Intec to host on Wednesday 7 July 14:00 BST, 15:00 CET, 09:00 EST, 17:00 Dubai
TOPIC: The Strategic Value of Content Partnerships How do you empower, enthuse, incentivise and retain the community of creative content and application developers?
Independent Analysis: Mac Taylor, The Moriana Group
Speakers: Monica Ricci and Balaji Srinivasan, Intec
Analyst Q&A webinar, sponsored by MetraTech, on Thursday 22 July 14:00 BST, 15:00 CET, 09:00 EST, 17:00 Dubai
TOPIC: How your billing system can keep up with organisational changes – not yours, but your customer’s Just when you think you have anchored the account hierarchy of your corporate customer, surprise – they change it! But how many billing cycles will your customer allow to pass before they demand that your billing solution correctly reflects their new organisational structure?
Independent Analysis: Dan Baker, Technology Research Institute
Speakers: Adrian King and Pradeep Suchdeo, MetraTech
TEOCO to acquire Israel-based TTI Telecom in US$58m deal
TEOCO Corporation, a provider of cost, routing, and revenue management systems to communications service providers (CSPs) worldwide, and TTI Team Telecom International Ltd, a global supplier to CSPs of operations support systems (OSS), have entered into a definitive merger agreement. Under the deal TEOCO will acquire TTI Telecom in a transaction valued at approximately US$58 million, subject to adjustments.
According to the merger terms, TTI Telecom shareholders will receive US$3.00 per share in cash at the closing. TTI Telecom’s Board of Directors has recommended that shareholders vote to accept it.
Atul Jain, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TEOCO Corporation, said: “We believe that adding TTI’s employees, assets, and solutions under one umbrella will enable TEOCO to provide unprecedented value to our respective clients. This combination brings together two industry leaders whose solutions contribute greatly to increasing the profitability and success of global communications service providers. I am very impressed with the calibre of the people in TTI and their deep expertise in network management.” www.teoco.comBack to top
Empirix acquires Mutina Technology
Service assurance provider adds comprehensive mobile network monitoring capabilities and expands global reach
Empirix Inc., a provider of service quality assurance solutions for new IP communications, has announced the acquisition of privately held Mutina Technology S.p.A., an Italy-based provider of monitoring surveillance and analysis technologies for mobile broadband, next generation networks, SS7/Sigtran signalling, VoD/IPTV, and IP core for telecom and enterprise networks. The acquisition of Mutina strategically expands Empirix’s product line for the monitoring of mobile networks and extends the company’s presence in EMEA and Asia Pacific. Terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed.
The acquisition of Mutina enables Empirix to offer quad-play providers a service assurance solution that gives them an end-to-end view of their networks. Merging these technologies results in a single, easy to use application for the analysis of control, user and data transmission plane information. By combining Empirix’s Hammer XMS™ solution for IMS, VoIP and SS7 networks with the IPXPlorer® system from Mutina, Empirix aims to deliver cutting-edge solutions for mobile broadband, video and data –– representing a truly comprehensive approach for all types of converged network operators. In addition, Mutina’s handheld device will enable technicians to bring the combination of these technologies out into the field to provide real-time service quality. Currently, Mutina’s portfolio is available only as standalone products and work to integrate these offerings into Empirix’s Hammer XMS platform is underway. www.empirix.comBack to top
Mobile Interactive Group acquires Piri Ltd
CRM and mobile marketing technology platforms to accelerate international expansion Mobile Interactive Group (MIG) a global integrated mobile and digital communications business has acquired the mobile marketing and CRM software provider Piri Ltd for an undisclosed sum. The deal is a full acquisition, and is performance related.
MIG has purchased Piri, which was launched in 2006, because of its versatile technology capabilities and platforms which include integrated cross-platform CRM and a self-serve web interface mobile marketing platform. To date, MIG has been strong in working with media and entertainment businesses, mobile network operators, agencies and brands, and has now strengthened its capabilities as it moves into lucrative vertical customer channels, namely enterprise and self-serve markets. www.migcan.comBack to top
Dassault Systèmes buys Exalead for €135m
New openings for search-based apps for enterprises and consumers Dassault Systèmes (DS), a specialist in 3D and product lifecycle management (PLM) systems, has acquired the French company Exalead, a provider of search platforms and search-based applications (SBA) for consumer and business users, for about €135 million.
Every month, over 100 million people rely on Exalead for information search, access and reporting, including people in companies like Sanofi-Aventis and World Bank for business use, and Friendster, Lagardère Active and ViaMichelin for contextual consumer search. Exalead claims to provide the industry’s only platform designed from the ground up to apply advanced semantic processing to web-scale data volumes and usage. Exalead aims to brings scalability, agility and usability to banking, retail, publishing, business services, life sciences and consumer services.
“The world of innovation is everywhere and information-intensive”, said Bernard Charlès, President & CEO, Dassault Systèmes. “Everyone is looking for simplicity with intuitive applications which value the rich information available inside and outside companies. With Exalead and its partners, we can provide a new class of search-based applications for collaborative communities.” www.3ds.comBack to top
Kenya’s Safaricom enhances roaming and fraud prevention
East African operator grows regional list of Syniverse customers Syniverse Technologies has been selected by Kenya’s largest mobile operator, Safaricom, to underpin its mobile roaming services. Safaricom joins a list of more than 50 operators on the continent that rely on Syniverse for a range of roaming, messaging and network solutions.
Michael Joseph, Chief Executive Officer, Safaricom, said efficient, secure roaming operations are essential as Kenya experiences tremendous growth in mobile subscribers. The country is expected to exceed 100% mobile penetration by 2013.
“Our position as a leading operator in Kenya means we have a key role to play in mobile expansion, and we chose Syniverse to support us because of its commitment to, and understanding of, the African market,” Joseph said. “Syniverse will provide us with the essential tools we need to manage our own growth and, at the same time, ensure we can deliver the quality roaming experiences subscribers expect.” www.safaricom.co.kewww.syniverse.comBack to top
First commercial launch of Telmap5 at Pelephone
Telmap, a mobile location systems provider, has announced the first commercial launch of Telmap5 Mobile Location Companion together with Israel-based cellular operator, Pelephone. Telmap offers mobile operators white label, fully hosted and managed search, mapping and navigation solutions. Telmap5 is said to be the world’s first personalised location ‘companion’, accompanying users throughout their on-the-go experience, going beyond in-car and pedestrian navigation. The system will be known to Pelephone users as “Navigator GPS+” and has been customised to reflect the operator’s brand and values.
Navigator GPS+ features several new content layers, enabling users to search for and access up-to-date information from a variety of content providers. Content layer integrations are server-based and can be easily expanded and modified, allowing the addition of endless sources of content without the need to update the client application.
