Autonomy Gains 'Leader' Position in Gartner Report
Keeping you fully abreast of the analyst reports germane to your chosen lifestyle, we can report that Autonomy Corporation plc, a vendor of CRM and other infrastructure software, has announced that industry analyst group Gartner (News - Alert) has positioned Autonomy in the Leaders Quadrant of its 2007 Information Access Technology Magic Quadrant Report.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
AUTONOMY POSITIONED IN THE LEADERS QUADRANT OF THE 2007 INFORMATION ACCESS TECHNOLOGY MAGIC QUADRANT
AUTONOMY POSITIONED IN THE LEADERS QUADRANT OF THE 2007 INFORMATION ACCESS TECHNOLOGY MAGIC QUADRANT
Cambridge, UK and San Francisco, Calif. - September 12, 2007 - Autonomy Corporation plc (LSE: AU. or AU.L), a global leader in infrastructure software for the enterprise, today announced that industry analyst group Gartner, Inc. has positioned Autonomy in the Leaders Quadrant of its 2007 Information Access Technology Magic Quadrant Report(1). The analysis is based on Autonomy's "Ability to Execute" and "Completeness of Vision".
Cambridge, UK and San Francisco, Calif. - September 12, 2007 - Autonomy Corporation plc (LSE: AU. or AU.L), a global leader in infrastructure software for the enterprise, today announced that industry analyst group Gartner, Inc. has positioned Autonomy in the Leaders Quadrant of its 2007 Information Access Technology Magic Quadrant Report(1). The analysis is based on Autonomy's "Ability to Execute" and "Completeness of Vision".
IT does matter – gerade im Enterprise 2.0 - IT-Strategien - computerwoche.de
IT does matter – gerade im Enterprise 2.0 - IT-Strategien - computerwoche.de
Auf dem "European ICT Forum" von IDC erläuterte der Trendforscher und Buchautor Don Tapscott den von ihm geschaffenen Begriff "Wikinomics".
Auf dem "European ICT Forum" von IDC erläuterte der Trendforscher und Buchautor Don Tapscott den von ihm geschaffenen Begriff "Wikinomics".
Thursday, September 06, 2007
IDC konstatiert großes Interesse an Web-2.0-Technik und grüner IT - Produkte + Technik - Hardware - computerwoche.de
IDC konstatiert großes Interesse an Web-2.0-Technik und grüner IT - Produkte + Technik - Hardware - computerwoche.de
Die Entscheidungsträger beschäftigen sich zunehmend mit umweltverträglicher Informationstechnik und dem Thema "Enterprise 2.0", so die Marktforscher.
Die Entscheidungsträger beschäftigen sich zunehmend mit umweltverträglicher Informationstechnik und dem Thema "Enterprise 2.0", so die Marktforscher.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
FT.com / Companies / IT - Race for ‘next big thing’ in Silicon Valley
FT.com / Companies / IT - Race for ‘next big thing’ in Silicon Valley
Race for ‘next big thing’ in Silicon Valley
By Richard Waters in San Francisco
Published: September 5 2007 20:15 | Last updated: September 5 2007 20:15
Silicon Valley’s annual coming-out season for tech start-ups is about to turn into a stampede.
In the next few weeks, the wraps will be removed from some 150 new companies and products at a handful of events in California competing to identify the tech industry’s Next Big Thing.
The race to find the Valley’s hottest new idea reflects growing investor interest triggered by the high prices paid for recent internet start-ups such as YouTube, as well as the increasingly fierce Darwinian struggle among the newcomers to get noticed.
The large number of companies formed around hot trends such as web search, social networking and online video has added spice to the importance of the autumn events, according to entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.
“At this stage of the frothiness, it’s extremely difficult to get attention,” says Munjal Shah, founder of Like.com, an image search engine.
“The capital cost of starting a business today is very low,” says Chris Shipley, producer of Demo, one of the first tech events. “We’re seeing a lot of ideas make it from the spare bedroom to a showcase or the marketplace very quickly.”
Like.com was the sole start-up featured two years ago at a party thrown by Mike Arrington, whose widely read TechCrunch blog has made him the Valley’s latest kingmaker.
For his first formal conference this month, Mr Arrington has just doubled the number of companies presenting to 40 because, according to his website, there are “just too many strong start-ups”.
Other events that hope to unveil hot companies and products in the coming weeks include the Web 2.0 conference, the event that gave its name to the latest wave of online innovation, and Demo, which has expanded to two events a year.
The scramble for attention is another symptom of Silicon Valley’s latest start-up boom. The amount of venture capital being invested in the US is at its highest level since 2001 and it has led to a rash of “me-too” companies.
The flood of copycat companies is a sign of the over-heated phase of the investment cycle, according to observers.
However, for most of those that make it to the big showcase events, the attention from being in the spotlight is likely to be fleeting.
Being named “the coolest, hottest thing” can produce a “drug-induced traffic high” as users rush to try out the latest websites.
Once that initial surge of interest falls off, the hard work of building a lasting business really begins.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Race for ‘next big thing’ in Silicon Valley
By Richard Waters in San Francisco
Published: September 5 2007 20:15 | Last updated: September 5 2007 20:15
Silicon Valley’s annual coming-out season for tech start-ups is about to turn into a stampede.
