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| Microsoft launches campaign against Google-DoubleClick |
24 September 2007 |
| (InfoWorld) - Microsoft has teamed with public relations and marketing agency Burson-Marsteller on a campaign to garner industry support for asking regulators to scrutinize and potentially block the proposed merger of Google and DoubleClick.
[ Plus: DoubleClick launches mobile ad platform ]
Called the Initiative for Competitive Online Marketplace, or iCOMP, the group's mission, according to its Web site, is "to highlight important principles in online services and begin important industry discussions around copyright, privacy, and competition."
So far, Microsoft and Burson-Marsteller seem to be the only companies behind the initiative, though Gavin Grant, the U.K. chairman of Burson-Marsteller, said the names of companies and organizations that have signed iCOMP's online petition should be listed on the Web site by the end of Monday. Microsoft and Burson-Marsteller were planning to go public with iCOMP in a few weeks, but published reports broke news of the initiative Monday.
On behalf of Microsoft, Burston-Marsteller has been sending out e-mails for several weeks to companies, organizations, consumer advocacy groups, and the like who are interested in "creating a competitive and dynamic online marketplace," Grant said Monday.
Those companies have been asked to review the Web site and to sign a petition based on a set of principles inspired by concerns raised around the Google-DoubleClick deal.
Grant declined to name any of the more than 100 companies or organizations that were contacted, and said he did not know if Google was among them. Google did not respond to requests for comment Monday.
Grant did not explicitly come out and say that iCOMP was formed to directly block the Google-DoubleClick merger. Microsoft and Burson-Marsteller are interested in fostering a discussion to ensure that the digital marketplace remains competitive and they hope that other companies and consumer interest groups that have raised concerns about the merger will join them, he said.
However, the iCOMP petition clearly points to the group's interest in taking a stand against the Google-DoubleClick deal, which opponents claim would give Google control of 80 percent of ads served on the Internet.
For example, the first principle on the iCOMP petition asks signers to agree that "regulators should carefully scrutinize any transactions in the online advertising sector that would create or enhance a dominant market position, substantially reduce existing or future competition, or leave advertisers, online publishers, or consumers with fewer options."
Google announced plans to acquire DoubleClick for $3.1 billion in April, a deal that immediately had competitors and industry groups crying foul over how much of the online advertising market the combined company would own and also how much access to consumer information it would have. U.S. government agencies scrutinizing the deal include the Federal Trade Commission and two congressional committees.
Google has defended itself in blog posts saying that competitors like Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL also are buying up companies to help them boost online advertising and consumer marketing strategies. The company claims its move to buy DoubleClick has not prevented other companies from competing.
Microsoft naturally doesn't see it that way. In an interview Monday company spokesman Jack Evans was more willing to voice his company's concern about the merger and to link iCOMP to Google-DoubleClick opposition, acknowledging that without that merger on the table, there would likely be no iCOMP.
"Like others, we believe this proposed merger raises serious questions about the future of competition in the online advertising market as well as about consumer privacy and copyright protection," Evans said.
When asked about Microsoft's own anticompetitive practices, something for which the European Commission recently upheld a $613 million fine against it, he said that Microsoft never attempted to purchase a competitor to become a leader in a market, something Microsoft and others believe Google is doing with DoubleClick.
"It's one thing to earn your way into a dominant position in the marketplace, it's another thing to buy your competitors to lock up the marketplace," he said.
Though there are legitimate concerns about privacy and competition to be had over Google-DoubleClick, to some, the formation of iCOMP might appear to be sour grapes on the part of Microsoft. The company was rumored to be in a bidding war with Google for DoubleClick, hoping to acquire the company to boost its own advertising revenue. Microsoft eventually settled for a $6 billion purchase of interactive digital services firm aQuantive, a deal that closed last month.
And it wasn't so long ago that Microsoft was in the position of being scrutinized for consumer-privacy issues surrounding a Web services initiative called Hailstorm. The company in 2001 proposed Hailstorm as a central repository it would maintain for online user identity so Web users would have easy access to their personal information for online transactions. Hailstorm didn't fly with consumers or other companies because no one wanted Microsoft to be the sole owner of people's personal information. |
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| More security OEM deals to come |
12 April 2007 |
| (InfoWorld) - With enterprises demanding more tightly integrated security products than ever before and pressure increasing on vendors in the space to offer as many tools as possible to win deals, experts say that an increasing number of technology providers will turn to licensing agreements to help increase their marketability.
OEM (original equipment manufacturer) pacts have long been a staple of the technology world, as companies have inked partnerships with firms in other market segments to package and resell their products.
