Technology Mashup

Market Watch

I've been catching up with some market data over the past number of evenings and I was very pleased to see TIBCO reporting strong earnings particularly in Q4 of 2008 as well as a strong growth in overall revenue in 2008 ($644.5m which is an increase of 12% over the previous year). I still see them as a strong performer in the European Telco and FS space, although they are clearly breaking new ground in other vertical markets in the US (and others).

The Pressure of Parity?

I've been thinking a little this morning about exchange rates and the dreaded thought of Pound / Euro parity. You will be glad to hear that this is not a post on European Monetary Theory, or a defensive rant against Britain joining the ERM.

It did occur to me however that as Sterling continues to slide against Euro and as the UK credit crunch deflates wage expectations that it wont be long before the highly skilled UK contract / services market is being tapped from our near neighbours across Netherlands, France and Germany. I guess this will be equally related to budgetary constraints and labour availability in those markets, but UK skills must be looking attractive against falling cost.

I'm left wondering if some form of 'osmotic' resource drain is imminent? Is it time to polish off the 'phrase books' and head for an extended 'city break'? Will there be an impact on resource availability for UK IT contracts?

Developments in Online Advertising

By Steve Nimmons

Online advertising has been with us since the earliest days of the Internet and where ‘eyeballs meet content’ advertisers will always be close by. We have travelled an immense distance in the last 15 years. The first Web portals were (almost uniformly and tastelessly) bedecked with every imaginable flashing widget that might attract a valuable click-through. I will spare the early designers blushes but some sites would today come with health warnings for photosensitive epilepsy.

Cost-cutters boost IBM's results - IBM benefits from companies calling in its services division to help them cut costs.

[BBC UK Technology News]

My hat goes off the to hauliers engaged in the latest protests. The price of oil is perhaps a little out of immediate control, but Alistair Darling needs to look at tax cuts to help seed more disposable income back into the UK economy. Falling house prices, rising fuel and food prices, and Labour's answer - more tax! Time for a change!

Progress pushes for SOA evolution by acquiring Iona -

Progress Software made a strategic move to gain wider recognition in the infrastructure software market with its acquisition of integration specialist Iona.

[SOA News from Computer Weekly]

Report: IBM outpaces competitors in Application Development software market for seventh straight year - IBM today announced that analyst firm Gartner, Inc.* and market research firm Evans Data Corp. have ranked IBM as the leader in the application development software market. These rankings come just as IBM is projecting more than 12,000 people will attend its 2008 IBM Rational Software Development Conferences in 13 countries around the globe.

[IBM Newsroom]

Schlumberger buys IES - Schlumberger, the oilfield and information services company, has acquired Integrated Exploration Systems (IES), the Germany-based supplier of advanced petroleum systems modelling software and services for the exploration and production industry

[News from The Engineer]

Yahoo 'sabotaged' Microsoft deal - Billionaire investor Carl Icahn claims the Yahoo board deliberately "sabotaged" Microsoft's bid.

[BBC UK Technology News]

Qinetiq awarded £3.8m - Qinetiq has been awarded a £3.8m contract from Kongsberg following the Swedish defence giant’s success in winning a prime contract worth £18m from the Norwegian Defence Procurement Division.

[News from The Engineer]