The Nexus One is another smart phone that we will inevitably see inside the walls of the enterprise. Smart phones seem to have a way of being used for all kinds of work activities. So, what are the pros and cons of using the Nexus One in the enterprise? First off, anyone using the Nexus One in the enterprise will be using a rogue device. That’s just the way it is. Perhaps that may change when the enterprise wakes up and realizes that people born after 1982 want to use any device to connect in any way they want. But that’s the future, unfortunately. In the meantime, let’s look at reality. Sponsor Compliance The Nexus One was not built as a device that meets compliance requirements. As with almost any device, compliance is a reality in the enterprise world. We doubt, though, this will stop most users. You Can Make it Compliant Dan Dearing of Trust Digital has a few points of advice for the IT manager with the foresight to deal proactively with the inevitability that the Nexus One will become his or her problem to solve: Make sure that the device can be locked and swiped of its data if a user loses their Nexus One. Make sure Exchange ActiveSync is installed on the device so permissions for accessing data can be set up according to the policy set by the enterprise. Provide the ability to configure the device to remotely provision application clients and device interfaces used to reach the application source (e.g. Wi-Fi, VPN). Allow for PKI support that allows Android devices to receive and ingest digital certificates. The use of certificates helps automate connectivity to enterprise applications via Wi-Fi, VPN and web by making authentication transparent to users. It’s Not an iPhone The iPhone has tight security features baked into it, and hardware encryption, too. Applications are tightly controlled with a centralized point for distributing applications. This may prove to be a temporary advantage for the iPhone over the Nexus One. According to Dearing: “The Nexus One is less secure than the iPhone 3GS. Nexus One is currently running on Android 2.1, the latest update, so is equivalent to iPhone 1.0. The iPhone 3GS provide the most comprehensive security controls with the addition of hardware-based encryption.” “The iPhone is much more mature in this area than the Nexus One. iPhone configuration profiles provides business IT with a way to configure the iPhone over the air and according to corporate policies. In addition, the iPhone 3GS provides device encryption to help meet corporate compliance requirements, ensuring the protection of sensitive corporate information.” Hooray – It’s Not an iPhone The Nexus One is a cloud-connected device, making it a true web-based, data-driven device. This to us is a huge advantage. Apple is playing catch up in developing a cloud infrastructure. Google may lose a bit on security but the ability to use the computing power of the cloud may be what shoots Google way ahead of Apple. Tim O’Reilly goes as far to say that at some point, Apple may never catch up. A Strong Start The Nexus One represents a very strong start for Google. It’s not designed as an enterprise phone but generally smart phones are meant to be used universally. We expect that as more smart phones enter the market, an ecosystem of middleware providers will emerge. These services will provide filters, treating the device as a computer, much like desktops and laptops. Discuss

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The Pros and Cons of the Google Nexus One As An Enterprise Phone

Socialtext is saying it posted record quarter-over-quarter bookings growth in 2009, bolstered by social computing’s growing presence in the enterprise. It’s important to note that Socialext is reporting record bookings, not record revenues. The company does not disclose its actual revenues. It’s hard to to give Socilatext a lot of credit without knowing how its revenues fared. Further, the year ahead may be one of the most challenging for the company as competition is only getting more fierce. Sponsor Socialtext is one of the most established companies in the Enterprise 2.0 space, dating back to 2002 when it got its start as a wiki provider. In recent years, the company has diversified, adding a microblogging platform and collaborative tools such as SocialCalc , its collaborative spreadsheet application. Socialtext said it now has 6,500 customers, compared to 4,000 in 2008. The company also said it set a record for the number of companies that renewed contracts. Jive Software may be one of the biggest competitors for Socialtext. Microsoft will be pushing hard into the enterprise market this year with Sharepoint 2010. Google, Cisco, IBM and a host of new players are also fighting for the same piece of the pie. But, overall, the Soclaltext news is more real proof that social computing did get the attention of the enterprise in 2009, and that the year ahead should be another record year for the overall market. Discuss

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Socialtext Gets The Bookings But The Year Ahead Will Be Tough

