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Blog: Claudia ImhoffJanuary 8, 2008Last Hurrah for Bill GatesLast week, Bill Gates gave what was billed as his last keynote as a full-time Microsoft employee at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. He chose not to do a maudlin look backwards at all that he has done since 1975 but rather to look forward to his last day at Microsoft and his predictions of where the tech industry will be in the next decade. It was both a very funny and very poignant keynote... Continue reading "Last Hurrah for Bill Gates" » August 28, 2007Sun Sets on SUNW -- Have a Cup of JAVA InsteadSun Microsystems has decided that its stock ticker for 21 years just doesn't reflect its new face. The company, formerly known as SUNW, now wants to be known as JAVA. Good move or bad? And here's a quiz for you -- what does SUNW stand for? Think you know? Read on... Continue reading "Sun Sets on SUNW -- Have a Cup of JAVA Instead" » April 8, 2007Wake Up, Directors - IT is Important Too!Ron Powell (publisher of the B-EYE-Network) sent me an email about a recent survey of 450 Directors of publicly traded companies (with revenues of over $1 billion) conducted by Deloitte Consulting, LLP. Apparently most corporate board members are really good at talking up a good story about how they support aligning IT with the corporate strategies they develop. Unfortunately their actions say otherwise... Continue reading "Wake Up, Directors - IT is Important Too!" » January 30, 2007Acquisition - the innovation killer?Last year was a banner year for software acquisitions with an astounding 1,726 software companies being gobbled up by their bigger brethren. The reasons for the acquisitions seem to fall into two categories -- the acquiring company's desire for growth or new market opportunities. But are these acquisitions good for the software industry? Continue reading " Acquisition - the innovation killer?" » January 9, 2007It's here -- Apple's latest baby!I want Steve Jobs job. He gets to introduce cool new techno-toys to adoring fans at MacWorld. The latest wizardry from the iconoclastic Apple? The iPhone... Continue reading "It's here -- Apple's latest baby!" » June 16, 2006Bye Bye Bill -- It's Been a Heck of a Ride!Bill Gates announced yesterday that he will step down as Microsoft's Chief Software Architect in July 2008. His mighty big shoes will be filled by Ray Ozzie, Microsoft's current CTO. Sadly it will be the end of an era. Read on to see what's next for the richest man in the world. Continue reading "Bye Bye Bill -- It's Been a Heck of a Ride!" » June 12, 2006Carly - Back in the Limelight AgainSeems that Carly Fiorina just has a way of attracting an audience no matter what she does. Now 16 months after being fired by HP, she manages to make the headlines one more time -- This time with a book. Read on to get some snippets from her memoir, titled "Tough Choices"... Continue reading "Carly - Back in the Limelight Again" » April 20, 2006Is Oracle Hunting Another Prey -- This time, Linux?Look out Red Hat -- it appears that Mr. Ellison, Oracle's rock star CEO, may be looking to embed a Linux product into Oracle. Is this good or bad? And who is it good or bad for? According to Matt McKenzie. Editor, Linux Pipeline, a newsletter that I subscribe: "... this isn't "coopetition," or anything else you can describe with a cutesy moniker -- this is the IT industry's second-richest, and perhaps most ruthless, executive deciding how best to rub out a source of persistent irritation. Assuming Ellison pays attention to his grudge du jour long enough to follow through on his ruminations, the enterprise Linux market a year from now will consist of Oracle -- and three grease spots where Novell, Red Hat, and JBoss were last seen." Ouch! Continue reading "Is Oracle Hunting Another Prey -- This time, Linux?" » February 8, 2006The End of an Era Quietly PassesWhen I was a kid at camp one summer, my parents sent me a telegram wishing me a happy birthday [stop] It made me feel important and special [stop] Last week, that staple of America communications quietly went the way of the dinosaur... [full stop] Continue reading "The End of an Era Quietly Passes" » February 1, 2006Industry Analysts Under Fire or We Don't Need No Stinkin' Quadrants...How much do you trust what Gartner, IDC, Forrester, and the rest of the IT research firms say? This is the topic of an upcoming (February 6) Information Week article as announced in a blog written by Larry Greenemeier. The magazine interviewed dozens of IT vendors, end users, and executives at the top analyst firms to answer the credibility question. The article promises to be a pistol to say the least. Continue reading "Industry Analysts Under Fire or We Don't Need No Stinkin' Quadrants..." » January 23, 2006Blackberry Usage in US - Denied?Holy Cow! Those of you addicted to your crack -- er -- Blackberries -- look out! A possible shutdown of US service may be in the wings due to a major patent