CAD is Back on the Map
January 3, 2012
It looks like CAD is about to go through a growth spurt. Design News reports in “CAD Resurgence Fueled by Technology” that 2012 could be a stellar year for CAD “thanks to the rise of technologies like cloud computing, mobile apps and tablets.”
The CAD resurgence is lead by the younger generation of engineers. Kathleen Maher, an analyst for Jon Peddie Research says that this generation is looking for efficiencies and:
“[t]hey’re looking for better ways to create data and more ways to use the data. Most important, CAD customers are visual people and they want to interact with visual data, including 3D, simulations, and point cloud data.”
Watch for CAD to “evolve with lightweight, more easy-to-use, less expensive tools.”
As CAD expands and advances this year, so will the likes of Inforbix. Their apps, which find, re-use and share product data, are compatible with most CAD programs. Inforbix is efficient, innovative and exactly what the younger generation is looking for. We suspect 2012 is going to be a good year.
Jennifer Wensink, January 3, 2012
Protected: Continuous Integration May Solve Your SharePoint Team Project Problems
January 3, 2012
Is the Union of Oracle and Endeca Merit the Hype?
January 3, 2012
The question of what to do with unstructured and semi-structured data rises to the surface again and again. Oracles’ answer to the almost mystical question is to add Endeca MDEX into the soup pot. The article, Oracle: Endeca Inside?, on Ovum’s website gives a lengthy explanation of how the new combo of Oracle and Endeca MDEX will take the world by storm – well, the unstructured and semi-structured world at least.
While the assertions in the article are quite impressive we’d like to see some proof of their existence. Much is said about how Oracle really doesn’t need Endeca but will benefit from it nonetheless. The article justifies the addition of Endeca MDEX by saying,
MDEX adds an important capability to Oracle’s analytic portfolio. It allows Oracle to target business users and provide data exploration and lightweight analysis on semi-structured data. However, it also goes against Oracle’s overarching strategy of maintaining one database for almost all kinds of analytic workloads. Over the medium term, Ovum therefore welcomes MDEX being absorbed into core Oracle technologies and offered as a piece of its larger ‘engineered systems’ strategy.
Although reluctant we do agree with the overall concept that Ovum introduces about how MDEX’s absorption into the Oracle machine is probably not a bad idea, we still wrestle with the bigger question: Is performance an issue which can be resolved with Oracle hardware?
Our view is that Ovum may have only part of the puzzle in hand. Oracle and Endeca may not be a two dimensional set up.
Catherine Lamsfuss, January 3, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
IBM: Buy Them All?
January 3, 2012
In an effort to keep up with technology and their customer base IBM has gone on quite a shopping spree this past year. The article, IBM Acquires Emptoris Analytics, on Network Computing, spotlights the purchase of Emptoris, a leader in supply chain solutions, and highlights other major purchases the software-giant has made in the past two years.
As for the reason for all this purchasing the article explains,
Having established itself as a leader in the market for infrastructure software, IBM is now branching out into application-like products in an effort to maintain growth. Just last week, the company announced that it had reached a definitive agreement to acquire DemandTec, a San Mateo, Calif.-based developer of cloud-based applications for retailers and marketers. Under that agreement, IBM will pay $13.20 per share, or about $400 million, to purchase DemandTec outright.
As IBM rounds out its newly acquired buy-out portfolio we have to wonder if anything substantial will be shown for all the effort and money spent. They claim their focus is on developing software and platforms that put the customer in the center of business. It is obvious after examining the companies bought that IBM is moving in the cloud direction and with the addition of risk analysis companies like Algorithmics will be broadening their customer base and offering top-of-line technology through their software. IBM’s approach may be to buy them all.
Catherine Lamsfuss, January 3, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Making PLM Prosperous for 2012
January 2, 2012
“As a rule of thumb we have found in numerous projects that the initial cost for a complete PLM solution will generally be in the range of $4,000 to $6,000 per user (for capital investments and one-time expenses). Where in this range the overall cost falls depends largely on the number of users and the implemented functionality.”
New Book on using SharePoint 2010 and Silverlight
January 2, 2012
While it is now too late for Christmas, a new book out by Bob German and Paul Stubbs gets a positive review from Andrew Connell, the Microsoft Developer with a focus on SharePoint. SharePoint 2010 Development with Silverlight is discussed in Connell’s “Great Resource for SharePoint 2010 & Silverlight.”
Connell’s review:
Are you interested in looking for a good resource on doing SharePoint 2010 or Silverlight development with both tools? This is the book for you. Bob & Paul, the two best people to write this book with their deep experience in both technologies, have done a fantastic job in starting with primers on both technologies and then diving in deep on doing various things you’d want to accomplish with both SharePoint 2010 & Silverlight.
