Recent Articles
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Industry Watchers: Don’t Think Microsoft Is Down for the Count
Just because Microsoft has said it will comply immediately with a European Court judge’s order to follow specified antitrust remedies doesn’t mean life will be a bowl of cherries for Microsoft’s partners, developers and even its competitors. Industry watchers said they will be watching exactly how Microsoft makes good on the court-ordered removal of Windows…
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Checking Up on 2004 Channel Moves
The nature of a column is to hop from subject to subject. Indeed, Walter Lippmann once compared the press to “a searchlight that moves restlessly about.” With 2004 coming to a close, it’s as good a time as any to re-illuminate a few of the year’s Channel Insider episodes. In June, Andre Yee, president and…
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Analysts Upbeat on EMC’s Smarts Buy
Storage vendor EMC Corp. continues its metamorphosis into a software company with another acquisition. Analysts said its Tuesday purchase of Smarts Inc. provides a long-needed enhancement to the intelligence of its core-event management and correlation technologies. Analysts said the move, the latest in EMC’s software acquisitions this year, may spark similar moves for intelligent storage…
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How to Negotiate with Oracle Post-Canary Swallowing
When it comes to sales and to negotiating licensing and support, Oracle has always been stocked with tough-as-nails negotiators. The company at times has attempted to domesticate its team, such as in August when it released its first-ever set of guidelines to instruct its direct sales staff in North America on how to play nice…
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Cisco to Buy Security Firm Protego
Cisco Systems’ announcement Monday that it will acquire privately held startup Protego Networks for $65 million adds a critical piece to Cisco’s strategy for becoming a security vendor. Over the course of the past year, Cisco has acquired other companies to build its self-defending network and its Network Admission Control technology. With Protego, those capabilities…
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A Chat With Microsoft’s OEM Chief
Not so long ago, Microsoft’s OEM division was seen as the dark heart of the “Evil Empire.” During the Department of Justice (DOJ) vs. Microsoft antitrust trial that dragged on throughout much of the 1990s, the business practices of Microsoft’s OEM unit and its then-chief Joachim Kempin came under tough scrutiny. When the government declared…
