VoIP for Enterprise http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ Enterprise voice, video and data over IP will change the way we work, communicate and collaborate. en-us Copyright 2008 2006-11-30T09:30:58-05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Aberdeen Announces Data Protection Survey http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/11/aberdeen-announces-data-protection-survey.asp 31035@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/  
AberdeenGroup is undertaking a survey on the “value of Data Protection to control and monitor endpoint security in an organization.”
 
According to the opening page of the research survey, “Users access, manipulate, download and store sensitive data constantly on their desktops and laptops. The availability of cheap high-capacity portable media, including CD-R disks, USB thumb drives, and firewire hard disks, make unauthorized copying of large amounts of data a trivial task. Even legitimate users can have a laptop stolen or lose a media storage device containing critical data. This second study in Endpoint Security will explore the approaches organizations are using to protect data accessed and stored on the endpoint.”
 
AberdeenGroup will send a free copy of the final report to those who complete the survey.
 
The report authors hope to identify
 
  • The business and security drivers that press for adoption of endpoint data protection solutions.
  • The types of solutions being adopted to address end-point data protection security risks.
  • The impact of these solutions on risk management and business operations.
  • Key aspects of functionality that technology managers seek in their endpoint data protection solutions.
 
In the end, AberdeenGroup believes the successful completion of this research will yield the findings that provide insights into:
 
  • The risks to endpoint security.
  • The business and financial impact of these risks.
  • The types of solutions that are in use and the impact these solutions have on increasing security as well as improving operational efficiency.
  • The types of solutions that are being considered to address new risk.
  • The types of solutions that are not being considered to address risk, and why.
  • The technologies and processes that are being used by best in class organizations.
 
The research will target an end-user audience including CIOs, CSOs, privacy officers, CTOs, CFOs risk managers, and corporate executives.
 
To access the Endpoint Security Benchmark Survey Part II: Data Protection simply click here.
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]]> endpoint security types solutions solutions being solutions security endpoint 2006-11-30T09:30:58-05:00 Compuware Research Puts VoIP Concerns at 73% http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/11/compuware-research-puts-voip-concerns-at-73.asp 30777@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ According to research from Compuware, 73% of European IT executives are still worried about the quality and reliability of voice over IP.
 
The survey addressed 300 IT directors representing large enterprises across Europe.
 
Essentially, researchers noted that the bulk of this negative perception is fueled by a lack of knowledge of network performance before implementing VoIP.
 
It sounds like there’s a big opportunity for companies in the network monitoring space and for folks who do pre-deployment network assessments.
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]]> network 2006-11-20T09:47:42-05:00 Tehrani Turns the Page on Zultys http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/11/tehrani-turns-the-page-on-zultys.asp 30704@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ Rich Tehrani has written an interesting article on the subject of Zultys. The article is titled Zultys Saga Concludes — For Now, and it comes across as part cautionary tale, part confession on the part of former Zultys owner Iain Milnes.
 
If we are to take away any positives from this whole sordid affair it’s that the engineers at Zultys who orchestrated the buyback of the company at auction, backed by Telrad Connegy, truly believe in their creation.
 
At any rate, Rich’s article is a wonderful summation of the situation.
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]]> ultys article 2006-11-17T12:46:55-05:00 TMC Welcomes Russell Shaw to Blogging Family http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/11/tmc-welcomes-russell-shaw-to-blogging-family.asp 30583@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ Russell Shaw joined the TMCnet family of contributors today, with the launch of a new blog entitled “RSS: Regulations, Statutes and Standards.”
 
Shaw’s blog will cover the always compelling subject of regulations, and now, in the wake of the recently concluded election, the subject takes on an ever-greater level of importance -- for consumers, service providers and enterprise customers of all sizes.
 
Said Shaw, “It is my pleasure to join the cast of bloggers on the leading technology Web site in the world. Given all the political changes in DC — including new committee chairs for regulatory areas which we cover — I think we are in a very suitable time frame for this launch.”
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]]> 2006-11-14T14:55:51-05:00 IR to Port Prognosis to Nortel, Avaya, Alcatel http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/11/ir-to-port-prognosis-to-nortel-avaya-alcatel.asp 30527@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ Integrated Research has announced plans to port Prognosis, its software for managing large scale Cisco VoIP networks, to three other leading vendors, effectively tripling its addressable market.
 
The company says that, over the next 12 months Prognosis will be extended to work on Avaya, Alcatel and Nortel installations. It says that the impetus for this initiative comes from current users of Prognosis who are looking to: eliminate the need to procure and maintain multiple, IP-PBX specific management tools; reduce the time and expense involved in training network operations staff to use differing solutions; give operations staff a single, consistent view across all their disparate VoIP environments.
 
According to Frost & Sullivan’s 2005 enterprise telephony systems market report, Avaya and Nortel’s combined share of the North American market is 38.8 percent. IPI notes that, if added to Cisco’s 19.8 percent share this represents a total of 58.5 percent across all three vendors.
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]]> Prognosis prognosis market percent avaya Nortel 2006-11-13T14:00:39-05:00 Colorado's IP5280 Acquires GoXpand's Assets http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/11/colorados-ip5280-acquires-goxpands-assets.asp 30242@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ Colorado-based IP5280 Communications announced that it has acquired GoXpand's commercial business VoIP customers, expanding IP5280's VoIP venture in the Colorado market. Check it out:

Colorado's business VoIP specialists, and GoXpand, a broadband services provider delivering connectivity to in-building fiber, announced today the transfer of ownership of GoXpand's commercial business VoIP customer base to IP5280. This is IP5280's third acquisition of assets since the beginning of the year, furthering its expansion plan of business customers across the Colorado market.

IP5280 is Colorado's VoIP specialist in offering enterprise-class IP services for small and medium-sized businesses. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is the new convenient way that uses a high-speed Internet connection to make and receive phone calls with more manageability and functionality, and at a significant savings than compared to traditional phone service.

"We welcome GoXpand business VoIP customers to IP5280," said John Scarborough, managing partner of IP5280. "They join more than 100 businesses in Colorado, like Denver's Dutch Flower Market, Lion Financial Corporation and Omni Capital Group, who have already made the switch to IP5280 and are realizing huge monthly savings over the phone company."

IP5280 offers a range of unlimited local and long distance VoIP calling packages and data solutions that include Hosted VoIP and IP Business Trunking services offering full user mobility, unlimited local and long distance calls, and email integration. Advanced features include sending voicemail to your email inbox, simultaneous ring on multiple phones, automatic logging of calls, auto attendant that greets callers and delivers calls to different employees, and traditional features such as conference call and three-way calling.

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]]> Colorado colorado business GoXpand goxpand calls 2006-11-03T14:43:20-05:00 Incuity & IDS to Host Business Intelligence Workshop on How to Optimize Manufacturing Productivity, Profitability http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/incuity-ids-to-host-business-intelligence-workshop-on-how-to-optimize-.asp 29279@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ SEATTLE --(Business Wire)-- Incuity Data Solutions and Incuity Software, Inc. announced today they will conduct a joint workshop for manufacturing executives in Seattle on Oct. 18, 2006, to help them learn how to make better business decisions that can optimize their companies' productivity and profitability.



"This free workshop is ideal for both decision makers and decision implementers in any manufacturing company, including people in production, operations, plant management, engineering and IT management," said Jason Brickner, IDS Systems Sales Engineer. "There will be two sessions per workshop, one covering the business problems that the Incuity EMI software can help people solve and one covering the more technical aspects of how to configure applications to do that."

"Anyone in the business of manufacturing knows the roadblocks encountered in attempting to link plant floor systems with enterprise applications," said Gary Wilson, Incuity Vice President of Sales. "The first half of the workshop will cover how users can resolve issues such as leveraging legacy historians; compliance management; downtime/OEE analysis and reports; product analysis and reporting; key performance indicator (KPI) support and dashboards; manufacturing integration with ERP systems; and enhanced supply chain visibility.

"The second half will explain how to access, correlate, analyze, visualize and act on manufacturing and business data from all the systems in a manufacturing enterprise," he added.

The IDS-Incuity workshop will be held on Oct. 18 at the Doubletree Hotel Seattle Airport (18740 International Blvd.). The workshop begins with a continental breakfast, registration and networking at 9:00 a.m. The first half of the program, starting at 10:00 a.m., will cover the enterprise issues involved with truly linking plant floor manufacturing operations with enterprise computing applications. Following lunch, the second session, at 1:00 p.m., will provide an overview of web services, data source connectivity, databases, advanced trending, X-Y plotting tools, Excel reports, web portals, dashboards and a unified production model.

Anyone interested in attending the seminar should go directly to the Incuity Software web site at www.incuity.com to get more details on the workshop and to register online. Seating is limited for these special events, so people are urged to sign up early so they don't miss out.

About Incuity Data Solutions

Based in Albany, Oregon, and with offices in Boise, Idaho and San Francisco, California, Incuity data Solutions provides software, professional services and comprehensive support for creating business intelligence for manufacturing solutions for a wide variety of industries such as food and beverages, metals, discrete parts manufacturing, and water and wastewater treatment. For more information, please visit the company's web site at www.incuitydatasolutions.com.

About Incuity

Incuity Software, based in Mission Viejo, California, is a pioneer in the creation of data management systems for reporting, analysis and business intelligence applications in manufacturing and process companies. More than 45,000 seats of the company's products have been installed since 1998, in 13 languages and in more than 40 countries. In addition to its headquarters operations in California, Incuity has regional offices in Nevada and Massachusetts in the U.S. as well as in Sydney, Australia; Duesseldorf, Germany; and Johannesburg, South Africa. The company also maintains a Professional Services group in Burlington, Ontario, Canada.

For additional information about the company and Incuity products, or for a complete list of value-added resellers around the world, please visit the company's web site at http://www.incuity.com. ]]>
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]]> TMCNet business intelligence productivity profitability incuity software incuity Incuity manufacturing 2006-10-03T00:34:41-05:00 Fitch Upgrades Aquila, Inc's Ratings http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/fitch-upgrades-aquila-incs-ratings.asp 29278@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ CHICAGO --(Business Wire)-- Fitch has upgraded Aquila, Inc.'s (ILA) ratings as follows:

--Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'B' from 'B-';

--Senior Secured to 'BB/RR1' from 'BB-/RR1';

--Senior Unsecured to 'B+/RR3' from 'B-/RR4'.

Approximately $1.1 billion of debt is affected. The Outlook is Stable.

