Stories by Richard Noone

Microsoft out to keel-haul software pirates

Microsoft sent an ominous warning yesterday to the channel that it will not tolerate pirated software sales announcing a $5,000 reward for anyone giving evidence leading to the conviction of a dealer selling pirated or counterfeit software.

Marconi wins contract for domestic Australian fibre

Telecommunications integrator and services company Marconi Corp. PLC signed an installation agreement with IP1 (Australia) Pty. Ltd. this week worth A$30 million (US$14.7 million) to construct a fibre optic link between Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.

Stor wars: Datastor, AustStor draw light sabres

Datastor NSW is looking to inject a little competition in the market after it signed a distribution agreement that will see the specialist storage distributor offer Qualstar libraries across the State.

Speech gets sexy in call centres


The speech recognition component of call centres is set to explode this year as software matures and CPU grunt becomes more accessible, according to one specialist market research company.

EMC marks the channel for certification

Storage monolith EMC Corp. is nearing the deadline of its self-imposed goal of becoming a US$12 billion company in 2001 and is looking to the channel to get it past the line.

Digi takes bat and ball and goes home

After months of uncertainty about its channel strategy, connectivity vendor Digi International Inc. has slinked back to the U.S., closing its Australian office and allegedly laying off its staff, Computerworld has learned.

Horsley's view of telco failings

The soon-to-depart Australian Telecommunications Users Group (ATUG) managing director Allan Horsley fired a parting shot Wednesday at the telco industry here for failing to provide dynamic applications and services for Australian corporate and retail users.

Compaq inspired by eSec for security

eSec has been appointed as Compaq Professional Services' preferred IT security provider in an ongoing agreement that could prove to be a cash-cow for the listed security services company.

Syntegra appoints old boys club

Systems integrator and wholly owned subsidiary of British Telecom (BT), Syntegra Australia, has called in four high-flyers to advise the company on its future direction.

NavDam quells acquisition uncertainty

After recent announcements that they are to merge, Danish mid-market ERP vendors Navision and Damgaard have quelled channel uncertainty, unveiling its restructure plans this week.

BO stronger in the channel

Business intelligence software vendor Business Objects (BO) has ramped up its indirect sales force appointing two new channel partners and a new wireless connectivity edition of its InfoView server.

Alstom IT joins Veritas distie ranks

In a bid to capture the Unix-based storage market, Veritas Software has appointed niche storage distributor Alstom IT to flog the vendor's enterprise product range through the channel.

Tandberg gets sheepish with channel

Tape drive and storage manufacturer Tandberg Data has come under fire from angry distributors after it sacked its Pacific Rim sales director and appointed Datastor New Zealand as its exclusive distributor in Australia and New Zealand.

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