NEC will offer a security solution as a cloud service that uses IT management software and products company CA Technologies advanced authentication technology. The service will deliver a security service that enables operators and content/application providers address the need for multi-device, multi-service authentication.

By integrating the CA ArcotID secure software credential with NEC’s NC7000-3A ID utilisation infrastructure software, as well as the NEC Mobile Security, security countermeasure service, the cloud service offers authentication through identity links among multiple NEC websites. CA ArcotID provides protection for digital identities by delivering two-factor authentication and enables integrated authentication services.

This service will help maintain ease-of-access for customers using smartphones and mobile tablets, while also help to build services utilising multi-device authentication and multiple service identities. The service will be made available beginning in March 2012 and will be offered in 30 countries around the world.

NEC expects that the primarily customers for this service will include telecommunications operators and providers of related content and services for whom smartphone security enhancement is an important issue.

Source:http://www.telecompaper.com/news/nec-uses-ca-software-to-offer-cloud-based-mobile-security

The company’s new 2013 models will come with upgraded MyFord Touch, which replaces most knobs and buttons for climate, navigation and entertainment with a touch-screen. The system has both attracted buyers to Ford’s brand and hurt it in some owners’ eyes, says the independent market research firm J.D. Power and Associates.

Ford held customer clinics, and employees have been testing the upgraded system so it’s a “high-quality experience,” Ford spokesman Alan Hall says.

MyFord Touch is now available on 20% of Ford models, including the Explorer and Focus, and will be on 70% of new models by the end of this year.

Ford dropped from fifth to 23rd in J.D. Power’s quality survey last summer, in large part because of this technology. The study looks at problems owners report in the first 90 days of ownership.

MyFord Touch “was a significant issue. Most of their declines from the previous year could be attributed to it,” says David Sargent, J.D. Power’s global vehicle research vice president. “Other than that, their quality was going fairly well.”

Many complaints to J.D. Power centered on the system’s tendency to freeze, which the company called “a hard defect,” and its slowness.

Complicated controls could also be distracting for those “operating the system when trying to drive a vehicle,” Sargent says.

The upcoming fix won’t come in time to boost Ford’s quality rankings in the June Power initial quality report, which only covers vehicles sold through this month. While Ford has made running improvements to the systems, Sargent says those could be offset by the increased number of models sold with MyFord Touch.

It can take up to 45 minutes to teach customers the MyFord Touch system, says Gary Cohen, vice president at Jerry’s Ford in Annandale, Va. But he says it’s “a great system once you set up your profile.”

Consumer Reports said in January 2011 that it couldn’t recommend the Ford Edge or Lincoln MKX because of MyFord Touch. Consumer Reports’ automobile testing director David Champion says newer versions haven’t frozen and are easier to use but still are not “intuitive” enough.

“I think they understand where their issues are,” Champion says. “It’s just whether their arrogance gets in the way of them actually fixing it. ”

Source:http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/story/2012-02-07/ford-mytouch/53014836/1

Today Virtual World Computing launched the Cocoon Internet privacy and security software for the Internet Explorer browser. Internet Explorer users can easily download the free plug-in, which instantly provides users with greater privacy protection, security and convenience when surfing the Web. Cocoon works by securely connecting over any network to Cocoon’s servers, providing enterprise-grade virus protection and encrypting all interactions preventing man-in- the-middle attacks.

“Today’s digital lifestyle has us connected to the Internet from a variety of devices and locations,” said Vernon Irvin, CEO of Virtual World Computing. “Cocoon provides secure connections to the Internet even on public WiFi and prevents you or your children from accidently downloading harmful viruses or being tracked by unwanted advertisers.”

The Cocoon software has taken online security and privacy to a new level by preventing your computer from directly touching the Internet. Your privacy is protected because websites and advertisers only see Cocoon servers, hiding your unique IP address and preventing your online activity from being tracked by cookies. Unlike traditional anti-virus software, Cocoon prevents malicious software and virus downloads by instantly scanning files for viruses before they reach your computer. Additionally, Cocoon offers disposable email addresses for each service you choose to sign-up for, protecting personal email boxes from spam and phishing attacks.

Source:http://www.darkreading.com/security/news/232600527/new-privacy-security-anti-tracking-software-for-internet-explorer.html

In its first earnings report as a public company, Jive Software reported an increase in deals worth more than $1 million per year and promised to make some noise with a “Project Thunder” improvement in cloud computing delivery of its product later this year.

