Nemertes Impact Analysis: April 30,2008
Nemertes Impact Analysis: April 30,2008
Nemertes Impact Analysis
Expert Insight On How Recent News Affects You
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Virtual Machine Hardening: Tripwire Makes it Easier
Tripwire, a privately held company, announced availability of VMware
(NYSE:VMW) hardening policies for Tripwire Enterprise for VMware ESX Server.
Through Tripwire, organizations will be able to automate the implementation and
management of VMware's secure configuration recommendations. Proper VM
configuration management is a baseline security best practice as discussed in
Nemertes Issue Paper Virtualization Risk Analysis, and the upcoming,
Virtualization Security Market Analysis.
Impacts:
Enterprises: Virtualization adds a layer of complexity to configuration
management: virtual machines freezing, thawing and moving. Review and implement
VMware recommendations.
Vendors: VMware has established a secure baseline. Competitive virtualization
environments should provide similar guidelines, and competitors to Tripwire
should implement these guidelines into their solutions.
Investors: Support of virtualized security is a potential investment litmus
test. Competitors include ArcSight (NASDAQ:ARST), BladeLogic (NASDAQ:BLOG), BMC
(NYSE:BMC), HP (NYSE:HPQ), IBM (NYSE:IBM), Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC), and privately
held Configuresoft, NetForensics, Shavlik and Tripwire.
Ted Ritter, Research Analyst
http://www.tripwire.com/press/press_release/pr.cfm?prid=352
http://www.nemertes.com/issue_papers/virtualization_risk_analysis
Carrying the Core: BT Pushing SMB Enterprise Software as a Service
British Telecom (NYSE:BT) will make two core business applications aimed at
SMBs available as software as a service (SaaS). BT will resell NetSuite's
(NYSE:N) eponymous on-demand enterprise resource planning suite, and SugarCRM's
(privately held) open-source customer relationship management wares.
Nemertes' Service-Oriented Architectures and Applications benchmark
found 63% of participants using full enterprise applications via SaaS, with many
of the remainder investigating it. Capitalizing on that interest, and increasing
interest in and trust of open-source applications, BT is trying another way to
move beyond being just "bit plumbing" for SMBs.
Impacts:
Enterprises: SMBs should explore such offerings; they can gain enormous
leverage from SaaS, getting large-enterprise features without having to build or
maintain infrastructure and staff to match.
Vendors: BT's decision illustrates why SaaS-friendly software can get you
incredible leverage with the burgeoning SMB market; if your products can be SaaS
friendly, make sure they are, soon.
Investors: Service providers will increasingly seek small companies with good
SaaS models, such as MuleSource for application integration infrastructure or
SpringCM for content management, for partnership or acquisition.
John Burke, Principal Research Analyst
http://www.sugarcrm.com/crm/about/press-releases/20080422-bt.html
Microsoft's FAST Acquisition Demonstrates Growing Importance of Search
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) completed settlement of its acquisition of enterprise
search vendor FAST. This acquisition (initially announced in January 2008)
demonstrates the increasing importance of search in enterprise collaboration and
content-management architectures, especially as a result of growth in deployment
of Web 2.0 technologies, such as blogs and wikis.
Web 2.0 applications create content management challenges, as information can
reside in many disjoint applications. Nemertes continues to see strong interest
in Web 2.0 among participants in our up-coming, Unified Communications and
Collaboration benchmark, but the unstructured nature of Web 2.0
collaboration requires a robust search capability to find and manage information
stores.
Impacts:
Enterprises: Investigate enterprise search platforms as part of your content
management and Web 2.0 strategy.
Vendors: Develop a strategy to integrate your Web 2.0 products and services
with enterprise search platforms.
Investors: Look for opportunities from other search vendors, including
privately-held Endeca, and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG)
Irwin Lazar, Principal Research Analyst and Program Director, Unified
Communications and Collaboration
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/apr08/04-25LervikPR.mspx
http://www.nemertes.com/ongoing_research/unified_communications_and_collaboration
LifeSize "Focus"es on Low Cost HD Video Conferencing
LifeSize, a privately held company, introduced "Focus," a high-definition
video conferencing camera and codec, for $4,999. IT executives interviewed for
our upcoming benchmark, Unified Communications and Collaboration, are
citing a growing interest in enterprise video conferencing, especially
high-definition and telepresence.
Organizations are increasingly able to justify video conferencing investments
by demonstrating the potential for less travel, better interaction, and improved
meeting efficiency. With the introduction of "Focus," LifeSize lowers the
barrier to entry for high-definition video conferencing.
