Didier Beck's Weblog

Cédric nominated to the EOS Directory Advisory Board

2009-07-03T10:21:00.001+02:00

I am very proud to announce that Cédric Walter, one of our colleague and founding member of Innoveo, is nominated to the EOS Directory (Enterprise Open Source Directory) Advisory and Expert Board. Cédric is a very well-known contributor of the Joomla community since 2004.

EOS Directory is a great catalog of more than 350 open source projects, that are listed, described and analyzed. It is today the leading online platform to help enterprises and organizations identify and evaluate Open Source technologies. Initially launched by Optaros, about two years ago, the platform has been recently handed over by Bruno von Rotz, initial sponsor of the initiative, well known Open Source specialist, and one of our Innoveo Board Member.

In support to strengthen the neutral approach to ratings and selection of the technologies, the new EOS Directory Advisory and Expert Board has been established over the last weeks.

The Advisory and Expert Board will be both instrumental in guiding the future development of the EOS Directory Platform as well as in making sure that the content is accurate, relevant and fairly represented. (Source: EOS Directory Blog)

Congratulations to Cédric!

More Information on Cédric’s blog and the EOS Directory blog.

Cross-posted on the Innoveo Blog.

Saint Barth Portfolio 2009 (03)

2009-06-26T16:52:00.001+02:00

Colombier

IBM Rational conference

2009-06-25T22:19:00.001+02:00

via Judith Hurwirtz

Judith has attended to the last IBM Rational Conference and is sharing with us some noteworthy aspects of the “changing landscape of software development”.

Rational is moving from tools company to a software development platform. […]
More management, fewer low level developers [were attending the conference] […]
Rational has changed dramatically through acquisitions. […]
It’s all about Jazz. Jazz, IBM’s collaboration platform was a major focus of the conference. Jazz is an architecture intended to integrate data and function. Jazz’s foundation is the REST architecture and therefore it is well positioned for use in Web 2.0 applications. What is most important is that IBM is bringing all of its Rational technology under this model. Over the next few years, we can expect to see this framework under all of the Rational’s products.
Rational doesn’t stand alone. […] What I found quite interesting was the emphasis on the intersection between the Rational platform and Tivoli’s management services as well as Websphere’s Service Oriented Architecture offerings. Rational also made a point of focusing on the use of collaboration elements provided by the Lotus division. Cloud computing was also a major focus of discussion at the event.[…] The one area that IBM seem to have hit a home run is its Cloud Burst appliance which is intended create and manage virtual images. Rational is also beginning to deliver its testing offerings as cloud based services. One of the most interesting elements of its approach is to use tokens as a licensing model. In other words, customers purchase a set number of tokens or virtual licenses that can be used to purchase services that are not tied to a specific project or product.

Cross-posted on the Innoveo Blog

Saint Barth Portfolio 2009 (02)

2009-06-23T21:59:00.001+02:00

On the way to Colombier

Saint Barth Portfolio 2009 (01)

2009-06-18T22:45:00.001+02:00

We have worked on a new pictures portfolio from out last trip in Saint Barth (February 2009). I will publish 2 pictures from each region of the island per post. Force to choose ;-)

Anse des Cayes

Mark this day :-)

2009-06-12T00:26:00.001+02:00

Yesterday (Thursday) was an absolutely important and central milestone in the life of our company - Innoveo.

I am very proud, totally exciting for the coming steps, exhausted, and also in a way - relieved. First confirmations that our vision, strategy, and tactics are not sooo bad ;-)

As usual, a bit of luck, plus a great help and support from very smart people (hello René), and from our Team!

I remember a thought of one of my former boss, saying that:

Good stuff needs time to mature

This is absolutely true ;-) I would just extend it a bit:

Good stuff needs time AND a lot of energy to mature

Nick, mate, a big thought in your direction, you did such a great job!

Coming challenges are big, again, but first … there are coming! And second, they are super interesting!

A last one now, about “vision” :-)

But gosh, now, I just want to sit down with a good grappa, and to appreciate this moment.

