Patent Verdict Analysis: Apple Wins, Samsung/Google Loses, Microsoft/RIM Opening

It is impossible to underestimate the impact of the nine jurors in the Apple-Samsung patent lawsuit. These individuals have provided government/legal approval for what will possibly be an Apple-dominated smartphone ecosystem (at least in the US) for years to come. With the pending release of the iPhone5, possible reluctance by mobile carriers to promote/sell Android devices (do they want to …

Google Product Announcements and Enterprise Acceptance

At the Angelbeat Birmingham Spring 2012 seminar, Google spoke about BBVA Compass (second largest bank in Alabama, fourth largest in Texas, assets more than one trillion dollars) standardizing on Google Apps. After hearing this presentation, I have been closely monitoring Google’s enterprise/product offerings. Recently they have made several announcements that are individually significant, and collectively really important to IT professionals. …

Does a Physical Keyboard Matter?? Surface Strategy, BlackBerry Demise

The Microsoft Surface all-in-one magnetic cover and keyboard is touted as one of its biggest, innovative features. From what I’ve read and heard, I’d agree.My assistant uses her iPad along with a separate keyboard. It works great but if we could eliminate one item (however small and light) to carry with us while traveling, that would be great. Seeing the …

How Microsoft can compete in Phones & Tablets – Insights from Angelbeat Attendees

I surveyed thousands of IT professionals who attended one of the 30 Angelbeat events held so far in 2012, asking if they wanted Microsoft as a viable competitor to Apple and Google in the tablet and smartphone space. Angelbeat attendees are widely respected/known for their technical expertise and vendor knowledge, with many also admitting to a healthy skepticism of Microsoft. …

BYOD Deployment: Importance of Segmenting Personal & Business Data, Upgrading Wireless Network

Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) initiatives are among the top priorities amongst CIO’s in 2012. The appeal is obvious. Give your employees the freedom to use their device of choice at both home and at work. Reduce if not eliminate capex spending on new desktops, laptops and/or phones. Lower software licensing fees with VDI/virtual desktop/thin client software platforms from VMware, Citrix, Microsoft and …

Microsoft & Intel: The Evolving WinTel Relationship

Lots of interesting developments in the evolving Microsoft – Intel relationship. In the past the WinTel dominance was widely acknowledged, with PC refreshes every 3 years or so driving profits at both firms. Now fast forward to 2012.Intel is facing fierce competition from ARM, whose historical strength in cell phones and handheld/smartphone/tablet devices now presents a major competitive threat against …

Customer Facing Web Apps With Peak Demands: Sweet Spot for Cloud Deployment

Every IT executives is looking at cloud solutions; the challenge is where to start. Well here is my suggestion. Identify customer facing web applications that have sharp variations in demand. Some notable examples are Domino’s Pizza and NFL.com on Super Bowl Sunday, IRS.gov around April 15th, online retailers right after Thanksgiving, etc. In the past IT professionals might have configured …

Prediction from Angelbeat 2012: Telephone/Handset Sales Will Drop Sharply by 2020, driven by BYOD

It seems clear that bring-your-own-device (byod) initiatives are being rapidly embraced by IT executives, who will increasingly spend money on thin client/VDI solutions and middleware software platforms to support consumer devices in the enterprise. Good news if you sell these solutions, potentially tricky for Microsoft and Intel who have grown accustomed to the 3-4 PC refresh over the past ten …

About CEO – Ron Gerber

Ronald J. Gerber is the CEO of Angelbeat, Founder of Gerber & Company, and serves on the Board of Directors and is a former President of the Harvard Business School Club of Greater New York. Angelbeat has held over 350 technology symposiums on throughout North America since its founding in 1999. Angelbeat is the largest technology event company in North …

Microsoft Nokia (not RIM) Partnership – Why It Might Work – Demise of the $100 Laptop

So I was right about Microsoft making a big deal to expand its mobile footprint but wrong about the partner (Nokia, not RIM). At first glance this partnership seems good on paper but would have too many executional problems to work: 1) Nokia-Microsoft cultural battles (entrenched Scandinavian workforce animosity towards Microsoft only grew with the hiring of the ex-Microsoft executive …

Cloud Risks to Client-based Apple iTune vs Microsoft Office

Cloud-based services present major challenges – and opportunities – for Apple’s iTune and Microsoft’s Office client platforms. If you could find all your songs at an Internet Radio site accessed via a 4G/WiFi connection, then do you really need to store all the songs on your iPod? Similarly, if all of your word processing and spreadsheets were available from a …

2011 IT Mergers & Acqusitions: Top Two Predictions

While generally hesitant to predict this rapidly changing IT world, I have been asked and now offer my two top acquisition predictions for 2011:

1. Cisco Buys a VAR/Systems Integrator: Cisco’s main competitors in servers/data center offerings – IBM, HP/EDS, Dell/Perot – all offer professional services to complement hardware. With these global giants now ex-Cisco customers and pushing their in-house brands, Cisco buys its …