“GPS Navigator is one of Pelephone’s most growing and successful services. The launch leverages the accumulated experience of both companies in defining customer needs while on-the-go”, says Ziv Kessleman, Head of Products and Value Added Services, Pelephone. “We expect that Telmap’s GPS Navigator + will help us achieve the very important milestone of half a million subscribers by the end of the year,” added Kesselman. www.telmap.com Back to top
KPN Group Belgium improves network performance
Acision Broadband Mobility Suite enhances mobile data experience KPN Group Belgium is deploying Acision’s Open Internet Proxy (OIP) to intelligently manage its mobile data traffic flow and improve network performance. As part of the Acision Broadband Mobility Suite, which combines mobile broadband optimisation, policy management and value added services, the Open Internet Proxy will underpin KPN Group Belgium’s geographic mobile broadband solution while reducing total cost of ownership and enhancing the end user experience.
With 25% market share, KPN Group Belgium is continuously investing in its network to keep pace with the rapid increase in data traffic and the demands of new technology. The Acision OIP platform, including WAP and HTTP proxy, will give KPN Group Belgium a single solution for data access and centralisation, providing easy management of mobile data traffic, greater visibility of customers’ requirements and therefore better control and faster delivery of richer value added services. www.acision.comBack to top
NSN helps Finnish operator differentiate on quality
Elisa customers first to enjoy more flexible mobile broadband Elisa has activated new network features from Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) that provide flexible Quality of Service (QoS). This is the first commercial deployment of NSN’s QoS differentiation system built by integrating multiple network elements, including its radio network and network management system. Elisa is prioritising time- and resource-critical traffic to ensure customers receive the service they have paid for, even when networks are congested.
NSN’s QoS differentiation takes effect in heavily loaded networks when requests to use the network can exceed its capacity. It enables prioritisation of data traffic, according to policies determined by subscription agreements, to fairly divide the available resources. Different priorities can be allocated to different user segments or applications and can be applied dynamically depending on the network load. Nokia Siemens Networks QoS aware scheduler also enables Elisa to change QoS priorities even during a data session and maintain a particular bit rate in simultaneous upload and download sessions.
“Elisa will be able to manage its network traffic and utilise its network investments better while providing better services to its customers,” said Tommi Uitto, Head of Product Management, Nokia Siemens Networks. “Quality of Service differentiation does not replace the need for having good mobile broadband capacity and coverage, but it helps maintain high network efficiency and reduces the need for over investing in a network,” he added. www.nokiasiemensnetworks.comBack to top
Streamlining SIM supply logistics and optimising number inventory Evolving Systems, Inc., a leading provider of software solutions and services to the wireless, wireline and IP carrier market, has announced that an unnamed Brazilian operator has selected its Dynamic SIM Allocation™ (DSA) system to streamline its SIM card supply chain logistics and optimise its phone number inventory. A SIM manufacturer will jointly deliver the project.
Due to the operator’s rapid growth, and to comply with number utilisation regulations from ANATEL, Brazil’s telecoms regulator, the operator faced an urgent need to optimise its SIM card provisioning process. The operator carried out an industry-wide evaluation of solutions using functionality, flexibility and vendor experience as key selection criteria and, after an RFP process, chose Evolving Systems’ DSA solution.
Once in production, DSA will revolutionise the operator’s SIM provisioning process, enabling it to activate SIM cards ‘on-the-fly’ upon first use. This will optimise phone number usage, streamline SIM logistics and cut network overheads. DSA will also enable dynamic phone number selection and other value added services, right to the user’s handset upon first use of the network. www.evolving.comBack to top
InfoVista minimises service interruptions for EnergyAustralia
EnergyAustralia has chosen VistaInsight® for Networks and 5View NetFlow™ from InfoVista, a provider of proactive service assurance. The systems are designed to automate performance monitoring and service level reporting across the energy supplier’s networks and thereby enhance the quality of service. EnergyAustralia is one of Australia’s largest gas and electricity suppliers, delivering energy services to about 1.4 million homes and businesses. EnergyAustralia reportedly selected InfoVista because it offers the best architectural fit with its technology strategy as well as the flexibility to deliver a strong ongoing return on investment.
VistaInsight for Networks gives EnergyAustralia the ability to monitor network performance, usage and capacity in real time, and to understand and track where, when and why peaks occur. This information supports the trend analysis needed to accurately adapt and forecast traffic development based on actual utilisation of the company’s networks. 5View NetFlow ensures performance of business critical applications by tracking bandwidth intensive applications, congestion and rogue activity, as well as efficiently performing in-depth application flow analysis. www.energy.com.auwww.infovista.comBack to top
Telcordia win boosts Caribbean next gen service rollout
Upgraded OSS to increase speed, accuracy of operations With a focus on accelerating the rollout of new services, Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) has awarded a contract to Telcordia for its next generation operations support systems (OSS). Telcordia will provide TSTT with an automated fulfilment system incorporating improved visibility of its inventory of network assets, thus accelerating the order-to-cash cycle, improving customer experience, and lowering operations costs.
“The pace of innovation is accelerating and we need the operational accuracy and speed to harness and benefit from it,” said George Hill, Chief Technology Officer at TSTT.
“(TSTT’s) investment in next generation service rollout will provide a platform to accelerate time-to-market for innovative services,” said Adan Pope, Chief Strategy Officer, Telcordia. www.telcordia.comBack to top
Columbus selects Cerillion’s multi-site cable billing system
Louis Hall, CEO Cerillion
Cerillion Technologies, a provider of next generation customer management systems, has won a multi-million dollar contract with cable MSO, Columbus Communications, Inc. to support its operations across multiple countries. Cerillion will implement the Revenue Manager, CRM Plus, Service Manager, Output Streamer and Web Self-Care modules from its pre-integrated product suite, and perform migration from Columbus’ legacy systems. The five-year agreement will see Cerillion’s convergent CRM & Billing system installed in the Columbus data centre in Curacao to support CATV, High Speed Data and voice services for its operations in Curacao serving the Caribbean and Latin America (CALA).
Cerillion’s system will help Columbus to provide innovative product bundles to its customers and to rapidly introduce new services, including the launch of pre-pay video. In addition, pre-integration of CRM processes with the back-office billing functions will enhance the overall customer experience and enable the highest levels of revenue assurance.
