If Hewlett-Packard really ousts CEO Leo Apotheker barely a year into his tenure, no one can say the move—however drastic—was unexpected. Apotheker presided over a disastrous period for the venerable computing giant, but many say the HP board should follow him out the door. Read more »
HP has confirmed that it has started laying off members of the webOS team, a reduction that is reported to be 525 employees. It’s not surprising given HP’s decision not to build webOS devices. But it seems like another sign that the platform will not survive. Read more »
Not only does Samsung not want to buy HP’s PC business, it also says it wants nothing to do with buying webOS. Samsung’s CEO made that clear Friday while talking with reporters at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin. Read more »
We’ve seen a storm of speculation about webOS in the wake of Hewlett-Packard’s decision to discontinue its line of smartphones and tablets running the platform. Some suggest that players like HTC, Samsung or even Amazon could license the technology, while others believe HP is looking to sell the ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
So, that personal computer business that HP doesn’t want anymore? The one with the largest market share in the world? Samsung isn’t interested either. The company attempted to put an end to rumors it was considering taking over HP’s laptop and desktop unit on its blog. Read more »
Todd Bradley, EVP of the personal systems group at Hewlett-Packard talks to Bloomberg TV about the future of HP’s PC business that brings in more than $40 billion a year. He also makes no bones about his desire to keep running it. Read more »
With power accounting for between 30 and 50 percent of functional operating costs in a data center, power consumption is on everyone’s mind. So much so that at semiconductor conference Hotchips on Friday, Intel and AMD, two companies that have long competed around processor performance, spent hours discussing ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Europe’s web scene is now thriving, and we’ve compiled a list featuring some of the best and brightest European web startups — what we’re dubbing the GigaOM Euro 20. Depending on how closely you watch Europe’s online scene, some of these companies may be familiar to you. Others you may not have heard of. But all of them are worth watching closely. In this report, we profile the 20 startups that we feel best represent Europe’s current tech scene. We have organized our list around perception, and as lists go, it is intended to be a guideline rather than a rule book. It’s not exhaustive, and clearly, with such a diverse and vibrant continent as our playing field, it never could be. Companies mentioned in this report include GetJar, Huddle, Made.com and Songkick. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Hewlett-Packard plans to spend some $10.25 billion to acquire Autonomy, the United Kingdom–based software and services company. HP’s balance sheet currently has $13 billion in cash. Why is the company making such a big bet? According to HP’s CEO, Leo Apotheker, it’s now or never. Read more »
Hewlett-Packard searching for a new role for itself in the post PC world is looking to sell its PC hardware business, according to Bloomberg. The company is also looking to buy enterprise search giant, Autonomy for $10 billion. Read more »
Google’s acquisition of Motorola was largely a defensive move to protect itself from the patent-litigation feeding frenzy. But it also provides an opportunity for Google to increase Android’s presence in a tablet market that is currently dominated by ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Google rocked the mobile world on Monday, August 15, with the news that it will buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, marking a 63-percent premium for the handset manufacturer. It’s a move that ushers Google into the exclusive club of companies that control both the hardware and software elements of their smartphone offerings, and it will enable Google to design handsets that are more closely integrated with Android. However, the deal doesn’t come without its risks, and it remains to be seen just how it will affect other handset makers, competition from Microsoft and the crucial patent issues currently surrounding Google. Companies mentioned in this report include Apple, Research In Motion and Samsung. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The non-iPad tablet market is relatively young, but the iPad is still running away with the lion’s share of the tablet market. Aside from the iPad, consumers and enterprises can choose from tablets running on Android, BlackBerry and webOS. But are they buying? Here are a ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
On Thursday Amazon announced three enhancements to its cloud computing offering. These include improvements to existing virtual private cloud and identity management solutions as well as a new option to directly connect enterprise networks to machines in Amazon’s Virginia data center, as Derrick Harris recounts and Amazon’s Jeff Barr ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Millennials — workers between the ages of 20 and 29 who grew up with ubiquitous cell phone and Internet availability — are now a dominant force in today’s enterprise. Is your company ready for them? This report, the second in a two-part series, examines the tensions ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Big data and Platform-as-a-Service offerings highlighted the second quarter, suggesting that we can expect to see a shift in enterprise IT practices around application development and analytics very soon. On the PaaS front, we saw new projects like DotCloud and Cloud Foundry gain incredible momentum in just a few short months. The big-data activity ranged from major new Hadoop vendors to heavy investment in flash storage that will speed the serving of data to processing engines. In other areas, we saw an uptick in cloud-computing plans from large vendors, OpenStack continued to mature and pick up both contributors and users, and Facebook caught our eye by launching an open-source project around the designs for its specialized servers and data centers. Additional companies mentioned in this report include VMware, Salesforce.com, IBM, Heroku and Calxeda. