Microsoft protests Amazon win of big US cloud contract

SAN FRANCISCO, United States - Microsoft on Thursday confirmed it is challenging a decision to award a multibillion-dollar cloud computing contract to its rival Amazon.

US media reports said the contract valued at $10 billion is for modernizing storage of classified data at the National Security Agency (NSA).

"Based on the decision we are filing an administrative protest via the Government Accountability Office," Microsoft said in response to an AFP inquiry.

"We are exercising our legal rights and will do so carefully and responsibly."

The NSA spokesperson said that it "will respond to the protest in accordance with appropriate federal regulations," while Amazon declined to comment.

A post on the Government Accountability Office website showed that it is considering a protest filed by Microsoft in July concerning the NSA, but provided no details.

The move came as payback of sorts for Amazon successfully protesting a different $10-billion cloud computing contract that had been awarded to Microsoft.

The Pentagon in July scrapped the deal, known as the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract, sidestepping a bitter dispute between Amazon and Microsoft over allegations of political bias that swayed the bidding.

Microsoft in late 2019 won the JEDI contract, sparking a challenge by Amazon on grounds that then president Donald Trump may have improperly influenced the outcome.

Amazon alleged it was shut out of the deal because of what it called Trump's vendetta against the company and its chief executive Jeff Bezos.

Agence France-Presse

Microsoft earnings rise as pandemic boosts cloud computing, Xbox sales

Microsoft Corp on Tuesday reported its Azure cloud computing services grew 50%, the second quarter of acceleration in a business that had begun to slow as the global pandemic benefited the software maker's investment on working and learning from home.

The company's shares rose 4% in extended trading after gaining about 41% in 2020 as COVID-19 shifted computing to areas where the software maker has bet big. It also saw a surprise recovery in sales on the LinkedIn professional social network and navigated a chip shortage that had threaten to hold back its Xbox business.

The shift to work from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated enterprises' switch to cloud-based computing, benefiting Microsoft and rivals such as Amazon.com Inc's cloud unit and Alphabet Inc's Google Cloud.

Microsoft said revenue in its "Intelligent Cloud" segment rose 23% to $14.6 billion, with 50% growth in Azure. Analysts had expected a 41.4% growth in Azure, according to consensus data from Visible Alpha. The previous quarter Azure grew 48%.

"This was really driven by continued customer demand, with stronger-than-expected consumption as customers have increased their focus on digital transformation," Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood told Reuters in an interview.

Atlantic Equities analyst James Cordwell said that last year, "economic weakness and delays in implementation had masked the extent to which Azure was benefiting from the accelerated shift to the cloud caused by the pandemic. But with these results that benefit is now plain to see."

LinkedIn revenue growth, which dipped as the pandemic shut down businesses, reached 23%, near its pre-pandemic rate of 24% a year earlier. Hood said advertisements on LinkedIn drove the increase.

"We continue to see advertising market recovery," she said.

Microsoft bundles several sets of software and services such as Office and Azure into a "commercial cloud" metric that investors watch closely to gauge the company's progress in selling to large businesses.

Commercial cloud gross margins - a measure of the profitability of its sales to large businesses - were 71% in the quarter, compared with 67% a year earlier.

Revenue from its personal computing division, which includes Windows software and Xbox gaming consoles, rose 14% to $15.1 billion, driven by strong Xbox content and services growth, beating analysts' estimates of $13.5 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Microsoft in November released two new Xbox consoles, its most visible non-work and non-school brand, but the hardware proved difficult to find as a global semiconductor shortage contributed to tight stocks as many retailers. Xbox hardware sales were up 86% despite the shortages, and Hood said growth is likely to continue, with older models also contributing to sales.

"Demand still outpaces supply, and we do expect that to continue," Hood said. "The team did a nice job of getting consoles, both of this newest generation as well as continuing to sell the older generation, which provides a great value for gamers."

The software giant's overall revenue rose to $43.08 billion in the second quarter ended Dec. 31, from $36.91 billion a year earlier, beating analysts' estimates of $40.18 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

-reuters-

Amazon says cloud outage triggered by capacity upgrade

WASHINGTON - A giant outage of Amazon's cloud-computing network in the US, which impacted large users such as media companies, was triggered by an effort to upgrade capacity, the company said Saturday.

