Thursday, May 21, 2009
ACS Moving more personnel offshore
Interesting story here about Dallas-based outsourcing giant ACS wanting to more 50% of its personnel to offshore locations. At the end of last year, about 32% of ACS's 63,000 employees were offshore.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Metastorm
Metastorm is a BPM player that has played on the fringes of the document imaging space for more than 10 years. Heck, we wrote about them in 2000, when their market was still called "workflow." At that time, Metastorm was touting revenue of around $30 million, up five times from two years previous. While its growth hasn't maintained that level, it has still been impressive. We recently came across an article that said Metastorm is anticipating $90 million in revenue in 2009 compared to $77 million in 2008. This is projected organic growth (what recession?). The company is also seriously involved in aquisition talks.
We're not sure what sort of company Metastorm would be buying, but we have heard rumors that Global 360 is up for sale. On the flip side, apparently (according to the prior referenced article), Open Text is considering a BPM acquisition.
Anyhow, that's just a brief Metastorm update. Oh yes, apparently Metastorm filed an S-I last year before thinking better of going public and pulled back.
We're not sure what sort of company Metastorm would be buying, but we have heard rumors that Global 360 is up for sale. On the flip side, apparently (according to the prior referenced article), Open Text is considering a BPM acquisition.
Anyhow, that's just a brief Metastorm update. Oh yes, apparently Metastorm filed an S-I last year before thinking better of going public and pulled back.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Open Text Acquires Vignette
I've seen quite a few analyst criticisms of Open Text's recent announcement that it plans to acquire Vignette for $310 million. Apparently, Vignette got killed last quarter, seeing its license sales drop 29% and its overall revenue drop 24%. Vignette was clearly in trouble, and as Open Text likes to do, it came in and bought the company when it was down.
People have questioned what Open Text really got, as Open Text has most of the technology is picked up already. I think these people are missing the point. First off, Vignette apparently has big-time WCM technology with several big-name Fortune 2000 users. Vignette is a market leader in this area, and it's always good to pick up a leader in a market that is not going away. Heck, Open Text, has even been known to pick up leaders in declining markets... Open Text also picked up some solid records management technology with Tower Technology stuff that Vignette picked up a few years back. Once again, I think this is an upgrade for Open Text in an area they have clearly targeted for future growth.
Finally, because of the market it's in, it is imparative for Open Text to continue to grow. Competing with the likes of IBM and EMC, size does matter. Open Text seems to understand this, and this latest acquisitoin should now have it approaching $1 billion in annual revenue. As long as it stands alone - and it is one of the last major ECM vendors standing - Open Text has to keep pushing forward so its Global 2000 customer base will not hesitate about doing business with it.
Per its history, we're confident Open Text will figure out how to cut costs at Vignette and fold it into its profitable growing business. Open Text has certainly come a long way in the 10 years we've been covering them- outlasting a ton of competitors, and a key part of its strategy has been acquisitions just like the Vignette buy. We expect to see more as well.
People have questioned what Open Text really got, as Open Text has most of the technology is picked up already. I think these people are missing the point. First off, Vignette apparently has big-time WCM technology with several big-name Fortune 2000 users. Vignette is a market leader in this area, and it's always good to pick up a leader in a market that is not going away. Heck, Open Text, has even been known to pick up leaders in declining markets... Open Text also picked up some solid records management technology with Tower Technology stuff that Vignette picked up a few years back. Once again, I think this is an upgrade for Open Text in an area they have clearly targeted for future growth.
Finally, because of the market it's in, it is imparative for Open Text to continue to grow. Competing with the likes of IBM and EMC, size does matter. Open Text seems to understand this, and this latest acquisitoin should now have it approaching $1 billion in annual revenue. As long as it stands alone - and it is one of the last major ECM vendors standing - Open Text has to keep pushing forward so its Global 2000 customer base will not hesitate about doing business with it.
Per its history, we're confident Open Text will figure out how to cut costs at Vignette and fold it into its profitable growing business. Open Text has certainly come a long way in the 10 years we've been covering them- outlasting a ton of competitors, and a key part of its strategy has been acquisitions just like the Vignette buy. We expect to see more as well.
Monday, May 04, 2009
Electronic Medical Records
There sure has been a lot of buzz on this topic since the stimulus package with passed promising like $30 billion for doctors to move to electronic healthcare records. Here's a chat that showed up on Yahoo Finance with the CEO Aethena. Fairly brief. Fairly interesting.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Mitek Signs Deal with NCR
A little over a year ago, we ran an article discussing Mitek's release of technology for capturing and processing check images through mobile phones. Well, today Mitek announced a deal with NCR, which will offer Mitek's ImageNet Mobile Deposit to complement its APTRA Commercial Passport-- remote deposit capture software that allows deposits using check scanners from their businesses directly to the financial institution or via online banking web site.
