But Wait, There's More

IBM Utterly Demolishes iSeries 825 HA Server Prices

The iSeries 825 High Availability Edition server is not an inexpensive unit. According to IBM's list prices, they begin at approximately $447,000 and top out at roughly $641,000. IBM must have some sitting in the barn, because it is blowing them out at big discounts. And we mean big.

Three optionally equipped 825 HA servers are eligible for the discounts. Each has six fully activated processors with 6600 CPWs of capacity. The primary distinctions between models pertain to increasing amounts of main storage and total number of disk units. There are smaller feature distinctions as well, so read all the fine print. The base 825 HA box is selling for $116,018, which is a 74 percent discount; it includes a machine with 3 GB of main memory and 176 GB of disk. The middle configuration has 6 GB of main memory and 879 GB of disk; it costs $198,858 after a 63 percent discount. And the heavy 825 HA box has 15 GB of main memory and 2.8 TB of disk capacity, all for $307,779, which is a 52 percent discount.

All of the servers include OS/400 V5R2 or i5/OS V5R3 on independent ASPs, a technology that allows data and applications residing in an I/O tower to be switched between a primary server and a backup server. Each server requires a license for qualifying high availability ISV software, which is available from software vendors DataMirror, iTera, Lakeview Technologies, Maximum Availability, and Vision Solutions. Additional details on this discounting program can be found at the IBM Clearance Corner or on the iSeries HA Web site.

Two Flaws Found in Kerberos Authentication, iSeries Impact Unknown

Two security flaws discovered in the Kerberos authentication mechanism last week could allow hackers to crash or take control of affected computers. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which developed Kerberos and distributes it under an open source license, labeled the two flaws "critical" in its advisories, which can be found here and here. Kerberos, along with Enterprise Identity Mapping, is a key ingredient in the single sign-on technology created by IBM Rochester for iSeries and other servers. IBM, like Sun Microsystems, Red Hat, and other vendors, embeds Kerberos software into its applications and system software. IBM did not respond to requests for information about the affect these Kerberos security flaws have on OS/400 servers at press time. MIT has issued patches for the two flaws and says the flaws will be fixed in an upcoming release of Kerberos, krb5-1.4.2.

It's All About the Cooperation, ASNA Says

ASNA has successfully delivered software development products for users of IBM's System/3X, AS/400, and iSeries since the early 1980s. Twelve years ago, the San Antonio-based company made a strategic decision to shift its development tools emphasis to the Windows platform because of mounting frustrations that stemmed from the proprietary nature of the iSeries operating system. The tensions between ASNA and IBM grew from that point. The relationship between the two firms may not be as bad as they once were, considering that ASNA and its .NET strategy are now included in the iSeries Developer Roadmap, but ASNA makes no bones about its teamwork with Microsoft being far more productive than its cooperative endeavors with IBM.

Last week at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference ASNA, trumpeted its relationship, praising the comprehensive support the company was receiving from Microsoft. ASNA president Anne Ferguson says: "Since joining its partner program, we've received an unprecedented amount of support and endorsement of our products from Microsoft. That speaks volumes in terms of the value we place upon our relationship with Microsoft. In our view, it is helping us make our market, not break it."

In many iSeries shops where a substantial amount of programming is done, there are a group of RPG programmers and a group of .NET, Visual Basic, and C# programmers. Often the two factions barely recognize one another. ASNA's product, Visual RPG for .NET, is an option that puts those developers into more or less the same camp, with a goal of transforming legacy iSeries applications into Web-enabled, service-oriented IT strategies. Some true blue iSeries loyalists claim this is a stab in the back. Others see it as a business decision that companies have to make in their own best interests. At this point in time Ferguson sees it from a business partnership standpoint. "Four years ago, Microsoft invited ASNA to participate in the Visual Studio Industry Partner Program and other related partner programs," she said. "I can assure you that participating as a partner with Microsoft has undoubtedly been one of the best business decisions ASNA has made."

