Microsoft Surface Phone: Everything you need to know

Microsoft has had very limited success with mobile, struggling to acquire any meaningful amount of market share. With titans like Apple and Google currently dominating the industry, Microsoft is under immense pressure to crack mobile successfully.

Unfortunately, the Surface Phone will probably be the last roll of the dice for Microsoft. Despite the company making much of Windows 10 Mobile, the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL weren’t able to carry Microsoft to mobile glory. Now, Microsoft needs to launch a perfect phone that can convert already invested iOS and Android users to Windows.

The Surface team has done a great job of disrupting the computing industry in recent years, with the Surface Pro, Surface Book and Surface Studio devices all proving to be a thorn in the backside of Apple. Can the Surface Phone do the same for mobile? Read on to find out what we know so far.

No one can say for sure when the Surface Phone is going to come out, but its known that it’s on the way. In November, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told the Australia Financial Review that Microsoft is working on the “ultimate mobile device”, admitting that the company “missed the mobile boom”. That’s not confirmation of the "Surface Phone" name, but it’s clear-cut proof that a new mobile device is on the way.

During the interview, Nadella explained: “We will continue to be in the phone market, not as defined by today’s market leaders, but by what it is that we can uniquely do in what is the most ultimate mobile device.”

But that’s not the only evidence available. Back in January, it emerged that Microsoft had obtained the following domain name: surfacephone.com. The domain currently redirects to Microsoft’s homepage, but given Microsoft’s existing naming conventions for devices (Surface Book, Surface Pro, etc), it seems obvious what the intentions may be. That said, companies often buy up relevant domain names just to stop competitors bagging them, so the name "Surface Phone" may never actually be used.

According to Winbeta, Microsoft plans to finally kill off the Lumia brand – the current Microsoft phone line, formerly of Nokia – in December 2016. That means we’d likely see a Surface Phone that same month, or very shortly afterwards.

Microsoft hasn’t announced any press events for such a device, but it’s likely that the company will be attending the CES 2017 tradeshow in Las Vegas in early January next year. That would be a perfect opportunity to launch a new device, although it would mean missing the Christmas spending season.

In any case, we’re in agreement with the lion’s share of rumours that suggest we’ll see a Q1/Q2 release in 2017.

Reviewing the WhatsApp Video Calling feature...can it push into Skype market?

WhatsApp has announced the mass rollout of its video calling feature, which had been in beta testing since August. With this move, WhatsApp has brought encrypted video calling facility to over 1 billion of its users worldwide, enabling them to make face-to-face calls despite the distances between them.

Video calling is taking over the world of text messaging day by day. Ever since network carriers increased the network connectivity areas and internet bandwidth, everyone is shifting form text messaging to video calling instead. For that reason WhatsApp has just rolled a new update that includes the long expected video calling feature. Tech experts are seeing the addition of this feature as a direct shot towards Apple’s FaceTime and Skype.

Skype was the first major player in this space, while FaceTime comes pre-installed on millions of Apple devices across the world, giving it a huge user base as well. Each of these apps offers secure video calls and smooth interface, and claims to offer good user experience.

The reason that the company has taken almost a year to test the feature is because of the massive user base of the multimedia messaging platform spread across multiple operating systems and architectures. The company does not want any service interruption or severe bug for all the users that are using the service. After months of leaks at screenshots and feature reports from the closed beta testers, the company launched the feature has a hidden feature in Android WhatsApp beta. The company seems to have stepped on the gas regarding introducing new features alongside working on new features in last one year.

However, unless you are on Wi-Fi, using Skype, WhatsApp video calls, or FaceTime can be an expensive affair, considering the data consumed and associated charges. A comparison made on the data consumed by WhatsApp, Skype, and Apple’s FaceTime in video calls to find out which uses the least amount was very instructive.

Apple’s FaceTime used the least amount of data in a test, eating up 8.8MB of data in a 4-minute call while Skype and WhatsApp consumed an average of 12.3MB and 12.74MB of mobile data during video calls. All calls were made on Vodafone 3G network in Delhi-NCR telecom circle. The amount of data consumed was calculated as an average of 3 calls made using each app.

In a separate control test carried out by TBR® Africa in Lagos – Nigeria, it was also observed that video call quality on WhatsApp was very unsatisfactory while using a 3G mobile network. Though Skype was not so great either, but the choppy video was more pronounced in the former. In the Delhi-NCR telecom test for FaceTime, the video call quality was decent till the other person switched to mobile data as well, after which the video became severely pixelated and lagged considerably.  So, FaceTime used less data despite the call quality being better or comparable.

NITDA, Mira Tech, FPG Tech, Cedarview, Sawtel, others gear up for WACC 2016

The 8th edition of the West African Convergence Conference holding on the 30^th of November inside Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Ikeja, Lagos, is gathering momentum as more companies and stakeholders continue to sign up to be part of the conversation at WACC 2016. At the last count, more than 10 established and growing technology firms have indicated their readiness to use the WACC 2016 platform to engage ICT enthusiasts that'll be gracing the annual event. 

WACC has remained a major meeting point for industry players in the ever dynamic technology space of West Africa with more than 280 million people to make the sub-region one of Africa’s brightest spots for investment.

Nigeria’s IT Regulator and Director General (DG) of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) will open discussions on regulatory flanks on convergence at the 2016 West Africa Convergence Conference (WACC) holding in Lagos November 30th at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers. WACC begins at 8AM. Registration is at www.waconvergenceconference.net.

Pantami, a lecturer and a professor of Computer & Information Systems before his appointment as the DG of NITDA will be making a presentation on ‘Convergence, IT Regulation and the Promotion of Local Content,’ in the opening Session on Regulation and Convergence. With technologies increasingly moving towards uniformity and becoming disruptive, regulation in the era of convergence poses a unique challenge for both regulators and technology innovators. Pantami already positioning NITDA to focus more on regulation and local content will be providing insight on the agency’s regulatory posture to technology dynamics and local content.

The NITDA’s boss has severally indicated that a re-jigged agency will be expanding its portfolios in regulation, local content, capacity building, policy formulation and standardization. At WACC, Pantami will share with critical stakeholders on harnessing the benefits of convergence within the context of NITDA’s roadmap.

WACC is promoted by Knowhow Media International as an all-stakeholders forum on convergence trends in West Africa. WACC official tweet-point is #WACC_2016.

With Brexit and Trump, see the 7 Chinese companies that will shape the future of the tech industry

The UK's decision to leave the European Union and the recent uncertainties as a result of the emergence of Donald Trump as President-Elect of the USA, has led to predictions of doom for the western tech industry. TechRadar reported how the move could cripple the sector by removing EU talent and funding, cut off access to data and markets, and complicate trading and data privacy laws for years.