By tying products together in the factory and selling them to customers as a package, end-users are saved from trying to do that legwork for themselves, and gain a single point of contact for multiple tools, advocates of the agreements maintain.
As IT security has grown into a major headache for enterprises, demanding that they employ reams of technologies to ward off attacks and meet the demands of compliance regulations, businesses have demanded broader sets of integrated products to help them meet the challenge.
And although massive security vendors such as Symantec and McAfee have gone on acquisitions sprees in the name of building integrated packages of technologies to address the call for fewer individual products and vendors, market watchers contend that a growing number of smaller firms will look to OEM pacts to gain similar capabilities.
There is already a plethora of high-profile OEM arrangements in the security space, including partnerships such as IBM's Internet Security Systems division's deal to provide Arbor Networks' Peakflow X network monitoring appliances to customers. Even anti-virus market leader Symantec has carved out a relationship with Juniper Networks whereby the infrastructure specialist is providing customized security hardware to Symantec clients.
In the coming months, analysts believe, midsized and smaller security vendors will begin signing more deals to increase their footprints and remain relevant with enterprises.
"Size really matters these days in the security market, and with the mergers and acquisitions activity we've seen among larger players in the last six-to-nine months, it really points in the direction of OEM deals for smaller and midsized vendors," said Andrew Braunberg, analyst at Current Analysis, based in Sterling, Va. "These companies are looking to provide an integrated suite, and to do so quickly, and the OEM channel is one of the best options for them to do that."
Braunberg specifically believes that security vendors will look to add technologies including DLP (data leakage prevention) and NAC (network access control), which are currently in hot demand from enterprises.
"Participants in these deals also gain new exposure to their partners' installed base, which is an attractive new channel," Braunberg said. "There's also the issue of speed to market. Building technology yourself is almost out of the question from that angle, and to a degree so are acquisitions, which can move very slowly."
One of the best examples of security companies pursuing the OEM strategy to increase their coffers is Webroot Software, a long-time anti-spyware specialist that has signed licensing deals both to add to its own product lines, and to market its products via new avenues.
While some industry watchers have predicted that Webroot would be acquired or disappear as a result of its niche status, the company has undertaken an aggressive OEM strategy to widen its presence and make itself more attractive to customers.
In Oct. 2006, the company announced that it would begin licensing anti-virus technology from Sophos, a vendor with which it has historically competed for enterprise dollars. During the same month, the company entered an OEM pact with security gateway specialist IronPort Systems, which has since been acquired by Cisco Systems, to provide its anti-spyware tools in IronPort's Web security appliances.
The deals not only allow Webroot to drive more revenue, but also give the company a foot in the door with customers who already eschew individual point products, said Chief Executive Peter Watkins. Surviving as a provider of a single breed of security tool has become a challenging prospect, he admits.
"We're seeing somewhat schizophrenic behavior from customers, who tell you that they want a best-of-breed answer to a problem but want it integrated together with other technologies and designed to be simple to use and implement," Wakins said. "We've made our mark in best-of-breed anti-spyware but customers are telling us they wanted integration with anti-virus so we added Sophos. With IronPort, both partners get to be in a market they otherwise wouldn't be in, which is very beneficial to both companies."
The challenges of striking out with the OEM strategy are multiple, but can be managed through careful partnering, the CEO said. Along with attempting to synchronize product release schedules and keep partners on the same page, vendors must make sure that they are not "cannibalizing" their own market, or potentially cutting demand for their stand-alone products via the deals.
Companies embarking on OEM deals must also ensure that their partners haven't over-extended themselves with too many relationships, and that they agree on certain issues regarding technological road maps.
"This trend will continue as the security market matures, because with so many product categories, there's really no way for one single company to provide on a level of excellence in all of the areas of the market," Watkins said. "There will be more OEM partnering to meet customer demands for best-of-breed and simplicity, and there may also be a nascent trend toward suppliers who operate primarily around an OEM business model."
Companies such as online storage back-up specialist Mozy, who primarily go to market via partners to eliminate expensive customer marketing costs, could create an opportunity for businesses who do not create their own security technologies but instead merely piece together and customize products from other vendors, Watkins said.
In a sense, major IT consulting companies have been doing the same thing for years.
For its part, Sophos said it will continue to seek out more OEM deals with providers such as Webroot and with appliance vendors. In addition to Webroot, the AV specialist has OEM deals in place with companies including Akonix, Finjan, IronPort, and WebWasher, among others.
"There has always been a desire among partners to use our technology in a way that it can be integrated into their operations, so we've always had a customer base that's been asking for this," said Ron O'Brien, senior security analyst at Sophos. "It makes sense because they see the efficacy of our products and realize that partnering is a smarter move when they weigh the cost of licensing versus trying to develop something similar."
