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06/18/2013 06:18:27 Daily, February 13IT Analysts Turn The Table And Analyze Us
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In This Issue:
1. Editor's Note: IT Analysts Turn The Table And Analyze Us
2. Today's Top Story: Don't Bug Me
- Critical Bugs Sting Lotus Notes
Related Stories:
- Microsoft Plans To Patch 7 Flaws Next Week
- Security Specialists At Demo Paint Bleak Picture
3. Breaking News
- IT Execs Taking Cautious Approach To RIM Workaround Plan
- Microsoft Tells Device Makers: We'll Foot Your Legal Bills
- Google Grabs Half Of Booming Web-Search Market
- This Week In Google: From Desktop To Demo
- Fresh U.S. Outrage Ahead Of China Internet Hearings
- Study: 51% Of Hires Culled From Internet Sources
- Yahoo Adds Features To Firefox Toolbar
- Skype Adds Presence Feature To VoIP
- Firms Turn Cybersleuths With Cell-Phone Technology
- Report: Global IT Spending To Reach $1.3 Trillion By 2009
- Firm Touts 'Dick Tracy' Video Wristband
- Security 'Geek' Advised New Harrison Ford Movie
4. Grab Bag: News You Need From Around The Web
- Craigslist Accused Of Ad Discriminating
- Everyday Gadgets Go 'Smarting' Off
- 'Throttling' Angers Netflix Heavy Renters
- Google: Searching For Respect On The Hill
5. In Depth: Taking Care Of Business
- Oracle Cuts 2,000 Jobs As Part Of Siebel Deal
- Gateway CEO Inouye Resigns; Stock Falls
- Gates Sells 9 Million Shares, Pockets $245 Million
- Apple To (Big) Apple And Boston
- Symantec Makes Data-Center Bid With Relicore Buy
- ACS To Cut 1,700 Jobs, Former CEO Gets $4 Million Payout
6. Voice Of Authority
- Langa Letter: Deep-Geek File And Disk Tools
7. White Papers
- Application Delivery And Web Application Firewalls Are
Ready To Converge
8. Get More Out Of InformationWeek
9. Manage Your Newsletter Subscription
Quote of the day:
"Call on God, but row away from the rocks." -- Indian proverb
How dare we?! That was typical of the angry responses that came
flying back after InformationWeek published our assessment
of the sometimes-murky relationships that exist between IT
research firms and the technology companies they cover in the
Feb. 6 cover story, "Credibility Of Analysts."
How dare InformationWeek suggest that business dealings
might influence analyst reports? How dare we put Gartner CEO Gene
Hall's photo on the cover with such a provocative ("Can You Trust
This Man?") headline? How dare InformationWeek point
fingers when a major source of our own revenue comes from the
tech industry? Oh, and by the way, the story, by editors-at-large
Larry Greenemeier and Paul McDougall (and edited by me), didn't
turn up anything new anyway.
When tech media meets tech research, analysis is a two-way
street, and now it's time to hear what the subjects of our story
thought about InformationWeek's report on them. We've
received phone calls, letters, E-mail, and blog responses from PR
people, analysts, tech companies, and IT professionals--some
praising us for our moxie, others hammering us for our execution.
"Very even-handed," wrote one analyst with a major firm, who
shoots to the top of my list of the most objective and
knowledgeable analysts out there.
Others were less impressed. Analyst Mike Rothman refers to our
story as being mostly irrelevant on his blog. But Rothman also
had this to say: "If you are going to go on a witch hunt, you
better find some witches. They are out there..."
Nancy Erskine of Gartner's office of the ombudsman offers a
measured response in a blog posting titled, "Credibility Of
Analysts: Gartner Put To The Test." Erskine tried to set the
record straight in a number of areas where she felt
InformationWeek gave readers the wrong impression.
Gartner does not, she writes, create reports that are funded by
tech vendors. (InformationWeek didn't say that Gartner did
engage in that practice, but we did say it's not unusual for
research firms in general to do so. She's right to make the
clarification.) Erskine also points out that Gartner no longer
has a stake in the SI Venture Fund II hedge fund, which invests
in technology companies. That was our mistake. But it doesn't
change the fact that Gartner did once have an investment in SI
Ventures at the same time that SI Ventures had an investment in
tech company Authentor and that, during that same period, Gartner
was quoted in press releases issued by Authentor.
Surprisingly, Erskine says nothing about the headline that
appeared on the cover alongside Gartner CEO Hall's picture: "Can
You Trust This Man?" It's tough language, to be sure, but a
legitimate rhetorical question to be asked of the top executive
of the largest IT research firm. Thousands of Gartner customers
might give a resounding "yes" to that question, but there may be
others who aren't so sure.
You can read more of the feedback we got, and my take on it, by
going to my blog entry. What do you think about the
credibility of IT analysts or the way we covered the subject?
Leave a comment and let us know.
John Foley
Critical Bugs Sting Lotus Notes
Related Stories:
Microsoft Plans To Patch 7 Flaws Next Week
Security Specialists At Demo Paint Bleak Picture
IT Execs Taking Cautious Approach To RIM Workaround Plan
Microsoft Tells Device Makers: We'll Foot Your Legal Bills
Google Grabs Half Of Booming Web-Search Market
This Week In Google: From Desktop To Demo
Fresh U.S. Outrage Ahead Of China Internet Hearings (Reuters)
Study: 51% Of Hires Culled From Internet Sources
Yahoo Adds Features To Firefox Toolbar
Skype Adds Presence Feature To VoIP
Firms Turn Cybersleuths With Cell-Phone Technology (Reuters)
Report: Global IT Spending To Reach $1.3 Trillion By 2009
Firm Touts 'Dick Tracy' Video Wristband
Security 'Geek' Advised New Harrison Ford Movie
In the current episode:
Alex Wolfe with "Virtualization Is Hot!"
