Renee Boucher Ferguson

Informatica Corp., which made a name for itself first in analytic software and then in business intelligence development, is changing its stripes again. The company, which has 2,000 customers and 600 partners, will announce this week its entrance into the data integration market, supported by the introduction of a software suite, PowerCenter AE (Advanced Edition). […]

IBM is increasing support for ISV partners with new programs designed to help its affiliates better attract customers, particularly in the fragmented and hard-to-reach small and midsize business sector. At the IBM PartnerWorld conference in Las Vegas this week, IBMs Systems and Technology Group, for example, will announce several initiatives designed to help ISVs generate […]

Computer Associates International Inc., better known for its security and network management software, is entering the business process management sector with a new process management suite, CleverPath Aion 10—announced last week—but the software maker is not alone. Infrastructure software provider Fujitsu Software Corp. will announce this week the availability of its Interstage Business Process Manager […]

LAS VEGAS—At its PartnerWorld event here in Las Vegas this week, IBM is drilling home the message that partners are crucial to its success—primarily as it works to build channels into the small and midsized business sector—and Big Blue is putting its money where its mouth is. IBM pledged on Monday to spend an additional […]

Business applications software goliath SAP AG announced Monday that its North American subsidiary, SAP America Inc., intends to acquire retail software provider Retek for about $496 million in cash. Retek Inc., in Minneapolis, Minn., develops software that enables automation from the point of purchase through the retail supply chain, and supports such retailer activity as […]

Computer Associates, better known for its storage and network management software, announced Tuesday it is entering the business process management business. The company, based in Islandia, N.Y., on Tuesday released new software, called CleverPath Aion 10, that enables both IT and business users to define, implement, monitor and manage business processes. The software includes functionality […]

IBM, with a handful of hosted software providers, is developing a new model for delivering hosted software that could significantly impact the way the software-as-a-service industry is structured. IBM and a group of ISVs, including Siebel Systems Inc., Intacct Corp., Concur Technologies Inc., Employease Inc., Peopleclick Inc. and Ultimate Software Group Inc., have formed whats […]

Building on the convergence of several factors, retail radio-frequency ID mandates and state and federal data-sharing requirements, for example, a 2-year-old software category, PIM, is coming into its own. Until recently, discussions about Product Information Management started with a description of the technology: a single repository for product-related information, coupled with BPM (business process management) […]

Nearly a year after Microsoft Corp. formed an RFID Council to look at its options for building out radio-frequency identification software, the company on Thursday plans to announce continued momentum on its RFID strategy, including a Windows-based RFID middleware platform, the RFID-enablement of three out of four of its enterprise resource planning suites, and a […]

Spend management software developer ePlus Inc., of Herndon, Va., on Monday announced that it has been awarded a $37 million settlement in a patent infringement suit against rival Ariba Inc. The settlement, awarded by a Federal Court jury in Alexandria, Va., also awards ePlus the rights to cross-license Aribas software patents—including pending patents—for the next […]

The stack wars involving Oracle Corp., SAP AG, Microsoft Corp. and IBM are heating up as each develops new products to unify applications and provide a more comprehensive software infrastructure. IBM and SAP, for example, are collaborating on a version of IBMs DB2 database that is optimized for SAP, a move designed to provide PeopleSoft […]

IBM announced last week its intent to acquire Equitant to beef up the financial business process outsourcing capabilities of its Business Consulting Services division. Equitant, which manages more than $44 billion in revenues for its customers, provides software that manages the order-to-cash cycle for big companies. The cycle includes the financial processes that contribute to […]