This definitely seems like a step in the right direction, which might be a bit ahead of its time with this type of software- but as a toolkit vendor, also needs to anticipate the needs of its customers. NCR's offering both scanner and phone-capture based solution is indicative of where the market for mobile capture currently stands. It's a great idea, and probably will pick up momentum as phone cameras and processors continue to improve, but for now, the superior image quality of a scanner still offers many advantegous - if not the convenience and ubiquity of mobile phones.
This definitely seems like a step in the right direction, which might be a bit ahead of its time with this type of software- but as a toolkit vendor, also needs to anticipate the needs of its customers. NCR's offering both scanner and phone-capture based solution is indicative of where the market for mobile capture currently stands. It's a great idea, and probably will pick up momentum as phone cameras and processors continue to improve, but for now, the superior image quality of a scanner still offers many advantegous - if not the convenience and ubiquity of mobile phones.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Kofax Appointments - Book Scanner from Trash
There is no question Kofax has made a lot of changes over the past year, as CEO Reynolds Bish has really put his stamp on the company. One of Bush's main prerogatives has been to increase Kofax's average deal size by creating a strong direct sales force. Of course, this has created concerns about Kofax's dedication to the value-added reseller channel, which has historically served as its primary sales force. That's why it was refreshing to see today's announcement about the Irvine, CA-based software vendor hiring two industry veterens with substantial channel experience.
Dan Lucarini, who has been named senior director of business development, was for years a big advocate and marketing director for the Alchemy reseller channel. He left Captaris after its acquisition by Open Text. And Barbara Lanci, who has been named senior director of partner strategy and development, was a director of channel development for Kofax in the late 1990s. Both will report to Jim Vickers.
Also, a friend of ours sent us this cool link/video from a guy who basically built a DIY-type book scanners from some new cameras and 100% recycled materials. Check it out.
Ralph
Dan Lucarini, who has been named senior director of business development, was for years a big advocate and marketing director for the Alchemy reseller channel. He left Captaris after its acquisition by Open Text. And Barbara Lanci, who has been named senior director of partner strategy and development, was a director of channel development for Kofax in the late 1990s. Both will report to Jim Vickers.
Also, a friend of ours sent us this cool link/video from a guy who basically built a DIY-type book scanners from some new cameras and 100% recycled materials. Check it out.
Ralph
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
CMS Watch Offers Valuable Advice
This is actually really funny. Good to see some humor related to ECM..
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Article on Scan settings for OCR
This is a pretty insightful piece by OCR/data capture consultant Chris Riley of Living Analytics. One additional comment I'll make is that the scanning hardware vendors continue to introduce more versatile machines that address some of the demands that Chris mentions in his article. For example, Kodak has come out with a whole new series of scanners that capture in 300 dpi at the same speed as 200 dpi, and color speeds have almost caught up bi-tonal speeds.
We've also had many interesting conversations with vendors that specialize in the separation technology that Chris mentions and claim it can introduce OCR results on certain types of documents. As we've said before, we are entering a brave new world for recognition technologies.
Fujitsu Computer Products of America's Kevin Neal contributed these two helpful links on the same topic:
Increase ECM Automation Processes With Higher Resolution Scanning
Trends Towards Higher Resolution Scanning
Ralph
We've also had many interesting conversations with vendors that specialize in the separation technology that Chris mentions and claim it can introduce OCR results on certain types of documents. As we've said before, we are entering a brave new world for recognition technologies.
Fujitsu Computer Products of America's Kevin Neal contributed these two helpful links on the same topic:
Increase ECM Automation Processes With Higher Resolution Scanning
Trends Towards Higher Resolution Scanning
Ralph
Monday, March 23, 2009
eCopy signs Chinese distributor
eCopy signed up a fairly large Chinese office equipment dealer as a distributor. Interestingly, they will be selling eCopy ShareScan along with Ricoh hardware. Good sign for the contiued diversification of eCopy, both in terms of hardware partners and geography.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Looking at TIS and Adobe numbers
Yes, Top Image Systems and Adobe are very much on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to publically traded document-imaging related stocks. Adobe is one of the largest software companies in the world with a very diverse portfolio that contains either a lot or a little bit of document imaging - depending on how you define the sector. And Top Image Systems (TIS) is very much a niche player, soley focused on image-based data capture (utilizing OCR), had annual revenue of around $30 million, and is very thinly traded on the Nasdaq. However, their financial reports shared a common theme: While the numbers may have looked bad at first glance, they were apparently better than what Wall Street was expecting... I think.
Both companies saw steep drop offs from the third quarter, but both also seemed prepared for this. Adobe saw its stock value rise 7% after reporting after seeng its revenue drop 12% and its earnings 29% from the previous year. Is this the first sign of an economic rebound. TIS situation was even more confusing as its revenue dropped 2% from the previous year and 23% from the third quarter, but a discontinuation of some lower-margin/unprofitable operations contributed to this, and all in all, TIS seems to have made money on the quarter, with a $5 million gain related to "financing income." Anyhow, I think you almost need to be a banker to understand what is going on in the market now, but my overall impression is that neither Adobe or TIS suffered as much as some other people in the fourth quarter, which is a good sign for our industry, as recently (the last week at least) macro-economic conditions seem to be on the rebound.
