BT may go to court over digital spectrum plans
December 30, 2009

The British government's plans for providing fast broadband internet connection to each and every British household by 2012 -- in part by extending mobile broadband licenses to incumbent mobile operators -- have caused some concern at BT. BT said yesterday it could even take legal action against the government if it goes ahead with its plans.

BT sent a "letter before action" to the business secretary Lord Mandelson, in which the company took issue with the idea that the available wireless spectrum licenses be extended to incumbent mobile operators without a spectrum auction.

A spokesperson explained: "BT believes that the proposals gift large value of spectrum to the incumbent mobile operators without any real provision to promote new entry or competition. Extending the 3G licences (twelve years before they expire) without a full auction is a large subsidy to mobile operators, at the expense of the tax payer, and is unfair to other investors in the communications market."

The representative continued, "The proposed spectrum caps risk a carving up of new and existing spectrum between the existing mobile operators with no real provision for new entry. BT believes that a full and open consultation should be held on these proposals and will press for significant changes to be made in order to address the areas of concern."

The representative went on to say that BT is calling for the contracts to be auctioned off in a way that stimulates competition in the market for both existing operators and new entrants.

Posted by Jason Stamper on 12:02 PM | Comments (1)

Merry Christmas!
December 24, 2009

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our readers, from the editorial team at CBR.

We've got lots of exciting plans for 2010, including a website refresh, a brand new CBR VIP Panel to help us keep our coverage grounded in reality and take the pulse of the IT community, CBR Awards and much more.

So we hope to see you again next year!

Happy holidays,
Jason Stamper, CBR editor.

Posted by Jason Stamper on 5:17 PM | Comments (0)

Posted by Jason Stamper on 5:16 PM | Comments (0)

Compuware extends user experience testing to mobiles
December 11, 2009

This week application management and testing player Compuware announced Vantage for Mobile, which it says could help mobile operators increase their own profitability by helping them monitor and enhance the end user experience.

Speaking to CBR, Ian Clarke, director of telecoms at Compuware, said that this is a technology that mobile operators have been seeking for some time: "We have spoken to over 20 operators in the last six months, and they confirmed that they have not solved the problem of gaining visibility into what mobile users are actually seeing," he said.

"Companies need that visibility if they are to deliver real value and additional services," added Jerry Witkowicz, Compuware product manager for Vantage for Mobile.

Clarke said that Vantage for Mobile enables mobile operators to quickly see what is hampering end user experience - whether it is the device, the network they are using, the Internet itself or indeed the mobile operators' applications. "Not all the performance issues are related to the mobile operator necessarily," said Clarke.

"This technology enables those operators to see where a problem might lie, which is just as important if it is a performance issue that is outside their own scope, like the device or the Internet itself, because that is information they can then share with those customers having difficulties," Clarke said.

Clarke said that the pricing of the technology is based on how many subscribers a mobile operator has. He claimed that two thirds of those 22 mobile operators that Compuware polled about their mobile user experience monitoring capabilities are "actively engaged" in discussions with a view to buying into the Compuware Vantage for Mobile technology.

Asked whether it is possible that some mobile operators will expose the information provided by Vantage for Mobile to their customers, Witkowicz said, "Absolutely. Many of those mobile operators are wanting to do exactly that as a value added service for subscribers, so we will be enabling them to share some or all of the information gathered by Vantage for Mobile with those subscribers."

For more on this news see our CBR news story here.

Posted by Jason Stamper on 4:45 PM | Comments (0)

Most influential of the decade? Vote now!
December 8, 2009

We're compiling an article on the most influential technologists of the decade, and we'd like to know who you think should walk away with top honours.

We've compiled a shortlist of over 20 for you to choose from, but you can also add your own choice at the bottom of the survey if you think we've missed someone crucial.

It will only take you a moment and we'd be very grateful to have your vote. You may simply want to see who's made it onto our shortlist. Either way, please click here to complete the quick survey.

Thanks!
Jason

Posted by Jason Stamper on 1:16 PM | Comments (0)

CBR podcast: co-founder and COO of open source integration firm, Talend
December 7, 2009

Last week I hooked up with the co-founder, COO and chief architect of open source data integration player, Talend. My interview with him was under embargo until today, because it's today that the firm announced the launch of Integration Suite Life Cycle Platform (LCP).