American tech industry investors might see fit to cheer the weakening of international competition, but in truth they have little reason to celebrate: the effects of Brexit on the US tech industry strike a harsh financial blow, and could have long-term ramifications on US businesses, from tech giants to fledgling startups. This is in addition to the expected backlash from the global market on the emergence of Trump.

Recently, technology companies in China have leapt forward in Usain Bolt-like strides in recent years, as they've evolved from remarkable copiers to legitimate innovators. 

If you still think Chinese tech companies are only about replicating the innovations that others have made, then you've got some catching up to do. Today's Chinese tech sector is filled with a number of disruptive companies that are not only competing but leaping ahead in the race to build better products and use tech to solve important problems.

The following companies are doing big things and are likely to be important players in the tech industry's next stage.

1. Baidu

Often called "the Google of China," Baidu is best known as the Chinese mainland's most popular search engine, which makes it an online advertising colossus. However, the company also does maps, news, cloud storage, internet TV, and a ton of different search products. Beyond core internet services, it has also branched out into e-payments with Baidu Wallet and food delivery services in over 70 Chinese cities with Waimai. Like Google, the long term future of the company may be in artificial intelligence. The company is also working on a self-driving car in its Silicon Valley lab that's ramping up to over 100 engineers by the end of 2016.

2. Alibaba

The Chinese tech giant that's perhaps best known across the English-speaking world is Alibaba, the world's largest e-commerce company. Yahoo famously owns a 15% stake that's valued at over $30 billion--far more than Yahoo's core business is now worth. Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang bought the stake for $1 billion in 2005, in exchange for a 40% ownership of Alibaba at the time. In a sign of how radically their fortunes have changed, Alibaba has considered acquiring Yahoo in recent years. Today, Alibaba is an e-commerce juggernaut. Although China is a distant second to the US in GDP, China is the world's largest e-commerce market because it doesn't have a retail infrastructure to match the US or Europe, and Alibaba has built B2C, C2C, and B2B platforms to serve it. It's best-known for Taobao, its eBay-like C2C platform, but it also has B2C platform Tmall, online payment service Alipay, and B2B cloud computing platform Aliyun.

3. Tencent

Sometimes referred to as the "Facebook of China," Tencent was long known for its instant messaging client QQ.com, with over 200 million users. However, Tencent's successor to QQ, WeChat, has become the world's second largest social network behind Facebook and it is growing like crazy. WeChat has exploded from its launch in late 2010 to over 200 million users by 2013 and now 700 million users in 2016. Think of WeChat as a combination of WhatsApp, Facebook, Apple Pay, Google News, and Slack. It does it all. At a time when social networks are splitting out specific functions into different apps, WeChat is taking the Swiss Army Knife approach, and it's working. Whenever I met people in Beijing and they wanted to follow up, they always asked if I was on WeChat. It's the place where people spend more digital time than anywhere else. Almost all the other tech vendors I spoke with talked about their partnerships with WeChat--whether it was its news feed, its photo sharing, or its payment service. You can now download it and use it in multiple languages and it's starting to make inroads in India and is available in the US.

4. JD.com

You can think of JD.com as "the Amazon of China," but it's actually racing ahead of Amazon in several areas. A decade ago, JD made a bet that a lot of Chinese shoppers would evolve from being price-motivated to wanting to buy based on quality and brand authenticity once consumers in China had more disposable income, and that's exactly what's happened. China is flooded with knock-off products, but JD carries only authentic goods from the world's most iconic brands. At the same time, it realized 70% of its complaints from customers were about shipping, so it built its own shipping service--which infuriated investors. Today, it offers same-day delivery to 600 million customers in China and next-day delivery to virtually the entire country. It's also working on drone delivery to remote rural areas. They use big data to keep inventories low, maximize delivery, and create sophisticated data models to run its own financing for customers.

5. Didi

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Like its US rival Uber, Didi has been a rocketship for the past several years. Didi Chuxing, as it's officially known, has created the Chinese mainland's most popular ride hailing service, serving over 10 million rides per day (compared to 2 million that Uber does daily worldwide). Founded in 2012, Didi now has over 5,000 employees and is valued at over $16 billion--and it famously got a $1 billion investment from Apple earlier this month. Didi has gone far beyond just being a taxi app. They work directly with existing taxi drivers in addition to independent operators. They set up carpooling and ridesharing with Didi Bus. They work closely with corporate clients to book and manage business rides. They have a service that will pick up both you and your car and drive you home if you've been drinking. They have a test driving service that let's you try out a car before you buy it (or loan out your car for a fee). Traffic is one of the biggest problems in China and Didi sees itself using machine learning and big data to solve it. The company said its services are moving more cars off the street, creating 4 million new work opportunities per month, and saving 13.3 million tons of carbon emissions through carpooling alone. While Didi has 87% market share in China, it's only reached 1.5% of the population, so its growth potential is massive.

6. Huawei

Once considered the "Cisco of China" because of its role as a hardware provider to telecommunications companies in Asia, Huawei has branched out in recent years and become one of the world's leading mobile device makers. As Chris Duckett recently wrote, Huawei's smartphone market share is on the rise in a number of markets outside of China. But, the company is also seeing its boats rise in other waters as well. It's working on a narrowband IoT deployment in Australia, it's building a 1.0 Gbps 5G network that will be deployed in 2017 in Singapore, it's partnering with Google to bring Daydream VR to Android, and its new Honor 5X (budget brand) smartphone is getting solid reviews. In a world where everyone wants to be a software and services provider, Huawei has emerged has a pre-eminent hardware maker--in both the B2B and consumer markets.

7. Xiaomi

Speaking of hardware makers, Huawei's biggest competition in the consumer device market isn't just from Apple and Samsung but from its upstart Chinese neighbor, Xiaomi. The privately held startup launched in 2010 as an alternative Android OS maker, but it soon decided to make its own phones and hired away Google's Android chief Hugo Barra to help. Since then, the company has developed a rabid fan base for its "Mi" brand of smartphones by fostering a huge community of 170 million worldwide users and 10 million beta testers. That's helped make Xiaomi devices the phone of choice among the most active smartphone users in China. While the Mi smartphones themselves still draw a lot of their design cues from Apple and Samsung, Xiaomi has been more innovative in other areas. The company is becoming a much broader consumer product brand--almost a mix of Braun and Apple. Its latest products include flat screen televisions, hi-fi headphones and earbuds, an Android TV set top box, a fitness tracker, a hoverboard, a water quality measurement pen, and a WiFi-enabled rice maker.

Also keep an eye on...

Other companies to watch include Cheetah Mobile, which is branching out from being an Android app maker into artificial intelligence and robots with the launch of Cheetah Robotics, and LeEco, which wants to take a run at Tesla in the race to create the first mass market electric car.