The e-commerce giant's Amazon Web Services (AWS) experienced a major glitch on Wednesday that even hit the publishing system of the Washington Post, which is owned by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos.

"The trigger, though not root cause, for the event was a relatively small addition of capacity," Amazon said in the statement.

The outage impacted many companies, which use AWS services to store data without having to manage their own servers. 

According to US media, the New York subway was among those affected, as well as Roku, a streaming television service. 

The Wall Street Journal said it was hit too. 

AWS, created in 2006, leads the market for remote computing services. Research firms say it has a 30-50 percent market share.

Agence France-Presse

Amazon files lawsuit contesting Pentagon's $10-billion cloud contract to Microsoft

Amazon.com Inc on Friday filed a lawsuit in the US Court of Federal Claims contesting the Pentagon's award of a cloud computing contract worth up to $10 billion to Microsoft Corp.

An Amazon spokesman said that the company filed a complaint and supplemental motion for discovery. The filing was under seal.

"The Complaint and related filings contain source selection sensitive information, as well as AWS's proprietary information, trade secrets, and confidential financial information, the public release of which would cause either party severe competitive harm," Amazon said in a court document seeking a protective order.

"The record in this bid protest likely will contain similarly sensitive information."

Last week, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper rejected any suggestion of bias in the Pentagon's decision to award Microsoft the contract after Amazon announced plans to challenge it.

Amazon was considered a favorite for the contract, part of a broader digital modernization process of the Pentagon, before Microsoft emerged as the surprise winner.

The company has previously said that politics got in the way of a fair contracting process. US President Donald Trump has long criticized Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Microsoft beats Amazon for Pentagon's $10 billion cloud computing contract

WASHINGTON - Microsoft Corp. has won the Pentagon's $10 billion cloud computing contract, the Defense Department said on Friday, beating out favorite Amazon.com Inc.

The Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure Cloud (JEDI) contract is part of a broader digital modernization of the Pentagon meant to make it more technologically agile.

But the contracting process had long been mired in conflict of interest allegations, even drawing the attention of President Donald Trump, who has publicly taken swipes at Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos.

Oracle Corp. had expressed concerns about the award process for the contract, including the role of a former Amazon employee who worked on the project at the Defense Department but recused himself, then later left the Defense Department and returned to Amazon Web Services.

In a statement, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) spokesman said the company was "surprised about this conclusion."

The company said that a "detailed assessment purely on the comparative offerings" would "clearly lead to a different conclusion," according to the statement.

AWS is considering options for protesting the award, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Although the Pentagon boasts the world's most potent fighting force, its information technology remains woefully inadequate, according to many officials.

Officials have complained of having outdated computer systems and being unable to access files or share information as quickly as they might be able to in the private sector.

Some companies were also concerned that a single award would give the winner an unfair advantage in follow-on work. The Pentagon has said it planned to award future cloud deals to multiple contractors.

This week, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper removed himself from reviewing the deal due to his adult son's employment with one of the original contract applicants, IBM Corp. IBM had previously bid for the contract but had already been eliminated from the competition.

Microsoft said it was working on a comment. IBM and Oracle did not immediately return requests for comment.

The Washington Post on Wednesday reported that retired Navy commander Guy Snodgrass, who served as a speech writer and communications director to former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, said in a forthcoming book that Trump sought to “screw” Amazon by awarding the cloud computing contract to a rival.

"We’re not going to do that," Mattis told Pentagon officials, according to The Post's report on the book, which is due to be published on Oct. 29. "This will be done by the book, both legally and ethically."

Reuters could not immediately obtain a copy of the book to verify the Post's report.

In a statement announcing Microsoft as the winner, the Pentagon underscored its view that the competition was conducted fairly and legally.

"All (offers) were treated fairly and evaluated consistently with the solicitation's stated evaluation criteria. Prior to the award, the department conferred with the DOD Inspector General, which informed the decision to proceed," it said.

Microsoft shares were up 2.5 percent to $144.35 in after-hours trading after the news. Amazon shares were down 0.98 percent to $1,744.12.

The Pentagon said it had awarded more than $11 billion across 10 separate cloud contracts over the past two years.

