Vodafone opts to outsource

Telecommunications company Vodafone Australia has announced plans to outsource non-core technology and property operations, as part of its strategy to focus on core business. There were 107 people affected at Vodafone, 100 of which have accepted positions with the new outsourcing partners, according to a Vodafone statement. Grahame Maher, managing director at Vodafone Australia, said that the company had gone through a rigorous process to make sure its people would be offered the same employment terms and conditions that they had at Vodafone. Network access and transmission will be looked after by TCI and AAP Communications Services (AAPCS);...

Database vendor launches app integration drive

Embedded database vendor InterSystems has launched a partner portal offering its Caché application partners extra developer, marketing and sales support, as part of an overall push into application integration. InterSystems' new partner portal incorporates joint marketing opportunities, services such as free engineering resources and sales support, Caché database engine marketing tools and information about government support, business strategy and industry associations. Partners and their products will also be promoted on InterSystems' public website as part of the formal program. Denis Tebbutt, managing director for InterSystems...

Intel takes the high road

Intel today announced a new method of creating transistor materials which reportedly allows for cooler and more efficient processors. The traditional silicon dioxide material that forms the gate dielectric of a transistor is prone to power leakage. This limits the extent to which processors can continue to be manufactured in ever decreasing sizes. According to Ken David, Intel's co-director of components research for the Technology Manufacturing Group, the company will use a new 'high-k' material to make the dielectric gates. Unlike the current leaky silicon dioxide technology, high-k materials can be shrunk to smaller sizes yet still retain...

Xbox 2 raises its head

COMMENTARY: When Microsoft first set aim at Sony and announced its move into the gaming console realm with Xbox, much was made of the underlying hardware and its affinity with the PC. Xbox used a hybridised Intel Celeron Processor, slightly modified NVIDIA GeForce3 graphics chip and NVIDIA designed core logic that became a motherboard chipset called nForce. The strange side effect was that it pushed interest in console hardware to new levels. The same enthusiasts who were obsessed with PC components suddenly saw glimpses into the future coming through the Xbox hardware, and then wondered why the PlayStation2 and GameCube were so different. Current...

WebSpy appliances itself overseas

Perth security ISV WebSpy has signed a deal with a Melbourne security appliance manufacturer to take that vendor's products overseas. Jack Andrys, CEO of WebSpy, said the ISV and security appliance maker Exinda Networks had agreed to combine their complementary capabilities to ramp up their market push. 'They're starting to push their product out. That product is bandwidth management, so determines how much bandwidth is available for current protocol,' he said. 'And they've spent a lot of money doing that.' WebSpy already had a well-developed customer network overseas, including offices in places such as the US but sought to consolidate that...

Data#3 acquires f5

ASX-listed integrator Data #3 on Thursday announced it had acquired Brisbane Microsoft web development company f5, in a move it claimed would make it one of the software giant's largest partners in Australia. The acquisition would create an expanded Microsoft Application Solutions business unit inside Data #3 and customers would benefit from integrated expertise in Microsoft applications, infrastructure, services and licensing, the company claimed. 'f5 brings six years of specialist expertise in Microsoft-centric applications development, particularly in the emerging fields of Internet, Intranet and web services software and in f5's...

We\’re innocent, Epson claims

Printer vendor Epson has defended recent US-based lawsuits and allegations that it was misleading consumers by prematurely warning them to replace ink cartridges. In July, Dutch consumer organisation Consumentenbond alleged Epson misled buyers, warning them to replace the cartridge via an integrated chip that prevents the cartridges being run dry. The company has since retracted all claims and issued an apology, Epson said. Three lawsuits were also filed by the same law firm in several US jurisdictions and are 'based on allegations that Epson believes are completely without merit, the company said. Epson printers are designed to retain a small...

Senetas more secure than ever

Australian business intelligence vendor Senetas is on track for further steady growth this financial year on the back of its security portfolio sales through subsidiary CTAM. At the company's AGM, Senetas chairman Francis Galbally said that the ASX-listed vendor expects the 2003-04 financial year to reap $18 million to $20 million, an increase from 2002-03's break-even $13 million in line with the company's strategy for steady growth. 'Senetas has now consistently increased operating revenues by double digit growth over the past four financial years and is on track for a profitable 2004,' he said. Galbally said that a renewed focus by 'most...

Brocade offers fabric platform to OEMs, ISVs

Storage vendor Brocade has made its flagship fabric application platform available to its OEM and developer partners worldwide. The US-based SAN company has announced general availability to partners of its Brocade SilkWorm Fabric application platform, on display at Storage Networking World Sydney today. Brocade claimed the platform was the industry's first intelligent switching platform. It is designed to host SAN fabric-based storage management applications such as volume management, data migration and data replication. The vendor also announced it would offer a set of multi-protocol fabric routing services for the platform. Customers could...