Markets
News and Observations
Tuesday, August 6, 2002
News and Observations
Tuesday, August 6, 2002
A Little Vulture Capital To Keep The Wheels Turning?
To the extent the claims are accurate, venture capitalists are at some risk of making themselves irrelevant. Having been burned by bad investments, entrepreneurs report VC are now increasingly risk averse and seeking demanding terms. At this rate, it won't take long before entrepreneurs and other investors just take a pass.
CA Sells Services
CA reports establishing a dedicated sales unit to focus on the company's service business which dropped tens of millions of dollars recently. A reasonable enough goal, although the effort to position the firm as a 'trusted advisor' will be difficult to pull off. Few customers view any software company as a dispassionate source of advice - there are just too many obvious biases built into the process. When you apply that to CA - which has always traveled a rocky road with customers - you end up with a really tough sales job.
No Rush For .NET Server?
Analysts don't see much movement to .NET server, currently available in a release candidate version. Those organizations that have already pulled the trigger have moved to Windows 2000 and have little motivation to migrate again to to .NET. The toss-up is focused on Windows NT users - while some have been patiently waiting for .NET, others plan to stay on Windows NT until the bitter end (sometime next year, after suppor ends). The bottom line? Don't expect a sharp uptake in adoption.
To the extent the claims are accurate, venture capitalists are at some risk of making themselves irrelevant. Having been burned by bad investments, entrepreneurs report VC are now increasingly risk averse and seeking demanding terms. At this rate, it won't take long before entrepreneurs and other investors just take a pass.
Venture Capitalists Are Taking the Gloves Off. Venture capitalists are offering the companies they bankroll increasingly hard-knuckled deals that leave little wealth for a start-up's managers or original backers. By Lynnley Browning. [New York Times: Business]
9:28:11 AM 
CA Sells Services
CA reports establishing a dedicated sales unit to focus on the company's service business which dropped tens of millions of dollars recently. A reasonable enough goal, although the effort to position the firm as a 'trusted advisor' will be difficult to pull off. Few customers view any software company as a dispassionate source of advice - there are just too many obvious biases built into the process. When you apply that to CA - which has always traveled a rocky road with customers - you end up with a really tough sales job.
CA sets up sales team in bid to boost services business [Computerworld]
9:19:21 AM
No Rush For .NET Server?
Analysts don't see much movement to .NET server, currently available in a release candidate version. Those organizations that have already pulled the trigger have moved to Windows 2000 and have little motivation to migrate again to to .NET. The toss-up is focused on Windows NT users - while some have been patiently waiting for .NET, others plan to stay on Windows NT until the bitter end (sometime next year, after suppor ends). The bottom line? Don't expect a sharp uptake in adoption.
Analysts question move to .Net Server [ZDNet Tech News]
9:08:42 AM