Bonifacio 2009 – Part VIII

2009-06-04T22:24:00.001+02:00

via BudgetTravel

There are no hotels on the Lavezzi Islands. No cafes, either. Not even a single toilet.
And that's precisely why people come. Classified as a Natural Reserve by France in 1982, the islands, in the strait between Sardinia and Corsica, have been protected from development. But there hasn't been any shelter from the wind. Without buildings to break them, gusts have whipped the islands' granite into fantastic shapes. In the coves between the rocks are protected spots of empty, sandy white beach. The clear water is teeming with anemones and fish, particularly grouper (merou in French), which explains why divers know the islands as Merouville.
The winds also caused one of the Mediterranean's worst shipwrecks. On the 160-acre main island (the only one that's more than a pile of rocks), a hiking path leads to a 46-foot-tall pyramid-shaped memorial for the sinking of the Semillante in 1855. The disaster took the lives of 700 sailors and soldiers.

So, last pictures of our Corsican trip. Surely of our best experience there, the Lavezzi Islands!

Saying “no”

2009-06-01T00:43:00.001+02:00

via Seth Godin

This one is again a good one from Seth:

If you've got talent, people want more of you. They ask you for this or that or the other thing. They ask nicely. They will benefit from the insight you can give them.
The choice: You can dissipate your gift by making the people with the loudest requests temporarily happy, or you can change the world by saying 'no' often.
You can say no with respect, you can say no promptly and you can say no with a lead to someone who might say yes. But just saying yes because you can't bear the short-term pain of saying no is not going to help you do the work.
Saying no to loud people gives you the resources to say yes to important opportunities.

Bonifacio 2009 – Part VII

2009-05-29T21:15:00.001+02:00

Now, some shots from the Bonifacio citadel and the fantastic limestone cliffs.

Some descriptions from Wikipedia:

The southern coast in the vicinity of Bonifacio is an outcrop of chalk-white limetone, precipitous and sculpted into unusual shapes by the ocean. Slightly further inland the limestone adjoins the granite of which the two islands, Sardinia and Corsica, are formed. […]

The city of Bonifacio is split into two sections. The vieille ville (old town), or la Haute Ville (the Upper city), on the site of a citadel, is located on the promontory overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The citadel was built in the 9th century with the foundation of the city. The Citadel has been reconstructed and renovated many times since its constructio and most recently was an administrative center for the French Foreign Legion. Today it is more of a museum. […]

The city and its fortifications also extend for some distance along the cliff-tops, which are at about 70 meters (230 ft) elevation. The cliffs have been undercut by the ocean so that the buildings, which have been placed on the very lip of the precipice, appear to overhang it. The appearance from the sea is of a white city gleaming in the sun and suspended over the rough waters below.

Bonifacio 2009 – Part VI

2009-05-27T21:44:00.001+02:00

Palombaggia!

The palette of colours you can see in Palombaggia is rare : reddish rocks, white sand, very brilliant “parasol” pins, etc… And all in front of a clear sea, from which emerge small uninhabited islands ( Cerbicale islands ).
This delightful setting ( and protected ) is not without any consequence : in summer, the tourists are taking to the beaches from the very near resort of Porto Vecchio. All the more since the road which lead to are very beautiful, and the restaurants of the beach very welcoming.
On the sand, to regain quiet, you have to walk as far as possible ( the beach is very long ) or come soon in the morning….

Two different days, with two different radiances ;-)

Home – summer?

2009-05-25T22:57:00.002+02:00

Last two days were a kind of summer-in-spring.

Very hot (34°C today) and some special lights in the garden.

Should change tomorrow…

My Google profile

2009-05-21T22:06:00.001+02:00

As a lot of people during the last weeks, I have created my Google profile.

What is a Google profile?

A Google profile is simply how you present yourself on Google products to other Google users. It allows you to control how you appear on Google and tell others a bit more about who you are. With a Google profile, you can easily share your web content on one central location. You can include, for example, links to your blog, online photos, and other profiles such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and more. You have control over what others see. Your profile won't display any private information unless you've explicitly added it.
You can also allow people to find you more easily by enabling your profile to be searched by your name. Simply set your existing profile to show your full name publicly.
If you've been writing reviews on Google Maps, creating articles on Google Knol, sharing Google Reader items, or adding books to your Google Book Search library, you may already have a profile. See and customize your profile.

Quite easy. Let’s see with the time if it brings something new…

You can also find the profile of Laurent Kempé on Google profile.