Incumbents

While there are a number of other Chinese tech companies that have made a strong name for themselves, including Lenovo, ZTE, and Sina--and they remain important to keep on your radar--they aren't quite as innovative and disruptive as the big seven mentioned above.

Startups

China is also starting to percolate lots of new startups. Many engineers, innovators, and leaders who have left China to study in the US, are now returning to China to launch their own companies instead of going to work for US tech giants. Some of that is due to the large pool of VC money, some of it is due to the huge numbers of engineers available, and some it is simply due to the broader tech ecosystem that's developing in China, especially in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. You can technically still think of Didi and Xiaomi as startups. But there are also impressive new companies just starting to breakthrough, such as Deep Glint (big data-powered security cameras) and Hover Camera (personal photography drones).

…Contributions – zdnet TechRadar

More Tense moments as Oracle intensify Netsuite Acquisition Bid

Oracle Corp. is extending the deadline to complete its $9.3 billion deal to buy NetSuite Inc. by one more month, after having received only about a quarter of the shares necessary from the cloud-computing pioneer’s stockholders. Concerns by NetSuite’s largest institutional shareholder, T. Rowe Price Group Inc., that Oracle’s offer of $109 a share undervalued the company, are apparently derailing the deal. A spokesman for T. Rowe declined to comment.

“In the event that a majority of NetSuite’s unaffiliated shareholders do not tender sufficient shares to reach the minimum tender condition, Oracle will respect the will of NetSuite’s unaffiliated shareholders and terminate its proposed acquisition,” the company said in a news release. Oracle needs 20.4 million shares to be tendered to close the deal. As of Thursday, only 4.6 million shares had been tendered. NetSuite shares fell 3.4% to $105.61 in midday trading in New York, while Oracle shares slipped 0.2% to $38.66.

Oracle—which wants to buy NetSuite to extend its cloud-software offerings, a market segment where Oracle widely has been perceived as a laggard and is racing to add new services—said the Nov. 4 deadline would be the final extension.

In July, Oracle jumped back into the purchasing pool with its largest cloud-focused acquisition attempt yet, an offer for NetSuite Inc., a company that counts Oracle cofounder and Chairman Larry Ellison as its largest investor. That deal could be in doubt, however: NetSuite’s largest investor besides Ellison, T. Rowe Price Associates Inc., told the company earlier this month that it expected to vote against the merger, a huge blow considering Ellison and other Oracle and NetSuite executives will not be allowed to vote on the deal.

At same period, this was the statement from Oracle: “Oracle and NetSuite cloud applications are complementary, and will coexist in the marketplace forever,” said Mark Hurd, Chief Executive Officer, Oracle. “We intend to invest heavily in both products—engineering and distribution.”

“We expect this acquisition to be immediately accretive to Oracle’s earnings on a non-GAAP basis in the first full fiscal year after closing,” said Safra Catz, Chief Executive Officer, Oracle. “NetSuite has been working for 18 years to develop a single system for running a business in the cloud,” said Evan Goldberg, Founder, Chief Technology Officer and Chairman, NetSuite. “This combination is a winner for NetSuite’s customers, employees and partners.”

“NetSuite will benefit from Oracle’s global scale and reach to accelerate the availability of our cloud solutions in more industries and more countries,” said Zach Nelson, Chief Executive Officer, NetSuite. “We are excited to join Oracle and accelerate our pace of innovation.”

The evaluation and negotiation of the transaction was led by a Special Committee of Oracle’s Board of Directors consisting solely of independent directors. The Special Committee unanimously approved the transaction on behalf of Oracle and its Board of Directors.

NetSuite is the sixth acquisition Oracle has announced in 2016. Prior to NetSuite, Oracle announced the acquisition of Opower, Crosswise, Textura, Ravello Systems, and AddThis. Crosswise and AddThis were acquired to augment the company’s position in the data cloud and marketing cloud spaces.

Its obvious Oracle aims to strengthen its position in cloud with NetSuite acquisition. According to Synergy Research’s recent estimates, cloud infrastructure service revenues in 1Q16 have surpassed the $7 billion landmark. Amazon continued to rule the cloud space with a 31% market share, followed by Microsoft, IBM, and Google, which collectively accounted for 22% of the cloud space.

Apart from these four players who collectively rule more than half of the cloud space, the next 20 players, which include Rackspace, Oracle, Salesforce, and VMware, grew 41% on average on a yearly basis. These 20 players collectively held 27% of the cloud space. “On the surface, the growth posted by the 20 players looks promising. However, when we compare their growth figures with the growth in the overall cloud space, it doesn’t appear to be satisfactory. Synergy Research estimates show that the cloud space is growing at a rate of more than 50% while these 20 players, including Oracle, reported average yearly growth of 41%, indicating that they are losing market share”.

This explains the rationale behind Oracle’s pursuit of NetSuite.

Whats The Impact Of The Galaxy Note 7 Situation For The Samsung Brand?

When several Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones spontaneously exploded in August, the South Korean company went into overdrive. It urged hundreds of employees to quickly diagnose the problem.

None were able to get a phone to explode. Samsung’s engineers, on a tight deadline, initially concluded the defect was caused by faulty batteries from one of the company’s suppliers. Samsung, which announced a recall of the Note 7 devices in September, decided to continue shipping new Galaxy Note 7s containing batteries from a different supplier.

The solution failed. Reports soon surfaced that some of the replacement devices were blowing up too. Company engineers went back to the drawing board, according to a person briefed on the test process who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the internal workings were confidential. As of this week, Samsung’s testers were still unable to reproduce the explosions.

By then, it was too late. On Tuesday, Samsung said it was killing the Galaxy Note 7 entirely. The drastic move is highly unusual in the technology industry, where companies tend to keep trying to improve a product rather than pull it altogether. And it caps a nearly two-month fall for Samsung, which has taken a beating from investors, safety regulators and consumers over its trustworthiness — especially with a marquee product that was supposed to rival Apple’s iPhone.

So the issue now is how will Samsung brand ever get over the impact of this catastrophy and buoy consumer confidence ever again? Following this unprecedented step of cancelling the Galaxy Note 7 entirely after battery fires plagued the device and its subsequent, supposedly fixed, replacements, the team at Android Authority weighs in on how serious this situation is for Samsung and just how badly the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco has damaged the company’s image and the Galaxy Note brand.

For these analysts, they don't see this being any more than a minor speed bump for Samsung in the grand scheme of things. According to @KrisCarlon "The company has more than enough money and alternate revenue streams to weather the storm and I see no reason why – assuming the Galaxy S8 doesn’t blow up – everyone won’t rush out to buy it just like they initially did with the Note 7. It will take some time, but Samsung Mobile will recover. "The damage to the Note brand will be significant, but not fatal. While I can understand why Samsung “might” decide to kill off the Note brand and release an S Pen-equipped device next year under a different banner, I honestly don’t think a few exploding phones is sufficient to damage the brand beyond repair. Plenty of Galaxy S4’s caught fire a few years back and no one ditched the S Series, Samsung included".