The upgrade reflects the utility's improved credit profile and improved recovery prospects as a result of ILA's debt reduction and restructuring efforts during the past year. Using proceeds from utility and non-utility asset sales, ILA has reduced debt and debt equivalents by approximately $720 million. Fitch's recovery methodology uses a distressed multiple to determine enterprise valuation. This methodology also considers debt equivalents, like tolling agreements, on a net present value basis.



The Stable Rating Outlook reflects Fitch's expectation that ILA's credit metrics will remain within parameters for the 'B' rating category over the next year. Cash flow from operations should benefit from lower working capital needs due to lower commodity prices, lower interest expense due to the retired debt, and lower extraordinary tax payments from the gain on sale of assets.

Further debt reductions are possible using proceeds from the sale of ILA's Kansas electric utility, offset by higher capital spending for the Iatan facility funded by a secured bank line. The Kansas utility sale is expected to close for approximately $255 million, exclusive of any working capital adjustments. ILA recently filed in Missouri for an increase in base rates and the implementation of a fuel cost recovery mechanism. The filing also includes a request for recovery of a generation facility like the Aries power project that ILA recently announced it would purchase from Calpine for $158.5 million. Further debt reductions or a favorable outcome in the rate case would improve credit metrics and could result in a ratings upgrade.

ILA is a regulated electric and gas utility serving more than 460,000 electric and 900,000 natural gas customers in five Midwestern states.

Fitch's Recovery Ratings (RR), introduced in 2005, are a relative indicator of creditor recovery on a given obligation in the event of a default. A broad overview of Fitch's RR methodology as it relates to specific sectors, including a Case Study webcast, can be found at www.fitchratings.com/recovery.

Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site. ]]>
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]]> TMCNet Fitch fitch recovery ratings utility lower 2006-10-03T00:34:36-05:00 EDITORIAL: Marketing starts to pay: Buffalo Niagara Enterprise report shows return from careful preparation http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/editorial-marketing-starts-to-pay-buffalo-niagara-enterprise-report-sh.asp 29277@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ (Buffalo News, The (NY) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Oct. 2--Eight years into the effort to consolidate regional business marketing into the Buffalo Niagara Enterprise effort, the BNE is claiming progress and a number of "wins." But the best review of all came from a corporate economic development expert who works with, not for, the agency: The real gain, she said, comes not in a count of recruiting successes but in the agency's completion of the "grunt work" that makes it easier for companies to consider this region.



That hasn't always been the case, and that assessment is a critical one. Buffalo Niagara has enough regulatory and taxation hurdles to clear without making it difficult for potential job-providers to quickly evaluate local sites. It's good news that Buffalo Niagara Enterprise has pulled together the data and studies to offer businesses before they have to ask for them. That's a competitive edge, because it's not done everywhere.

The BNE's integrated Web site, www.buffaloniagara.org, brings information together for site selectors. Its regional portal now is available in English, French, German, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese and soon Japanese, providing for a much wider global reach.

Started years ago with an unrealistically high promise of new job creation, Buffalo Niagara Enterprise has refocused on job retention as well as job creation, and has become the "marketer" for the business-development "product" of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership. While some may dispute the level of involvement in some of the 38 "wins" the group claimed for fiscal year 2006, which ended June 30, without Buffalo Niagara Enterprise, companies considering this region would be betting on a hodgepodge of facts and figures with less help in harnessing that information and helping push through deals.

The 38 wins, according to the group, represent a 5.5 percent increase over the previous year's 36 victories. That fiscal 2005 total was more than twice the number of "wins" for Kansas City, Phoenix, Richmond or St. Louis.

In hard numbers, that means last year's work meant $258.2 million in new capital investment in the region, a 12.7 percent increase from the previous year, with the creation or retention of 3,436 jobs -- 1,384 that remained and 2,052 added.

The BNE now focuses on speed, predictability and shovel-ready sites. As it increases the comfort level for potential investors in this region, it can help build momentum; companies notice where other companies are starting to relocate, and a good marketing agency can help them quickly find out why.

The good news here is that there is far more teamwork in that region-selling effort than there once was, and that Buffalo Niagara Enterprise is working to be ready with immediate and detailed information that companies need to know.

Copyright (c) 2006, The Buffalo News, N.Y.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. ]]>
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]]> TMCNet buffalo niagara niagara enterprise Buffalo buffalo niagara Niagara 2006-10-03T00:34:30-05:00 Incuity & Control Associates to Host Business Intelligence Workshop on How to Optimize Manufacturing Productivity, Profitability http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/incuity-control-associates-to-host-business-intelligence-workshop-on-h.asp 29276@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ ALLENDALE, N.J. --(Business Wire)-- Control Associates Incorporated and Incuity Software, Inc. announced today they will conduct a joint workshop for manufacturing executives, on October 19, 2006, to help them learn how to make better business decisions that can optimize their companies' productivity and profitability.



"This free workshop is ideal for both decision makers and decision implementers in any manufacturing company, including people in production, operations, plant management, engineering and IT management," said Terry Spaeth, Control Associates Senior Vice President. "There will be two sessions per workshop, one covering the business problems that the Incuity EMI software can help people solve and one covering the more technical aspects of how to configure applications to do that."

"Anyone in the business of manufacturing knows the roadblocks encountered in attempting to link plant floor systems with enterprise applications," said Gary Wilson, Incuity Vice President of Sales. "The first half of the workshop will cover how users can resolve issues such as leveraging legacy historians; compliance management; downtime/OEE analysis and reports; product analysis and reporting; key performance indicator (KPI) support and dashboards; manufacturing integration with ERP systems; and enhanced supply chain visibility.

"The second half will explain how to access, correlate, analyze, visualize and act on manufacturing and business data from all the systems in a manufacturing enterprise," Wilson added.

The Control Associates-Incuity workshop begins with a continental breakfast, registration and networking at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 19, at the Control Associates offices (20 Commerce Drive) in Allendale. The first half of the program, starting at 10:00 a.m., will cover the enterprise issues involved with truly linking plant floor manufacturing operations with enterprise computing applications. Following lunch, the second session, at 1:00 p.m., will provide an overview of web services, data source connectivity, databases, advanced trending, X-Y plotting tools, Excel reports, web portals, dashboards and a unified production model.

Anyone interested in attending the seminar should go directly to the Control Associates web site at www.control-associates.com to get more details on the workshop and to register online. Seating is limited for these special events, so people are urged to sign up early so they don't miss out.

About Control Associates

Founded in 1933, Control Associates is based in Allendale, New Jersey, and serves industrial customers throughout the northern New Jersey, greater New York City and central and western Connecticut region. The company offers a broad range of expertise in the process industries, such as specialty chemicals, life sciences, natural gas distribution, power generation, hydrocarbon processing, food and beverage, water treatment, and pulp and paper. Among its major customers are well-known companies including Akzo-Nobel, Amerada Hess, American Sugar Refining, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Con Edison, ConocoPhillips, Hercules, Merck, New Jersey Natural Gas, PSE&G and Wyeth. For more information about the company, please visit its web site at: http://www.control-associates.com.

About Incuity

Incuity Software, based in Mission Viejo, California, is a pioneer in the creation of data management systems for reporting, analysis and business intelligence applications in manufacturing and process companies. More than 45,000 seats of the company's products have been installed since 1998, in 13 languages and in more than 40 countries. In addition to its headquarters operations in California, Incuity has regional offices in Nevada and Massachusetts in the U.S. as well as in Sydney, Australia; Duesseldorf, Germany; and Johannesburg, South Africa. The company also maintains a Professional Services group in Burlington, ON, Canada.

For additional information about the company and Incuity products, or for a complete list of value-added resellers around the world, please visit the corporate web site at http://www.incuity.com. ]]>
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]]> TMCNet control associates business intelligence productivity profitability control incuity associates 2006-10-03T00:34:27-05:00 Open Text paying $489M for Hummingbird http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/open-text-paying-489m-for-hummingbird.asp 29275@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ (UPI Business News Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Canadian software maker Open Text Corp. is paying about $489 million to buy Hummingbird Ltd., a smaller domestic rival.

The cash-and-debt deal results in the formation of the world's largest independent provider of enterprise content management software, Open Text said Monday.

The deal was financed with about $58 million in cash from Hummingbird, $25 million in cash from Open Text and a $390 million term loan under new $465 million senior secured revolving and term credit facilities. The $75 million committed revolving term credit facility replaces a smaller revolving credit facility that was terminated.



The seven-year term loan may be prepaid and the revolving credit facility has a five-year term.

Hummingbird's chairman, Fred Sorkin and its chief executive, Barry Litwin, have left the combined company.

Copyright 2006 United Press International ]]>
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]]> TMCNet credit facility million Hummingbird hummingbird revolving credit 2006-10-03T00:34:19-05:00 CorasWorks(R) Advances Enterprise Application Design on SharePoint(R) http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/corasworksr-advances-enterprise-application-design-on-sharepointr.asp 29274@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ RESTON, Va. --(Business Wire)-- CorasWorks Corporation, the leading provider of workplace application software on the Microsoft(R) platform, today announced the release of the CorasWorks Workplace Suite(TM) - Summer 2006 edition. With this latest release, CorasWorks advances the ability of enterprise application architects to design robust applications that are inter-connected as part of an integrated workplace running on the Microsoft SharePoint platform - all without any custom development.



For many CorasWorks customers the investment in the CorasWorks Workplace Suite is easily justified by the lower total cost of ownership for the applications they build using its modular architecture. On average, organizations see an 80% cost savings compared to building their applications using custom development. Yet, for many enterprise organizations, their application designs continue to be constrained by the lack of skilled resources within their in-house development teams.

CorasWorks' Summer 2006 release breaks this constraint and advances application design within the enterprise by delivering:

-- Parent-Child Relationships for better data organization: CorasWorks' new Cross-Connect(TM) module allows users to create parent-child relational joins from two lists or libraries and relate them on a common field or data. The lists can be stored in separate locations throughout the workplace.

-- A familiar and flexible application interface with more power to take action and get work done: With the new release, application designers can create actions that allow end users to enter information and make decisions whenever an action is run. Also, users can do data entry to add or change information across their workplace without needing to jump from one application to another.

-- Support for role-based dashboards: Role-based dashboards or "personas" allow application architects to design optimized role-based interfaces providing the information and functionality required for a given role and interaction with information located throughout the workplace.

-- Distributable, reusable Workplace Features: Application designers can distribute commonly used features from an application to any location throughout the workplace, enabling users to do their work from where they work.

-- Ability to centrally define scopes of information that may be consumed throughout the workplace in dashboards, portals, personas, and individual views.

