Recently in Business Technology Category

Fluke Networks and Ipswitch Inc. have announced a new partnership to bundle key products designed for real-time testing, monitoring and analysis of networks. You can read the full release on TMCnet at:

Fluke Networks Announces Partnership with Ipswitch, Inc. to Offer New Network Management Solutions

The two companies are combining Key Device Watch, based on Ipswitch's WhatsUp network monitoring tool, with Fluke's portable test products LinkRunner and NetTool. Ipswitch might be best known as developer of the WS_FTP file transfer protocol program (at least that's the case for me).

The joint announcement from today describes the capabilities of Key Device Watch in this way:

"The software enables users to map to their networks, monitor critical devices such as email or web sites, and receive alerts about any problems via email, sound, or visual pop-up, in order to speed problem resolution. A trend analysis feature, which tracks network diagnostics with graphical reports and charts, is also available in this bundle."

In describing the significance of this combined offering, Alex Neihaus, Vice President of Marketing at Ipswitch, is quoted as saying:

"As networks grow and become more complex, the administrator's ability to identify and address issues becomes even more important. Our partnership with Fluke Networks allows us to combine our strengths with theirs to deliver a unique, high-capability network monitoring solution for network administrators."

This picture gives you an idea of the combined user experience of the two Fluke devices with the Key Device Watch application:

AB -- 4/25/05

The Radicati Group issued its Radicati Market Stats and Commentary earlier this week. I have been reviewing their reports for several months now. Particularly of interest are their predictions about spam. This week's report says they expect spam traffic in corporations to increase to 64% of all traffic in 2008, up from 48% this year. Radicati expects the market for anti-spam engines to reach $198 million in 2009, up from $95 million this year.

Following is an excerpt from this week's report:

EMAIL

We expect spam traffic in corporations to increase from 48% of total e-mail traffic in 2005, to 64% in 2008.

EUROPEAN MESSAGING SOFTWARE

The number of email users in Europe is set to increase from 201 million in 2005, to 252 million users in 2009.

In 2005, the European messaging software market will generate €697B. Over the next four years, this figure will increase at an average rate of 8.4% a year, totaling around €961B by 2009.

The number of corporate mailboxes in Europe is set to grow from 124M mailboxes in 2005, to 168M mailboxes in 2009.

SECURITY

In 2005, we estimate that 52% of corporate mailboxes are protected by a single anti-virus solution; by 2009 we estimate that 51% of corporate mailboxes will be protected by 2 anti-virus layers.

Worldwide revenue in the Anti-Spam Engine market is set to increase from $95 million in 2005, to $198 million in 2009.

WIRELESS EMAIL

We project that the number of worldwide enterprise wireless email users will increase from 3.2 million in 2004, to 38.7 million users in 2008.

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AB -- 4/22/05

This announcement came in this afternoon about a new computer self-support system:

New Software Transforms Tech Support

Syberfix Solutions is releasing Personal Online Support, a small-footprint software program that resides on the user's desktop and can instantly connect to a network of certified tech support helpdesks who can provide support and repair remotely and securely. From what I can tell, the remote support system is focused for the most part on basic repair issues, such as hardware, operating system, and networking.

Besides this personal product targeted at home and small business users, Syberfix also offers products for professional support providers that can include remote diagnostics, CRM tools and knowledge management capabilities.

AB -- 4/21/05

Today Radicati Market Stats issued its bi-weekly "Radicati Market Stats & Industry Commentary." Especially interesting are the following tidbits on email security:

+ Radicati says worldwide email traffic will increase at 21% annually on the average over the next four years, to reach 195 billion messages per day in 2009.

+ Commercial advertising accounts for 58% of spam traffic.

+ The research firm aniticipates that the number of unique phishing attacks will grow from 51 in 2004 to 404 in 2008. (These figures sound very low to me. But perhaps they are in a better position to know than I am!)

Also, Radicati projects that WLAN hotspots worldwide will grow from 70,000 in 2004 to  873,600 by the end of 2008.

AB -- 4/8/05

This release appeared today:

Google Launches Desktop Search 1.0; Extending Desktop Search to PDF, Music, Video, and Image Files; Supports Firefox and Netscape; Available in Chinese and Korean

Google's solution remains my favorite desktop search application -- really fast and searches multiple media. A big plus for me is that it searches MS Outlook and can actually find and open up the individual email message you're looking for.

AB -- 3/7/05

This looks like an interesting conference:

Gilbane Content Management Conference to Present Insights on Blogs and Wikis as Enterprise Applications

In connection with the conference, the Gilbane Report is offering a free report:

"Blogs & Wikis: Technologies for Enterprise Applications?"

AB -- 3/2/05

A report today from Cisco Systems and Datamonitor confirms one of my pet notions, which is that eventually virtually everyone in the world will become an Internet user -- even those who they say they will never use the Internet.

Details of the research report are available at:

Research Demonstrates How Internet Technology May Help Banks Make Queuing Rewarding for Customers

Datamonitor recommends that bank branches use converged networks to deliver targeted "infotainment" to customers waiting in line for a teller or bank officer. The same networks can be used for communications and security.

I've seen survey results in which substantial percentages of respondents said they would never become Internet users, and I'm sure that is entirely their intention. However, technological trends are taking us toward a world in which IP communications will be embedded in the world all around us. In such a world, being an Internet user does not require proactive effort. Communications are streamed in all around you, and you interact with this streamed-in information not only through displays and input devices, but also through surfaces and materials in the environment. (Think about this: What could happen if wall paint were made with nano-sized Web servers mixed into it and connected to a WiFi mesh network?)

