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Upfront

Computer dealer's association files complaint against Sun Microsystems with UK competition authority

The Association of Service and Computer Dealers International (“ASCDI”) filed a Complaint with the UK competition authority, the Office of Fair Trading, against Sun Microsystems UK Limited (“Sun”).  The Complaint seeks to reverse Sun policies that infringe UK competition law.

The Complaint concerns Sun's refusal to supply provenance information (i.e. product specific historical sales and distribution information) to independent resellers who resell Sun products in the UK.  Prior to 2006, like other computer equipment manufacturers, Sun had not interfered with the free trade of Sun products by independent resellers.  In 2006 however, Sun made the need for provenance information critical to the trade in its products in the UK, and elsewhere in the EU, under the guise of trademark protectionism.  It began a policy of refusing to provide such information whenever requested by independent resellers.  The ASCDI supports Sun's legitimate trademark rights but without Sun's cooperation, Sun has made it impossible to know whether a given Sun product is or has been placed on the EEA market with Sun's consent.

Prior to filing the Complaint, the ASCDI had made numerous direct requests to Sun for access to its provenance information and to resolve the issue, but to no avail.  Sun is the only major computer manufacturer challenging the importation of its products into the EEA. Provenance information is readily available from other manufacturers including IBM, HP and Cisco.  These manufacturers support free trade of their products and don't hide behind trademark protectionism to limit or eliminate competition in the trade of their products in the UK and in the EU.

The Complaint states that Sun's refusal to supply the provenance information interferes with free trade and is prohibited by UK competition law, specifically the Chapter II prohibition of the Competition Act 1998. Case law makes it clear that Sun is prohibited from using its authorized distribution system to create obstacles to the resale of its products outside its authorized distribution network. The Complaint also asserts that Sun's refusal to disclose provenance information -- and its threats of litigation to independent resellers who trade in Sun computers -- is resulting in diminished competition in the secondary market.  Some independent resellers have transitioned their businesses to other computer manufacturers, some have been left holding large inventories of Sun equipment they are or may be prohibited from selling, while others have gone out of business. A Summary of the Complaint is posted at www.ascdi.com.

Sun hits back at allegations

Sun has categorically denied that it acted in an anti-competitive way, as alleged by a reseller organization that issued a complaint against the vendor to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). The ASCDI has claimed that Sun is stifling its UK second-hand equipment market by not providing VARs with enough product information. Sun’s policy is that it will only allow its products to be resold second-hand in the UK if they were originally sold in the European Union (EU). However, the only way of identifying whether a product was sold in the EU is by checking the serial number with Sun. The ASCDI has alleged that Sun has refused to pass on this information.

Joe Marion, president of the ASCDI, told CRN the organization has no problem with Sun trying to protect its trademark. “We have contention with the fact that Sun wants it both ways; claiming dealers cannot resell if it was sold outside of the EU originally, and then not telling us whether it was or not,” he said. “This makes us question the motives, is Sun trying to protect its trademark, or shut down the second-hand market?” However, Sun hit back in a statement obtained by CRN: “Sun’s policies actively encourage a vibrant market in second-hand products on a fair and lawful basis. Sun has not seen the complaint or been contacted by the OFT. Sun categorically denies that it is in any way acting in an anti-competitive manner or that its actions amount to an abuse of any dominant market position.”

Sun was recently paid a £450,000 settlement by VAR Amtec over an alleged grey market dispute. However, Sun agreed to check the origin of Amtec’s future stock when requested, as part of the settlement.^Back To Top

Applications

SOA product adoption fuels Voxware record earnings
Voxware, Inc. has posted record earnings and strong increases in both total revenue and software license revenue for the quarter ended March 31, 2007. Scott Yetter, President of Voxware, said, “Over a year ago Voxware delivered the first open, SOA-based voice software product for the warehouse. We are now releasing Voxware 3.0, the third generation of our standards-based voice software, giving our customers unprecedented independence, flexibility and control. While some voice vendors with proprietary solutions are now trying to jump on the SOA bandwagon, we are most pleased by the response from new customers, existing customers and partners. In our most recent quarter, total revenues were up 79%, with a 172% increase in software license revenue when compared to the same quarter of 2006.”  Voxware 3.0 makes voice technology highly responsive to the rapidly evolving business needs of logistics operations. Voxware’s latest product developments will be unveiled at DC/Expo, May 24-27 at Navy Pier, Chicago.
Visit www.voxware.com.
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Case study