-- Centralized workplace configuration management: Allow application architects to define and connect distributed elements of information and functionality across a workplace.

-- Centralized component configuration management: Enable administrators to establish global or regional policies for how the distributed, end-user components of the workplace behave.

"Empowering organizations to create an inter-connected workplace of robust, enterprise-wide applications without custom development or extensive technical skills or knowledge is the driving objective of every release of the Workplace Suite," said William Rogers, CEO of CorasWorks "The Summer 2006 releases greatly advances the potential of workplace application designers to create a more powerful set of applications, while vastly increasing the ease, convenience, and relevance to end-users. With great cost effectiveness, it continues to drive forward the value proposition of modular software architecture over custom development or off-the-shelf point solutions."

To further help application architects leverage the advanced capabilities and technologies of the Summer 2006 release, CorasWorks also greatly enhanced the Solution Set included in the product. The CorasWorks Workplace Suite now includes 51 templated solutions comprised of Workplace Foundation elements and Business Solutions. Workplace Foundation elements are templatized core building blocks for designing and deploying elements of a collaborative workplace. The included Business Solutions are segmented into four categories: Project Oriented, Classic Line of Business, Departmental, and Approval Processes. They can each be used as is or easily customized to meet the needs of the organization.

Visit our new CorasWorks Showroom (http://solutions.corasworks.net/) to learn more about the Summer 2006 release of the CorasWorks Workplace Suite. For details on accessing or upgrading to Summer 2006, please contact sales@corasworks.net or 1-866-580-3115 (toll free) or 1-703-797-1881 (for local or international).

About CorasWorks

CorasWorks Corporation is the leading worldwide provider of workplace application software on the Microsoft SharePoint collaboration platform. CorasWorks products are being used every day by more than 700 customers and 500,000 deployed users. Enterprise, corporate, non-profit, and government organizations in more than 20 countries around the world use CorasWorks software to build powerful and flexible integrated business workplaces, without custom development. The CorasWorks Partner Program no has more than 70 partners certified to assist customers in implementing, designing and building their workplaces on SharePoint. For more information, visit www.corasworks.net. ]]>
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]]> TMCNet workplace suite custom development application architects corasworks workplace release corasworks workplace 2006-10-03T00:34:09-05:00 FreedomWorks Supports the First Amendment at FCC Field Hearing ; Grassroots Activists to Attend Oct. 3 FCC Public Hearing in Los Angeles http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/freedomworks-supports-the-first-amendment-at-fcc-field-hearing-grassro.asp 29273@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ FCC Field Hearing ; Grassroots Activists to Attend Oct. 3 FCC Public Hearing in Los Angeles. Check it out:
(Comtex Business Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) WASHINGTON, Oct 2, 2006 (U.S. Newswire via COMTEX) --The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold a field hearing in Los Angeles on Tuesday to discuss media ownership. FreedomWorks is showing up to protect the first amendment and the free enterprise system.



Today's communications market is thriving. Cable, satellite and broadband providers compete directly with incumbent broadcasters for programming. This competition benefits consumers through more choices in programming with a wide variety of media outlets.

FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey commented, "Broadcast media is not the dominant source of news and information it used to be, and new broadband technologies will do even more to challenge incumbent broadcasters. But for anti-market advocates, it represents their last viable opportunity to use the power of government to force us to listen to them. The government can take positive steps to help all viewers and listeners, by not by taking control of the airwaves. The government can move to increase competition and choice by removing archaic laws that are out of step with the fundamental changes occurring in the marketplace."

FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe added, "The opponents of the free market are calling for new restrictions and government intervention in the media that will ultimately reduce the choices available to American families. Proponents of more regulation argue that media consolidation constrains the free flow of information to Americans, yet they practice a very sophisticated form of democratic activism with only a minimal use of mainstream media. The irony speaks volumes for their position."

-----

FreedomWorks is a grassroots organization with over 800,000 members nationwide, dedicated to lower taxes, less government and more freedom.

http://www.usnewswire.com

Adam Brandon of FreedomWorks, 202-942-7698, or
abrandon@freedomworks.org

Copyright (C) 2006, U.S. Newswire ]]>
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]]> TMCNet field hearing freedomworks FreedomWorks media government hearing 2006-10-03T00:34:00-05:00 Business Objects Completes Acquisition of Armstrong Laing Limited http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/business-objects-completes-acquisition-of-armstrong-laing-limited.asp 29272@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ SAN JOSE, Calif. & PARIS --(Business Wire)-- Business Objects (Nasdaq:BOBJ)(Euronext Paris ISIN code: FR0004026250 - BOB), the world's leading provider of business intelligence (BI) solutions, today announced it has closed the acquisition of privately-held Armstrong Laing Limited (ALG Software), a leading provider of profitability management and activity based costing solutions.



"The acquisition of ALG Software demonstrates our commitment to bringing a complete range of enterprise performance management solutions to our customers," said John Schwarz, CEO of Business Objects. "Our customers have told us that the ability to generate improved profitability and control costs is fast becoming one of their top priorities. By adding the leading provider of these solutions to our portfolio, we significantly broaden and deepen our EPM capabilities for our customers, and particularly, for the CFO and finance departments."

The acquisition was an all-cash transaction of approximately 30 million GBP (approximately $56 million USD) for all outstanding shares of ALG Software by Business Objects (U.K.) Limited, a Business Objects wholly owned U.K. subsidiary, and will be accounted for under the purchase method of accounting. Total revenue for ALG Software was approximately $19 million for its fiscal year ended January 31, 2006.

With the addition of ALG Software, Business Objects expands its enterprise performance management (EPM) software portfolio with solutions for profitability management, activity based costing, predictive planning, and strategic business performance measurement. ALG Software's profitability management and activity based costing solutions represent a fast-growing segment of the EPM market and complement the existing Business Objects EPM solutions. Today, more than 400 customers worldwide use ALG Software's solutions, including American Express, British Airways, British Telecom, Heineken, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, US Department of Labor, and WHSmith.

Business Objects plans to announce further details on the integration of ALG Software in November, from the Business Objects Insight Americas 2006 User Conference in San Francisco.

About Business Objects

Business Objects is the world's leading business intelligence (BI) software company, with more than 39,000 customers worldwide, including over 80 percent of the Fortune 500. Business Objects helps organizations of all sizes create a trusted foundation for decision making, gain better insight into their business, and optimize performance. The company's innovative business intelligence suite, BusinessObjects(TM) XI, offers the BI industry's most advanced and complete solution for performance management, planning, reporting, query and analysis, and enterprise information management. BusinessObjects XI includes the award-winning Crystal line of reporting and data visualization software. Business Objects has also built the industry's strongest and most diverse partner community, and offers consulting and education services to help customers effectively deploy their business intelligence projects.

Business Objects has dual headquarters in San Jose, Calif., and Paris, France. The company's stock is traded on both the Nasdaq (BOBJ) and Euronext Paris (ISIN: FR0004026250 - BOB) stock exchanges. More information about Business Objects can be found at www.businessobjects.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This document contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties concerning Business Objects' products and services, ALG Software's EPM solutions, the benefits to customers from the acquisition, Business Objects' position in the EPM market, and impact of the transaction on Business Objects' financial results. Actual events or results may differ materially from those described in this document due to a number of risks and uncertainties. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others: the tax impact of the acquisition on Business Objects, Business Objects' ability to retain ALG Software's employees, and Business Objects' ability to realize other financial benefits from the proposed acquisition. More information about potential factors that could affect Business Objects' business and financial results is included in Business Objects' Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2006 and Business Objects Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and available at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Business Objects is not obligated to and does not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this document.

The Business Objects logo, BusinessObjects, Crystal Reports, Intelligent Question, and Xcelsius are trademarks or registered trademarks of Business Objects in the United States and/or other countries. All other names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. ]]>
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]]> TMCNet business objects business intelligence software business objects business profitability management business 2006-10-03T00:33:50-05:00 MetTel First National CLEC to Integrate With UCN Network and Offer On-Demand inContact Application Services http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/mettel-first-national-clec-to-integrate-with-ucn-network-and-offer-ond.asp 29271@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 2 -- UCN, Inc. (BULLETIN BOARD: UCNN) , a provider of on-demand contact handling software and business telecommunication services delivered over the UCN national VoIP network, today announced a partnership with MetTel (Metropolitan Telecommunications), a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) based in New York City. Under the terms of the signed agreement, the two companies will interconnect their respective networks, enabling MetTel to sell UCN's inContact(TM) application services into its customer base.



With this announcement, MetTel customers gain access to leading edge, hosted contact handling capabilities that improve customer contact quality and rep productivity, without having to take on the costs associated with the installation, integration and maintenance of onsite software and hardware.

This is not the first relationship between the two companies. In June 2005 UCN announced that MetTel had selected inContact to support its own internal customer care operation, located in two geographically dispersed offices. The inContact system provides MetTel with a unified set of contact handling and management tools, helping the customer care teams hit their target service level numbers while decreasing overall operational costs. Again, in December 2005, UCN and MetTel were in the news, when MetTel avoided a business interruption situation due to the New York City transit strike. The morning of the strike, inContact enabled MetTel to implement its disaster recovery plan and seamlessly route service calls to the homes of 50 percent of the customer care team who knew they would be stranded at home by the strike.

MetTel serves over 16,500 consumer and business clients, with more than 185,000 phone lines nationwide. The company specializes in serving multi-state, multi-location enterprise accounts.

Said MetTel CEO, Marshall Aronow: "The inContact system complements our suite of services by providing an enterprise class solution for our customers. This combination enhances the total value of MetTel's competitive offerings."

Kevin Childs, UCN president of sales, marketing and support said: "With this new connectivity model, MetTel customers can have both their existing long distance and local numbers managed by the intelligent contact handling services of inContact. They don't have to change a thing. From a business perspective, by partnering with an established, trusted CLEC such as MetTel, UCN gains access to a nationwide market of existing business accounts. As many of these accounts are multi-location operations, they are uniquely positioned to benefit from the unifying reporting, monitoring and management functions inherent in inContact."

About MetTel
Founded in 1996, MetTel (Metropolitan Telecommunications) is a privately held nationwide integrated communications provider serving customers from coast-to-coast. MetTel provides a comprehensive portfolio of local, long distance and advanced business and data services, including Internet Access and VoIP solutions to the business market, specializing in multi-state, multi-location enterprise customers. MetTel's innovative and proprietary operations support systems provide leading edge electronic bonding, provisioning, customer care, agent support and billing system capabilities, which have fueled its rapid expansion. Web site: http://www.mettel.net/

About UCN, Inc.
UCN (BULLETIN BOARD: UCNN) is the leading provider of inbound and blended, hosted contact handling services that improve the customer contact experience and the productivity of those handling the contacts. In addition to the integrated suite of advanced contact handling applications, inContact provides reporting, monitoring, recording, administration and workforce management tools. InControl(TM) is a unique, rapid application development tool that enables inContact customers to develop highly flexible, customized business contact handling processes in record time. To learn more about UCN visit http://www.ucn.net/.

