The Buzz: June 4, 2001

Government Is Top E-Tailer; Former CEO to Head Citrix; IBM Helps to Form New Firm

E-COMMERCE
Government Is Top E-Tailer

Move over amazon.com, theres a new king.

A study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project and Federal Computer Week showed the federal government has become the top e-business in the country.

The study, released last week, stated that the government generated more than $3.6 billion in sales last year, compared with e-tail giant Amazon, which racked up $2.8 billion.

The government operates or supports at least 164 Web sites that sell something to the public.

According to the survey, the government or its contractors sell everything from used military trucks and toothpaste to U.S. savings bonds, postage stamps, jet engines and rare horses online.

EXECUTIVES
Former CEO to Head Citrix

Citrix Systems has reappointed President Mark Templeton as CEO, the post he resigned from last June. The CEO job at the maker of server-based computing software has been vacant since Templeton stepped down; company officials had been seeking a replacement.

The analyst and financial communities reacted negatively. Templetons reappointment is "an awkward end to the failed search," according to UBS Warburg, which downgraded Citrix from "strong buy" to "hold."

"I just plain dont understand," said Giga analyst David Friedlander. "Its pretty commonly accepted that he was asked to step down."

Not everyone agrees. Citrixs board may have felt it made a mistake last year, said Roger Gallego, senior vice president of strategy and corporate development at FutureLink, one of Citrixs largest distributors.

DATABASES
IBM Helps to Form New Firm

IBM is throwing its database technology behind medical research. The company last week said it was joining with medical research company MDS Protemics to create a new firm that will act as a clearinghouse for biomolecular data.

The company, Blueprint Worldwide, will operate the Biomolecular Interaction Network Database, or BIND. The database will act as a source of protein interactions that trigger chemical reactions in the body—both good and bad. By using BIND, researchers will be able to speed the development of medicines, the companies said. BIND is at www.blueprint.org.