Headlines on financial news sites emphasized a bigger loss in the fourth quarter, despite higher revenue, although Venturebeat provided a more upbeat assessment, emphasizing 53% revenue growth over the same period in 2010. CEO Tony Zingale called the results “better than what we expected and a strong finish for the year.”

Revenue rose to $22.5 million from $14.7 million, but the net loss for the quarter was $12.7 million. Jive’s net loss for the year was $50.8 million and for 2012 it is projecting a loss of $23 to $25 million, as it seeks market share over profitability. In the fourth quarter, Jive increased sales and marketing by 61%, to $13 million, as it sought to win customers from larger companies like Salesforce.com and IBM. Now it wants to put the $131.4 million in net proceeds it raised in its December initial public offering to work cementing its lead.

Zingale boasted of “winning the largest and most important customer relationships,” celebrating “blue chip customers” making significant “enterprise-wide agreements,” including PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ace Insurance, and Thomson Reuters. Those customer wins are significant because each is worth more than $1 million in annual revenue to Jive, which sells its software on a subscription basis whether it’s deployed on premises or hosted by Jive. “We have never experienced several new deals of this size in a quarter,” he said. “While too early to call a trend, this is a sign enterprises are realizing that social business software may be one of the most important decisions they make this decade.”

“Consumers are moving to social media faster than any other technology adoption curve in our lifetime,” he said, and businesses increasingly see the potential to apply it internally and in communication with partners and customers. More enterprises are putting out RFPs specifically for social business software, he said.

Zingale’s combative style was also on display as he made the point that “each of the highlighted customers already [has] relationships with large enterprise software vendors that make a lot of noise about being in social business software.” Jive is able to win out over the likes of IBM and Salesforce.com because its focus on social business software distinguishes it from vendors “bolting on” social capabilities to existing products, he said. Jive also has an advantage in being “agnostic” about links to other enterprise systems, such as email, document management, or customer relationship management, in contrast with firms that are trying to expand from a base in one of those categories, he said.

Zingale also revealed a few details about Project Thunder, a technology upgrade currently in beta and due to roll out mid-year. Project Thunder will make Jive “capable of being self-provisioned by customers,” making it easier for new and potential customers to sign up for and try Jive online and for departments within large enterprises to provision their own social workspaces, he said. In other words, Jive already uses the buzzwords “public cloud” and “private cloud” in references to hosted and on-premises deployment of its products, but its technology is not as cloud-centric as that of competitors like Yammer and Salesforce.com. In a pure software as a service cloud computing model, software providers sign up new customers more or less instantly, creating new accounts from a pool of servers that are all running the same version of the software.

Jive’s current hosting model requires more individualized setup, and even some of the customers who have Jive host the software continue to run a 4.x version of the software, rather than moving to the Jive 5 edition of the platform released last summer. One current customer of Jive’s hosted offering said her company likes it that way–and would be unlikely to switch to a pure cloud version with automatic upgrades. “We never take the dot-zero release of these things,” she said.

Zingale emphasized he believes his company has an advantage for winning large enterprise accounts over competitors that only offer public cloud software. However, he expects Project Thunder to improve sales by making it easier for potential customers to try the platform before they buy. Most customers already start with some sort of pilot project, whether on premises or hosted in a temporary “sandbox” trial environment, he said, but self-provisioning will streamline that process. At the same time, allowing existing customers to expand their deployments by self-provisioning user seats and software modules will allow Jive to increase its revenue from each account, he said.

CFO Bryan LeBlanc said Project Thunder could also provide a migration path to the cloud for smaller customers using the discontinued Jive Express version of the platform. LeBlanc said Jive has seen some attrition of those smaller customers, which it expects to continue in the coming quarters, although the effect on revenue will be “almost insignificant” compared with the bigger deals Jive is closing.

Jive makes software for both internal enterprise social networking and external customer or partner communities. LeBlanc said 59% of the new customer wins are focused on internal deployments. Those deals typically take longer to negotiate, compared with the more established external applications bought by marketing departments, he said. The internal deals require more negotiation with business and IT leaders, but their dollar value also tends to be higher, LeBlanc said.

Source:http://informationweek.com/thebrainyard/news/social_networking_private_platforms/232600477/jive-financials-show-social-software-momentum

Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it is joining forces with 24/7 – a customer service outfit with the vision of putting up a collaborative effort for enhancing different aspects associated with the customer service mechanism deployed by businesses.

The software giant claims that the new agreement reached by the two companies will help them to introduce the advantages of Big Data and NUIs (natural user interfaces) in favour of raising the existing standards deployed by customer services companies all around the world.