Safe Harbor Statement: The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor for forward-looking information made on the Company's behalf. All statements, other than statements of historical facts which address the Company's expectations of sources of capital or which express the Company's expectation for the future with respect to financial performance or operating strategies, can be identified as forward-looking statements. Such statements made by the company are based on knowledge of the environment in which it operates, but because of the factors previously listed, as well as other factors beyond the control of the Company, actual results may differ materially from the expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements.

UCN, Inc.

CONTACT: Jan Johnson, VP of Marketing of UCN, +1-801-320-3263,jan.johnson@ucn.net; or investors, Scott Liolios, scott@liolios.com, or RonBoth, of Liolios Group Inc, +1-949-574-3860, for UCN; or Sue Salmansohn,Marketing Director of MetTel, +1-212-607-2012, ssalmansohnl@mettel.net

Web site: http://www.mettel.net/
Web site: http://www.ucn.net/ ]]>
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]]> TMCNet contact handling multi location application services mettel MetTel incontact 2006-10-03T00:33:46-05:00 Loewy lands consultancy deal at MPD http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/loewy-lands-consultancy-deal-at-mpd.asp 29270@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ (Daily Variety Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)
TORONTO One of the nastiest scraps to hit the Canadian film scene in recent years received a storybook ending as outspoken distribution impresario Victor Loewy and Motion Picture Distribution reached a settlement.

Deal makes Loewy, the former MPD chairman who quit in July, an independent consultant to the company with the title of chairman emeritus. His primary responsibility will be MPD's lucrative output deal with New Line.

An income trust controlled by Toronto-based Alliance Atlantis Communications, MPD is Canada's largest distributor, sporting output deals with New Line, Focus Features, Miramax and the Weinstein Co. MDP also owns Momentum Pictures in the U.K. and Aurum in Spain.



The New Line output deal contains a "key man clause" citing Loewy that put the contract in jeopardy when Loewy ankled.

New Line confirmed on Friday that it will continue its output agreement with MPD until the end of 2008 --- the same time Loewy's agreement expires --- though the company retains the option to walk away if Loewy leaves.

"We are delighted to be able to continue our longstanding supply arrangement with New Line and are looking forward to working with Victor in his new capacity," said MPD chief exec John Bailey.

MPD is also dropping its court action against former CEO Patrice Theroux and general counsel Paul Laberge, who were fired in July. They are rumored to be receiving an unspecified financial package.

All three settlements include confidentiality and non-compete covenants.

Loewy, Theroux and Laberge could not be reached for comment.

"We are pleased to have resolved matters with Patrice and Paul and wish them well in their future endeavors," said David Lazzarato, MPD chairman of the board.

Industry observers say it is in everyone's interest to "play nice" to stabilize company's market trading so that MPD, which will soon be up for sale, can fetch the best price possible.

London-based Marwyn Investments went public in August with notice of a cash offer of C$394 million-C$414 million ($353 million-$371 million) for MPD that would see Loewy, Theroux and Laberge head up the enterprise.

AAC has said it will not sell MPD until it completes a strategic review of the company.

In a terse statement giving the Loewy/MDP settlement two thumbs up, AAC promised to complete its review "as soon as possible."

Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information - US ]]>
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]]> TMCNet loewy Loewy million company output Theroux 2006-10-03T00:33:39-05:00 Managed services: Playing away from home http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/managed-services-playing-away-from-home.asp 29269@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ (Total Telecom Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) BT is reinforcing its status as a global force just as other incumbents in Europe are wrestling with their domestic strategies. Last month the UK operator announced plans to double its revenue in key IT services markets over the next three years by looking further outside its UK and Western European bases.



Other incumbents might do well to follow BTs lead, or even take more radical measures. Australias Telstra, struggling for ways to grow in its home market, is showing signs of reinforcing its play in Asia (see p.26). Analysts even hint that it could pull back from its domestic commitments following deadlock with the regulator. Deutsche Telekom is having troubles at home too, as our cover story shows, and admits that it will need to turn increasingly to international revenue growth.

Some analysts say BT has benefited from pulling back from its earlier stated ambition to compete directly with big integration companies such as IBM and Accenture. They are now being more realistic, said Chris Lewis, enterprise practice leader at Ovum. In its initial statement about ICT, it was aiming for the stars. What theyve got, is closer to the sky.

BT declined to comment on what percentage of its Global Services business is pure IT services, but says it has won just under 1,000 new customers in 15 months.

Key growth is expected in the US, Japan, India and China. Those markets currently are worth some 750 million to the company said Andy Green, CEO of BT Global Services. He added that one of the largest sources of growth is among South Korean companies looking towards global expansion.

BT forecasts its German and Italian markets will generate revenue of E1 billion by 2009. BT acquired Fiats telecoms subsidiary Atlanet for E80 million last December and announced a global services contract with the Italian car manufacturer worth E450 million. Also last year, BT took full control of Italian network operator Albacom from partners including Eni and Mediaset. BT said Albacom generated some E650 million in revenues last year.

One of BTs biggest managed services contracts, with multinational retail company Unilever, was extended in September through a new global managed firewall deal worth 10.5 million. BTs original contract with Unilever for voice, data and mobile, awarded in 2002, was the first billion-euro managed services contract for a telco in Europe. In May, BT was awarded an extension to the original seven-year outsourcing contract, worth around 270 million over an extra three years.

BT says Global Services revenues grew by 4% in the first quarter of 2006, to 2.2 billion. Other significant contract wins include Reuters, the National Health Service, the Ministry of Defence, Hertz and Philips.

BT is anticipating 15% growth year-on-year, driven by global services. That will be achieved by organic growth and some acquisitions that will help us or our geographic capability, said Green.

BT says its global 21st century infrastructure will be a key differentiator. It expects to have IP services in 160 countries by the end of 2007, up from 128 at present. The number of dual points of presence in cities will increase from 12 to 28. There is no interest to have separate pockets of MPLS, said Green. Global companies want end-to-end service management.

Under the terms of the new agreement with Unilever, BT will take full control of the companys firewalls, which are spread throughout 68 countries. The current regionally managed model will be brought under one operation in the network IT services operation.

Unilever says it has made cost reductions of 20% since it first signed an agreement with BT, which has now changed from being a supplier to a partner according to Neil Cameron, chief information officer at Unilever.

Cameron said Unilever did not re-tender the contract. We could have got it cheaper, but price is not the only importance, he said. We need to know that they are going to deliver.

To prise Unilever away from BT is now I would say well nigh impossible, said Janet Watkins, director of Telemark Services, which tracks customer care performance of managed services providers. BT is prepared to put so much into the arrangement, and that is down to Andy Green.

BT Global Services also aims to deliver annual cost savings of 400 million by the financial year ending March 2009.

Green said the reductions would come from reduced third party costs of around 200 million. A further 100 million would come from taking advantage of a global workforce; eliminating the duplication of jobs will save 50 million as well as securing repeat contracts, he said.

Green cites Orange, AT&T and Verizon as key competitors in the global services market.

Copyright 2006 Terrapinn Ltd ]]>
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]]> TMCNet global services managed services worth million services global million 2006-10-03T00:33:33-05:00 Converged services: Quietly does it http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/converged-services-quietly-does-it.asp 29268@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ (Total Telecom Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) One of the building blocks of fixed-mobile convergence is set for a short shelf life despite some low-key launches by several of Europes operators.

Telecom Italia was the latest to go to market with unlicensed mobile access (UMA) technology, but you could be forgiven for having missed the announcement. Last month it quietly launched its long-awaited offer under the brand name Unica.

Neither was there much fanfare when TeliaSonera launched its Home Free UMA service in Denmark, in August.

Telecom Italia finally got the go-ahead to launch Unica after a lengthy altercation with the regulator. Even now it is restricted to a six-month experimental service and allowed to sign up just 30,000 customers.

We have started the service, a spokesperson for Telecom Italia confirmed, but the regulator has prevented us from starting a natural service.

Telecom Italia remains tight-lipped on what will happen when the six months are up. The spokesperson insists the convergence is still going ahead, despite its recent change of strategy and personnel.

Customer demand for UMA services is far from proven. It took BT seven months to sign up 30,000 customers to its UMA service, Fusion. Homezone-style fixed-mobile substitution services from mobile operatorswhich essentially target the same demographichave seen significantly faster take-up. T-Mobile in Germany racked up 1 million customers to its @Home offer in half the time.



[Fusions] benefits sound uncannily like that of a mobile phone, said Phil Kendall, director, wireless network strategies at Strategy Analytics at the UMA Services and Technology Forum in London in September. He believes the key driver for UMA is to enable fixed-line operators to compete with aggressively-priced mobile bundles and homezone services.

Kerry Ritz, managing director of Vonage UK, agreed that operators, not consumers, are driving UMA. Theres not a demand from customers for FMC, he said.

Kendall predicts there will be 2 million UMA handset shipments this year, rising to 70 million by 2010. This will trail off as IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) technology picks up.

But some have a much bleaker prognosis. UMA has a small window of opportunity and that window is getting smaller, said Dean Bubley, principal analyst at Disruptive Analysis. I think it will fail outright.

Andrea Lagana, head of Telecom Italias home network and handset innovation unit, painted a different picture at the UMA Forum. A lot of people say UMA has a very limited timeframe[but] Im not completely sure it will be like that, he said. Once you introduce a technology, its not easy to switch it off.

TeliaSonera is considering how we can exploit the same services based on UMA, in other Nordic markets, said Peter Bredgaard, VP of business development. But he concedes it is unlikely to be a long-term service. I cannot for sure say we will run this five years from now. Probably not, he said.

UMA enables TeliaSonera to move away from the service provider business into our own network, said Bredgaard. You can get rid of your current PSTN subscription with this service, and customers can use any providers broadband connection with Home Free.

We are not using this as a tool to get more broadband, he insisted. The main driver is actually to get more market share of the mobile minutes.

To date, operators have concentrated on consumer UMA services. But last month BT revealed plans to launch a corporate version of Fusion in early 2007.

UMA is absolutely a viable enabler to enterprise mobility, said Talbot Hardy, CTO of Network Equipment Technologies. Enterprise UMA will live longer than expected.