infringement ruling against Research in Motion (RIM), the makers of the Blackberry. Continue reading "Blackberry Usage in US - Denied?" » January 18, 2006Businesses Declare "ABC" - Anywhere But CaliforniaThe readers of Chief Executive have voted on the best states to do business in and -- for the second year in a row -- California came in as worst in the nation. Look out Arnie -- your motorcycle accident was nothing compared to this... Continue reading "Businesses Declare "ABC" - Anywhere But California" » December 16, 2005My Face is No Shining Star...I learned a limerick when I was a kid that went something like this: My face is no shining star. It seems that the big personality, glamour CEOs are being shown the door. The sentiment of many Board rooms regarding their top executives has shifted from the golden boy or girl to brass tacks, no-nonsense individuals. Given the number of management changes happening these days and the low-keyed personalities of the new replacements, it appears that the era of the "Celebrity" CEO is over. Continue reading "My Face is No Shining Star..." » November 15, 2005Just Call Me CAComputer Associates has had a very troubled year - an accounting scandal that took out most of the company's management team as a starter. I guess they believe that the new name will help them get over the past... Continue reading "Just Call Me CA" » November 9, 2005"Sea Change" at Microsoft?The Wall Street Journal aired a story today revealing that, last October 30, Bill Gates urged his company's leaders to "act quickly and decisively" to move the software giant further into the business of Internet-based software and services sales. The memo is aimed at rally the Microsoft troops against these new competitive threats and to best their competitors in this new arena. In addition, he also warned the company to be thoughtful in creating the right technology to serve the right businesses and people. Continue reading ""Sea Change" at Microsoft?" » October 27, 2005Five Dysfunctions of a Team - How to Tell When You or Your Team is in TroubleEver read a book by Patrick Lencioni? He is the President of the Table Group and the author of a book on team building titled "Five Dysfunctions of a Team". I was fortunate enough to hear his keynote address at the second day of the BetterManagement Live conference in Las Vegas. He covered these 5 dysfunctions and what a leader should do to overcome them. Following is the gist of that talk. Continue reading "Five Dysfunctions of a Team - How to Tell When You or Your Team is in Trouble" » September 30, 2005Almost 50% of US Companies Won't Make the Second SOX DeadlineAccording to an article written by John Hazzard, 45% of US IT Executives who responded to an August survey said their companies would not be ready by July 2006 to meet the message retention requirements mandated by Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) governing corporate information! Continue reading "Almost 50% of US Companies Won't Make the Second SOX Deadline" » September 16, 2005What's On Your Mind, CIO?Whether it is a new project just starting or one that has been years in the making or one that has yet to be decided, CIOs everywhere have some tough issues to grapple with. VAR Business found the following five were top on the minds of most CIOs. Continue reading "What's On Your Mind, CIO?" » September 12, 2005Donkeys DO Fly!I have seen a horse fly and a house fly but now I have to say that I have seen a donkey FLY! Yes indeed -- today, Oracle announced that it would in fact buy Siebel Systems. I do hope the marriage is happier than the analysts had predicted... (see my May 5 blog) I would love to be a "fly on the wall" during the meeting between the two companies' leaders to decide who does what... September 7, 2005Airlines Go High-Tech in 2007Soon, you may be able to do all your emails and Instant Messages at 35,000 feet. Almost half of the world’s airlines plan to offer in-flight communications such as these by 2007 according to a report from the Airline IT Trends Survey published by SITA. Continue reading "Airlines Go High-Tech in 2007" » August 25, 2005Microsoft Wants to Keep Track of Your PackagesMicrosoft is getting into the package tracking and delivery business. Yes, the mighty software company has partnered with hardware vendors to create its own version of the RFID (Radio Frequency Identifier). Today they are offering it to post offices throughout the world but who knows where they will go tomorrow... Continue reading "Microsoft Wants to Keep Track of Your Packages" » July 19, 2005What a Day For News!HP and IBM made big headlines today for very different reasons. In his first major move at HP's helm, Mark Hurd announced plans to remove 14,500 employees -- roughly a tenth of HP's workforce. Not to be outdone, IBM announced major reshuffling in its executive ranks with the retirement of Janet Perna, long time head of IBM's information management solutions, and the departure of John Joyce, head of the company's