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Google wooing Microsoft business customers

Sun cutting 3,000 jobs, blames Oracle takeover delay
Sun Microsystems said Tuesday it is cutting 3,000 jobs over the next 12 months because of its delayed takeover by US business software giant Oracle. In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Sun said the layoffs were part of a restructuring plan brought about by the hold on its 7.4-billion-dollar purchase by Oracle. "In light of the delay in the closing of the acquisition of the company," Sun said its board of directors had approved the job cuts "to better align the company's resources with its strategic business objectives." The Santa Clara, California-based Sun, which employs more than 33,500 people worldwide, said the move will result in charges of between 75 million dollars and 125 million dollars over the next several quarters. Oracle's purchase of Sun, a one-time Silicon Valley star and developer of the popular Java programming language, was approved by Sun shareholders in July and the US Department of Justice in August. But it is now on hold pending approval by European regulators. A decision is due by January 19, 2010. Sun is also the fourth-largest maker of computer servers but has been steadily losing market share to IBM as well as Hewlett-Packard and Dell. IBM also made a bid to acquire Sun but was edged out by Oracle. Oracle develops, manufactures and distributes company software, and is the market leader in proprietary databases -- big beasts for large-scale management of businesses' commercial information. Oracle, IBM and Microsoft together control about 85 percent of the database market in terms of revenue, according to the European Union.
by Staff Writers
San Francisco (AFP) Oct 19, 2009
Google on Monday ramped up a campaign to convert businesses worldwide into users of email, calendar, document and other software programs it offers online as services on the Internet.

"Gone Google" advertising was expanded to Britain, France, Canada, Japan, Australia, Singapore, and other countries.

Ads are being displayed in places such as train stations and airports "to help companies, schools and organizations learn all about the benefits of going Google with our enterprise products."

Google has been enhancing and expanding online software services as a trend toward Internet-based cloud computing has gained momentum.

Companies hustling to survive in grim economic conditions have been attracted to cost savings that stem from renting software instead of buying, installing and maintaining it on their own machines.

US software giant Microsoft has responded to the trend with a "software plus services" model that combines its core packaged products with programs hosted online.

Google Apps programs hosted on the Internet giant's computers are used by more than two million businesses in more than 100 countries, according to a blog post by Vivian Leung and Tom Oliveri of the Google Enterprise Team.

"Each day, thousands of companies choose to 'go Google,' that is, switch to Google Apps,' Leung and Oliveri said.

"These companies no longer have to deal with the hassles of managing email servers or rolling out software updates, and their employees now enjoy the convenience of shared documents and calendars, Gmail and more."

Konica Minolta, Rentokil Initial, and TOTO are among firms that have recently "gone Google," according to Leung and Oliveri.

Early this year, Microsoft added to its international menu Office Communications Online and Deskless Worker Suite software that handle tasks such as email, calendars, collaboration, and instant messaging.

Microsoft's new Windows 7 operating system to be released on Thursday and Office 2010 business software programs to make their debut next year have reportedly been crafted with cloud computing in mind.

IBM this month announced a basic "cloud computing" email service at a price that undercuts a plusher offering by Google.

IBM unabashedly pitched its new LotusLive iNotes as an alternative to email service Google has been promoting as part of a campaign to win businesses over to using applications hosted as services on the Internet.

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PPC-1 goes live, but more capacity needed
Canberra, Australia (UPI) Oct 15, 2009
Another major undersea telecommunications cable has gone live between Australia and the United States, but more capacity is needed, analysts have said. PIPE International, a wholly owned subsidiary of PIPE Networks Limited, and Tyco Telecommunications, a business unit of Tyco Electronics, recently completed the PPC-1 cable system which was activated last week. The 4,300-mile cabl ... read more







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