Both Telecom Italia and TeliaSonera launched UMA with just one handset, the Samsung P200. Handsets are one of the most critical issues, said Lagana.

TeliaSonera has gone some way to tackling the problem by making Home Free compatible with GSM handsets. The service supports up to five mobile users per contract; just one is required to have a UMA handset.

Copyright 2006 Terrapinn Ltd ]]>
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]]> TMCNet telecom italia service mobile services Telecom telecom 2006-10-03T00:33:29-05:00 Belgacom: A watching brief http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/belgacom-a-watching-brief.asp 29267@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ (Total Telecom Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) One door down from the entrance to Belgacoms head office is an airy, high-ceilinged glass cylinder, housing a Belgacom shop. Enticements for passers-by include three months of free IPTV.

Television is the central pillar of Belgacoms domestic strategy. Like all of Europes incumbent operators, its voice revenues are declining and mobile growth is slowing down. Belgacom lost 59,000 lines in the second quarter of 2006compared to 26,000 in the first quarterwhile mobile revenues fell 1.5% year on year to 1.07 billion in the first six months.



Belgacom has done some international deals: in March 2005 it combined its international wholesale operations with those of Swisscom. But the domestic market remains its main focus.

In August, Belgacom bought Vodafones 25% stake in Proximus for 2 billion, giving it full control of the Belgian mobile operator, raising expectations it would develop a fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) strategy. But like Telecom Italia, Belgiums incumbent stresses that there is more than one way to offer service bundles.

The market expects some synergies out of the Proximus deal, says William Mosseray, chief strategy officer. That doesnt mean we have to put everything together. Right now we are a fixed company and a mobile company, and I dont know if that will change. The jury is still out [on fixed-mobile convergence], although we might not want to wait until the jury decides. It might be too late.

That did not stop it highlighting FMC trends in a statement in June, while outlining its strategy for its newly acquired national ICT company, Telindus. The corporate ICT market is in full transition phase, showing a strong convergence (voice/data, fixed/mobile), a strong trend towards outsourcing and a commoditization of ICT, the company said.

Telindus was finally captured in January for an initial price of some 600 million following a bidding war against France Telecom. Acquiring Telindus was an extremely important move for bolstering enterprise ICT services nationally, says Mosseray. But he insists it is not part of a bigger international services strategy.

Although Belgacom will support customers which outsource back-office operations in eastern Europe, for example, it will do so by leasing facilities and employing staff according to customer needs.

There are trends to outsource in eastern European countries. We may develop that according to the needs of our large customers. But it will be project based; we are not Equant.

Benoit Denis, consultant, ICT Practices, at Frost and Sullivan, suggests the carrier is too cautious with emerging markets. But he adds: They dont have the financial means to have an international strategy.

Raising the stakes

In fact, private equity money has raised the stakes for some possible acquisitions, in some cases forcing Belgacom to rein in its strategy. We dont want to do crazy things and pay crazy multiples, Mosseray says. Maybe the bubble is not as large as the Internet bubble, but there is one. I dont want to be in the centre when it explodes.

In August the company announced it would sell its 5.8% stake in French operator Neuf Cegetel to SFR for 187 million because it could not gain a majority share. It doesnt mean we put a cross through France or other countries, adds Mosseray.

The fact that Belgacom50% owned by the state which has a 53.14% voting rightis not full master of its destiny was emphasised last month when the Belgian prime minister urged it to seek partnerships.

The Belgian state doesnt want a private equity buyout, suggests Goldman Sachs. Its analysts say Belgacom has an equity market capitalisation of 9.7 billion; that compares to a valuation of 19 billion for Netherlands operator KPN.

The Belgian state may be keen to explore their options for Belgacom in the event of any change in the law to allow the state to sell their controlling interest, say the analysts. We believe it is possible that the Belgian state may be looking for options and partners that would allow Belgacom to become larger to avoid it being perceived as a target for private equity interests.

That law wont change before Belgian elections in 2007, but Belgacom recognises consolidation could affect it.

Its the strategic challenge of a mid-sized operator in Western Europe. We have no reason to say were in big trouble and should do something, says Mosseray. But the world around us is also moving. Does it make sense to combine forces? NGN investments might be a triggering factor.

Currently, there are no plans for fibre-to-the-home network investments. We dont believe today that FTTH makes sense, says Mosseray.

In the meantime it is continuing with other domestic investments, particularly with costly IPTV deployment. Belgacom said in its first-quarter financial report that TV operations would have an estimated negative EBITDA impact of about 3040 million in 2006, with ARPU at around 13.

The service, which is included in the carriers fixed-line business, had a negative EBITDA contribution of 11 million in Q1, and generated revenue of 2 million. Net ARPU was 11.9, and capex for the TV service was up to 19 million.

Mosseray expects IPTV to be unprofitable for two more years. But some think the digital TV service will be a cash drain until at least 2015.

Obviously its not going to generate margins of 30%, 40%, 50%, [like those] of traditional voice, says Mosseray. And there are challenges. Acquiring the right content is difficult, he concedes.

By the end of June Belgacom had 74,000 subscribers to its TV service, and is targeting 100,000 users by the end of the year.

IPTV is the right way for Belgacom to go, argues Benoit at Frost and Sullivan. Belgium is a small, densely populated country, making it cheaper per inhabitant to develop the network than in many other European countries, he says.

Currently, Belgacom is upgrading the Proximus 3G network with HSDPA technology to provide broadband mobile services by the end of the year.

Copyright 2006 Terrapinn Ltd ]]>
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]]> TMCNet belgian state private equity fixed mobile Belgacom belgacom mosseray 2006-10-03T00:33:20-05:00 LatAm leads Symantec's growth in the Americas http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/latam-leads-symantecs-growth-in-the-americas.asp 29266@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ (BNamericas.com Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) US security software giant Symantec sees Latin America as the region leading the company's growth in the Americas, Argentine newspaper El Cronista reported Symantec VP for Latin America, Wilson Grava as saying.



"At this moment, Latin America is leading the growth in the continent. It is a market in expansion and we currently have [growth] rates of 30%, above rates registered in the US and Canada," the paper quoted Grava as saying.

The executive said multinational companies and government agencies are among Symantec's major clients in the region and the company's consulting and services unit has grown as customers require complete management of their security infrastructure.

Grava said that Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela and Argentina are the biggest markets for the company in the region.

Symantec saw its net profit fall nearly 52% to US$95mn in the first quarter of fiscal year 2007, ended June 30, compared to US$199mn in the same period last year.

The Americas region, including the United States, Latin America and Canada, contributed 55% of total revenue but declined 1% year-over-year, BNamericas previously reported. Revenue for the period came in at US$1.26bn, up 80% year-on-year.

Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Symantec provides a broad range of content and network security software and appliance solutions to enterprises, individuals and service providers. Products include solutions for management of data, application and infrastructure, security, and storage and service, as well as enterprise and consumer security and response and managed security services.

Copyright 2006 BNamericas.com ]]>
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]]> TMCNet latin america growth americas symantec Symantec security growth 2006-10-03T00:33:15-05:00 SigmaQuest Named as a Top Emerging Software Vendor by Manufacturing Business Technology http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/sigmaquest-named-as-a-top-emerging-software-vendor-by-manufacturing-bu.asp 29265@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ SANTA CLARA, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- SigmaQuest(TM) Inc., the leading provider of software for managing product quality throughout manufacturing and a product's lifecycle, today announced that Manufacturing Business Technology has named SigmaQuest in its top "40 Emerging Software Vendors" list.



The company received this award for the second year in a row and will appear in the October 2006 issue of Managing Business Technology.

The publication's 40 list, which is compiled by senior editors, names up-and-coming vendors impacting enterprise, production, product development and supply chain management processes.

"Being recognized by Manufacturing Business Technology as one of the top 40 software vendors for a second year in a row is one of the many outstanding accomplishments we have achieved this year," said Nader Fathi CEO of SigmaQuest. "SigmaQuest has been heralded as a technology leader in helping customers manage product quality, and we are proud to add the recognition as one of the Top 40 Emerging Software Vendors to our list of recent achievements."

The Top 40 Emerging Vendors are featured in the October 2006 issue of Manufacturing Business Technology magazine and is available online at http://www.mbtmag.com/emergingvendors/40EmergingVendors_2006.pdf.

About Manufacturing Business Technology

Manufacturing Business Technology, established in 1984, has broad circulation coverage of corporate, IT and operations executives and managers in manufacturing--the buying team responsible for enterprise business and IT investment.

About SigmaQuest

SigmaQuest Inc. is an enterprise software company whose solutions provide unprecedented insight and actionable information to ensure product and process integrity, by collecting, aggregating, controlling and analyzing test and quality data. Its solutions enable global enterprises such as OEMs that design, manufacture, and service a broad array of products ranging from wireless devices to pacemakers to fuel cells, to optimize product time-to-market, cost and quality. This is accomplished through personalized views of product quality information, pro-active alerts and comprehensive traceability -- all in real time.

The company is headquartered at 2901 Tasman Drive, Suite 109, Santa Clara, CA 95054. It can also be reached at 408-654-9401, www.SigmaQuest.com.

SigmaQuest is trademark of SigmaQuest Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ]]>
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]]> TMCNet business technology manufacturing business emerging software sigmaquest sigmaquest software vendors sigmaquest 2006-10-03T00:33:06-05:00 Kforce Government Solutions, Inc. Teams with Lockheed Martin, Awarded FDIC Task Orders http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/kforce-government-solutions-inc-teams-with-lockheed-martin-awarded-fdi.asp 29264@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ FAIRFAX, Va. --(Business Wire)-- Kforce Government Solutions Inc. ("KGS") (NASDAQ:KFRC), in partnership with Lockheed Martin, has been awarded two task orders under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") Information Technology Application Services ("ITAS") contract.



"At KGS, we are proud of our capabilities in the delivery of mission-critical data confidence, as well as our ability to provide highly skilled information technology solutions professionals across the federal government," said Larry Grant, KGS President. "These subcontracts to Lockheed Martin allow KGS to continue as a provider of enterprise data management and application support services to the FDIC."

The first task order is for information management support services to manage the FDIC's corporate data and support its Enterprise Information Management ("EIM") program and activities. The three-year task order specifically covers database administration, enterprise architecture and corporate data sharing initiatives, enterprise architecture repository and digital library. The second task order includes consolidated enhancements support for FDIC's Open Bank systems.

This recent win at Lockheed Martin comes shortly after KGS was awarded a Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") contract to provide information technology management support services under the Enterprise Acquisition Gateway for Leading Edge Solutions ("EAGLE") procurement.

