FAQ: What the Dell-Perot merger means for the IT industry

Dell on Monday announced a definitive agreement to purchase Perot Systems, the IT services company founded by Ross Perot in 1988. The acquisition, expected to close between November and January, greatly expands Dell's reach into the IT services and support market, particularly in government and healthcare sectors. Dell is paying $3.9 billion for Perot Systems, a 68% premium over Perot's actual stock value. Here's a look at some of the key questions related to the deal.

Why does Dell think Perot is worth such a high price? The 2007 hiring of Stephen Schuckenbrock, former COO at Electronic Data Systems, was one of several moves signaling Dell's intent to move further into the services industry. Buying Perot is part of Dell's plan to expand its footprint in the IT services market, which may be a necessity in a time when hardware sales are falling. But the Perot deal is the strongest step yet in this regard. "Over the last couple of years they have more or less created a platform for a true entrance into the service market," says Forrester analyst Paul Roehrig. "They're really over-exposed on the hardware side. "In a lot of ways, this is a natural extension of the trajectory they have been on." (Read what analysts have to say about the acquisition.) The Obama administration's attempt to expand federally funded healthcare coverage is another consideration. By purchasing Perot, Dell immediately expands its penetration into both markets, which are likely to grow, Roehrig says. "If you were betting a couple billion dollars, what industry would you bet on?" he says. "In North America and globally there's a lot of technology enablement that has to happen in those spaces." Dell officials said they are also seeing demand from customers who want to virtualize their data centers and build private cloud networks, and buying Perot will significantly bolster Dell's ability to serve those customers. Nearly half (48%) of Perot's revenue comes from the healthcare industry, and 25% of Perot's revenue comes from the government sector.

How will Perot be operated within Dell? Dell said it will combine its own services organization with Perot's. The operation will be run out of Plano, Tex., Perot's corporate headquarters, and will be led by Peter Altabef, Perot's CEO. Dell has pulled in $5.1 billion in services revenue over the last year, while Perot did $2.6 billion in business, so the combined services organization has annual revenue of nearly $8 billion. Perot Systems will become the focus of Dell's services business. What will happen to Perot's employees and leadership team? Dell officials say they expect to cut $300 million in costs out of the two companies over the next two years. As with any acquisition, there will likely be layoffs to reduce overlap between the two companies.

Top executives are staying put, with Dell saying it has reached "long-term retention agreements" with both Altobef and "critical members of his senior leadership team." Perot has 23,000 employees. The 79-year-old Perot has served as chairman emeritus of the company's board since September 2004. Perot, a former presidential candidate and a major figure in the IT services industry for nearly five decades, is also the founder of Electronic Data Systems, which was purchased by HP. (Slideshow: Techies turned politicians)  Perot's son, Ross Perot, Jr., is a former CEO of Perot Systems and is now chairman of the Perot board of directors. Is Ross Perot still involved in Perot Systems? Perot, Jr. will be considered for appointment to the Dell board after the acquisition closes, according to Dell. The acquisition "definitely makes a statement," says Gartner analyst Dane Anderson, and gives Dell new expertise in the healthcare and government markets.

Should competitors in the IT services industry be worried by the Dell-Perot combination? But the merger is not a guarantee of success. "Whether they suddenly become the next big competitor to IBM, Accenture, or HP EDS, that remains to be seen," he says. HP, having purchased EDS, does $40 billion in services revenue, Anderson says. Size-wise, Dell's services organization still pales in comparison to some competitors. IBM is even bigger with $57 billion in services revenue.

Yes, but which company might get acquired next is anyone's guess, Anderson says. With EDS and Perot now off the block, are there any other IT services firms that might be acquired? Companies like CSC and Accenture could be takeover targets, but the same could be said of numerous services vendors. "The reality is, I'm not sure anyone is out of play," Anderson says. "The issue is who has got the intestinal fortitude and cash to make things happen." HP and IBM obviously have the cash. You really have to find a way to create volume in those smaller deal sizes." Can we expect Dell to make more acquisitions? But HP already acquired EDS, and IBM has such a large services organization that further growth will be difficult to achieve. "I don't think IBM will acquire a big services company, but it's not necessarily ruled out," Anderson says. "IBM already has $57 billion, $58 billion in services revenue, so how do you grow that effectively, especially when there are many fewer billion-dollar plus deals out there? Yes.

Should Dell and Perot customers have any concerns about the merger? Dell was able to expand its ISCSI storage business last year by purchasing EqualLogic and has indicated a willingness to continue expansion through acquisition. "We're looking for more things like EqualLogic which build on strong IP and allow us to extend the significant customer reach we have," Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of the company, said in a conference call Monday. Customers should always examine the potential ramifications of an acquisition, analysts say. But on balance, customers have reason to expect that the Dell-Perot combination will provide new opportunities or at least not be harmful. "With these kinds of integrations, clients get nervous," Roehrig says. One question is whether Dell will pressure clients to use Dell hardware rather than servers and storage from Sun, HP or others.

But "customers shouldn't panic about this. In fact, they should look at it as an opportunity to see if it remains a good fit and see if they can generate additional value for their own firms based on [the combination of Dell and Perot]." Customers of service companies that have close partnerships with Dell's hardware division may have reason to be nervous, however. "If my service provider is really relying on Dell, that's something I'd worry about," Roehrig says.

Microsoft denies it built 'backdoor' in Windows 7

Microsoft today denied that it has built a backdoor into Windows 7, a concern that surfaced yesterday after a senior National Security Agency (NSA) official testified before Congress that the agency had worked on the operating system. "Microsoft has not and will not put 'backdoors' into Windows," a company spokeswoman said, reacting to a Computerworld story Wednesday. Yesterday, he raised the issue, which isn't new, of whether the NSA pressures companies like Microsoft to craft so-called "backdoors" into their code that would let the agency track users and intercept users' communications. On Monday, Richard Schaeffer, the NSA's information assurance director, told the Senate's Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security that the agency had partnered with the developer during the creation of Windows 7 "to enhance Microsoft's operating system security guide." Echoing earlier concerns, Marc Rotenberg, the executive director of the Electronics Privacy Information Center (EPIC), questioned the wisdom of letting the NSA participate in OS development. "The key problem is that NSA has a dual mission, COMPUSEC, computer security, now called cyber security, and SIGINT, signals intelligence, in other words surveillance," Rotenberg said in an e-mail.

Rotenberg called it an "obvious concern," and added that it might be difficult for major software makers to turn down NSA "suggestions" because the U.S. federal government is an important customer. The company rolled out the Windows 7 version of the toolkit late last month, shortly after it officially launched the operating system. Today's categorical denial by Microsoft was accompanied by further explanation of exactly how the NSA participated in the making of Windows 7. "The work being discussed here is purely in conjunction with our Security Compliance Management Toolkit," said the spokeswoman. The compliance management toolkit provides a set of security configurations that address additional levels of risks beyond those addressed out of the box, as well as tools to deploy these configurations and monitor what Microsoft calls "configuration drift." The toolkit is aimed at enterprises, government agencies and other large-scale organizations. John Pescatore, an analyst with Gartner Research, agreed. "[The concerns] are way overstated," he said today in an e-mail. "NSA worked with Microsoft and others, like Cisco, on security configuration standards for [their] products." Cisco, in fact, has built "lawful intercept" capabilities into its products, including its Internetworking Operating System (ISO) and its VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) lines. Microsoft's rejection of the idea that it's hidden a backdoor in Windows came as no surprise to security researchers, who yesterday expressed doubt that the company would put its reputation at such risk. "I can't imagine NSA and Microsoft would do anything deliberate, because the repercussions would be enormous if they got caught," Roger Thompson, the chief research officer of antivirus vendor AVG Technologies, said yesterday.