Alright, that's about it. But, if anyone can help me further understand this stuff, please post comments.
Ralph
Both companies saw steep drop offs from the third quarter, but both also seemed prepared for this. Adobe saw its stock value rise 7% after reporting after seeng its revenue drop 12% and its earnings 29% from the previous year. Is this the first sign of an economic rebound. TIS situation was even more confusing as its revenue dropped 2% from the previous year and 23% from the third quarter, but a discontinuation of some lower-margin/unprofitable operations contributed to this, and all in all, TIS seems to have made money on the quarter, with a $5 million gain related to "financing income." Anyhow, I think you almost need to be a banker to understand what is going on in the market now, but my overall impression is that neither Adobe or TIS suffered as much as some other people in the fourth quarter, which is a good sign for our industry, as recently (the last week at least) macro-economic conditions seem to be on the rebound.
Alright, that's about it. But, if anyone can help me further understand this stuff, please post comments.
Ralph
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Kofax hires U.S. Sales Chief
Kofax has hired former FileNet sales exec Steve Johnson as its Senior VP of software & solutions Sales for the Americas. Johnson will report to EVP of field operations Alan Kerr. He will oversee Kofax's implementation of its new hybrid model for its $50 million U.S. software business.
By our calculations, Kofax CEO Reynolds Bish now has also the pieces in place to attack the market in the way he outlined to us at last year's AIIM show. His intention is for Kofax's historically strong VAR channel to continue to win the small and mid-sized deals, with the direct sales force to take the high-end stuff that has historically gone to Kofax competitors like Bish's former company Captiva, as well as players like ReadSoft and recently Brainware. The trick, of course, is going to be keeping the VAR channel happy and not stepping on their toes too much with the direct sales. We still haven't heard too much negative feedback from the U.S. VARs at least, of course, without Johnson, maybe the direct sales force hasn't been fully ramped up yet.
Anyhow, Johnson seems well qualified to sell capture solutions. If he can manage a VAR channel well, we'll expect some strong results from Kofax.
By our calculations, Kofax CEO Reynolds Bish now has also the pieces in place to attack the market in the way he outlined to us at last year's AIIM show. His intention is for Kofax's historically strong VAR channel to continue to win the small and mid-sized deals, with the direct sales force to take the high-end stuff that has historically gone to Kofax competitors like Bish's former company Captiva, as well as players like ReadSoft and recently Brainware. The trick, of course, is going to be keeping the VAR channel happy and not stepping on their toes too much with the direct sales. We still haven't heard too much negative feedback from the U.S. VARs at least, of course, without Johnson, maybe the direct sales force hasn't been fully ramped up yet.
Anyhow, Johnson seems well qualified to sell capture solutions. If he can manage a VAR channel well, we'll expect some strong results from Kofax.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
High-Profile AIIM Absentees
For the first time in our memory, heavy document imaging hitters Kodak and Kofax will not be exhibiting at our industry's largest annual get together. Citing reasons like "the most expensive leads you get come at AIIM," and "we've been thinking about pulling out for several years and the down economy gave us the impetus to finally go through with it," the industry's leading production scanner vendor and the leading capture software player have pulled out of the AIIM Expo (scheduled for end of March-early April). Neither one has even committed to having a meeting room.
I must admit , I have been hearing complaints for several years, with last year's being the most serious, about the lack of quality floor traffic at the event. I also received feedback that exhibitors have been making suggestions that have gone largely ignored by Questex, which purchased the show from AIIM (the trade organization) eight or nine years ago. And, although Questex has been offering increased targeted marketing services to exhibitors, by our observation, the event itself has changed little since started going to it in the late 1990s - and some pundits were already proclaiming that the event was dead then.
Across the board marketing cuts due the down economy may be the last nail in the coffin. Prior to this year, despite the complaints, and slowly dwindling attendance, little actually changed, except for maybe smaller booth sizes. Sure, some companies would leave for a year, but they'd always come back. We'll see of they come back after this year.
I've got a call with Questex set up for Thursday. We'll see what they have to say...
Ralph
I must admit , I have been hearing complaints for several years, with last year's being the most serious, about the lack of quality floor traffic at the event. I also received feedback that exhibitors have been making suggestions that have gone largely ignored by Questex, which purchased the show from AIIM (the trade organization) eight or nine years ago. And, although Questex has been offering increased targeted marketing services to exhibitors, by our observation, the event itself has changed little since started going to it in the late 1990s - and some pundits were already proclaiming that the event was dead then.
Across the board marketing cuts due the down economy may be the last nail in the coffin. Prior to this year, despite the complaints, and slowly dwindling attendance, little actually changed, except for maybe smaller booth sizes. Sure, some companies would leave for a year, but they'd always come back. We'll see of they come back after this year.
I've got a call with Questex set up for Thursday. We'll see what they have to say...