In the next few weeks, the wraps will be removed from some 150 new companies and products at a handful of events in California competing to identify the tech industry’s Next Big Thing.
The race to find the Valley’s hottest new idea reflects growing investor interest triggered by the high prices paid for recent internet start-ups such as YouTube, as well as the increasingly fierce Darwinian struggle among the newcomers to get noticed.
The large number of companies formed around hot trends such as web search, social networking and online video has added spice to the importance of the autumn events, according to entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.
“At this stage of the frothiness, it’s extremely difficult to get attention,” says Munjal Shah, founder of Like.com, an image search engine.
“The capital cost of starting a business today is very low,” says Chris Shipley, producer of Demo, one of the first tech events. “We’re seeing a lot of ideas make it from the spare bedroom to a showcase or the marketplace very quickly.”
Like.com was the sole start-up featured two years ago at a party thrown by Mike Arrington, whose widely read TechCrunch blog has made him the Valley’s latest kingmaker.
For his first formal conference this month, Mr Arrington has just doubled the number of companies presenting to 40 because, according to his website, there are “just too many strong start-ups”.
Other events that hope to unveil hot companies and products in the coming weeks include the Web 2.0 conference, the event that gave its name to the latest wave of online innovation, and Demo, which has expanded to two events a year.
The scramble for attention is another symptom of Silicon Valley’s latest start-up boom. The amount of venture capital being invested in the US is at its highest level since 2001 and it has led to a rash of “me-too” companies.
The flood of copycat companies is a sign of the over-heated phase of the investment cycle, according to observers.
However, for most of those that make it to the big showcase events, the attention from being in the spotlight is likely to be fleeting.
Being named “the coolest, hottest thing” can produce a “drug-induced traffic high” as users rush to try out the latest websites.
Once that initial surge of interest falls off, the hard work of building a lasting business really begins.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
FT.com / Companies / IT - Microsoft loses Office software standards vote
FT.com / Companies / IT - Microsoft loses Office software standards vote
Microsoft loses Office software standards vote
By Richard Waters in San Francisco
Published: September 5 2007 00:38 | Last updated: September 5 2007 00:38
Microsoft has failed in its initial attempt to have some of the key new technology in its latest Windows and Office software recognised as an international standard.
However, the software company claimed strong momentum for its efforts and predicted that it would overcome the remaining hurdles by early next year.
Microsoft is seeking recognition for the formats for documents and spreadsheets contained in its new Office software, known as Open XML.
Winning approval is considered essential since many governments are otherwise expected to balk at the new Microsoft technology, opting instead for the rival ODF format, which already has international recognition.
Though technology standard-setting efforts like this seldom attract much public attention, Microsoft’s push is seen as a vital part of its attempt to win broad support for the latest versions of its key desktop software products.
Also, the company’s controversial international campaign to win support, by getting supporters of its position to take part in national-level discussions about the issue in many countries, has drawn allegations of abuse from rivals such as IBM.
The International Standards Organisation said Tuesday that only 53 per cent of countries that voted on whether Microsoft’s technology should be adopted as a standard had supported the move at this stage, short of the two-thirds majority needed.
Also, 26 per cent had voted against the plan, while under ISO rules an initiative cannot be approved if more than 25 per cent vote against.
Microsoft will get the chance to propose changes to its application at a meeting in February.
If those changes prove insufficient, it will be forced to follow a slower application process that could take as long as two to three years to complete.
Even a delay at this stage is likely to discourage governments from moving ahead to buy new Microsoft software, claimed Marino Marcich, managing director of the rival ODF Alliance.
However, Tom Robertson, general manager of inter-operability and standards at Microsoft, denied that the delay would hit sales.
He claimed that the initial ISO vote was “a very positive sign of momentum” towards ultimate support.
He said that standards bodies in some countries, such as Ireland, had indicated their support in principle, even though they voted against at this stage, suggesting that Microsoft will be able to achieve its objective.
Microsoft’s opponents, meanwhile, claim that the company will have to make substantial changes to its application before gaining full recognition, for instance by tying the formats less closely to its other software.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Microsoft loses Office software standards vote
By Richard Waters in San Francisco
Published: September 5 2007 00:38 | Last updated: September 5 2007 00:38
Microsoft has failed in its initial attempt to have some of the key new technology in its latest Windows and Office software recognised as an international standard.
However, the software company claimed strong momentum for its efforts and predicted that it would overcome the remaining hurdles by early next year.
Microsoft is seeking recognition for the formats for documents and spreadsheets contained in its new Office software, known as Open XML.
Winning approval is considered essential since many governments are otherwise expected to balk at the new Microsoft technology, opting instead for the rival ODF format, which already has international recognition.
Though technology standard-setting efforts like this seldom attract much public attention, Microsoft’s push is seen as a vital part of its attempt to win broad support for the latest versions of its key desktop software products.
Also, the company’s controversial international campaign to win support, by getting supporters of its position to take part in national-level discussions about the issue in many countries, has drawn allegations of abuse from rivals such as IBM.