To him, for the Note 7 to truly damage Samsung’s branding it would need to negatively impact Samsung’s brand overall, not just the Note series. The real question is just how long folks will wait to see if the next Galaxy is likely to blow up before they inevitably decide to buy it.

For @GarySims, anyone who has studied business, finance or marketing in the UK will have heard of the “Ratner effect”. The phenomenon is named after Gerald Ratner, the CEO of the Ratners group, a major British jewelry retailer with thousands of shops across the country as well as stores in the USA. In 1991, Ratner gave a speech to the Institute of Directors at the Royal Albert Hall. During the speech he jokingly commented about the low quality of Ratner’s products and as a result the Ratner Group almost went bankrupt.

The lesson here is about branding. Damage to brands take a long time to repair. Although the problems with the Note 7 were technical and although the short term effect will be financial losses, the real problem is now about branding. It won’t take long before consumers start to think negatively about the brand. Next time someone is looking for a smartphone they might steer clear of Samsung, because in the back of their mind there is a nagging thought that Samsung smartphones catch fire.

So simply put, Samsung should just weather the storm and plan for a re-branding campign!

15 Motorola phones to be updated to Android 7.0 Nougat...to sell unlocked Moto Z in the US

Motorola has published a full list of the 15 phones eligible for the upgrade to Android 7.0 Nougat, Google's latest Android release. If you've purchased a Motorola device over the past year then it's likely your device will be in scope for an upgrade, but Android Central points out there are a few exceptions to that rule.

While handsets like last year's Moto X Pure Edition and X Play make the list, others like the Moto G (2015) and Moto E3 Power won't be upgraded. Motorola is planning to start rolling out Nougat later this quarter, and the Moto Z and Moto G4 will be the first devices to receive the update. Here's the full list:

Moto G (4th Gen)

Moto G Plus (4th Gen)

Moto G Play (4th Gen)

Moto X Pure Edition (3rd Gen)

Moto X Style

Moto X Play

Moto X Force

Droid Turbo 2

Droid Maxx 2

Moto Z

Moto Z Droid

Moto Z Force Droid

Moto Z Play

Moto Z Play Droid

Nexus 6

The Motorola Moto Z has been a Verizon-exclusive in the US so far, but now you can purchase the unlocked variant of the device officially from Motorola as well as third party retailers including Amazon and Best Buy.

Priced at $700, the handset is only compatible with GSM networks, meaning Sprint customers are currently out of luck. Those waiting for the unlocked Moto Z Play should know that the phone will go on sale starting October 20.

Dimension Data partners MindLink for Secure Messaging Solutions to Enterprises…as Cost-Cutting Efforts Continues

Even as Dimension Data is continuing to cut costs, with sources telling CRN the company has told some employees they would no longer receive their short-term incentive bonuses, the company that is a leading systems integrator, has partnered MindLink, providers of secure Chat Enabled Collaboration (CEC) tools for business, to offer enterprises in Asia and beyond secure and compliant chat and collaboration tools.

Sources said some Dimension Data company’s managers were recently notified of the changes to the short-term incentives. The incentives account for a significant portion of the financial compensation for a number of employees, sources said. One source close to the company said the cutbacks have prompted multiple managers to leave the company. "It's a huge issue," said the source. Dimension Data did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The latest cutbacks come after a round of layoffs earlier this year and the sudden resignation of Dimension Data CEO Brett Dawson, who stepped down in June after 12 years at the company. The layoffs earlier this year hit departments across the company including customer service, alliances, solutions engineers, sales and the managed services group.

But to show that its business is not in anyway waning, the partnership with MindLink is seen as a new direction for enterprise-level message collaboration. The Asian market is particularly advanced in terms of adoption of chat and messaging applications. China's WeChat, Japan's Line and Facebook's WhatsApp dominate the consumer market with billions of active daily users. Yet, businesses are left with very few options when it comes to highly secure, enterprise-ready messaging alternatives. This, in turn, creates increasing risk for Asian corporates whose employees are using their consumer tools to share sensitive business data, files and knowledge.

MindLink is the corporate messaging app of choice for a growing number of enterprises, notably financial institutions, governments and law firms, who want the ability to share ideas and collaborate on projects yet don't compromise on security needs, scalability and compliance requirements.

"We have good penetration working with corporates in the UK and US and are now setting our sight on expanding inAsia. Asia is a highly attractive market where our proposition naturally resonates, states Annekathrin Häse, CMO, MindLink. "Dimension Data is the leading IT provider in the region and a strong partner to support our ongoing global growth".

With a turnover of USD 7.5 billion and 31,000 employees Dimension Data is one of the largest ICT solution providers globally. Its particularly strong footprint in the Asian market will allow MindLink to expand into a market where local knowledge and understanding of customer needs is key. Both firms are Microsoft Gold Partners and have strategic links with the latter, supporting MindLink's integrations with Lync and/or Skype for Business to enhance the chat and messaging functionality within the Microsoft offering.

WhatsApp release updates for iOS 10 and Windows Phone

A new update for WhatsApp for iOS and Windows has arrived. While the one for iOS 10 will make the primarily texting app more like a stock dialer with the new features it comes with, the Windows Beta update will bring easier mass sharing of video and pictures.

The update is also said to specifically bring new features to iOS 10-running iPhone and iPad devices. According to Phone Arena, the latest update, which clocked in at 84.2 MB, lets users answer WhatsApp calls directly from the lockscreen, just like how it is when receiving standard phone calls through the stock dialer. This is all thanks to iOS 10's CallKit that allows third-party apps to run like stock phone apps. 

In addition, the newest update also enables users to command Siri to place a phone call or send a message through the WhatsApp app. And this would be quite useful, especially to iOS 10 users. It can be noted that in late August, IBTimes reported that iOS 10 would come with support for third-party apps, like WeChat, LinkedIn, Slack and WhatsApp. Hence, the update is the realization of Apple’s early plan to integrate Siri into chat apps.

The new WhatsApp for iOS update also comes with other new features and features that are already present in the beta version of WhatsApp for Windows Phone. For example, there is a new widget that makes it easier for users to check if there are unread messages and to jump to any of the latest chat threads without having to launch the WhatsApp app.

Another feature that the WhatsApp update brings is the new gesture command that lets users switch from the front-facing camera to the back-facing camera or vice-versa with just a double tap on the phone’s screen.

The release of the new update comes just a day after news that WhatsApp beta for Windows Phone has been enhanced with the addition of a camera icon at the bottom of the Settings bar in the chat window in order for users to seamlessly share images and videos with anyone they are chatting with. Windows Central added that this feature would also enable Windows Phone users to share media quickly with more than one contact at a time.

