IBM Happenings: January 2006

February 3, 2006

The new year got off to a fast start for IBM. There was a slew of announcements in hardware, software, services, acquisitions, and corporate initiatives. There have been forty or so acquistions in the past five years. An interesting contract was landed to assist the State of Arizona in developing and implementing a statewide system for voter registration. The announcements made by the company during the month are below and the complete Index of IBM Happenings (by year and month) is here.

List of Announcements for January 2006

IBM leads initiative to improve patent quality

The new initiative, formed in partnership with the USPTO, OSDL, members of the open source software community and academia, is focused on improving U.S. patent quality.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/19101.wss

IBM changes U.S. pension plans

The changes continue IBM’s global strategy of shifting the future focus of retirement benefits toward the more predictable cost structure of a 401(k), or defined contribution, plan.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/19090.wss

Banco Espírito Santo signs services contract

Banco Espírito Santo signed a 150 million euro, 10-year outsourcing services agreement for IBM to manage the bank’s information technology infrastructure.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/19102.wss

IBM, Sony, Toshiba broaden technology alliance

The three companies have begun a new, five-year phase of their alliance, researching advanced process technologies at 32 nanometers and beyond.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/19103.wss

AK Steel extends IBM contract

IBM will continue to provide the steel company’s IT infrastructure services, develop and maintain business applications, and work on a variety of key initiatives.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/19080.wss

IBM reports 2005 fourth-quarter results

IBM today announced fourth-quarter 2005 diluted earnings per common share of $2.01 from continuing operations.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/19124.wss
A replay of the earnings announcement and additional materials are available at: http://www.ibm.com/investor/4q05/

IBM signs 10-year agreement with Gap Inc.

The 10-year, approximately $1.1 billion contract will provide Gap Inc. with mainframe, server, network, helpdesk and deskside support services across its North American stores and corporate locations.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/19125.wss

IBM to develop Arizona voter system

IBM has received a $9.4-million contract to assist the State of Arizona in developing and implementing a statewide system for voter registration.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/19120.wss

IBM expands BladeCenter solutions for retail

IBM’s Systems Solutions for Retail Stores consolidates all in-store servers, storage, networking and applications in a single physical package.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/19121.wss

Florida College taps IBM Virtualization

Palm Beach Community College in Florida has selected IBM systems and Linux to consolidate multiple tiers of its computing operations into a more efficient, open infrastructure.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/19112.wss

IBM acquires CIMS Lab, Inc.

The acquisition of CIMS Lab, a provider of software that tracks the usage of computing resources across virtualized environments, complements IBM’s portfolio of software for virtualized technology.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/19153.wss

IBM strengthens the mainframe as data platform

The System z9 Integrated Information Processor, in effect, will be a high-speed engine that better enables data to be centralized on the mainframe.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/19157.wss

IBM advances real-time collaboration

IBM’s new platform includes a new version of IBM Lotus Sametime, new audio and video conferencing integration, and connectivity with leading consumer IM platforms.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/19143.wss

IBM report anticipates cyber attack surge in 2006

According to its 2005 Global Business Security Index Report, IBM anticipates cybercrime to evolve from pervasive global outbreaks to smaller attacks targeted at specific organizations.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/19141.wss

IBM achieves breakthrough in voice recognition

The new voice technology, part of IBM Embedded ViaVoice 4.4, allows drivers and handheld users to speak commands naturally rather than using predetermined commands.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/19150.wss

IBM’s intranet one of the world’s top ten

IBM’s intranet has been selected as one of “The Year’s 10 Best Intranets” by the Nielsen Norman Group, a user experience research firm.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/19156.wss

IBM delivers System i5 with POWER5+ processor

IBM’s new System i5 line, with its leading POWER5+ processor, shows up to a 33 percent increase in performance over current POWER5-based iSeries models.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/19182.wss
The System i5 line was discussed during a teleconference on Jan. 30. Presentation materials are available at:
https://www-03.ibm.com/itanalyst/crsite.nsf/pages/homepage

IBM introduces DB2 Express-C Data Server

IBM’s DB2 Universal Database Express-C, a versatile data server is available for download, at no cost, to customers, developers and partners.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/19183.wss

IBM joins Open Ajax initiative

IBM has proposed the contribution of its software to the Eclipse Foundation and Mozilla that will allow users to develop and debug an Ajax application.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/19187.wss

IBM acquires ARGUS semiconductor software

IBM has acquired INFICON’s ARGUS semiconductor software and related intellectual property, a leading system for lithography advanced process control for semiconductor manufacturing.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/19160.wss

IBM opens Electronics Innovation Center

The new IBM Electronics Innovation Center, an extension of the Tokyo Research Lab, will bring together marketplace experience with IBM Research’s electronics industry expertise.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/19188.wss

Complete Index of IBM Happenings (by year and month)