"As we continue to execute the DOD Cloud Strategy, additional contracts are planned for both cloud services and complementary migration and integration solutions necessary to achieve effective cloud adoption," the Pentagon said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Cloud computing gains drive up profit for Microsoft

SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft reported Wednesday that quarterly profits rose on the back of its thriving cloud computing business which has become a core focus for the US technology giant.

Profits rose 21 percent to $10.7 billion in the recently ended quarter as revenue increased 14 percent to $33.1 billion compared with the same period a year earlier.

"The world's leading companies are choosing our cloud to build their digital capability," said Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella.

Revenue from cloud services sold to businesses was up more than a third in the quarter to $11.6 billion, according to chief financial officer Amy Hood.

"Microsoft did for (the quarterly) earnings what it has done so many times before, and that is to crush it with cloud and SaaS growth," said analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights and Strategy, using an acronym for software-as-a-service.

"I attribute this quite simply to the investments it has made in the cloud and its ability to uniquely serve the needs of multinational corporations."

Meanwhile, revenue from its career-centric social network LinkedIn was up 25 percent, Microsoft reported.

Microsoft shares were up essentially flat in after-market trades that followed release of the earnings figures.

Nadella has moved Microsoft to focus on cloud computing and other business services, helping the company's valuation grow to $1 trillion and draw even with rival Apple in terms of market value.

While the quarterly earnings, overall, beat market expectations, there was a sign that revenue growth in Microsoft's cloud unit Azure might be slowing.

Microsoft reported that it saw no growth at Xbox gaming unit.

A reason is likely that the latest generation Xbox console that debuted nearly 6 years ago is poised to be replaced by a successor on the horizon.

Microsoft in June gave the world a first glimpse of a powerful next-generation Xbox that it aims to release late next year.

Xbox head Phil Spencer pulled back the curtain on "Project Scarlett," a successor to the Xbox One that will give game makers "the power they need to bring their creative visions to life."

The new Xbox was promised to be released in time for the Christmas holiday shopping season in 2020.

Xbox battles in the console gaming arena with Sony, which is working on a new generation PlayStation.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Apple iTunes to play last song

SAN JOSE, California -- Apple on Monday announced the demise of its groundbreaking iTunes platform in favor of 3 more tailored apps, as it refines its offerings to be a stage for digital music, films, podcasts and more.

iTunes transformed the way people buy and listen to music after its launch in 2001, but is now being phased out, Apple senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi said, while helping kick off the technology giant's annual gathering of developers in Silicon Valley.

"The future of iTunes is not one app, it's three," Federighi said.

"Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and Apple TV."

Since the launch of iTunes, lifestyles have shifted to streaming music, video and more from the internet cloud as online data centers and high-bandwidth connections gave rise to on-demand entertainment expectations.

The iTunes software let users manage and listen to music collections as well as buy digital versions of songs.

"There is no reason for iTunes to exist, period." said Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi.

"If I want music, I have an the app. If I want TV, I have the app. That is how people are thinking today."

The transformation of iTunes into 3 separate apps comes with Apple preparing the international launch of an eponymous TV+ later this year.

The new content will be available on an upgraded Apple TV app, which will be on smart television sets and third-party platforms including Roku and Amazon's Fire TV. 

The California company showed off its podcast app on Monday as well, and said that service would be tailored to work independently on its smartwatch.

Some features from iTunes will be melded into the other Apple apps. 

It remains to be seen what will become of the iTunes version tailored for Windows-powered computers, or how people will be able to move music libraries they have amassed.

Software innovations and improvements revealed at the opening day of the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) touched the company's entire line-up from wrist-wear to iPhones and Car Play along with smart assistant Siri.

The innovations come as Apple shifts to emphasize digital content and other services to offset a pullback in the once-sizzling smartphone market, and with many news organizations struggling to monetize their online services.

Apple is aiming to leverage its position with about 900 million people worldwide who use at least one of its devices.

APPLE SIGN-IN

The packed WWDC audience cheered when executives spoke of improvements that promised to make it easier for one app to work across the array of devices.

Apple is apparently trying to get app makers looking beyond the iPhone to the company's family of hardware with a message of "better together," Milanesi reasoned.

"It is about the breadth of those devices together," the analyst said.

