Published on the 04/11/2009 | Written by Newsdesk
iStart’s monthly summary of news and deals affecting New Zealand’s enterprise ICT market, compiled by iStart News Editor Simon Hendery…
Productivity & Business Performance
IT confidence in US bodes well for New Zealand
A survey showing that IT company confidence and turnover is expected to rapidly outpace economic growth in the US spells good news for New Zealand’s IT companies, according to KPMG. The survey of 130 IT companies in the US showed eight out of 10 executives expect business conditions in the technology sector to improve in 2010, with 78 percent expecting stronger revenue and 72 percent expecting improved profitability. KPMG technology partnerAdrian Michael says for those New Zealand IT companies exporting to the US the survey gives real confidence that now there is a better market opportunity for their IT products and solutions.
Businesses can use “context-aware computing” – the concept of harnessing information about people to improve the quality of an organisation’s interaction with them – to better target prospects, increase customer intimacy and improve employee productivity and collaboration, says Gartner. It forecast that by 2012 large businesses will have relationships with between two and 10 context providers, and that by 2015 context will be as influential in mobile consumer services and relationships as search engines are to the web.
Deals, Signings & Implementations
NextWindow selects Oracle’s Agile Product Lifecycle Management
New Zealand-based NextWindow – a designer and manufacturer of optical touch screens for all-in-one PCs, monitors and large-format displays – has selected Oracle’s Agile Product Lifecycle Management to manage the exponential demand for its ground-breaking touch screen technology, which is currently used by PC manufacturers including HP,Sony and Dell.
The country’s newest crown research institute, the New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research, has gone live with SAP Business Suite. After its launch in December last year, combining horticulture, arable and seafood research into a single focussed organisation, Plant & Food Research decided it needed a new integrated solution which could be deployed at speed, delivered the lowest overall total cost of ownership over time and offered scope for customisation.
Statistics New Zealand has engaged IBM for the provision of imaging services for the 2011 Census. Under the two- year agreement, IBM Global Business Services will provide consulting services, systems integration and support services for the supply of imaging services with scanning, recognition and data repair applications.
AXA New Zealand and Gen-i (Telecom’s ICT services subsidiary) have signed a three year contract that builds on the two organisations’ existing relationship to include mobility solutions enabled by Telecom’s new XT mobile network. The contract includes voice, data, mobile, internet and Gen-i’s pricing tool, Optimise, and is expected to save the financial services provider about 30 per cent on its annual telecommunications costs.
Direct selling company Amway has signed up with Vodafone to provide mobile services to its New Zealand resellers. The deal between the two companies will see Vodafone handsets and services being promoted through Amway’s network of ‘independent business owners’ in New Zealand.
New Products & Services
Motorola launches new rugged industrial mobile computer
Motorola has launched its latest rugged mobile computing device, the MC9500-K, into the New Zealand market. Targeted as a productivity tool for workers in sectors such as delivery, transportation and logistics, and field services, the device is the latest addition to Motorola’s MC9000 ruggedised handheld computer platform.
IBM is partnering with eCom, a local specialist business process management solutions provider, to deliver the FileNet solution to clients throughout New Zealand and Australia. FileNet is IBM’s integrated business process management and enterprise content management framework, supported by a service-oriented architecture strategy.
Author-it Software Corporation and Lionbridge Technologies have announced a strategic alliance to create a unified global content lifecycle solution. The two companies say the alliance will enable an integrated solution allowing organisations to create, structure, reuse, localise and publish content into multiple languages and multiple formats from virtually any enterprise source within a single application.
Pingar, the New Zealand-based company that has developed what it calls a next generation “intelligent” search solution, has unveiled the enterprise version of its product which can be embedded into the Microsoft’s soon-to-be-released SharePoint Server 2010 solution.
New Zealand software provider ActionStep has launched a product called CRM+ which it says is aimed at helping businesses boost sales in a tough economic climate. The solution is available as an entry point to the full ActionStep suite of enterprise application tools and the company says it is also fully compatible with other accounting systems.
ISP and telco company Orcon has launched what it says is New Zealand’s first locally-developed cloud computing service for small to medium-sized enterprises. Orcon says the new service, launched under its iSERVE brand, enables businesses to tap in to the benefits of cloud computing and gives them the flexibility of scaling computing requirements up and down to meet their changing demands in a cost-effective way.
Appointments & Departures
Simpson heading public sector for SAP
SAP has appointed Glenn Simpson as account executive for the public sector, based in Wellington. He joins SAP from Indigo, an Oracle BI partner where he was responsible for establishing the Wellington office and growing the company’s business in the southern region.
Joel Ruzich has joined Microsoft’s Specialised Devices & Applications group as senior group category manager for PC peripherals and Office for Mac software across Australia & New Zealand. Since joining Microsoft in 1996, Ruzich has worked on a variety of products with responsibility across both the US and international businesses.
Hitachi Data Systems has appointed Anthony Clarkeand John Wiggs to senior executive roles across its Australia & New Zealand business. Clarke, who previously ran Sun Microsystems’ storage business for ANZ, has been appointed northern region sales director (New South Wales, Queensland and New Zealand). Wiggs, who has worked for PeopleSoft and Oracle, joins HDS as services delivery director for ANZ. Meanwhile HDS has announced two senior internal promotions. Adrian De Luca takes on the new role of ANZ director, pre-sales and solutions, while Greg Cetinich becomes business consulting director across ANZ.
David Stone has been appointed CEO of the Telecommunications Carriers’ Forum. Stone was previously Vodafone New Zealand’s head of industry affairs, and has been a TCF board member for the past two years.
Global analyst and consulting firm Ovum has appointed Nigel Pugh as a consulting director for Australia and New Zealand. Pugh has over twenty years’ experience within the telecommunications industry and was previously director of business broadband products at Telstra.
