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.

Managing Automation selects Omnitrol Networks as one of top 10 companies to watch in 2008

The momentum continues with more recognition from the industry. More on the announcement here. Although the manufacturing industry is hurting from outsourcing to China, we are finding more and more customers looking for cutting-edge innovation to create unique value. This industry epitomizes the arms race going on.

CNN-YouTube Primary Debate

A few days ago, democratic presidential hopefuls took the stage in South Carolina for a debate sponsored by CNN and YouTube in which all of the questions were submitted by users of YouTube. I wonder if this is a one off or if we are going to see more of these web/TV join activities. The quality of the videos were not good, this will be fixed next time in 4 years for sure. By then, the entire debate might be only on YouTube. In the meantime, YouTube could become the media of choice for developing democracies as a platform for expression. You can block a website, but you can't block a wireless network without significantly impacting your own communications and economy. Digital content will find a way out to the open.

Apple reinvents the phone

People have lined up in front of Apple stores all around the country to get their hands on Apple's new device, the iPhone. There are many things that make the iPhone a truly innovative device and much has been written about it already. I'm really interested in seeing how Apple can work with the developer community to create new applications for the iPhone. This has the potential to create a significant ecosystem and get innovative applications quickly. What Apple has been able to achieve with the iPhone is no small feat. It is incredibly hard to line up gorgeous design, cutting edge hardware, and flawless software together. Apple has been able to achieve this because they control all the elements. It is even harder when you only control software for instance.

Apple is moving in the same direction as Google to better control the user experience.
At the same time RIM, the smart phone leader, hasn't come up with anything close to this kind of innovation. A blackberry phone with a simple messaging application is going to look very bad very quickly compared to an iPhone. RIM and Nokia should be afraid, very afraid of this new product.