Cerillion is delighted to be working with Columbus on this critical transformation project” comments Louis Hall, CEO, Cerillion Technologies. “Columbus has demonstrated its ability to penetrate its existing markets with a compelling service bundle, and we look forward to being a partner as Columbus continues to expand across the CALA region.” www.cerillion.comBack to top
Telstra asks NewBay for mobile social networking service
NewBay LifeCache Social Networking Gateway powers social networking for Australian subscribers
Telstra has selected the company to deploy its new mobile social networking service, Tribe. Powered by NewBay LifeCache Social Networking Gateway (SNG), Tribe provides anytime access to Australia’s most popular online communities: Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. Telstra is providing its customers with unmetered access to the service meaning most Tribe features are available at no cost.
“An increasing number of Australians are accessing social networking sites on their mobiles. To help more Aussies get in on the act, Telstra is providing millions of its Next G™ network customers with access to a NewBay LifeCache-powered service called Tribe,” said Ross Fielding, Executive Director, Telstra Mobility Products. “Tribe allows customers to manage their social profile from a single, easy-to-use portal that can be accessed via a range of Next G™ mobiles – not just smartphones,” he said.
LifeCache SNG provides a single interface and integration point for the operator to quickly and easily connect to the various social networks on the Tribe deck. LifeCache SNG manages the technical and business relationship with each online community. NewBay also provided the user interface and integration with the operator’s infrastructure.
“As each country has its distinct social networking habits it is essential that operators choose flexible technology that can be localised to meet the needs of their own market,” said Nagappan Arunachalam, CMO, NewBay. www.newbay.comBack to top
MACH’s CMO, Lodewijk Cornelis dies on holiday
Lodewicj Cornelis was CMO at MACH
It is with great sadness that we report the sudden death of Lodewijk Cornelis, MACH’s Chief Marketing Officer. Lodewijk leaves behind his wife and young child. A well-known and respected figure in the mobile communications industry and a loving husband and father, he died in a cycling accident while on holiday with his family.
“Our thoughts are with Lodewijk’s family at this sad time,” said Guy Dubois, President and CEO of MACH. “Lodewijk was a unique and special person who loved life to the full, both in the business environment and in his personal life. His limitless energy and shining spirit shone through in all that he did. His tremendous visionary aptitude was admired by all at MACH. I will personally miss him greatly.”
Lodewijk had extensive experience of the telecom industry, starting out in MACH in 1995 as Sales Manager and rising to become Director of Sales & Marketing and Director of Strategy in 2005. He took a one-year sabbatical and then set-up his own company in the Wi-Fi roaming arena. Lodewijk was Head of Sales & Marketing for Cibernet from January 2006 until the merger with MACH, where he returned to take on the role of Chief Marketing Officer. He also undertook humanitarian work for a year in South America and South East Asia. Lodewijk will be sadly missed by his family and all his friends at MACH, to whom everyone at VanillaPlus extends their condolences. www.mach.comBack to top
Rivermuse levels playing field in service assurance
Brings real-time IT operations management for rapid problem isolation to mid-market service providers and enterprises RiverMuse Inc., the provider of next generation, real-time IT operations management software, has launched RiverMuse Pro v2.0, to enable mid-market service providers and enterprises to assure delivery of dynamic IT services through advanced event capture, correlation and alerting. RiverMuse Pro consolidates IT events from all infrastructure components and monitoring tools into one centralised console for rapid problem detection and isolation, and assists in streamlining incident and problem management.
Prior to the release of RiverMuse Pro, sophisticated, high-volume, and real-time IT event consolidation and correlation platforms were mostly implemented by larger service providers and Fortune 2000 organisations. The systems were expensive, taking months or years to implement and require a large number of in-house or consulting staff to maintain. RiverMuse Pro’s next gen architecture simplifies configuration and automates the capability to adjust to infrastructure shifts as they happen. RiverMuse Pro is available today starting at $7,500 annual subscription cost for the entry level, which includes user license and support. www.rivermuse.comBack to top
On Demand Group launches TV SVOD movie service
Three-screen video-on-demand enabler On Demand Group has announced the launch of a TV subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) movie service over SFR Neuf’s network, to add to the transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) service launched in January.
Working with major Hollywood studios, the SVOD service will allow SFR Neuf viewers to watch movies for a monthly subscription. Content is processed and delivered from the group’s London content factory, with many new titles added to the library each month. The SVOD and TVOD services will reach more than two million homes with blockbusters and classic library titles, all on-demand with full DVD-like functionality to pause, rewind and fast-forward. www.ondemand.co.ukBack to top
Mi-Pay 2.0 speeds migration to multi-channel top-up
‘Platform As A Service’ model allows operators to quickly create unified customer payment ‘touch points’ To help operators and MVNOs develop faster, more convenient and accessible customer payment channels, Mi-Pay has extended its mobile top-up and billing platform to offer enhanced multi-channel integration; easily-configurable settings and broader applications. Fully PCI Level 1 Certified, the ultra-secure platform facilitates mobile, online and ATM top-ups as well as SIM purchase and post-paid billing systems.
Supporting payments from over 150 countries, Mi-Pay Version 2.0 can process card, cash and direct payments in multiple languages from multiple hardware and transaction channels; enabling channel portfolios to be custom-built to operators’ exact requirements. Smarter payment services can now be tailored to suit specific country, cultural or system constraints without lengthy timescales, complex processes or heavy investment. www.mi-pay.comBack to top
Customers get true cost calculations of network deployment Plantronics, a provider of personal audio communications, and Netformx, a network planning automation specialist, have announced the inclusion of Plantronics audio devices in the Netformx KnowledgeBase™ framework. The partnership between Plantronics and Netformx marks the first time system integrators and sales engineers have been able to automatically generate complex network plans which include audio endpoints such as headsets and USB phones.
The planning of complex network services involves labour-intensive and error-prone data collection and management processes. Automating the process with Netformx DesignXpert® and leveraging their KnowledgeBase of over two million rules and 200,000+ devices ensures that devices and systems are interoperable, available and updated in accord with company releases. The Plantronics audio devices in the KnowledgeBase will complement the full Cisco UC solution design within Netformx DesignXpert. www.netformx.comwww.plantronics.comBack to top
Content Partnerships Webinar 7 July, 2010 – 14:00 London, 15:00 Paris, 10:00 New York, 18:00 Dubai Hosted by Intec, moderated by VanillaPlus and with guest analyst Mac Taylor, The Moriana Group Free to attend online To register click here www.vanillaplus.com
Billing Systems v Organisational Change Webinar 22 July, 2010 – 14:00 London, 15:00 Paris, 10:00 New York, 18:00 Dubai Hosted by MetraTech, moderated by VanillaPlus and with guest analyst Dan Baker, TRI Free to attend online To register click here www.vanillaplus.com
VanillaPlus Magazine next issue: Out 3 September, 2010
Editorial Features in the August/September issue include:
Are application performance management systems helping much in the cloud?
