Amazon, Forced to Collect Sales Tax, Aims to Keep Its Competitive Edge

The following is an excerpt from an article in:

The New York Times
Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Amazon, Forced to Collect Sales Tax, Aims to Keep Its Competitive Edge

By DAVID STREITFELD

PATTERSON, Calif. — At the moment, it is little more than dirt and gravel. But a sunbaked field at the edge of this farming town will play a significant role in one of the most ambitious retailing ventures of the era: the relentless quest by the online mall Amazon.com to become all things to all shoppers.

A million-square-foot warehouse stocking razor blades and books, diapers and dog food will soon rise on this spot, less than a mile from the highway that will deliver these and just about every other product imaginable to customers 85 miles away in San Francisco. It is hundreds of miles closer to those consumers than Amazon’s existing centers in Nevada and Arizona.

A similar distribution center is being built on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Others are under way in Indiana, New Jersey, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

This multibillion-dollar building frenzy comes as Amazon is about to lose perhaps its biggest competitive edge — that the vast majority of its customers do not pay sales tax. After negotiations with lawmakers, the company is beginning to collect taxes in California, Texas, Pennsylvania and other states. But Amazon hopes that the warehouses will allow it to provide better service, giving it the ability to up-end the retailing industry in an entirely new way.

Amazon will soon be able to cut as much as a day off its two-day shipping times, said Jeff Bezos, its chief executive, in an interview. This will put the much-rumored same-day delivery — the elusive aspiration of every online merchant — potentially within reach in some metropolitan areas.

“We want fast delivery,” Mr. Bezos said. At a minimum, “we can work on making it the next day.”

It is a monumental bet, even for a company that consistently defied skeptics on Wall Street and Main Street as it rose to become one of the country’s largest retailers. Amazon’s delivery of everyday objects needs to be fast enough and cheap enough to wean customers from their local stores. Yet it also must be economically feasible for the retailer, which is investing so heavily in the warehouses that it is barely profitable.

For more, visit www.nytimes.com.

News Release from CA Technologies

Oni Launches New Cloud Services for Enterprises Using CA Technologies Cloud Platform

The Portuguese Telecom and IT Group Will Reduce Time to Market for New Services With the CA AppLogic® Platform

ISLANDIA, N.Y. and LISBON, March 13, 2012 – CA Technologies (NASDAQ:CA) today announced that Oni, the Portuguese telecom and IT group, has signed an agreement to use the CA AppLogic® cloud computing platform to deliver the benefits of cloud-based services to the enterprise market in Portugal.

Oni focuses exclusively on serving large enterprises. In today’s fast moving environment, these customers need to launch business services quickly each time their competitive landscape changes. Instead of ordering new servers, assembling the necessary components, and configuring the various hardware and services, Oni will use the CA AppLogic platform to quickly deploy IT infrastructure and services for customers in hours instead of months.

Using the platform’s simple drag and drop interface, Oni can rapidly build new cloud services for customers, thereby helping them to decrease time-to-market, and giving them the flexibility to respond to new market opportunities. With the CA AppLogic platform, customers will only pay for what they consume, and when the business service is no longer needed, it can be shut down without disposing physical hardware, driving cost efficiencies.

“The CA AppLogic platform is a unique, turnkey solution that addresses the disruptive nature of cloud computing. By selecting this platform, we will be able to help our large enterprise customers reap the full benefits of cloud services,” said Miguel Allen Lima, chief executive officer of Knewon, the IT company of Oni Group. “We chose this platform based on its fast deployment capabilities and for its ability to support IaaS, PaaS and SaaS. Now, we will be able to rapidly deliver cloud services in a cost-effective way, without expanding our IT staff or making large physical infrastructure investments. This solution is truly an IT performance accelerator. Our new mantra is: ‘think of hours instead of weeks or months.’”

Oni benefits from CA Technologies Business Service Innovation approach, which will enable the company to deliver business services more quickly and allow its enterprise customers to capitalize on disruptive and innovative trends in IT.

“Oni’s new cloud offering built on our platform will clearly help shorten the time and costs associated with launching new cloud-based business services,” said Pedro Ligero, vice president of Area Sales for Iberia, CA Technologies. “With the CA AppLogic platform, Oni is expanding its broad set of offerings and helping its large enterprise customers to drive innovation and create new opportunities for competitive advantage.” 

For more information about CA Technologies cloud computing offerings, visit:

• CA Cloud Solutions
• The CA Cloud Storm Chasers Blog• @CA_Cloud on Twitter        
• CA Cloud YouTube Channel
• Cloud Commons® Ecosystem

News Release from Boeing - WTO Decision

Boeing Statement Regarding the WTO Appellate Decision in DS 353

CHICAGO, March 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body today released its decision in DS 353 addressing a complaint the European Union (EU) filed against the United States in retaliation for an earlier U.S. challenge to the subsidies European governments have provided to Airbus. Boeing (NYSE: BA) issued the following statement in response to the WTO action:

"The Appellate Body today slashed earlier findings of harm to Airbus from U.S. subsidies.  The decision confirms that in terms of amount, effect and nature, U.S. government support to Boeing is minimal in comparison to the massive European subsidies provided Airbus.   

