IT industry analysis—2009 Week 28—on one page

INNOVATION
Gartner predicts a doubling of the market for location-based services (LBS) this year. The firm forecasts that LBS subscribers will grow from 41m last year to 96m this year, with growing from $1.0bn last year to $2.2bn this year. An increasing number of smartphones now have GPS receivers—in Japan, it is mandatory for all new phones to have GPS— but LBS can also triangulate a user's position based on cellular networks or Wi-Fi access points. Uses might include helping friends to find each other or parents to locate children, along with mapping or navigation services. Currently 10-15% of mobile users in Europe use free LBS, but this could grow to 40-50% in 2013, says Gartner. Gartner expects more compelling applications to reach the market before the end of next year, including digital coupons that can be redeemed in nearby stores, or 'augmented reality' applications which overlay information on a map or on the mobile device's camera. See http://www.v3.co.uk/v3/news/2245575/location-services-rise

Google has announced that its Chrome operating system will be released in the second half of 2010 on netbooks. Google makes most of its revenues from advertising, but intends to diversify through offerings such as Google Apps, Gmail and Google Docs. Either free or priced very low, the new OS will challenge Microsoft’s ability to maintain profit margins. It will also challenge Windows from a user experience perspective, which is key to Linux-based netbook uptake. The objective is for Chrome to start up in a few seconds. Currently the top three netbook makers—HP, Dell and Asus—have little or no relationship with the search and online advertising giant. Currently Google is working on Chrome with Acer, Adobe, Asus, Freescale, HP, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments and Toshiba. But Microsoft is the gorilla to be overcome: just a year ago, XP was on 10% of netbooks; now it's on 96%. See http://software.silicon.com/os/0,39024651,39450322,00.htm?s_cid=105

PRIVACY
BT has abandoned its plan to adopt the controversial Phorm technology. Phorm is a behavioural advertising company that uses browsing information to serve accurately targeted advertisements to Internet users. The firm's technology tags browsers with a cookie which captures all the web sites a person visits—not just the content of a single web page. Privacy experts say the system is too intrusive. No UK ISP was more advanced than BT in its plans for rolling out the system, and the decision is a major blow to Phorm, which currently has no revenue stream. However a Phorm spokesperson said: "In addition to making excellent progress in South Korea we are engaged in more than 15 markets worldwide, including advanced negotiations with several major ISPs." See http://www.v3.co.uk/v3/news/2245469/bt-phorm-roll

SAAS AND CLOUD COMPUTING
Satisfaction with SaaS is little more than lukewarm, says Gartner, as a result of its survey of SaaS and Cloud Computing users in the UK and the USA. British customers were particularly critical of post-sales support and the predictability of costs. The price of SaaS was quoted as the No. 1 reason putting off those users who had not yet adopted the technology—a response that challenges the widespread perception that cloud can be pitched as a cheaper alternative to onsite computing. See http://www.microscope.co.uk/welcome/news/reseller-news/saas-not-the-panacea-according-to-uk-users/

CHANNELS
Dell has started to build a portfolio of modular managed services that can be resold by partners to bridge gaps in their existing toolbox. The ProManaged services include distributed device management, remote infrastructure monitoring or continuity and compliance management, based on technologies offered by Dell acquisitions Evergreen, Silverback and Message One. A managed service certification process is to be launched under which resellers can become sales agents and collect a fee for the delivery of the service. It will be open to all Dell partners in the UK. The services are only available in English but will be also resold in the BeneLux. (Two months ago, Dell launched ProSupport, a break/fix warranty service through resellers, and ProConsult.) See http://www.microscope.co.uk/welcome/news/reseller-news/dell-unveils-promanaged-services-for-resellers/

CONTRACTS
EDS has secured a five-year deal to provide IT services to American Express, including management of desktop, voice, and data networks. EDS also will provide on-site support for about 60,000 American Express employees in more than 130 countries. See http://www.informationweek.com/news/global-cio/outsourcing/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=218400753

Atos Origin has been awarded a £40m, 10-year IT outsourcing contract by Royal Liver Assurance, involving around 300 servers and 900 desktops. In a multi-shored delivery model, the servers will be hosted from Atos Origin's data centres in Andover and Birmingham, while server monitoring and applications maintenance services will be provided from Mumbai, and service desk support will come from the Philippines. The client requested that their dated legacy environment be transformed; two of the bidders for the deal were the incumbent suppliers: CSC for applications and IBM for the hardware. Atos Origin has quietly been winning IT outsourcing business in the U.K. insurance sector, taking over some of EDS's business at LV last year. The company has gained a close understanding of the unique culture at mutuals. See http://en.sourcews.com/atos-origin-wins-royal-liver-assurance

Atos Origin has won a €30m, four-year desktop services contract at NXP, the Philips semi-conductor spin-off. Atos will provide support for 16,000 seats worldwide. Last year NXP awarded Atos Origin two outsourcing contracts worth a total of €155m: a five-year data centre management contract and an application hosting contract. (Origin used to be part of Philips.)

EXECUTIVES
CSC has confirmed that Nick Wilson has resigned as its European president. HP is refusing to comment on the rumour that Wilson is to become its next UK and Ireland managing director. People are questioning why HP should recruit an outsider with a background in services when it has a number of senior EDS staff who could fill the role. Wilson was recruited from IBM by Unisys in 2006 to be its EMEA managing director. Within a year, Wilson had been appointed North Region president by CSC. So in three years, Nick Wilson will have headed up the UK or European arms of IBM, Unisys, CSC and HP. See http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2009/07/10/236857/cscs-european-boss-tipped-to-head-hp-uk.htm