Securing a better revenue share: Enabling 3rd-party applications
Profitable location-based services are built on personalisation
What’s the future of mobile money transfer?
Convergent billing and charging is still a critical goal for many CSPs
Network sharing brings challenges for the back office
CSPs long for speedy problem-solving to optimise IP service performance
Service Level Management: A growing challenge for carriers
Publication: 3 September, 2010 To secure your copy of VanillaPlus Magazine subscribe (Free in Europe, Middle East and Africa*) at www.vanillaplus.com*Terms & Conditions apply
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A Big Thank You to our main sponsor LHS for their help in bringing you the B/OSS World preview edition of VanillaPlus Bites:
Multi-party Charging and Billing Multi-party billing is designed to enable the support of multiple separate business units within the same system. Multi-party billing is relevant for operators seeking new ways to drive revenue and optimise OpEx by supporting new mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE) or wholesale business models. It is also capable of delivering IT consolidation through the support of corporate accounts or even multi-country billing. Operators are able to make these gains by keeping all business units maintained in one environment with separate secure access, therefore reducing hardware as well as operational efforts normally required to manage multiple systems.?
See how two operators have deployed used multi company charging and billing to support their strategies: O2 Ireland, to host MVNOs and Thuraya, a global satellite communications company, to create an award winning solution that helped them consolidate and simplify their billing operations:
MACH, the leading provider of hub-based mobile communications exchange solutions, will be holding its annual Insights conference in Rome next month. The 3-day event, running from 7-9 June, promises to explore future directions and strategies in the mobile communications market and to ‘sharpen the mobile visions’ of delegates.
More than 100 representatives of the telecommunication industry’s leading mobile network operators, service providers, handset manufacturers and content providers are expected to converge on Rome to discuss some of the hottest topics in the mobile industry, such as mobile broadband, LTE, embedded mobile & M2M, VoIP, WiMAX, roaming trends and optimisation and many more. Through presentations, interactive workshops, ‘meet the expert’ sessions and social events, participants will learn, network and talk to industry experts.
*Special rate for VanillaPlus readers to attend 2010 Billing & OSS World Conference & Expo – save US$425!
B/OSS World is the premier conference and exposition focusing on the business and operations support systems (B/OSS) requirements for all communications service providers. This networking and education event attracts top-level executives and decision makers from domestic and international service providers of all makes and tiers, from rural and independent local exchange carriers to Tier 1 wireline and wireless operators. Through this event, service providers, vendors and other industry experts come together to help move the industry forward. The B/OSS Expo is the place where software for your business and operations comes alive! VanillaPlus has negotiated a special rate for its readers.
Simply go to www.billingworldexpo.com/register and use promo code VAN0609. This will give you a US$425 discount off the Conference & Expo package, no discount is applied to the Expo Only package. This discount must be used by June 4 and may not be applied to previous registrations.
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Tuesday 22 June 14:00 London, 15:00 Paris, 09:00 New York, 17:00 Dubai
Moderated by VanillaPlus, MetraTech will be hosting the next in our series of live, ‘Thought Leadership’ Webinars on Tuesday 22 June at 14:00 GMT (15.00 CET).
Company News: Tekelec pays US$165m to buy Camiant and Blueslice
Frank Plastina, CEO Tekelec
The policy and eSDM partnership trumpeted by Camiant and Blueslice Networks in Barcelona turns into an acquisition by Tekelec Tekelec, the session and mobile data management systems provider, has agreed to acquire two companies working to enhance the broadband internet experience: policy control system specialist, Camiant and subscriber data management (SDM) company, Blueslice Networks.
Under the terms of the deal, Camiant has been acquired by Tekelec for a cash consideration of approximately US$130 million. The purchase price is subject to adjustment based on the amount of working capital assumed by Tekelec.
Tekelec also acquired Blueslice Networks for $35 million in cash on May 5. Tekelec agreed to pay up to an additional $1.5 million in cash to some Blueslice employees upon the achievement of certain integration milestones, and to grant to certain Blueslice employees restricted stock units for shares with an aggregate value of approximately $2 million, subject to meeting integration milestones.
Tekelec says that it will be the only company combining session, policy, and subscriber data management as well as network and business intelligence, and mobile messaging. With these acquisitions Tekelec will help to define next-generation core networks as global service providers evolve to all-internet protocol (IP) architectures such as long-term evolution (LTE) and IP multimedia subsystem (IMS). www.tekelec.comBack to top
Company News: Clarity and Omnix Software merged by their Powerlan parent
Continuing the current spate of mergers and acquisitions, the business and assets of Omnix Software are to be brought under the brand of Clarity, a provider of unified telecoms operational management solutions. The merger with Omnix will enable Clarity to offer network planning, as well as infrastructure and estates management, as part of its unified OSS. Geographically, the merger with UK-based Omnix also provides Clarity with a stronger foothold in the European market, while promoting the Omnix product to Clarity’s existing international customer base.
Clarity and Omnix are both part of Powerlan, a publicly listed Australian company that provides specialist IT products and services. Omnix Software is a provider of systems that help telcos to plan, launch and manage their networks. Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Bristol, Omnix customers include Vodafone, Orange and Telefonica O2. www.clarity.comBack to top
Company News: SAP buys Sybase for US$5.8bn, extends SAP® systems across mobile platforms
SAP’s subsidiary, SAP America, Inc., has agreed to acquire Sybase, Inc., to enable companies to better run “unwired enterprises”. SAP America, Inc., will make an all cash tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of Sybase common stock at $65.00 per share, representing an enterprise value of approximately $5.8 billion. The transaction will be funded from SAP’s cash on hand and a €2.75 billion loan facility arranged and underwritten by Barclays Capital and Deutsche Bank. SAP says its customers will now be able to harness today’s explosion of data, and deliver information and insight in real time to business consumers wherever they work, so that they can make faster, more informed decisions.
SAP will accelerate the reach of its systems across mobile platforms, and drive forward its in-memory computing vision. This will drive higher user adoption of SAP software and unlock significant business value out of existing customer investments.
In addition, Sybase’s innovative mobile platform can connect all applications and data (SAP and non-SAP) and enable them on mobile devices. SAP, Sybase and their customers will be able to tap into Sybase’s messaging network to reach 4 billion mobile subscribers through 850+ operator relationships worldwide, and engage their consumers via alerts, transactions and promotions on their mobile devices. www.sap.comBack to top
Company News: Amdocs, BT, Huawei and STC lift TMF Excellence Awards
Operational Excellence award winners, STC
Amdocs, BT, Huawei and STC (Saudi Telecom Co.) have scooped the TM Forum’s Excellence Awards 2010. Having attracted a record number of entries from leading communications service providers, suppliers and systems integrators across four award categories, the winners were chosen by a judging panel of impartial industry experts and an open member vote.