The International Standards Organisation said Tuesday that only 53 per cent of countries that voted on whether Microsoft’s technology should be adopted as a standard had supported the move at this stage, short of the two-thirds majority needed.
Also, 26 per cent had voted against the plan, while under ISO rules an initiative cannot be approved if more than 25 per cent vote against.
Microsoft will get the chance to propose changes to its application at a meeting in February.
If those changes prove insufficient, it will be forced to follow a slower application process that could take as long as two to three years to complete.
Even a delay at this stage is likely to discourage governments from moving ahead to buy new Microsoft software, claimed Marino Marcich, managing director of the rival ODF Alliance.
However, Tom Robertson, general manager of inter-operability and standards at Microsoft, denied that the delay would hit sales.
He claimed that the initial ISO vote was “a very positive sign of momentum” towards ultimate support.
He said that standards bodies in some countries, such as Ireland, had indicated their support in principle, even though they voted against at this stage, suggesting that Microsoft will be able to achieve its objective.
Microsoft’s opponents, meanwhile, claim that the company will have to make substantial changes to its application before gaining full recognition, for instance by tying the formats less closely to its other software.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Friday, August 31, 2007
Microsoft Expands IM Functions With Parlano Buy
Microsoft Expands IM Functions With Parlano Buy
As part of its aggressive drive to propagate its instant-messaging system, Microsoft has filled a functional hole by acquiring Parlano, a vendor with strong tabbed and group chat capabilities.
As part of its aggressive drive to propagate its instant-messaging system, Microsoft has filled a functional hole by acquiring Parlano, a vendor with strong tabbed and group chat capabilities.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Recommind
Recommind
MindServer 5.0: Recommind stellt neue Web 3.0-Generation intelligenter Suchmaschinen vor.
Patentiertes Verfahren ermöglicht noch effizientere zentrale Informations-kategorisierung und relevanzorientierte dezentrale Suche über alle Datenquellen und –formate in komplexen, auch standortübergreifenden IT-Systemen.
Rheinbach/Bonn, 28.08.2007 - Recommind GmbH, einer der führenden deutschen Entwickler von intelligenten Suchmaschinen, stellt heute mit der Version 5.0 seiner Kategorisierungs- und Suchplattform einen Quantensprung in der automatisierten Informationsverarbeitung vor. MindServer 5.0 basiert auf den jüngsten wissenschaftlichen Entwicklungen der „machine learning“-Forschung und ermöglicht die höchste Qualität im Bereich der Content-Analyse, die es derzeit am Markt gibt.
"Die fehlende Komponente beim Information Retrieval ist Kontext. Woher weiß ich, was der Inhalt eines Textes ist? Was macht genau diesen Text besonders wertvoll? Ist dieser Text für mich als individuellen User wichtig? Das alles sind Fragen, die von der überwiegenden Anzahl an Tools, die am Markt erhältlich sind, nicht einmal im Ansatz beantwortet werden können." So fasst Dr. Jan Puzicha, CTO und wissenschaftlicher Leiter der Recommind, die Lage im Bereich Informationsmanagement zusammen.
MindServer 5.0 identifiziert unabhängig von Sprache und Themenbereich automatisch Konzepte, die ein Dokument beschreiben. Mit der MindServer-Plattform ist es möglich, menschliche Experten-Qualität in Bezug auf Suchergebnisse und Content-Strukturierung bei gleichzeitig höchstem Automatisierungsgrad zu erreichen, wie auch eine Fraunhofer-Studie belegt.
"Unternehmensinterne Informationsstrukturen sind schon heute so komplex, dass es den Knowledge Managern schwerfällt, Millionen Informationen in dutzenden unterschiedlichen intern gewachsenen Systemen effektiv zu handeln" so Dr. Puzicha.
Die MindServer-Produktfamilie, die bereits erfolgreich bei u.a. dem ZDF, Bertelsmann, der Bauer Verlagsgruppe, Novartis Pharma, U.S. National Library of Medicine etc. im Einsatz ist, verschlagwortet interne und externe Informationen automatisch nach frei definierbaren Kategoriensystemen, reichert die Dokumente mit zusätzlichen Metadaten an und stellt sie der zentral über alle Datenquellen aufgesetzten Suchmaschine für die patentierte, kontextuelle Suche zur Verfügung. Aufwändige manuelle Vorarbeiten zum Training des Systems sind beim MindServer 5.0 nicht mehr notwendig.
Die künstliche Intelligenz der Suchmaschine versetzt den Anwender trotz kurzer 1- oder 2-Wort-Anfragen in die Lage mittels Smart-Filtering die Ergebnismenge der Suchanfrage in wenigen Schritten von mehreren zehntausend oder gar millionen Dokumenten auf die wenigen relevanten, von ihm gesuchten Dokumente herunter zu brechen.