Ralph
Monday, February 09, 2009
Kofax first-half 2009 results
Seems like a mixed bag. I'll have to read them over in more detail later (as I'm getting ready to head out to a Kodak conference in San Antonio), but it appears that much of the 9% growth was driven by favorable currency exchange - meaning the pound (which Kofax reports in, lost some of its value against the currencies (Euro and U.S. Dollar), which it typically does business in. That said, it's a pretty detailed report, so they don't appear to be trying to fool anyone. Basically, it sounds like the U.S. (after a slow start) and EMEA businesses (with the exception of the U.K.) are on track and Asia-Pac continues to disappoint. There were also some problems in the VRS sector. The hardware business continues to be profitable if not growing... Not sure how much is now going direct vs. what is going through the channel.
Anyhow, hopefully I will have more on this later, when I have some conversations and time to read it over more closely. Check out the above link yourself though it you get a chance.
Anyhow, hopefully I will have more on this later, when I have some conversations and time to read it over more closely. Check out the above link yourself though it you get a chance.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
More on Kodak
I should have known better than to fly U.S. Air. Last time I flew with them, I ended up stuck in some two-star hotel near the Birmingham, AL airport overnight because of mechanical difficulties. Then, just last month, they narrowly avoided a disaster near New York. Now, of course, I'm stuck in Brussels, well not really in Brussels, but in an airport hotel outside of town for an extra night due to, you guessed it, "mechanical difficulty." But enough on airlines...
I'm out here because I attended the annual I.R.I.S. conference, which went well with a few hundred attendees and some significant announcements. Details in this week's DIR. The most imortpant announcement was probably that I.R.I.S. continued its profitable growth, up 13% over $100 million Euros for the first time and also generating cash. They run a pretty good business, with a lot of high-end document imaging focsued solutions installed Belgium, France, and Luxenburg, and some pretty good OCR contracts with the likes of HP, eCopy, and Adobe. Recently, they've been adding IDR technology to their mix and last year launchced their own capture software after working for several years as Kodak's OEM developer of capture technology.
Speaking of Kodak, here's an interesting quote from the press release they issued today:
"The success of Kodak’s core investments stems in part from the company’s ability to maximize its cash-generating businesses. These market-leading product lines represented approximately $6 billion in revenue in 2008, and include the following: Prepress Solutions and Document Imaging in GCG, Digital Capture & Devices and Retail Systems Solutions in CDG, and Entertainment Imaging from the Film, Photofinishing and Entertainment Group (FPEG). For these businesses in 2009, Kodak will focus on margin improvements, including cost reductions, as well as continuing its successful intellectual property licensing program."
So, it's good that Document Imaging is generating cash, but it's bad that apparently cost reductions are going to be made to apparently help make up for losses in other areas. Curiously, the press release didn't get into too many specifics about the money losing areas, of course that was probably done in depth enough with the fourth-quarter report.
I'm out here because I attended the annual I.R.I.S. conference, which went well with a few hundred attendees and some significant announcements. Details in this week's DIR. The most imortpant announcement was probably that I.R.I.S. continued its profitable growth, up 13% over $100 million Euros for the first time and also generating cash. They run a pretty good business, with a lot of high-end document imaging focsued solutions installed Belgium, France, and Luxenburg, and some pretty good OCR contracts with the likes of HP, eCopy, and Adobe. Recently, they've been adding IDR technology to their mix and last year launchced their own capture software after working for several years as Kodak's OEM developer of capture technology.
Speaking of Kodak, here's an interesting quote from the press release they issued today:
"The success of Kodak’s core investments stems in part from the company’s ability to maximize its cash-generating businesses. These market-leading product lines represented approximately $6 billion in revenue in 2008, and include the following: Prepress Solutions and Document Imaging in GCG, Digital Capture & Devices and Retail Systems Solutions in CDG, and Entertainment Imaging from the Film, Photofinishing and Entertainment Group (FPEG). For these businesses in 2009, Kodak will focus on margin improvements, including cost reductions, as well as continuing its successful intellectual property licensing program."
So, it's good that Document Imaging is generating cash, but it's bad that apparently cost reductions are going to be made to apparently help make up for losses in other areas. Curiously, the press release didn't get into too many specifics about the money losing areas, of course that was probably done in depth enough with the fourth-quarter report.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Brutal fourth-quarter for Kodak
It was a not a good finish to 2008 at all for Kodak. Fourth-quarter total sales were off by 24%. This led to a $137 million loss for the quarter, compared to a $215 million profit a year ago. Document Imaging was not cited specifically as one of the poor performers, but the Graphics Communications business (hurt by a softer commercial printing market), where Document Imaging resides, posted a $4 million operating loss, compared to a $30 million profit a year ago. This was the result of sales falling 14%.
In conjunction with the year-end report, which dropped the company's stock more than 20% to just over $5 per share, Kodak also announced up to 4,500 upcoming layoffs, or 14-18% of the entire staff. We understand some of those layoffs are already affecting Document Imaging. We're not sure how this is all going to reconcile with the Bowe Bell + Howell Scanner acquisition the is supposed to close before the end of the quarter and the jobs that have apparently been promised to BBH employees.