In the podcast, I asked Fabrice Bonan why the open source model appealed when he first developed Talend's integration technology, before going on to ask him why a customer would choose Talend over and abover other data integration firms.

Bonan also discusses to what extent integration should go on in the cloud (as opposed to on-premise), and of course we move on to talk about the latest release: Integration Suite Life Cycle Platform (LCP), which is said to extend the suite with automated testing and code validation to multi-environment project repository management.

Listen to the podcast by clicking here.

Bonan: only integrate in the cloud if your data is there already.

Please follow me on twitter: twitter.com/jasonstamper

Posted by Jason Stamper on 4:18 PM | Comments (0)

SMBs 'get' social media, still read trade mags
December 4, 2009

One in four small to medium sized businesses in the UK are using social media to connect with customers, according to a survey by Daryl Willcox Publishing.

The survey revealed that 27% of those questioned use social media platforms such as blogging, Twitter, Facebook and online forums as part of their marketing activity. 285 companies ranging from 1 to 250 employees took part in the research.

When looking at the use of trade magazines, 88% said they read relevant publications to keep up to date with developments and competitors in their industry. The ways trade magazines are influencing businesses range from putting new business processes in place (32%), training staff in new areas (21%), targeting new customer demographics (27%) and implementing new technology (28%).

The respondents, who represent over 80 industries including catering, health and fitness, construction, automotive, property, education and finance, also used a range of external marketing services to increase their online presence. Over half had paid for services such as email marketing and search engine optimisation. Nearly a fifth had invested in external PR services.

Results showed that over three quarters of businesses were confident when using the Internet to interact with existing and potential customers. Half were very confident, while a further 35% were fairly confident.

"This survey shows that small and medium businesses are showing real imagination when it comes to choosing marketing techniques," said Daryl Willcox, founder of Daryl Willcox Publishing. "Many are embracing social media and combining this with more traditional marketing methods. Companies realise the importance of being visible online and are recognising the benefits of having an up-to-date digital presence."

40% of those who took part in the research said they had advertised in trade magazines. However, direct mail was the most widely used medium to publicise services - 60% of businesses said they marketed themselves this way. 43% used press release distribution services, while 35% had taken out newspaper advertisements.

Posted by Jason Stamper on 11:58 AM | Comments (0)

Don't roll back in anger! Riffing on security in the cloud

One of the first questions that delegates at CBR Dining Club events ask when you talk about cloud-based services, is 'how do I know my data will remain safe?'

So it's little surprise that security vendors are starting to respond to the need for reassurance in this space, with a mixture of security technologies for cloud service providers, and increased virtualisation security that will be key for companies building their own private clouds.

But what are the real threats in the virtual and cloud worlds, and what can you do about them?

Continue reading "Don't roll back in anger! Riffing on security in the cloud"

Posted by Jason Stamper on 11:28 AM | Comments (0)

IBM confirms Guardium database security acquisition

It was one of the worst-kept secrets in the technology sector M&A market of the year: IBM confirmed it is buying database security firm Guardium.

In the official press release financial terms were not disclosed, though it had been reported that the deal was valued at around $225m.

"Guardium gives clients unprecedented visibility and control over their data access activities while taking advantage of automation to deliver rapid return on investment," said Ram Metser, Guardium CEO. "The combination of IBM and Guardium provides clients with a comprehensive solution for safeguarding critical enterprise information and preventing fraud without the complexity of traditional approaches."

IBM said it will integrate Guardium within IBM's Information Management Software portfolio, which it claims has more than 35,000 experts dedicated to, "helping clients use information as a strategic asset to transform their business". This marks the 28th acquisition to support the Information Management initiative.

I recently recorded a podcast with the head of that division, Ambuj Goyal, in which I asked him about another recent acquisition, that of predictive analytics form SPSS. You can listen to that podcast here.

My analysis of why IBM would want to acquire Guardium, meanwhile, is here.

Posted by Jason Stamper on 9:35 AM | Comments (0)