In unseren Tests bot MindServer schnelle, treffende Suchergebnisse, nahtlos über die Informationsquellen hinweg. MindServer wird unsere Dokumentenspeicher öffnen, sie einfacher durchsuchbar machen und unsere Anstrengungen unterstützen, Information global verfügbar zu machen. Ich glaube, dass schnelle, intelligente Abfrage unserer internen Dokumente kritisch dafür ist, unseren Klienten Rat und Anleitung rechtzeitig und in hoher Qualität zur Verfügung zu stellen.," – Brant Freer, Senior Counsel bei Miller Canfield, Chairman des Information Systems Committee und Vorsitzender der Knowledge Management Aktivitäten.
Mit Single-Sign-On und dem integrierten Security-Modul, das sämtliche User-spezifischen Zugangsberechtigungen der „darunterliegenden“ Datenquellen einhält und überwacht ist MindServer 5.0 als Lösung für vielschichtige, komplexe Systeme mit verteilten Datenquellen und -formaten konzipiert und kann nahtlos in bestehende IT-Landschaften integriert werden.
MindServer 5.0: Recommind stellt neue Web 3.0-Generation intelligenter Suchmaschinen vor.
Patentiertes Verfahren ermöglicht noch effizientere zentrale Informations-kategorisierung und relevanzorientierte dezentrale Suche über alle Datenquellen und –formate in komplexen, auch standortübergreifenden IT-Systemen.
Rheinbach/Bonn, 28.08.2007 - Recommind GmbH, einer der führenden deutschen Entwickler von intelligenten Suchmaschinen, stellt heute mit der Version 5.0 seiner Kategorisierungs- und Suchplattform einen Quantensprung in der automatisierten Informationsverarbeitung vor. MindServer 5.0 basiert auf den jüngsten wissenschaftlichen Entwicklungen der „machine learning“-Forschung und ermöglicht die höchste Qualität im Bereich der Content-Analyse, die es derzeit am Markt gibt.
"Die fehlende Komponente beim Information Retrieval ist Kontext. Woher weiß ich, was der Inhalt eines Textes ist? Was macht genau diesen Text besonders wertvoll? Ist dieser Text für mich als individuellen User wichtig? Das alles sind Fragen, die von der überwiegenden Anzahl an Tools, die am Markt erhältlich sind, nicht einmal im Ansatz beantwortet werden können." So fasst Dr. Jan Puzicha, CTO und wissenschaftlicher Leiter der Recommind, die Lage im Bereich Informationsmanagement zusammen.
MindServer 5.0 identifiziert unabhängig von Sprache und Themenbereich automatisch Konzepte, die ein Dokument beschreiben. Mit der MindServer-Plattform ist es möglich, menschliche Experten-Qualität in Bezug auf Suchergebnisse und Content-Strukturierung bei gleichzeitig höchstem Automatisierungsgrad zu erreichen, wie auch eine Fraunhofer-Studie belegt.
"Unternehmensinterne Informationsstrukturen sind schon heute so komplex, dass es den Knowledge Managern schwerfällt, Millionen Informationen in dutzenden unterschiedlichen intern gewachsenen Systemen effektiv zu handeln" so Dr. Puzicha.
Die MindServer-Produktfamilie, die bereits erfolgreich bei u.a. dem ZDF, Bertelsmann, der Bauer Verlagsgruppe, Novartis Pharma, U.S. National Library of Medicine etc. im Einsatz ist, verschlagwortet interne und externe Informationen automatisch nach frei definierbaren Kategoriensystemen, reichert die Dokumente mit zusätzlichen Metadaten an und stellt sie der zentral über alle Datenquellen aufgesetzten Suchmaschine für die patentierte, kontextuelle Suche zur Verfügung. Aufwändige manuelle Vorarbeiten zum Training des Systems sind beim MindServer 5.0 nicht mehr notwendig.
Die künstliche Intelligenz der Suchmaschine versetzt den Anwender trotz kurzer 1- oder 2-Wort-Anfragen in die Lage mittels Smart-Filtering die Ergebnismenge der Suchanfrage in wenigen Schritten von mehreren zehntausend oder gar millionen Dokumenten auf die wenigen relevanten, von ihm gesuchten Dokumente herunter zu brechen.
In unseren Tests bot MindServer schnelle, treffende Suchergebnisse, nahtlos über die Informationsquellen hinweg. MindServer wird unsere Dokumentenspeicher öffnen, sie einfacher durchsuchbar machen und unsere Anstrengungen unterstützen, Information global verfügbar zu machen. Ich glaube, dass schnelle, intelligente Abfrage unserer internen Dokumente kritisch dafür ist, unseren Klienten Rat und Anleitung rechtzeitig und in hoher Qualität zur Verfügung zu stellen.," – Brant Freer, Senior Counsel bei Miller Canfield, Chairman des Information Systems Committee und Vorsitzender der Knowledge Management Aktivitäten.
Mit Single-Sign-On und dem integrierten Security-Modul, das sämtliche User-spezifischen Zugangsberechtigungen der „darunterliegenden“ Datenquellen einhält und überwacht ist MindServer 5.0 als Lösung für vielschichtige, komplexe Systeme mit verteilten Datenquellen und -formaten konzipiert und kann nahtlos in bestehende IT-Landschaften integriert werden.