Anyway, here's a quote from the Cisco-Datamonitor report giving you an idea what it might be like waiting in line at Wachovia in a couple of years:

"The report advises that electronic marketing channels can help overcome queuing issues by allowing tailored video material to be streamed to screens in each branch, giving customers something to watch as they queue. In addition, cameras can be used to monitor branch use, giving management better information on queuing patterns to help cut down waiting times."

AB -- 3/1/05

Fascinating nanotech story from mPhase Technologies about advancements in battery technology:

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mPhase Researcher will report on Nanobattery at the Nano Science and Technology Institute

NORWALK, Conn. --(Business Wire)-- Feb. 11, 2005 -- mPhase Technologies Inc. (OTC: XDSL) today announced that its lead researcher, Victor Lifton, will present a paper, "Atoms to products - a nanostructured novel battery," at the Nano Science and Technology Institute Conference and Trade Show in Anaheim, California.
Dr. Lifton will report on the progress of the mPhase plan to fabricate nanotech-based batteries, which can generate electric current. The project is based on a joint program with Bell Labs, the R&D arm of Lucent Technologies.

The novel battery is based on a Bell Labs discovery that liquid droplets of electrolyte will stay in a dormant state atop microscopic structures called "nanograss" until stimulated to flow, thereby triggering a reaction producing electric current.

"We are especially excited about the ability to use various battery chemistries and take advantage of the special characteristics of Nanograss," Lifton said.

Future batteries based on this technology have the potential to deliver far longer shelf life and better storage capacity than existing battery technology. Potential initial applications for this technology may include defense, industrial, healthcare, and consumer electronics. mPhase is also targeting the nanobattery for use in a technically-improved, lighter weight battery designs.

Dr. Lifton joined mPhase Technologies Inc. in June, 2004, following positions at Kulite Semiconductor Products, Inc., as a Manager of Semiconductor Processing and Lucent Bell Labs, as a Member of the Technical Staff in MEMS Fabrication Research Lab. He has a Ph.D in Materials Science from Stevens Institute of Technology where he won the Morton M. Traum Award for Excellence.

Dr. Lifton has designed and fabricated various optical MEMS microdevices and conducted electrochemical studies of porous Si and SiC as novel sensing materials and process control of semiconductor-based sensors for pressure transducers, process development for novel sensor architectures using SOI and thick paste technology, and novel materials and packaging methods for next generation sensors.

mPhase and Lucent announced an agreement in March 2004, under which mPhase plans to commercialize the nanobattery under license from Lucent. mPhase projects its nanobattery to be commercially available in 12-18 months, and plans to produce the technology packaged in various configurations. A primary development goal is to create a battery that could have a shelf life lasting decades, yet can be activated instantaneously.

About mPhase

mPhase Technologies Inc. (OTC: XDSL) develops and commercializes next-generation telecommunications and nanotechnology solutions, delivering novel systems to the marketplace that advance functionality and reduce costs. In telecommunications, the Company's mPhase TV+ platform cost-effectively and reliably delivers entertainment digital television, high-speed Internet access and traditional telephone service over existing copper telephone lines. mPhase also offers a growing line of innovative DSL component products, such as the iPOTS, designed to help service providers lower the provisioning and operating costs associated with DSL. The company is bringing nanotechnology out of the laboratory and into the market with a planned innovative, long-life power cell.

More information is available at the mPhase Web site at www.mPhaseTech.com.

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AB -- 2/11/05

The resignation of Carly Fiorina as CEO of HP signals a "new era for the company," according to the Yankee Group.

The following is excerpted from Yankee Group's news release from today, outlining key lessons and recommendations for HP:

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HP has performed admirably as a commodity technology services business and has maintained a leadership position in peripherals in recent years. But the company has clearly slipped behind some of its chief competitors with its moves into business process outsourcing and providing a service-oriented platform that decouples business processes.

HP needs to refine its approach and internal structure to develop a stronger position in these markets. The incoming CEO will have to make quick decisions on further acquisitions to propel HP into these growing markets and work fast on finalizing the integration of Compaq's business units. HP now has an opportunity to regain momentum as a technology and business integration pioneer, and the change of leadership might just provide this opening.

The Yankee Group believes there are some key takeaways from this event:

1. At the time of the HP/Compaq merger, HP was split between those who felt that HP was good at peripherals (printers and cameras, etc.) and should not waste its money on Compaq and those that tried to rationalize an outdated set of computer offerings (servers and desktop). Fiorina was on the other side; she felt there would be great opportunities in rationalizing the product lines. HP has had difficulty attracting support to its new product lines. For example, the Itanium chip set has had difficulty achieving volumes or attracting software developers to support the chip set.

The merger was a mistake--period. There were not sufficient synergies to make that deal worthwhile.

2. To drive the merger efforts, Fiorina pushed the workforce. Morale was poor and the skill sets of the workers were relatively unique, culminating in deteriorating performance and weak results. Last December, HP announced an anticipated 8% workforce layoff, which further reduced overall morale.

3. Fiorina and HP view the IT industry as a commodity business (as opposed to IBM or Accenture, which view it as complex and non-commoditized). HP has positioned its professional services form the "infrastructure up" as opposed the "business process down." Yankee Group believes that puts HP in an awkward position--it cannot succeed while still investing in technology development.

4. HP has committed to some very large outsourcing contracts. It remains to be seen whether they bought the business and will be able to profitably execute on these contracts.

Recommendations:

1. HP needs to reconsider its product roadmap: We believe HP will have to aggressively consider a split-up. The split-up, if it occurs, needs to segregate peripherals and the data center environment. If it cannot achieve client buy-in (i.e., volume) for its platforms such as Itanium, it will continue to struggle.

2. Culture counts: HP needs to hire a new CEO who can rally the troops in this time of need.

3. HP needs to focus its services on product attached and integration services: Large scale Outsourcing carries too much risk and at this point is a diversion to their core business.

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AB -- 2/9/05