We'll be catching up with Kodak Document Imaging execs at next month's Kodak Executive Summit in San Antonio.
In conjunction with the year-end report, which dropped the company's stock more than 20% to just over $5 per share, Kodak also announced up to 4,500 upcoming layoffs, or 14-18% of the entire staff. We understand some of those layoffs are already affecting Document Imaging. We're not sure how this is all going to reconcile with the Bowe Bell + Howell Scanner acquisition the is supposed to close before the end of the quarter and the jobs that have apparently been promised to BBH employees.
We'll be catching up with Kodak Document Imaging execs at next month's Kodak Executive Summit in San Antonio.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
layoffs at IBM
Interesting story here on how IBM handles their layoffs. Not sure if this is affecting the CM/FileNet businesses, but software has definintely been affected. Of coursre, IBM has a huge software business. Apparently, these layoffs help IBM maintain impressive profitability which is great for shareholders-but not so great for employees.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Autonomy Acquires Interwoven
I guess you've probably seen this by now, but the search and artificial intelligence specialist Autonomy has announced intentions to acquire ECM player Interwoven for $775 million. Interwoven, which began life as a Web-content management vendor, added electronic document mangement technology a few years back with the acquisition of Interwoven. It is also fairly strong in the digital asset management world-also through an acquisition.
The iManage acquisition gave Interwoven a strong foothold in the legal vertical. Autonomy's has e-discovery technology and ambitions that make the entree into the legal market a natural.
One interestsing angle for us is how, and if, Autonomy plans to leverage the Cardiff capture technology it acquired with Verity as a front end to iManage. If it does, that could be bad news for long-time iManage partner Kofax, which also recently got some bad news when Open Text acquired Captaris. We're currently trying to get in touch with someone at Cardiff to find out what sort of shape the capture business is in-as we haven't heard much from them lately, and we understand that former GM and CTO Mark Siemens has left.
Autonomy also has a number of OEM agreements for search technology with potential Interwoven competitors that could be jeopardized if Autonomy isn't real careful. Google, we're sure would love to steal some of that business.
Finally, here's ECM analyst Alan Pelz-Sharpe's take on the acquisition. He's a bit critical of Autonomy.
Ralph
The iManage acquisition gave Interwoven a strong foothold in the legal vertical. Autonomy's has e-discovery technology and ambitions that make the entree into the legal market a natural.
One interestsing angle for us is how, and if, Autonomy plans to leverage the Cardiff capture technology it acquired with Verity as a front end to iManage. If it does, that could be bad news for long-time iManage partner Kofax, which also recently got some bad news when Open Text acquired Captaris. We're currently trying to get in touch with someone at Cardiff to find out what sort of shape the capture business is in-as we haven't heard much from them lately, and we understand that former GM and CTO Mark Siemens has left.
Autonomy also has a number of OEM agreements for search technology with potential Interwoven competitors that could be jeopardized if Autonomy isn't real careful. Google, we're sure would love to steal some of that business.
Finally, here's ECM analyst Alan Pelz-Sharpe's take on the acquisition. He's a bit critical of Autonomy.
Ralph
Monday, January 26, 2009
Outsourcing report
Here's an interesting press release I received last week:
"IBM bucked tech industry trends this week by reporting a healthy fourth quarter profit and even a feel-good forecast for 2009 - based heavily on the contributions of the company's software and service business. IBM registered a 20% jump in outsourcing contracts and related work - solid proof that while many companies are cutting back on overall IT spending, the recession appears to be giving a boost to IT and business oursourcing, particularly as a means to cut core operating expenses. For some industry context behind IBM's strong performance - we offer the latest annual review of Global Sourcing Trends by law firm Morrison & Foerster.
This is the third year that Morrison & Foerster has produced a macro year-end/year-ahead review of the global sourcing landscape. This year’s report comes amidst some extreme events impacting the industry – not only the economic crisis, but in the wake of the recent terror attacks in Mumbai and the startling financial fraud unfolding at India sourcing giant Satyam.
Among the current trend lines reported by Morrison & Foerster for the coming year:
A pronounced shift toward cost-driven deals: “Many companies are looking to drive further value and cost improvements on existing deals, often via re-negotiation, service levels and other key terms.” In other words, this could be a good sourcing buyer’s market;
A probable slowdown in new sourcing activity among financial service firms, which traditionally have fueled sector growth; instead, look for institutions to “maximize value and rationalize existing deals” – again putting pressure on cost structure;
Some shakeout is all but guaranteed among service providers, some of whom will endure not current market conditions; survivors will be those “that have sector and geographic diversity, well-managed overheads, and deep, long-term customer relationships.”
At same time, consolidation among largest sourcing firms will mean “less leverage for customers in future negotiations;”
Expect to see more attention on new risk and liability provisions in existing contracts regarding data and privacy breaches;
The Satyam scandal is certain to prompt a “flight to quality” by sourcing customers, with an attendant surge in due diligence;
An unfortunate bi-product of the financial crisis will be a rise in disputes, including litigation, as corporate purchasers become less inclined to waive or ignore potential liability claims.
