Omnitrol Networks selected by Endwave for automated RFID-based manufacturing tracking solution

Another great success story for our customers and Omnitrol Networks. Endwave’s Defense and Security business unit is a supplier to both the defense electronics and homeland security industries. As such, their products are under intense scrutiny since they are components of mission-critical systems that are essential to safety and success. Furthermore, key defense contractors and the Department of Defense are starting to request real-time visibility on order status to improve the performance of their own lean manufacturing process. The project focused on automating work-in-process visibility on the assembly line to report progress and needs to customers, management, and suppliers, while also reducing waste and delays in the manufacturing process. Read more about it here.

The MSA Lab at UTSA selects the OMNITROL appliance for research, education, and training

I always believed in winning the developers' hearts and minds by starting with universities. There are no dogmas, no NIH syndrome there. New technology is not seen as a risk but as an opportunity to do things better. The team at the University of Texas San Antonio is working on some really interesting projects involving supply chain visibility, manufacturing and the aerospace industry. Read more here.

Google To Bid For Wireless Spectrum

I'm still having trouble putting my hands around this one. Last week, the Wall Street Journal confirmed that Google was going to apply to bid for wireless spectrum in a January Federal Communications Commission auction.

Why would they want to build their own mobile network? It will squarely run against the interest of their current mobile partners (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile), and if they join forces with one of these companies, they are sure to alienate other partners. The Feds will not like the fact that they would own content, advertising and network. Maybe Google wants to put some pressure on the FCC to make sure carriers won't be able to block Google's content on the airwaves. Companies are evolving to take more control of the consumer around the network triangle.

Social Network Benefits to the B2B World

I've just read with great interest this article about B2B and social networking. I'm hearing the same things from friends in the marketing area. This is clearly changing the landscape of outbound marketing. And in turn, this is going to turn the flow of money from traditional web advertising towards more targeted social networking advertising. This is a short article but very much to the point.

Sun unveils Virtualization Hypervisor

I'm very bullish on virtualization as the next evolution in the data center environment. Here's a very interesting announcement from my former company Sun Microsystems. VMware and Microsoft are the leaders but it's good to see convergence between software and hardware vendors in that space. As a start-up, we see very clearly the benefits of server virtualization for our development efforts. This is giving us a tremendous leg up to get our product out of the door while keeping our IT costs under control.

Google announces Android

Last week, Google announced an open-source mobile operating system called Android. There is no doubt that this will change the way that mobile applications are developed.
As much as I like the people at RIM, they have no innovation on the application side that can resist what Apple and Google are doing to them right now. Ask people why they have a Blackberry today and the answer will be: push email. Messaging was a great differentiator 3 years ago, but for iPhones and Android-based phones, this is not even a table stake anymore.

Operating systems that can accommodate a rich and vibrant developer community will allow the creation of many small innovative applications that will drive revenue for carriers, handset manufacturers and developers. The more revenue they will generate with the platform, the more new developers will invest in this technology. Microsoft's response will be interesting, since they would be the only other serious contender in this battle.

Control of the user is achieved through control of the device, network and content. Google is becoming quite dominant here.

SAP Buys Business Objects for $6.78B

This is a surprise move that breaks with SAP's strategy of avoiding large company acquisitions. But this is a bold move that could pay off as business intelligence and analytic applications are raising to the top of executive lists. Good analysis article here which can be summarized by the customer value of integrating BI tools and vertical industry knowledge.