Windows Live Deal Benefits Microsoft and Nokia, Not Operators
Windows Live Deal Benefits Microsoft and Nokia, Not Operators
Microsoft and Nokia have agreed to bundle Windows Live services on some Nokia mobile phones. The deal is good news for these two companies and their customers, but cuts network operators out of the value chain.
Microsoft and Nokia have agreed to bundle Windows Live services on some Nokia mobile phones. The deal is good news for these two companies and their customers, but cuts network operators out of the value chain.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Talking Exit Strategies With Montgomery & Co. | AMR Research
Talking Exit Strategies With Montgomery & Co. | AMR Research
Best valuations: must-have products and infrastructure vendors
We switched from exits to valuations. In our 2005 interview, Mr. Cooper said valuations had been holding at “1.5 to 3.0 times last-twelve-months (LTM) revenue.” This still holds true, though there are two exceptions. Some buyers will pay any price for a strategic acquisition. As proof, look at Citrix’s $500M offer for XenSource, a virtualization vendor said to have less than $5M in LTM sales. That’s a 12.5 multiple over the $40M the VCs put in, and more than a hundred times LTM revenue. The second exception is the desirable infrastructure that vendors are going for three to five times LTM revenue.
We closed the call with a discussion of the hot and cold M&A sectors. As for the hard to sell, security software tops the list of frigid. There was a sense that market had already consolidated.
Best bets: governance and compliance, SaaS, analytics, “platform extensions”
The hot list began with governance and compliance, albeit with a twist. This is a highly-converged offering that consists of content, business intelligence/performance management, and business process management. This was followed by SaaS, analytics, “platform extensions” (software adding to or building off of platforms by Google or salesforce.com), virtualization and data center optimization, and tight, vertical-specific offerings for financial services (such as credit card transaction processing) or healthcare IT.
Best valuations: must-have products and infrastructure vendors
We switched from exits to valuations. In our 2005 interview, Mr. Cooper said valuations had been holding at “1.5 to 3.0 times last-twelve-months (LTM) revenue.” This still holds true, though there are two exceptions. Some buyers will pay any price for a strategic acquisition. As proof, look at Citrix’s $500M offer for XenSource, a virtualization vendor said to have less than $5M in LTM sales. That’s a 12.5 multiple over the $40M the VCs put in, and more than a hundred times LTM revenue. The second exception is the desirable infrastructure that vendors are going for three to five times LTM revenue.
We closed the call with a discussion of the hot and cold M&A sectors. As for the hard to sell, security software tops the list of frigid. There was a sense that market had already consolidated.
Best bets: governance and compliance, SaaS, analytics, “platform extensions”
The hot list began with governance and compliance, albeit with a twist. This is a highly-converged offering that consists of content, business intelligence/performance management, and business process management. This was followed by SaaS, analytics, “platform extensions” (software adding to or building off of platforms by Google or salesforce.com), virtualization and data center optimization, and tight, vertical-specific offerings for financial services (such as credit card transaction processing) or healthcare IT.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Open Text Extends Alliance With Microsoft, Announces New Comprehensive Solution for Law Firms
News - Open Text Corporation
Open Text Extends Alliance With Microsoft, Announces New Comprehensive Solution for Law Firms
New Offering Enables Law Firms To Utilize Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Matter Lifecycle Management, While Mitigating Legal and Compliance Risks
Open Text Extends Alliance With Microsoft, Announces New Comprehensive Solution for Law Firms
New Offering Enables Law Firms To Utilize Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Matter Lifecycle Management, While Mitigating Legal and Compliance Risks
Monday, August 20, 2007
Open Text To Build Law Firm-Focused Content Management System On Microsoft SharePoint > Information Management > Intelligent Enterprise: Better Insight for Business Decisions
Open Text To Build Law Firm-Focused Content Management System On Microsoft SharePoint > Information Management > Intelligent Enterprise: Better Insight for Business Decisions
Open Text To Build Law Firm-Focused Content Management System On Microsoft SharePoint
The new product, available next year, would would combine Open Text's expertise in lifecycle management of legal documents with the collaboration and content management capabilities of SharePoint.
By Antone Gonsalves
Open Text on Monday said it would offer law firms a content management system based entirely on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007.
The new product, unveiled at the ILTA legal conference in Orlando, Fla., would combine Open Text's expertise in lifecycle management of legal documents with the collaboration and content management capabilities of SharePoint. Open Text currently sells its own product for the legal market called LegalKEY.
SharePoint is used by law firms for broadly used intranet, extranet and collaboration capabilities, while Open Text technologies have been tailored to specific law firm processes, Open Text officials said. Under the combined offering, SharePoint could become a firm's central content repository, and lawyers and staff could use its interface to access Open Text's practice-centric views of content and virtual file cabinets.
The integrated product is expected to help firms manage new business and potential conflicts of interest, establish ethical walls separating client cases, and provide records management and archiving that meets compliance requirements. In addition, users can perform federated searches across matters, and automatically assign metadata to allow correct classification of documents and pre-population of relevant content. The single point of content management through SharePoint also means that firms can apply retention schedules across repositories in a consistent and centralized manner.