Morrison & Foerster has one of the most active sourcing law firm practices internationally. Recent engagements include representation of the UK’s official Revenue & Customs authority as well as New York University Hospitals Center in its long-term IT sourcing agreement with IBM and Lenovo Group valued at more than $600 million. The group’s key members handle global projects primarily from the firm’s New York, London and Hong Kong offices.
Please click here to see the full 2009 Sourcing Trends "
"IBM bucked tech industry trends this week by reporting a healthy fourth quarter profit and even a feel-good forecast for 2009 - based heavily on the contributions of the company's software and service business. IBM registered a 20% jump in outsourcing contracts and related work - solid proof that while many companies are cutting back on overall IT spending, the recession appears to be giving a boost to IT and business oursourcing, particularly as a means to cut core operating expenses. For some industry context behind IBM's strong performance - we offer the latest annual review of Global Sourcing Trends by law firm Morrison & Foerster.
This is the third year that Morrison & Foerster has produced a macro year-end/year-ahead review of the global sourcing landscape. This year’s report comes amidst some extreme events impacting the industry – not only the economic crisis, but in the wake of the recent terror attacks in Mumbai and the startling financial fraud unfolding at India sourcing giant Satyam.
Among the current trend lines reported by Morrison & Foerster for the coming year:
A pronounced shift toward cost-driven deals: “Many companies are looking to drive further value and cost improvements on existing deals, often via re-negotiation, service levels and other key terms.” In other words, this could be a good sourcing buyer’s market;
A probable slowdown in new sourcing activity among financial service firms, which traditionally have fueled sector growth; instead, look for institutions to “maximize value and rationalize existing deals” – again putting pressure on cost structure;
Some shakeout is all but guaranteed among service providers, some of whom will endure not current market conditions; survivors will be those “that have sector and geographic diversity, well-managed overheads, and deep, long-term customer relationships.”
At same time, consolidation among largest sourcing firms will mean “less leverage for customers in future negotiations;”
Expect to see more attention on new risk and liability provisions in existing contracts regarding data and privacy breaches;
The Satyam scandal is certain to prompt a “flight to quality” by sourcing customers, with an attendant surge in due diligence;
An unfortunate bi-product of the financial crisis will be a rise in disputes, including litigation, as corporate purchasers become less inclined to waive or ignore potential liability claims.
Morrison & Foerster has one of the most active sourcing law firm practices internationally. Recent engagements include representation of the UK’s official Revenue & Customs authority as well as New York University Hospitals Center in its long-term IT sourcing agreement with IBM and Lenovo Group valued at more than $600 million. The group’s key members handle global projects primarily from the firm’s New York, London and Hong Kong offices.
Please click here to see the full 2009 Sourcing Trends "
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Kodak to Acquire BBH Scanners
If you haven't seen it, here' s the announcement, which was made late yesterday. If the deal goes through, which it's expected to before the end of March (AIIM 2009 is in late March-early April), it could be the end of an era for one of the pioneers in the document scanner business. Bell + Howell entered the scanner business more than 20 years ago, in 1986, with the acquisition of Image Peripherals, Inc. (IPI)- the North American arm of a Belgian scanner company co-founded by Dan and Roland Borrey. Bell + Howell went on to tremendous success with its Copiscan and Copiscan II scanner lines, before hitting a rough patch, when it was nearly acquired by Kodak in late 2000. An inquiry by the U.S. Justice Dept. put off that sale, even as Bell + Howell sold its much large product services business to Kodak. BBH scanners then rebounded strongly, landing a huge deal with FedEx that was followed up by the launch of its successful Spectrum series of high-speed scanners.
The news out of BBH scanners over the past few years has always been positive, but that fact is, aside from the introduction of fairly revolutionary large format scanner a couple years ago, there hasn't been too much substantial to report on. And as scanning was not core to parent Bowe Systec's business, the writing was probably on the wall. Plus, we even predicted in last week's issue of DIR that the economy and market environment was ripe for some hardware consolidation. I guess we were right.
The news out of BBH scanners over the past few years has always been positive, but that fact is, aside from the introduction of fairly revolutionary large format scanner a couple years ago, there hasn't been too much substantial to report on. And as scanning was not core to parent Bowe Systec's business, the writing was probably on the wall. Plus, we even predicted in last week's issue of DIR that the economy and market environment was ripe for some hardware consolidation. I guess we were right.
Monday, January 12, 2009
SOA and the value of the pound
Received two interesting and unrelated e-mails over the course of the past couple days:
Here's the first. (It discusses how you can save on software purchases by buying them through U.K. sites, because the pound is relatively right now)
Weak UK pound benefits US buyers of Scan2CAD raster to vector conversion software.
The worldwide credit crisis has resulted in the weakest British pound for many years. For US CAD and CNC software buyers, this provides a ray of sunshine in what is otherwise a generally gray and gloomy economic prospect. The current weak British pound allows US buyers of British software to take advanatage of a favorable strong dollar / weak pound exchange rate to save around 20% on their purchases.
