy
By Philip Stafford

Published: October 15 2008 18:02 | Last updated: October 15 2008 18:02

Mike Lynch, chief executive of Autonomy, predicted business for the search software company would remain strong for the rest of the year in spite of the economic slowdown.

As the group unveiled earnings at the top of expectations, Mr Lynch said most purchases were made due to regulatory-driven demand from banks and financial authorities, with both often gearing up for potential lawsuits.

“After death and taxes, the next best bet is litigation,” Mr Lynch joked. “We’re seeing sales up 300 per cent there.” He added that he was “comfortable” with the group’s outlook.

Autonomy had already announced it expected record third-quarter results as it benefited from a US legal decision at the start of the year, which ruled that lawyers had just 99 days to decide what electronic data could be used as evidence in a lawsuit. Autonomy’s products help businesses archive and retrieve materials such as e-mails and phone calls. The financial crisis and consolidations of banks during the past six weeks had helped business, Mr Lynch added.

Like many companies in the IT sector, shares in Autonomy have been hit by concerns of a broader economic slowdown.

But Rajeev Bahl, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, said: “The stock has everything you’d want, from revenue growth to rising margins, strong cash flow and a decent backlog – it ticks all the boxes.

“It’s just that the multiple the market is willing to pay for growth stocks has come down.”

Third-quarter revenues to September 30 rose 42 per cent to $127m. Pre-tax profit increased 162 per cent to $47.8m, while earnings per share rose from $0.06 to $0.16.

The average selling price for Autonomy’s technology was $395,000, up from $375,000. Shares in the company closed up 1p at 829p.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

Friday, October 10, 2008

Liferay Leads Market as Visionary in Gartner's Magic Quadrant

Leading Open Source Portal Recognized for its Completeness of Vision

Magic Quadrant for Horizontal Portal Products, September 2008

New entrants provide additional options for enterprises willing to consider open-source and software-as-a-service alternatives for horizontal portal functionality. To differentiate their offerings, horizontal portal vendors are incorporating support for enterprise mashups and social networking.

Magic Quadrant for Information Access Technology, September 2008

This Magic Quadrant assesses vendors with capabilities that go beyond enterprise search to encompass a range of technologies. Their capabilities include search; federated search, content classification, categorization and clustering; fact and entity extraction; taxonomy creation and management; information presentation (for example, visualization) to support analysis and understanding; and desktop search to address user-controlled repositories in order to locate and "invoke" documents, data, e-mail and intelligence.

We consider all enterprise search vendors to be information access technology vendors. However, those that only offer search capabilities (frequently called "keyword search") are neither Visionaries nor candidates for the Leaders quadrant, although they are part of the market. Finding information, and acting on it intelligently, demands increasingly sophisticated and innovative strategies and technologies.

We recommend that large commercial and government enterprises select at least an information access platform vendor for the majority of future projects. Platform vendors offer modular architectures, wide varieties of relevance modeling, multiple vertical applications and significant customizability. These enterprises should also typically have a tactical vendor to increase agility for short-term and quick-start projects. Tactical vendors may lack architectural sophistication and customizability, but their products are quicker to deploy and easier to understand. Often, enterprises obtain search as part of a different product, such as a portal or enterprise content management (ECM) application. In such cases, these enterprises may choose to make this embedded search a target for federation. Large enterprises must also recognize the need to explore more specialized products for certain important projects, such as e-discovery, e-commerce search and research science support.

Information access technologies access applications such as document management, Web content management and relational database management systems to provide users with insight into their contents. Increasingly, information access technology is also expected to include results from enterprise applications, such as customer relationship management (CRM) and legacy systems. In addition, it increasingly looks outside enterprises as well, to premium sources of information, Web sites and elements of the social Web. Information access technology is often acquired as an embedded aspect of other applications, and OEM arrangements are significant for information access vendors. Portal, ECM, business application and other vendors frequently include enterprise search as part of their products.

Friday, October 03, 2008

Autonomy expects to top forecasts

Autonomy expects to top forecasts
By Philip Stafford

Published: October 3 2008 18:56 | Last updated: October 3 2008 18:57

Autonomy , the search software company, bucked the gloomy prognosis for IT groups as burgeoning demand for its compliance-related software meant third-quarter earnings would be “significantly” ahead of market estimates.

The group expects to report record third-quarter results, with both revenue and earnings per share either ahead of consensus estimates or above the top end of the range. Organic growth was also accelerating, Autonomy said.

The group has felt the benefit of a US legal decision at the start of the year ruling that lawyers had just 99 days to decide what electronic data could be examined for evidence in a lawsuit.

Autonomy’s products help businesses archive and retrieve materials such as e-mails and phone calls. Its software discovered inconsistencies in the trading records of Jerome Kerviel, the rogue trader at SocGen.

Mike Lynch, chief executive, told the Financial Times that the group still had a high backlog of work “that gives us a much higher level of confidence about 2009”. He also said Autonomy had experienced “waves of interest” from insurers in the wake of AIG’s rescue to struggling hedge funds.

“Our take is that the statement is pointing us towards $125m-$128m (£70m-£72m) of revenue and 17 cents of EPS,” said David Toms, an analyst at Numis Securities.

However, the shares fell 39½p to 890½p on continued concerns that the market for business software had slowed recently amid the wider banking global crisis.

The stock has dropped 20 per cent since re-entering the FTSE 100 for the first time in seven years in mid-September.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008