Stories by Randal Jackson

Oracle in New Zealand Set-Top Box Trial

New Zealand has been targeted by a new company, ICE Interactive, as part of a test market for delivering enhanced television content to set-tops and other information appliances.

NZ Legal Practice Software Vendor to Enter U.S.

On the back of strong results in the U.K. and other international growth, Auckland-based legal practice management vendor Keystone Solutions has plans to enter the U.S. market.

Clear to spend $NZ40m on cable, fibre upgrades

Soaring data traffic and demand for emerging e-business applications are two of the main drivers behind Clear Communications' plans to invest $31.1 million in purchasing capacity on the Southern Cross cable, and extending the reach of its fiber-optic loops.

Clear to Spend $20M on Cable, Fiber Upgrades

Soaring data traffic and demand for emerging e-business applications are two of the main drivers behind Clear Communications' plans to invest NZ$40 million (US$20.26 million) in purchasing capacity on the Southern Cross cable, and extending the reach of its fiber-optic loops.

CIOs Fail to Embrace Storage Strategies: IDC

Very few CIOs surveyed by International Data Corp.(IDC) recently had coherent storage strategies, says IDC researcher Pat Pilcher.

Oracle, Telstra ASP deal tipped

Oracle and Telstra are tipped to partner in an ASP (application service provider) deal that will be the largest in the Asia-Pacific region.
Telstra executives were meeting with Oracle CEO Larry Ellison in the US last week, ostensibly to talk about Web TV. But insiders at Oracle Openworld in Brisbane last week said an ASP deal is as close as two weeks, though several months were seen as more likely.

Housing NZ Gets Serious About Linux

A Successful branch trial of Linux could lead to the open-source operating system being rolled out throughout Housing New Zealand. The Mt Albert neighborhood unit was instructed to behave as if it were a stand- alone business unit and demonstrate its independence by not using any of the existing IT infrastructure. It chose to shrink its property management systems to neighborhood unit requirements and based it on Linux, which it bought as a retail CD for $120.

SGI Axes Jobs in New Zealand

SGI New Zealand has paid the price of a new corporate business model with four sales staff, including country manager Peter Vanderbeke, losing their jobs. This is despite performing proportionately better than its Australian counterpart.

IBM's future looks wobbly in Shaky Isles

IBM in danger of becoming Baby Blue in NZ

IBM's withdrawal from New Zealand's controversial police INCIS (integrated national crime information system) project comes hard on the heels of another body blow - the loss to EDS of the $NZ1.5 billion ($1.21 billion) Telecom New Zealand outsourcing contract.