The term describes the process by which law enforcement agencies conduct electronic surveillance of circuit and packet-mode communications under authorization, such as electronic wiretap orders. The NSA proposal, however, raised a firestorm of protest and the idea was ultimately dropped. Rotenberg still questioned NSA involvement. "The key point is that the NSA is not the right agency to promote computer security in the private sector," he argued. "The risks to end users are real - the original NSA key escrow proposal, 'Clipper,' was a terrible idea - and there is too little transparency about these arrangements." The Clipper chip Rotenberg referred to was a project first proposed in 1993 that would offer ultra-strong encryption, but would allow access to encrypted data by law enforcement.

NASA probe crashes into moon in hunt for water

In its search for water on the moon, NASA slammed not one, but two, spacecraft into a deep, dark crater on the lunar south pole this morning. NASA successfully nailed a target about 230,000 miles from Earth - twice. It was a precision operation.

The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, known as LCROSS, separated into two sections last night. Four minutes later, the rest of the space probe shot through the miles-high plume of debris kicked up by the first impact, grabbed analysis of the matter, and then it too crashed into the lunar surface. Its empty rocket hull, weighing in at more than 2 tons, was the first of the two pieces to slam into the lunar surface at 7:31 a.m. EDT today. Effectively, it was a one-two punch designed to kick up what scientists believe is water ice hiding in the bottom of a permanently dark crater. NASA said it will issue a report on its initial analysis of the probe at10 a.m. EDT today. With NASA still hopeful to one day create a viable human outpost on the moon , it would be helpful for anyone there to find water rather than haul it up from Earth.

NASA had been promising live images of the impact and resulting debris plume but the live images on NASA TV disappeared moments before impact. The orbiter is expected to send its own analysis of the debris plume back to earth later this morning. The LCROSS spacecraft, which blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on June 18, went aloft with its companion satellite, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter . As the Atlas V rocket carrying lifted off, a NASA spokesman called it "NASA's first step in a lasting return to the moon." NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter , which has been in orbit around the moon since late June, was 50 kilometers above the moon's surface during this morning's impact. The LCROSS spacecraft heavily loaded with scientific gear. The instruments were selected to provide mission scientists with multiple views of the debris created by the hull's initial impact. According to NASA, its payload consisted of two near-infrared spectrometers, a visible light spectrometer, two mid-infrared cameras, two near-infrared cameras, a visible camera and a visible radiometer.

Before it crashed into the moon, LCROSS was transmitting data back to NASA mission control at 1.5 Mbps, NASA noted this morning.

NASA facing game-changing times

When NASA Administrator Charles Bolden releases the space agency's fiscal year 2011 budget this week it will likely the beginning of a startling new phase of space research and activities. NASA telescopes watch cosmic violence, mysteries unravel That was the conclusion of the Augustine Review of United States Human Space Flight Plan Committee report delivered to the White House last October. When it comes down to it, NASA is the most accomplished space organization in the world but its human spaceflight activities are at a tipping point, primarily due to a mismatch of goals and money.

The report said NASA's fundamental conundrum is that within the current structure of the budget, NASA essentially has the resources either to build a major new system or to operate one, but not to do both. According to the GAO, NASA estimates that Ares I and Orion represent up to $49 billion of the over $97 billion estimated to be spent on the Constellation program through 2020. However, the Constellation program has encountered daunting challenges in terms of design, testing, manufacturing, and poorly phased funding that have led the program to slip its target for a first crewed flight to no later than March 2015.While the agency has already obligated more than $10 billion in contracts, at this point NASA does not know how much Ares I and Orion will ultimately cost, and will not know until technical and design challenges have been addressed, the GAO stated. Money is a problem especially when it comes to NASA's biggest expenditure: the Ares rocket. And indeed it likely won't. But what will NASA do? For example the action most likely to generate the most attention this week will be the directive to move forward aggressively with a commercial launch of crews to low-Earth orbit. There are a ton of possibilities and projects.

NASA will be part of the support of some of these missions but such services should be a boon to many US aerospace companies. If humans are ever to live for long periods on another planetary surface, it is likely to be on Mars, the commission stated. The aerospace consultancy Futron said that as much as $1.5 billion may be up for grabs for commercial space operations in the next ten years. 7 critical commercial spaceflight concerns the US must tackle It will be interesting to see what happens with Mars, as the Augustine commission said Mars is the ultimate destination for human exploration. Here are just of few of the other hot topics that likely will make more news this week: How will NASA defend Earth against killer asteroids and comets? The report says the $4 million the US currently spends annually to search for comets and asteroids is insufficient and that while impacts by large comets or asteroids are rare, "a single impact could inflict extreme damage, raising the classic problem of how to confront a possibility that is both very rare and very important.

The National Research Council recently said NASA doesn't get enough money to properly track all of the asteroids and comets that head toward Earth, a task it is required to handle by Congress. Far more likely are those impacts that cause only moderate damage and few fatalities." NASA space shuttle Endeavour rockets onNASA gave its space shuttle Endeavour a thumbs up this week for an expected nighttime launch on Feb. 7. According to NASA at this point there are no issues that could impede an on-time liftoff of Endeavour and for the for the space shuttle program's 32nd visit to the International Space Station. Five shuttle missions are planned in 2010, with the final flight currently targeted for launch in September. Endeavour's flight will begin the final year of space shuttle operations. NASA hears nothing from Mars Phoenix roverSo far it looks like the outside chance that NASA's frozen Phoenix Mars Lander is still alive is - way outside. Nineteen more listening overflights are planned this month and more in February and March.

The space agency said this week that its Mars Odyssey orbiter flew over the lander 11 times between Jan. 19 and 20, without hearing anything from Phoenix. NASA wants your Mars photo target ideasNASA recently said it would begin soliciting public photo shoot suggestions for the cutting edge camera onboard its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. NASA said the orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera, or HiRISE, is the most powerful camera ever to orbit another planet. And it's no ordinary camera. NASA test drives all-composite prototype spacecraftWith an eye toward building safer, lighter and tougher spacecraft, NASA said its prototype space crew module made up of composite materials handled tests simulating structural stresses of launch and atmospheric reentry.

Verizon launches electric grid reliability consulting

Verizon Business today launched a set of consulting services specifically designed for electric utilities working to safeguard the reliability of the electric grid in North America. The consulting services could cost from $30,000 to multiple millions of dollars, depending on the size of the utility and its needs, said Omar Khawaja, product manager at Verizon Business, a division of Verizon Communications Inc. Among the services Verizon will offer is advice on, and implementation of, security software that can be used to thwart cyberattacks on the electric grid. Khawaja said the average consulting services contract would cost between $50,000 and $200,000. Verizon already provides security consulting to hundreds of companies and has many electric utilities under contract.