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The second quarter of 2011 in mobile was all about smartphones, thanks to Google’s Android, Apple’s iOS and mobile data consumption ramping up. In the tablet space, the iPad lacked any real competition, though that dominance will surely fade as more and more alternatives — from Cisco, HP and others — emerge. Elsewhere, location-based marketing finally made some headlines, and the groundwork for near-field communications looks to be finally falling into place. Additional companies in this report include Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft and Research In Motion. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Cloud computing has grown from a pie-in-the-sky vision to a major IT movement over the past few years. As its promise has grown, though, so too has its scope. This report covers six key sectors in cloud computing: commodity Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), enterprise IaaS, Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), cloud storage and private clouds. We highlight the current state of each and provide informed insights into where they — and cloud computing in general — are headed. Much like any market in a still-evolving state, the infrastructure of the cloud-computing transition is still being built by startups, practitioners and even a big-name company or two. Companies mentioned in this report include VMware, Amazon, Nasuni, Terremark and Heroku. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The market for enterprise tablets shows enormous promise as end users take their own devices to work and IT departments begin to deploy the new gadgets. But a small army of manufacturers is vying for a slice of the market, and competition will be fierce. Read more »
Tablets have gone mainstream, and now those devices — from the iPad to Research in Motion’s new PlayBook — are headed to the enterprise. This trend is largely driven by end users who prefer to bring their own devices to work, which is creating a fruitful marketplace for both hardware manufacturers and app developers. This report examines the current state of tablets in the enterprise, from use cases to market drivers, and analyzes which players will be worth watching in the coming months. Additional companies mentioned in this report include Apple, Google, Samsung and Nokia. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The global economy continues to face uncertainty, but despite this, many technology companies have cash on hand and are opting to spend it on mergers and acquisitions. Here we examine some likely strategies from five different companies: IBM, Oracle, HP, Cisco and Hewlett-Packard. Read more »
The debate over whether the future of mobile data lies in native applications vs. Web-based offerings is often depicted as a Darwinian contest where only one will survive. But the truth is much more complex than some pundits would have you believe. Read more »
Maui is set to become a smart grid showcase, courtesy of Japanese giants like Hitachi, Sharp and Hewlett-Packard Japan. These companies are among the partners that signed on to a long-range project announced Tuesday, aimed at integrating the Hawaiian Island’s renewable power and plug-in vehicles to come. Read more »
Is the greentech industry headed for a breakout year or is it retrenching for hard times to come? The first three months of 2011 provided evidence that could support both assertions, with a big rise in venture capital investment and a big drop-off in global energy financing. Solar power remained the largest green technology sector in terms of venture capital investment, while in the world of electric vehicles, GM’s Chevy Volt hybrid and Nissan’s all-electric Leaf — the first two mainstream plug-in vehicles — hit the showroom floors in significant numbers. Meanwhile the smart grid sector’s relative dearth of VC investment was more than made up for by the massive round of acquisitions. Companies mentioned in this report include NRG Energy, Microsoft, Silver Spring Networks, Tesla and BrightSource Energy. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Two markets stand out above all else when looking at the first quarter of 2011: infrastructure as a service (IaaS) — the epitome of cloud computing — and big data. Amazon Web Services continues to lead the IaaS space in terms of customers and innovation, while Rackspace, buoyed by momentum around OpenStack, will be its primary competitor for mainstream customers. In the big data space, there are so many players and terms floating about it’s difficult for outsiders to get a handle on who’s who and what’s what, though such activity validates the technologies. Other developments this quarter included HP’s impending presence in the cloud computing and big data spaces and the realization that Intel won’t be left to die if low-power servers based on x86 processors catch on like the buzz late last year suggests they will. Additional companies mentioned in this report include VMware, Microsoft, Cloudera, SeaMicro and Facebook. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Last week, the bipartisan Kerry-McCain bill proposed legislation on a Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights that would put the FTC in charge of policing the online collection, sharing and use of personal information. That has far-reaching implications for the online media business. Read more »
Cloud computing, a surge of smartphone growth and increased wireless connectivity have created an ideal environment for the introduction of the media tablet — a consumer-grade device best suited to leisure-based computing activities such as gaming and social networking. This report forecasts the media tablet market, which is expected to grow at a 54 percent compound annual growth rate over the next five years. We forecast revenues and regional growth, including China’s growing importance in the market, and provide a competitive analysis of tablets from Cisco, Research in Motion, Apple, HP and others. Additional companies in this report include Samsung, Dell, Microsoft and Motorola. