Daily Links 6/5/2013: DirecTV acquires Langhorne's LifeShield; SAP to Acquire hybris

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SAP HANA sales fly but there's more to the in-memory story (ZDNet)

SAP to Acquire hybris to Deliver Next-Generation Customer Experience (SAP News Release)

Here's Why Salesforce Spent A Whopping $2.5 Billion On ExactTarget (SAI Enterprise)


Boston-based mobile solutions provider Mobiquity Secures $12M in Series B Financing, led by NewSpring Growth (Marketwire)

DirecTV buys firm backed by Michael Hagan (Philadelphia Business Journal)
LifeShield Home Security was ranked #16 on the just released Philly Tech News Young Companies to Watch. However, information on its success in penetrating the market was sparse. My sense was its IP-based solution was targeted more at apartment renters than homeowners. One report says Lifeshield has 105 employees.

DirecTV Buys LifeShield: Reports (Multichannel News)

Comcast Tees Up Multi-Room DVR for X1 (Multichannel News)

QVC CEO aims to win in the new retail game (MarketWatch)

Verizon Cloud for smartphones & tablets, introduced in April, now available for iOS

Tom Paine

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In late April, Verizon Wireless introduced Verizon Cloud for smartphones and tablets, a cloud storage service available only to Verizon Wireless customers. Originally it ran on only certain Android models, but Verizon Wireless announced in late May that it is now available for iOS devices and additional Android devices, including the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the DROID DNA by HTC. Verizon Cloud allows for up to 125 GB of storage, although only the first 500 MB are free. Beyond that, pricing ranges from $2.99 a month for a 25GB plan to $9.99 for 125GB. That's competitive with DropBox's 100GB plan, but is roughly double the price of 100GB offerings from Google Drive and Microsoft’s SkyDrive.

Verizon Wireless emphasizes Verizon Cloud's ability to store phone-centric files (for example, saving copies of contact lists, text messages and call logs, although these features reportedly don't work on the iOS version), and to transfer some content between Android and iOS devices. It also stresses its potential value to multiple users sharing a data plan across several devices.

Verizon Cloud appears to supplant an existing, more limited Verizon Wireless utility called Backup Assistant, although current Backup Assistant users are switched over to Verizon Cloud.

Verizon Cloud was panned by some reviewers as being a me-too, less than price competitive, offering. An interesting aspect of Verizon Cloud, however, is that its technology was developed by Terremark, David Samberg, National PR Manager for Verizon Wireless told me in a phone interview. Terremark is Verizon Communication's (not Verizon Wirless') enterprise-grade cloud services unit; Verizon Communications owns 55% of Verizon Wireless. Terremark's proficiency in cloud services suggests a possibility that Verizon may have broader ambitions for Verizon Cloud, both on the consumer and SME (Small & Medium Enterprise) markets in the future. See Verizon's Shammo: SMB cloud is a great opportunity for growth.




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Daily Links 6/4/2013: Salesforce to acquire ExactTarget for $2.5 billion

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Salesforce.com buying ExactTarget for $2.5B (Indianapolis Business Journal)
Bloomberg reports that SAP, which had a stake in ExactTarget through SAP Ventures, considered acquiring the company but passed on it.

IBM To Acquire Cloud Services Company SoftLayer (All Things D)

Germany's SAP says HANA software clients top 1,500 (Reuters)

SAP Says Internal Successor to CFO Brandt Is Likely (Bloomberg)
No plans to move headquarters.

EPAM: UBS Says Buy Highly Skilled Software Devs, Russia-Belarus Arbitrage (Barron's: Tech Trader Daily)

Comcast CFO Discusses Telemundo Profits, NBC Upside, Aereo (Hollywood Reporter)

Cord-Cutting Is Real, and the Cable Guys Are Still in Great Shape – For Now (All Things D)
Craig Moffet issues new report on Cable industry.

