December 12, 2007, 1:27 PM — This year has been a time of realignment and redefinition, as Apple launched its second zeitgeist-defining product of the new century, Dell and Intel battled to regain their former dominance, the software sector consolidated, Google rallied industry heavyweights around a common mobile device platform, and major vendors scrambled to embrace social networking. So without further ado, here are the top 10 stories of the year:
Software consolidation: The big fish get bigger
While globalization has fueled IT mergers and acquisitions for several years,
consolidation in 2007 fundamentally reshaped the software industry. Facing saturated
markets and nimble, innovative rivals, SAP, IBM and Oracle have snapped up competitors
and partners in order to expand customer lists and acquire expertise and technology
in hot areas such as business intelligence and software as a service. Some of
the bigger deals this year included: SAP's US$6.8 billion acquisition of Business
Objects, IBM's $5 billion deal for Cognos, and Oracle's $3 billion buyout of
Hyperion. As usual, Oracle provided the most drama, with a $6.7 billion offer
for BEA, which was successfully rebuffed -- at least, for now. While innovative
entrepreneurs are bound to continue bringing startups to market, it's getting
harder for medium-size vendors to refuse deals with the giants.
Dell reinvents itself
For years, Dell remained the world's number-one vendor in the cutthroat PC
business by exercising unmatched control over logistics and sticking to its
direct-sales model. But by 2006 HP unseated Dell as global PC leader. Dell seemed
to lose its way as rivals adopted better supply-chain management techniques,
and inquiries into accounting practices forced the company to delay earnings
reports. In January, founder Michael Dell took back the CEO reins and the company
expanded offerings for the enterprise, increased services for medium-size businesses,
and departed from its traditional business model to start selling products in
stores. Dell also plans to expand in growth markets globally. Early results
are promising: Dell had record revenue growth for the third quarter, fueled
by an increase in worldwide notebook sales.
The iPhone: Apple redefines a market, again
Some companies reinvent themselves. Apple, under the guidance of the mercurial
Steve Jobs, reinvents markets. After redefining IT in the 1970s with the Apple
II and then pushing the envelope in personal computing with the Mac in the 1980s,
Apple stalled when its business model ended up giving the company a loyal --
but tiny -- user base. The company started to ride high in 2001 after launching
the iPod, and in 2006 breathed new life into the Mac by moving to Intel-architecture
chips. Before the iPhone, there were many multifunction phones. But amid a June
launch that had people lined up at stores from Tokyo to San Francisco, Apple
proved its design mojo still works. The iPhone combination of cool design, phone
functions, Internet connectivity and multimedia features has raised the bar
for any manufacturer of connected handheld devices. Apple's revenue and share
price have never looked better.
The Rise of the botnets: Software as a service ... for criminals
What do U.S. presidential candidate Ron Paul, the "Storm Worm," e-card
invitations, and the country of Estonia have in common? They've all been associated
with botnets -- groups of compromised computers, often numbering thousands or
tens of thousands, that are remotely controlled by criminals. The scammers use
the so-called "zombie machines" to pitch hot stocks or male-enhancement
products, or simply to do damage, as when Estonian government Web sites were
crippled in April. Botnets are now getting so sophisticated that they're being
offered as software as a service products to scammers. That's what happened
in November, when nearly 200 million spam messages supporting Paul for president
were sent without permission from the campaign.
OLPC and the era of cheap laptops