Apart from that, the agreement will see the Redmond based OS giant buying stake in 24/7 along with a long term strategic Research & Development partnership and a long term IP licensing mechanism.

“From speech to touch to gestures, consumers expect and demand more natural and intuitive ways to interact with technology,” Zig Serafin, general manager, Online Services Division at Microsoft, said in a statement.

“This same demand will change how consumers interact with businesses, and it creates an inflection point for how people will expect businesses to provide customer service,” he added.

As a matter of fact, the deal between the two companies will also result in Microsoft combining its interactive self-service assets such as people, clients as well as technologies into the PX solutions in offering from 24/7 along with Big Data analytics and speech and a next-gen cloud platform for customer services.

Source:http://www.itproportal.com/2012/02/09/microsoft-joins-forces-with-247-for-customer-service-software/

Novosoft, the provider of data backup software-based services, announced plans for the Handy Backup software evolution. The utility is to feature the highly anticipated backup of Linux workstations managed via a network from Windows PCs. The update is coming as a part of a common software evolution strategy oriented toward mixed OS network backup management, also bringing remote Linux image backup and a bunch of other smart options.

“It is data that matters, not the platform. Enterprise computer networks of today are motley. There are users who traditionally work under Windows and those who prefer Linux. Recently there also arrived mobile devices which became a part of those networks too, in some sense. Up to a moment, the differences in platform architectures made it a problem for the backup to proceed in such mixed OS networks. But not anymore. Handy Backup is preparing a major update: backup of both Windows and Linux workstations remotely in a network,” said Alexander Prichalov, the head of Novosoft Development Department.

The announced update of Handy Backup is brining enhanced server backup functionality. The soon to arrive software version will help to back up Linux workstations, managing the task over a network from a Windows machine.

Among other announced improvements there is the decentralization of workstation backup controls. Based on client-server architecture, earlier Handy Backup has been featuring centralized controls: the management of all backup tasks was processed from a single network administrator computer running under Windows. Now a chance to arrange a workstation backup from any machine in the mixed OS network is coming.

With regard to previously announced and established functionality, like Linux image backup, the software solution becomes one of the most powerful products on the network backup utility market.

Source:http://www.pr.com/press-release/389118

Oracle (NSDQ:ORCL) is adding to its “Big Data” product lineup, bundling its Oracle R Enterprise software with its Oracle Data Mining toolset in a move the company said will make it easier for businesses to analyze increasingly huge volumes of information.

The introduction of the Oracle Advanced Analytics for Big Data package comes just a month after the vendor unveiled the Oracle Big Data Appliance, which combines the company’s new NoSQL database with Cloudera’s distribution of Hadoop.

“We think of analytics as being a fundamental pillar of big data,” said George Lumpkin, Oracle vice president of product management for data warehousing, in an interview.

Oracle R Enterprise is itself a combination of the Oracle database and the company’s distribution of the “R” open-source programming language for developing statistical data analysis applications. “It’s easier when the analytics execute inside the database,” Lumpkin said. Oracle Data Mining, which includes data mining and predictive analytics algorithms, is a component of the company’s Oracle Advanced Analytics suite.

The combination of the Oracle database, the R language and the data mining tools makes it possible for users to use more complex equations to analyze bigger data sets, Lumpkin said.

The new Oracle Advanced Analytics for Big Data package provides channel partners with a software foundation for Big Data projects, Lumpkin said. And it offers solution providers and ISVs the opportunity to develop applications that leverage Big Data. SQL programs developed by partners, for example, can invoke R-based procedures running within a database, he said.

“We work with leading edge customers who rely on us to deliver better BI from their Oracle Databases,” said Mark Rittman, co-founder and director of Rittman Mead, which provides solutions and services around Oracle BI products. “The new Oracle R Enterprise functionality allows us to perform deep analytics on Big Data stored in Oracle Databases. By leveraging R and its library of open-source contributed CRAN [Comprehensive R Archive Network] packages combined with the power and scalability of Oracle Database 11g, we can now do that,” he said.

Oracle is also touting the new offering as the latest addition to what it’s calling a “Big Data stack” that includes hardware servers such as the Big Data Appliance and the Exadata Database Machine, Oracle Database 11g, Hadoop, Oracle R Enterprise and other software.

Oracle Advanced Analytics for Big Data, generally available now, is being sold as an option with the Oracle Database 11g. Resellers who sell the database will be able to offer it to their customers as an option, Lumpkin said.