Global Services consulting arm. Continue reading "What a Day For News!" » June 30, 2005AMD Goes After Intel on Antitrust ChargesYet another high tech "underdog" has decided to take on its Goliath. According to USA Today , Advanced Micro Devices filed an antiturst complaint against its longtime rival, Intel, claiming that Intel used its huge size to coerce customers into choosing Intel's chips over AMD's. This case may finally shed some light on the murky and sometimes less-than-ethical world of chip sales... Continue reading "AMD Goes After Intel on Antitrust Charges" » June 2, 2005Sun Bets Big with StorageTek AcquisitionSun announced today that it is acquiring StorageTek for $4.1 billion (all in cash) in a deal Sun hopes will restore its financial wealth. It's an enormous gamble and the last one of this size that Sun can do given its financial war chest. Is this a sound gamble? Continue reading "Sun Bets Big with StorageTek Acquisition" » May 12, 2005Siebel's Ex-CEO TalksApparently you don't want to disagree with Tom Siebel. It'll cost you your job -- so says Michael Lawrie in a recent Business Week article. Michael was the CEO for Sieble for less than one year and says he was shocked when he was fired. Continue reading "Siebel's Ex-CEO Talks" » May 5, 2005Oracle to buy Siebel?Yeah -- when donkeys fly. At least that is the sentiment among the analyst community. Apparently the rumors were flying about a potential sale to Oracle because Sieble reported pretty puny quarterly earnings. On the surface, these talks may seem plausible but there may be reasons why this is not such a good idea. Continue reading "Oracle to buy Siebel?" » March 30, 2005A Giant Stumbles - Comdex Trade Show Cancelled AGAINAt one time, Comdex was the largest high-tech tradeshow in the world. Today, it was announced by the show's owner that the show has been cancelled -- for a second year! Continue reading "A Giant Stumbles - Comdex Trade Show Cancelled AGAIN" » March 29, 2005HP hires NCR's Top Dog!Boy -- I take a short vacation and miss out on all the excitement! Hewlett-Packard selected NCR Corporation's CEO to replace ousted Carly Fiorina. (see my blog from February 9, 2005). Big shoes to fill indeed -- and an interesting choice, I might say. Continue reading "HP hires NCR's Top Dog!" » March 14, 2005IBM bags Ascential SoftwareYep - that is the big news for today - IBM announced that it is acquiring Ascential Software for a cool $1.1.billion! I don't know about you but I sure didn't see this one coming but probably should have... The industry analysts are praising IBM's astuteness for this proposed acquistion. No less than Business Week today stated "IBM is proving once again that few can match its acumen for big acquisitions." Continue reading "IBM bags Ascential Software" » March 10, 2005Microsoft gets a new CTOMicrosoft announced today that it is buying a small, Beverly, MA-based, company named Groove Networks. The company makes collaborative software which Microsoft plans to incorporate into their Office product line. Normally this kind of announcement would be somewhat interesting but it gets VERY interesting if you read on... Continue reading "Microsoft gets a new CTO" » February 21, 2005Grumpy goes shopping...What do you think of e-retailers? Do you like them? Do you prefer them over their brick and mortar counterparts? Apparently the answer is still yes but it is not as resounding a yes as it has been in previous years... The results from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) are in and for the first time in the four years of gathering these percentages, the big e-retailers like Amazon.com, eBay and even Charles Schwab online had significant declines in overall customer satisfaction scores. Granted, they still beat the pants (and socks, shirts, hats, gloves) off their offline retail counterparts but still -- not a good sign for them. Continue reading "Grumpy goes shopping..." » February 10, 20052005 - A Promising Year for BI VendorsNot all of the BI vendors have reported their financial situations for 2004 but, from the ones that have, it appears that they are entering 2005 with significant wind in their sails. Examples include the following BI Vendors: Business Objects has reported $925.6 million for 2004 which is 65 percent higher than sales in 2003. SAS reports a $1.5 billion year - a 15 % increase over 2003 Continue reading "2005 - A Promising Year for BI Vendors" » February 9, 2005Carly FiorinaWelcome to my first blog entry for the B-EYE-Network. It seems a shame to start this off with the news of the resignation of one of the more colorful executives in the technology world but here goes... Hewlett Parkard (HP) announced today the resignation of its controversial CEO and Chairman, Carly Fiorina. While the board stated that it is firmly committed to HP's business strategy, it is also widely believed that this very strategy was what caused the rub between the board and Fiorina. |
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