Industry Watch

RIM appoints new CMO, COO

Howard Solomon — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:34:00 GMT

Research In Motion has finally found a new chief marketing officer.

Frank Boulben, who has held senior marketing and sales roles at a number of wireless carriers including Vodafone and Orange, was named RIM’s CMO on Tuesday.

The Waterloo, Ont. company also said Kristian Tear, former executive vice-president of Sony Mobile, has become chief operating officer.

Boulben has been executive VP of strategy, marketing and sales at LightSquared, which hoped to build a 4G wireless broadband network in the U.S. that would sell wholesale access to other operators. However the FCC ruled the $4 billion in spectrum it bought interfers with the GPS network, essentially killing the company.

“RIM is a pioneer in the mobile world and the BlackBerry brand is a global icon," Boulben said in a statement. "We all know how fast the mobile arena evolves and with the BlackBerry 10 platform, I believe RIM will once again change the way individuals and enterprises engage with each other and the world around them. I could not resist the opportunity to be part of that transformation."

He joins RIM at a time when the company is facing a juggernaut in Apple Inc.’s iPhone, falling global market share and tepid response in many markets to its new BlackBerry 7 operating system. Most importantly, there is a mountain of expectations that the company’s future relies on an exciting launch of its upcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system and handsets.

“They desperately need a single message going to market for their re-launch,” said Yankee Group analyst Carl Howe.

What he found significant is Boulben’s carrier background. “This is not a devices person, this is a services person. And maybe that’s a message: Yup, device is important, but really its going to be about services, and more importantly all about our [carrier] customers’ services. And I think that’s probably a good decision.”

Boulben might not be the right person to create an exciting message, Howe conceded – if that’s what RIM needs when BB 10 launches later this year. After all, Apple is renowned for creating memorable advertising. On the other hand, Samsung’s Android-powered Galaxy II smartphones are doing well, and who remembers a Samsung ad?

“They don’t need an exciting message,” Howe said of RIM, “they need a single message … one that’s easy to remember and the immediate reaction of people is ‘You’re with us or against us.’”

In announcing their appointment RIM CEO Thorsten Heins said that "Kristian and Frank bring extensive knowledge of the rapidly changing wireless global market and will help RIM as we sharpen our focus on delivering long-term value to our stakeholders. Most importantly, both Kristian and Frank possess a keen understanding of the emerging trends in mobile communications and computing."

Tear previously held a variety of operational leadership positions with LM Ericsson in Europe, Asia and Latin America. At RIM, he will oversee all operational functions for handhelds and services, including research and development, products, global sales, manufacturing and supply chain.

RIM’s stock [TSX: RIM] briefly blipped up when the Toronto Stock Exchange opened, then settled back.

(Howard Solomon is assistant editor of ComputerWorld Canada)

Canadian firms shy about mobile marketing: Survey

Howard Solomon — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:49:00 GMT

We're a technology-savvy country, but a research firm suggests that Canadian organizations aren't taking advantage of the opportunities offered by all those smart phones in people's pockets.

IDC Canada said Monday that of 200 businesses and IT executives surveyed last October, only 53 per cent said their organization has no plans to invest in mobile marketing.

About 20 per cent said they are involved in some way -- offering mobile apps, coupons, QR codes and such -- and another 26 per cent said they were planning to do something mobile-related in the next 12 months.

IDC Canada is selling the entire results of the survey to subscribers for $4,500.

The survey was only done in Canada, so it can’t be compared to other countries. But Krista Napier, a senior mobile analyst for the research company, says it suggests organizations here are “scratching the surface” on the potential for developing mobile apps, mobile coupons and QR codes.

By 2015, she says, sales of smart phones and media tablets will outpace laptops and desktops.

Yet some respondents said their organization sees no value in mobile marketing. While she admits it may not be for every company, “I would argue they don’t understand the value it can deliver, not that it can’t add value. I think there’s still some education required.”

“There are (Canadian) companies that are doing some leading edge things, but I think in general a lot of companies need some help.”

