IT Channel News Briefs, Oct. 8 |
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By Staff
08 Oct 2008 | SearchITChannel.com |
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Information technology (IT) channel news in brief for Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008.
Symantec acquires MessageLabs
Symantec acquired MessageLabs, a U.K.-based vendor of messaging and Web security services, for $695 million today. Symantec plans to use the MessageLabs acquisition to bolster its own Software as a Service (SaaS) platform, the Symantec Protection Network. The company said MessageLabs will give customers a broader range of SaaS offerings and more partners to buy them from.
The Symantec Protection Network faced months of delays before debuting in February. At last year's Partner Engage conference, some partners were concerned about Symantec's SaaS push, fearing that it could take away from their on-premise software sales. The MessageLabs acquisition could reignite those flames at this year's Partner Engage, which is next week in Washington, D.C.
The companies expect the deal to close by the end of the year.
Oracle acquires Primavera for product portfolio management
Oracle announced this morning that it acquired Primavera Software, a product portfolio management (PPM) application provider. The acquisition is meant to boost Oracle's operational applications. Primavera's software helps companies propose, prioritize and select project investments, as well as plan and manage complex portfolios.
Oracle expects to provide a comprehensive portfolio management solution, helping users allocate resources more effectively to reduce costs, meet delivery dates and make decisions based on real-time data. Primavera employees and management are expected to join Oracle and form a global PPM business unit to help ensure a smooth transition for Primavera customers and partners. The deal is expected to close by the end of the 2008. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Dell launches federal certification path
Dell launched a federal certification program this week, giving partners co-branded marketing materials, extended deal registration for 120 days, contract-specific information, discounts and training material specifically for federal government accounts. Dell claims it works with more than 95% of U.S. federal agencies and understands the value of building long-term relationships with these users. Dell also says it has 250 employees dedicated to serving the federal government community and 30 employees specifically assigned to serve the government-focused channel.
SAP's Business Objects updates analytics
The new BusinessObjects XI 3.1 release adds support for 64-bit infrastructure and new graphical ways to display analytics results, including box plots and scatter plots. The product, an update to version 3.0 released earlier this year, adds integration to the latest Oracle database. Also new to this release are links to Hewlett-Packard Neoview and Teradata data warehouses, Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 and SharePoint server 2007.
Check out yesterday's IT channel news briefs.
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