• "With respect to amount, the Appellate Body found that unaddressed subsidies to Boeing total approximately $3 billion – about one-sixth of the $18 billion Europe has given to Airbus.
• "With respect to effects, the Appellate Body rejected 66% of the EU's claims that Airbus had lost sales as a result of U.S. subsidies and more than 93% of its claims that it had lost market share.  Boeing has had to compete with an entire fleet of subsidized Airbus aircraft that the WTO found would most likely not even exist without illegal launch aid, while Airbus competes against a Boeing product line that received little support from the U.S. government according to today's ruling. 
• "With respect to nature, the WTO found that launch aid was a pernicious, market-distorting subsidy without which Airbus itself would most likely not have existed and no Airbus aircraft would have been built at all.  By contrast, the WTO has now found that Boeing has received little U.S. government support during the same time period since the formation of Airbus.

"In sum, the WTO decisions in the two cases establish conclusively and finally that European subsidies competitively disadvantage Boeing and American workers and will continue to do so until launch aid is eliminated.  

"We appreciate the work of the WTO Appellate Body, and we are prepared to work with the U.S. government as it determines what steps, if any, are necessary to address the WTO's decision.  Boeing is fully committed to compliance with WTO rules. 

"Airbus has not shown the same commitment to compliance with the WTO's decisions and rules. The EU had until Dec. 1, 2011, to comply with the ruling against the illegal Airbus subsidies, and it refused to comply.  Airbus continues to benefit from billions of dollars of government loans that do not carry commercial terms and that the WTO found to be illegal market-distorting subsidies. What's more, European governments have recently provided billions of dollars in new launch aid for the next Airbus model, the A350, continuing this illegal practice in defiance of the WTO.    

"The U.S. government has made it clear that it will use all of the WTO tools at its disposal to ensure that European governments comply with last year's ruling – particularly the ruling against $15 billion in illegal launch aid, the pernicious subsidy unique to Airbus. Boeing supports and appreciates the strong stance the U.S. Trade Representative has taken to force European compliance and finally insist upon the level playing-field necessary for fair and open global competition."

News Release from EMC - Documentum xCP

Global Financial Services Firm Increases Capacity 35% With EMC Documentum xCP

Viteos Capital Market Services Ltd. Automates Business Processes to Achieve Global Compliance and Gain Competitive Advantage

HOPKINTON, Mass. - March 7, 2012

EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) today announced that Viteos Capital Market Services Ltd. has significantly improved operational efficiency, achieved global industry compliance, reduced customer onboarding time, and expanded its business, gaining a 35% increase in transaction capacity by deploying EMC® Documentum® xCP, an integrated platform for building dynamic business solutions and an action engine for Big Data.

Customer Benefits:

• Increased Efficiency and Capacity by 35% — As a result of deploying Documentum xCP, Viteos enhanced efficiency and capacity by automating its organizational processes to reduce paperwork and errors. Time to onboard new clients has decreased from months to weeks.
• Achieved Global Industry Compliance — Automated enforcement of policies, process repeatability, and full audit trails enabled Viteos to reduce risk and achieve both regulatory and legal compliance in each country in which the company operates.
• Significant Cost Savings via Paperless Environment — Viteos dramatically reduced operational costs by employing Web-based access and eliminating paper-based processes resulting in dramatic cost reductions, improved worker productivity, better decision making, and enhanced service levels across its global clients.

Customer Challenges and Solution:

Viteos Capital Market Services is a global fund administrator and operational outsourcing service provider to the alternative investment community, offering tailored solutions for hedge funds and institutional investors. With a global delivery model combining real-time technology with 24x7 operations worldwide, Viteos required a more robust and scalable information management infrastructure that would support its growing business, and extend its existing Microsoft SharePoint interface without disrupting its current users.

Viteos began working with EMC as part of a project aimed at improving operational growth, meeting regulatory compliance, and increasing efficiency. Viteos selected Documentum xCP as the back-end document repository and leveraged its existing SharePoint deployment as the front-end user interface providing transparency to its customers while saving time and costs associated with training.

Using Documentum xCP, Viteos was able to establish a standardized platform, which included EMC® Captiva® for integrated enterprise capture, business process management (BPM), and document management, along with a broad feature set, enabling the company to address applications and processes in every area of the business. Tasks that were once tedious and error-prone are now automated and seamless. The solution, which is fully compliant with industry and legal regulations, also includes VMware for virtualization, reducing data center power and the number of physical servers.