NERC was empowered by the U.S. 2005 Energy Law to enforce the NERC CIP standards; NERC is overseen by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Verizon will be competing with international accounting firms that provide similar utility audits and the consulting services of IBM Corp., Khawaja said. The new services are intended to specifically help electric utilities meet a July 1, 2010 deadline to be "auditably compliant" with the North American Electric Reliability Corp.'s Critical Instruction Protection (NERC CIP) requirements, Khawaja said in an interview. "Auditably compliant" means that electric utilities must be able to show an auditor that the utility has logs and other records indicating it has 12 months of compliance with the requirements. However, Verizon's familiarity with communications networks gives it more expertise in dealing with electric networks, which could give it an edge. The smart grid concept is designed to help utilities conserve energy and costs, partly by allowing utilities to communicate with a variety of devices on a grid about the real-time cost of electricity. In addition, smart electric grids of the future will involve two-way communications using Internet Protocol controls that are part of Verizon's expertise, Khawaja added. For example, a dishwasher or electric car might have an automatic two-way communication with the electric utility about what time of day energy is less expensive.

The data passed over IP could be communicated via existing wired infrastructure or even wirelessly, Khawaja said, but there is also developing technology that allows data to be carried over electric lines. The car or dishwasher would shut down until a time when costs were lower, Khawaja said. With such smart grids, utilities will need cyber security protection against fraud by homeowners and average consumers trying to keep their electric bills low, as well as against international terrorists who might want to cripple the grid as part of a larger attack, Khawaja said. "IP is a well-known protocol, so there is potential for security breaches and the amount of threats is much greater now." The CIP regulations will also protect electric utilities against accidents or natural disasters. Utilities must meet eight NERC CIP requirements, including identification of cyber assets in the grid, adequate training for personnel and the physical security of computer assets. Verizon will offer four basic types of consulting, starting with strategy, then planning, implementation (including installation of patch management technology) and security operations. The CIP requirements also detail how cyberattacks must be reported and lay out plans for recovery in the event of an attack or accident.

Start-up unveils storage platform for large-scale Web applications

A storage company emerged from stealth mode this week with software designed to efficiently manage the file serving needs of Internet applications such as social networks, online ad serving and software-as-a-service.  Nine data storage companies to watch MaxiScale announced the Flex Software Platform, which is installed on commodity gear, such as a bank of Apache Web servers. Retrieving a small file with the MaxiScale system requires just one I/O operation, a feature that eliminates bottlenecks caused by systems that require multiple I/O operations for each small file retrieval, says IDC storage analyst Noemi Greyzdorf. "They built a very interesting file system that handles small files – files that are one megabyte or smaller – incredibly efficiently," Greyzdorf says Configurations start with as few as four nodes but can scale up to 50,000 servers, the company says. The goal is to improve performance and reduce cost, space and power requirements for Web companies that have to deal with large numbers of small files. "We think people deploying Web applications have been paying too much money and we're out to change that," says Gary Orenstein, vice president of marketing for MaxiScale. Instead of using expensive storage boxes with interconnects like InfiniBand or Fibre Channel, MaxiScale recommends using Flex with 2TB SATA drives and says the Flex system relies on IP and Ethernet connections. "We're using standards-based, commodity hardware for everything," Orenstein says.

Maxiscale's first publicly named customer is AdMob, a mobile advertising marketplace that has served more than 110 billion ad impressions in the last three years. Flex uses a patent-pending Peer Set architecture that replicates file data and metadata across SATA drives, allowing for load balancing and resiliency to multiple hardware failures. Based in Sunnyvale, Calif., and founded in 2007, MaxiScale has $17 million in venture financing from investors NEA, El Dorado Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank. Flex software is available now and pricing starts at $6,000 for four nodes allowing up to 32TB of storage. MaxiScale was co-founded by CEO Gianluca Rattazzi, who previously founded Meridian Data, Parallan, P-Com and BlueArc; and CTO Francesco Lacapra, who previously held executive roles at Olivetti, Quantum and BlueArc. Follow Jon Brodkin on Twitter.

Broadcom buying Dune Networks for cloud switching

Broadcom has agreed to acquire Dune Networks, a privately held maker of high-speed switch fabrics, for about US$178 million, the companies announced Monday. Its SAND switch fabric can scale up from 10G bps (bits per second) to 100Tbps in total capacity and support individual ports with speeds up to 100-Gigabit Ethernet, according to the company's Web site. Dune was founded in 2000 and sells chipsets for high-capacity network equipment.

It is designed as the heart of switches for data centers, enterprises LANs, and carrier core and edge routers and Carrier Ethernet platforms. By bolstering the company's lineup for data-center networking gear, it will help to meet growing demands for cloud computing infrastructure, Broadcom said. The acquisition, which is expected to close before the end of Broadcom's first quarter ending March 31, 2010, adds another piece to Broadcom's extensive communications chip arsenal. Broadcom will pay mostly cash for Dune, which is based in Sunnyvale, California, and Yakum, Israel. Dune's approximately 100 employees will be integrated into Broadcom's Network Switching Business Unit and the company's main research facility will remain in Israel, said Martin Lund, vice president and general manager of the unit.

The boards of both companies have approved the deal, but it is subject to customary closing conditions. Lund said current Dune CEO Eyal Dagan would report to him. Broadcom acquired another switch fabric maker, Sandburst, in 2006. It plans to keep the XGS Core architecture that came from Sandburst, which is well-suited to metro Ethernet and carrier applications, while turning to Dune to meet the growing demand for switches in massive data centers, Lund said. "The strategic importance of cloud computing, going forward, is so great that we want to make sure we have the best architecture for that," Lund said. Broadcom is based in Irvine, California, but also has facilities in Silicon Valley. For companies building big data centers, Dune's acquisition by Broadcom could eventually mean less expensive network equipment, according to Linley Group analyst Jag Bolaria.

Whereas the XGS Core technology uses a centralized traffic scheduling mechanism, which can handle tens of terabits per second, Dune has a distributed scheduling system that can scale to hundreds of terabits per second, he said. Dune is the world's largest third-party maker of switch fabrics, Bolaria said. "It's probably the most scalable fabric in the market," he added. Most switch makers turn to third parties such as Dune for their fabrics, with Cisco Systems and Juniper Networks the main holdouts that still develop their own, Bolaria said. Broadcom probably has its eye on product development groups within those switch giants as potential customers, Bolaria said. Dune's products may turn more attractive to Cisco and Juniper if they come under the wing of Broadcom, which is much larger and more certain to be around to support major product lines for decades to come, he said.

The cost for those switch vendors to develop their own fabrics is immense, according to Bolaria. "Broadcom is saying, 'We can give you scalability,'" he said. If Cisco and Juniper turn to a third party such as Broadcom and data-center switch fabrics became standardized, the cost of the equipment should go down, he said.

Infoblox, Neustar form alliance

Infoblox and Neustar will announce Tuesday a strategic partnership that allows the two companies to resell each other's DNS products to enterprise customers and hints towards tighter integration of these offerings in the future. Infoblox customers include financial services firms such as VISA, healthcare companies such as Pfizer and government agencies such as the Nevada Department of Corrections. Tools cure IP address-management headaches Infoblox sells appliances that handle DNS, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and IP Address Management (IPAM) functions for internal corporate networks.

