Dovetail Software Blogs: IT Must Move Forward
“If
IT fails to transform its culture into a business it may become
irrelevant. IT must also begin to learn how the top layer thinks, and
what it wants. The greatest help here will come from the free flow of
information through the management layers – enter Web 2.0 social media,
and who better than IT to implement it?”
Microsoft Launches Aggressive Business Intelligence Initiative
“Microsoft
has thrown down its gauntlet in the business intelligence space, where
it intends to mount a serious challenge to market leaders Oracle and IBM.
“Microsoft is charting a course to transform the BI marketplace as we
know it,” said Jeff Raikes, president of Microsoft’s business division,
at the company’s first-ever business intelligence conference.”
Microsoft BI Moves… Not Far Enough
“This
techno-centric focus highlights the disconnect between Microsoft BI and
its customers’ requirements, as stated by the customers hand-picked by
Microsoft to show off its BI technology to the analysts. While all were
happy consumers of Microsoft technology, they all agreed that Microsoft
and its partners lack sufficient knowledge of their businesses. One in
particular confided in me that there was no one at Microsoft, or its
partners, who could talk to his CFO about his company’s specific BI problems. It’s a problem I’ve heard of time and time again.”
Social networking giants–the new lock in
“According
to Levchin, 20 years ago Microsoft was able to lock in consumers and
lock up data and the desktop with complex file formats. Today, the same
thing is going on in the community and social networking space, but
it’s no longer on the desktop, he said. Content ranging from contact
lists and comments to spreadsheets and video is moving to the cloud.
‘Once they have it they are going to keep it that way,’ Levchin said.
‘It not easily portable or removable.’”
Is Three a Crowd in Service?
“About
one-fifth of consumers now seek third-party advice first for service
problems, according to a new report from Jupiter, which helps uncover
how this new consumer behavior can best be served.”
SAP Will Buy OutlookSoft to Boost Its CPM Credentials
” SAP
announced late yesterday its intent to buy privately held corporate
performance management (CPM) vendor OutlookSoft, continuing a streak of
consolidation activity in the performance management sector, and the
latest development in SAP’s duel with
Oracle. While financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, industry
pundits estimate it to be worth between $200 and $500 million. The
acquisition is expected to close in June.”
Infrastructure security powers up
“Over
the last decade, many companies have also moved to marry newer IP-based
systems with older legacy technologies to improve productivity across
their operations. And while those efforts have created new
opportunities for businesses to monitor their workers and facilities,
the applications have also introduced a wide range of additional
security concerns around IT attacks.”
