Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Remote services business I wrote about an acquisition in the remote services sector last month where Axeda purchased the assets and technology of Questra. The release included a statement about the two leading companies in the space--something that always starts editors checking. Yesterday, I talked with Product Management Director Dan Murphy of Axeda. He says that Axeda feels it has leading market share and that Questra was often the number two company involved in bid situations. He didn't really say what happened to Questra that caused it to sell assets and technologies, but he did talk about the two different approaches that will now be brought together. Axeda is an "out-of-the-box" application suite. It builds as many features into the product as feasible. Questra focused on building into the core business processes of its customers--such as sales and marketing, supplychain, and the like. Axeda instrumented the machine or device for feedback to achieve higher uptime or productivity. Questra pushed information to the end user for upgrade or service. Further, Axeda had become a partner with Oracle; Questra with SAP. Now Axeda will be merging the technology ideas and at the same time trying to maintain relationships with both the leading ERP suppliers. The remote services concept is that a machine or device (you can think medical testing device, for example) contains code and connectivity back to the manufacturer. The manufacturer can monitor the machine or device in order to provide service and support, or perhaps to send disposable supplies when they are low. Security of connected devices has often been cited as a negative factor--especially when IT gets involved--in implementation of these products. Murphy says that Axeda has worked very hard on security--including working with security expert Verisign--to overcome that perception and prove the security of the connection. 10:43:42 AM    comment []

Public Service Health Blog I don't quote The New York Time as much as in the past, but here is an important column on heart health. The findings reported here match the research I've been reading on Dr. Andrew Weil's Web site. Most things you have been told for years about achieving a healthy heart are still true -- reduce stress, watch cholesterol, quit smoking, get aerobic exercise. But researchers are finding that inflammation is a marker and perhaps precipitator of problems. The C-reactive protein is something that can be checked and reveals inflammation that can cause the cholesterol to clot and cause heart attacks. Eating a Mediterranean diet based on fruits, vegetables, fish and beans is an anti-inflammatory diet that will help you toward a healthy heart. Walnuts are also good, as is cooking with canola oil and using olive oil. Fish such as salmon, sardines and tuna are recommended, as is supplemental fish oil. Oh, yes, red wine works, too. Particularly for my reading audience, watching your stress is probably the first thing you should do--diet and exercise next. I say that partly on family experience. There have been only two occurances of heart problems of which I'm aware in my family on both sides. My grandfather was a production superintendent at a GM plant throughout the 40s. He watched a friend die on the production line and went to the doctor. After a check, the doctor told him he could keep his job and have a heart attack and die within the next couple of years--or he could quit. He quit and lived to be about 90. An uncle on the other side of the family was a college administrator under great stress due to extreme financial problems of his college. He had a heart attack. I'm not suggesting you all quit, but there are many stress reduction techniques you can use to achieve a healthy heart. Exercise, Yoga, meditation all help. Do your heart a favor. Get moving and check out the article. 10:18:18 AM    comment []