Impacts:
Enterprises: High-definition and telepresence are not your parent's video
conferencing. Investigate emerging technologies as a way of increasing operating
efficiency in the age of increasingly expensive travel. Do not ignore the
potential for video to improve virtual workers' collaboration effectiveness.
Vendors: Make sure you have a high definition video conferencing strategy
that addresses all segments of the market.
Investors: Keep abreast of other lower-cost high-definition and/or
telepresence vendors, such as start-up Vidyo, and privately held Telanetix, and
Teliris.
Irwin Lazar, Principal Research Analyst and Program Director, Unified
Communications and Collaboration
http://www.lifesize.com/pr.php?prid=109
http://www.nemertes.com/ongoing_research/unified_communications_and_collaboration
e-Discovery Alliance Formed
e-Discovery software maker Attenex (privately held) and enterprise content
management (ECM) solution provider StoredIQ (privately held) have allied to
facilitate e-Discovery cost control through standardized interfaces.
The rising cost of compliance - including e-discovery - is underscored by the
fact that 60% of participants in Nemertes' benchmark, Security and
Information Protection, project increased compliance costs in 2008. Cost
effective e-discovery requires strong integration with ECM and development of
standards. This alliance is a good step in the right direction.
Impacts:
Enterprises: Take a close look at this alliance and the Electronic Discovery
Reference Model (EDRM) on which this alliance is based.
Vendors: e-Discovery is now a core component of ECM. e-Discovery solution
providers should align with ECM vendors and follow industry standards, such as
EDRM.
Investors: Look for consolidation and further alliances. Other players in
this space include household names, such as Adobe (NASDAQ:ABDE), EMC (NYSE:EMC),
and Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC), as well as privately held players including
Recommind, MetaLINCS and Guidance Software.
Ted Ritter, Research Analyst
http://www.storediq.com/news/release17.aspx
Stop at the Store and Pick Up Some VOIP
Packet8 (8x8) will be selling its Virtual Office hosted VOIP small business
phone system at OfficeMax stores nationwide. An alternative to an on-premise
solution, it includes an auto attendant, worldwide extension dialing, business
class voicemail, full-featured conference bridges, ring groups, and other
business-class PBX and dial-tone features.
Fully hosted VOIP solutions can attract SMBs, which may lack staff or budget
to manage such systems. According to Nemertes' Advanced Communication
Services, benchmark, nearly 30% of companies were using, evaluating, or
planning to use hosted VOIP within the next two years.
Impacts:
Enterprises: SMBs, shop around, there are many hosted VOIP options. Look for
differentiators beyond price and ease of use: e.g. SLAs, scalability, and global
coverage.
Vendors: Although a simple-to-deploy solution is attractive, ease of use is
not always an SMB's number one selection criterion. To stand out in the crowd,
your offering must be cost competitive, include robust business phone features,
and offer scalability and global coverage.
Investors: A successful business model for hosted VOIP has yet to be proven,
especially for serving large enterprises. We expect that to change as more
vendors develop customizable offerings and more extensive global coverage.
Katherine Trost, Research Analyst
http://www.voipmonitor.net/2008/04/25/Packet8+VoIP+Phone+Systems+Now+Available+At+OfficeMax.aspx
http://www.nemertes.com/voice_over_ip
I'll Take a Tall, Skinny...WiFi
When AT&T (NYSE: ATT) begins rolling out its new WiFi service in
Starbucks coffee shops this week, this will signal the latest round of carrier
maneuvering to define value-added mobility services. Displacing T-Mobile,
AT&T will provide WiFi connectivity in more than 7,000 Starbucks stores by
year's end. Nemertes' benchmark, Advanced Communications Services 2008:
Next-Generation Wireless, shows wireless data being squeezed by the same
market dynamics as all carrier services. As prices follow cost, carriers are
forced to find value-added services to entice and retain subscribers. AT&T
is clearly betting that by providing WiFi to Starbucks regulars it will be
perceived as a better solution for the highly mobile worker.
Impacts:
Enterprises: AT&T is adding a service that will make it much more
attractive to mobile workers. Consider WiFi hot spot availability when choosing
wireless carriers.
Carriers: If you aren't looking for the value proposition that transcends
simple connectivity, then you will be at a competitive disadvantage. Follow
AT&T's lead and examine opportunities for differentiation.
Investors: Expect carriers to become even more creative as they search for
high margin revenue alternatives. Invest in the ones that are successful in
discovering the new opportunities.
Mike Jude, Senior Analyst
http://www.wirelessweek.com/article.aspx?id=159340
http://www.nemertes.com/benchmarks/nemertes_benchmark_acs_nextgeneration_wireless?#
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