For many of users, WhatsApp groups are actually reflective of the many different communities they are a part of, and occasionally they want to share a specific item with multiple groups, such as a graduation or birth picture,  without mingling the different groups by merging them.

Normally this would mean going into each group individually to share the same message, but the latest WhatsApp beta, version 2.16.208, offers a convenient solution.

The update adds a new Camera icon (above), allowing users to share a video or picture from the chats list directly, without entering each chat in turn. WhatsApp have also added OneDrive backup of user data for their Beta users, and as always it is great to see the app in such active development.

The WhatsApp Beta update will soon be availabe for all users.

Key reasons Symantec Acquired Blue Coat Systems

Its already a done deal folks! In a bid to redefine the future of cyber security, this deal worth $4.65b, was consummated a while ago. 

Symantec, the maker of Norton security services, agreed to buy security hardware, software, and service provider Blue Coat in an all-cash deal. Blue Coat, which was acquired by Bain Capital for $2.4 billion last year, had filed to go public earlier this month.

According sources, Blue Coat revenue fell 5% to $598.3 million in the fiscal year ending on April 30 due to deferred revenue writedowns related to Bain's takeover. This means that Symantec is paying a hefty premium for Blue Coat at nearly 8 times sales. But aside the financials, there are key business and sundry decisions that led Symantec to shell out such a huge sum. 

Acquiring Blue Coat is projected to add over 15,000 enterprise customers to Symantec's current customer base of around 370,000 clients. Symantec claims that the acquisition will combine its "leading threat telemetry with Blue Coat's networks and cloud security offerings" to protect servers, emails, and web transactions. Simply put, Symantec needs Blue Coat because its core antivirus business has been dying a slow death over the past decade. Two years ago, a Symantec executive declared that traditional antivirus solutions were "dead" due to the rise of sophisticated attacks that rigid antivirus solutions couldn't keep pace with. Moverover, the rise of mobile and connected devices enabled hackers to attack anything with an active Internet connection.

Symantec's core security products protect PCs, data centers, and emails. Blue Coat's products protect networks and cloud services, so the two companies' businesses don't really overlap. Symantec claims that the combination of those services in end-to-end packages will enable it to protect a wide range of platforms which would typically require "eight to ten" different security vendors. The acquisition will also give Symantec a combined staff of 3,000 engineers and researchers to better counter hackers worldwide.

Symantec hailed the deal as a good match and IDC analyst Chris Christiansen agreed, saying the companies' products "don’t have much overlap.” Symantec has typically focused on device, or “endpoint,” security, while Blue Coat has specialized on the networking side, including managing encrypted traffic. By joining forces, Symantec said it can offer a whole range of products, promising better overall security and threat detection.

Every day, the vendors collect vast amounts of data on the latest threats. For Symantec, that means analyzing billions of emails and watching millions of PCs; for Blue Coat, it means monitoring thousands of cloud-based applications and over a billion Web requests through secure gateways. Combining resources should give them a better view of where and how malware is attacking their clients. 

Also as hackers continue to innovate, Symantec needs more engineers to keep pace. The acquisition will result in a combined staff of 3,000 engineers and researchers, to help it stay ahead of the bad guys. For its business clients, Symantec says it will be able to protect everything from devices to cloud applications.

Additionally, the acquisition could inject some sales growth for Symantec at time when its business has been limping. In April, then-CEO Michael Brown stepped down following poor financial results and amid growing competition. To drive sales, Symantec hopes to sell its products to Blue Coat customers, and vice versa. Symantec has around 370,000 enterprise clients, while Blue Coat has 15,000.

Although Symantec remains a leader in security, the company has been restructuring in a bid to improve profitability, Christiansen noted. Last year, Symantec decided to sharpen its focus on security and sold its information management business, Veritas, for $8 billion. This latest deal with help it beef up again while still focusing on security.

AdStage gets funds from Verizon Ventures to boost its marketing tech platform

AdStage has announced that it has raised new funding, bringing in $2 million to establish a product suite around marketing technology. The company’s latest investment comes from Verizon Ventures, a firm whose limited partner hasn’t been shy in pursuing ad tech acquisitions.

Launched in 2013, AdStage is primarily a social advertising management service for small- and medium-sized businesses. It collects historical data such as keywords, ads, demographics, and competitor data and can provide recommendations and insights based on not only your company, but also your competitors. AdStage integrates directly with Google AdWords, Bing, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn to provide you with well-rounded insight into what’s happening across social and traditional online media.

With additional capital, AdStage said it’ll turn its attention toward establishing a platform that will address any marketer’s need. Its yet-unnamed product suite will facilitate analysis of pay-per-click performance across channels, automate daily campaign tasks, and integrate the services into existing tools. All four of AdStage’s products — Create, Manage, Automate, and Report — will be consolidated into this offering, and the company will extend its reach beyond paid advertising, bringing in data from complimentary organizations such as sales, marketing, content, and analytics.

Company chief executive Shail Jain said in a statement: “Our vision has always been to unite the various paid channels where the digital marketer or head of demand generation is at the apex of revenue operations. As marketing technology evolves, this individual requires the tools that not only unite the paid channels, but collaborate with the complimentary business units to customer acquisition…”

The relationship between Verizon Ventures and AdStage isn’t new, as the firm previously invested in the company’s Series A round. However, it’s part of a growing effort by Verizon Ventures’ LP to increase its stake in ad tech companies. It already owns AOL, which has a bevy of ad tools and myriad publishing companies. The acquisition of Yahoo was largely based on the ad capabilities that it offered.

To date, AdStage has raised more than $10 million in funding. It now manages more than 18,000 advertising accounts and $100 million in quarterly ad spend.

Marketing Tech Firm Curalate Introduces Vertical Video E-Commerce Product

New technology company Curalate, which helps marketers use digital visual assets to drive and track e-commerce, has introduced a new ad product called Tilt that is designed for the vertical video world. Curalate, which works with over 800 marketers, has signed on Urban Outfitters as the first Tilt partner.

Why does the world need an ad unit for vertical videos? Can’t you just reformat banners and web video ads to work on mobile devices?

Apu Gupta, Curalate co-founder and chief executive, says that people have become accustomed to tapping through a series of video clips and pausing longer on things that interest them, particularly on Snapchat, and advertising needs to reflect this reality. So, Tilt ads are designed to let a brand create vertical video ads that work more like a Snapchat or Instagram Story. Users can jump to the product or information that interests them most and potentially buy something through the ad.

“Vertical videos are more immersive and more personal for people,” Mr. Gupta said. He mentioned that when people search for videos of recipes or DIY projects—and they are accustomed to scrolling through Snapchat or Instagram stories—the experience can be frustrating as they wait for the part of the clip that matters to them. “These ads are designed to be empowering,” he said.