Internal DNS is how employees reach enterprise IP-based applications such as VoIP. Neustar offers the UltraDNS, DNS and load balancing services aimed at helping leading e-commerce sites such as Zappos.com and BuyOnlineNow.com handle external DNS queries without investing in their own global network infrastructure. Now Infoblox will offer Neustar's cloud-based services to its customers, while Neustar will resell Infoblox appliances. "Infoblox is a sales agent for Neustar's services including a global secondary service. External DNS is how Web sites publish the latest information about their DNS and IP address changes to their customers over the Internet. In this particular service, our customers will still use Infoblox as their primary DNS but in terms of the secondary services that is handled by the Neustar cloud," explains Richard Kagan, vice president of marketing for Infoblox. "The nice thing is that it will all be done through a single pane of glass. Neustar already sells a managed internal DNS service. "Think of the Infoblox appliances as offering an extension to our service portfolio that provides internal DNS components," says Jim Leach, vice president of marketing at Neustar.

It can all be managed under the Infoblox [graphical user interface.]" Infoblox also will resell Neustar's services for external bi-directional DNS and global load balancing. "These are the kinds of things that most organizations are hard-pressed to [deploy their own] infrastructure for," Kagan says. "For those capabilities, the UltraDNS cloud is authoritative." Meanwhile, Neustar will resell Infoblox appliances to its customers that are looking to upgrade their internal DNS capabilities. Neustar and Infoblox did not announce any special offerings that would marry their products together, but Leach said "we do see ourselves doing some enhanced services through joint development." The Infoblox/Neustar alliance comes at a time when Neustar's UltraDNS services face additional competition from DNS software vendor Nominum, which announced a cloud-based service called SKYE in September.

Acadia gets cloud-computing venture rolling in Asia

Cisco Systems, EMC and VMware hope to soon sign the first Asian customers for their cloud-computing partnership and Acadia joint venture. The partners also established a joint-venture company, Acadia, which will build, operate and then transfer data centers based on Vblock to customers. "We have some number of customers that we've agreed on between the three companies and we're calling on them now. On Tuesday, the three companies announced a broad partnership, the Virtual Computing Environment (VCE) coalition, that will develop integrated cloud-computing products called Vblock Infrastructure Packages including servers, networking, storage and virtualization software for data centers.

In fact, a few of them have already reached a handshake level with us and we believe they will become early adopters of Vblock and of this new entity that we're bringing out, called Acadia," said Steve Leonard, president of EMC Asia-Pacific and Japan, during a phone interview. As with much of the overall partnership itself, specific details of how Acadia will operate or what its Asian operations will look like have yet to be determined. The three partners are counting on the combination of highly integrated products and Acadia, as a single entity that ties all three companies together, to win over Asian customers looking to replace their legacy data centers with a virtualized computing environments. The companies are still searching for a CEO to head the venture, which is expected to employ 130 people worldwide when it's up and running. Under the BOT model, suppliers finance and build a project and recoup their investment from cash flows generated by the completed project over an agreed period of time. Traditionally, the build, operate and transfer (BOT) model has been used as a way to finance the construction of large infrastructure projects, such as power stations and highways.

While Acadia's BOT services will offer financing for customers, the joint venture is also meant to meet customer demand for accountability when building complex systems that use products from different companies. "We've found the feedback from customers has been overwhelmingly positive," said Andre Smit, managing director of data center sales at Cisco Asia-Pacific, saying the partnership between the three companies gives them "end-to-end vendor accountability."

Undercover 1.5 ousts iPhone thieves with push notifications

It's 2 AM. Do you know where your iPhone is? What if you want an app devoted to recovering a stolen iPhone or iPod Touch-one that has a few more tricks up its sleeve? Well, maybe you do, thanks to MobileMe's "Find my iPhone," but what if you're not a MobileMe subscriber?

That's exactly what Orbicule's Undercover for iPhone is. Our iPhones are now smarter, faster, stronger, better, and able to let third-party apps do more than ever. We've already covered this app and its Mac OS X cousin, back when push notifications were little more than a bullet point on a wish list, but times have changed. Back in the 1.0 days, when Undercover was just a wee lad, you had to fool your iPhone's captor into launching the app before it was able to transmit its location. You can make the messages as enticing as you want-say, by having them pretend to be a notification from your bank account. Not an easy task: Thanks to App Store policy, apps cannot change their names or icons, and I'm guessing that all but the thickest criminals knew better than to launch an application called "Undercover." Now you have the ability to send push notifications with any message of your choosing directly to the iPhone-yes, just like MobileMe. But the comparisons end there.

If the crook chooses to view the push notification, Undercover will launch, disguised either as a game that's taking its sweet time to load or loading any Website of your choosing, such as the aforementioned bank's. While the thief is distracted, Undercover will be happy to save the device's GPS coordinates and IP address to Orbicule's Website. They'll also be sent directly to any police officer you've contacted to work on the case and registered in Orbicule's Undercover Center. Each time that Undercover launches, it will save a new set of coordinates that you can view in Google Maps. Orbicule has made a video to demonstrate this killer feature. You could use Find My iPhone to collect live GPS information from MobileMe and log a record of GPS coordinates via Orbicule, submitting it all to the police.

It looks as though this app could be used not only as an alternative to Find My iPhone, but a nice companion app as well. It's still far from perfect, at least until (or unless) Apple can be made to change their iPhone app policies to let third-party apps like Undercover do a little more. It requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later. Undercover for the iPhone costs $5 and works on all iPhones and iPod touches.

US lawmakers investigate telecom 'traffic pumping'

Three high-profile U.S. lawmakers have begun an informal investigation into high access charges that some rural telephone carriers charge to competitors, on the heels of complaints about the practice from Google and some large carriers. In some cases, the rural carriers partner with adult sex chat lines and conference calling services that take advantage of the high access fees to drive traffic to the small carriers, critics say. The letter, from Representative Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and two other leaders on the committee, comes after the U.S. Federal Communications Commission announced last Friday that it was investigating Google for refusing to connect some calls through its Web-based Google Voice service to rural carriers with high access charges. The practice is sometimes called access stimulation or traffic pumping.

An investigation into Google's decision to block calls to carriers with high access charges "must also examine the existing access charge regime and purported abuses of that system," said the letter, also signed by subcommittee chairmen Rick Boucher, a Virginia Democrat, and Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat. "Just last month, the Iowa Utilities Board found that eight local exchange companies had engaged in a traffic pumping scheme in which they were providing free calling services for indecent or pornographic content. The lawmaker letters, sent to Qwest Communications International, AT&T, Sprint Nextel, and Verizon Communications, ask the large carriers about the access fees charged by rural carriers and the ways the large carriers are trying to resolve traffic pumping disputes. These companies were attempting to increase access charge revenues by 10,000 percent." Some large carriers have been complaining about traffic pumping for years. AT&T is happy to see Congress interested in the issue, said Michael Balmoris, a spokesman. "We are happy to assist them in their investigation," he said. "We are especially eager to provide Members of Congress with information related to VoIP providers who are still blocking calls with impunity, which is crucial to understanding the scope of the harm to consumers and businesses in rural America." Qwest also said it would be glad to cooperate with the Commerce Committee's investigation. "Traffic pumping is an unlawful practice that has harmed and misled consumers, regulators, and long distance providers like Qwest," Steve Davis, Qwest's senior vice president of public policy and government relations, said in a statement. "Traffic pumping costs American consumers millions of dollars and denies parents the ability to safeguard their children from obscene and inappropriate material." Google, in a statement, said Congress should encourage the FCC to fix access charges rules. "We agree that the current carrier compensation rules are broken," a spokeswoman said. In April 2007, AT&T sent a letter to the FCC, asking the agency to investigate high access fees.

