Whats in a Name? Ask Digital Island

Whats in a name?” pondered the puss. “A lot, if the name has earned a reputation as a slow-moving commodity vendor.” Why, then, is e-service provider Cable and Wireless quietly renaming its Digital Island subsidiary to that of its newly acquired Web hosting biz, Exodus Communications? After all, thought the Kitty, Digital Island has a good reputation as a nimble, cutting-edge Web services company, while Exodus numerous past woes have too frequently been chronicled in the press. So why is C&W doing it? “Because Exodus still has more name recognition,” an insider at C&W, who wished to remain anonymous, told El Gato.

Although C&W gleefully announced its acquisition of the “selected assets and business activities” of Exodus, it seems it has neglected to alert the media as to why operators at Digital Island locations are now answering the phone with “Hello, Exodus. …”

Shipping company DHL is apparently sold on the merits of VOIP (voice-over-IP) technology. According to a Tabby tattler, DHL plans to remove some of its PBX telephone networks and replace them with VOIP in select locations.

The tipster wouldnt say which vendors PBXes would become “obsolete” at DHL, nor who would provide the VOIP. It seems the Kitty is hearing more and more folks expressing interest in what quality-of-service and cost benefits VOIP may provide companies. And yet the list of obvious candidates that may possibly be providing the shipping company with its new communication protocol is still relatively short.

In his Dec. 17/24, 2001, column, His Hirsuteness revelation that SAP was severing its relationship with its PR agency, Waggener Edstrom, has become fact. Last week, SAP announced that Burson-Marsteller replaces Wag-Ed, effective immediately. The news came just as the Kitty had finished shmoozing with a Katt crony who informed him that PeopleSoft is considering severing ties with its agency, Phase Two Strategies, by the end of next month. The tattler claimed that a successor had yet to be named.

Always a sucker for silly keyboard tricks, the easily entertained Furball was tickled when a reader told him to try typing “WinXP” in a Microsoft Outlook e-mail message and then hit the spelling checker. “Wimp” magically appears as Outlooks alternative to the unknown word “WinXP.” “I dont interpret them, folks, I just report them,” cackled the Kitty as he then attempted to spell-check the entire Websters dictionary.

Spencer F. Katt can be reached at spencer_katt@ziffdavis.com.