Peter Gorenstein with "Ellison's Wallet"
Do You Access Our Content From A BlackBerry Or A Treo?
How Does China's Information Security Measure up?
Participate! Do You Deserve A Raise?
-----------------------------------------
Craigslist Accused Of Ad Discriminating (AP)
Everyday Gadgets Go 'Smarting' Off (USA TODAY)
'Throttling' Angers Netflix Heavy Renters (AP)
Google: Searching For Respect On The Hill (BusinessWeek)
Oracle Cuts 2,000 Jobs As Part Of Siebel Deal (Reuters)
Gateway CEO Inouye Resigns; Stock Falls (Reuters)
Gates Sells 9 Million Shares, Pockets $245 Million
Apple To (Big) Apple And Boston
Symantec Makes Data-Center Bid With Relicore Buy
ACS To Cut 1,700 Jobs, Former CEO Gets $4 Million Payout
Langa Letter: Deep-Geek File And Disk Tools
Application Delivery And Web Application Firewalls Are Ready To Converge
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InformationWeek Daily Newsletter
1. Editor's Note: IT Analysts Turn The Table And Analyze Us
jpfoley@cmp.com
www.informationweek.com
2. Today's Top Story: Don't Bug Me
Some of the six holes can allow attackers to hijack corporate
systems even if users only view incoming E-mail.
At least two of the seven will be rated "critical," which by the company's
definition means that the vulnerability can be remotely exploited.
Panelists at the technology showcase agreed security problems
will be around for a while and suggested different ways for
reducing the risk.
While applauding efforts to avoid a service shutdown, IT managers
say they want to test Research In Motion's workaround software
for corporate BlackBerry users before they implement it.
Says it will lift all caps on legal fees it will pay against
intellectual property lawsuits.
U.S. Web surfers conducted 5.1 billion searches in the last month
of 2005, compared with 3.3 billion during the same period a year
ago, Nielsen/NetRatings said.
The search-engine behemoth continues to dominate the news, from
speculation that it's building its own Internet to talk that it's
poised to launch a PayPal competitor.
Lawmakers are lining up to condemn Chinese censorship and any
role Yahoo, Google, and other American vendors may play in it.
House subcommittee hearings on the issue start this week.
Newspaper classified ads, traditionally a major source of
employment hiring, were the source of just 5% of new hires, the
study found.
With the right mouse button, toolbar users will be able to access
Yahoo Search, Web mail, instant messaging, and Yahoo's social
networking site, 360 Degrees.
Called SkypeWeb, the feature allows users to see who among their
contacts is available for phone calls or E-mail.
Although employees must give permission to have their cell phones
tracked, not everyone is happy about the practice.
Health care, government, utilities, and communications and media
are expected to lead the pack.
The 3-inch, wristwatch-sized LCD screen attached to the wrist
enables ground troops and pilots to view real-time video images
taken by helicopters and drones.
The founder of a managed security services firm was on-set for
three weeks, acting as technical adviser for Ford's new movie,
"Firewall," which involves a high-tech bank heist.
----- The latest research, polls, and tools -----
Many of our readers do, and we want to ensure that you get the
best experience when using our content. So we've created a
PDA-friendly version of our news content, with similarly
streamlined content pages that should make the PDA experience a
good one. Check out our latest enhancement.
We invite you to compare the similarities and differences in the
security practices and experiences of U.S. and Chinese companies
with this online security tool from InformationWeek and Accenture,
a management-consulting and technology-services company.
Is your career on track? The editors of InformationWeek magazine
invite you to participate in our ninth annual National IT Salary
Survey. Here's why you should participate: It's fast. It's
convenient. It's confidential. We'll compare your salary and
job-satisfaction responses to those of your peers in a
30-plus-page report.
4. Grab Bag: News You Need From Around The Web
A federal lawsuit accuses the online site Craigslist of violating
fair housing laws by publishing discriminatory classified ads,
reviving the question of what legal boundaries, if any, should
exist for postings on the Internet.
Regular old dumb stuff is getting smart and connected. A lot of
technology companies focus on making computers more powerful and
Internet connections faster. But a major trend is pushing in
another direction--toward getting cheap computer chips and
limited networking capabilities into products that never used to
have such technology.
The little-known practice, called "throttling" by critics, means
Netflix customers who pay the same price for the same service are
often treated differently, depending on their rental patterns.
Google has a Washington problem. Since it started hiring for its
public-policy team last year, the Web giant hasn't snagged a
single high-profile Republican. Indeed, Washington's GOP ruling
elite isn't giving Google the time of day.
5. In Depth: Taking Care Of Business
Cost-cutting aside, applications and database revenue are
expected to rise during the rest of this year.
Wayne Inouye has left to "pursue other interests," and chairman
Rick Snyder will assume his post on an interim basis.
Even after the sales, Gates still owns more than 988 million
shares of Microsoft, which were worth $26.3 billion at Friday's
midmorning price.
The New York megastore will be open this year. Apple has been expanding
its chain of retail stores as its iPod family takes off.
Relicore's Clarity package locates all applications running on
managed servers, tracks key configurations, maps the dependencies
of those servers and applications, and keeps that data current in
real time.
Affiliated Computer Services cutbacks will focus on the service
company's operations in Mexico, according to an SEC filing.
A major brain-fade forces Fred Langa to search for the most
powerful recovery tools he could find.
This complimentary report explains that the Web application
security and application delivery markets have developed
separately but are ripe for consolidation. Integrating products
from these two markets will bring benefits in performance,
management, and cost savings.
8. Get More Out Of InformationWeek
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