Google has defended its practice of blocking calls to some rural exchanges by saying it's offering a free online service that's not intended to compete with traditional voice service. AT&T has complained that Google is violating net neutrality rules it supports by refusing to connect the calls. Also, Google Voice is only available to a limited number of people invited to preview the service, the company said.

Sneaky Microsoft plug-in puts Firefox users at risk

An add-on that Microsoft silently slipped into Mozilla's Firefox last February leaves that browser open to attack, Microsoft's security engineers acknowledged earlier this week. Numerous users and experts complained when Microsoft pushed the .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 (SP1) update to users last February, including Susan Bradley, a contributor to the popular Windows Secrets newsletter. "The .NET Framework Assistant [the name of the add-on slipped into Firefox] that results can be installed inside Firefox without your approval," Bradley noted in a Feb. 12 story. "Although it was first installed with Microsoft's Visual Studio development program, I've seen this .NET component added to Firefox as part of the .NET Family patch." What was particularly galling to users was that once installed, the .NET add-on was virtually impossible to remove from Firefox. One of the 13 security bulletins Microsoft released Tuesday affects not only Internet Explorer (IE), but also Firefox, thanks to a Microsoft-made plug-in pushed to Firefox users eight months ago in an update delivered via Windows Update. "While the vulnerability is in an IE component, there is an attack vector for Firefox users as well," admitted Microsoft engineers in a post to the company's Security Research & Defense blog on Tuesday. "The reason is that .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 installs a 'Windows Presentation Foundation' plug-in in Firefox." The Microsoft engineers described the possible threat as a "browse-and-get-owned" situation that only requires attackers to lure Firefox users to a rigged Web site.

The usual "Disable" and "Uninstall" buttons in Firefox's add-on list were grayed out on all versions of Windows except Windows 7, leaving most users no alternative other than to root through the Windows registry, a potentially dangerous chore, since a misstep could cripple the PC. Several sites posted complicated directions on how to scrub the .NET add-on from Firefox, including Annoyances.org . Annoyances also said the threat to Firefox users is serious. "This update adds to Firefox one of the most dangerous vulnerabilities present in all versions of Internet Explorer: the ability for Web sites to easily and quietly install software on your PC," said the hints and tips site. "Since this design flaw is one of the reasons [why] you may have originally chosen to abandon IE in favor of a safer browser like Firefox, you may wish to remove this extension with all due haste." Specifically, the. Microsoft reacted to criticism about the method it used to install the Firefox add-on by issuing another update in early May that made it possible to uninstall or disable the .NET Framework Assistant. NET plug-in switched on a Microsoft technology dubbed ClickOnce, which lets .NET apps automatically download and run inside other browsers. It did not, however, apologize to Firefox users for slipping the add-on into their browsers without their explicit permission - as is the case for other Firefox add-ons, or extensions. According to Microsoft, the vulnerability is "critical," and also can be exploited against users running any version of IE, including IE8. This week, Microsoft did not revisit the origin of the .NET add-on, but simply told Firefox users that they should uninstall the component if they weren't able to deploy the patches provided in the MS09-054 update.

How registrars tackle domain name abuse

Cybercriminals worldwide are amassing domain names to keep their botnet and phishing operations a step ahead of authorities America's 10 most-wanted botnets To obscure their tracks, the criminals register the domain names using phony information, pay with stolen credit cards and hack into legitimate domain-name accounts. The target is usually "a consumer in America." Accredited by ICANN for the .info generic top-level domain (gTLD), Afilias helped organize the Registry Internet Safety Group to find ways to improve security. Adding to the problem of domain-name abuse, some rogue registrars often look the other way as the money rolls in. (See related story, "Domain-name abuse proliferates; rogue registrars turn a blind eye")  Today's cosmopolitan criminals might use "a registrar in China and a Web-hosting company in Russia and a registry in Ireland," says Ram Mohan, CTO at Dublin-based registry services provider Afilias. Mohan says Afilias has seen about 250,000 domain names taken down in the past 2.5 years because they were deemed to be maliciously used.

In the past, standard contracts between ICANN and registrars didn't address domain-name abuse head-on. (Mohan estimates there about 2,000 registrars and retail channels for domain names globally today.) But Afilias successfully lobbied to have the standard contracts amended so that stringent actions against domain-name abuse could be taken, he says. At first the registrars Afilias works with were not too happy to see domain names suspended, but many have come around to see the wisdom in taking action to stop perceived criminal activity, he says. Registry services provider Neustar (accredited by ICANN for the .biz gTLD) is also a big believer in tackling domain-name abuse, which after all, hurts the bottom line. Under its contracts with registrars and ICANN, Neustar can proactively say to a registrar, with a full report, "you have 12 hours to take down that domain name or we will do it," he says. Three years ago, Neustar hired a legal team to handle domain abuse questions and set up an internal, isolated networking lab to make determinations to a "near certainty" about a domain name being used for objectionable purposes, says Jeff Neuman, vice president of law and policy at Neustar.

ICANN has a more informal process for trying to curb domain-name abuse, but that may eventually change, Neuman believes. For instance, .cn, the country-code domain for the People's Republic of China, has emerged as a popular choice for domain-name abuse. Many security researchers today are inclined to blame a lot of domain-name abuse on "rogue registrars" around the world that are said to look the other way when dealing with criminals. For country-code top-level domains, each country through a designated organization directly accredits registrars for the ccTLD, though those registrars may also be accredited by ICANN for gTLDs like .com and .info. ICANN says complaints it received related to inaccurate or missing Whois database information and Beijing Innovative - which initially failed to respond to ICANN inquiries in a timely manner - led ICANN to issue the Chinese registrar a "notice of breach" decision last September, and a remediation plan.

Two ICANN-accredited registrars, Beijing-based Xin Net Technology Corp. and Beijing Innovative Linkage, among other registrars based in China, have gained reputations in some circles as rogue registrars because of the large amount of malicious domains being traced to them over the past year. Mohan says it's important do the analysis to understand the source of domain-name abuse, but critics should also consider evidence that Chinese registrars are being targeted because there's a lot of growth in China and "criminals are hiding in that growth." Mohan was in Beijing just a month ago discussing cybercrime for three hours with Mao Wei, the director of China Internet Network Information Center, the state-run registry for .cn, which is under the control of the Ministry of Information Industry. Just this week, McAfee touched on the China question in a report about e-mail spam that found high-volume, Chinese URL-based "Canadian Pharmacy" spam has started getting blocked amazingly fast, something McAfee never saw happen before. Mohan also spent time with Chinese registrars. "The Chinese government is very strongly aware of this problem," Mohan says. This newsletter-looking spam has used about 1,235 domains on .cn each day in fast-flux mode, but it's "getting black-holed as soon as they come in," says Adam Wosotowsky, principal engineer in messaging tactical response at McAfee. Nonetheless, some say it's hard to escape the impression that around the world, there are places where registrars and others providing domain names look the other way.

