Oracle Takes The Midrange Fight To IBM
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

I've said it before and I will say it again: IBM may come to rue the day in the spring of 2009 when it let the former Sun Microsystems slip from its hands and fall into the loving arms of Oracle co-founder and CEO Larry Ellison. The company owns JD Edwards, one of the biggest ERP suites still on the IBM i platform, and it now, with the Sparc T4 announced last week, has a decent processor for entry and midrange systems on which to run that software. READ MORE >

Business Risk Analysis: The New 'Alba'-rithm
by Alex Woodie

How big of a threat does Jessica Alba pose to your business? Consider this: the Hollywood starlet is credited with helping to bring down the Target.com website three weeks ago after she tweeted about how excited she was with one of Target's new Missoni products. The event reveals the previously unforeseen impact that new social networking, mobile, and cloud technologies can have on businesses, and poses a wake-up call for executives to reevaluate their business risk strategies. READ MORE >

Velocity Buys JD Edwards App Hoster WTS
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Velocity Technology Services, an application hosting provider with a specialty in Lawson M3 and S3 ERP suites and Kronos time keeping and employee management software, got together a bundle of cash earlier this year and is now using that money to expand its business. Last week, Velocity announced that it acquired WTS, an application hoster and disaster recovery provider that specializes in JD Edwards ERP suites and has more than a passing interest in the Power Systems-IBM i platform. READ MORE >

Mad Dog 21/21: Bier Or Hospice, That Persistent Thirst For Legacy
by Hesh Wiener

There aren't many places where you can sell old real or virtual machinery for more than new, but it can be done in the computer business. Legacy technology sold at a premium price prevails in IBM's proprietary i and z lines. Still, just because IBM has worked its magic in the past and even though Big Blue promises to do it again in the immediate future, there really is no assurance of perpetual success. Here are three and a half threats to the status quo: Amazon, Apple, and Google, and Wintel. READ MORE >