As part of the rollout, Urban Outfitters has created a new mobile, vertical-friendly site called UOTV using the Tilt technology. On UOTV, the retailer might create a vertical video story—i.e. a series of annotated images and short videos spliced together featuring a room makeover or a bedroom set, replete with lots of products. People can jump to the part of the story that interests them, and then theoretically buy something via a “Shop the Story” link.

Initially, the plan is for brands to use Tilt ads on their own websites and social media accounts. But Mr. Gupta said that it isn’t out of the question that Tilt ads could run as paid ads on content sites or social networks.

Tel Aviv voice analysis firm gets China investment

After setting up a $300 million fund to invest in Israeli tech firms, a member of the China-based conglomerate Kuang-Chi Group has announced its second investment in Israel, leading a “multi-million dollar” funding round in Beyond Verbal Communications Ltd., a Tel Aviv-based company that analyzes emotions based on vocal intonations.

“Israel is a main part of our global investment strategy,” Dr. Zhang Yangyang, the co-chief executive officer of KuangChi Science Ltd. said in an interview while on a visit to Tel Aviv this week, as he met with additional startup companies and other members of the local industry and government. “We expect more investments to be announced in Israel in the very near future.”

Kuang-Chi’s $300 million GCI Fund & InCubator, that was launched in May this year, has already invested $20 million in Herzliya, Israel-basedeyeSight Technologies, a machine vision company.

The Chinese company’s investment of $3 million brings the total raised since Beyond Verbal’s founding in 2012 to $10 million, Kuang-Chi said.

The group seeks investments in technologically disruptive, early to mid-stage Israeli and global companies in robotics, machine vision, aviation, and smart-cities technology, Zhang said. The Tel Aviv based emotions analytics company Beyond Verbal fits this profile, he said.

“We want to get access to a wide variety of technologies and integrate them, in order to provide our customers a full solution,” Zhang said. “We are not only financial investors. We work together with our companies and help them grow, by enabling them to deploy and mass-manufacture their product.”

Beyond Verbal, founded by chief executive Yuval Mor and Chief Science Officer Dr. Yoram Levanon, uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to teach computers how we feel, and to react accordingly. It enables the decoding of emotions, well-being and health through analyzing the human voice, and then allows voice-powered devices, applications and solutions to interact with us on that emotional level, just as humans do.

“The voice contains information about your emotional state,” said Dorian Barak, the managing partner at Indigo Global, Kuang-Chi’s partner in Israel. “This technology can change the way robots and virtual assistants interact with humans.”

Beyond Verbal’s patented technology was developed based on ongoing research into the science of emotions that started in 1995. Throughout the years they have collected more than 2.5 million emotion-tagged voices in more than 40 languages and secured their technology with multiple patents. The company’s emotions analytics technology has numerous applications, from improving call center effectiveness to tracking health conditions and even improving relationships — by helping you decipher your partner’s tone of voice — Beyond Verbal said in a video on its website.

Why EMC acquisition makes sense for Dell...job losses expected

As far as October last year, a day ahead of the start of a company conference, Micheal Dell the founder of Dell corp, sat down for an interview with Re/code in a hotel conference room in Austin, Texas, and talked about how Dell, the company, will combine with EMC in a transaction worth about $67 billion employing a strategy that made its target vulnerable to hostile shareholder attack.

From his dream, when the deal closes Dell will have pulled off the single largest M&A deal the technology marketplace has ever seen, one that will result in the biggest single vendor of personal computers, servers, software and storage equipment in the world. In so doing Dell will go against current conventional logic that calls for simpler corporate structures.

Companies like HP and Symantec and eBay have joined a long list of American corporations that have split up to untangle complicated conglomerate structures and focus on growing markets. Ironically, EMC’s path to a sale was reached because its complicated structure made it vulnerable to hostile shareholders demanding a split.

Fast track to a couple of weeks ago, Dell and storage solutions company EMC merged, to "create a $74-billion market leader with an expansive technology portfolio that solves complex problems for customers in the industry's fast-growing areas of hybrid cloud, software-defined data centre, converged infrastructure, platform-as-a-service, data analytics, mobility and cyber security".

Technology companies have always sought newer engines of growth. In most cases, it was achieved through acquisitions. EMC itself was an acquisitive company - if you go back 12 years, EMC transformed from being a single platform company to a firm with a 'family'. It transitioned from being a hardware-centric company to a complete information management company, which offered both software and services. In fact, EMC, by 2005, was one of the world's largest software companies! The talk, then, was also about reducing complexities for the customer. A large hardware+software+services company would take away the headache of negotiating with multiple vendors as also of integration. That logic hasn't changed now; only the circumstances have. Dell's acquisition of EMC is easy to understand through this prism.

While much of the past decade was about the implementation of package software, when it came to information technology, the next 15 could be about transforming enterprises digitally. Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are tasked to help their companies transition from legacy applications to consumer-grade mobile apps. As the trend towards the Internet of Things accelerates, more and more devices will get connected. Gathering information from these devices and analysing them will be the key to both top line and bottom-line performance for every enterprise.

This scenario also implies a greater degree of complexity in tech architectures. A converged infrastructure may make more sense - Dell and EMC combined can offer that converged infrastructure of compute, storage, networking and applications. Global customers also need efficient supply chains. Being able to deal with fewer vendors is always useful. The new scale of Dell Technologies fits into this scheme.

There is, of course, the question of customer lock-in when dealing with a single large vendor. Executives at EMC World had a ready answer whenever it came up: "A single vendor can be much more honest and strategic."

So following its $60bn-plus buy of storage titan EMC, with between 2,000 to 3,000 heads expected to roll. But if sales don’t track to management expectations, sources told us to expect more. A Bloomberg report claimed Dell will seek out $1.7bn in cost savings in the next eighteen months – but it will seek to beef up sales by several times that amount, minimising the need to thin out more.

A Dell spokeswoman gave us the same line Bloomberg carried: “As is common with deals of this size, there will be some overlaps we will need to manage and where some employee reduction will occur. “We will do everything possible to minimise the impact on jobs,” he said, “We expect revenue gains will outweigh any cost savings, and revenue growth drives employment growth”. The redundancies are likely to fall mostly in the US and in roles including supply chain, marketing and general and administrative functions.

Dell completed the acquisition of EMC on Wednesday 7 September, creating a corporate giant turning over more than $70bn and which employs 140,000 people.

Both companies are under pressure from cloud services rivals – in the case of EMC its revenue growth has flatlined, while Dell is still trying to become more than a PC player.