The results were announced at the Forum’s flagship Management World 2010 conference in Nice, with Amdocs winning the Leadership Award, Huawei taking the Solution Excellence Award, STC the Operational Excellence Award and BT securing the Innovation Award.
At the same time the TM Forum also announced that Phil Dance, CIO of BT, Johanne Mayer, Director of Communications for Alcatel-Lucent’s System and Application Integration (SAI) practice, and John Wilmes, Chief Technical Architect – Communications Sector, Progress Software, have been made Distinguished Fellows of the TM Forum. www.tmforum.orgBack to top
Contract News: Telefónica O2 Germany selects Cellebrite’s synchronisation and content management for mobile phones
Cellebrite’s Universal Memory Exchanger gives Germany’s O2 subscribers higher levels of customer service and content protection Cellebrite, a provider of cell phone synchronisation and management systems, has announced the sale of UME-36 devices to Telefónica O2 Germany. In O2 shops throughout Germany, customers can now transfer their phone content automatically from one mobile to another in a few minutes with Cellebrite’s UME-36. From April, this new service was available free of charge to all O2 subscribers in around 1,000 retail outlets.
Cellebrite’s UME-36 is a stand-alone phone memory transfer and back-up solution that transfers all forms of content, including pictures, videos, ringtones and SMS, as well as phonebook contact data between a wide range of mobile phones, smart phones and PDAs. With the UME-36, O2 can ensure that their subscriber’s content is protected, as well as simplifying phone upgrades or exchanges with the instantaneous transfer of content. www.cellebrite.comBack to top
Contract News: Nakina Systems announces global partnership with Nokia Siemens Networks
Nakina Systems, a leading provider of carrier grade management and network integrity solutions, has signed a global partnership agreement with Nokia Siemens Networks. The two companies are to provide joint network integrity systems for communication service providers (CSPs). The Nakina Network Integrity product suite has been added to the NSN’s Identity and Access Management) to provide additional functionality, including secure access, single sign-on and security configuration audits.
Jay Borden, Nakina CEO, said: “This global agreement provides validation that our network integrity solutions solve a major problem in preventing outages tied to security credential issues and misconfigured networks. The jointly developed solutions provide Nokia Siemens Networks with key differentiation due to Nakina’s focus on security as a key component of an integrated network integrity strategy.” www.nakinasystems.comwww.nokiasiemensnetworks.com Back to top
Contract News: Batelco asks Intec to boost revenue potential
Contract enhances Intec’s presence in the Middle East Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco), a leading integrated communications provider in the Kingdom of Bahrain, has selected Intec’s market-leading Wholesale Management Business Solution (WBMS) to help drive revenue generation through improved interconnect billing. Intec is a global provider of business support systems (BSS) solutions. With over one million fixed, mobile and broadband customers, Batelco is currently undergoing a communications enhancement programme, to meet the demand for more sophisticated services for both business and general / residential customers.
The deployment of Intec’s WBMS solution, including its InterconnecT software, will enable Batelco to meet ever-growing and complex international and wholesale business demands. In addition to InterconnecT, Batelco has selected Intec’s Optimised Routing, Financial Manager and ITU Recurring charges, giving them a fully integrated solution. www.intecbilling.comBack to top
Contract News: Orange France selects Openet’s FusionWorks Policy Manager
Policy Manager and solutions suite enable network control, ensure revenue Openet, a leading provider of transactional intelligence for the world’s largest and most innovative network service providers, has announced that Orange France has selected FusionWorks™ Policy Manager to enable a wide range of solutions to deliver better network resource control and new business models.
In development phase one, Openet is helping Orange identify out-of-contract use and prevent subscribers from violating the terms of their wireless service contracts by connecting laptops to the mobile network using their mobile phones as modems. This “tethering prevention” ability will enable Orange to limit bandwidth congestion and reduce revenue loss.
Orange France will also be rolling out Openet’s Parental and Content Controls. These will allow Orange to offer parents and guardians to set limits on children’s wireless usage based on time of day and type of service. Built on Openet’s Policy Manager product, the Parental and Content Controls Solution also provides controls to prevent access to inappropriate content and services. www.openet.comBack to top
Contract News: African mobile network operator MATTEL uses Telepin Software
Mauritanian-based MATTEL deploys mobile money offering locally Telepin Software, a provider of mobile money transaction platforms, has been selected by Mauritanian-based mobile network operator Mauritano-Tunisienne de Telecommunications (MATTEL) to provide mobile money services for its local market. MATTEL has now commercially deployed Telepin’s Cayman Transaction platform for mobile recharge, P2P airtime transfer and P2P money transfer, with cash-in / cash out capabilities.
Africa is one of the fastest growing markets for Mobile Money. The GSM Association estimates that worldwide there will be 1.7 billion unbanked customers with mobile phones by 2012, and that mobile money has the potential to deliver up to US$5 billion in direct revenues for mobile network operators in the same period. www.telepin.comBack to top
Contract News: Volubill’s charging and policy management systems sharpen Movistar’s revenue edge
Venezuelan operator will open new profit streams through personalised service and pricing strategies Volubill, a supplier of real-time charging and policy control applications for fixed and mobile service providers, has been chosen by Venezuela’s Movistar to deploy a real-time charging and policy solution. This will enable the operator to create new commercial services and market segmentation for the overall 3G market, including more granular pricing models and targeted service offerings.
By extending Volubill’s Real Time Charging system, CHARGE-IT™ with its Policy Management solution, CONTROL-IT™, Movistar can apply subscriber- and service-sensitive policy controls to manage rapidly growing network traffic. The solution will provide rapid, end-to-end support for launching new Mobile Broadband services such as the application of usage and access rules associated with deeper market segmentation.
With more than 4 million mobile data subscribers, Movistar is the largest mobile provider in Venezuela, offering customers a full range of voice, data and mobile broadband services. The provider is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Telefonica Moviles, operating in Spain and several European countries (under the O2 brand), and in most Latin American countries. www.volubill.comBack to top
Product News: Aspiro signs micropayment agreement with marketplace Finn.no
Aspiro Mobile Solutions, claimed to be the world’s only provider of both streaming music and TV services delivered as a complete white label service to partners, has signed an agreement regarding micro payments through marketplace Finn.no. Under the agreement, all telephone payments for ads that are posted by Finn-market users will be managed through Aspiro’s solution.
Finn.no is Norway’s largest buying and selling market on the internet. The service has over 4 million users per month and on average there are about 300,000 ads available on the site.