Some experts believe that the security market is on the cusp of a wave of OEM partnership activity as vendors struggle to meet customer demands for integration and "fewer throats to choke" in regard to vendors.
The strategy, however, does have its risks, analysts observed.
"In order to compete in this market you have to offer more than what your solution does, and if you don't have the cash for an acquisition, OEM is a good way to go," said Paul Stamp, analyst with Forrester Research. "In some ways, it is less risky than doing acquisitions because you don't have the upfront cost, but in other ways it can be more risky when the company your partnered with is competing for the same budget, or if they're acquired by someone else."
For instance, Stamp said he believes that since Sophos launched its own line of security appliances, its deal with IronPort has "soured."
"When you start to expand your product line, internally or via partnerships, you need to be careful not to tread on existing partners," Stamp said. "Nonetheless, we believe that this is a business model that will become more common in the security market." |
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| MS pushes premium versions of Vista, new purchasing options |
17 January 2007 |
| (InfoWorld) - Microsoft wants to make sure consumers and small businesses know there are myriad ways they can acquire Windows Vista -- particularly in premium versions -- when it becomes generally available on Jan. 30.
On Thursday, Microsoft said that for the first time, users will be able to purchase its Windows OS by downloading it over the Internet.
On Jan. 30, various consumer versions of Windows Vista, such as Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Premium, and Windows Vista Ultimate, will be available on Microsoft's Windows Marketplace e-commerce site, said Bill Mannion, director of marketing for Windows. Microsoft Office 2007 also will be available on Windows Marketplace, marking the first time customers can purchase the productivity suite by downloading it.
Microsoft has sold games, some of its less popular applications, and partner software on Windows Marketplace, but it previously has not sold its core Windows and Office products there, Mannion said. The company revamped the site in August, adding a new feature called Digital Locker, which keeps track of a customer's license key online so that software can be downloaded and securely purchased over the Internet. This feature is one of the reasons Microsoft now feels it is safe enough to distribute Windows Vista and Office over the Internet, he said.
Microsoft also will make clear on Thursday it's pushing hard for consumers to buy the premium versions of Vista -- Home Premium and Ultimate.
The company will announce pricing for a previously revealed consumer upgrade system for Vista called Windows Anytime Upgrade. Microsoft has said it will put all of the versions of Vista on one DVD in packaged form or on a PC if the OS comes pre-installed. Users will get a product activation key that can activate whatever edition of Vista they purchase, and then they can use that to install the OS.
However, if a user decides he or she wants to upgrade to a more feature-rich version of Vista than the one originally purchased, such as from Home Basic to Home Premium, Microsoft will allow a customer to pay $79 for a product activation key for that upgrade rather than requiring that customer to go out and purchase the edition at full price, which for Home Premium would be $159, Mannion said.
Finally, Microsoft will unveil a promotion on Thursday that will run through June 30and will be intended to inspire computer enthusiasts with more than one PC in the home to upgrade more than one computer to Vista.
The Windows Vista Family Discount allows a customer who buys the retail boxed version of Ultimate to purchase digital licenses for Home Premium for $49 each that can be installed on up to two other PCs in the home, Mannion said. |
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| New lastminute tool gives more flight flexibility |
28 November 2007 |
| Online retailer claims to offer cheapest online return flights |
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| Higher Royalty Rates Are Killing AOL and Yahoo's Web Radio Stations |
28 November 2007 |
| The recent hike in royalty rates for internet radio stations put many smaller stations out of business. Now it looks as though it will also kill AOL and Yahoo's radio services, which the two companies spent hundreds of millions of dollars to acquire. |
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| Congress' "anti-extremist" bill targets online thoughtcrime |
28 November 2007 |
| Warning that the Internet "aids" in promoting extremism and radicalization, the House has voted to create a commission to prepare a classified report on the topic. This may not turn out well. |
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| Dell's plan for Zing |
28 November 2007 |
| The PC maker bought the small audio streaming company in August and recently applied to trademark the name of an online portal. What does Dell have up its sleeve? |
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| Phoenix news team "investigates" new teachers' MySpace pages |
28 November 2007 |
| Here comes the online networking generation gap, moving from college into the working world. |
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| Web pioneer discusses science of the Internet |
28 November 2007 |
| Video: Web pioneer discusses science of the Internet. Tim Berners-Lee, considered to be the father of the Web, speaks with scientists and Silicon Valley executives at HP Labs in Palo Alto, Calif., about where he sees the Internet going in the next five years. |
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| Nailing down the model for online video ads |
28 November 2007 |
| At the Dow Jones Consumer Technology Innovations conference, industry leaders butt heads on which approach is the right one. |
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