Paula Musich

Fallout from the slowing economy is reaching well into the highest services levels with even the largest IT consulting companies and outsourcers facing cutbacks and layoffs. But it could mean that the end of the tough times is near. The biggest cuts are being felt by the Big 5 professional services organizations, with Cap Gemini […]

For Computer Associates International Inc., its not supposed to be like this. As the summer unfolds, one of the worlds largest software companies is trying to restore the robust financial results of yesteryear while plagued by a nasty proxy fight and a moribund economy. Even the companys annual user fest was a low-energy affair compared […]

With an eye toward the growing number of migrations to Windows 2000, two desktop administration software providers announced new or enhanced tools designed to streamline the process. On Technology Corp., of Waltham, Mass., last week unveiled its Site Manager, which bridges the gap between simple imaging tools and more complex software distribution systems such as […]

A group of investors led by entrepreneur Sam Wyly last week continued its aggressive takeover bid for Computer Associates International Inc., including taking out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times that slammed CAs treatment of its customers and employees. Wyly, founder of Ranger Governance Ltd.—the group that announced its takeover bid June 21—proposed […]

The old adage “two heads are better than one” could define the current state of the management service provider industry. As MSPs grapple with market acceptance, many are looking to complement one anothers offerings through partnerships. HiFive.net Inc. and IBM are tapping partners to expand their respective footprints in the MSP arena at the same […]

Once little more than marketing schemes designed to promote gear purchases, vendor-sponsored certification programs are fast becoming a respectable way for application service providers and hosts to prove they have survived the service provider shakeout. This new breed of certification effort, which is proving useful to service providers struggling to gain the credibility they need […]

Chief Financial Officers are scrutinizing IT purchases with a fine-toothed comb these days, looking for a real return on investment before they sign off on new software purchases. With that in mind, Concord Communications Inc. has created a tool designed to show prospective customers how they can justify the purchase of the companys performance and […]

Hewlett-Packard Co. this week will introduce an architecture for its OpenView management platform that it expects will appeal to service providers by making OpenView tools more modular. By making the tools more modular, HP is setting the stage for a more open type of management in which a single, proprietary management application can be integrated […]

Services remain a bright spot in an otherwise tepid period of IT spending, but the way services deals are developing is changing the face of the providers themselves. IT spending on services is expected to grow at 17 percent per year between last year and 2004, making up 45.2 percent of all IT spending worldwide—and […]

United Parcel Service of America Inc. has been a quiet company, steadily increasing its business through new technology but rarely calling attention to its efforts. That stance has masked one of the most technologically advanced IT operations in the Fortune 1000. UPS impressive string of accomplishments includes being the first package delivery company to offer […]

The relatively unproven MSP business model got a credibility boost recently with the signing of a multimillion- dollar contract between a new management service provider and Global 2000 manufacturer Freightliner LLC. The contract, valued at between $5 million and $10 million over three years, is one of the largest MSP contracts signed to date, and […]

Most of the wireless work done by professional services today involves deploying wireless telecommunications infrastructures. But there is a small, quiet groundswell of enterprise WLAN deployments beginning to take shape. IBM Global Services is so convinced of the opportunities for helping clients deploy wireless LANs and wireless-enabled legacy applications that it expects its fledgling wireless […]