What the Big Vendors Announced – and What We Think about It

IBM introduced new security services, products, and research breakthroughs designed to help businesses more effectively manage operational and information technology risk. IBM’s approach is to strategically manage risk end to end across all five domains of information technology security – Information Security, Threat and Vulnerability, Application Security, Identity and Access Management, and Physical Security.
Our Take: AMR Research estimates that in North America alone, companies are expected to spend almost $30 billion on governance, risk, and compliance this year. IBM sees information technology security changing as more collaborative business models, sophisticated criminal attacks, and increasingly complex infrastructures emerge. IBM believes that today’s wide array of security technologies, implemented tactically in silos, are not sufficient to deal with the new reality of risk. They’re right, and they’re well positioned to take advantage of it.

SAP announced an extension of its training and education program intended to deliver role-based training and skill development. SAP TechEd represents one of the first venues to offer certification to enterprise architects as well as professional level certification for other key roles. SAP is positioning the training as part of its attempt to create a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA).
Our Take: According to IDC, worldwide software spending for SOA-based initiatives is expected to grow to nearly $14 billion by 2011 and SOA-driven professional services engagements to $40.8 billion in the same time period. That’s a fair chunk of change, so it’s not surprising that SAP is helping to establish a standard that demonstrates to customers the assurance of quality associated with the SAP brand. By introducing a role-based enterprise SOA curriculum, SAP hopes to increase the value of trained SAP professionals, and that creates pull-through for their software. In other words, this is a sensible, tactical, software marketing move for SAP.

Microsoft announced that Forrester Research placed Microsoft Business Solutions as a leader in the small and medium-size business (SMB). Microsoft Corp. was named among the top three vendors for large enterprise software pricing and licensing, and Microsoft earned the highest strategy score for its extensive support of provisions in the enterprise software licensee bill of rights, a framework designed by Forrester that provides customers with guidance on the licensing process.
Our Take: Much ado about very little. Microsoft won in a single area of a large and complicated set of measurements, and was in the “top three” (out of what? five? three, maybe?) vendors in the enterprise software licensing space. However, the fact that Microsoft chooses to publicize such a minor accomplishment illustrates how serious the company is about conquering the SMB market. Competitors beware!

Oracle’s press release needs quoting verbatim. “On October 9th, Oracle proposed to acquire BEA for $17 per share. That offer expired today, October 28th, at 5:00 p.m. The BEA shareholders should not assume that Oracle will renew its $17 per share offer in the future. Over time many things can change: BEA’s business might materially weaken, the stock market can fall further from its recent record highs, or Oracle may have committed its capital elsewhere. Over the last 20 days the BEA Board has repeatedly rejected our offer and refused to meet with us, even though we offered to meet without any preconditions. We asked the BEA Board to allow their shareholders to vote on our $17 per share proposal. They chose not to. If the BEA shareholders are unhappy with the behavior of the BEA Board it is up to those shareholders, not Oracle, to take the appropriate action.”
Our Take: Was this sweet little missive supposed to make BEA (management or investors alike) regret that they won’t be joining Oracle? It reminds us of the girl who slashes her ex-boyfriend’s tires in order to show him what a mistake he made for breaking up with her because, as he put it, she was “too volatile.” Cool your jets, boys. BEA didn’t want to work for Ellison. Get over it.