About Kforce Government Solutions, Inc.

Kforce Government Solutions, Inc. ("KGS"), is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kforce Government Holdings Inc., which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kforce Inc. KGS provides innovative technical and finance and accounting solutions to federal government clients. For more information, visit www.kforcegov.com.

About Kforce Inc.

Kforce Inc. (NASDAQ:KFRC) is a full-service, professional staffing firm providing flexible and permanent staffing solutions for candidates and organizations in the skill areas of technology, finance and accounting, and health and life sciences. Backed by 2,000 staffing specialists, Kforce (www.kforce.com) operates with 76 offices in 43 markets in North America.

Certain of the above statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934, as amended. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include the following: business conditions and growth in the staffing industry and general economy; competitive factors, risks due to shifts in market demand, including, without limitation, shifts in demand for our Government Solutions, Health and Life Sciences, Finance and Accounting and Technology groups, as well as the market for search and flexible staffing assignments; changes in the service mix; ability of the Firm to complete acquisitions; and the risk factors listed from time to time in the Firm's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as assumptions regarding the foregoing. In particular, there can be no assurance that the above estimates of revenues and earnings per share will be achieved. The words "should," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "foresee," "plan" and similar expressions and variations thereof identify certain of such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the dates on which they were made. Additionally, any statements related to future services to be provided to federal agencies are forward-looking statements. The Firm undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. As a result, such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. ]]>
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]]> TMCNet looking statements kforce government government solutions lockheed martin information technology kforce 2006-10-03T00:32:59-05:00 Kforce Inc. Acquires Bradson Corporation http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/kforce-inc-acquires-bradson-corporation.asp 29263@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ TAMPA, Fla. --(Business Wire)-- Kforce Inc. (NASDAQ:KFRC), a professional staffing firm, today announced the completion of a transaction to acquire Bradson Corporation, a privately held company based in Arlington, Virginia. Bradson has been a prime contractor of finance & accounting professional services to the federal government for over 20 years. Bradson's primary customers include the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security.



Bradson produced revenue of approximately $26.6 million for the twelve months ended June 30, 2006 and is expected to generate approximately $30.6 million in revenue in calendar 2006. EBITDA for the six month period ended June 30, 2006 was approximately $5.2 million and for calendar 2006 EBITDA is expected to be approximately $11.1 million. A Kforce subsidiary (Kforce Government Holdings, Inc.) will pay $73 million for 100% of the stock of Bradson. Kforce, on a consolidated basis, also expects to realize a future cash tax benefit with a net present value of approximately $13 million as a result of the election to classify the transaction as an asset sale for tax purposes under section 338(h)(10) of the IRS code. In addition, the transaction was subject to Bradson delivering $4 million in working capital at the time of closing. The transaction was financed through proceeds from the Firm's recently amended Credit Facility. Subsequent to closing, Kforce had approximately $106 million of debt outstanding. Kforce anticipates modest integration expenses and believes the transaction will be accretive for 2007.

David L. Dunkel, Kforce's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, "We are very pleased to finalize the acquisition and welcome the highly talented professionals from Bradson to the Kforce family. We believe this step is a significant enhancement of the Kforce footprint in the prime federal government sector, particularly in the federal finance and accounting discipline. We believe we have now completed our strategy of acquiring a federal government services platform. We expect Bradson's unique characteristics, capabilities and assets will bring our prime and subcontract revenues to over $100 million annually. We also expect to achieve organic growth as Bradson is integrated and the synergies of our entire Kforce Government Solutions Group are captured." Ron Bradley, former majority shareholder and President of Bradson stated, "I am very proud of our many achievements and I am confident that under David Halstead's leadership the entire team will prosper from the many resources that Kforce will provide them. We are very impressed with the Kforce culture of Great People = Great Results."

William L. Sanders, Kforce's President said, "Bradson has an outstanding reputation in the federal government sector. The Bradson leadership team, project managers and employees are outstanding and have expertise and relationships that compliment our existing business." Mr. Sanders continued, "Kforce Government Holdings, Inc. is now led by Pat Moneymaker and its two subsidiaries are led by Presidents David Halstead and Larry Grant. We believe this management team is outstanding and now has the scale and expertise for market appreciation to drive organic growth."

Kforce will host a conference call Tuesday, October 3, 2006 to discuss this acquisition. The call will begin at 11:00 AM EST. The dial-in number is 888-202-2422 (Please request to be connected to the Kforce Bradson Call). The replay of the call will be available from 12:00 PM EDT October 3, 2006 through October 17, 2006, by dialing 888-203-1112, passcode 4775902.

It will also be webcast live at www.kforce.com (select "Investor Relations") and will be available for webcast replay until October 17, 2006. We would encourage you to access the corresponding PowerPoint presentation at www.kforce.com (select "Investor Relations") prior to accessing the conference call.

The webcast is also being distributed over CCBN's Investor Distribution Network to both institutional and individual investors. Individual investors can listen to the call through CCBN's individual investor center at www.earnings.com or by visiting any of the investor sites in CCBN's Individual Investor Network. Institutional investors can access the call via CCBN's password-protected event management site, StreetEvents (www.streetevents.com).

About Kforce Inc.

Kforce Inc. (NASDAQ: KFRC) is a full-service, professional staffing firm providing flexible and permanent staffing solutions for candidates and organizations in the skill areas of technology, finance and accounting, and health and life sciences. Backed by 2,000 staffing specialists, Kforce (www.kforce.com) operates with 76 offices in 43 markets in North America.

About Kforce Government Holdings Inc.

Kforce Government Holdings, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kforce Inc. (NASDAQ: KFRC), provides innovative technical solutions to federal government clients through its two subsidiaries, Kforce Government Solutions, Inc. ("KGS") and Bradson Corporation. Specifically, KGS focuses on vitalizing clients' Data Confidence(SM) with DCVector(SM), a solutions delivery program that combines the certainty of CMMI(R) SE/SW Level 3 process maturity with established strategic data management processes and technology solutions built on insights gained through its government data management experience. A technology partner to clients, KGS is a provider of enterprise data architecture, mission critical application development and enterprise data management solutions. For more information, visit www.kforcegov.com.

Certain of the above statements are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934, as amended. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include the following: business conditions and growth in the staffing industry and general economy; competitive factors, risks due to shifts in market demand, including, without limitation, shifts in demand for services provided by Kforce Government Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries, as well as the market for search and flexible staffing assignments; changes in the service mix; and the risk factors listed from time to time in the Firm's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as assumptions regarding the foregoing. In particular, there can be no assurance that the above transaction will result in any particular revenue or EBITDA level in 2006, that any future tax benefits will be realized, or that any organic growth or synergies will be attained. There is also no assurance that Kforce now has an adequate platform in the government services sector or that Kforce Government Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries have an adequate management team with sufficient expertise to drive organic growth. The words "should," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "foresee," "plan" and similar expressions and variations thereof identify certain of such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the dates on which they were made. Additionally, any statements related to future integration of Bradson Corporation and Kforce and the leveraging of Bradson professionals are forward-looking statements. The Firm undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. As a result, such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. ]]>
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]]> TMCNet looking statements kforce government approximately million government holdings bradson corporation kforce 2006-10-03T00:32:54-05:00 Activant Prophet 21 Version 11 Available http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/activant-prophet-21-version-11-available.asp 29262@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ YARDLEY, Pa. --(Business Wire)-- Activant Solutions Inc. announces the availability of Activant Prophet 21(TM) version 11.0.

"As one of the leading enterprise software solutions for the distribution industry, Prophet 21 offers distributors a fully scalable solution with proven ROI," said Steve McLaughlin, senior vice president and general manager of Activant's wholesale distribution group. "Prophet 21 version 11.0 includes advanced inventory management and customer relationship management (CRM) functionality, and more than 45 additional features."



Eric Pargmann, technology utilization manager, of Abatix has been an early adopter of Prophet 21 version 11.0 and has this to say: "With new functionality such as Customer Master Inquiry and Advanced Demand Forecasting, Prophet 21 version 11.0 is going to streamline processes and help us take better advantage of the data in our solution. As early adopters, we've had about 100 users hitting it everyday and the solution has been very stable."

Activant Prophet 21

More than 900 distributors utilize Prophet 21 to help them increase sales, improve customer service, and reduce operating costs throughout their businesses. Activant(R) put its more than three decades of wholesale distribution experience into building the solution, which combines the familiarity of Windows with the depth of SQL Server to provide distributors with an intuitive solution that allows them to easily access their business data to respond quickly to changing market needs.

Features include order management, inventory management, warehouse management, purchasing, financial management, customer relationship management, business reporting and analysis, PDA integration, and e-business. Continually working to meet distributors' changing needs, Activant has established customer advisory committees to help determine what functionality to incorporate in future product releases.

All of Activant's solutions for wholesale distributors go through rigorous quality assurance and field production testing before wide release.

Maximizing Solution Usage

Activant backs Prophet 21 with a full range of professional services designed to help distributors maximize their use of the solution.

An innovative implementation program that includes a customized training agenda ensures that distributors new to Prophet 21 can start benefiting from the solution as soon as they go live. Ongoing solution, technology, and e-business consulting and specially developed Web- and Classroom-Based Training courses allow distributors to continue expanding their knowledge of their solution and training their employees. Support programs, including an online solutions database, a feature-rich Customer Web Site, and online and one-on-one networking programs allows distributors to implement the best practices for their business.

Pricing and Availability

Activant Prophet 21 version 11.0 is currently available. For additional information and pricing, please visit http://distribution.activant.com or call 1-800-776-7438, press 1.

About Activant Solutions Inc.

Activant Solutions Inc. ("Activant") is a leading technology provider of business management solutions serving small and medium-sized retail and wholesale distribution businesses in three primary vertical markets: hardlines and lumber; wholesale distribution; and the automotive parts aftermarket. Founded in 1972, Activant provides customers with tailored proprietary software, professional services, content, supply chain connectivity, and analytics. More than 30,000 customer locations use an Activant solution to manage their day-to-day operations. Activant has operations in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Canada, France, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.

For more information, please visit www.activant.com.

The statements contained in this document which are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including statements as to industry trends, future products or services, and products or service line growth or performance. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and subject to risks. Actual results may differ materially from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include but are not limited to unrealized market demand for our services, the ability to retain the people performing services, and those risks and uncertainties identified in Activant Solutions Inc.'s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K which has been filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Activant Solutions Inc. assumes no duty to update information contained in this document at any time.