As high-end Android-powered phones made by Google become more attractive to iPhone users, having apps that extend experiences across Apple Watch, iPad, TV and Mac help keep them loyal to the brand, according to Milanesi.

"Not only are you driving more engagement with Apple, you are lowering the risk of having users go elsewhere," she said.

Next-generation iOS software powering iPhones coming out later this year was reworked "top to bottom" to be faster, according to Federighi.

Apple chief Tim Cook and other executives focused on privacy features of improved software across the range of devices.

Protections being added to iOS mobile operating software included the option of giving apps permission to access location just once, instead of all the time, and letting users know when apps are tracking their whereabouts.

A new "Sign In With Apple" feature will be launched as an alternative to logging in using Facebook or Google accounts.

"This can be convenient, but it can also come at the cost of your privacy," Federighi said.

"These log-ins can be used to track you."

The iOS log-in feature will let people sign into apps using AppleID information, but provides the option of masking user names or email addresses with randomly generated information.

"The entire experience is meant to help you have control over your data," Federighi said, to applause.

"A lot of love for random addresses here."

Apple also announced changes that will make iPads easier to use as auxiliary screens for Mac computers, and even perform a bit more like laptops themselves with capabilities like multiple windows operating simultaneously.

The company unveiled a new Mac Pro high-performance desktop computer aimed at professionals, with a starting price of $5,999.

Apple previewed its iOS 13 for mobile devices, which includes a "dark mode" display, an upgraded maps application and faster access through its facial recognition sign-on.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

US-China talks show progress on cloud computing: US Chamber official

WASHINGTON - American negotiators locked in trade talks with China are likely to win more access to the country's cloud computing market than initially expected, but Chinese commitments to curb industrial subsidies will probably fall short of US demands, a US Chamber of Commerce official said on Thursday.

In March, media reported that as part of trade negotiations, China would allow US cloud computing companies access to China's fast-growing market through special Chinese free trade zones, giving the companies a limited toehold in the world's second largest economy.

"We expect greater market access opening than was initially provided by the Chinese in these negotiations, which was through a pilot zone," Myron Brilliant, executive vice president and head of international affairs at the US Chamber of Commerce, told reporters on a conference call.

He said the lobbying group wanted to ensure that US cloud companies are able to get licenses and have management control and guaranteed free flow of data across borders.

"It is not clear we will get as much as we would like in that area, but we're going to continue to make this an issue that has to be addressed ultimately, if not in the negotiations, then shortly after," Brilliant said.

WASHINGTON TALKS

Brilliant's comments came after US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin concluded two days of talks in Beijing aimed at ending a 10-month tariff war that has cost both sides billions of dollars in exports, disrupted supply chains and roiled financial markets.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is due in Washington next week for another round of talks, which Brilliant said were in the "endgame."

Mnuchin called the Beijing talks "productive," but the Trump administration has said little else about them.

The United States has been pressing China for sweeping changes to policies that Washington says encourage theft of American intellectual property and force transfers of US technology to Chinese companies.

Brilliant said that curbing China's massive subsidies for steel and a host of other industries is a priority for US businesses, but the deal is unlikely to provide a major shift in Beijing's practices in that area.

"We're likely to get some language that... touches on transparency, but we're not likely to get the commitment that we want eventually from the Chinese in terms of their really cutting back and eliminating subsidy practices," he said

Reuters reported last month that American negotiators have tempered demands that China curb industrial subsidies as a condition for a trade deal after strong resistance from Beijing, marking a retreat on a core US objective for the trade talks.

TARIFF REMOVAL

Much speculation has also centered on how much, if any, of the US and Chinese tariffs will be removed as part of a deal. A person familiar with the negotiations said that it was likely that some tariffs would remain in place, serving as part of the enforcement mechanism to ensure that China keeps its commitments. They would be removed as China meets certain implementation benchmarks, the person said.

Brilliant said the decision on the tariffs will be ultimately up to US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. He added that an enforcement mechanism for the agreement might include a "tie-in to tariffs."

Trump has said he would host Xi at the White House, a meeting that could be used to cement an agreement. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Microsoft topples Apple, returns to the top of the world

WASHINGTON -- Microsoft is back at the top of the technology world following an extraordinary comeback to close the gap with Apple, some 3 years into a transformation of the onetime leader by chief executive Satya Nadella.