RuggedCom shareholders flock to Siemens

Howard Solomon — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 13:22:00 GMT

Shareholders of Canadian industrial network equipment maker RuggedCom Inc. have overwhelmingly accepted an offer from Siemens Canada to buy their shares, as recommended by the company's board.

In a statement Friday morning Concord, Ont.-based RuggedCom, which makes Ethernet switches for electrical stations and factories, said as of last night 97.6 per cent of the outstanding shares had been tendered to Siemens.

In January RuggedCom got Siemens to outbid Belden Inc. for the company with an total offer of about $440 million.

Publicly-traded RuggedCom will be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange once the details of the acquisition are complete.

Siemens Canada, which specializes in electronics and electrical engineering,has some 4,400 employees in Canada. It's a division of German-based Siemens AG, which makes industrial, engineering and healthcare solutions ranging from wind turbines to passenger trains.

RIM buys antenna specialist

Howard Solomon — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 22:29:00 GMT

Research In Motion is trying to appear as if its keeping a cool head, despite a falling stock and financial analysts sceptical about its strategy.

On Thursday an executive quietly announced on a blog that it has bought New Hampshire based Paratek Microwave, which makes integrated circuits that optimize multiband antennas.

RIM didn’t release an official news release on the deal. The only comment came on Paratek’s Web site.

“We are pleased to announce that RIM has acquired Paratek Microwave Inc.,” CEO Ralph Pini said in the release.

“As a part of RIM, a technology leader and pioneer in the smart phone category, Paratek will continue to innovate and to bring leading edge adaptive tuning solutions to the industry. We are very excited about this transaction and the opportunity to serve RIM and realize our vision.

“As always, we will continue to pursue the development of state-of-the-art adaptive tuning technologies. We look forward to working with our new colleagues and integrating our solutions into RIM’s BlackBerry product offerings.”

According to the company’s Web site, Paratek produces highly miniaturized 'tuning' circuits that can be inserted into mobile phones to improve performance.

The price of the deal wasn’t announced.

Safety inspection solution now on iPad

Howard Solomon — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:39:00 GMT

Toronto's Field ID says its cloud-based safety compliance and inspection management system for checking everything from people to buildingscan now be run on Apple Inc.'s iPad.

The Web-based Field ID for the iPad app is a free download from the Apple App Store. Customers have to subscribe to one of the three pricing plans, which range from $100 a personto $325 a month depending on the number of features and users.

It also runs on PCs and Windows Mobile devices. Typically these are ruggedized for use outdoors.An Android version is expected shortly.

The solution is aimed at replacingpaper forms or spreadsheets that are used to conduct inspections and audits of corporate assets, which can be almost anything. Field ID compiles an audit trail for regulatory compliance.

The solution comes with a database of products users can chose from, or new assets can be entered.

To use, an asset that has an RFID or barcode can be scanned or its serial number entered by handto bring up its page. Inspections are done by clicking (or in the case of the iPad using the touch screen)pass/fail iconsfor various criteria. There is space for entering comments on-site. The solution also offers custom reports.

Broadband ranking war continues

Howard Solomon — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:35:00 GMT

Okay readers, it’s time to put some armour on to protect yourself from the slings and arrows being lobbed by two of the country’s biggest telecommunications consultants.

In one corner is Montreal-based LeMay-Yates Associates, which at the beginning of the month issued a report saying Canada shouldn’t hang its head when it comes to international residential broadband rankings.Today Montreal-based SeaBoard Group issued its own report, which says that compared to the U.S. broadband providers, we’re not bad in terms of speed and price. Compared to the rest of the world, however, we’re lagging.

Typically for SeaBoard,the report is a little tongue in cheek, imagining the choice Martians would face looking for a provider. The aliens would find good plans from cableco Shaw Communications and teleco Telus Communications Corp. in the west, and from cableco Videotron in Quebec. But, it adds, “Ontario is a black hole.” Plans in that province, dominated by BCE Inc.’s Bell Canada and Rogers Communications, “tend to be expensive, the speeds relatively slow, and monthly throughputs restrictive.”

