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Technology Stocks : Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: PCSS who wrote (2359)	11/27/2002 3:49:19 PM
From: The Duke of URL©	Respond to of 4345

Take this! Dell: From Carolyn April and InfoWorld online: webMethods, HP team to manage J.D. Edwards processes By Carolyn A. April November 26, 2002 8:37 am PT WEBMETHODS AND HP joined forces this week to offer a real-time solution for assessing the performance of J.D. Edwards' collaborative applications and related business processes. The solution is part of a broader initiative that ties together webMethods' integration platform and HP's OpenView systems management product to grant users dual insight into their business processes and the systems on which they run, according to officials at Fairfax, Va.-based webMethods. At the heart of the offering is OMI (Object Management Interface), a specification jointly developed by webMethods and HP to provide a standard for cross-monitoring applications and network performance. OMI enables granular diagnostic abilities, letting users, for example, assess how a server failure is impacting the execution of a particular business process such as "place customer order," according to webMethods officials. Monitoring is done via a dashboard-like console that is fed information in real time from webMethods' integration broker and OpenView, officials said. "OMI allows a user to correlate all the data from each [enterprise] layer," said Yale Tankus, vice president of industries and alliances at webMethods. Those layers include everything from hardware to operating systems to applications and finally, business processes, Tankus explained. J.D. Edwards has an existing deal with webMethods in which it embeds the integration vendor's software and adapters into the collaborative applications suite, J.D. Edwards 5. The new management solution exploits that technology marriage to let users monitor the performance of XBPs, which are extended business processes that run on top of J.D. Edwards' stock CRM, ERP, and supply chain management applications, officials said. A J.D. Edwards' XBP, for example, extends the capabilities of an application in the context of a broader business process. For example, when a customer places an order online, the CRM system processes the request, but an XBP is needed to reach out to the supply chain system to check inventory availability. To take advantage of the management solution, however, J.D. Edwards users need to deploy several technologies that don't come cheap: HP OpenView Operations, HP OpenView Spy for webMethods, and webMethods Manager, which is comprised of a management tool, server, and console and is priced starting at $250,000. But increasingly, users are looking to deploy such management solutions as a way to keep tabs on how their business processes are running and to act in the case of a breakdown. Thus, webMethods is not alone in pursuing the market, according to one industry analyst. "The larger trend is to get information coming from the integration products and feed it into a larger console, and this will happen with or without OMI," said Shawn Willett, principal analyst at Sterling, Va.-based Current Analysis. "All of the EAI vendors are doing this in some way."

To: PCSS who wrote (2359)	11/27/2002 3:58:48 PM
From: The Duke of URL©	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4345

I am posting this here, becasue tech data is sort of the reciprocal of hpq--- from the article: Daniel J. Block downgraded the stock to "market performer", citing Tech Data's disappointing outlook and concerns over how well the company would fare with plans by channel partner Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, Trade) to revamp its channel strategies. Tech Data hit by downgrades after warning November 26, 2002 11:29:56 (ET) CLEARWATER, Fla. (CBS.MW) - Shares of information technology product reseller Tech Data slumped 7 percent Tuesday after several analysts cut their estimates for the Clearwater, Fla. firm following its warning that it expects to fall short of current Wall Street forecasts for the fourth quarter. Tech Data (TECD, Trade) shares fell $2.37 to $30.70 in recent action. Volume was more than twice as busy as usual, with 2.6 million shares traded. Late Monday, the company reported third quarter net earnings of $32.8 million, or 57 cents a share, compared with $33.1 million, or 58 cents a share in the same period a year ago. The 2001 third quarter results exclude pre-tax special charges of $7 million. Including the charges, third-quarter 2001 net income was $28.5 million, or 51 cents a share. The profit matched the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call. Quarterly revenue came in at $3.8 billion, down 9.6 percent from the $4.2 billion the company reported in the year-ago quarter. Looking ahead, Tech Data warned that it expects to record losses in the fourth quarter within $2 and $4 million due to a plan to exit its operations in Argentina. In addition, the company said it expects another $12 million of previously-recorded foreign currency translation losses. Tech Data also said it is moving $70 million of capital from Europe, which will result in a foreign currency gain of $10 million in the fourth quarter. In total, the company forecast fourth-quarter sales of $3.8 to $3.96 billion and earnings of $31 to $34 million, or 53 cents to 58 cents a share, excluding items associated with Argentina and the repatriation of capital from Europe. Currently, Wall Street analysts are looking for Tech Data to report fourth-quarter earnings of 64 cents a share, on average. The fourth-quarter results include a plan to redeem its $300 million 5 percent convertible subordinated debentures on December 12 at prices of $303 million. Although the debentures mature on July 1, 2003, Tech Data said it is redeeming them early to take advantage of low interest rates and the company's strong cash position. The redemption is expected to add 6 cents a share from December 12 through the original July 2003 maturity date. Several analysts cut their estimates for Tech Data Tuesday. Kevin A. McCarthy of Credit Suisse First Boston trimmed his fiscal 2003 estimate for the company to $2.33 from $2.43 and lowered his fiscal 2004 estimate from $2.60 to $2.50. McCarthy also lowered his price target for Tech Data to $45, but emphasized that he is maintaining his "outperform" rating because "Tech Data demonstrates superior management skills in a very difficult market and is best positioned to take advantage of the eventual improvement in IT spending." Analyst Walter J. Winnitzki at First Albany downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "buy," saying it is unclear whether the company's problems are industry related or company specific. "Regardless of the reason, the results, coupled with a notable reduction in our earnings per share forecast, make it hard to argue for a catalyst to drive the shares higher in the near future and support our former rating," Winnitzki said in a note to clients. Banc of America Securities analysts Joel M. Wagonfield and Daniel J. Block downgraded the stock to "market performer", citing Tech Data's disappointing outlook and concerns over how well the company would fare with plans by channel partner Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, Trade) to revamp its channel strategies. "All is not lost, however," Wagonfield and Block said, adding that Tech Data's cost structure remains "by far the best in the industry."