Bonifacio 2009 – Part V

2009-05-18T22:56:00.001+02:00

Now have a look at these pictures from the Golf of Figari.

Very special with all these rocks, beautiful ocean and sand.

Absolutely fantastic!

LinkedIn vs. Xing

2009-05-17T21:54:00.002+02:00

Fast comparison between LinkedIn and Xing.

Xing

November 1, 2003 - 5 1/2 years old
7 million members
26’000 groups
16 languages
600’000 paying members
240 employees from 22 nations

May 5, 2003 - 6 years old
40 million members, thereof 10 million in Europe and 800’000 in France
300’000 user groups
4 languages
345 employees

My LinkedIn profile (member since March 2004, i.e. more than 5 years)

My Xing profile (member since November 2005).

The Innoveo LinkedIn profile and the Innoveo Xing profile.

Cross-posted on the Innoveo Blog.

Bonifacio 2009 – Part IV

2009-05-16T10:09:00.001+02:00

Bavella, the highlight of the Corsican mountain!

For a very good reason : from one side the mountain pass, and on the other side the forest. It summarizes itself the particularities of the island relief, with dramatic rock formation and colours from most delicate red to the darkest grey and all “sprinkled” with giant Laricio pines. The most beautiful panoramas on the Bavella Needles can be seen at the passed called Col de Bavella ( 1218m high ) inside the regional reserve.

Software maintenance

2009-05-14T21:34:00.002+02:00

via Judith Hurwitz

Judith is bringing, as usual, interesting feeds for thoughts, this time in the field of software maintenance fees.

[…] As the world slowly moves to cloud computing for economic reasons there will be a major impact on how companies pay for software. Salesforce.com has indeed proven that companies are willing to trust their sales and customer data to a Software as a Service vendor. These customers are also willing to pay per user or per company yearly fees to rent software. Does this mean that they are no longer paying maintance fees? My answer would be no. It is all about accounting and economics. Clearly, Salesforce.com spends a lot of money adding functionality to its application and someone pays for that. So, what part of that monthly or yearly per user fee is allocated to maintaining the application? Who knows? And I am sure that it is not one of those statistics that Salesforce.com or any other Software as a Service or any Platform as a Service vendor is going to publish. Why? Because these companies don’t think of themselves as traditional software companies. They don’t expect that anyone will ever own a copy of their code.

The bottom line is that software will never be good enough to never need maintenance. Software vendors — whether they sell perpetual licenses or Software as a Service– will continue to charge for maintance. The reality is that the concrete idea of the maintenance fee will evolve over time. Customers will pay it but they probably won’t see it on their bills. Nevertheless, the impact on traditional software companies will be dramatic over time and a lot of these companies will have to rethink their strategies. Many software companies have become increasingly dependent on maintenance revenue to keep revenue growing. I think that Marc Benioff has started a conversation that will spark a debate that could have wide ranging implications for the future of not only maintenance but of what we think of as software.

Interesting!

Cross-posted on the Innoveo Blog.

Bonifacio 2009 – Part III

2009-05-13T23:50:00.001+02:00

North of Bonifacio, in the Corsica’s mountains, you can find and follow a marvelous river called “Solenzara”, which is also the name of the town where he Solenzara is entering into the sea.

Fantastic views and landscapes all along the river.

Bonifacio 2009 – Part II

2009-05-13T00:25:00.001+02:00

I would like to continue our trip report with the presentation of the very nice hotel we were in, A Cheda. Very nice small structure with a lot of charm. All rooms are unique and consist of an elegant mix of modern material and equipment and old stones and wood.

The restaurant is also very interesting. Good quality with a Mediterranean orientation and exciting typical Corsican menus.

The hotel is well positioned outside Bonifacio, but not so far. All around, a marvelous garden with beautiful (old) trees.

On top, a very cool but professional welcome. Nice dedicated people who are delivering good services for this 4* hotel.

Very warm recommendation from the whole family for this very good hotel!

Bonifacio 2009 – Part I

2009-04-27T23:16:00.002+02:00

Some days off with the family in Bonifacio (south Corsica, France). Very interesting small town (2’600 inhabitants without the tourists ;-), the southernmost commune of Metropolitan France. The Upper City, actually a very old citadel, is dominating some absolutely fantastic limestone cliffs, sculpted by the ocean.

