Adoption of Managed Services among Global Enterprises Set to Increase; Telephony Management Functions Lead Adoption

Feb 27, 2007:

Managed Network Services (MNS) adoption will increase over the next two years among large, globally focused businesses, reports In-Stat (http://www.in-stat.com). A survey by the high-tech market research firm of IT and network managers in companies of more than 1,000 employees shows that most globally focused firms currently perform network functions in-house. Out-tasking will soon gain acceptance, however, due to increased network complexity and convergence.

In two years, nearly 40% of survey respondents in the areas of PBX/Phone System Management and Telecom Expense Management indicate that these functions will be out-tasked. Within two years, MNS adoption rates will roughly double for security, storage and hosting, with nearly one-third of respondents indicating these functions will be out-tasked.

MediaRing Exceeds US$100M Revenue and Turns in Record Profit

Feb 26, 2007:

Net profit grew 60% to US$8.3 million

Revenue exceeded the US$100 million mark at US$117 million

Operating Profit grew 78% to US$6.5 million

Call traffic volume increased 26% to 1.3 billion minutes

SINGAPORE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–

US$’million		12 months ended 31 Dec 2006		12 months ended 31 Dec 2005		Change
Revenue		117.0		95.2		+23%
Operating Profit		6.5		3.6		+78%
Net Profit		8.3		5.2		+60%
EPS (US cent)		0.79		0.64		+23%
NAV (US cent)		6.99		5.19		+35%

Mainboard-listed MediaRing Ltd (SGX:M09)(http://www.mediaring.com), the leader of VoIP telephony service providers in Asia, established new record results for their latest financial year.

For the financial year ended 31 December 2006, net profit surged 60% to US$8.3 million. Excluding the one time expenses pertaining to the voluntary general offer for Pacific Internet Ltd shares, net profit would have been US$9.1 million – a 75% increase over the previous year.

For the first time, revenue crossed the US$100 million mark, growing 23% to US$117 million.

HP Extends Reach in High-Growth Network-Attached Storage Market with PolyServe Acquisition

In case you missed this:

PALO ALTO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–HP (NYSE:HPQ) announced Feb 26, 2007 that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire PolyServe, Inc., a leading provider of storage software for application and file serving utilities.

The acquisition provides a strong entry point for HP into the high-growth enterprise network-attached storage (NAS) market and allows the company to extend NAS technology to blades, the fastest growing segment of the storage market. The acquisition will also allow HP to offer customers a powerful consolidation platform for databases that require high performance and resilience.

Ericsson announces cash offer to acquire Tandberg Television

Feb 26, 2007: Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) today announces a voluntary public cash offer to acquire Tandberg Television (OSE:TAT) for NOK 106 in cash per share (the “Cash Offer”), or an aggregate price of approximately SEK 9.8 billion. The Cash Offer represents a premium of 18.2 percent to Tandberg’s 90-day volume weighted average stock price. The Cash Offer also represents a premium of 10.4 percent or NOK 10 per share to the proposed mixed cash/share offer announced January 15, 2007 by Arris.

 

 

Ericsson offers NOK 106 per share in cash

 

A total consideration of SEK 8.9 b. after deduction of net cash

Ericsson has acquired 11.7% of the outstanding shares in Tandberg Television and entered into agreements for irrevocable acceptances for the Cash Offer in respect of further approximately 13% of Tandberg Television’s outstanding shares

 

EPS accretive from 2007, excl. possible depreciation of intangibles

 

Significant step toward world leadership position in IPTV

 

Expands Ericsson’s customer base to include cable and satellite operators as well as broadcasters

 

Carl-Henric Svanberg, president and CEO, Ericsson, says: “IPTV for cable and telecom operators is the biggest networked multimedia opportunity going forward. Ericsson and Tandberg Television is a strong combination with a unique ability to offer complete IPTV solutions. Tandberg’s leading TV technology and customer base and our global presence and strong position in IP networks and IMS, will create a leading player in networked media solutions for telecom, cable and satellite operators as well as media companies.”

IDC Predicts Key Regional Decision Makers Playing a More Crucial Role in Awarding BPO Contracts in 2007

21 Feb 2007
Singapore and Hong Kong, February 21, 2007 – In its latest study of business process outsourcing (BPO) trends for the Asia/Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) market, IDC predicts 2007 to be a year where corporations will focus even more on regional issues and needs within the organization. IDC found that while much of APEJ is still at its nascent stages of development for BPO, several trends are starting to emerge that are unique to the APEJ region. More findings are published in the recently updated IDC report, Asia/Pacific (Excluding Japan) 2007 Business Process Outsourcing Predictions and Insights (Doc #AP224103P)

“More autonomy is being pushed to regional decision makers across various departments, requiring them to better align their BPO needs with business and global objectives. BPO trials and pre-configured solutions are also gaining momentum as APEJ companies look for solutions that address specific regional outsourcing needs,” says Conrad Chang, IDC’s Research Manager for IDC’s Asia/Pacific BPO Services Research.