Open Text two years ago launched an initiative to combine Microsoft productivity tools with its enterprise content management software and vertical-market expertise. Earlier this year, Open Text launched software integrated with SharePoint for managing U.S. Department of Defense-certified records. The company also launched a joint SharePoint-Open Text product that life sciences companies could use to manage documents that meet U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirements.
The latest integrated product is scheduled to be fully available to law firms by early next year. Pricing was not disclosed.
Open Text To Build Law Firm-Focused Content Management System On Microsoft SharePoint
The new product, available next year, would would combine Open Text's expertise in lifecycle management of legal documents with the collaboration and content management capabilities of SharePoint.
By Antone Gonsalves
Open Text on Monday said it would offer law firms a content management system based entirely on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007.
The new product, unveiled at the ILTA legal conference in Orlando, Fla., would combine Open Text's expertise in lifecycle management of legal documents with the collaboration and content management capabilities of SharePoint. Open Text currently sells its own product for the legal market called LegalKEY.
SharePoint is used by law firms for broadly used intranet, extranet and collaboration capabilities, while Open Text technologies have been tailored to specific law firm processes, Open Text officials said. Under the combined offering, SharePoint could become a firm's central content repository, and lawyers and staff could use its interface to access Open Text's practice-centric views of content and virtual file cabinets.
The integrated product is expected to help firms manage new business and potential conflicts of interest, establish ethical walls separating client cases, and provide records management and archiving that meets compliance requirements. In addition, users can perform federated searches across matters, and automatically assign metadata to allow correct classification of documents and pre-population of relevant content. The single point of content management through SharePoint also means that firms can apply retention schedules across repositories in a consistent and centralized manner.
Open Text two years ago launched an initiative to combine Microsoft productivity tools with its enterprise content management software and vertical-market expertise. Earlier this year, Open Text launched software integrated with SharePoint for managing U.S. Department of Defense-certified records. The company also launched a joint SharePoint-Open Text product that life sciences companies could use to manage documents that meet U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirements.
The latest integrated product is scheduled to be fully available to law firms by early next year. Pricing was not disclosed.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
FT.com / Home UK / UK - Microsoft shakes up online services arm
FT.com / Home UK / UK - Microsoft shakes up online services arm
Microsoft shakes up online services arm
By Richard Waters in San Francisco
Published: August 14 2007 03:00 | Last updated: August 14 2007 03:00
Microsoft on Monday shook up the organisation and management of its online services business following its $6bn purchase of advertising services company Aquantive, marking its latest attempt to catch up with Google and Yahoo.
The overhaul included a new organisational structure that closely resembles one that had been planned at Yahoo by Terry Semel, its former chief executive officer, although Yahoo has since turned its back on the arrangement.
Microsoft said it had split the management of its online services business, giving control of all its advertising activities to Brian McAndrews, the former chief executive of Aquantive. Advertising had previously been overseen at Microsoft by Steve Berkowitz, the executive in charge of its internet group, who will now head only the part of the business that is responsible for attracting the company's online audience.
The split between advertising and audience groups would create a clear division of responsibilities that would let both sides focus more clearly, said Mr McAndrews, adding: "It makes perfect sense to me."
Yahoo recently abandoned a similar plan after naming Jerry Yang as its new chief executive, saying at the time that it was unnecessary.
Mr McAndrews' appointment also marks the arrival of an injection of new blood designed to make Microsoft more than an also-ran in the advertising business. The senior management team for Microsoft's new advertising group is made up of former Aquantive executives, with the exception of Satya Nadella, who will be responsible for the advertising technology platform. Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's former chief advertising strategist, had been appointed to a new role as senior vice-president in charge of strategic partnerships for the company's broader platforms and services division, Microsoft said.
Integrating Microsoft's AdCenter search engine advertising business into the other Aquantive online operations would position the new division for the changes that now are likely in online advertising, said Mr McAndrews.
While the growth of search had been the big trend in the first part of the decade, he said, advertisers were now interested in a broader mix of display, rich media and web video, and search was set to take its place in these more integrated online campaigns.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Microsoft shakes up online services arm
By Richard Waters in San Francisco
Published: August 14 2007 03:00 | Last updated: August 14 2007 03:00
Microsoft on Monday shook up the organisation and management of its online services business following its $6bn purchase of advertising services company Aquantive, marking its latest attempt to catch up with Google and Yahoo.
The overhaul included a new organisational structure that closely resembles one that had been planned at Yahoo by Terry Semel, its former chief executive officer, although Yahoo has since turned its back on the arrangement.
Microsoft said it had split the management of its online services business, giving control of all its advertising activities to Brian McAndrews, the former chief executive of Aquantive. Advertising had previously been overseen at Microsoft by Steve Berkowitz, the executive in charge of its internet group, who will now head only the part of the business that is responsible for attracting the company's online audience.
The split between advertising and audience groups would create a clear division of responsibilities that would let both sides focus more clearly, said Mr McAndrews, adding: "It makes perfect sense to me."
Yahoo recently abandoned a similar plan after naming Jerry Yang as its new chief executive, saying at the time that it was unnecessary.
