ARMONK, NEW YORK: IBM announced that it is making up to $3 billion available to finance IT initiatives in key economic stimulus projects in Europe and Asia-Pacific through IBM Global Financing, IBM’s lending and leasing business segment. The announcement follows the availability of up to $2 billion announced by IBM on April 30 to help jump start US economic stimulus programs.
Specifically, IBM will make available up to $2 billion in financing in Europe and up to approximately $1 billion in the Asia-Pacific region. IBM Global Financing also will extend its North American coverage to include financing for smart technology projects in Canada.
The financing will help organizations move ahead with IT projects in 2009, while awaiting government funding, to build the technological and environmental infrastructure of the 21st century.
“There is a great connectivity among nations,” said John Callies, General Manager of IBM Global Financing. “While the various stimulus packages in different countries were designed to keep their own economies on track, it is as joined economies that we can rise from this global downturn together. In this context, IBM Global Financing is extending its stimulus financing program to countries in Europe and Asia-Pacific to help global recovery.”
IBM has already been helping enterprises and local governments in these areas build their infrastructures to spur growth in key IT projects such as Smart Grid, Health Information Technology, and Smart Transportation. The financing will be targeted to companies and organizations in countries with government funding committed to help economic stimulus, create new industries and enable infrastructure improvements.
The bulk of the $5 billion will be for financing (where available based on local financing practices) for smart technology projects for credit-qualified clients. The financing could be in the form of:
* Low rates and flexible financing options.
* Deferred payment plans.
* Enterprise Financing facilities that offer structured lines of credit.
* Specialized project financing packages that allow clients to align payment streams to anticipated benefits throughout the project.
"The recession is going to drive many organizations, public and private, to make transformational changes in their IT environment. However, without access to the correct financing offerings, a significant set of opportunities will be lost and society-wide projects, like SmartGrid, will be substantially delayed.” David Mitchell, Senior Vice President, UK-based IT Research, Ovum. “This is a bold move by IBM to help accelerate stimulus benefits into the current time frame.”
Showing posts with label Europe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Europe. Show all posts
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Web 2.0 gains momentum in Europe
Here is an interesting release put out by Frost & Sullivan! I don't know for sure how much we in India have adopted blogs and bloggers, and with it, Web 2.0 tools, though we all love to use Web 2.0 as a buzzword at all conferences.
Have we understood Web 2.0 enough? Some folks have even gone on to tout Web 3.0 as the next big thing! Have enterprises and SMBs in India made enough use of Web 2.0? Have they received measurable benefits out of those tools?
Well, do have a look at Frost's take on Web 2.0 in Europe!
LONDON, UK: The year 2008 and economic downturn have changed the way companies are going about their daily business. In response to the current recession in Europe, businesses are seeking new ways to stay productive while significantly cutting costs with the help of Web 2.0 solutions.
From lower-cost versions of enterprise applications, to utilising cloud computing, ‘crowd sourcing’ business owners are taking advantage of what Web 2.0 has to offer.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan: Web 2.0 Technologies in the Recession-hit Europe as a Solution for Small and Medium Businesses, finds that Web 2.0 will supplement both Web and Audio-web markets that were valued at $190 million in Europe in 2008 and are likely to grow to $860 million by the end of 2014.
“Web 2.0 solutions may be part of the cure for the recessionary headache that many European businesses are now experiencing; social networking sites, wikis, and blogs are just some of the more well-known examples of Web 2.0 technologies that can play an important role here,” says Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Iwona Petruczynik.
“These solutions are becoming more prevalent in the European small and medium businesses (SMBs) arena, especially at a time like this, when workers are being forced to do more with less.”
There has been an increase in the usage of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and other Web 2.0 solutions like Blogger and WordPress. Until recently, they were primarily associated with consumer applications; however, currently, they are finding usage in more professional areas.
“As an interesting side note, social networking sites are gaining popularity in unexpected places, for instance, the world’s most popular online virtual reality, Second Life, was used by Sweden to open their ‘embassy’ in the virtual world to promote Sweden’s culture and image,” remarks Petruczynik. “In addition, Second Life is used in the Polish Ministry of Interior and Administration, where the Ministry has a room, which a person can visit to find out what the Ministry is doing and even ask the Minister questions.”
However, experts are unable to agree on one definition of Web 2.0 and this becomes a challenge in defining its market size. Yet, it is unlikely that Web 2.0 will become a standalone market, as it is a set of technologies and ideas driving the development of existing products and services.
The full potential influence of Web 2.0 is only now playing out, as the concepts and technologies are finding their use in manufacturing, customer service, product development and sales.
Innovative modes of interaction among workers, enabled by Web 2.0, contribute to company cohesion and employee retention. Telecommuting staff too can collaborate with each other speedily and effortlessly, outside of the formal e-mail stream.
Despite the evident advantages, some businesses are apprehensive about fully embracing Web 2.0 tools. The popularity of companies’ in-house intranet and concerns about security and confidential information leaks are just a few examples of the restraints faced by the European Web 2.0 market.
Moreover, a culture of ‘busyness’ retards the adoption of Web 2.0. If employees are not seen working all the time, they are assumed to be inefficient and unprofessional, when, in fact, they could be conducting their business through utilising solutions such as blogs or social networking sites, like Twitter or LinkedIn.
In addition, Europe tends to be more conservative in accepting new solutions. Therefore, the adoption rate of Web 2.0 in Europe is lower than that in the United States.