This countermeasure makes the spam dead-on-arrival with no Web URL to use. "We're guessing it's Chinese government influence," Wosotowsky says, adding he thinks the pharmacy spam is being used to sell pharmaceutical knock-offs out of Hong Kong. Even governments may be ignoring it, as money changes hands in the lucrative domain-name business. "The moment the bad guys find out something is going on, they move from Estonia to Ukraine,'" says Mohan by way of example. "The kingpins aren't identified. There must be advance notice going to these criminals, or compromised law enforcement." It's big money, big business.

Critical Zero-Day Flaw Opens Holes in IE 6 and 7

A newly discovered threat that doesn't yet have any patch can allow for a Web-based attack against up-to-date Internet Explorer 6 and 7 browsers, according to security companies. The site could be a specifically created malicious site, or one that was hijacked and had the attack code inserted. Both Symantec and Vupen Security have posted alerts about the bug, which involves the way IE handles cascading style sheets, or CSS. According to the posts, browsing a Web site with embedded attack code would trigger the assault.

According to Vupen's post, the flaw affects both IE 6 and 7 on a fully patched XP SP3 computer and could allow for running any command on a vulnerable system, such as installing malware. Symantec's post says its tests confirm the published exploit works, but that it "exhibits signs of poor reliability," ie. it doesn't always work. There aren't yet any reports of active attacks, but exploit code is publicly available. An additional e-mail from Symantec says that Vista is affected as well, but Microsoft has not yet confirmed the vulnerability. According to Vupen, disabling Active Scripting in the Internet and Local intranet security zones will block attacks against this flaw, but doing so would likely block Web site functionality as well. Zero-days that affect IE are typically major threats, so attackers will likely begin hiding attacks that target this flaw on compromised Web sites, and spewing out e-mails and online comments with links to sites that contain attacks.

Current reports do not list IE 8 as vulnerable, but Symantec warns that "there are possibilities that other versions of IE and Windows may also be affected." Your best bet may be to use an alternate browser such as Firefox until a patch is available.

AMD settlement won't blunt Intel R&D, exec says

Today's settlement of all antitrust litigation between Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. should benefit both firms - and shouldn't hurt Intel's R&D operation, Intel CTO and senior fellow Justin Rattner told Computerworld today. "As a legal matter, it only concerned a very small part of the company," Rattner said. "From an R&D perspective, there aren't really any changes as a result of the agreement. For its part, AMD agreed to drop all pending litigation against Intel, including an upcoming case in U.S. District Court in Delaware and two cases pending in Japan. For the legal people at Intel, it's a big change but I don't think the rest of us will be terribly affected." The deal, which settles both antitrust litigation and patent cross license disputes, specifies that Intel will pay rival AMD $1.25 billion . Intel also agreed to abide by a set of business practice provisions. AMD also will withdraw all of its regulatory complaints filed against Intel with government agencies around the world. "It's good for everyone that it's over," said Martin Reynolds, an analyst at Gartner Inc. "These long-term court battles are no good for anybody.

The latest antitrust suit against Intel was filed in federal court last week by the state of New York, which alleges that Intel threatened computer makers, made payoffs and engaged in a "worldwide, systematic campaign of illegal conduct." An Intel spokesman downplayed that lawsuit, contending at the time it was a repackaging of the AMD case. This will make AMD a more attractive target for investors and it's certainly good news for Intel." Reynolds said the settlement could portend that Intel will reach similar deals with other court foes. Therefore, Reynolds suggested, it's likely the AMD settlement will lead to the dropping of the New York lawsuit. "With AMD withdrawing all complaints, it's likely all these suits will dry up," he added. "It will be hard to go forward." The settlement should provide significant benefits to Intel over the long term, Reynolds said. "The $1.25 billion is a downside [for Intel], but that's about it. They won't be in as many courtrooms. Intel can stand down in gathering all this evidence.

They can let go of some of their attorneys." The settlement could also blunt any plans by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to jump into the antitrust fray against Intel, said Rob Enderle, an analyst with the Enderle Group. And Intel will be able to focus on business and not do brand damage control, discovery, [and the like]," Enderle said. "Like Microsoft discovered, this doesn't necessarily stop New York or the FTC but it removes a lot of the momentum behind those efforts and effectively lowers their priority." Enderle also noted that while $1.25 billion is a lot for Intel to pay out, the settlement is likely less than a court would have forced the company to pay had it lost an antitrust trial. "I was estimating a judgment between $2 billion and $5 billion with penalties so this was a good deal from Intel and AMD needs the money," said Enderle. "[Intel] already looked guilty. The FTC had launched an antitrust investigation into Intel more than a year ago and had been expected to take some kind of antitrust action against the firm soon. "This means AMD will stop pushing on the FTC and states to pound on Intel. This reduces the long-term impact from their actions substantially."

India to set up automatic monitoring of communications

India plans to set up a centralized system to monitor communications on mobile phones, landlines and the Internet in the country, a minister told the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament, on Thursday. A pilot of the new Centralized Monitoring System (CMS) is to be started by June next year, subject to clearances by other government agencies, Gurudas Kamat, Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology told the Rajya Sabha, according to an announcement by the government's Press Information Bureau. Indian laws allow the interception and monitoring of communications under certain conditions, including to counter terrorism. The CMS will have central and regional databases to help central and state-level enforcement agencies intercept and monitor communications, the government said.

It will also feature analysis of call data records and data mining of these records to identify call details, location details, and other information of the target numbers. It will also have direct electronic provisioning of target numbers by government agencies without any intervention from telecom service providers, it added. The current system used by the government for call monitoring can be easily compromised because of the requirement of manual intervention at many stages, the minister said. The statement by Kamat comes on the anniversary of a terrorist attack on a number of sites in Mumbai, including two premium hotels, a railway station, and a Jewish community center. Interception using the new system will also be instant, he added.

The terrorists are believed to have used mobile communications and the Internet extensively to plan and execute their attacks. Some experts have argued that the government should set up an organization like an ombudsman to ensure that information collected during surveillance is not misused. The government brought into force earlier this year the Information Technology (Amendment) Act 2008, an amendment to an earlier law, which broadened the government's powers to intercept and monitor communications.

Do you know where your employees are working?

It's time for ad hoc telework programs to be brought up to snuff. In some cases, disaster recovery plans have spawned well-structured and documented telework programs. Technology has enabled telework programs to evolve beyond images of people dialing up in pajamas to remote workers tapping advanced collaboration tools that increase productivity and ensure business continuity. But at the majority of companies, there are no formal telework policies in place, even as more and more workers go mobile.

Almost everyone today teleworks in one way or another," says Chuck Wilsker, president and CEO of The Telework Coalition. "Half of the workers know they do it, close to another half don't realize they do it when they check e-mail from a hotel room or a BlackBerry, for instance, and a small percentage of certain types of employees might not do it at all. How to deck out your home office "Telework is not just working from home; it is working from a location that is not the corporate office. But easily 75% of companies don't have official telework policies, despite employees working remotely often, which could be a problem." Here are 10 simple steps that can help organizations advance their telework programs from ad hoc to admirable. 1. Survey employeesThe best place to start when establishing policies for remote work is with employees. Also consider the environment to determine if the type of positions could be supported remotely. "It is critical for an organization to ask employees if they are interested in telework and what they would like to see in such a program," says Cindy Auten, general manager for Telework Exchange. "Such surveys also help to lay a foundation for what degree of telework a company can support. Companies should survey staff to understand who would want to work remotely and why. The responses will help organizations establish a program suited to their employees and work environment." 2. Perform cost analysisThe benefits of telework can range from lessened real estate and power costs for employers to fewer dollars spent commuting for employees.