The report compared plans advertised last October and November in 30 countries, including 41 plans in Canada and 21 in the U.S. SeaBoard created two types of consumers when doing its comparison, an average user more concerned about price than speed, and a “warrior” who wants speed above all. Prices were averaged to eliminate the effects of incentives and discounts.

The result: If you want speed, Shaw and Montreal-based Videotron offer packages with download speeds of between 60 and 100 Mbps for between $75 and $80 a month (and Videotron customers face a small capacity cap).

On the other hand, in Stockholm one provider offers a 200 Mbps service for $28.30 a month with unlimited data.

The fastest Canadian service is Shaw’s fledgling 1 Gbps in parts of Vancouver, which costs $81.81, with a download limit of 750 Gb a month. Which is better than Verizon’s 150 Mbps service in Pittsburgh for $200 a month. Yikes!

So is the cup half full or half empty? SeaBoard argues this country’s major service providers are sitting on decade-old laurels.

“Our connections are expensive, and we are no longer at the forefront of the very fields that used to define us as a country: telecommunications, energy, automobiles and transport,” says the report. “As the world turns to information technologies and communications, Canadians – formerly leaders – are now laggards. The vanguard of the Internet Age has shifted from Canada (indeed, from North America) to Asia and to Europe. There, the tools – the network access, the affordable high bandwidth pipelines – are deployed, are available and are being used.”

What can be done about it in terms of public policy? That, SeaBoard says, will be revealled in another report.

New front for PRTG Network Monitor's mobile face

Howard Solomon — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:11:00 GMT

Paessler AG has released version 9.2 of its PRTG Network Monitor with a few new features.
In addition to complete VMware 5 support is a rewrite of the Mobile Web GUI, which is now optimized for browsers on all common mobile operating systems. Also new are several improved sensors, including a Chromium-based full Web page sensor that improves Web site loading time measurements, and additional AJAX Web GUI features and improvements.

The company says in a news releaseit counts more than 400 improvement in v. 9.2, including a WMI time sensor to measure the time difference between the system clock of a target device and the PRTG system, which can trigger an immeditate alarm when detecting any inconsistencies. Correct time settings for all clients are important, for example, to ensure consistent storage of log files and other time-critical data, or for the correct functionality of scheduled tasks. Another improvement makes the measurement of Web page loading times more reliable and quick to set up: The rewritten "HTTP Full Web Page Sensor" can now use the Open Source "WebKit" engine and allows loading time monitoring without the need to have Internet Explorer installed.

The rewritten Mobile Web GUIsupports iOS 3.2+, Android 2.1+/Honeycomb, BlackBerry 6+, Windows Phone 7+, WebOS 1.4+, Meego, Kindle 3+, Firefox Mobile, and Opera Mobile 11+.

Polycom mobile UC app for Xyboard tablet

Howard Solomon — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:17:00 GMT

Polycom Inc. has expanded the availability of itsRealPresence Mobile videoconferencing software to Motorola Mobility's Droid Xyboard tablet. The free download, certified for a number of tablets, allows the devices to connect to to any any SIP or H.323-based conferencing system over Wi-Fi or a cellular network.

"We are clearly seeing the consumerization of IT and the desire for workers to video-enable their own mobile devices and familiar social applications in the workplace to be more productive," said Sue Hayden, Polycom executive vice-president for strategic alliances. "By offering Polycom software for mobile tablets like the Droid Xyboard, , millions of people can use video collaboration as their preferred method of communicating.”

The Xyboard isn't available in Canada yet, and a Motorola Canada spokesman couldn't say when it will be. The earlier Xoom tablet is its offering here. In the U.S., the Xyboard 8.2 is now available and comesloadedRealPresence Mobile. The Xyboard 10.1 will go on sale Jan. 18.

Polycom says RealPresence Mobile, available from the Android Market and the Apple AppStore, has been downloaded more than 25,000 times in the first two monthsafter it was released in October.

Polycom gets tighter with Lync

Howard Solomon — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 22:47:00 GMT

Polycom Inc. has announced a range of ways in which it is increasing the interoperability of its SIP-based endpoints with Microsoft Lync, the company's unified communications platform.

