Siebel Systems Inc. founder Tom Siebel stepped down as CEO last week to make room for 25-year IBM Corp. veteran Mike Lawrie, who most recently headed Big Blue's sales and distribution operations. Siebel remains the company's chairman. Industry watchers called the executive change a shock, but a welcome one. The CRM software maker still holds the lead in market share, but the vendor's growth slowed in recent years as it confronted a downturn in software buying and increased competition from SAP AG, PeopleSoft Inc. and Oracle Corp. Someone new with a fresh approach to sales is a good thing for Siebel, analysts say.
Enterprise application hosting company Surebridge Inc. last week said it will sell itself to fellow application service provider NaviSite Inc. for about US$54 million. The acquisition continues a consolidation trend in the managed applications and infrastructure market: Both NaviSite and Surebridge bulked up by buying smaller rivals. NaviSite is a survivor of the dot-com meltdown. Started by incubator CMGI in 1997, Surebridge came close to running out of money before being saved by loans and restructuring. However, combined with Surebridge, NaviSite will have more than $30 million in revenue each quarter, the company said.
Qwest Communications International Inc. last week filed suit against AT&T Corp., claiming its rival carried some part of phone calls over the Internet in an effort to avoid paying tens of millions of dollars in access fees. Last month, SBC Communications Inc. filed a similar suit against the carrier, saying it's owed US$141 million in access fees. Instead of using local carriers to complete long-distance calls, AT&T put these calls over the Internet at some point to avoid paying tariffed access fees to them, the local exchange carriers say. The suit is based on the fact that the FCC rejected a bid from AT&T suggesting it pay lower access fees for calls that travel over the Internet. But the FCC did not say that AT&T is required to pay LECs retroactively for past traffic handled in this manner. Instead the government agency said the courts would look at each case individually.
Two key improvements for the security and performance quality of Wi-Fi devices are scheduled to reach wireless network users this year. The Wi-Fi Alliance says it will certify products for the new 802.11i and 802.11e standards by September. The 802.11i standard is the complete version of the preliminary security standard Wi-Fi Protected Access introduced last year, while 802.11e is a new standard designed to improve the quality of wireless networks that transmit voice and video. Security has been one of the biggest obstacles to the growth of wireless networking. Last year, WPA replaced the flawed Wired Equivalent Privacy protocol to shore up wireless security before the full 802.11i standard could be ratified. WPA uses a dynamic encryption key as opposed to the static key WEP used, and it improves the user authentication process. The 802.11i standard adds Advanced Encryption Standard technology, a stronger level of security than used in WPA. Corporations and governments, which need the highest level of security available, might have to replace some of their network equipment to support AES.
PKWare Inc. this week announced SecureZIP for Windows 8.0, desktop software that can enforce requirements for encryption-based signing and data compression, based on corporate security policies. The software costs US$100 per seat, with lower prices based on volume. PKWare also announced PKZIP 8.0 for Windows, $34.95-per-seat software for enforcing ZIP-based compression on e-mail and other files.
Zyxel Communications Inc. recently introduced two security routers for small offices. The Prestige 334 and 334W include a stateful packet inspection firewall, denial-of-service attack prevention and Triple-DES IPSec VPN encryption. The 334W includes an 802.11g wireless access point that supports Wi-Fi Protected Access, 802.1x user-authentication and Wired Equivalent Privacy encryption. Zyxel says near 100M bit/sec throughput makes the routers ideal for Web, e-mail, gaming, videoconferencing and VoIP servers. The routers cost US$70 and $90, respectively.
FRAMINGHAM (03/26/2004) - Trapeze Networks Inc.'s Mobility System delivers best-in-class secure mobility, the broadest range of services for users and IT, and the lowest total cost of ownership. Used by some of the world's largest businesses, the Trapeze system enables new efficiencies and accelerates business response time.
FRAMINGHAM (03/26/2004) - Extreme Networks Inc., a global networking leader, provides a family of Ethernet switching solutions that deliver greatly improved performance for applications and services. Extreme's Unified Access (UA) strategy addresses enterprises that have been waiting to deploy a single, secure and seamless network for both wired and wireless network access, rather than operating two separate, parallel networks. UA delivers versatile edge access to wired, wireless, telephony, and simple networked devices without compromising security, mobility or management.
FRAMINGHAM (03/26/2004) - Chantry Networks Inc. is the creator of BeaconWorks, an innovative, IP-based wireless LAN (WLAN) solution. Offering unprecedented scalability and availability, coupled with unique network virtualization features, BeaconWorks overcomes the obstacles inherent in traditional WLAN systems to provide enterprises and service providers with the first economical and practical solution for building seamless and pervasive wireless networks. Founded in April of 2002, Chantry Networks is headquartered in Boston with offices in Chicago, Denver, New York, Virginia, San Francisco and Toronto. Chantry is backed by top-tier investors including Flagship Ventures, Primaxis Technology Ventures, Venture Coaches and Ventures West.
FRAMINGHAM (03/26/2004) - Symbol Technologies Inc. is the only company able to provide end-to-end rugged mobile computing and wireless networking solutions that capture, move and manage information, in real time, at the point of business activity.
FRAMINGHAM (03/26/2004) - Airespace Inc. is a market leader in the design and development of intelligent wireless networking platforms that support business-critical applications. The Airespace Wireless Enterprise Platform makes WLAN deployment and management simple and cost effective, while providing seamless integration with existing business networks.
FRAMINGHAM (03/18/2004) - GeoTrust Inc., an e-business security services vendor that bills itself as the world's second largest certificate authority next to VeriSign Inc., this week announced it has added US$3.7 million in venture funding.
FRAMINGHAM (02/06/2004) - Verizon Communications Inc. Friday announced it has sold off BBN Technologies to the subsidiary's management team in conjunction with venture capital firm Accel Partners and private equity outfit General Catalyst Partners LLC. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
FRAMINGHAM (02/02/2004) - Gateway Inc. plans to acquire eMachines Inc. for about US$200 million to increase its shrinking PC revenue while it pursues the consumer electronics market, the companies announced last week. The deal will provide Gateway with the revenue generated by eMachines' strength among consumers in retail channels, the companies said. EMachines sells low-cost PCs that have made inroads with U.S. consumers, who purchased enough PCs from the company to lift it into fourth place ahead of Gateway in the fourth quarter, according to IDC. Gateway Chairman and CEO Ted Waitt will give up the CEO title to eMachines CEO Wayne Inouye, but will remain as chairman and will have an active role in Gateway's future, the company said.
FRAMINGHAM (02/02/2004) - Long rumored, Novell Inc. is officially moving its headquarters from Provo, Utah, to Waltham, Mass., the home of much of its executive and management teams. Novell, which has 2,000 employees in Utah, will maintain its company locations in that state. In recent years, Novell has acquired three Massachusetts companies: Cambridge Technology Partners, Ximian and Silverstream Software. The company once had large offices in San Jose and Austin, Texas, but closed those.