In the world of IT, social buzzwords can be a real way to kill any interest in adopting applications that give the enterprise access to the consumer Web. You have to speak their language. Social media? No way. Social middleware? Oh, yeah – now we are talking! Socialware talks in a language that IT can understand. The company is offering social middleware products that help companies integrate social networks with a level of control that makes them comfortable that the access is compliant with government regulations and IT policies. Sponsor In many ways, companies have set up their own iron curtains to keep social interaction to a minimum. It’s also fair to say that many companies are eager to let their employees engage with the social Web. But they want the risk managed, especially when it comes to interacting with social networks. Socialware believes the missing component for the enterprise is a bridge layer that helps companies connect its people, processes and systems with the open, social Web. Socialware offers feature access control to social networks. An admin panel allows the IT manager to block access to different features on social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. For example, users may access LinkedIn but there may be features that the employee is not permitted to access. The feature is flagged with a message that tells the user they do not have permission to use it. Socialware provides the security layers and controls that give corporate IT the comfort that the risk in exposing social networks can be managed with rules that reflect the policies of the organization. Socialware is funded by Mike Maples, Jr. , who is an investor in Twitter. It is also funded by Silverton Partners and G51 . The management team members have backgrounds in Web 2.0 and the enterprise. That’s a mix that can make for a winning combination in the enterprise space. Socialware’s technology is reflective of that experience. We’ll be interested in seeing how the company develops in the year ahead. Discuss

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Social Media? No Way. Social Middleware? Oh, Yes

IBM has acquired Guardium , a real-time provider of enterprise monitoring technology to secure and provide better business intelligence across the hundreds of databases that often exist in larger enterprises. Guardium has established itself as one of the premiere data security companies. Its clients are a who’s who of the Global 100. Its technology is designed to protect from internal and external threats to the enterprise. It is known for its ability to provide data integrity for better governance and compliance. Sponsor As one of its executives said in an interview, Guardium provides a last line of defense against attacks, kind of like the “goal keepers of the data.” Details of the acquisition were not disclosed but an Israeli newspaper said the deal is valued at $225 million. IBM is banking on business analytics for future growth. As we report here often, the amount of information flowing into the enterprise is unprecedented but there are few companies that have the ability to quickly analyze this fragmented information and use it to make intelligent business decisions. For most, decisions are being made based upon incomplete information or data that has been corrupted in some manner. IBM see Guardium as a way for it to provide a transparent view into the enterprise by providing a real-time watch on information. By protecting the information, Guardium gives companies the ability to access data that has not been tainted. Guardium will become part of the IBM Information Management Software group, which has been on a bit of an acquisition binge in the past year. Earlier this year, IBM acquired SPSS , a statistics software company. Discuss

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IBM Acquires Guardium – The Last Line of Defense

Collaboration may be the hottest trend to hit the enterprise this year. But what makes it so hot? Why now? According to “Benchmarking Your Collaboration Strategy,” a new report from Forrester Research , two key trends make collaboration important to the enterprise right now: The amount of content that people produce is morphing, especially as the advent of social computing becomes more commonplace. Sponsor Second, inefficiencies are swamping the enterprise with the need to create collaborative strategies that provide a more structured approach to how information is managed. Four Key Factors Innovation: The poor economy is playing an important factor in how companies view the ways they develop products. Management is looking for more efficient and creative ways to innovate. And they are looking to Web 2.0 technologies for answers. According to Forrester, discussion forums and idea management tools are the top two Web 2.0 technologies being considered and piloted by IT decision-makers this year. Efficiency: Information workers are high-paid, valuable members of the enterprise. But they have a hard time finding information to get their job done, with 83% saying they waste time searching for information vital to their work projects. There is growing importance for tools that provide the ability to better find information and connect more easily with co-workers who can provide expertise to solve problems and drive efficiencies. Email Woes: A huge need is emerging for better ways to reuse information that normally would be lost in email communication. Email is used to share information but it only goes so far as the people in the email chain. Once in the chain, it’s locked away. Changing email behavior is no easy task but collaboration technologies hold promise for more information to be shared throughout the enterprise. Governance: Managing business information is becoming a legal necessity. Communication is becoming so widespread that it is becoming difficult to track. According to Forrester, only 20% of businesses report that they’re very confident that if challenged, they could demonstrate that their digital information is accurate, trustworthy and accessible. Benchmarking For Success Forrester’s report is designed to provide a framework for building a collaborative practice in the enterprise. Senior level executives came to understand in 2009 the need for better collaboration. In 2010, we expect structured formats like what Forrester proposes will be increasingly important for successful implementation of collabortion technologies in the enterprise. Discuss

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Collaboration Is Hot: Why Now?

Roambi announced a pro version of its iPhone application this week that syncs with Salesforce.com and other cloud-based services or on-premsie sales environments. It’s a visualization application, providing mobile workers with a pretty cool way to see sales information. Integration is by far one of the most significant trends we are seeing in the enterprise space. It’s a wave, really, marked this week by Salesforce.com and its move to turn the Force.com development platform into a service that makes all of its applications social. Sponsor A good example of this trend are small companies like Roambi that can now reach into the enterprise by integrating with Salesforce.com and other cloud platforms like Google Apps. We caught up with the founders of Roambi for a quick demo of their new pro product and how it syncs with both on-premse applications and SaaS services. Discuss

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An iPhone Visualization App That Syncs with the Cloud