Calling all Canadian Tech Companies - Last Call for 2011 Branham300 applications

Branham Group would like to notify all Canadian Information and Communication Technology (ICT) companies that this is their last chance to apply for the 2011 Edition of the Branham300. In order to ensure that all eligible companies have a chance to apply for this year's listing, Branham has extended the online application deadline to December 2, 2010.

Entering its 18th year, the Branham300 highlights the top Canadian and Multinational ICT companies operating in Canada and is widely considered to be the leading source of intelligence on Canada's ICT industry. Companies that participate in the Branham300 not only contribute to the most accurate snapshot of the state of ICT in Canada, but they also benefit from increased market exposure and positive brand awareness, which in many cases leads to new business opportunities.

The 2011 Edition of the Branham300 will be published online at www.branham300.com as well as in the April/May issue of Backbone Magazine, a leading Canadian business, technology and lifestyle magazine that is distributed across Canada with the Globe and Mail.

IBM continues its buying spree with acquisition of Toronto-based Clarity Systems

Clarity Systems logo On the same day that it finalized its acquisition of OpenPages, IBM announced that it has purchased Toronto-based Clarity Systems for an undisclosed sum.

Clarity Systems, a financial software specialist that was founded back in 1995 competes with industry juggernauts like Oracle, SAP and even IBM. Although the company is privately-held, it has long published its revenue publicly on the Branham300. Since 2001, Clarity Systems has realized some impressive growth:

No wonder they were an acquisition target. Despite the tail-end of the tech-bubble in the early portion of the decade and the recession that many think (including me) that we are still going through now, Clarity Systems has surged onward and realized tremendous growth.

This acquisition makes sense for IBM because it now adds yet another tool to its cupboard of business analytics solutions. IBM will also add a list of 600 global clients that are currently using Clarity's software, as well as nearly 400 in staff.

The new group will report into IBM's Ottawa-based offices, and will fall under the leadership of Rob Ashe, former CEO of Cognos, which IBM acquired in a massive US$5 billion transaction back in late-2007.

EXFO sells Life Sciences and Industrial Division for US$24.3 Million

EXFO EXFO, a leading provider of next-generation test and service assurance solutions for wireless and wireless network operators and equipment manufacturers, announced today that it has sold its Life Sciences and Industrial division to The Riverside Company, a global equity firm, for US$24.3 million in cash. The division, which is based in Toronto, generated US$25.4 million in sales and US$4.3 million in earnings in fiscal 2010.

Germain Lamonde is EXFO`s Chairman, President and CEO:

"The creation of the Life Sciences and Industrial Division has served EXFO well over the years with steady sales and earnings, while providing an environment for this division's staff and management to perform. The divestiture of this business will enable EXFO to concentrate all its efforts and resources on its core telecom test and service assurance business, while allowing the Life Sciences and Industrial Division to be more strategically developed. EXFO's exclusive focus on the global telecom industry will benefit customers, employees and shareholders in the long term."

HP names former SAP chief as new CEO

Leo Apotheker In an effort to close the book on the Mark Hurd saga, HP announced the appointment of Léo Apotheker as the company's eighth President and Chief Executive Officer yesterday. Apotheker will also join HP's Board of Directors.

Apotheker, who is a 20 year SAP veteran that was appointed the German business software makers CEO in mid-2008, abruptly resigned from the company earlier this year. He succeeds Mark Hurd, who resigned from the position on August 6 after an HP probe found that he had violated the company's conduct standards.

Cathie Lesjak, who held the Interim CEO tag since Hurd's abrupt departure, will return to her role as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

Robert Ryan is HP's lead independent director for the company's Board of Directors:

"Léo is a strategic thinker with a passion for technology, wide-reaching global experience and proven operational discipline – exactly what we were looking for in a CEO. After more than two decades in the industry, he has a strong track record of driving technological innovation, building customer relationships and developing world-class teams."

Apotheker added his thoughts on taking the highly coveted HP role:

“HP has a powerful mix of businesses, products and services, one of the most innovative cultures in the industry, and an accomplished management team who have played a critical role in its success. I am deeply honored to be joining the more than 300,000 dedicated HP employees.”

For complete details on HP's appointment, have a look at the company's official release.

RIM officially enters the tablet market with the BlackBerry PlayBook

Research in Motion (RIM) has formally/finally entered the tablet market with the launch of the BlackBerry PlayBook.

Mike Lazaridis, RIM's co-chief executive officer, made the announcement today at its annual developer conference in San Francisco, CA.

“RIM set out to engineer the best professional-grade tablet in the industry with cutting-edge hardware features and one of the world's most robust and flexible operating systems. The BlackBerry PlayBook solidly hits the mark with industry leading power, true multitasking, uncompromised web browsing and high performance multimedia.”

Here are the key features and specifications of the BlackBerry PlayBook:

7” LCD, 1024 x 600, WSVGA, capacitive touch screen with full multi-touch and gesture support
BlackBerry Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
1 GHz dual-core processor
1 GB RAM • Dual HD cameras (3 MP front facing, 5 MP rear facing), supports 1080p HD video recording
Video playback: 1080p HD Video, H.264, MPEG, DivX, WMV
Audio playback: MP3, AAC, WMA
HDMI video output
Wi-Fi - 802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
Connectors: microHDMI, microUSB, charging contacts
Open, flexible application platform with support for WebKit/HTML-5, Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Adobe Mobile AIR, Adobe Reader, POSIX, OpenGL, Java
Ultra thin and portable: o Measures 5.1”x7.6”x0.4” (130mm x 193mm x 10mm)o Weighs less than a pound (approximately 0.9 lb or 400g)

The BlackBerry PlayBook is expected to be available in retail outlets and other channels in the United States in early-2011 with rollouts in other international markets beginning in mid-2011.