Microsoft regained its title as the world's most valuable company when it closed Friday at a higher market value than Apple for the first time since 2010, after a brief move ahead of the iPhone maker earlier in the week.

At Friday's close, Microsoft's market capitalization was $851.2 billion, having tripled in value since Nadella took over in early 2014.

Apple's valuation stood at $847.4 billion, having dropped some 20 percent in the past 8 weeks. Not far behind were Amazon ($826 billion) and Google parent Alphabet ($763 billion).

In the 1990s, Microsoft held the crown as the top tech firm and most valuable company as it powered the revolution in personal computers with its Windows operating system.

But in recent years, it appeared headed to obscurity after spectacular failures in mobile computing, while Apple, Google and Amazon saw their fortunes rise.

Analysts say patience, diversification and the willingness to jettison failing ventures helped fuel Microsoft's surge.

"Microsoft is firing on all cylinders right now," said Jack Gold, technology analyst with J. Gold Associates.

"Satya Nadella has been doing a fantastic job in leading them away from dead-end areas and being more innovative."

THRIVING IN THE CLOUD

Microsoft still draws considerable revenue from Windows, the software that powers the vast majority of PCs.

But it has leveraged its position to bring business customers to its cloud computing platform known as Azure, and has developed a steadier revenue stream from its Office software suite for both consumers and enterprises.

"Azure has been really big for Microsoft," Gold said.

For companies already using Microsoft systems for PCs and servers, "it's easy for them to stick with Microsoft, and that's the advantage for Microsoft."

Microsoft has become far less dependent on a single product than in the past, with strong growth from its cloud services and revenues from its Xbox gaming business, Bing search, Surface tablets and PCs, as well as the professional social network LinkedIn acquired in 2016.

It won a $480 million contract with the US Army last month to supply HoloLens devices that will help troops train using augmented and virtual reality.

It is also competing with Amazon and others for a multibillion-dollar contract for Pentagon cloud services.

The diversified revenue stream is in contrast with Apple, which still relies on iPhone sales for the vast majority of revenue and profit.

"Microsoft is pretty well-balanced across a number of different categories," said Bob O'Donnell of TECHnalysis Research.

"For Apple, we've reached peak smartphone and it's a very challenging market. Longtime observers of Apple knew this would happen at some point, and the question is how quickly they can transition to services."

Microsoft's emphasis on business services makes the company less visible to consumers, but "it means they are not subject to the whims of tech fashion, and their revenue base is more solid and more stable," O'Donnell said.

LEARNING FROM FAILURE

A big part of Microsoft's transformation came when it decided to throw in the towel on its Windows mobile phone business after acquiring the device business of Nokia but failing to get a foothold in the sector dominated by Apple and Google-powered Android smartphones.

"I think Satya Nadella exercised extraordinarily good judgment," said Roger Kay, a consultant and analyst at Endpoint Technologies Associates.

"He ceded the consumer business to Apple and focused on the corporate sector and the cloud."

Microsoft's failures in mobile may have actually helped it by forcing the company to work with rival operating systems, analysts say.

Apple, meanwhile, has largely required its own devices for its services, a strategy which Gold called "troubling."

"That's the same path Microsoft went down a decade ago," he said. "Apple is going to have to change that."

The company appeared to move a step toward opening its services in the past week, agreeing to offer its streaming music on Amazon's Alexa-powered devices.

"Apple has a great track record when it comes to reinvention," said a research note from Gene Munster and Will Thompson of the investment firm Loup Ventures.

It anticipated that the company's "next reinvention does not involve product replacement; rather, it will require a shift in mindset to consuming Apple products as a service."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

From streaming TV to Gmail, it's all about the cloud

SAN FRANCISCO -- Whether you're watching your favorite show on Netflix or backing up all-important cat photos to Google Drive, the "cloud" has become an essential part of our digital lives.

No, not those large white bodies of water vapor floating through the sky -- the tech definition simply refers to having servers in remote data centers handling programs or data that people or businesses can access anywhere from devices of their choosing.

"You name it, it's happening in the cloud," analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group said. "It's really where everything is being done now."

Century-old technology stalwart IBM is making a $34 billion bet on cloud computing in the form of a mega-deal to buy Red Hat, a pioneering proponent of the open source movement that arose to counter giants like Microsoft whose models were based on keeping their source code secret.