The agreement is among the largest Aspiro has signed in the mobile business area and could generate significant revenue growth for the group. Aspiro will handle all available telephone numbers, which customers are calling when paying for their ads on the site. The micropayment is then charged to the user’s cell phone bill. The solution will also enable new and flexible price ranges for different types of ads. www.aspiro.comBack to top
People News: Clarity makes two top appointments
Tony Garcia joins Clarity as VP Global New Business & Alliances
Clarity, a provider of unified NGOSS telecommunications operational management systems, has appointed Andrew Wrigglesworth as Chief Financial Officer and Tony Garcia as Vice President Global New Business & Alliances.
Wrigglesworth has more than 15 years experience in senior finance and general management roles, working for global telcos including Energis, Cable & Wireless, Vanco and Reliance Globalcom. In his role at Clarity, Wrigglesworth will manage finance, human resources, IT, legal & administration.
Garcia joins Clarity from HP and EDS where he was Head of Business Transformation, EMEA. His previous roles include Telcordia where he was Vice President International Services & Strategic Accounts and Easynet / BSkyB where he was Group IT & Transformation Director. www.clarity.comBack to top
Product News: Tektronix Communications offers roaming and interconnect assurance for mobile and fixed operators
Roaming and international traffic growth drives new GSMA GRQ-compliant QoS product offering Tektronix Communications, a global provider of network intelligence and communications test solutions, has unveiled the evolution of its Roaming and Interconnect Assurance product designed to improve roaming and interconnect performance monitoring for operators. The new enhancements provide real-time traffic visibility, actionable analysis and historical reporting for roaming and interconnect voice, SMS, data and mobility traffic, while being compliant with the GSM Association’s Global Roaming Quality (GRQ) standard.
Addressing the needs of both roaming and interconnect service providers, Tektronix Communications’ advances in monitoring aim to assist operators in reducing the total cost of ownership at the same time as improving functionality and efficiency. www.tek.comBack to top
Product News: Comverse’s ultra-high capacity mobile internet HUB helps operators avoid mobile broadband traffic jams
Capacity of 40 Gbps postpones costly network infrastructure investment Comverse has announced a new, ultra-high capacity configuration for its Mobile Internet HUB platform to manage today’s booming mobile data traffic growth without the immediate need to build out network infrastructure. With a throughput of up to 40 gigabits per second, the Comverse Mobile Internet HUB handles tens of thousands of web transactions per second, or hundreds of thousands of multiple data streams, yet requires only a single cabinet of front-end servers.
“With such applications as video streaming and file sharing driving up data consumption, operators today are challenged to meet sky-rocketing traffic demands,” said Gabriel Matsliach, President of Products and Operations at Comverse, a leading supplier of software and systems enabling value-added messaging and content services, converged billing and active customer management and IP communications.
The Mobile Internet HUB, which meets all Network Equipment Building System (NEBS) criteria, is part of Comverse HUB Value-Added Services, spanning voice, messaging, mobile internet and mobile advertising. www.comverse.comBack to top
Product News: Excentis announces release of VoIPexaminer
Excentis, a partner in specialised testing, consultancy for access network technologies and related services, has released VoIPexaminer, a software system for monitoring Voice over IP (VoIP) services in cable networks. VoIPexaminer’s network topology awareness, real-time analysis, and automatic alarming and reporting features give insight into how customers experience their actual calls, and allow faster problem detection and resolution than ever before.
In this first release, VoIPexaminer is targeted for use in cable networks with (Euro)PacketCable deployments based on NCS/MGCP. It uses distributed monitoring and processing of actual customer telephony calls to allow network-wide coverage. At the same time this approach ensures scalability from thousands to millions of subscribers. www.excentis.comBack to top
Event Diary: What’s on in Comms?
NGMN Industry Conference & Exhibition 2010 2-4 June 2010 Shanghai, China www.ngmn-ic2010.com
Metratech Webinar 22 June, 2010 – 14:00 London, 15:00 Paris, 09:00 New York, 17:00 Dubai Customer Case Study: An award winning service provider shares how to exceed customer expectations while minimising operational cost Free to attend online To register click here www.vanillaplus.com
Is Open Source ready for carrier grade, mission-critical deployments?
Summer’s coming – but is your data roaming service ready?
Service Level Management: A growing challenge for carriers
Telcos find new ways to save money, as well as the planet
Get cost savings and efficiencies from multiple customer communications channels
What’s the future of mobile money transfer?
CSPs long for speedy problem-solving to optimise IP service performance
Network sharing brings challenges for the back office
Personally-speaking subscriber data management is going to be vital
How do you reach a market that doesn’t want to be found? Influencer marketing
Convergent billing and charging is still a critical goal for many CSPs
Publication: July 2, 2010 To secure your copy of VanillaPlus Magazine subscribe (Free in Europe, Middle East and Africa*) at www.vanillaplus.com *Terms & Conditions apply
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Intec partners with Technoserv to support Russian and CIS market expansion
Gary Burch, Intec VP for EMEA
The region’s telecommunications markets are currently experiencing unprecedented growth Intec, a global provider of business operations support systems (B/OSS) solutions, has announced a collaborative partnership with Technoserv, a leading provider of products and technologies and the largest Russian company dedicated to system integration, IT services and engineering facilities. The Intec / Technoserv partnership is intended to drive market growth opportunities in Russia and CIS, at a time when the region’s telecommunications markets are enjoying unprecedented growth.
“Russia and CIS remain our priority growth markets in EMEA, and we have already significantly upweighted our team in the region to deliver impeccable service to our existing customers, while implementing leading edge technology solutions for our expanding customer base,” commented Gary Burch, Intec VP for EMEA. “Technoserv will give us the additional professional resources required to ensure our customers have access to the widest range of complex solutions together with the most valuable products, training, responsive service and support.” Intec’s existing office in Moscow will now be supplemented by the Technoserv team. www.intecbilling.comBack to top
Analysys Mason strengthens global research with BDA India acquisition
Analysys Mason has acquired BDA India, a telecoms and technology research and consultancy company, based in New Delhi Analysys Mason has bought BDA India to strengthen its research capabilities in the region. There has been widespread customer interest in high growth markets such as India and China, and this will help the company to offer specialist coverage of key growth areas.
While telecoms markets in Western Europe, North America and developed Asia-Pacific economies stagnate, it is forecast that growth markets will achieve a 12% revenue compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2008 to 2013. Growth is originating from advanced services and and basic, low-ARPU (average revenue per user) services.