Verizon reportedly close to a four-year, $1 billion deal to stream every NFL game (The Verge)

CenTrak Expands to Meet Growing Demand for Clinical-Grade Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) (PR Newswire)
Says new Newtown headquarters doubles footprint. CenTrak was ranked #38 on the just released Philly Tech News Young Companies to Watch.

PhillyInc: TargetX spins off college-recruiting brand(Philly.com)
TargetX will focus on Force.com CRM business. TargetX was ranked #39 on Philly Tech News Young Companies to Watch.

Philadelphia CIOs Reveal Third-Quarter Hiring Plans
Robert Half Technology Survey Shows IT Hiring Projections (PR Newswire)




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Lautenberg, NJ senator and ADP co-Founder, dies at 89

Tom Paine

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Frank Lautenberg, the long-serving (retired once, then returned) Democratic senator from New Jersey, died today at the age of 89. He died at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, according to his office, due to complications from viral pneumonia.

Prior to his political career, Lautenberg was a co-founder of payroll processing giant Automatic Data Processing (ADP), based in Roseland, NJ. One of the earliest pioneers in the computer services industry, ADP had $10.7 billion in revenue in its FY 2012 and has a market capitalization of almost $34 billion.

Lautenberg became CEO of ADP, which he first joined in 1954, in 1975 before being elected to the Senate in 1982.

Lautenberg’s financial disclosure filings gave him a net worth in the range of $55 million to $116.1 million in 2010. But his children and a charitable foundation he established reportedly lost millions in the Bernard Madoff ponzi scheme.




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Daily Links 6/3/2013: QlikTech appoints new CFO, as well as Chief People Officer

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Microsoft Ponders Major Restructuring, Amid Renewed Wall Street Focus on Stock (All Things D)

Microsoft will offer Azure by the minute to take on Amazon’s cloud (Gigaom)

IBM Is Trying To Squash Amazon's $600 Million Cloud Deal With The CIA (SAI Enterprise)

QlikTech Strengthens Executive Leadership Team to Support Significant Growth Opportunity
Seasoned Chief Financial Officer and Chief People Officer bring backgrounds built on leading in dynamic markets and scaling operations (Business Wire)

SAP's Camilion Buy Fuels New Compliance-Focused Launch (Insurance & Technology)


PhillyInc: Pinning their hopes on online car sales
(Philly.com)

CardioNet to Relocate Headquarters to Class A Office Building in Malvern (Commercial Property Executive)


Sprint says Dish’s offer for Clearwire is illegal (Gigaom)




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Stream Companies Acquires Maiden Media Group (Philly Ad Club News)

Philly Tech People News 6/2/2013

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RightCare Expands Leadership Team for National Commercial Launch of Breakthrough Care Transitions Software to Reduce Readmissions
Mr. Matthew Ruth Named Chief Operating Officer (PR Newswire)

LoanLogics Bolsters Key Positions Within Company
(National Mortgage Professional)
Fort Washington-based LoanLogics was formed through the recent merger of Aklero Risk Analytics and NYLX.

Heartland Payment Systems Names Tony Capucille Chief Sales Officer (Marketwire)

Philadelphia Business Journal Names Greenphire's John Samar CFO of the Year Finalist (PR Newswire)


COMCAST TAPS IT VETERAN FOR CHANNEL POST (ChannelPartnersOnline)

Former MTV, WB exec David Janollari signs deal with Universal TV (LA Times: Company Town)



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Weather Channel's storm-chasing SUV destroyed by tornado (but people inside ok)

Weather Channel's Storm-Chasing SUV Destroyed by Tornado (Photo) (Hollywood Reporter)

The @weatherchannel vehicle just got thrown by tornado. We stopped to help & they are OK. @jimcantore twitter.com/SeanSchoferTVN…

— Sean Schofer (@SeanSchoferTVN) June 1, 2013

(TVNweather.com via SeanSchoferTVN on Twitter)

The Weather Channel is partially owned by Comcast.

However,three other storm-chasers were killed near the same town, El Reno, OK, Friday night.