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Within the next five years, smartphones will account for more than one-third of all handsets sold worldwide, thanks largely to platforms like Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. This research covers the global handset platforms market for the period between 2011 and 2015. We first examine the factors contributing to this worldwide growth, from a slowly recovering economy to the rise of technologies like 4G and LTE. Regional factors affect growth, too, and our research includes a forecast for the following areas: the Americas; Europe; the Middle East and Africa; and Asia-Pacific. Forecasts are on a global and regional basis for the most important platforms: Android, Apple iOS, BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows Mobile. Companies mentioned in this report include Apple, Google, Nokia, Research in Motion and Microsoft. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Hadoop has been used by large web companies for applications such as search engines, but the reality is that the project is so much more. This report takes a closer look, examining what Hadoop is (and isn’t), who’s doing what to productize it and why we can expect to see the market pick up serious steam in 2011. We profile the growing number of companies — from startups like MapR to Cloudera, the arguable leader in the space — using Hadoop, the challenges still hindering widespread adoption and where potential users can expect the market to go as we move through 2011 and beyond. Companies mentioned in this report include Yahoo, Facebook, EMC, Teradata and Appistry. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Business and IT leaders now face significant opportunities and challenges with big data — that is data sets that are so large they are difficult to store, manage and analyze. This report explores the rapidly evolving big data business and technology ecosystem. It examines big data in the context of several different industries: financial services, health care, sports, travel and media. We explore the different big data technologies — from Hadoop and NoSQL derivatives to cloud-based collaboration tools — and their various benefits for enterprises. And we examine some of the existing challenges big data poses, and what enterprise IT leaders can do to overcome them. Companies mentioned in this report include Amazon Web Services, Google, Teradata, IBM and Cloudera. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Does iPad 2 live up to the enormous amount of hype surrounding it? The answer is yes, and this research note explains why. We examine new features on the device and how they will help Apple grasp an even tighter hold on the tablet market, what that means for competitors like Google and Samsung and why the device could be the best example yet of computing in what Steve Jobs calls “the post-PC world.” Companies mentioned in this report include Apple, Motorola, Samsung and Google. For a full list of companies, and to read the full research note, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
With enterprise data volumes growing, business and IT leaders face significant opportunities and challenges from big data. Using cloud-computing technologies, organizations are experimenting with distributed data stores, cloud compute capacity for data analytics, hosted data integration and even operational databases in the cloud. Hadoop/MapReduce, meanwhile, has moved past test and development stage to become a viable extension or alternative to traditional relational databases. Though the space is not without its obstacles, including plenty of privacy concerns, there are numerous sales-growth opportunities and new business models finally surfacing in 2011. Companies mentioned in this report include Google, IBM, Apple, Oracle, Salesforce and VMware. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Greentech marked its best year ever in 2010, and part of that is thanks to the wealth of activity across sectors during the fourth quarter. Global investment in clean energy surged, and while wind power remained the biggest greentech area, solar power saw the fastest growth. The energy efficiency sector appears to have more room for smaller players to make their mark amidst a rapidly maturing market. Meanwhile, China’s stance as a growing greentech giant continued to complicate its relationship with the United States. Companies mentioned in this report include General Electric, Intel, ZigBee, iControl, People Power and EnerNOC. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Some might call this past quarter in the infrastructure space transformative. The rise of ARM-based processing suggests the days of x86 dominance might be coming to an end, while the Amazon Web Services-WikiLeaks controversy cast new light on the legal aspects of cloud computing. Big data got bigger, meanwhile, as the Hadoop ecosystem expanded, and amid all these cutting-edge technologies, two archaic topics — Novell and Java — proved they aren’t going anywhere soon. Companies mentioned in this report include Intel, AMD, Amazon Web Services, IBM, Yahoo, Appistry, VMware, Joyent and Microsoft. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
We’ve already covered the trends that began to shape up in the infrastructure market in 2010 and will really materialize in 2011. Several companies played — and will continue to play — a big role in making those trends happen. From Facebook to Cloudera to Microsoft, here ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The greentech industry’s 2010 showing wasn’t so bad, especially for a year that saw the world recovering from a once-in-a-generation economic meltdown. But despite this, venture capitalists won’t be investing in the sector like they used to, solar startups won’t see a great growth year in ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Microsoft’s Windows Phone won’t hit the shelves until next month, but the OS is already drawing accolades from many. If the operating system really does restore Microsoft’s lost relevance in mobile, which handset makers will it affect and who will the eventual winners and losers be? Read more »
Eager to get over the embarrassing departure of former chairman and CEO Mark Hurd, who joined Oracle and was subsequently sued by his former employer, Hewlett-Packard has named a new CEO — but the response to its choice has been underwhelming at best. Read more »
Eager to get over the embarrassing departure of former chairman and CEO Mark Hurd, who joined Oracle and was subsequently sued by his former employer, Hewlett-Packard has named a new CEO — but the response to its choice has been underwhelming at best. Read more »