For complete details on the BlackBerry PlayBook, have a look at RIM's official release or visit www.blackberry.com/playbook.

KPMG acquires IT management consulting firm IT/NET Group

KPMG announced this morning that it has acquired IT/NET Group, an IT management consulting services and public sector transformation firm based on Ottawa. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

IT/NET Group has been around for nearly 20 years, and has built a reputation as a leader in developing and aligning ICT solutions in business environments. According to historical financial information submitted by IT/NET for participation in the Branham300, the company experienced impressive growth over the past ten years, with annual sales increasing from $14 million in 2001 to approximately $30 million in fiscal 2008.

Bill Thomas is KPMG's CEO:

"The addition of IT/NET's people and knowledge enhances KPMG's ability to deliver top-tier Advisory services to our public sector clients, in particular with their transformation challenges."

Alex Beraskow, President, CEO and Founder of IT/NET added his thoughts on the deal:

"We are pleased to be aligning with an organization like KPMG with a strong and growing Advisory practice, true international reach, and a deep commitment to serving the ever-changing needs of the public sector. IT/NET is about its people and we are proud to have some of the sharpest minds in professional services as part of our team. Today's announcement is very positive for IT/NET and its clients."

For complete details on the transaction, have a look at KPMG's formal release.

Ericsson emerges as successful bidder for Nortel's Multi Service Switch business

Nortel It was announced late last week that Ericsson has emerged as the winning bidder for Nortel's Multi Service Switch (MSS) business, paying a purchase price of US$65 million. Nortel noted in their release that substantially all of the business unit's employees will have the opportunity to continue their employment with Ericsson.

John Luszczek, General Manager of Nortel's MSS business, commented on the announcement:

"Today's announcement is welcome news for so many stakeholders - our customers, partners, suppliers and employees. It is yet another proof-point of Nortel's ongoing commitment to preserve innovation and customer relationships that we have nurtured and grown over the past two decades. Our focus now is to work closely with Ericsson to ensure as seamless a transition as possible for our customers. At the same time, we will continue to deliver the superior service that our customers have come to expect from Nortel."

Nortel did not commit to a close-date for the deal, but did say that it will work to close the sale expeditiously.

PEER 1 Hosting reports financials for FY2010

Vancouver-based PEER 1 Hosting, a leading provider of online IT infrastructure, announced its fiscal 2010 financial results this afternoon. Here are some high-level details:

Revenue increased 6.1% to $97.9 million from $92.3 million
Gross profit decreased 1.6% to $39.1 million from $39.7 million
Operating income decreased 39.6% to $7.4 million from $12.3 million
Normalized EBITDA decreased 14.5% to $24.1 million from $27.8 million
Net income decreased 61.4% to $2.2 million from $5.7 million

PEER 1 Hosting's president and chief executive officer, Fabio Banducci, had this to say about his company's performance over the past year:

"Fiscal 2010 marked a year of strategic investment in infrastructure, products and geographic expansion to support accelerated growth and enhanced market positioning as economic conditions improve. On this basis, we launched our new state of the art data centre in the greater Toronto area, which almost immediately began attracting anchor clients, while also continuing to expand our solution set, adding value for both existing and potential clients. We also extended our core hosting services to Europe by establishing a physical presence in the United Kingdom. With these pieces of our strategy in place we are well positioned to both invest in and drive additional growth in fiscal 2011 and beyond."

For complete details on PEER 1 Hosting's FY2010 performance, have a look here.

Canadian launch of Blackberry Torch delayed...again

If you were eagerly awaiting this Friday's launch of RIM's newest handheld smartphone, the Blackberry Torch 9800, you'll have to wait a little bit longer. Rogers announced this afternoon that it is delaying the Torch's launch until September 30.

Details on when the Torch, which includes both RIM's trademark keyboard and a touchscreen, will launch at each of the other major telecommunication providers is still scarce. Bell had previously said that it would begin selling the device on October 1, but its website currently says that the Torch is coming soon, without a specific release date noted. The other member of the Big Three, Telus, has not announced when it will begin selling the Torch either.

Zip.ca executive: Netflix is going to expand our market

As reported earlier today, Netflix has launched its online streaming service in Canada.

You would think that this market-entry would be cause for concern for Zip.ca, Canada's largest DVD rent-by-mail service. However, it doesn't really seem to bother them. Rob Hall, chief executive of Momentous.ca Corp. - the parent company of Zip.ca - put it this way:

"There's all this buzz about Netflix coming to Canada, but Netflix isn't really coming to Canada. Netflix is bringing a limited streaming offering to Canada, not their mail business, which is what they're built on...They're going to help us educate the market about why brick and mortar is dying in the U.S. and why it will follow suit here in Canada, and we're the only game in Canada right now for mail."

Hall does have a point. Netflix is not bringing its bread-and-butter rent-by-mail service north of the US border, which would compete head-on with Zip.ca's market offering. That's not to say that Netflix won't chip away at Zip.ca's revenues as users become more familiar with on-demand streaming service, which is likely why Zip.ca is planning to launch its own online streaming service later this year along with a specialty video kiosk business, which will allow users to rent movies from an automated vending machine inside grocery stores for $1 per night.

With the well documented struggles of the brick and mortar video rental model, which took another hit this week with reports that Blockbuster is filing for Chapter 11 in the States, it is becoming increasingly clear that Canadians will have to look elsewhere for their video rental needs, and competition within this space is great news for all.