Source:http://www.crn.com/news/applications-os/232600504/oracle-debuts-analytical-software-for-big-data-tasks.htm;jsessionid=epzk8rw7m4iMBlr-SiV3Dw**.ecappj01

Google Inc., seeking to get more of its desktop-computer software onto mobile devices, introduced a test version of its Chrome Web browser for the latest Android operating system.

The browser, first unveiled in 2008, will be available on tablets and mobile phones using the company’s “Ice Cream Sandwich” Android software, Sundar Pichai, a senior vice president in charge of Chrome and applications, said in a blog posting. The company aims to improve the speed of mobile browsing by preloading top search results and enabling users to get the same tabs and bookmarks they have on their desktops.

“Chrome for Android is designed from the ground up for mobile devices,” Pichai said. The software is “focused on speed and simplicity, but it also features seamless sign-in and sync so you can take your personalized Web browsing experience with you wherever you go, across devices.”

Google’s Android software has taken the lead in the market for smartphone operating system, topping Apple Inc.’s iPhone and Microsoft Corp.’s mobile software. Android handsets accounted for 48 percent of the U.S. smartphone market in the fourth quarter, while the iPhone had 43 percent, according to NPD Group Inc. Almost three in five first-time smartphone buyers chose Android, NPD said.

Shares of Mountain View, California-based Google fell less than 1 percent to $606.77 today. The shares have declined 6.1 percent this year.

Source:http://news.businessweek.com/article.asp?documentKey=1376-LZ1AVV6K50XW01-7QOKAI2JVVKUUKTB73IE8AOHV3

Volvo Car Corporation (Volvo) one of the global car industry’s strongest brands, has revealed that Autodesk design and visualisation software was key to the successful design of its Concept You car. The fully-functional concept model was unveiled to great critical acclaim at the Frankfurt Motor Show last autumn.

Following the earlier success of Volvo’s Concept Universe at the Shanghai Motor Show in April 2011, the Volvo design team was under extreme pressure to further refine its ideas and produce a working model with full interior in a matter of months, in time for Frankfurt. Both concepts were created to demonstrate Volvo’s vision for the future of luxury cars under its new ownership.

Using Autodesk Alias software, the concept modelling team was able to quickly create digital prototypes from the designer’s initial sketches. This enabled the team to quickly hone and test the design on screen, helping to save time and maintain the original design integrity behind the concept. As a result, designers were able to get to the best option with the technical surfacing and visualisation of the car as quickly as possible without having to start from scratch with every iteration.

Although the Volvo team was working under a particularly tight deadline, timescales such as this are becoming typical in such a competitive industry. Cars are becoming increasingly complex and sophisticated with a high technical content, yet manufacturers are under pressure to design them faster, while incurring lower costs. Like Volvo, a growing number of manufacturers are using Autodesk Alias to accelerate the entire design process from concept to class A modelling.

As part of the design workflow, Volvo also used Autodesk Showcase software for advanced visualisation of its ideas. This enabled the concept to be quickly communicated to the design management team and board so that they could easily understand what was being created. Despite the punishing time-frame, Volvo’s new concept was ready in time to create a real talking point at the show. The automotive press was full of accolades, describing the car as, “beautifully done”, “a much-needed tonic” and simply “stunning”.

A long-term user of Autodesk software, Volvo has recently become a Platinum Support customer which gives it direct access to Autodesk experts, promoting a two-way dialogue to help influence future development of Alias and other products.

Source:http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20120208005540/en/autodesk/manufacturing/technology

BMC Software Inc. (BMC) completed a $500 million sale of 10-year bonds in the U.S. credit markets Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the deal.

The 4.25% coupon bonds were priced to yield 4.316%, or 235 basis points over Treasurys.

Standard & Poor’s rated the senior unsecured notes BBB-plus on Wednesday. They are expected to be rated Baa2 by Moody’s Investors Service. The bonds are registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The software, cloud-computing and information-technology management solutions company is raising funds for general corporate purposes, which could include repurchasing common stock or acquiring assets and businesses.

The bonds feature a change of control provision allowing investors to redeem the bonds at 101 cents on the dollar should the company be acquired. The provision safeguards investors from a leveraged buyout. An investor may also redeem the bonds if they are downgraded below investment grade.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch and J.P. Morgan are leading the sale.

Source:http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120208-714430.html

Latitude Software, an Interactive Intelligence Group Inc. company (Nasdaq: ININ), and PaymentVision have partnered to offer an integrated debt collection and electronic payment solution.