That's why companies should invest some time upfront understanding how they can save money and increase productivity, experts say. "The main driver for a successful, policy-based telework program is often the cost savings a company can realize," says Lawrence Imeish, principal consultant for Dimension Data. "But companies need to understand how they can save costs, for instance in real estate, and implement the needed steps to achieve those savings." For example, if 10% of the workforce will be working remotely, companies could invest up to 10% less in corporate real estate or cut back on LAN expenditures, and instead invest that capital in technology to support remote work. "Telework can become valuable and strategic if companies follow through with a program from start to finish," Imeish says. "Understanding there could be savings but not changing investment plans could lessen the cost-savings benefit of telework." 3. Get management supportOne would think that positive employee feedback and potential cost-savings would guarantee management support for a remote work program, but telework advocates must secure executive buy-in before moving the policies to the next level. (See related story, "Five signs your telework program is a bust.")  "There are some in management that simply don't buy into telework and can't easily be swayed," Wilsker says. "I have seen successful telework programs come to a screeching halt when new management takes over. But depending on the business, the benefits of implementing a telework program might not immediately outweigh the costs. Take, for instance, AT&T." Program advocates must also provide ongoing updates showing the success or challenges of the telework program, helping to maintain management support. "Businesses change, conditions change. Either can work, but documented policies will help organizations avoid confusion or problems when something goes awry. "Telework is a program, and like all programs, the better it is developed and documented, the better it will work," says Ben Rothke, a New York-city based senior security consultant with BT Professional Services. "Successful teleworking programs don't just happen. Ongoing assessments will help management understand how telework continues to support current business operations," Wilsker adds. 4. Document policiesFor many, telework programs can be as simple as working from home during a snowstorm or as involved as sharing shifts with others and rotating remote work days based on multiple schedules.

They are the results of significant planning, testing and training." Documentation also can help avoid upset when employees and cultures clash over remote workers. Companies must pick and choose which workers are eligible, communicate it clearly and keep it documented to avoid future upset over restrictions," Dimension Data's Imeish says. 5. Acquire technologyGranting permission to work remotely isn't going to guarantee a successful telework program. Not all jobs are suited for remote access, and companies need to establish clear guidelines regarding which positions can support telework and how often. "A prison guard obviously cannot be a teleworker. Remote workers will also need the tools and technology to enable them to work productively in other environments and collaborate with co-workers as though they were sitting in the next cube. (See related story, "Secure telework without a VPN.")  Instant messaging, e-mail, Web cameras, video conferencing and Web conferences are a few collaboration tools that could enable remote workers to operate as though they were in the office. For instance, instead of having employees use whatever they find, companies should select a few options for home workers and mobile workers.

And technologies such as routers that enable home workers to segregate corporate and personal traffic can help reduce security risks and speed helpdesk calls. "Home users with their kids on the same link could actually become quite the nightmare for support," Imeish says. "You can't just send people home to work without providing them the right tools to be productive and to mitigate risk to the company." It can also help to standardize on technology. Employees can choose from the options, which will enable the company to better secure its environment and helps support teams to more easily address remote worker issues. "You don't want users tapping any technology they have. Also be sure to establish early who pays for the home office equipment or the local broadband connection, Wilsker adds. To make telework successful, companies should standardize on VPNs and encrypted tunnels, for instance." Imeish says. Companies could offset costs with telework, but employees should not be incurring additional costs because they agree to work remotely. "It's not a case in which the employee pays to work from home. In the same vein as segregating traffic and determining eligible positions, companies must understand what information employees have access to and ensure if working remotely the data is always secure. "Are the files secure in the remote location or are they lying around someone's house?

Organizations need to establish the rules for who pays for what and how much is in the budget for telework technology," he says. 6. Secure dataCorporate intellectual property and client data, for instance, also need to be considered when moving work outside of the office. Is the employee logging out of secure systems or leaving applications open?" Telework Exchange's Auten asks. "There are too many stories of laptops gone missing with critical data already. Learning remote access technologies and understanding security policies are just two reasons organizations should require employees who wish to work remotely to complete telework training programs. "Employee screening and training – including managers that may not know how to manage remote workers – should be mandatory for those involved in the telework program" Wilsker says. "Understanding how to communicate and keep the lines open is essential for telework to succeed. Companies must set strong security policies and ensure they can be enforced." 7. Require trainingJust as employees often must be trained on a new phone system or e-mail application, experts advise companies to mandate telework training. Training on collaboration tools and the policies around staying in touch with the office is critical." Companies can even offer a resource guide of sorts for those employees who telework.

Some kinks might need to be worked out and employees re-trained over time," she says. 8. Measure employee performanceTo ensure employees remain productive when they're remote, companies can baseline worker output prior to telework and measure performance following the transition. Create a checklist for employees to follow daily, weekly and monthly to keep the program on track, Auten adds. "When organizations are supporting telework, they should review the program on a regular recurring basis. While some managers might measure work by attendance, experts say there are better metrics to understanding how much gets done outside of the office. "If a company is focused on output rather than process, they are going to care about presence," Imeish says. "But it can be a difficult premise to overcome." For instance, instant messaging programs can be configured to show when users are idle, but if that feels too Big Brother for some organizations, policies can be used to prove presence – remotely. "Managers can require workers check in at certain times, provide work progress updates and show results," Imeish says. "It's best to define success criteria upfront and measure results as you go. While many in management might worry about under-achieving workers, experts says often the opposite happens. Companies should get a little bit more productivity out of telework." The productivity responsibility doesn't just fall to employees either.

Auten says managers must be in tune with employee performance and try to help them sustain a work-life balance, despite being able to work 24-7. "Managers have to be very accountable for their employees' work output. Because many remote workers also take advantage of flexible schedules, support might not be readily available at all hours. "IT needs to know what people are working remotely and where. Telework requires a work-life balance, and a program can go south if employees aren't stepping away from their desk to take lunch or logging off at a reasonable hour," she says. "Telework can quickly lead to employee burnout if a balance is not established." 9. Provide supportNot only does the remote work require technology to succeed, but helpdesk teams need to understand who works off-site and how to best support their needs. There will be different time zones and different work habits they will need to deal with, which could be seen as more work for support, but shouldn't," Wilsker says. "Insufficient tech support could hamper telework. Telework programs can leave employees feeling left out of the team, which is why program advocates must be sure to incorporate cultural needs into their plans. "Technology can bridge the intimacy gap employees experience with telework to a certain degree. Be transparent with IT so they can understand how to meet the needs of remote workers." 10. Cultivate work cultureRemotes workers want to feel connected to their companies, despite being located elsewhere.

It won't feel like they are in the office, but use video conferencing or inexpensive Web cameras to keep employees from feeling isolated," Imeish says. "If you can't help employees feel like part of a team, telework could result in turnover." Do you Tweet? Follow Denise Dubie on Twitter

Microsoft greasing Windows 7 skids with early release of desktop tools

With the hope of sparking Windows 7 upgrades, Microsoft is planning an early release of its suite of desktop deployment tools.  The tools were originally slated to ship in early 2010, but Microsoft hopes to give customers the software in late October for use in rollouts of Windows 7 across corporate desktops. The news of the early release was announced by Ran Oelgiesser, senior product manager for MED-V, on the MDOP blog. The catch is that the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) R2 2009 is only available to volume licensing customers with Software Assurance contracts.