Softcover International Limited, the UK publisher of the industry-leading Scan2CAD automatic raster to vector conversion software, has announced US buyers purchasing Scan2CAD Pro from its UK-based website, www.softcover.com, will save around 20% or approximately US $100 on the US $498 list price. A saving of about US $60 is to be had on Scan2CAD Regular (list price US $298).
These savings are only available while the British pound is in its current weak state. Any strengthening in the pound and the savings will be reduced. However, any further weakening in the pound and the savings will increase. Interested buyers wanting to save money should take advantage of this situation while the pound is weak to buy Scan2CAD now.
Today's (2009.01.12) opening exchange rate is GBP £1 = USD $1.49, among the lowest in more than six years, down from a peak of $2.1160 last November. The last time the pound fell at this speed was in 1992. Any US CAD and CNC buyers purchasing Scan2CAD now will get the biggest bang for their buck available in automatic raster to vector conversion today.
advice. - END OF RELEASE
Does this work for scanners too?
Release number two:
This is a release for a book on SOA implementations. As some background, I mentioned SOA as one the trends document imaging professionals need to be aware of in 2009. Despite some setbacks, I don't believe that SOA is DOA and apparently, the author of this book doesn't think so either.
Here the release, which is fairly comprehensive and includes some interesitng points:
"Seven steps to SOA nirvana…
'Adopting a services-oriented architecture should be undertaken as a gradual process, working toward your vision of a new IT enterprise which is more responsive to business drivers,' says expert Tom Termini.
Complex concepts have emerged over the past few years regarding the potential productivity an organization can achieve with their web site. But few take the mystery out of as well as a new book titled The Zen of SOA by Tom Termini.
Termini has created an executive blueprint which describes how top management can look and move forward with clear goals, appropriate resources and confidence. Termini explains how Zen can be applied in the development and deployment of a system architecture in a manner easily understood by managers making them more effective in the complex world of information technology.
The key in this quest is to act as a mediator who understands the roles of the critical actors and players and to adopt a posture that is both flexible and resilient.
Termini sees the adoption of SOA as a continuum.
Among the many ideas he recommends to successfully deploy an effective SOA:
1. Learn from others – study what worked for other organizations that may have had parallel processes, or similar objectives to yours. For example, at the Federal Trade Commission, we learned that commodity hardware and software promote the transition toward a fully-realized SOA. From the detritus of a failed EAI effort, the fruits of a SOA success can be found with the creative application of an “agile” approach.
2. Maintain a “baby-steps” approach toward a fully-realized SOA – expectations are more realistic, costs are spread over a longer period, risk is deferred, and you have the opportunity to foster organizational adoption. Cultural resistance is often the primary reason for failure in enterprise IT endeavors. If your adoption posture is incremental, you will lessen the impact on your organization, customers, and partners so they can assimilate change gradually.
3. SOA is more about the business customer than about IT innovation. Service-Oriented Architecture, when rolled out successfully, can empower the people driving the business processes in your organization, free up limited Information technology resources, and improve flexibility to meet change. While on task at the U.S. Department of Justice, we learned a portal is integral to Web-enabling the enterprise. Why? It provides the single, simple point-of-entry to the SOA-enabled systems for the less-technical business user. We found the portal was excellent at answering the question, where do I go to find what we already have? It also simplifies the human interface, since all Web applications share the look-and-feel or some derivative of the portal’s cascading style sheet. Finally, the portal simplifies single-sign-on access - and ease of access means greater acceptance by the user community.
4. ESB does not equal SOA. Providing an enterprise services bus (ESB) to your organization does not mean you have a SOA. Gaining a full grasp of this concept is key to embracing the Zen of SOA. Think commodity software as well as hardware: one of the keys to SOA success. While we’ve found the messaging layer to be critical, often time success can be achieved by simplifying a few key business processes and SOA-enabling with a web service. Example: customer record lookup, because so many systems touch on that process.
5. Manage the SOA as part of the whole enterprise. Think of the SOA approach as a layer to simplify complexity – as above, consider the customer lookup process. What vital information needs to be presented to a consuming service? This layer does not stand apart from the organization’s larger enterprise; rather, it supports the business architecture. The underlying services orchestrate and communicate business processes-these components are part of the technical architecture. Internal developers, external consumers and others will require access to reuse SOA services.
6. Measure progress and communicate results. The successful implementation of any SOA must be driven from the top down. This means gaining early wins that engage senior management. Define three or four metrics and regularly communicate results.
7. Promote SOA as the Future. Implementation of a SOA blueprint may never fully end, because business processes change or new ones are required. Your target architecture inevitably will evolve to accommodate changes in the external environment and corresponding adjustments to organizational goals.
Here's the first. (It discusses how you can save on software purchases by buying them through U.K. sites, because the pound is relatively right now)
Weak UK pound benefits US buyers of Scan2CAD raster to vector conversion software.