The integrated solution was designed to help customers reduce costs, more quickly receive settlements, and increase compliance.

“Before we deployed the integrated Latitude and PaymentVision solution we were doing everything manually,” said Western Mass. Credit Corp.’s president and CEO, Linda Lata. “Following deployment, we immediately saw an increase in collections. There’s no longer a bottleneck at our credit card and Web terminal, our IVR captures calls that would have been lost to disconnections, and we are now PCI-compliant. Overall this has been a great experience for us.”

Latitude provides debt collection software and services for collection agencies, first-party creditors, debt buyers, and law firms. Its software suite, which can be delivered via a premise or hosted model, manages all pre- and post-charge-off accounts and the entire collection workflow process. The software suite’s open architecture was designed to help customers improve communications and account tracking for more effective debt recovery.

“Our partner mission is to deliver the most feature-rich solution that streamlines the payment collection process, boosts productivity, and increases PCI compliance,” said PaymentVision CEO, Robert Pollin. “Latitude’s offering perfectly supports this mission by giving our joint customers added value through a flexible, easy to use, yet comprehensive solution.”

The PaymentVision solution enables customers to accept ACH, check, and credit or debit card payments by phone or through Internet channels. PaymentVision’s electronic payment services give customers reduced administrative overhead, additional payment channels, and PCI compliance advantages. The company’s “no hold, no reserve” feature offers flexible settlement options so that customers can leverage their current banking relationships, thus eliminating hold requirements and accelerating funds receipt.

“Our mission is to offer flexible and complete solutions that give our customers a competitive edge,” said Latitude president, Carl Harkleroad. “PaymentVision helps us deliver on that mission by adding powerful automated payment features to our suite, such as its unique ‘no hold, no reserve’ capability. We’re proud to partner with PaymentVision to give our joint customers an even greater competitive advantage.”

Source:http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20120208005555/en/debt-collection-software/accounts-receivable-management-software/electronic-payment-solution

Callidus Software Inc. (CALD) reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $3.6 million or $0.11 per share, wider than last year’s loss of $1.5 million or $0.04 per share.

Results include $3.4 million of stock-based compensation expense, $513,000 of restructuring expense, $716,000 amortization of acquired intangible assets, $810,000 convertible note related items, $369,000 patent litigation cost, $517,000 acquisition related expense and a tax benefit of $2.4 million

Last year, results included $1.4 million of stock-based compensation expense, $35,000 of restructuring expense, $157,000 of amortization of acquired intangible assets, $160,000 for impairment of an acquired intangible asset, and $94,000 of patent litigation cost.

Adjusted earnings for the quarter, excluding the one-time items, was $0.3 million compared to $0.4 million last year. Adjusted earnings per share remained flat at last year’s $0.01.

Total revenues for the quarter increased 18 percent to $22.5 million from last year’s $19.1 million in the same quarter.

On average, 5 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.01 per share on revenues of $22.32 million for the quarter. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude one-time items.

The company reported 42 percent year over year growth in SaaS revenue and 41 percent year over year growth in SaaS billings.

Gross margin for the period was consistent from the year-ago quarter at 45 percent. Non-GAAP gross margin increased to 52 percent from last year’s 46 percent.

Leslie Stretch, president and CEO, said,” We achieved sequential increases in total revenues for the eighth consecutive quarter and non-GAAP profitability for the sixth consecutive quarter. We met our targeted 60% Non-GAAP gross margin and gained a record number of 103 new customers in the fourth quarte

Looking forward to the first quarter of fiscal 2012, the company expects total revenue to be between $22.0 million and $23.0 million. Analysts expect revenues in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 to be $22.95 million.

Source:http://www.nasdaq.com/article/callidus-software-slips-to-wider-q4-loss-20120208-01862

In order to mediate the software skills gap, the Kenya ICT Board is partnering with local and international universities to ensure companies have an easy and reliable way to identify skilled software developers in Kenya.

Chipuka will be the first “authentic” examination that would be attuned to the needs of the industry in general and incorporate a broad selection of professional tools.

A pilot exam will be ready by March 2013; the certification should be fully operational in Kenya by October 2013.

The Kenya ICT Board has introduce a certification program for software developers in Kenya. Dubbed ,Chipuka, (Swahili word for Emerge), the program will offer credential examination for software developers and would help employers to easily identify software developers that have the skills necessary to carry out IT jobs to a professional and world class standard.