Polycom said Monday that it has created the CX7000 room video collaboration solution, which has full integration with Lync. A desktop-sized client, the CX7000 includes a keyboard and mouse which connects to a corporate Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 or later. An optional HD video camera is available. Polycom says its the first video platform to be qualified by Microsoft as optimized for Lync.

Polycom also said that its KIRK Wireless DECT and SpectraLink Wi-Fi phones can now display call and directory information from Lync, while its SoundPoint IP desktop, SoundStation IP conference and VVX business media phones offer HD voice and functionality with Lync.

More details about the partnership are to be revealed in a Webcast on Tuesday.

CompTIA updates network exam

Howard Solomon — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:59:00 GMT

The CompTIA IT trade association has issued a new version of its Network+ Certification for network administrators, technicians and installers.

The non-profit group said Thursday that the new exam (numbered N10-005), puts greater emphasis on network security and the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model for implementing networking protocols in seven layers. In addition, the exam also tests knowledge of virtual networking.

"The changes reflect the realities of today’s network environment, where security awareness is heightened, mobile computing options are expanding and cloud computing, unified communications and virtualization are broadening their footprints,” Terry Erdle, CompTIA's executive vice-presidentforskills certification, said in a news release.

Study materials for the new exam are available from Pearson Learning. Additional courseware will be available soon from a number of IT publishers.

The association says more than 325,000 IT workers around the world are Network+ certified. The existing exam (N10-004) remains available until Aug. 31, 2012 for those studying for it.

Polycom platform extends Cisco TelePresence support

Howard Solomon — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:52:00 GMT

Organizations running Polycom Inc.'s RealPresence video collaboration platform can connect more easily to calls from Cisco Systems Inc,'s TelePresence devices thanks to a software upgrade. While the initial release of RealPresence in September connected the two systems on point-to-point calls, Polycom said the upgrade includes full native TelePresence support for video calls. The upgrade also extends support for H.323 and SIP networks, which allows organizations to access shared unified communications platforms such as IBM Sametime and Microsoft Lync.

RealPresence is an open standards suite that includes video collaboration, resource management, virtualization management through its DMA 7000, security and content management. Cisco TelePresence interoperability support comes at not cost to customers with Polycom's RPX, RMX and OTX telepresence systems. Cisco TelePresence connectivity on Polycom HDX series is available on a per licence fee.

European GPS satellites in orbit

Howard Solomon — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:09:00 GMT

Wednesday's launch of ViaSat Corp.'sViaSat-1 broadband satellite, which will serve Canada and the U.S., wasn't the only bird put into orbit this week. Today twosatellites in the European Union's Galileo GPS navigation program successfully went into space from a launch site in French Guiana.

As Jennifer Baker of IDG News reports, Galileo will begin operating in 2014 andis expected to generate economic and social benefits worth around €60 billion (US$82.5 billion) to €90 billion over the next 20 years. However the project got off to a shaky start in 2008 and has been dogged by arguments over funding ever since.

"The challenge now is to ensure sufficient funding in the future. Galileo must be operational as quickly as possible. We cannot risk losing ground to our global competitors," said Herbert Reul, chairman of the European Parliament's industry, research and energy committee. A recent budget proposal has earmarked €7 billion to implement and operate Galileo.

Baker writes that Galileo combines the most precise atomic clock ever flown for navigation -- accurate to one second in three million years -- with a powerful transmitter to broadcast navigation data worldwide. The first satellites were taken into orbit on a Russian-built Soyuz rocket and will be followed by two more next year. These will carry out the orbit validation phase. In all, 30 satellites will be deployed.

"Today's launch is a major step for Europe and its citizens. It is of strategic importance, not only for the competitiveness of our industry and for job creation, but also to ensure Europe's independence in space technology and policy," said European Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso. "It will benefit companies ranging from shipping, fleet management, finance, electricity and telecommunications. Space related activities are also key for Europe's 2020 strategy by creating high skilled jobs, commercial opportunities and boosting innovation all over Europe."

Company claims new design for antennas

Howard Solomon — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:08:00 GMT

Antennas may not be sticks that jut out of a router or crammed along the side of a smart phone, if a U.S. company's research pays off. Instead, says Fractal Antenna Systems Inc., an antenna could be spread across any flat surface.