Viteos has received several accolades for its business transformation achievements with the most recent recognition by Workflow Management Coalition and BPM.com. Viteos was selected as a finalist in the 2011 Global Awards for Excellence in BPM and Workflow for implementing an innovative business process solution to meet strategic business objectives.

Customer Quote:

K.B. Venkataramanan, senior vice president and CIO of Viteos

"We were outgrowing our previous infrastructure and needed a solution that could automate repeatable manual processes, reduce paperwork, meet compliance standards, scale up or down to meet changing business environments – all while keeping costs down. Not only have we met all our goals with Documentum xCP, we have grown our business by 15 percent year over year."

Executive Quote:

Rohit Ghai, Vice President and General Manager, Content and Case Management Group, EMC Information Intelligence Group

"EMC is pleased to work with Viteos to transform their operations. The financial services market is a key vertical market for us, as compliance, operational efficiency and delivering optimal customer service are key requirements. Global brands around the world rely on the EMC Documentum brand for meeting those and a variety of other needs. Increasing business transactions 35% and growing 15% year over year are impressive accomplishments; we're thrilled to play a part in the success at Viteos."

Additional Resources

• Learn more about EMC Documentum xCP.
• Learn more about EMC Captiva.
• Join the EMC Documentum communities on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, SlideShare, the EMC Community Network
• Join the EMC Captiva communities on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and SlideShare

News Release from EMC

EMC Delivers "No Compromise" Technology, Solutions and Services for Microsoft SQL Server 2012

EMC Portfolio Enables 80% Faster Provisioning, 4X Better Performance and Up To 30X Less Backup Storage for SQL Server Applications

HOPKINTON, Mass. - March 6, 2012

News Summary:

• EMC® today announced broad technology support, new EMC Proven™ Solutions and Consulting Services for Microsoft SQL Server 2012 to help customers deploy SQL Server for mission critical data center applications.
• By leveraging EMC best-in-class technology and services with the latest SQL Server 2012 functionality, customers can increase performance and maximize data availability at a lower cost.
• New EMC Consulting services provide customers a defined path for seamless migration and adoption of SQL Server 2012 and help customers take advantage of SQL Server 2012's breakthrough insights functionality to turn data into business intelligence and competitive advantage.

Full Story:

EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) today announced broad technology support, new EMC Proven Solutions and Consulting Services for Microsoft SQL Server 2012 to help customers deploy SQL Server for mission critical data center applications. By leveraging EMC best-in-class technology and services with the latest SQL Server functionality, customers can increase performance and maximize data availability at a lower cost. New EMC Consulting services provide customers a defined path for seamless migration and adoption of SQL Server 2012 and help customers take advantage of SQL Server 2012's breakthrough insights functionality to turn data into business intelligence and competitive advantage.

EMC's Industry Leading Storage Platforms Optimized for Microsoft SQL Server 2012

In October 2011, an IDC¹ survey of Enterprise end-users named EMC the #1 storage choice for Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SharePoint, and other mission critical environments. The survey ranks storage vendors on how end-users are deploying their technology with enterprise applications, and it shows that more customers choose EMC storage than any other storage for their Microsoft environments.

By leveraging EMC technologies to address SQL Server 2012 requirements customers can:

• Achieve 80% faster SQL Server provisioning with EMC® VNX™ Unified Storage;
• Automate the allocation of SQL 2012 Server storage and eliminate 95% of the typical manual storage calculation times with EMC Symmetrix® VMAXe® 100% Virtual Provisioning;
• Experience 4X more performance of SQL Server 2012 server and storage resources at a lower cost using EMC FAST (Fully Automated Storage Tiering) software, and EMC VFCache™ server flash caching solution;
• Complete more backups in less time with up to 30X less storage with EMC backup and recoverysolutions.

New EMC Proven Solutions and Consulting Services Designed for Mission Critical SQL Server 2012 Environments

EMC today announced two new EMC Proven Solutions to help customers leverage the newest features in SQL Server 2012.

• EMC SQL Server 2012 Readiness – Performance with VMAXe FAST VP and SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn Local Availability Groups – This solution documents technology considerations for utilizing the new SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn Availability Groups with EMC FAST VP and EMC VMAXe. The focus of this solution is to create availability groups on a FAST VP enabled VMAXe to support business requirements for read-only secondary database replicas. This approach allows for the dedication of the primary replica for mission critical online transaction processing (OLTP) workloads while isolating OLAP/BI demands.
• EMC SQL Server 2012 Multi-Site Disaster Recovery – Enabled by SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn Availability Groups, EMC VNX and FAST Suite – This solution documents technology considerations for utilizing the new SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn Availability Groups, with EMC FAST Suite and EMC VNX unified storage. The focus of this solution is to utilize the new SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn transaction-level replication technology to maximize the availability of a set of user databases between two distant sites while enabling the database storage efficiency and performance to be optimized by using EMC FAST Suite on VNX 5700.