The move is informed by a study carried out in 2011 by the Kenya ICT Board and IDC which revealed a software skills gap in Kenya. “Although there is a high demand for software development in Kenya, few companies source these skills locally. At least a quarter of companies surveyed said they were not satisfied with the quality of IT professionals in the local market. As a result, nearly a third, plan to contract external providers,” partly reads a statement by the Kenya ICT Board.

The survey predicts that the demand for software developers will grow by 135 per cent between 2011 and 2013.

“In order to spur innovation in ICT, we need our youth to be equipped with marketable skills,” said Dr. Bitange Ndemo, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Information and Communications, “This certification will help us market our talent and grow the job market for young developers.”

Localized cross-vendor certification

The Kenya ICT Board recognizes that there are a number of certification programs for software engineers available in Kenya.

But many of those programs only test for general knowledge of software, rather than actually requiring someone to write software. Others certify competence for only certain software environments or only a certain vendor’s tool set.

Chipuka will be the first “authentic” examination that would be attuned to the needs of the industry in general and incorporate a broad selection of professional tools.

A pilot exam will be ready by March 2013; the certification should be fully operational in Kenya by October 2013.

Source:http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate+News/-/539550/1321846/-/sp445v/-/

Aims to deliver incremental updates without interrupting customers’ business, says the company

SAP has said it will updrade its business suite software to allow the delivery of incremental updates without interrupting customers’ business, driven by business needs, not technical requirements.

The SAP Business Suite software upgrades will include new user experiences for professional and casual users, such as landing pages and side panels with integrated analytics.

SAP will upgrade its Supply Network Collaboration (SAP SNC) application to improve analysis of suppliers’ performance and drive increased adoption within a partner ecosystem.

In another upgrade, a new user interface (UI) will be developed which the company says will allow users to compile target groups for marketing campaigns from multiple high-volume data sources.

The company is planning to introduce a new UI into SAP Enterprise Asset Management (SAP EAM) offering to enable maintenance workers to carry out their daily tasks more easily and efficiently.

SAP Travel Management application is also planned to simplify receipt management and accelerate reimbursement processes for business travelers.

In addition, the company will provide side panels with contextual information, such as notes, attachments, analytical and Web content, in order to improve the user experience for professional finance users.

With enhancements to batch handling, cost planning, and label printing in SAP ERP, manufacturers will gain the ability to increase their operational efficiency in production, said the company.

SAP AG Line of Business Solutions general manager and head Peter Maier said SAP customers change and evolve their business models for sustainable growth.

“Better and more flexible software solutions are critical to stay competitive. The innovations we outline today do not disrupt our customers’ business with big upgrades, and give them the tools they need to run better in an ever-changing global market,” said Maier.

Source:http://enterpriseapplications.cbronline.com/news/sap-upgrades-its-business-suite-software-070212

Hardware makers who insist on installing software that their punters don’t want might find themselves having to offer refunds.

A French court has ordered Lenovo to write a cheque to one of its customers who did not want Windows installed.

According to the French campaign group No More Racketware, Stéphane Petrus’s four year court battle could open the way for PC buyers elsewhere in Europe to obtain refunds for bundled software they don’t want,

Optimise hardware, software and services, makes you smarter and faster

Petrus bought a Lenovo 3000 N200 laptop from French retailer Cybertek in December 2007. The PC had Microsoft Windows Vista and other software installed on it, none of which Petrus wanted.

He applied for a refund from Lenovo under a French law forbidding the sale of one product to be tied to the sale of another. However in November 2008, the court rejected his request, telling him that if he didn’t want to pay for the copy of Windows, he should have returned the PC.

But this was overturned by the Court of Cassation two years later on appeal, and sent back to the court in Aix en Provence for retrial, on the grounds that the lower court had not considered whether the case was covered by the provisions of the 2005 European Union directive on unfair commercial practices.

Judge Jean-Marie Dubouloz ordered Lenovo to pay Petrus legal costs of €1,000 (around US$1,300), damages of €800 and to refund the cost of the Windows license.
Petrus thought the cost of the software was €404.81, but the court found that excessive, given that he had paid €597 for the PC and software.

No More Racketware welcomed the ruling, saying it symbolised the crumbling of the bundling of hardware and software in France.

However it pointed out that since the case was won using an European directive regulating unfair commercial practices, it meant that it could set a legal precedent in other EU countries too.

Writing in his bog Frédéric Cuif, attorney for Petrus, said that the the ruling was a step in the right direction.