The book includes a discussion on both SharePoint 2010 and Silverlight development as well as guidance for setting up your environment and building custom applications. Connell does provide the forward to the new publication, but his knowledge on the topic points to this being a good resource for interested parties.
However, if you do not have the time to read right now while you’re focused on adding value and efficiency to your business information, rely on experts at Fabasoft Mindbreeze. Their suite of solutions provides intuitive access for the right people with the right information at the right time.
Here you can read about their capabilities:
Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise offers unified information access to enterprise and cloud resources. It combines and links the information. Information can be grouped and classified. A user can scan the results using search tabs and categories and find a relevant document without having to click through a list of links. The information’s semantic context is recognized and depicted, and navigation elements for drill down are provided; one click and the preview of any result is available. Fabasoft Mindbreeze provides a 360 degree view of your business, customers, competitors, and more.
Find what works for you with Fabasoft Mindbreeze.
Philip West, January 2, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Kapow Releases Katalyst Version 8.2
January 2, 2012
Kapow Software moves in a new direction that is a bit of a surprise to us. EWeek reports, “Kapow Software Punches Out Update of Cloud-Based Analytics Service.” Kapow is positioning its Katalyst version 8.2 as a self-service, subscription model analytics tool with an intuitive user interface. It also boasts 100% data accuracy. According to the write up:
Katalyst 8.2 can organize, integrate and analyze data from streams as diverse as legacy, on-premise, social media, partner, B2B, competitor, e-commerce, blogs and news sites, as well as location-based and mobile data, [founder Stefan] Andreasen said. The Kapow service is one that speaks to both IT and line-of-business people at an enterprise, and thus can bring them together (when they most often work separately) to solve common research needs.
Headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, Kapow Software has offered innovative technology solutions for a decade. The company prides itself on bridging the divide between IT departments and business users. It now has over 500 customers worldwide but its heart remains in Copenhagen. Take your conceptual umbrella we suggest.
Cynthia Murrell, January 2, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Protected: Make Your SharePoint Experience Easier with Shorter URLs
January 2, 2012
One Suggestion for a URL Shortening Solution in SharePoint
December 30, 2011
We know that communicating SharePoint links can get pretty painful when you copy and paste a link to a document from a Document Library buried deep in a hierarchal list of sites. URL shortening has eased a lot of this pain across a variety of platforms. Jan Tielens discusses URL shortening and provides a suggested solution in “URL Shortening for SharePoint 2010.” The author describes her solution:
So to make a long SharePoint URL short, you can copy the URL to the clipboard, go to a URL shortener, past the long link over there and copy the short URL you get in return back to the clipboard. Works perfectly, but there are quite some tedious steps to go through. Already a long time ago, when SharePoint 2007 was still the rage, I posted some code that automates all these steps. Finally I found some time to update the code to SharePoint 2010 and nicely package it in a Sandboxed Solution, so it works both for SharePoint 2010 deployed on premises as in the cloud on Office 365.
A handy tip for a pesky problem, no doubt. We’ve seen how short URLs allow for convenient messaging and sharing, like in the case with Twitter or Identi.ca. But URL shortening is a tedious process.
If you prefer to focus your time on tasks of greater importance, check out Fabasoft Mindbreeze. Over there, they really have text processing components in SharePoint down to an art. You can read more here at, “Information Pairing Makes Websites More Intelligent!” to learn about some of the benefits of their information pairing technology. “It smoothly integrates itself into your website so that the user doesn’t even realize that Cloud services are working in the background. Furthermore, InSite always knows what a user is interested in.” Their great deal of digital know-how takes convenience to a new level with mobility and maintenance-free capabilities; check out Fabasoft Mindbreeze.
Philip West, December 30, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com
PLM Predictions for 2012
December 30, 2011
It must be the end of the year because all the prognosticators are out and making their lists. Technological innovations are no exceptions and the article “Kalypso Issues Top 5 Innovation Predictions for 2012” focuses on the future of product development, PLM technology and innovation.
Kalypso, a innovation consulting firm, anticipates PLM technologies to look to the sky and find the cloud. The article explains that:
With the recent release of new cloud-based PLM technologies from Dassault Systèmes and Autodesk, companies have a growing list of options for transitioning to cloud-based PLM systems. This, coupled with cloud-based energy savings and the potential to reduce cost of software ownership, will likely draw more companies to these solutions.
They also foresee PLM entering the consumer packaged goods industry. These companies “have traditionally lagged behind other industries in adopting PLM to drive innovation” but that is about to change.
These innovations are very intriguing and we are excited to see what 2012 brings. So what do we think is going to happen in 2012? Well don’t be surprised if Inforbix, a collection of integrated applications that help companies find, re-use and share product data, continues to make a big splash. They had a great 2011 and we see even bigger things for them in the upcoming year. We hope everyone has a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!
Jennifer Wensink, December 30, 2011
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