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Oracle's Short-Term Software Gains May Have Long-Term Costs September 24, 2012 Oracle reported earnings for its first fiscal quarter in 2013 last week, telling a tale of two product lines: Its software operations fared respectably, while its hardware slumped dramatically. Hardware systems product revenue was down 24 percent. "These are tough times, and companies are still not investing heavily in capital equipment," noted tech analyst Laura DiDio.

Aprimo Shows Reps More Cross-Sell, Upsell Possibilities September 17, 2012 Aprimo has released its second app for Salesforce.com's AppExchange, called "Aprimo Service to Sales." It is an inbound marketing app with real-time interactive features. The first Aprimo app destined for the AppExchange was released in 2010. The newer app, however, is written on a different code base, which was acquired last year with the acquisition of Helm Interaction's IP assets.

Salesforce.com Unveils New Community-Building Plans August 14, 2012 Salesforce.com is rolling out a limited pilot of yet another social media initiative -- Salesforce Communities. The offering combines its Chatter product, its Salesforce.com business processes, and an underlying social intelligence that makes it easy to show people the right information and give them the correct access to experts, said Doug Bewsher, SVP, Salesforce Chatter.

Open Source Still Draws Proprietary Vendors Into the Fold August 14, 2012 VMware continued its embrace of open source software with its recent acquisition of open source and virtual network provider Nicira. The move continued VMware's aggressive M&A strategy and its effort to transition from proprietary software and virtualization to a broader market and cloud computing, largely through open source software.

SAP Innovation Day - Setting a Standard for the Next 40 Years August 14, 2012 When SAP's five founders launched the company in June 1972, it's unlikely they foresaw where the IT industry would travel in the decades to come. SAP's core business applications, including enterprise resource planning solutions, continue to support tens of thousands of companies globally -- but how those organizations and their employees work, communicate and collaborate is changing.

Is Microsoft Bottoming Out? - Part 2 August 11, 2012 You'd think that Microsoft was all but dead, judging by some of the industry scuttlebutt. Microsoft's tactical and strategic technology and business missteps are well publicized and dissected ad infinitum. Less well documented are Microsoft's strengths -- from both a consumer and enterprise perspective -- and there are plenty of those.

Acer's Anger Rises to the Surface August 07, 2012 Acer Chairman and CEO JT Wang has lashed out at Microsoft over the software giant's plans to launch its own Surface tablets in October. Microsoft should think twice before going forward with the tablet, as the move would be detrimental for the worldwide PC ecosystem, Wang said during an interview.

Is Microsoft Bottoming Out? - Part 1 August 04, 2012 It's been a busy summer for Microsoft and chief executive Steve Ballmer. In recent weeks, it's made several positive moves. However, they've all been overshadowed by three things: its first quarterly loss ever; a scathing article, "Microsoft's Lost Decade," in Vanity Fair, and some sharply critical advance buzz about Windows 8. What goes on here? Whoa. Are things really as bad as all that?

aQuantive Fiasco Hands Microsoft Its First Fiscal Loss July 20, 2012 Microsoft reported its first loss in more than two decades Thursday as an accounting adjustment and low PC sales hurt the software maker's numbers. However, the company remained optimistic that consumer demand will regain momentum when various upcoming products hit the market later this year.

Securing Federal Employees' Mobile Devices: Big Opportunities, Big Challenges July 20, 2012 The burgeoning market for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets is not only affecting consumer use of information technology, but also having an impact on the private sector workplace. The mobile IT market is clearly hot. Worldwide shipments of major brand smartphones increased by 50 percent to 152.3 million units in the first quarter of 2012 versus the same period last year, according to IDC.

Microsoft's EU Browser Bugaboo Could Cost Billions July 18, 2012 A technical error that affected 28 million Windows users in Europe could cost Microsoft billions in penalties. The glitch, which disabled the display of a browser choice screen in Windows, violates an agreement between Microsoft and European Union regulators. The maximum penalty for such a violation is 10 percent of a company's annual revenues.

Microsoft Remodels Office July 17, 2012 Microsoft unveiled the new versions of its Office suite and and Office 365 subscription-based service on Monday. The updated Office has an intuitive design that makes it touch- and stylus-compatible, and usable across a variety of devices running Windows, including tablets and smartphones.

Kana Makes a Move in Customer Experience Space July 17, 2012 Kana plans to build out its customer service experience management bona fides with its recent acquisition of contact center provider Ciboodle from the Sword Group. The point of the acquisition is to weave together Ciboodle's chief strengths -- its process-based customer contact management platform, agent desktop tools and case management expertise -- with what Kana does well.

Ballmer Pokes Apple to Stoke Microsoft's Fire July 11, 2012 To listen to Microsoft's Steve Ballmer talk, you'd think he was the prime minister of a besieged nation, rather than the captain of one of the largest software companies in the world. In an interview Tuesday with CRN, a website for VARs and technology integrators, the flamboyant head of Microsoft pledged to compete with arch rival Apple on every front.

The List Builds Big Media Database Onto SugarCRM Foundation July 06, 2012 The List, a provider of lead generation software for media buyers and marketers, is adding CRM functionality to its line of services. This new feature set joins other new functions the company is building into its core product, such as integration with Moat.com, and a global media content database.

Dell Moves 1 Step Closer to End-to-End July 06, 2012 Dell's announcement of its planned Quest Software acquisition seemed more inevitable than surprising. Quest had been in play since March, when it said investment firm Insight Venture Partners offered $23 per share, or about $2 billion, for the company. The price jumped when an unidentified player entered the bidding against Insight and its ally Vector Capital.

Windows Desktop Begins Its Long Goodbye June 29, 2012 Microsoft's rollout of Windows 8 represents a new era for operating systems and for Microsoft in general. It also represents the probable end of the Windows desktop OS that most consumers now know, according to a report from Gartner, although the firm expects its demise to be long-unfolding.

Avaya Mixes It Up to Give Customers a Seamless Experience June 28, 2012 Avaya has added new products and enhanced existing ones in its Customer Experience Interaction Management portfolio. The overarching goal of the changes was to allow users to reach out to customers via any channel the customers chose -- for example, mobile application, social media or phone.

RIM Sheds More Flesh in Long, Hard March to BB10 June 20, 2012 Research In Motion is issuing pink slips as part of a massive cost-cutting effort that could save the company $1 billion in expenses. RIM is reportedly laying workers off in small batches, starting with the quality control, operations and parts departments. The company is also looking to cut costs by restructuring its supply chain.

Microsoft Flies Solo With New Tablets June 19, 2012 Microsoft recently announced a new line of tablets dubbed "Surface." However, instead of partnering with any of its traditional hardware friends to make Surface, Microsoft is going it alone. Redmond will make the hardware itself and load it with its Windows 8 operating system.