(As usual, click on the pictures to have an access to bigger formats).

Bonifacio citadel and the limestone cliffs

Cliffs

The citadel seen from the harbor

More later ;-)

On heavy rotation…

2009-04-23T00:52:00.001+02:00

Wow. Wow. Wow.

An *absolute masterpiece*, on heavy rotation since some weeks! Surely one of my preferred CD since years!

First, I have to say that I am a total-fan of Leonard Cohen since 15 years. His texts are extremely interesting, a real poet. This, on top of this very particular, original and timeless musical compositions… Just too much :-)

And, on top on top, there is his absolutely fantastic deep voice.

And, on top on top on top, when I have seen that the musical director and bass player of this tour is Roscoe Beck, that was again … just too much. Roscoe Beck is a great musician and bass player I have discovered for years as he was playing with Robben Ford, the well-known blues singer and guitar player. Roscoe is also well-known as one of the best specialist of five-string bass.

Some of the best songs of Leonard Cohen are present on the double-CD: Dance me to the end of love, Bird on the wire, Everybody knows, In my secret life, Suzanne, Hallelujah, I’m your man, Sisters of mercy.

And for me, the best song on the double-CD: If it be your will, sung by the Webb Sisters. So great. So great, I just miss the words to describe the emotional impact of their performance… Something you have to listen to once in your life…

Oracle buys Sun

2009-04-21T08:51:00.002+02:00

via Between the Lines

As everybody already knows, Oracle is buying Sun for about $7.4 billion, including Sun’s debt ($9.50 a share in cash). Some interesting thoughts from Larry Dignan, Editor in Chief of ZDNet.

[Oracle] added that the acquisition of Java “is the most important software Oracle has ever acquired.”
Oracle also becomes a full-fledged hardware player.
Oracle and Sun have been long-time partners. […] “More Oracle databases run on the Solaris Sparc than any other system,” said Ellison, noting Linux was second. “We’ll engineer the Oracle database and Solaris operating system together. With Sun we can make all components of the IT stack integrated and work well.”
Oracle with Sun appears to be the Apple of the enterprise. Indeed, Oracle President Charles Phillips noted that the company is looking to offer everything from apps to the disk.
Oracle’s stack of IT stuff now includes:

Java;
Solaris;
Enterprise applications ranging from CRM to ERP to business intelligence;
The database (Oracle and MySQL);
The middleware;
The storage hardware;
Cloud computing services;
And servers.

Art of War approach:

Oracle gets to annoy IBM—and own Java—over a few pennies a share more than Big Blue was willing to pay.
Oracle gets to kill MySQL. There’s no way Ellison will let that open source database mess with the margins of his database. MySQL at best will wither from neglect. In any case, MySQL is MyToast.
Sun has a big installed base. All the better to upsell applications into.

Sun was relatively cheap compared to Oracle’s other acquisitions. The price was above the Hyperion buyout but below PeopleSoft and Siebel.
Oracle saves Sun management from what could have been a complete debacle following the IBM takeover talks. The Sun board had been split on the IBM deal. Today, it’s all roses.

The official Oracle press release can be found here.

It is clear that this deal will change the IT landscape quite massively. And the consolidation is definitely not finished…

Cross-posted on the Innoveo Blog.

What next for HP?

2009-04-15T08:41:00.002+02:00

via Judith Hurwitz

Judith has joined the yearly HP industry analyst summit organized by HP. This summit is dealing with everything at HP, excepted the PCs and printers. Based on the discussions there, Judith is giving her view on the possible future of HP. Very interesting analysis!