The Waltham, Mass.-based company said Thursday it has filed a patent application for what it calls ‘Fractal Plasmonic Surfaces’ (FPS), which it sayscould provide wideband ability at low cost along with other unique features.

The technology wouldexploit the use of fractals, intricate geometric figures made from scaling and applying a simple pattern, the company said in a news release. The fractals are placed closely making a doily-like surface layer in a unique antenna method. This system is a ‘metamaterial’ with electromagnetic attributes unattainable by other means, says the company.

If FPS is practical, antenna placement and tuning would be minor issues, says the company. In addition the gain of the FPS antenna depends solely on the area, and not how separate antennas are attached and ‘phased.’ The FPS approach is saidto need nocontacts orcomponents.

“The FPS essentially is one tiny antenna that makes copies of itself across a layer using surface waves that physicists call ‘plasmons,’" saysCEO Nathan Cohen in the release. "There’s no direct connection or feed. Each of these little antennas adds up to make the antenna analogy of a fly’s eye. Covering one has no effect on the others. The problem of hand- smothering the antenna on smartphones, tablets, and other devices now becomes a thing of the past: the antenna has ‘self configured’.

“We have to start looking at surfaces such as the back of a smartphone, wallpaper, a wallet, a printer, a washing machine, or a pill bottle, as a great place to embed an FPS and make the wireless internet of things a reality. The antenna is now no longer a compromising issue. There is a freedom of placement and usage that is unprecedented in new applications. Put simply, whenever you see a surface, you can now think ‘antenna.’’’

5 million new domain names in second quarter

Howard Solomon — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 20:56:00 GMT

More than five million domain names were added to the Internet in the second quarter of 2011, bringing the total number of registered domain names to more than 215 million worldwide across all domains, saysVeriSign Inc. .

The increase of 5.2 million domain names marks a growth rate of 2.5 per cent over the first quarter, the authentication services company said in a news release. Registrations have grown by more than 16.9 million, or 8.6 per cent, since the second quarter of 2010.

The .com and .net Top Level Domains (TLDs) experienced aggregate growth, the release said. surpassing a combined total of 110 million names in the second quarter of 2011. This represents a 1.8 percent increase in the base over the first quarter of 2011 and an 8.3 percent increase over the same quarter in 2010. New.com and.net registrations totaled 8.1 million during the quarter. This reflects a 2.0 percent increase year over year in new registrations.

The top TLDs in terms of registrations remained largely unchanged between Q1 and Q2. The only change in the order was .cn (China) moving up one slot to become the world's eighth largest TLD, and .eu (European Union) dropping one slot to become ninth largest. Taken together, country-code TLDs (ccTLDs) worldwide added a total of 2.9 million names in the second quarter.

OpenFlow booster moves product into beta

Howard Solomon — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:22:00 GMT

Earlier this year I wrote about a new concept called software-defined networking, which uses the OpenFlow programming interface to virtualize network resources.On Wednesdaya startup hoping to leverage the technology called Big Switch Networks, announced its Controller has moved into private beta testing. However, it didn't say how long the product will stay in beta.

In a news release the Palo Alto, Calif. company said the Controller virtualizes the network in the enterprise data centre, making it possible for an enterprise to overlay virtual networks on top of their physical devices. Individual users and applicationswill able to take control of different parts of the same network, creating a multi-tenancy model for managing enterprise networks, the company said. Each of these internal tenants couldthen manage their own software-defined network rather than managing the underlying physical network, and operate each one of these virtual networks like one big virtual switch.

In the company's mind a network would be comprised of its Controller (a software platform that implements the server side of the OpenFlow protocol, virtualizes the physical resources in the network and provides common components used across OpenFlow Applications; OpenFlow Applications, which will be network control applications built on an the Controller's open API that represent a tenant's software-defined devices and features, such as virtual switches, virtual firewalls or connectors to server virtualization software; and OpenFlow-enabled switches from Ethernet switch makers that implement the client side of the OpenFlow protocol.

We'llpost updateson the progress of this technology.