Mr McAndrews' appointment also marks the arrival of an injection of new blood designed to make Microsoft more than an also-ran in the advertising business. The senior management team for Microsoft's new advertising group is made up of former Aquantive executives, with the exception of Satya Nadella, who will be responsible for the advertising technology platform. Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's former chief advertising strategist, had been appointed to a new role as senior vice-president in charge of strategic partnerships for the company's broader platforms and services division, Microsoft said.
Integrating Microsoft's AdCenter search engine advertising business into the other Aquantive online operations would position the new division for the changes that now are likely in online advertising, said Mr McAndrews.
While the growth of search had been the big trend in the first part of the decade, he said, advertisers were now interested in a broader mix of display, rich media and web video, and search was set to take its place in these more integrated online campaigns.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Microsoft Move Will Drive Enhanced Online Search Privacy
Microsoft Move Will Drive Enhanced Online Search Privacy
Gartner believes Microsoft's new privacy principles are targeted primarily at increasing regulators' and consumer groups' pressure on competitor Google. But this is still a welcome development in online privacy protection.
Gartner believes Microsoft's new privacy principles are targeted primarily at increasing regulators' and consumer groups' pressure on competitor Google. But this is still a welcome development in online privacy protection.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
FT.com / Columnists / John Gapper - Google’s view into the lives of others
FT.com / Columnists / John Gapper - Google’s view into the lives of others
Google’s view into the lives of others
By John Gapper
Published: July 22 2007 18:58 | Last updated: July 22 2007 18:58
Google shows no signs of relenting in its effort to take over the world – sorry, to “organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”. Last week, it promised to bid $4.6bn (€3.3bn, £2.2bn) or more to run a mobile phone service in the US if the auction is conducted in the way that it wants. It also missed analysts’ expectations for its second-quarter earnings because it was in so much of a rush to employ people that it hired more than it intended.
Eric Schmidt, its chief executive, made clear at Allen and Company’s Sun Valley conference for media and technology executives 10 days ago that resistance to Google is useless. He dismissed the refusal of social networks such as Facebook to let search engines scan their content as a “transient” phase. He also took a potshot at Viacom, which sued Google over its YouTube video-hosting site, suggesting that the media group is simply an outfit run by lawyers.
Comments such as these make me worry that Mr Schmidt, who used to be a mild-mannered and open-minded soul, is becoming too big for his boots. The thing that unites these two remarks is the disdain they imply for anyone wanting to hide details of their private lives, or protect their intellectual property, from Google’s algorithms. They suggest that Google will eventually be able to publish all the data it wants and be justified in so doing. Neither claim is true.
Taking privacy first, young people are more comfortable than previous generations about giving out personal details to all-comers by posting gossip and photos on blogs and social networking sites. That may mark a sea change in social attitudes but it could equally be, pace Mr Schmidt, transient. It will only take a few job rejections or disciplinary actions by employers and universities (Oxford is already trawling for miscreants on Facebook) for privacy to regain its former cachet.
While it is useful for such organisations, and for the nosy, to have the lives of others searchable, it is not always useful for those whose lives are searched. One of Facebook’s appeals is that the site has privacy controls that allow users to share information only among their friends or chosen networks. If everyone’s entry were made “universally accessible” and showed up on Google searches, Facebook would soon lose its appeal to adult users.
Google’s fight with Viacom over breach of copyright on YouTube is analogous: YouTube wants to exploit something to which Viacom holds rights – video clips of programmes such as The Daily Show and The Colbert Report – for its own benefit. It hopes to strike deals with companies such as Viacom to display such clips and share the resulting advertising revenue, just as it has already made deals with music companies including Warner and Universal.
Until then, YouTube plays cat and mouse with Viacom over the illegal posting of video clips on YouTube. It warns its users not to upload other people’s copyrighted content but has not put in place a filtering mechanism to identify and block pirated clips, as it has done with music owned by companies with which it has struck deals. Instead, it asks television and film companies to monitor the site and point out copyright-infringing clips, at which point it is willing to take these clips down.
This state of affairs suits YouTube (and, since Google acquired YouTube for $1.65bn last year, Mr Schmidt). Viacom has to take the time and the trouble to monitor YouTube; illegal clips stay up on YouTube until Viacom serves it with a take-down notice. It is impossible to identify how many video clips on YouTube are amateur and how many are professional but its 60 per cent of the US video-sharing market clearly owes much to copyright foot-dragging.
YouTube’s defence, which will be familiar to those with teenagers, is that it can’t do much about copyright infringement and, anyway, it doesn’t have to. It says that automatic filtering of videos is very hard to do; it is now testing a system with companies including Walt Disney but does not know when it will be ready to launch. Meanwhile, it insists that it is not required by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in the US, or by European law, to block every breach of copyright.
I doubt whether Google is on such safe legal ground as Mr Schmidt asserts. Congress passed the relevant clauses of the DMCA to protect internet service providers and others from being held liable for breach of copyright by their users. But YouTube is not a neutral party to copyright infringement in the way that ISPs are: its business model is not merely to provide bandwidth but to encourage users to upload and share videos, many of which it knows quite well belong to other people.