“In Europe, there is a common misconception that a true deliverable is measured in how many kilograms of paper one produces and hands over to a client,” explains Petruczynik. “This belief is hindering the adoption of Web 2.0 solutions, as more end products are being delivered in the form of a wiki or a blog.”
Moreover, the security concerns that many chief information officers (CIOs) face are equally important. Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX), a programming technique used by Web 2.0 programmers, poses security risks that in the worst-case scenario include uploading malicious codes onto someone’s computer or hijacking an account.
According to the European Commission, small and medium businesses (SMBs) constitute 99 percent of all enterprises in Europe and provide almost 75 million jobs. With such significant market potential, Web 2.0 vendors should not have problems with deploying their solutions in the SMB sector.
“The best practice for those employing Web 2.0 solutions include creating and implementing clear and easy policies, describing how to use social media to avoid security risks, and leaks of confidential information, adapting their corporate culture to promote openness and collaboration, and educating employees on how to use Web 2.0 tools to become more productive and efficient,” concludes Petruczynik.
“On the other hand, Web 2.0 vendors should help in creating supportive policies, providing seamless integration with existing advanced corporate communication tools, and offering a variety of ‘a la carte’ Web 2.0 technologies.”
Have we understood Web 2.0 enough? Some folks have even gone on to tout Web 3.0 as the next big thing! Have enterprises and SMBs in India made enough use of Web 2.0? Have they received measurable benefits out of those tools?
Well, do have a look at Frost's take on Web 2.0 in Europe!
LONDON, UK: The year 2008 and economic downturn have changed the way companies are going about their daily business. In response to the current recession in Europe, businesses are seeking new ways to stay productive while significantly cutting costs with the help of Web 2.0 solutions.
From lower-cost versions of enterprise applications, to utilising cloud computing, ‘crowd sourcing’ business owners are taking advantage of what Web 2.0 has to offer.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan: Web 2.0 Technologies in the Recession-hit Europe as a Solution for Small and Medium Businesses, finds that Web 2.0 will supplement both Web and Audio-web markets that were valued at $190 million in Europe in 2008 and are likely to grow to $860 million by the end of 2014.
“Web 2.0 solutions may be part of the cure for the recessionary headache that many European businesses are now experiencing; social networking sites, wikis, and blogs are just some of the more well-known examples of Web 2.0 technologies that can play an important role here,” says Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Iwona Petruczynik.
“These solutions are becoming more prevalent in the European small and medium businesses (SMBs) arena, especially at a time like this, when workers are being forced to do more with less.”
There has been an increase in the usage of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and other Web 2.0 solutions like Blogger and WordPress. Until recently, they were primarily associated with consumer applications; however, currently, they are finding usage in more professional areas.
“As an interesting side note, social networking sites are gaining popularity in unexpected places, for instance, the world’s most popular online virtual reality, Second Life, was used by Sweden to open their ‘embassy’ in the virtual world to promote Sweden’s culture and image,” remarks Petruczynik. “In addition, Second Life is used in the Polish Ministry of Interior and Administration, where the Ministry has a room, which a person can visit to find out what the Ministry is doing and even ask the Minister questions.”
However, experts are unable to agree on one definition of Web 2.0 and this becomes a challenge in defining its market size. Yet, it is unlikely that Web 2.0 will become a standalone market, as it is a set of technologies and ideas driving the development of existing products and services.
The full potential influence of Web 2.0 is only now playing out, as the concepts and technologies are finding their use in manufacturing, customer service, product development and sales.
Innovative modes of interaction among workers, enabled by Web 2.0, contribute to company cohesion and employee retention. Telecommuting staff too can collaborate with each other speedily and effortlessly, outside of the formal e-mail stream.
Despite the evident advantages, some businesses are apprehensive about fully embracing Web 2.0 tools. The popularity of companies’ in-house intranet and concerns about security and confidential information leaks are just a few examples of the restraints faced by the European Web 2.0 market.
Moreover, a culture of ‘busyness’ retards the adoption of Web 2.0. If employees are not seen working all the time, they are assumed to be inefficient and unprofessional, when, in fact, they could be conducting their business through utilising solutions such as blogs or social networking sites, like Twitter or LinkedIn.
In addition, Europe tends to be more conservative in accepting new solutions. Therefore, the adoption rate of Web 2.0 in Europe is lower than that in the United States.
“In Europe, there is a common misconception that a true deliverable is measured in how many kilograms of paper one produces and hands over to a client,” explains Petruczynik. “This belief is hindering the adoption of Web 2.0 solutions, as more end products are being delivered in the form of a wiki or a blog.”
Moreover, the security concerns that many chief information officers (CIOs) face are equally important. Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX), a programming technique used by Web 2.0 programmers, poses security risks that in the worst-case scenario include uploading malicious codes onto someone’s computer or hijacking an account.
According to the European Commission, small and medium businesses (SMBs) constitute 99 percent of all enterprises in Europe and provide almost 75 million jobs. With such significant market potential, Web 2.0 vendors should not have problems with deploying their solutions in the SMB sector.
“The best practice for those employing Web 2.0 solutions include creating and implementing clear and easy policies, describing how to use social media to avoid security risks, and leaks of confidential information, adapting their corporate culture to promote openness and collaboration, and educating employees on how to use Web 2.0 tools to become more productive and efficient,” concludes Petruczynik.
“On the other hand, Web 2.0 vendors should help in creating supportive policies, providing seamless integration with existing advanced corporate communication tools, and offering a variety of ‘a la carte’ Web 2.0 technologies.”
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