(C) 2006, Activant Solutions Inc. All rights reserved. Activant and the Activant logo are registered trademarks and Activant Prophet 21 is a trademark of Activant Solutions Inc. All other company or product names are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. ]]>
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]]> TMCNet activant solutions activant prophet prophet version wholesale distribution looking statements activant 2006-10-03T00:32:47-05:00 Incuity & Puffer-Sweiven to Host Business Intelligence Workshops on How to Optimize Manufacturing Productivity, Profitability http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/incuity-puffersweiven-to-host-business-intelligence-workshops-on-how-t.asp 29261@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ HOUSTON --(Business Wire)-- Puffer-Sweiven and Incuity Software, Inc. announced today they will conduct joint workshops for manufacturing executives, on Oct. 17 and 18, 2006, to help them learn how to make better business decisions that can optimize their companies' productivity and profitability.



"These free workshops are ideal for both decision makers and decision implementers in any manufacturing company, including people in production, operations, plant management, engineering and IT management," said Robert Elson, Puffer-Sweiven Vice President of Systems. "There will be two sessions per workshop, one covering the business problems that the Incuity EMI software can help people solve and one covering the more technical aspects of how to configure applications to do that."

"Anyone in the business of manufacturing knows the roadblocks encountered in attempting to link plant floor systems with enterprise applications," said Gary Wilson, Incuity Vice President of Sales. "The first half of the workshop will cover how users can resolve issues such as leveraging legacy historians; compliance management; downtime/OEE analysis and reports; product analysis and reporting; key performance indicator (KPI) support and dashboards; manufacturing integration with ERP systems; and enhanced supply chain visibility.

"The second half will explain how to access, correlate, analyze, visualize and act on manufacturing and business data from all the systems in a manufacturing enterprise," he added.

The Puffer-Sweiven/Incuity workshops will be held on Oct. 17 in downtown Houston, at the Hyatt Regency Houston (1200 Louisiana Street), and on Oct. 18 in League City, at the South Shore Harbour Resort (2500 South Shore Blvd.). Each workshop begins with a continental breakfast, registration and networking at 9:00 a.m. The first half of the program, starting at 10:00 a.m., will cover the enterprise issues involved with truly linking plant floor manufacturing operations with enterprise computing applications. Following lunch, the second session, at 1:00 p.m., will provide an overview of web services, data source connectivity, databases, advanced trending, X-Y plotting tools, Excel reports, web portals, dashboards and a unified production model.

Anyone interested in attending either of these seminars should go directly to either the Puffer-Sweiven web site at www.puffer.com or to the Incuity Software web site at www.incuity.com to get more details on the workshop and to register online. Seating is limited for these special events, so people are urged to sign up early so they don't miss out.

About Puffer-Sweiven

Puffer-Sweiven, based in Stafford, Texas, is a leading solutions provider for process control and flow control. The company serves several industries including oil and gas, refining, petrochemicals, utilities, power, and pulp and paper. The company also provides products and services to the engineering contractors who serve these industries. The company serves more than 5,000 customers in Texas, Mexico and Venezuela.

Founded in 1945, Puffer-Sweiven has 400 employees operating from 15 offices in the U.S. and Latin America. For more information, please visit the company's web site at www.puffer.com.

About Incuity

Incuity Software, based in Mission Viejo, California, is a pioneer in the creation of data management systems for reporting, analysis and business intelligence applications in manufacturing and process companies. More than 45,000 seats of the company's products have been installed since 1998, in 13 languages and in more than 40 countries. In addition to its headquarters operations in California, Incuity has regional offices in Nevada and Massachusetts in the U.S. as well as in Sydney, Australia; Duesseldorf, Germany; and Johannesburg, South Africa. The company also maintains a Professional Services group in Burlington, ON, Canada.

For additional information about the company and Incuity products, or for a complete list of value-added resellers around the world, please visit the company's web site at http://www.incuity.com. ]]>
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]]> TMCNet puffer sweiven business intelligence productivity profitability incuity software incuity Incuity 2006-10-03T00:32:42-05:00 UPI NewsTrack Business http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/upi-newstrack-business.asp 29260@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ (UPI Business News Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) U.S. stocks down, Treasuries upNEW YORK, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes fell Monday despite weaker oil prices and fresh evidence the nation's economy was achieving a much-hoped-for soft landing.



The Dow Jones industrial average was off 8.72 or 0.07 percent to 11,670.35 on a volume of 928.8 million shares. The Nasdaq composite fell 20.83 or 0.92 percent to 2,237.60, and the Standard & Poor's 500 slipped 4.52 or 0.34 percent to 1,331.33.

The Institute of Supply Management said manufacturing grew in September but less than it had in August, evidence that the economy will slow without a recession. The price of crude oil fell on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The 10-year Treasury note rose 6/32, lifting its yield to 4.61 percent.

The dollar fell, hitting 117.74 yen from 118.12 as the euro rose to $1.2747 from $1.2681.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 settled at 16,254.29 after gaining 126.71 0.79 percent, and London's FTSE 100 closed slight off at 5,957.80 on a loss of 3 points or 0.05 percent.

Investors offer $15.05B for Harrah'sLAS VEGAS, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Harrah's Entertainment Inc., a big gambling and casino company based in Las Vegas, confirmed Monday it received a $15.05 billion takeover offer.

In an unrelated deal, Harrah's agreed to swap 24 contiguous acres of Las Vegas Strip land for the Barbary Coast Hotel and Casino in a tax-deferred deal with Boyd Gaming Corp. Prior to the swap, the 24 acres will be acquired by Harrah's from third parties. Boyd Gaming said Monday it expects to recognize a non-cash gain of some $280 million when the Las Vegas land swap deal closes.

The $15.05 billion offer for the 68-year-old Harrah's, the world's largest operator of branded casinos, is structured as an $81 per share, all-cash offer from Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group.

If successful, it would be one of the largest leveraged buyouts in history. Harrah's has created a non-management committee to evaluate the proposal.

Gilead Sciences buying Myogen for $2.5BFOSTER CITY, Calif., Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Gilead Sciences Inc. is paying $2.5 billion to buy Denver's Myogen Inc., which makes pulmonary hypertension treatments.

Upon completion of the all-cash deal, Myogen will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Gilead, which is based in California.

Myogen's lead product candidate, ambrisentan, is an orally available endothelin receptor antagonist designed as a potential treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Endothelin is a small peptide hormone believed to play a critical role in the regulation of blood flow and cell division. Elevated endothelin blood levels are associated with several cardiovascular disease conditions.

Myogen also makes darusentan for the treatment of patients with resistant hypertension.

Open Text paying $489M for HummingbirdWATERLOO, Ontario, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Canadian software maker Open Text Corp. is paying about $489 million to buy Hummingbird Ltd., a smaller domestic rival.

The cash-and-debt deal results in the formation of the world's largest independent provider of enterprise content management software, Open Text said Monday.

The deal was financed with about $58 million in cash from Hummingbird, $25 million in cash from Open Text and a $390 million term loan under new $465 million senior secured revolving and term credit facilities. The $75 million committed revolving term credit facility replaces a smaller revolving credit facility that was terminated.

The seven-year term loan may be prepaid and the revolving credit facility has a five-year term.

Hummingbird's chairman, Fred Sorkin and its chief executive, Barry Litwin, have left the combined company.

Copyright 2006 United Press International ]]>
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]]> TMCNet credit facility million harrah percent Harrah Myogen 2006-10-03T00:32:39-05:00 Incuity & Puffer-Sweiven to Host Business Intelligence Workshop on How to Optimize Manufacturing Productivity, Profitability http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/incuity-puffersweiven-to-host-business-intelligence-workshop-on-how-to.asp 29259@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ DALLAS --(Business Wire)-- Puffer-Sweiven and Incuity Software, Inc. announced today they will conduct a joint workshop for manufacturing executives in Dallas, on Oct. 19, 2006, to help them learn how to make better business decisions that can optimize their companies' productivity and profitability.



"This free workshop is ideal for both decision makers and decision implementers in any manufacturing company, including people in production, operations, plant management, engineering and IT management," said Robert Elson, Puffer-Sweiven Vice President of Systems. "There will be two sessions per workshop, one covering the business problems that the Incuity EMI software can help people solve and one covering the more technical aspects of how to configure applications to do that."

"Anyone in the business of manufacturing knows the roadblocks encountered in attempting to link plant floor systems with enterprise applications," said Gary Wilson, Incuity Vice President of Sales. "The first half of the workshop will cover how users can resolve issues such as leveraging legacy historians; compliance management; downtime/OEE analysis and reports; product analysis and reporting; key performance indicator (KPI) support and dashboards; manufacturing integration with ERP systems; and enhanced supply chain visibility.

"The second half will explain how to access, correlate, analyze, visualize and act on manufacturing and business data from all the systems in a manufacturing enterprise," he added.

The Puffer-Sweiven/Incuity workshop will be held on Oct. 19 at the Dallas/Plano Marriott at Legacy Town Center (7120 Dallas Parkway in Plano). The workshop begins with a continental breakfast, registration and networking at 9:00 a.m. The first half of the program, starting at 10:00 a.m., will cover the enterprise issues involved with truly linking plant floor manufacturing operations with enterprise computing applications. Following lunch, the second session, at 1:00 p.m., will provide an overview of web services, data source connectivity, databases, advanced trending, X-Y plotting tools, Excel reports, web portals, dashboards and a unified production model.

Anyone interested in attending the seminar should go directly to either the Puffer-Sweiven web site at www.puffer.com or to the Incuity Software web site at www.incuity.com to get more details on the workshop and to register online. Seating is limited for these special events, so people are urged to sign up early so they don't miss out.

About Puffer-Sweiven

Puffer-Sweiven, based in Stafford, Texas, is a leading solutions provider for process control and flow control. The company serves several industries including oil and gas, refining, petrochemicals, utilities, power, and pulp and paper. The company also provides products and services to the engineering contractors who serve these industries. The company serves more than 5,000 customers in Texas, Mexico and Venezuela.

Founded in 1945, Puffer-Sweiven has 400 employees operating from 15 offices in the U.S. and Latin America. For more information, please visit the company's web site at www.puffer.com.

About Incuity

Incuity Software, based in Mission Viejo, California, is a pioneer in the creation of data management systems for reporting, analysis and business intelligence applications in manufacturing and process companies. More than 45,000 seats of the company's products have been installed since 1998, in 13 languages and in more than 40 countries. In addition to its headquarters operations in California, Incuity has regional offices in Nevada and Massachusetts in the U.S. as well as in Sydney, Australia; Duesseldorf, Germany; and Johannesburg, South Africa. The company also maintains a Professional Services group in Burlington, Ontario, Canada.

