 |
In this Issue: |
> GENERAL INTEREST
Spherion’s employee confidence index rose 0.7 points to 49.1 in November from the previous month with a jump in the number of workers saying they are likely to search for a new job in the next year. Thirty-seven percent of workers in November said they would likely seek a new job in the next 12 months, up from 32% in October, according to the index’s survey. The jump of five percentage points is the largest increase in almost two years.
According to IDC, following three consecutive quarters of decline, overall PC shipments in the third quarter rose 2.3% from the same period a year. Lower prices and consumer laptops were the key drivers. Shipments of mobile PCs increased 33.5% from a year ago, with netbooks seeing a 37% gain over the second quarter. While shipments of commercial PCs continued to fall, the rate of decline started to slow in the third quarter, an indication that IT spending will gradually pick up in upcoming quarters.
The US Conference Board’s leading economic index released today rose 0.9% in November, its eighth consecutive month of increases. It now stands at 104.9 (2004=100). “The indicators point to a bright new year,” said Ken Goldstein, economist at The Conference Board. “Looking ahead, we can expect a slowly improving economy through 2010.”
A new report by Prognos for the Association of the Bavarian Economy (VBW) reveals that Germany is heading for a massive shortage of skilled and unskilled workers by the year 2015. VBW President, Bertram Brossardt, said “it is more than surprising that the worst economic crisis in the history of the Federal Republic has not changed this outlook. The shortage applies to all levels from unskilled labourers to university educated professionals. We are not even going to have enough lawyers and teachers.”
Information technology departments are understaffed in relation to their workloads said 43% of CIOs in a survey by Robert Half Technology. Another 53% said their departments were at the appropriate staff level, 3% said they were somewhat overstaffed, and 1% didn’t know or had no answer, according to the survey. “Many companies have cut technology staff levels too deeply, making it challenging for IT departments to keep pace with demands,” said Dave Willmer, executive director of Robert Half Technology. “Although businesses may be able to operate with stretched teams in the short term, being perpetually understaffed isn’t sustainable and can detract from the overall productivity and morale of the organization.” The survey included more than 1,400 chief information officers in the U.S. from companies with 100 or more employees.
Canada added 79,100 jobs in November from October, according to seasonally adjusted numbers released by Statistics Canada.
U.S. temporary help payrolls rose by 52,400 jobs in November from October, continuing an upward trend that began in August.
A new survey by the Institute of the German Economy (IW) carried out among 44 industry associations across the country reveals that whilst the majority of industry sectors believe that the worst of the crisis is over, the majority also believe that further redundancies will be inevitable in 2010. Twenty out of the fourty-four surveyed industry associations forecast that business will be slightly better in 2010 than it was in 2009.
The latest British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Monthly Business Survey, reveals the extent to which company cash flow is being squeezed and the increasing number of employees in the private sector facing pay cuts or freezes. The results from 400 companies across the UK show that a staggering 58% of businesses are planning wage freezes and half of firms are considering or certain to make redundancies in the next six months.
In its annual employment Barometer Report for 2010, the UK Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) forecasts that the coming year will be better for jobs than 2009, but unemployment will continue to rise until at least the summer and there will be below inflation pay increases for most people in work. Although 2009 saw fewer than expected job losses, the CIPD warns of a sting in the tail of the recession with a winter rise in redundancies as employers assess prospects for the economy in the coming year and decide that they will need to raise productivity and reduce labour costs. In forecasting what the CIPD report describes as a ‘jobs-light/pay tight recovery’, Dr Philpott concludes that tough times await UK workplaces in the next few years.
> COMPANY NEWS
Wind Mobile is now live and offering contract-free, unlimited voice and data plans after jumping regulatory hurdles to compete in Canada’s wireless industry. The new national cell phone brand from Globalive Wireless Management Corp. opened up 18 retail locations across Toronto and several stores in Calgary. Wind Mobile will sell phones out of its own stores and in Blockbuster video stores. Globalive’s launch plans were brought to a halt Oct. 29 when the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) revoked its licence to operate a national network. The regulatory body was concerned with foreign ownership by Cairo-based Orascom Telecom. But Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement overturned that ruling and gave Wind Mobile the go-ahead to launch just before Christmas.