Ceragon unveils new wireless platform with improved security for public safety

Ceragon Networks recently released a new wireless backhaul platform with enhanced security features that seeks to overcome what can at times be a major obstacle for public safety forces – access to a reliable and secure communications network.

Ceragon’s FibeAir IP-20 Assured Platform is geared toward helping public safety organizations, utility companies and service providers increase their operational efficiency, cut down on expenses and build reliable networks with strong security.

“Reliability in public safety and homeland security means that the forces in the field are always connected and that is associated with saving lives,” Shai Yaniv, vice president of marketing at Ceragon Networks, told Homeland Preparedness News.

In terms of its application for homeland security, the technology provided by Ceragon could help support communication between various command centers by transmitting large chunks of data, including video and voice. The connectivity of the wireless network delivers more capacity over longer distances and uses minimal frequencies in order to operate.

Ceragon is the only vendor of wireless backhaul systems, referring to the wireless connectivity between an entity’s network sites, and invests in the development of its own silicon chip sets for its modem parts and radio frequency integrated circuits, Yaniv said, resulting in greater flexibility and performance.

The IP-20 Assured Platform aims to resolve the tough challenges public safety organizations and other network operators face when building highly reliable secured networks for voice and multimedia services in an environment with scarce spectrum, as well as power and real estate constraints, the company said. The IP-20 Assured Platform operates across all wireless backhaul frequencies from 6 to 86 GHz and offers security with over-the-air encryption.

Ceragon’s network platform also offers the flexibility for customers to integrate new types of technology in the future. One key challenge public safety will face, according to Yaniv, is the integration of LTE technology.

“How do you transition from your current LMR (land, mobile, radio) technology over time to a broadband infrastructure, which allows you HD video and all the data-intensive communication over LTE technology, and do it in the most cost effective manner?” Yaniv said.

For the last 20 years, Ceragon has offered wireless backhaul solutions to various markets, including public safety, government and utilities, with mobile operators the largest market.

Ceragon has captured an approximately 10 percent market share in the U.S. public safety market, Yaniv said, and the company sees a growing opportunity in the public safety realm.

Aviat Networks Selects Software Component Ecosystem for SDN Future

Aviat Networks, Inc., one of the leading experts in microwave networking solutions, has announced strategic partnerships with software vendors and research institutions for the automation and advanced control of microwave networks.

Aviat has chosen Metaswitch Networks to provide feature-rich integrated software solutions with Carrier Ethernet, IP routing and MPLS protocols enabling a seamless transition from today's networks to SDN. 'Metaswitch is proud to be selected as the preferred control plane partner by Aviat for its SDN transformation,' says Jon Berger, vice president of engineering, network software, Metaswitch. 'Our high-performance protocol stacks, combined with our continued investment in implementing next-generation features, were key factors in forming the partnership.'

Aviat selected Tail-F to provide the ConfD Management Agent to deliver NETCONF/YANG interfaces, which are today's most efficient management protocol and model for network automation and control. These modern data model-driven network management techniques will enable lowest possible OPEX for Aviat customers. In addition, Tail-F offers predefined integration with the Metaswitch software stack enabling Aviat to bring SDN to market sooner. 'Aviat's commitment to standards-based network programmability with NETCONF and YANG by adopting Tail-f ConfD is aligned with what the industry has been demanding to help reduce the operating expense burden of proprietary interfaces,' says Fredrik Lundberg, head of Tail-f, Cisco-NFV.

On top of these commercial partnerships, Victoria University is providing research collaboration regarding the use of SDN in microwave backhaul applications. Focus areas include network performance, optimization, reliability and developing a model to incorporate unique characteristics of microwave spectrum utilization into SDN framework. Research project results and findings are currently being incorporated into Aviat's next generation of SDN-based hardware and software solutions including AviatCloud Automation and Virtualization platform.

'SDN will be an essential tool for our customers to simplify operations and reduce OPEX,' says Ola Gustafsson, senior vice president and chief product officer, Aviat Networks. 'With these partnerships, Aviat is laying the groundwork for advanced automation and control of microwave networks and ability to seamlessly migrate from today's Ethernet and IP/MPLS networks to SDN.'

Huawei Gearing to Launch New Mate Smartphone

Chinese smartphone maker Huawei is no small entity. If you just look at the numbers it is number three in the world trailing only Samsung and Apple. IFA, which is the yearly trade show that happens in Berlin, Germany is likely to be the stage for its next big launch.

An executive of the company told Chinese blog – GizmoChina that a new phone will be launched which will be part of the Mate line of devices. Widely, the company is expected to launch a successor to the Ascend Mate 8 smartphone, which is its quintessential phabet like device.

That being said, the phone that the company may eventually launch could possibly be geared towards woman. There are already rumours about a phone dubbed the Nova and it could have a massive volume rocker. This phone has already been leaked a couple of times, but other than this nothing else is really known.

Recently, the company globally launched the Honor 8 smartphone which is the flagship phone of its online only Honor brand. In India, recently, the Chinese giant launched the P9 smartphone, which is basically its 2016 flagship smartphone.

The P9 is unique because it is one of the first smartphones to adopt dual-cameras on the back. More importantly, the phone was created in collaboration with iconic camera brand Leica.

Uber Cash option brings tensions in South Africa

A new service by Uber Technologies Inc. that allows riders to pay for their trips in cash has heightened tensions with traditional metered taxis in South Africa, and some drivers for the popular car-service app say they fear for their safety after a spate of violent attacks.

Uber introduced the cash option in South Africa in late May, less than three years after launching its regular credit-card based service in Johannesburg. The goal: to lure riders who don’t have credit cards or are reluctant to plug their bank details into an app, said Alon Lits, Uber’s general manager for sub-Saharan Africa. 

“When you see the market potential that cash unlocks, it’s very hard to ignore that,” he said. The Uber cash option is also available in Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania, and markets beyond Africa, including India and Singapore.

But more than a dozen Uber drivers interviewed by The Wall Street Journal said the cash payments are making their business tougher by increasing intimidation and violence from traditional taxi drivers. They also said the risk of carrying cash in a country with one of the world’s highest crime rates doesn’t make up for the limited increase in business. The tensions could spell a problem for Uber in the company’s largest African market, where the number of drivers operating doubled to 4,000 in the past year alone.

“Uber cash is putting our lives at risk,” said Collen, who has been driving for Uber in Johannesburg for the past two years. Like most other drivers, he asked that his last name not be published since he was criticizing his employer.

During a recent drop-off at a Johannesburg light-rail station, Collen said, a group of taxi drivers smashed his windshield and stole his phone and wallet, including his driver’s license. Tensions with South African taxi drivers first boiled over last summer, but Collen said things had calmed down until the cash option was introduced.

“Now that we’re collecting cash, they’re furious,” he said. Other drivers recounted being beaten and chased by taxi drivers, who often try to damage their vehicles or steal their car keys or smartphones. One said he was threatened with a gun.