Recent research forecasts a global increase in smartphone use of more than 50% per year from 2009 to 2014 – a faster growth rate than is forecast in developed markets. Telecoms players often use global growth markets as a testbed for new services and marketing approaches before rolling out to more developed markets. www.analysysmason.comBack to top
Contract News
Russia’s Mobile TeleSystems drives for network efficiency with network ops outsourcing deal
Signs with Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) for the country’s first full operation and maintenance managed services contract Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) has become the first Russian operator to outsource its network operations, in a deal with Nokia Siemens Networks. The company aims to reduce its overall costs while increasing organisational flexibility, transparency and the predictability of its operational expenses.
With this managed services agreement, MTS will be able to simplify its overall network operations model, which is especially important with the roll-out of 3G services for millions of subscribers in Russia’s central region. www.nokiasiemensnetworks.comBack to top
Telenor selects Ontology OSS/CADT for service management
Ontology Systems’ semantic application is to align and unify data across Telenor Denmark’s BSS/OSS infrastructure London, UK-based Ontology Systems has announced that European telecoms and internet service provider, Telenor Denmark, has chosen its OSS/CAD to dynamically join, align and present customer, service, network and infrastructure data from nine existing OSS and network systems. The resulting fully integrated service view reportedly provides Telenor Denmark with better control and understanding of network change management, enabling industry-leading enterprise service management and customer notification capabilities. www.ontology.comBack to top
DiGi chooses NetCracker’s network inventory system
Malaysian mobile operator uses NetCracker system to provide integrated view of network operations Malaysia’s DiGi Telecommunications Sdn. Bhd. (DiGi) has chosen NetCracker as the supplier for its network inventory system. NetCracker will help to automate processes and provide an integrated view of network operations as DiGi rolls out its 3G mobile broadband network.
DiGi is one of Malaysia’s leading mobile operators, serving 7.7 million customers across Malaysia. The company’s 3G roll-out is aimed at delivering both high quality and best value internet services to the people over Malaysia’s Turbo 3G™ (14.4 Mbps HSPA) network. www.NetCracker.comBack to top
Safaricom deploys next-generation mobile softswitch in Kenya
The move represents a milestone in Safaricom’s objective of developing a high-quality all-IP network Huawei, a leader in providing next-generation telecom network systems for operators around the world, and Safaricom, the largest integrated communications company in Kenya, have announced the successful deployment of an advanced telecom computing architecture (ATCA) mobile softswitch.
Huawei’s suite of all-IP solutions have been designed to enable the construction of high-performance, reliable, cost-efficient mobile core networks. Huawei’s ATCA mobile softswitch will help Safaricom to reduce transmission costs, improve service quality, and prepare for network evolution and convergence. In addition, the solution offers a customer-centric approach to network management that can provide real-time monitoring, fault location and automatic recovery functions to strengthen the network’s smart IP operation. www.huawei.comBack to top
People News
MACH appoints Brian Moore to grow business in North America
MACH, a provider of hub-based mobile communications exchange solutions, has appointed Brian Moore to lead the company’s growing business in North America. Mr Moore will be responsible for achieving aggressive growth targets in the region.
Brian Moore joins MACH from Interop Technologies, the Florida-based messaging infrastructure provider, where he was Vice President responsible for Product Management and for Central and Latin American Sales. Before that, he held senior positions at Clearsky Mobile Media, Syniverse and GTE International. He holds a BS and an MBA from Nova Southeastern University. He lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife and two children. www.mach.comBack to top
VanillaPlus builds ties with independent research firms in Europe and North America
Mac Taylor, The Moriana Group
Dan Baker, Technology Research Institute
VanillaPlus has established new working relationships with two leading independent communications analysts, The Moriana Group in Europe and Technology Research Institute (TRI) in the USA.
Research directors from both organisations – Mac Taylor from The Moriana Group and Dan Baker from TRI – have agreed to join the VanillaPlus Editorial Advisory Board with immediate effect, to help guide the future direction of the magazine, website, webinars, html broadcasts, and several new services that are currently being planned.
Mac Taylor founded The Moriana Group, to provide analysis, research and consultancy services to the telecom industry. He has also worked as consultant with Deutsche Bank private equity, and with Middle East investment funds in telecoms and IT. He holds an MA from Cambridge University in England.
Since 1994, Technology Research Institute has been delivering research reports and analysis for the global telecom IT industry. TRI not only produces multi-client research studies, but does custom research, writes value proposition papers, and advises clients on business strategy. www.vanillaplus.comwww.morianagroup.comwww.technology-research.com Back to top
Product News
RiverMuse on the Radar for cloud visibility and performance
JL Valente, CEO & President at RiverMuse
RiverMuse wins joint 1st place for infrastructure management category RiverMuse, which delivers next generation event and fault management, convinced an audience of 350 and a panel of experts (including Bank of America, AT&T, Virgin America, MTV Networks, Rackspace and Nokia) that its innovation for managing cloud service availability and uptime is a cut above the rest. The company beat off dozens of other test-driven innovators tackling infrastructure, noSQL, virtualisation, storage platforms, data, and SaaS.
It was at Under the Radar, a start-up showcase and deal-making forum in Silicon Valley, that RiverMuse presented its event management system to the IT fraternity. The system offers a real-time, consolidated operations console for cloud and dynamic infrastructure management. The company also shared first place honours with Puppet Labs at the Microsoft campus of Mountain View on April 16.
“Product innovation, our value proposition and the team pedigree at RiverMuse won the day for us. Our presentation generated an audible buzz, which was a terrific boost given we had the last slot at the end of a very long day! It was clear from the questions we received, and requests for a demo of a product we’re on the verge of announcing, that companies embracing the cloud want a management solution which addresses dynamic cloud and IT infrastructure activity directly,” said JL Valente, CEO and President at RiverMuse. www.rivermuse.comBack to top
Qtel launches mobile music service powered by WIN
WIN and Qtel launch mobile music service in Qatar WIN, a provider of interactive information and entertainment to mobile phones, has launched a new mobile music service called Mozaic Music* with Qtel, the leading telecoms service provider in Qatar. WIN built and delivered the service and will manage it on behalf of Qtel. The service is now live and available to Qtel’s 2.2 million customers.
WIN’s fully managed mobile music service has been integrated directly into the existing Qtel Mozaic portal, providing a range of local and international full-track music as well as ringtones and music videos.