Dayton Parts chooses NetManage OnWeb to transform consumer Web portal
NetManage, Inc. announced that automotive parts manufacturer Dayton Parts has selected NetManage OnWeb for iSeries to streamline and improve their customer-facing Web portal. The new OnWeb-powered portal, which has already helped reduce customer service calls while increasing overall site traffic by 800 percent, provides Dayton Parts customers with a streamlined single interface for ordering parts as well as monitoring and tracking orders. With facilities in Harrisburg, PA and Alberta, Canada, Dayton Parts, LLC is the nation's most comprehensive manufacturer and distributor of undercarriage replacement products for the heavy-duty aftermarket. Dayton Parts turned to NetManage to improve the usability and functionality of the online customer portal that its distributors use to order parts and check inventory and delivery status. The OnWeb product was deployed directly on Dayton Parts' AS400 mainframe server, eliminating the need for users to download and maintain a host server manager and improving click-through rates on the online order-entry system. Dayton Parts plans to enhance its order process further by linking its online catalog directly to its ordering system so that customers will be able to search for specific parts, view inventory information and immediately order online without having to re-enter part numbers.
Visit www.netmanage.com.
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IBM

IBM opens beta for PAVE Linux runtime on power chips
IBM opened up a public beta testing cycle for an emulation product that it has created with a partner that will allow applications written for Linux on X86 and X64 processors to run on its Power-based System p servers running Linux. IBM quietly announced that it was working with Transitive, the company that created a very sophisticated emulation tool called QuickTransit and launched it for use by systems vendors in June 2005. IBM's flavor of QuickTransit for its System p machines is called PAVE, which last year appeared to stand for Portable Advanced Virtualization Emulator. Now that the public beta of the code is open, the words behind the abbreviation have been changed to System p Application Virtual Environment, or pAVE. Apple gave away Rosetta to customers that bought X64-based Mac laptops and desktops and Xserve servers so they could continue to run their Power-based applications on X64 machines; Apple had to pay Transitive a licensing fee for the environment that converts from Power to X64, and then pay a per-machine charge as well as other fees. This is exactly the approach IBM is taking with PAVE, which will be available for free as a download for customers using existing RS/6000, pSeries and System p5 machines and will be bundled for free on new System p boxes when the product is generally available in the late summer or so.
Visit www.ibm.com.


Aldon adds powerful functionality to application lifecycle management for System i
Aldon announced Aldon Lifecycle Manager (System i Edition v7.5), aimed at increasing visibility and driving efficient processes for management and developers across the application development lifecycle for System i, AS/400, or iSeries systems. The latest Aldon Lifecycle Manager introduces powerful parallel development functionality through automated conflict resolution, as well as an enhanced graphical compare and merge utility, making program changes more interactive and collaborative. The latest version also includes a tighter link to Aldon Community Manager, a key component of the Aldon ALM suite, where users are now automatically linked from a green screen view to a web browser where they can view real-time incidents, change requests and requirements related to specific development projects. Aldon Lifecycle Manager brings visibility and process control to the IT development environment, which help to increase developer productivity, improve code quality, and meet regulatory and best practices requirements.
Visit www.aldon.com.
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Innovation

ASNA celebrates 25 years of software innovation
To survive and grow for twenty-five years in the software development market, a company must continually innovate and take risk ahead of market demand. During its twenty-five years, ASNA (Amalgamated Software of North America, Inc.) has repeatedly led the charge of innovation, earned more than twenty awards for its software development solutions and received several patents. Product innovation is rarely enough by itself to succeed in this industry; a company must also innovate with industry partners. ASNA is unique in this segment of the industry supporting strong, healthy relationships with industry partners. ASNA is a founding member of Midrange Alliance Program (MAP) with Microsoft and several other companies; an Advanced Tier Member of the IBM PartnerWorld for Developers; and a Gold Certified Microsoft Partner in three competencies. ASNA products are IBM ServerProven and appear on the IBM System i Innovation Developer Roadmap. ASNA believes that customers are looking for software solutions that make a real difference, support future needs and come from a trusted name with an unblemished reputation for support and service.
Visit www.asna.com.
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Polycom

Wire One Communications:  Polycom’s highest volume reseller
Wire One Communications, the largest provider of visual communication solutions and the leading provider of managed video services, received recognition last week at the Polycom Global Partner Conference as Polycom’s Highest Volume Reseller for 2006. 
“We are proud to be working with an industry leader like Polycom,” said Wire One’s CEO, Dan Connors.  “Wire One has been successful selling and supporting Polycom equipment since 1998.  We attribute our success to the value our managed services bring to customers.  Through our unique approach to managed services, we make video so reliable and easy that our customers want to use more video, and they have a much better experience with it.”
Visit www.wireone.com or www.polycom.com.
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Reseller news

Proginet announces new reseller agreement with Blair Technology Solutions, Inc.
Proginet Corporation, developer of enterprise security software, announced a new reseller agreement with Blair Technology Solutions Inc. (Blair Technology), a full-service solution provider specializing in infrastructure management solutions for the enterprise. Under the terms of the agreement, Blair Technology will resell Proginet's security software solutions to its core market which includes mid-market organizations in the retail, manufacturing and financial sectors. Blair Technology is a Premier IBM Business Partner with specific expertise in IBM's System i (formerly iSeries) computing platform. Leading analysts estimate that there are more than 700,000 System i licenses currently in use worldwide. By partnering with Blair, Proginet anticipates gaining greater traction with these types of organizations.
Visit www.proginet.com or www.blairtechnology.com.
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