Hewlett-Packard Co. and Accenture Ltd., formerly Andersen Consulting, are teaming up to provide an outsourcing service that will help firms move legacy applications onto new technology infrastructures, and integrate new technologies with existing systems.
The firms will offer organizations a more integrated service and focus on creating reusable software products that can be deployed quickly and economically, company executives said. With the partnership, the firms are taking direct aim at IBM Global Services, which analysts consider the leader in the growing outsourcing services market. But some analysts question how well HP and Accenture will meld. “The challenge is you have two different cultures,” said Nathaniel Palmer, chief analyst at the Delphi Group. “There’s the fundamental problem of rallying two organizations.”
McAfee unveils new antivirus software and services
McAfee.com Corp. has announced a new antivirus gateway service and software. The company says it offers gateway antivirus services through its McAfee ASaP suite and has also debuted a new antivirus appliance, the WebShield e500 ASaP. Through McAfee ASaP services, the company provides constant security monitoring and administration for managed service providers and their customers. McAfee will sell the service to service providers, which will, in turn, offer it to end users. The WebShield e500 ASaP device is installed at a company’s e-mail gateway and can scan up to 100,000 e-mail messages per hour for viruses, McAfee claims.
The WebShield e500 ASaP, which runs on Windows NT and 2000 and Novell Netware IP, is available now and costs US$10,000 for up to 250 users.
Microsoft announces changes to its licensing programs
Microsoft Corp. has announced what it calls simplifications to its volume licensing programs, including a subscription option for enterprise customers. Other changes include a simplified approach to upgrades, a simpler sales process, new on-line licensing management tools and broadened eligibility for the popular Enterprise Agreement option.
The changes to licensing, which take effect Oct. 1, 2001, are the latest in a series of changes Microsoft is making to its products, support, consulting services and business operations in an effort to better align with the needs of enterprise customers, the company said.