The sprawling CeBIT trade show in Hannover, Germany, earlier this month presented a panoply of IT vendors from around the world hawking new and upgraded hardware and software. The largest trade show in the world, CeBIT hosted more than 220,000 attendees in its first three days. The following is a sampling of some of the enterprise products eWEEK Senior Writer Dennis Callaghan saw at the show.
2 Paths to App
Management”>
2 Paths to App Management
New offerings rolled out by PeopleSoft Inc. and TIBCO Software Inc. are designed to improve application management through integration. The two companies are taking different paths to this end, however.
PeopleSoft, of Pleasanton, Calif., announced an industry partnership program with application management vendors Computer Associates International Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM and others. PeopleSoft will publish APIs that allow the partners to integrate their application management platforms with PeopleSoft business applications. Enterprises could then manage business applications and IT infrastructure through the same interface, according to PeopleSoft officials.
Separately, TIBCO, of Palo Alto, Calif., announced Enterprise Management Advisor, an application that attempts to show companies the interrelationships between their business processes and IT infrastructure. The software works in combination with other enterprise management applications, such as HPs OpenView, to spot IT infrastructure issues that could adversely affect business processes, such as bypassing a server that handles transactions if the server is going down.
Similarly, the software can detect changes in business processes, TIBCO officials said.
Tri
-Band Module Unveiled”>
Tri-Band Module Unveiled
Siemens AGs Siemens Mobile unveiled a new tri-band wireless communications module for handling tracking functions in various enterprise applications.
The XT55 GSM/GPRS/ GPS module integrates the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) and GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) mobile communications technologies with GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite localization. Siemens, based in Munich, Germany, claims to have developed the first technology that does this.
The technology, contained on a PC board, is designed to perform tracking functions in applications such as fleet management, vehicle positioning, navigation, and emergency and location-based services.
GPS can determine the location of, say, a truck hauling freight. That data is transmitted via GSM/GPRS.
RFID Takes a Spotlight
RFID Takes a Spotlight
Radio-frequency id tags emerged as a big theme at CeBIT, with developers of business application software, mobile phones and security software demonstrating new offerings that use RFID technology.
Nokia Corp. launched its Mobile RFID Kit, designed to turn the Nokia 5140 GSM mobile phone into an RFID reader for field force personnel. Enterprise software vendors SAP AG and PeopleSoft both announced technologies that would allow their respective customers to integrate RFID data into their business applications.
RSA Security Inc., a pioneer in RFID, demonstrated a prototype called the RFID Blocker Tag at the show. The tag can be placed over an RFID tag on a product to block it from transmitting information. Company officials said the Blocker Tag could be used at a checkout counter to block the RFID tag of a purchased item from transmitting information after the purchase.
During a lively panel debate at CeBIT, a privacy advocate worried that RFID tags could track customers behavior after they purchase a tagged product. Those customers who carry loyalty or rewards cards for a particular retailer could unwittingly be tracked and personally identifiable as soon as they enter a store, the advocate warned.
Business leaders speaking at the discussion didnt agree. Art Coviello, CEO and president of San Francisco-based RSA, stressed that the RFID privacy issue is “not black and white.” Coviello said the technology has advantages for both businesses and consumers, while conceding that use of the technology raises legitimate privacy issues.
Novell Embraces Linux
Novell Embraces Linux
As part of a full-court press on Linux, Novell Inc. unveiled the first release of its GroupWise collaboration platform running entirely on Linux. The announcement complemented the Provo, Utah, companys rollout of the 9.1 version of its SuSE Linux distribution at the show.
GroupWise 6.5 for Linux is supported on the SuSE Linux Enterprise Server and Red Hat Inc. Red Hat Enterprise Linux distributions.