> MERGER & ACQUISITION ACTIVITY
In order to boost its Wave product, Google has acquired AppJet, which makes the EtherPad real-time workgroup collaboration application. Googles comments, “AppJet is a team of highly-talented entrepreneurs with deep expertise in real-time web collaboration. Google and AppJet have a shared vision of how web collaboration can benefit users, and we’re excited to have the AppJet team contribute to the success of Google Wave.” Wave consolidates e-mail, instant messaging and document sharing, and is considered a potential game-changer both in the consumer online services market and in the enterprise collaboration space. EtherPad, described by AppJet as a “Web-based word processor that allows people to work together in really real-time” will keep operating until the end of March 2010, at which point all existing hosted accounts will be deleted.
IBM has acquired database security vendor Guardium, but declines to reveal terms. Guardium makes technology that provides real-time monitoring of database activity, allowing companies to detect fraud, outside attacks and other illegal activities. The privately held Waltham, Massachusetts, company has about 150 employees and 400 customers, according to CEO Ram Metser. Its products will be rolled into IBM’s sprawling Information on Demand product portfolio. Currently, Guardium’s software supports a wide range of database platforms and IBM has no plans to change that, given the heterogenous nature of its customers’ IT environments, according to Arvind Krishna, general manager in the IBM Information Management division. “We have to be able to support them, and only expect to add [more platform support] over time.”
Microsoft has acquired Opalis Software and will use its data center automation expertise to bring greater run-book automation to Microsoft’s core data center management system, System Center. No price was announced in the deal. Establishing a run book is considered a best practice that documents, often in a three-ring binder, the steps needed to accomplish a multistep workflow to launch a new resource or maintain existing resources in the data center. It’s designed to reduce human errors, the most common cause of data center outages. Run-book automation lets an automated system execute the steps instead of IT staffers. Opalis produces Integration Server, a centralized management tool that integrates information from monitoring systems and provides a rules engine-based workflow to automate IT procedures.
Microsoft is buying Sentillion Inc., a privately held developer of software tools for the healthcare industry. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Sentillion offers identity and access management systems for healthcare environments. Its products include the Vergence single sign-on tool, proVision automatic provisioning system, and Tap & Go authentication system. Sentillion’s customers include University of Pennsylvania Health System, the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs, Kettering Health Network, and Texas Children’s Hospital. Microsoft officials said the acquisition will deepen the company’s presence in the growing market for healthcare IT systems. Microsoft is stepping up its investments in the healthcare IT market, which is expected to experience solid growth in light of President Obama’s mandate that all citizens’ healthcare records must be digitized by 2014.
In a bid to boost its location-based services, TeleCommunication Systems is paying $170 million for Networks In Motion. Networks in Motion specializes in enabling mobile operators to enhance or offer navigation services for cell phones and smartphones with GPS chips. The privately held company developed a navigation platform that is used by Verizon Wireless, MetroPCS, Telus, and Virgin Mobile. The deal is a combination of cash and stock, is subject to shareholder approval, and is expected to close by the end of the month. The acquisition will help TCS capitalize on the surge in the LBS market; a report from ABI Research expects the market to hit $13.3 billion in the next four years. Enterprise services, like fleet management and workforce tracking, will account for the bulk of this growth, but personal navigation services like Verizon’s VZ Navigator are also expected to see an uptick in use and revenue.
Nuance Communications, a maker of speech-recognition software, has acquired SpinVox, a provider of voice-to-text services to telecommunications companies, for $102.5 million in cash and stock. Nuance plans to integrate SpinVox’s carrier services with its own software platform to expand Nuance’s telecom offerings. SpinVox’s technology coverts voice mails into text that can be sent to mobile phones or as e-mail messages. Nuance says there is a growing demand for voice-to-text services, given that the number of voice mail boxes worldwide has passed 1 billion. More than 150 billion voice mails are generated each year, according to the vendor. Nuance, which makes Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech-recognition software, says the combination of the two companies’ technologies will produce carrier-grade voice-to-text services capable of handling millions of messages per day. The combined platform will comprise full and partial speech automation, Web services integration, and other advanced features. In addition, Nuance plans to offer broader language support, including English, Spanish, German, Italian, French, and Portuguese; and says SpinVox will lengthen Nuance’s customer list to include major carriers throughout North America, Europe, South America, and Australia.
> PRIMARY SOURCES:
IT World Canada – http://www.itworldcanada.com
Ottawa Business Journal – http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com
ZDNet – http://www.zdnet.com
Information Week – http://www.informationweek.com