New EMC Consulting services designed for Microsoft SQL Server 2012 help business and IT stakeholders to maximize their investment in SQL Server. The services also enable the customer's environment to support mission critical application quality of service requirements and enable pervasive business intelligence for competitive advantage.

• The new Upgrade/Migration Service for Microsoft SQL Server 2012 helps customers efficiently plan, manage, and execute their transition to the SQL Server 2012 platform.
• The new EMC Consulting Self-Service Business Intelligence (BI) service helps customers empower their business users to quickly develop reports, dashboards, and scorecards without direct support from IT resources. During this service, EMC Consulting creates an interface to existing BI systems using SQL Server tools and exposes the data in a Microsoft SharePoint-based user interface.

A Diamond Sponsor of the SQL Server 2012 launch, as well as a Microsoft Certified Partner with 19 gold and silver competencies and a 21-time Microsoft Partner of the Year, EMC offers customers innovative information infrastructure, solutions and services optimized for their Microsoft environments. EMC Consulting, a business unit within EMC Global Services, works closely with Microsoft Corporation to develop and deliver services and solutions that help customers streamline deployment, migration and management of their Microsoft technology platforms. EMC Consulting accelerates its customers' journey to the private cloud through innovative and efficient use of information infrastructures to provide an optimal opportunity to federate information resources across cloud architectures.

Microsoft Quote:

Eduardo Rosini, Corporate Vice President, SQL Server Marketing, Microsoft

"SQL Server 2012 and EMC Solutions and Application services help our customers address mission critical performance, availability and data protection requirements. EMC's announcement of new consulting services that leverage Microsoft BI tools will enable our customers to use their data more competitively – providing breakthrough insights."

Customer Quotes:

Andy Fuss, Director of Technology and Engineering of CharterCARE Health Partners

"With the formation of CharterCARE Health Partners by two large, Rhode Island community hospitals, and the convergence of multiple IT infrastructures, we were faced with enormous data growth. It was clear that our traditional tape-based backup approach had reached its end. EMC Data Domain^®deduplication storage systems and EMC Networker^® as an integrated backup solution allowed us to make a transformational shift in our backup strategy. We have dramatically reduced our backup window and increased both efficiency and reliability of our SQL Server related backup process today – as well as giving us confidence as we plan to roll out SQL Server 2012. EMC has given our IT team the ability to focus on what’s most important: protecting our core business, protecting our patients, and offering the highest quality of healthcare services.”

Brian Carpenter, Vice President of Information Technology, Heritage Auctions

"SQL Server is the lifeblood of Heritage Auctions (HA.com). We use it to provide our customers with a massive amount of data, a meaningful experience on our website, and historical information to help them make educated buying and selling decisions. Consolidating our mission-critical Microsoft SQL Server infrastructure on EMC Symmetrix VMAXe has opened the door for us to go full throttle with our most strategic initiatives, from the latest Microsoft releases to virtualization to Big Data. We have the utmost confidence that when we roll out SQL Server 2012, VMAXe is going to be ready to perform and handle the increases in workload and changes in processing."

Daniel Mettling, Information Technology Manager, Park Industries

"As our business evolves, we're constantly seeking more opportunities to improve our responsiveness and streamline data processes to save time. The level of integration provided by EMC VNXe unified storage streamlines management of our SQL Server environment while the flexibility of centralized access provides us with a broad snapshot across our systems at a moment's notice. VNXe gives us the tools to make snap decisions about storage management and report to employees without interrupting our day-to-day business, meaning we save time, and ultimately, thousands of dollars."

EMC Executive Quote:

Prasad Rampalli, Senior Vice President, EMC Solutions Group, EMC Corporation

"EMC is committed to helping our customers make a seamless and effortless transition to SQL Server 2012 without compromising on performance, efficiency, simplicity or affordability. We've customized our engineering best practices, optimized our storage solutions to support SQL Server 2012, and have tailored our consulting services so that customers of all sizes are equipped with what they need to enable them to maximize information across their organization."

Dave Cox, Vice President, EMC Consulting, EMC Corporation

"Our new EMC Consulting services are right on target with EMC's strategy to support organizations' move to ITaaS so that they can better manage the massive amounts of data they are generating. EMC has the proven industry knowledge and technology expertise required to help SQL Server customers efficiently accelerate upgrades and realize the maximum value of their information."

Additional Resources

• Learn more about the EMC and Microsoft Alliance
• Everything EMC and Microsoft Community
• "Why EMC for SQL Server" Video
• Read about EMC Solutions for Microsoft
• EMC Consulting for Microsoft Platforms
• Connect with EMC via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and ECN