Source:http://news.techeye.net/software/software-bundling-faces-liquidation-in-the-european-union

MPLS & Ethernet World Congress – Metaswitch Network Technologies today announced it has successfully completed interoperability tests of its PCE solutions at the MPLS & Ethernet interoperability event at the MPLS & Ethernet World Congress, organized by EANTC (European Advanced Networking Test Center). Path Computation Element (PCE) is an architecture standardized by the IETF and enables the ability to migrate the path computation function from the network to the cloud, a standalone server or a network management system.

“PCE provides network operators with an evolutionary path to Software Defined Networking (SDN). This is the preferred solution for carriers with massive installed base of equipment and legacy services as it provides a non-disruptive, gradual migration to SDN,” said Clive Partridge, general manager of Metaswitch’s Network Technologies. “We are showcasing a range of PCE functionality including interoperability with a leading routing vendor, which is proof positive that our PCE-based SDN solutions are ready for production-based carrier environments.”

SDN provides operators with many advantages including increased flexibility and performance along with simplified operations. PCE achieves this by migrating path control to a centralized role while leaving the majority of field-hardened networking functions untouched. This approach significantly reduces costs and risk and is less disruptive than alternative SDN approaches.

Metaswitch’s PCE solution, DC-PCE, is fully portable software designed for system vendors of carrier equipment and OSS systems. DC-PCE is pre-integrated and backwards compatible with Metaswitch’s widely deployed control plane software, enabling network OEMs to roll out SDN solutions in the quickest and most cost-effective manner.

Resource Links

Learn more about PCE in Metaswitch’s whitepaper entitled: PCE – An Evolutionary Approach To SDN.

Metaswitch’s Pat Moore will also be speaking at the event on February 8 in a session titled, “Path Computation Elements, OpenFlow and the Centralized Control Plane”.

Source:http://www.marketwatch.com/story/metaswitch-demonstrates-pce-based-software-defined-networking-interoperability-2012-02-07

Up to 10,000 New South Wales motorists may have been incorrectly charged for trips on Melbourne’s CityLink motorway.

CityLink says it has found some instances where New South Wales-registered toll users were charged for trips made by Victorian vehicles with similar number plates.

It is believed the glitch arose after an upgrade on the tollway in December.

The scanners have been failing to distinguish different state number plates.

The motorway’s operators concede the 10,000 affected is a big number, but they claim it is a small proportion of the two million registered toll users in New South Wales.

CityLink is currently reviewing the trips and checking to see if some Queensland motorists may also have been affected.

A spokeswoman says it is difficult to estimate the dollar amount that people have been incorrectly charged but refunds will be automatically issued.

Source:http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-07/10000-motorists-hit-with-incorrect-toll-charge/3816132

There has been a keen competition between malware and security software. Therefore, the investments on security research and software development will never decelerate. According to the latest IDC Asia/Pacific Semiannual Security Software Tracker, all the security software functional markets registered a double-digit year-on-year (YoY) growth in the first half of 2011. The security software market grew 18.5% over 1H 2010 to US$796 million in 1H 2011. As security threats are getting more severe and complex, the overall security software market is forecasted to grow 17.5% to US$1.674 billion in 2011 compared to 2010.

Identity and Access Management (IAM) achieved the highest YoY growth rate of 32%, while the Secure Content and Threat Management (SCTM), Security and Vulnerability Management (SVM), and Other Security Softwares reached a YoY growth rate of 16.4%, 14.2% and 21% respectively.

“We can see vendors applying their cloud computing technology to their security infrastructure including integrating the cloud based security functions into their products. It has become the mainstream of the secure content and threat management. Traditional client based virus library security scanning has become a heavy burden in terms of IT resources consumption, not to mention that it is incapable of handling the latest virus or threat evolution, like zero day malware. As resource sharing and optimization are the major objectives under the highway of universal virtualization, the adoption rate of cloud based security infrastructure, which can offer a light-weighted instantly-updated global virus library, will continue to grow and extend into all the security functional markets,” says Marco Lam, Market Analyst of IDC Asia/Pacific Software Research.

Cyber crimes and cyber threats in the IT world are becoming more well organized and efficient. Nowadays invasion could be embedded in a botnet, which could seed virus and Trojan into the linked server or station without waking up the security alarm. It could also be an embodiment of a link in social media or email. Infected computers, or newly formed “bots”, can then be used to steal passwords and record keystrokes, while concealing the attacker’s identity. Or even to stir up a ’denial of service attack’ to the public utility or stock exchange market. The financial lost can be huge and it is becoming a huge threat to the public utility.