But Mr. Lits played down the safety impact of the cash option. “There is no data to suggest crime is higher now than it was before cash,” he said. However, a spokeswoman for Uber said there was an uptick in incidents at popular pickup and drop-off places such as light-rail stations in Johannesburg.

To mitigate the growing risk, Uber has taken new measures in the 76 markets where it operates: deploying private-security guards around known hot spots and creating an emergency number that drivers can call if they are threatened.

Drivers, meanwhile, have developed their own coping mechanisms. Many ask riders to sit in the front rather than the back, hide their GPS when approaching dangerous drop-off spots or fix hidden pickup places with customers by phone. Others say they have stopped taking rides in areas where they know taxi drivers are hanging out.

Opposition from rivals, not to mention regulators, is something the San Francisco-based company has encountered time and again from Portland, Ore., to Paris to Beijing. In Nairobi earlier this year, several Uber cars were burned amid clashes with taxi drivers. An anti-Uber protest in Costa Rica earlier this week, blocked roads in and around the capital.

But the troubles encountered by Uber and its drivers in South Africa point to the broader challenges faced by the company as it pushes into poorer markets where fewer people have credit cards and existing operators are defending a business that has seen little competition from public transportation.

On why the option was launched in Lagos, Uber general manager Nigeria said, “Paying with cash is really important for people in Nigeria so this is an exciting experiment for us. We want everyone to enjoy the hassle-free convenience of ordering a safe, reliable ride at the touch of a button. This cash experiment in Lagos will give us some great insights and help us develop our technology to best meet the needs of the local consumers.”, said Ebi Atawodi, General Manager for Uber Lagos.

Real Reasons why Oracle acquired NetSuite

On July 28, Oracle surprised investors by announcing that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Netsuite, the very first cloud company. In fact, analysts expected Oracle to continue to buy small and mid-sized cloud companies, but NetSuite is a mega acquisition valued at about $9.3 billion.

According to Oracle, it expects the acquisition to be immediately accretive to earnings on a non-GAAP basis in the first full fiscal year after closing. The transaction is valued at $109 per share in cash, or approximately $9.3 billion, a premium of 19% to NetSuite's closing stock price of $91.57 on the day before the announcement.

As seen by Arie Goren of AmigoBulls.com, "the acquisition of cloud business application software company NetSuite is a smart move by Oracle, and it is not paying an excessive price for the deal. The acquisition fits well into Oracle's strategy of promoting its cloud products at the expense of on-premise products. NetSuite has developed a single system for running a business in the cloud for 18 years, and the deal will give Oracle a better access to the mid-market fast-growing commercial software-as-a-service (SaaS) sector, and strengthen its line of SaaS applications. What's more, Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison personally owns almost fifty percent of NetSuite, and NetSuite runs on Oracle databases. NetSuite has more than 30,000 customers in about 100 countries, most of them small and mid-sized business customers. As such, some possibility may arise in selling Oracle products to NetSuite customers and more so in the sale of NetSuite products across Oracle's extensive worldwide customer base."

After a spate of acquisitions in the CRM market by Microsoft and Salesforce, Oracle following suit with the purchase of NetSuite, even though Oracle has its own CRM and ERP offerings, the NetSuite acquisition may flesh out the Oracle portfolio by including e-commerce capabilities. SAP has Hybris and its Customer Experience Suite; and Salesforce recently purchased Demandware in a similar move to flesh out e-commerce capabilities to make it easier for sales and marketing to reach customers by understanding their customer service needs and by enabling customer service agents to upsell to customers. "The walls between sales, service and marketing have come down," said Keith Block, Salesforce's chief operating officer, about the Demandware acquisition.

Brent Leary, a principal at CRM Essentials, a CRM consultancy, said that the NetSuite acquisition helps Oracle flesh out its portfolio, particularly by having different components adjacent to CRM, including ERP and commerce functionality that works seamlessly with its platform.

"Oracle has looked at ways to compete more heavily and leverage their strengths in the CRM market," Leary said. "And their strengths are in having these other pieces to the puzzle and being able to pull them together. NetSuite adds an interesting component from an ERP perspective because, over the past couple of years, they have been driven into combining commerce into their CRM solution."

Finanlly, other reasons include the fact that there’s been a 10-year collapse in infrastructure hardware and software pricing due to open source and cloud. Oracle has been insulated because of its lock on mission critical apps – but it’s not immune. Many workloads in Hadoop, Mongo, Cassandra and emerging AWS databases like Aurora, Redshift and Microsoft SQL on Azure are chipping away at the periphery of Oracle’s database franchise.

Oracle’s response in situations like this has typically been to shift the game – in this case moving aggressively into cloud and SaaS. A previous example of Oracle chasing profits versus higher growth revenue is its acquisition of Sun where Oracle shed Sun’s lower margin server business, shrinking the former company, and instead building a suite of integrated high margin appliances.

Vertu announces Aster Chevron luxury smartphones with canvas back

British luxury mobile phone manufacturer, Vertu has added three new phones to its Aster Collection, featuring an outer shell covered in a distinctive high-quality canvas material in blue, pink or black. The new series is called Aster Chevron. The name Chevron comes from a unique pattern that is women into Italian canvas fabric and is available on Vertu.com for 3900 Euros.

Vertu Aster Chevron maybe looks driven, but the phone is equipped with the latest in hardware and software. The phone runs Android 5.1 Lollipop on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 2.3 GHz Quad-core processor. The display on the phone is 4.7-inch with 1080p resolution and 473dpi. Aster Chevron’s has a 13MP main camera with twin LED flash and 2.1MP front camera (Skype compliant). The phone has 64GB internal memory and is powered by a 2275 mAh battery that gives up to 15 hours 30 minutes of talk time.

Vertu Chief Designer, Hutch Hutchison explains: “Fine leather is a staple of the luxury industry but it is not to everyone’s taste. While Vertu has always been able to supply man-made materials for its customers, this has formerly been exclusively through our bespoke ordering process. Aster Chevron has been developed to cater for these requests on a much larger scale.”

Vertu claims that a lot of attention to detail has been given to the phone and the fabric that covers it, so as to handle the stresses of being used throughout the day by its owner. The company leads in the market of luxury mobile phones, a market that it pioneered many years ago. All Vertu phones are handmade in England, with each craftsman responsible for making a particular unit.

The current range of Vertu phones has three models – Aster, Signature and Signature Touch, while its Audio Collection consists of the V Headphones (HP-1V) and V Speaker (SP-1V).

Vertu provides 24/7 remote access technical support for its users, a 6-month subscription to iPass WiFi, 12-month subscription to Kaspersky anti-virus and anti-theft protection and a 12-month subscription to Silent Circle encrypted communications services.