The worldwide credit crisis has resulted in the weakest British pound for many years. For US CAD and CNC software buyers, this provides a ray of sunshine in what is otherwise a generally gray and gloomy economic prospect. The current weak British pound allows US buyers of British software to take advanatage of a favorable strong dollar / weak pound exchange rate to save around 20% on their purchases.
Softcover International Limited, the UK publisher of the industry-leading Scan2CAD automatic raster to vector conversion software, has announced US buyers purchasing Scan2CAD Pro from its UK-based website, www.softcover.com, will save around 20% or approximately US $100 on the US $498 list price. A saving of about US $60 is to be had on Scan2CAD Regular (list price US $298).
These savings are only available while the British pound is in its current weak state. Any strengthening in the pound and the savings will be reduced. However, any further weakening in the pound and the savings will increase. Interested buyers wanting to save money should take advantage of this situation while the pound is weak to buy Scan2CAD now.
Today's (2009.01.12) opening exchange rate is GBP £1 = USD $1.49, among the lowest in more than six years, down from a peak of $2.1160 last November. The last time the pound fell at this speed was in 1992. Any US CAD and CNC buyers purchasing Scan2CAD now will get the biggest bang for their buck available in automatic raster to vector conversion today.
advice. - END OF RELEASE
Does this work for scanners too?
Release number two:
This is a release for a book on SOA implementations. As some background, I mentioned SOA as one the trends document imaging professionals need to be aware of in 2009. Despite some setbacks, I don't believe that SOA is DOA and apparently, the author of this book doesn't think so either.
Here the release, which is fairly comprehensive and includes some interesitng points:
"Seven steps to SOA nirvana…
'Adopting a services-oriented architecture should be undertaken as a gradual process, working toward your vision of a new IT enterprise which is more responsive to business drivers,' says expert Tom Termini.
Complex concepts have emerged over the past few years regarding the potential productivity an organization can achieve with their web site. But few take the mystery out of as well as a new book titled The Zen of SOA by Tom Termini.
Termini has created an executive blueprint which describes how top management can look and move forward with clear goals, appropriate resources and confidence. Termini explains how Zen can be applied in the development and deployment of a system architecture in a manner easily understood by managers making them more effective in the complex world of information technology.
The key in this quest is to act as a mediator who understands the roles of the critical actors and players and to adopt a posture that is both flexible and resilient.
Termini sees the adoption of SOA as a continuum.
Among the many ideas he recommends to successfully deploy an effective SOA:
1. Learn from others – study what worked for other organizations that may have had parallel processes, or similar objectives to yours. For example, at the Federal Trade Commission, we learned that commodity hardware and software promote the transition toward a fully-realized SOA. From the detritus of a failed EAI effort, the fruits of a SOA success can be found with the creative application of an “agile” approach.
2. Maintain a “baby-steps” approach toward a fully-realized SOA – expectations are more realistic, costs are spread over a longer period, risk is deferred, and you have the opportunity to foster organizational adoption. Cultural resistance is often the primary reason for failure in enterprise IT endeavors. If your adoption posture is incremental, you will lessen the impact on your organization, customers, and partners so they can assimilate change gradually.
3. SOA is more about the business customer than about IT innovation. Service-Oriented Architecture, when rolled out successfully, can empower the people driving the business processes in your organization, free up limited Information technology resources, and improve flexibility to meet change. While on task at the U.S. Department of Justice, we learned a portal is integral to Web-enabling the enterprise. Why? It provides the single, simple point-of-entry to the SOA-enabled systems for the less-technical business user. We found the portal was excellent at answering the question, where do I go to find what we already have? It also simplifies the human interface, since all Web applications share the look-and-feel or some derivative of the portal’s cascading style sheet. Finally, the portal simplifies single-sign-on access - and ease of access means greater acceptance by the user community.
4. ESB does not equal SOA. Providing an enterprise services bus (ESB) to your organization does not mean you have a SOA. Gaining a full grasp of this concept is key to embracing the Zen of SOA. Think commodity software as well as hardware: one of the keys to SOA success. While we’ve found the messaging layer to be critical, often time success can be achieved by simplifying a few key business processes and SOA-enabling with a web service. Example: customer record lookup, because so many systems touch on that process.
5. Manage the SOA as part of the whole enterprise. Think of the SOA approach as a layer to simplify complexity – as above, consider the customer lookup process. What vital information needs to be presented to a consuming service? This layer does not stand apart from the organization’s larger enterprise; rather, it supports the business architecture. The underlying services orchestrate and communicate business processes-these components are part of the technical architecture. Internal developers, external consumers and others will require access to reuse SOA services.
6. Measure progress and communicate results. The successful implementation of any SOA must be driven from the top down. This means gaining early wins that engage senior management. Define three or four metrics and regularly communicate results.
7. Promote SOA as the Future. Implementation of a SOA blueprint may never fully end, because business processes change or new ones are required. Your target architecture inevitably will evolve to accommodate changes in the external environment and corresponding adjustments to organizational goals.
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