Mobile music revenues in the Middle East are forecast to reach US$274 million in 2013. With this new service, Qtel has the opportunity to tap into this growing market. www.mozaic.qaBack to top
Alcatel-Lucent releases Genesys 8 software suite
Software aims to synchronise customer experience into a single conversation Alcatel-Lucent, a leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications and services, has announced the release of Genesys 8 software to address critical enterprise needs by enabling a single, coordinated customer conversation across channels and contact points. Conversations made over multiple channels are now part of an improved customer experience through an integrated conversation and context manager. It synchronises conversations across multiple customer touch points including in-person, contact centres, web, mobile devices and social media. www.genesyslab.comBack to top
India and China drive global mobile subscriber growth
Asia-Pacific region accounted for 45% of global connections by end of 2009, says Wireless Intelligence The global mobile market grew by almost 200 million subscriber connections in the fourth quarter of 2010 to reach 4.7 billion by year-end, according to the latest Wireless Intelligence report, Quarterly World Review: Q4 2009. Asia-Pacific remained the world’s largest region, accounting for over 45% (2.1 billion) of global mobile connections, mainly due to strong growth in India and China. The Asia-Pacific region accounted for 62% of net new connections added in the quarter.
In total 192.8 million mobile connections were added in Q4 2009, an annual rise of 16% and up 4% on a sequential basis. GSM connections accounted for 80% of total connections, while WCDMA and CDMA accounted for 10% each. Prepaid connections accounted for 73%, while postpaid (contract) connections accounted for the remaining 27%. Wireless Intelligence calculates that total global mobile penetration reached 69% by year-end.
The quarter also saw the launch of 30 new mobile networks, including the first two networks based on the next generation Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile standard. www.wirelessintelligence.comBack to top
VanillaPlus Magazine next issue: Out April 30, 2010
The April/May issue of VanillaPlus is the Management World Show issue, with bonus distribution at the annual event in Nice. Alongside the magazine we will be publishing a Special Show Supplement for Management World.
Editorial Features in April/May include:
Operator Case Study: T-Mobile tackles mediation troubles
Business Intelligence: The role of BI in the digital economy
Cloud Services: Are they a justified silo?
Performance Management: Is the iPad a blessing or a curse?
How are MSPs ensuring service quality in the all-IP world?
Better Inventory Management can improve service roll-out
Self-Healing Networks: What’s the reality?
Operators need to start taking things personally
Policy and Charging: A round-up of the market PLUS Management World Nice, 16-page Preview Supplement
PLUS Management World Nice, 16-page Preview Supplement
Publication: April 30, 2010 To secure your copy of VanillaPlus magazine subscribe (free to qualifying readers in Europe, Middle East & Africa*) go to: www.vanillaplus.com *Terms and Conditions apply
To find out more about promoting your business through our Webinars, Online Videos and the new VanillaPlus Website (www.vanillaplus.com), contact Janna Willick on: Email:janna@vanillaplus.com Tel: 44 (0)1732 252500
Get your message across in this Ezine! Put your company’s message in front of tens of thousands of VanillaPlus Bites readers (with links to your website). For sponsorship details call Cherisse Draper on 44 (0)1634 243869 or email: cherisse@vanillaplus.com
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Security, availability and regulatory compliance issues addressed on diverse, large-scale IP networks that connect US and international government agencies.
Islandia, N.Y. and Redwood City, CA., USA. 12 March, 2010 – CA Inc., (NASDAQ:CA) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Nimsoft, Inc. — a provider of IT performance and availability monitoring solutions for emerging enterprises and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) — in an all-cash transaction valued at $350 million.
The acquisition will reportedly extend CA’s ability to meet the IT management needs of emerging enterprises and MSPs, both of which are playing leading roles in the growth of cloud computing. CA estimates that emerging enterprises, which it categorises as organisations with annual revenues from $300 million to $2 billion, will account for approximately a quarter of the software spending in CA’s market space by 2013. By leveraging Nimsoft’s market expertise and technology, CA expects to add an entirely new set of customers to its base, which historically has been comprised of large enterprises.
Nimsoft’s technology and go-to-market approach also will leverage CA’s presence in growing international markets — where the company expects cloud computing and hosted / managed services to play a central role in business development.
“With our planned acquisition of Nimsoft, CA will be equipped to capture several important growth market segments — including emerging enterprises, emerging national economies, and the MSPs who are providing these customers with IT management services via the cloud,” said Chris O’Malley, CA’s executive vice president, Cloud Products and Solutions Business Line. “Penetration of these markets will further expand our global leadership in IT management and complement our existing strength with large enterprise customers.”
The Nimsoft Unified Monitoring™ system is designed to allow MSPs complete visibility into the performance and availability of their customers’ business applications across both internal and external IT infrastructures. Its broad capabilities and easy deployment and automated maintenance make it an optimal solution for MSPs. Its automated implementation can help accelerate time-to-value and its advanced features are specifically designed to streamline monitoring of a wide range of business applications for multiple customers — advantages that MSPs around the world are leveraging to improve service, expand offerings, and boost margins.
Nimsoft has developed monitoring and reporting solutions for public cloud and on-demand offerings like Google Apps™ for Business, The Rackspace Cloud™, Amazon Web Services™ and EC2, Salesforce.com, as well as internal applications, databases, and physical and virtual server environments.
This announcement follows CA’s recent acquisitions of Cassatt, NetQoS and Oblicore and the planned acquisition of 3Tera.
“As the way organisations deploy business services continues to shift, the way they manage those services must also shift,” said Dennis Callaghan, senior analyst at The 451 Group. “CA’s acquisition of Nimsoft — following its other recent acquisitions in the cloud computing space — demonstrates that CA is expanding its capabilities to meet the needs of its existing enterprise customers while also stepping up to address those of the emerging enterprise and MSP sectors.”
The acquisition also will extend CA’s leadership position in the Service Assurance market segment, offering a comprehensive suites of IT monitoring and management solutions. These solutions provide IT organisations with complete insight into application behaviours and infrastructure health, helping them to ensure the reliability of critical business services and optimally utilise available hardware capacity.
Nimsoft was originally established as Nimbus Software in 1998 and renamed Nimsoft in 2004. It has approximately 800 customers, including nearly 300 MSPs and operates primarily in the United States and Europe. CA intends to work closely with Nimsoft’s network of MSPs, hosting providers, outsourcing providers and partners to penetrate emerging markets.
“CA and Nimsoft are a perfect match,” said Gary Read, Nimsoft president and CEO, who will be joining CA. “We are joining a company that wrote the book on enterprise management. We’re bringing a very strong track record of success in the hosted and managed services segment and with mid-market enterprises. CA clearly shares our commitment to address customers’ evolving requirements for the management of their IT systems, including their move to virtualisation and the cloud.”
Nimsoft’s operations will report under CA’s Cloud Products and Solutions Business Line. It is anticipated that the majority of Nimsoft’s approximately 120 employees will remain with CA after the completion of the transaction, which is expected to close by the end of CA’s fourth fiscal quarter, ending March 31, 2010.
The acquisition is expected to have minimal impact on fiscal year 2010 results and to be dilutive to earnings per share in fiscal year 2011. Shares in CA fell 27 cents to $22.60 on Wednesday.
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