Here is a look at the trend and its allure to technology titans such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft and IBM.

THE CLOUD IS EVERYWHERE

Developers craft software in the internet cloud.

Self-driving cars and smart cities will rely on computing in the cloud.

Web-based email and company payroll systems are in the cloud.

Sales teams on the road manage accounts and tap into resources in the cloud.

While businesses in the past used on-site mainframes built by IBM or its rivals, it has become cost effective for firms to rent applications or data storage hosted and maintained in the cloud by providers such as Amazon or Microsoft.

Such arrangements allow businesses to easily access more or less computing power as needed, without having to invest in data centers or system maintenance.

Companies interested in tighter control of some of the data or processes opt for "hybrid clouds," simply meaning that they let online data centers handle some of the computing work while keeping more sensitive aspects on their own machines.

CLOUD FUTURE CLEAR

The kind of computing power available in the cloud is seen as essential for processing data in real time for innovations such as cars safely driving themselves or cities allocating public services in real time as needs or situations change.

Mobile lifestyles ramp up reliance on cloud computing as people watch YouTube, post on Facebook, tweet, send photos to friends, and work on the go.

Smartphones, tablets, and laptops can open windows into immense computing power in data centers.

The more people "cut the cord" and let go of traditional cable TV, the more they turn to the cloud.

Streaming television services accessible at Netflix, Amazon Prime, and YouTube are hosted and powered by online data centers, as are web-based email and social media such as Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter.

Online music rains from the cloud.

But the cloud also comes with concerns about who is controlling and protecting data stored by third-parties online.

Cloud computing platforms are tempting targets for hackers who see gold or power in the massive amounts of information behind data center walls.

Some believe that will lead to a future with businesses preferring more balanced, or hybrid, setups with sensitive data kept in-house.

AMAZON LEADING RIVALS

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is considered the leader in cloud computing, with Microsoft's Azure platform its top rival.

"Amazon made a commitment to cloud computing, and their CEO is now the richest guy in the world," analyst Enderle said, referring to Jeff Bezos.

Amazon announced new AWS customers including Samsung Heavy Industries last week when it reported earnings for the third quarter of this year.

AWS net sales rose to $6.7 billion from $4.6 billion in the same period last year. AWS operating income jumped to $2.1 billion from $1.2 billion in the same year-over-year comparison of quarters.

Microsoft said last week that revenue from its cloud offerings to businesses soared to $8.5 billion in the recently ended quarter, up 47 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Alphabet-owned Google's earnings for the third quarter showed that, while it still made the bulk of its money from online ads, the amount of "other revenue" that presumably includes cloud services increased to $4.6 billion, an increase of a billion dollars from a year ago.

China-based Alibaba is considered a fast rising contender, according to analysts.

Gartner forecast that the overall public cloud services market worldwide would grow steadily from $187.2 billion this year to $338 in the year 2022.

While consumers enjoy the benefits of cloud-hosted services, most of the money made by hosts come from catering to the computing needs of businesses.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Amazon acquires Italy-based software firm

Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing arm of Amazon.com Inc., said it has acquired NICE, a software developer for technical computing.

The company said it has signed an agreement with NICE, which is also a cloud computing firm, and expects the deal to close in the first quarter of 2016.

No financial terms were disclosed.

Italy-based NICE has customers in industries ranging from aerospace to industrial, energy and utilities.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Choosing an Accountant: Simplifying the Process

Trying to choose an accountant can be enough to make anyone’s head spin, especially if it’s your first time. With your finances vulnerable to their professional expertise and skill, many business owners are terribly afraid of making a disastrous mistake and putting their earnings in jeopardy.

In truth, it’s far better to be apprehensive about such a choice than it is to approach it with complacency. Your accountant will have access to your most delicate business dealings, and you need to know that you can trust them to take care of you and your enterprise.

If your search has begun, then here are a few tips to help you choose the right professional for you…

Gather Recommendations

One of the most effective ways of finding a suitable professional is to turn to your contacts and see whom the people in your network would recommend. There is no better commendation than one that comes from a person you know and trust, so if someone has a candidate that they would like to put forward, it’s worth your time to contact them. Although their actual suitability will largely come down to your personal preference, recommendations are still a useful place to start, and you know from the outset that at least one of the candidate’s clients thinks highly enough of them to tout for business on their behalf.