Signs of Life Noted in Market for Supply Chain Software

After two years of decline, the market for supply chain management software showed growth in 2004, according to an AMR Research report released this month. The Boston analyst group found the market for software that controls the movement of goods increased by 4 percent last year to $5.47 billion. This less-than-torrid pace of growth for SCM software will cool somewhat in 2005, as AMR predicts the market will grow less than 1 percent to $5.52 billion. The fruits of 2004's growth were not evenly distributed among the leading SCM vendors, AMR found, with industry juggernaut SAP posting a class-best 11 percent gain in SCM-related revenues, to $619 million, while i2 Technologies, the second largest SCM vendor in 2004, continued its slide with a 21 percent dip in SCM-related revenues to $319 million. AMR predicts that Oracle, currently the number three SCM vendor, will more than double its SCM-related revenues as a result of its acquisitions of PeopleSoft and J.D. Edwards to vie with SAP for the lead in 2005 with $604 million in sales; Oracle and PeopleSoft were the number three and four vendors in 2004, with a combined sales of $554 million.

Number five on the list for 2004, Manhattan Associates, whose OS/400-based warehouse management system is still considered the gold-standard in that niche, posted a respectable 9 percent increase in SCM-related revenues for 2004 and has inherited in 2005 the number four spot occupied by PeopleSoft in 2004. Rounding out the bottom five were: IBS, another strong iSeries player, which grew its SCM-related revenues 9 percent to $191 million; Manugistics, which saw its SCM-related revenues decrease 18 percent to $187 million; Infor Global Solutions, which saw its SCM-related revenues more than triple to $150 million (mostly as the result of its acquisition of MAPICS); Swisslog, a Switzerland-based developer of logistics applications for Windows, Linux, and Unix operating systems, which saw its revenues decline 3 percent to $128 million; and RedPrairie, a developer of a Java-based warehouse management system, which increased revenues 6 percent to $115 million.

AMR says that some of the major forces driving the SCM sector these days include RFID, increasing requirements for industry-specific applications, market consolidation, a move to the midmarket, and a shift from software license to services. "For SCM providers, the past four years have been a tough ride, leaving many vendors to question their strategy while seeing the emergence of a new set of market leaders," said Lora Cecere, an analyst with AMR. "The applications that sell today have changed, as has the way customers buy."

Lawson Nearly Doubles Profits Despite 13 Percent Drop in Revenue

Revenues dried up significantly for Lawson Software last quarter, but smart management allowed the ERP software vendor to nearly double its profits, nonetheless. The St Paul, Minnesota company's revenues shrunk nearly $13 million, or 13 percent, to about $87 million for the fourth quarter, which ended May 31. Most of that shrinkage can be attributed to a precipitous 36 percent drop in license revenues, from about $27 million to about $17.5 million, while the remainder can be chalked up to a modest 5 percent decrease in services revenues, to about $69.5 million. Despite the appreciable drop in revenues, the company reported net income of $5.9 million for the quarter, compared with $3.5 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004 (these are GAAP numbers, not pie-in-the-sky pro forma numbers). This increase is the result of an additional $700,000 in interest income and the absence of a $1.2 million tax valuation allowance, which was recorded in prior year's quarter, the company says.

For fiscal 2005, the company recorded a profit of $5.3 million on revenues of $335.2 million, compared to a net income of $8 million on total revenues of $363.6 million for 2004. Harry Debes, the midrange veteran who took over as Lawson's CEO and president last month, when Lawson and Intentia announced their planned merger, says the fourth quarter results show that the current management team can turn the business in the right direction "With our spending now at a run rate that makes sense, we can focus more of our attention on growing revenue," he says. "Looking forward, the acquisition of Intentia International will give us a greater customer base into which we can cross- and up-sell our applications."

IBM Positions Linux in Better Light

Has the confidence level of IT decision-makers been reached? Of course, IBM is going to say yes. In an article published on the IBM Web site titled "IT Tectonics: What's Driving the Shift From Unix to Linux", IBM first cites an IT manager survey by the Robert Francis Group that provides evidence the current Linux 2.6 kernel is ready for enterprise workloads. The article's major points in favor of Linux are that it can't be developed into proprietary products; that IT directors are now making decisions based on corporate business strategy, operating system technical capabilities, future directional options, and long-range support issues; and that software vendors have an advantage when porting to Linux because they don't have to maintaining multiple code bases as they enhance their products.

Before wrapping up its pro-Linux annotations, IBM brings in Greg Mancusi-Ungaro, the director of marketing for Novell's SUSE Linux line, to provide his viewpoint on Sun Microsystems Solaris and the open source community. Sun's decision to open source Solaris adds some intrigue to the Linux/Unix battle, and Mancusi-Ungaro has opinions about this just like many others.