As far as ethics go, it is definitely on shaky ground. If you were having a party in your house and, when your neighbour came around to complain about the noise, you said “sorry” and turned down the volume, only to allow a guest to raise it again five minutes later, you would obviously be in the wrong. The fact that you might have done enough to escape prosecution would not mean that you were behaving fairly.
Google’s motto is “Don’t be evil”, but it should meet higher standards. Mr Schmidt can muse about the digital future and ridicule Viacom for being run by lawyers all that he likes. The fact remains that he wants to profit from the private lives and intellectual property of others without obtaining their permission first. Never mind about not being evil, Mr Schmidt; don’t be anti-social.
john.gapper@ft.com
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Google’s view into the lives of others
By John Gapper
Published: July 22 2007 18:58 | Last updated: July 22 2007 18:58
Google shows no signs of relenting in its effort to take over the world – sorry, to “organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”. Last week, it promised to bid $4.6bn (€3.3bn, £2.2bn) or more to run a mobile phone service in the US if the auction is conducted in the way that it wants. It also missed analysts’ expectations for its second-quarter earnings because it was in so much of a rush to employ people that it hired more than it intended.
Eric Schmidt, its chief executive, made clear at Allen and Company’s Sun Valley conference for media and technology executives 10 days ago that resistance to Google is useless. He dismissed the refusal of social networks such as Facebook to let search engines scan their content as a “transient” phase. He also took a potshot at Viacom, which sued Google over its YouTube video-hosting site, suggesting that the media group is simply an outfit run by lawyers.
Comments such as these make me worry that Mr Schmidt, who used to be a mild-mannered and open-minded soul, is becoming too big for his boots. The thing that unites these two remarks is the disdain they imply for anyone wanting to hide details of their private lives, or protect their intellectual property, from Google’s algorithms. They suggest that Google will eventually be able to publish all the data it wants and be justified in so doing. Neither claim is true.
Taking privacy first, young people are more comfortable than previous generations about giving out personal details to all-comers by posting gossip and photos on blogs and social networking sites. That may mark a sea change in social attitudes but it could equally be, pace Mr Schmidt, transient. It will only take a few job rejections or disciplinary actions by employers and universities (Oxford is already trawling for miscreants on Facebook) for privacy to regain its former cachet.
While it is useful for such organisations, and for the nosy, to have the lives of others searchable, it is not always useful for those whose lives are searched. One of Facebook’s appeals is that the site has privacy controls that allow users to share information only among their friends or chosen networks. If everyone’s entry were made “universally accessible” and showed up on Google searches, Facebook would soon lose its appeal to adult users.
Google’s fight with Viacom over breach of copyright on YouTube is analogous: YouTube wants to exploit something to which Viacom holds rights – video clips of programmes such as The Daily Show and The Colbert Report – for its own benefit. It hopes to strike deals with companies such as Viacom to display such clips and share the resulting advertising revenue, just as it has already made deals with music companies including Warner and Universal.
Until then, YouTube plays cat and mouse with Viacom over the illegal posting of video clips on YouTube. It warns its users not to upload other people’s copyrighted content but has not put in place a filtering mechanism to identify and block pirated clips, as it has done with music owned by companies with which it has struck deals. Instead, it asks television and film companies to monitor the site and point out copyright-infringing clips, at which point it is willing to take these clips down.
This state of affairs suits YouTube (and, since Google acquired YouTube for $1.65bn last year, Mr Schmidt). Viacom has to take the time and the trouble to monitor YouTube; illegal clips stay up on YouTube until Viacom serves it with a take-down notice. It is impossible to identify how many video clips on YouTube are amateur and how many are professional but its 60 per cent of the US video-sharing market clearly owes much to copyright foot-dragging.
YouTube’s defence, which will be familiar to those with teenagers, is that it can’t do much about copyright infringement and, anyway, it doesn’t have to. It says that automatic filtering of videos is very hard to do; it is now testing a system with companies including Walt Disney but does not know when it will be ready to launch. Meanwhile, it insists that it is not required by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in the US, or by European law, to block every breach of copyright.
I doubt whether Google is on such safe legal ground as Mr Schmidt asserts. Congress passed the relevant clauses of the DMCA to protect internet service providers and others from being held liable for breach of copyright by their users. But YouTube is not a neutral party to copyright infringement in the way that ISPs are: its business model is not merely to provide bandwidth but to encourage users to upload and share videos, many of which it knows quite well belong to other people.
As far as ethics go, it is definitely on shaky ground. If you were having a party in your house and, when your neighbour came around to complain about the noise, you said “sorry” and turned down the volume, only to allow a guest to raise it again five minutes later, you would obviously be in the wrong. The fact that you might have done enough to escape prosecution would not mean that you were behaving fairly.
Google’s motto is “Don’t be evil”, but it should meet higher standards. Mr Schmidt can muse about the digital future and ridicule Viacom for being run by lawyers all that he likes. The fact remains that he wants to profit from the private lives and intellectual property of others without obtaining their permission first. Never mind about not being evil, Mr Schmidt; don’t be anti-social.
john.gapper@ft.com
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
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