Although Identity and Access Management is still in the development stage, IDC foresees its role to become more crucial in the future IT environment. As virtualization and mobile devices are gaining popularity against the traditional client work station and server, identity protection is becoming the prerequisite requirement for communication across the boundaries.

More loopholes are going to be found in popular smart phone and surging tablet applications arena. This will present a severe challenge and threat to the business environment. These new threats will compel IT management to regulate the use of applications on personal devices within corporation networks, as security threats embedded within an application can bypass most of the security gateways if it is run after entering the company network. This will evolve into different form of compromises like insider sabotages, identity fraud, breaches of insecure networks, unauthorized access to corporate systems, networks, and confidential information.

“Security threats are becoming more tenacious and organized. As we rely more and more on IT technology in our daily life, IDC expects companies to continue to invest and install the latest detecting and defending tools to protect their assets. Thus, the overall security software market will continue to experience a decent growth despite the signs of economic slowdown,” Marco concludes.

Source:http://www.nationmultimedia.com/technology/IDC-Finds-the-APEJ-Security-Software-Market-Grew-a-30175480.html

Acumatica, a provider of Cloud ERP software, today announced that Accounting Solutions Consulting (ASC) Partners has joined Acumatica as a value added reseller in New England. Beginning immediately, ASC will offer customers the ability purchase Acumatica’s award winning Cloud ERP software as an on-premise or SaaS solution.

“Customers are increasingly asking us to present web-based software options that can be customized using the same tools as on-premise software”, said Craig Silvestri, Partner at ASC. “Acumatica offers us the ability to transfer our knowledge of ERP and accounting software to the Cloud without locking our customers into a SaaS-only solution.”

ASC Partners offers comprehensive business solutions and consulting services including system selection, business process reviews, project management, and implementation services. The team of consultants at ASC has accounting and finance experience across several different industries including professional services, software development, not-for-profit, distribution, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing.

Acumatica sells 100% of its software through a vast and knowledgeable network of value added resellers and software experts such as ASC Partners. Acumatica’s commitment to the channel fosters an atmosphere of collaboration and knowledge sharing so customers can get modern cloud technology with deep expertise and support from accounting solutions experts.

“We are pleased that ASC will be able to apply their experience with Microsoft Dynamics GP and Dynamics SL to tailoring Acumatica Cloud ERP solutions,” said Kenneth Del Gobbo, Director of Worldwide Channel Sales at Acumatica. “Unlike SaaS-only companies that sell direct and compete with their partner channel, we are committed to helping companies like ASC succeed in meeting the needs of their customers.”

Source:http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20120208005076/en/accounting/software/cloud

The pace of export revenue growth of Indian software companies will likely moderate next fiscal year amid continued global economic uncertainty, the main industry body said Wednesday, echoing views of the country’s top outsourcers.

Exports from the sector may grow 11%-14% in the year that starts on April 1 to $76 billion-$78 billion, compared with an estimated $68.7 billion this fiscal year, an increase of about 16%, said the National Association of Software and Services Companies, or Nasscom.

Indian software exporters earn nearly 90% of their revenue from Europe and the U.S., which are faced with major economic challenges. The sector was hit hard through 2011 as clients delayed decisions because of economic problems, political turmoil and natural disasters.

India’s top software firms — Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Infosys Ltd. and Wipro Ltd. — have over the past month or so warned of delays in spending by clients and gave cautious outlooks.

Research firm Gartner recently cut its estimate of global spending on information technology to $3.8 trillion in 2012, up 3.7% from 2011. Its previous forecast was for a 4.6% rise. It cited “faltering global economic growth, the euro-zone crisis” among the reasons for reducing its outlook.

“The demand environment is still uncertain,” Nasscom President Som Mittal told reporters.

Nasscom Chairman Rajendra Pawar said that almost all economic indicators “went down south” this fiscal year. “We find much lower clarity in the year than we had in a long time.”

The body said it will review its export forecasts in October.

With its large English-speaking and relatively cheap workforce, India remains a preferred outsourcing destination for companies in developed markets. India’s share in global outsourcing was 58% in 2011, up from 55% in 2010, Nasscom said.

But rising wages and other costs have been threatening the country’s predominant position in the outsourcing market. Factors such as currency volatility will remain in focus after a sharp fall in the rupee against the U.S. dollar helped local software exporters in the October-December period, say analysts.

Source:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204369404577210930213297346.html