I think that HP is at a crossroads. Today it is the largest technology company. This is a wonderful opportunity because size gives customers comfort. […] On the other hand, it provides a challenge. When you are this big, you have to act big and bold. You have to set a leadership agenda that the market and the customers take note of. […]

Be Top Dog in Selected Markets. HP’s overall strategy remains consistent: it’s objective is to be either number 1 or 2 in each product category it participates in. While HP has made some strides in achieving this lofty goal, it is still a work in process. […]

EDS is larger than HP’s printer business. With EDS as part of the portfolio, the amount of revenue from printers and ink has started to diminish. In fact, HP executives proudly announced that EDS is as large as HP’s printer revenue. […]

Procurve chases Cisco in network management. While HP has been in the networking business for decades, it has been a well kept secret. Because of HP’s tight partnership with Cisco, HP has been wary of appearing to compete. However, it appears that HP is now willing to take on Cisco in the networking switching arena. […]

The software business is (still) important. HP has long had a love/hate relationship with software. HP has selected management and automation to focus its software business. […]

HP does the cloud. […] Clearly, the cloud strategy is a work in progress. But HP is thinking about the right issues as it makes its way into this important emerging area. HP’s intent is to leverage its software assets to create a common framework for its cloud strategy. HP anticipates that it can leverage EDS’s expertise to gain a cloud framework that it can leverage with customers.

HP expands Software as a Service. When HP acquired Mercury it also picked up a growing SaaS business. The company is planning to continue to focus on this arena both in the enterprise market and the SMB market. SaaS offerings will continue to focus both on the testing and the remote monitoring markets. […]

HP is very focused on being a provider of IT services, hardware, and software. It has no desire to be a business management or a business consulting organization. While HP is most comfortable in the hardware arena, it is making important strides in this part of the business. […]

The software business, on the other hand, is still at a transition point. While HP has done extremely well with its performance management and testing business, it has had a hard time creating an overall software portfolio. Opsware is clearly being used to provide the foundation for cloud computing but it will take some more time and cycles for this platform emerges as a power. […]
In my view, there will be more aquisitions to come for HP. I suspect that most will be in software and will have to fill the gaps in data management and security. […]

Disclosure: we are at Innoveo member of the Development and Solutions Partner Program (DSPP) and a worldwide Financial Services Industry Partner.

Cross-posted on the Innoveo Solutions blog

We met some nice toads

2009-04-13T23:09:00.001+02:00

Crazy compensation committees and CEO’s

2009-04-04T09:13:00.001+02:00

via Jeff Bussgang

I am just flying into a rage when I hear all these bonus and golden-parachute stories!

All these stories with these crazy CEOs that are doing a very bad job for their companies, which need to be helped by the government and are receiving billions to save their business. And, at the same time, are delivering bonus for themselves and their managers. This is just intolerable! Do not forget, these guys are not alone, there are “great” remuneration committees that are voting these golden-parachutes and crazy bonus. Why not talking also about them?

How can employees accept this kind of behavior? They are not acceptable.

We shouldn’t wonder why CEOs have such bad reputations today, when some are acting in this way, and just impacting all the other CEOs in a very negative way...

Very nice post from Jeff expressing this point of view more in detail:

Perhaps the most successful venture capitalist in history, Sequoia’s Mike Mortiz (backer of Google, Yahoo, Paypal, to name a few reasonable wins), said in a recent interview that one of the ways he decides whether to invest in an entrepreneur is how much they plan on paying themselves. Moritz views high salaries with immense suspicion. If the founder takes a modest salary (in start-up land, that’s typically $100-200k per year – well below even President Obama’s $500k cap), he knows they believe in the future value of their business. […]

Remember, entrepreneurs aren’t saints or selfless do-gooders. They typically work 80-100 hours per week for two reasons. First, they are PASSIONATE about their venture for the sake of the business and its impact on the world more than the money (“Ask me about my business and you can’t shut me up,” confessed my friend Scott Savitz, CEO/founder of Shoebuy.com, the other day). […]

They want to prove to their investors and employees that the risk they took in investing in them and joining their cause will pay off. Why don’t Fortune 500 CEOs feel the same way? Why is it that they don’t view their role in life to prove to the shareholder that buys their stock in the public market that they took a worthy risk and they’ll be darned sure it pays off? Instead, they think it’s culturally acceptable to take outsized pay packages and perks that no educated, rational shareholder would ever approve if given the chance. […]
The behavior is in such stark contrast to what’s going on in the small business, job-creating end of the economy, it’s absurd. The public is understandably outraged. I am too. That’s why I’d fire all the compensation committee heads and turn the reigns over the start-up CEOs. […]

Saint Barth – Part XXV

2009-03-28T16:48:00.001+01:00

If you miss the sun (as I), some pictures from Saint Barth and the Saint Jean Beach near the airport.

Just fantastic…