Assess Their Experience

You may want to gather some additional candidates to add to your list through internet recommendations or reviews, but once you have a suitable number of options to explore, a good way to whittle them down is by looking at how much relevant experience they have. As a business owner, you need someone who can prepare tax returns, and complete and archive financial documents for companies with a similar revenue and structure to yours. Additionally, they must be able to use any relevant software instrumental to your bookkeeping methods, such as cloud computing or Excel spreadsheets. If they already have clients in a similar sector, then that’s one more tick in the relevant box.

Check Their Certification 

Once you have a preferred accountant, it’s important to check their certification before you commit to anything. A country specific central body will regulate all financial professionals in your region, and to be included on their register, accountants will have to possess relevant qualifications and uphold the highest professional standards. This means that when you choose a name that features on their list, you always know that you’re getting the most for your money, and that you’re working with an individual or firm that you can rely on.

Find your perfect accountant today by following these three simple steps.

source: 20smoney.com

Heady days for tech sector 15 years after bubble burst

Heady days for tech sector 15 years after bubble burst
NEW YORK - Fifteen years after the bursting of the dot-com bubble, the tech sector is flying high again, with record amounts of cash pouring in, and renewed fears about inflated valuations.

A survey by the EY (formerly Ernst & Young) group counted 3,512 mergers or acquisitions in the tech sector in 2014, for a total value of $237.6 billion, the highest figure since 2000.

The report said the outlook for deals in 2015 remains "robust."

There are no signs the trend is slowing.

"Tech investment bankers have told us that their pipelines are fuller than they've been in years, while corporate development executives indicated they expect to be even busier shopping this year," said Brenon Daly, analyst at 451 Research.

The 451 Research report suggests more dealmaking is coming in hot segments such as mobile tech, security and cloud computing.

Startups like Uber and Snapchat meanwhile have seen their values soar with new capital inflows.

Thirty-eight tech companies entered the billion-dollar club clast year, including 25 in the US, according to the research group CB Insights which tracks venture capital.

Part of the euphoria around the sector also comes from giants like Apple, which broke all records with an $18-billion profit in the past quarter, and Chinese online group Alibaba, which raised a record $25 billion in its initial public offering.

The consultancy PwC said 2014 was the "best year of the decade for global technology IPOs."

A question of value

The key question for investors in the sector is whether the sky-high valuations are indications of innovative companies with tremendous growth prospects or mere speculation.

Uber's investment valued the ride-sharing service at $41 billion; home-sharing service Airbnb's worth is estimated at $10 billion, a similar level to that of Snapchat and Dropbox; and streaming music group Spotify at $7 billion.

These investments come in the wake of Facebook's $22 billion deal to buy the messaging service WhatsApp.

"The valuations are way out of line," said Roger Kay at Endpoint Technologies Associates.

Still, Kay noted that "the mood is different because people do remember 2000. In 2000 they really thought it would never end, and it was sort of pure bubble euphoria. This time euphoria is tempered with a bit of cynicism."

'Reality-based'

The EY report says however that this time, values are grounded in reality.

"Unlike 2000, it was no bubble," the report said. "Despite the occasional 'moonshot' from a handful of deep-pocketed buyers, the vast majority of deals were measured in reality-based multiples of good-old-fashioned revenue, profit or cash flow."

Some analysts point out that the Nasdaq stock market index, seen as an indicator of the tech sector, still has not returned to its record high of 5,100 hit in March of 2000.

Michael Stiller, tech analyst with Nasdaq’s Advisory Services unit, said the tech sector "generally is still considerably cheaper than in 1999" and that the companies have more realistic business models.

"It's a totally different environment," Stiller told AFP.

"We now have three billion people online versus 400 million in 2000, a 7.5-fold increase. So many of the ideas that were conceived in 2000 are now feasible as the market is eight times as big relative to 15 years ago."

Stiller noted that while some tech companies look expensive, these companies have become more mature, and are getting real revenues and profits.

"Large cap tech companies are flush with cash and it flows down to other parts of the sector," he said.

"Real earnings from tech companies are actually in the books, not just metrics like eyeballs and page views."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com