Slideshow: Snow Leopard vs. All the tools in MDOP R2 2009 will include support for Windows 7 except MED-V. Support for the new OS in MED-V 1.0 SP1 will come early in 2010, wrote Oelgiesser. Windows 7 Windows 7 is slated to ship to commercial customers on Oct. 22, but corporate users with volume licensing contracts have had access to Windows 7 since last month. MED-V runs multiple versions of Windows or applications concurrently without having to open multiple virtual machine sessions. The suite is a major part of Microsoft 's Optimized Desktop strategy, which addresses centralized management and deployment of physical and virtual resources.

The software complements another MDOP tool called App-V, which is used for managing and deploying virtual PCs. The MDOP lineup also includes Asset Inventory Service; System Center Desktop Error Monitoring; Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM) for change management via group policy objects; and the Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset, which helps in recovering a crashed PC. MDOP is composed of software from Microsoft's purchases of Softricity, Kidaro, AssetMetrix, Winternals Software and DesktopStandard. According to Oelgiesser, App-V 4.5 SP1 will have various integration points with 32-bit versions of Windows 7, including with the AppLocker, Branch Cache and BitLocker ToGo features. The 64-bit version, App-V 4.6 will be available in the first half of 2010. Advanced Group Policy Management 4.0 features two new capabilities targeted at Windows 7. One allows users to manage group policies across different domains, and the other provides new search and filtering to ease tracking of group policy objects. In addition, the software will support 32-bit version of XP, Vista and Windows Server. Follow John Fontana on Twitter 

Dell-Perot Deal Spells Trouble for Tier-Two Outsourcers

The consolidating IT services market contracted a bit further on Monday with Dell's announcement that it will acquire Perot Systems for $3.9 billion. The fact that Dell paid nearly a 70 percent premium on Perot's stock price to seal the deal confirms "the value of integrating hardware and services for infrastructure management is clearly gaining momentum," says Peter Bendor-Samuel, CEO of outsourcing consultancy Everest Group, which counts both Perot and Dell among its clients. The Texas twosome can hardly match the scale of HP or IBM on the outsourcing front-Perot brings just $2.7 billion in services revenue to the table-but the matchup is clearly made in their image.

It also suggests, he adds, that the size of outsourcing/hardware companies will continue to increase in importance. But Dell, struggling as a hardware manufacturer at a time when infrastructure sales are slow, wants in on the outsourcing business, even if it takes several acquisitions to do it. "Perot's capabilities are focused on a few geographies and industries, which Dell will need to grow or complement with other acquisitions to attain greater scale to compete head-on with the likes of HP and IBM," says Bendor-Samuel. [ Related: Dell Perot Deal: Big Price Tag, Small Industry Impact and FAQ: What the Dell-Perot Merger Means for the IT Industry. ] Neither company is likely to be too worried about the competition at this point. While Perot operates in some high-interest industries-most notably healthcare and government services-its footprint remains relatively small. It's more likely that Dell-Perot will make inroads on smaller deals. "Dell and Perot Systems can exert pressure in this sector, and if played right, could see their market share increase in the midmarket in both products and services," says Stan Lepeak, managing director at outsourcing consultancy EquaTerra. India-based providers who've been attempting to ramp up their infrastructure offerings "must continue to find ways to grow and reach meaningful scale," says Bendor-Samuel. As such, it's the tier-two players that will be watching the Dell-Perot deal closely.

Meanwhile, traditional IT services players who've yet to walk down the aisle with a hardware vendor-such as ACS, CSC and Unisys-may be wondering how wise it was to stay single. "They will be asking themselves how they can grow in the infrastructure space to meet the increased threat posed by the integrated hardware and services offerings of IBM, HP, and now Dell," Bendor-Samuel says. While Dell may be eager to keep Perot clients-and their relatively healthy profit margins-existing customers should proceed with caution (See Five Steps to Take if Your Outsourcer is Sold.) Specifically, clients should assess any impact the deal has on non-Dell hardware options, Lepeak advises. As for integration issues, Dell and Perot may have an easier go of it than most. "Good cultural alignment, close physical proximity for key leaders, and the absence of an entrenched services business at Dell-together with the obvious convergence around the value of Perot as a hardware channel for Dell and Dell as a lead generator for Perot-should make integration much faster and less painful than is the norm for deals of this scale," says Mark Robinson, EquaTerra's chief operating officer. Those most worried about the Perot deal are Dell customers working with other outsourcers. "While growing the legacy Perot Systems' client base, Dell must use caution not to alienate hardware clients who are using other service providers for outsourcing services," says Lepeak.

Apple to launch tablet in February 2010, asserts new report

Apple will launch a tablet-style device sporting a 9.6-inch display in February 2010, according to sources cited by a Taiwanese Web publication today. The tablet will feature the 9.6-inch screen, the multi-touch user interface made famous by the iPhone and iPod Touch, and a processor created by P.A. Semi, the Santa Clara, Calif. microprocessor design company that Apple purchased over a year ago . Apple's device will also reportedly include a HSPDA (High Speed Download Packet Access) module. The Taiwan Economic News said industry sources have claimed several component suppliers are building parts for an upcoming Apple tablet computer, which will launch in about five months. HSPDA is the 3G cellular data protocol used by AT&T in the U.S.; AT&T is currently Apple's exclusive carrier partner in the United States.

Verizon uses the EVDO Rev. T-Mobile, which is an Apple partner in Germany and Austria, also uses HSPDA in the U.S. If true, it would put the brakes on rumors that Verizon , which has supposedly been in talks with Apple, will replace AT&T on the computer maker's A-list. A (Evolution-Data Optimized) data protocol instead. Talk of such a device, which some analysts have dubbed an "iPod Touch on steroids," has been both brisk and long-running. The selling price for Apple's tablet, said the Taiwan Economic News 's sources, will be between $800 and $1,000. This is far from the first time that tales of an Apple tablet have been told.

In May, for example, Wall Street analyst Gene Munster, of Piper Jaffray, used circumstantial evidence and checks with Asian component suppliers to bet that Apple would release a $500-$700 tablet next year. By now, although the continuing chatter makes some sense, it's getting harder to swallow the gossip, said Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research who covers Apple. "It makes sense, it hangs together, sure," said Gottheil today. "But I'm starting to think that this is just a bunch of people believing each other, or maybe even an Apple disinformation campaign." What struck Gottheil today was the specificity of the report out of Taiwan. "The sources named the companies and they named the components," he said. "That's not how Apple does business." Rather, Apple goes to great lengths to make sure its suppliers keep mum about the work they're doing for the company, Gottheil maintained. "The signs are there that it makes sense for Apple to be doing something in the 'bigger than an iPod Touch' space, but I'm not sure this report adds any evidence to those signs," Gottheil said. "It's almost starting to look like people [are] just playing with the idea or even having fun with it." Tablet rumors picked up significantly just prior to Apple's annual developers conference in early June, but analysts then predicted - correctly, as it turned out - that the company would not unveil such a device at the time.