Mark Shuttleworth gives up dream of Ubuntu toppling Windows
Shuttleworth closes Bug #1, says Windows was defeated by iOS and Android. (Ars Technica)

Jive CFO 'flattered' by buyout rumors, but declines comment (Silicon Valley Business Journal)

SAP blog post features Delgado among female leaders, although she's leaving

Tom Paine

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SAP published a post dated today on its official blog highlighting the progress it is making in increasing its female ranks both at the board and executive levels.

In particular, it profiled six female leaders at the company.

However, the first woman profiled, Chief Human Resources Officer and Executive Board member Luisa Deplazes Delgado, is already departing, it was announced last week. The story of her departure may have been overlooked by many since it came out the same day as the news that SuccessFactors founder Lars Dalgaard was leaving (he will remain an advisor, and it was announced yesterday he would join Andreessen Horowitz as a general partner). Delgado, who will become CEO of an unspecified startup, will leave at the end of June. It was a short stay for Delgado, who joined SAP from P&G in September 2012.

Her predecessor in the position didn't stay long either. Angelika Dammann left in 2011 after a year on the job,

SAP's blog post today did not mention Delgado's planned departure.




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Daily Links 5/31/2013: Views on SAP's cloud progress: Kenexa incorporates IBM analytics

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Dell Begins Campaign to Support Leveraged Buyout (New York Times: Dealbook)

Workday vs NetSuite – really? (Diginomica)

NetSuite to raise cash, may go shopping (ZDNet)

Why do customers choose SAP cloud? (Jon Reed/Diginomica)

Is the Market Moving Faster to SaaS than SAP Is Prepared For? (ASUG News)

The IBM Way On Analytics (Information Week)
Using IBM analytics to leverage Kenexa offerings.

Fan TV to Blend Live TV With OTT and Cloud DVR
But Startup Admits it Will Need Pay TV Partnerships to Fulfill Its Video Vision (Multichannel News)

Comcast has a few cards to play in Hulu sale process (LA Times: Company Town)

Comcast and Verizon’s Phony Free-Speech Claim (Opinion: Susan Crawford/Bloomberg)

McDowell: Filling FCC Seats Could Take a While
Points out that with current administration 'scandals,' holds are a possibility (Broadcasting & Cable)



Watch ABC app with live TV streaming comes to Kindle Fire, but not Google Play (Engadget)




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Comcast still has stake in Clearwire, as Dish raises bid

Tom Paine

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A few weeks ago, I did a brief piece on Comcast's history in the wireless business. In it, I stated that Comcast had sold its 9% stake in Clearwire. Although I understood that to be their intent, it hasn't happened yet. Thus Comcast has a role to play, albeit small, in the current Dish/Softbank battle to acquire Sprint. Getting control of Clearwire (Sprint currently owns 50%) is considered an important part of the endgame for both bidders.

Dish raised its offer for Clearwire to $4.40 per share yesterday, a 29% premium over Sprint's $3.40 offer, ahead of an expected vote at Clearwire's shareholder meeting on Friday (the Friday meeting has since been postponed). Prior to this bid, Comcast was supporting the Sprint offer, according to Sprint. Many analysts expect Sprint to come back again with a sweetened bid for Clearwire.

Comcast, Intel, and BrightHouse collectively own 26% of Clearwire. I would doubt that Comcast's primary interest here is maximizing profits on its Clearwire stake; it is peanuts for them. Rather, it is likely Comcast would be more than happy to keep Clearwire and Sprint out of competitor Dish's hands, although there may be other angles to consider.

Dish offered $25.5 billion to buy Sprint last month. Japan-based Softbank agreed in October to acquire 70% of Sprint for $20.1 billion, and also provide Sprint with a cash infusion of $8 billion to handle Clearwire-related expenses.

Also, in my earlier report I said that Comcast invested $1.5 billion in Clearwire, but Comcast's 2008 announcement said its investment was $1.05 billion, and as far as I know that was the extent of its direct investment although there may have been some other expenses it incurred related to its effort to market Clearwire services.



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