For additional information about the company and Incuity products, or for a complete list of value-added resellers around the world, please visit the company's web site at http://www.incuity.com. ]]>
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]]> TMCNet puffer sweiven business intelligence productivity profitability incuity software incuity Incuity 2006-10-03T00:32:33-05:00 Colombia: Business environment at a glance http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/colombia-business-environment-at-a-glance.asp 29258@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ (EIU Viewswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) COUNTRY VIEW

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT

Policy towards private enterprise and competition

2007-08: Privatisation of banking- and energy-sector assets, and concessions in infrastructure help tackle distortions arising from state involvement and industrial concentration.

2009-11: Competition policies and the protection of intellectual property rights further improve with the enactment of the free-trade agreement (FTA) with the US. Few price controls, gradual elimination of remaining subsidies.

Policy towards foreign investment

2007-08: Open policies prevail. Concessions and privatisation offer opportunities.

2009-11: The FTA with the US further improves the stability of the investment framework.

Foreign trade and exchange controls

2007-08: Compensatory measures for some agricultural and industrial products. Tax exemptions on capital goods imports.

2009-11: FTA with the US eliminates remaining non-tariff barriers; improved trade integration with the Mercado Comun del Sur (Mercosur, the Southern Cone customs union), Central America and Mexico.

Taxes

2007-08: Tax system suffers from complexity and distortions. Reforms focus on reducing income tax rates and simplifying value-added tax (VAT) regime. Anti-evasion measures extended.

2009-11: Some loopholes, distortions and unfairness prevail. Improved enforcement and widening of taxpayer base expected to gradually curb evasion.

Financing

2007-08: Increased competition amid consolidation. Reforms to deepen banking services and the capital market.

2009-11: Gradual narrowing of interest-rate spreads. Low availability of long-term financing persists. Increased competition under the FTA with the US.

The labour market

2007-08: Generally flexible hiring and firing practices. Labour costs in US-dollar terms fall as the currency depreciates.

2009-11: Shortages of skilled labour persist. Added flexibility to labour laws in order to comply with the FTA with the US.

Infrastructure

2007-08: Deficiencies remain a significant constraint, despite security improvements.

2009-11: Investment hampered by fiscal constraints, but private concessions gradually advance. Risk of electricity rationing.

Copyright 2006 Economist Intelligence Unit ]]>
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]]> TMCNet labour competition concessions investment distortions trade 2006-10-03T00:32:28-05:00 Media Alert: Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2006 in Orlando is Less Than One Week Away http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/media-alert-gartner-symposiumitxpo-2006-in-orlando-is-less-than-one-we.asp 29257@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ --(Business Wire)-- Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT):

What: Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2006

When: October 8-13, 2006

Where: Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel, Orlando, Florida

Details: More than 6,000 senior business and IT strategists from virtually all major industries will gather at one of the industry's largest and most strategic gatherings - Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2006 - to tackle their toughest issue - managing IT.



More than 200 Gartner analysts and hundreds of solutions providers will reveal the newest strategies and technologies on key issues such as security and privacy, speed and agility, business strategy at the right cost, growth and overall performance. Attendees can choose from more than 300 sessions that deliver expert IT intelligence from every corner of the IT industry including:

-- The New IT Investments Powering Productivity and Growth

-- Web 2.0 Beyond the Buzz: What's Real, What's Not

-- Resurrection of the Communications Industry

-- Future of Business Intelligence and Information Management

-- Business Processes: The Foundation Linking Business and IT

-- The Scenario for IT Management 2007

-- How CIOs Are Doing: Are They Performing Against Their Agenda?

Three of the most influential CEOs in technology will take to the Symposium/ITxpo stage to answer questions posed by Gartner analysts. The industry leaders will provide their perspective on the future of IT, and attendees will learn how this can affect their business. CEO Mastermind Keynotes include:

-- Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft Corporation, on Tuesday, October 10

-- John Chambers, president and CEO, Cisco Systems, Inc. on Wednesday, October 11

-- Paul Otellini, president and CEO, Intel Corporation, on Thursday, October 12

ITxpo, an exhibition floor with more than 150 exhibitors showcasing the latest products and services in technology, will highlight the next steps in technology through live demonstrations, face-to-face meetings with exhibitors, and fast-paced presentations on key technology directions aligned with nine ITxpo Marketplaces - Application Development and Integration; Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing; Business Applications and BPM; Data Center & IT Operations; Enterprise Networking, Outsourcing and IT Services; Portals, Content and Collaboration; Security and Compliance; and Wireless and Mobile.

For complete event details, please visit the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo Web site at www.gartner.com/symposium/us.

Members of the media can register for the event by contacting Christy Pettey at christy.pettey@gartner.com.

About Gartner

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) delivers the technology-related insight necessary for its clients to make the right decisions, every day. Gartner serves 10,000 organizations, including chief information officers and other senior IT executives in corporations and government agencies, as well as technology companies and the investment community. The Company consists of Gartner Research, Gartner Executive Programs, Gartner Consulting and Gartner Events. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A., and has 3,700 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants in 75 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.gartner.com. ]]>
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]]> TMCNet symposium itxpo gartner symposium gartner Gartner business ITxpo 2006-10-03T00:32:24-05:00 Website Pros Acquires Renovation Experts.com http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/2006/10/website-pros-acquires-renovation-expertscom.asp 29256@http://blog.tmcnet.com/voip-enterprise/ JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --(Business Wire)-- Website Pros, Inc. (Nasdaq: WSPI), a leading provider of web services, internet marketing and lead generation solutions for small and medium-sized businesses, announced today the acquisition of substantially all of the assets and select liabilities of Halifax, Nova Scotia based Renovation Experts.com (Renex, Inc.), an online lead generation marketplace for contractors and homeowners. Website Pros will operate Renovation Experts.com as a separate division that will be teamed with Website Pros' LEADS.com group.



David Brown, President & CEO of Website Pros, stated, "We are pleased to announce the acquisition of Renovation Experts.com, which enhances our ability to provide a one-stop shop for comprehensive, affordable website and online advertising solutions for small and medium-sized businesses. Renex opens up new opportunities for our LEADS.com group, and the ability to leverage Renex's leadership and success in the home services market is in-line with Website Pros long-term strategic direction of providing targeted, high value solutions to customers in specific vertical markets." Brown added, "In addition to being highly attractive from a fundamental perspective, the acquisition is consistent with our strategic plan of executing on acquisitions that we expect to be accretive to the bottom line." Due to the absence at this time of an estimate of the allocation of purchase price between goodwill and other intangibles, Website Pros is unable to provide GAAP estimates on future earnings. The transaction is currently expected to be break-even to slightly accretive to earnings in the first twelve months after closing on a non-GAAP basis.

By logging onto www.renovationexperts.com, homeowners receive competitive bids from a network of contractors in their local area on a range of services, from bathroom remodeling to landscaping. With a nationwide network of more than 3,000 U.S. premier contractors, Renovation Experts.com serves as a competitive marketplace for consumers in need of remodeling services and as a targeted lead generation program for qualified contractors. Member contractors may subscribe to Renovation Experts.com's monthly lead generation service or opt to pay for leads on a case-by-case basis. Since the company was founded in 1999, it has assisted over 700,000 homeowners with their renovation needs, and in 2005 the company generated over $4.1 million in revenue.

Todd Walrath, Executive Vice President of Website Pros' LEADS.com division stated, "The combination of Website Pros and Renovation Experts.com allows us to expand our relationships with current customers as well as add new lead generation capabilities."

Craig Lucas, President & CEO of Renovation Experts.com, adds, "Our business momentum and awareness in the marketplace has increased significantly over the last year. With the added management support and financial resources of Website Pros, we will be much better positioned to capitalize on the growing demand we see in our current target market. In addition, combining with Website Pros will help broaden our reach beyond our core categories into related markets."

Under the terms of the Asset Purchase Agreement, Website Pros paid cash consideration of $7,000,000 and agreed to issue 138,748 shares of Website Pros Common Stock on each of September 30, 2007 and September 30, 2008. In addition, if certain requirements are met during the one year following September 30, 2006, then Website Pros will pay Renovation Experts.com up to an additional $1,000,000. The company will discuss details on the expected financial impact related to the Renovation Experts.com acquisition on its third quarter 2006 earnings conference call, which the company expects to hold in early November.

For more information about Website Pros, visit www.websitepros.com or call 1-800-GET-SITE. For more information about LEADS.com, visit www.leads.com or call 1-866-LEADS-12.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes certain "forward-looking statements" that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts and statements identified by words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates" or words of similar meaning. These statements are based on our current beliefs or expectations and there are a number of important factors that could cause the actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements, including without limitation, our ability to maintain our existing, and develop new, strategic relationships, our ability to integrate any acquired businesses, the accounting for acquisitions and those risks set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in Website Pros' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available on a Website maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission at http://www.sec.gov. Website Pros does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Website Pros, Inc. Website Pros, Inc. (Nasdaq: WSPI) is a leading provider of website building tools, internet marketing and lead generation solutions. The company offers a comprehensive suite of website design, customer support and technology tailored to the needs of small and medium-sized businesses. Additionally, Website Pros partners with enterprise companies to help them build stronger, more profitable relationships with their business customers. Based in Jacksonville, Florida, Website Pros can be reached by calling 1-800-GET-SITE. More information is available at www.websitepros.com.

About LEADS.com LEADS.com, a Website Pros company, is a premier provider of subscription-based search engine marketing and lead generation services. LEADS.com helps small and medium sized businesses use the internet to generate qualified leads. Their flagship product, SmartClicks(R), utilizes Tier 1 search engine platforms to generate phone calls and emails that go directly to the local businesses. More information is available at www.leads.com or by calling 1-866-LEADS-12.

About Renovation Experts.com Since 1999, Renovation Experts.com has helped more than 700,000 homeowners to locate and hire a local residential general contractor. Renovation Experts is a premium network of more than 3,000 remodeling contractors, who carry out bathroom remodeling, kitchen remodeling, attic remodeling and basement remodeling projects. Renovation Experts contractors work with approximately 20,000 homeowners per month who have requested estimates on their home improvements projects.

The company provides contractors with an attractive alternative to traditional lead generation marketing avenues such as yellow page and print advertising, allowing contractors to access the growing number of homeowners using the internet to hire and purchase home improvement goods and services. Homeowners and contractors can find out more about the company and its services by visiting www.renovationexperts.com. ]]>
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