Hewlett-Packard and The Rise of Big Data

Untold amounts of information,or big data,is cascading into corporate storage every day.Big data is a pretty dramatic change for the software industry,according to Ann Winblad of the venture capital firm Hummer Winblad Venture Partners.Ninety percent of the world's data has been produced in the last two years.All of the companies have to find ways to process and organize big data.
Hewlett-Packard is getting into the business by paying 10.3 billion dollars for big data specialist Autonomy Corp,PLC.These big data experts are high gross margin businesses.Facebook is big data.These are big stakes,to own this software stack.
The most robust area for venture capital was software.Where there are changes,innovators come to the rescue of the incumbents.Without new tools,you cannot use big data.We're funding a number of start-ups that are developing tools to use this data,and there is a strong market for them,Ms.Winblad ascertained.
Autonomy,the HP acquisition target,is a British-listed firm that was founded in 1996.It offers an infrastructure platform for understanding human-friendly data.Its meaning-based computing recognizes patterns and concepts in email,documents,videos,phone calls,and so on,with applications in such fields as governance and marketing.Eighty percent of such data went unused in the past.
In the U.S.,Autonomy Corp,PLC trades on the over the counter pink sheets under the ticker symbol AUTNF.
Hewlett-Packard(HPQ)

Sinopec Excels in First Half

Asian shares opened mostly higher on Monday,as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's recent remarks on the U.S. economy and the Fed's capacity for aiding it were viewed favorably.China's Sinopec,Asia's biggest oil refiner,posted record profits for the first half of 2011.This was even though they aren't allowed by the government to pass rising costs on to consumers,showing the company's great skill in managing expenses.
China has raised reserve requirements on banks again.The expansion of controls may drain a further 140 billion dollars from the banking system over the next six months.This is on top of previous measures that lifted reserve requirements to a record 21.5% as China attempts to rein in inflation and its trade surplus.
Cathay Pacific has accepted a new 777 airliner from Boeing and has 35 more of them on order.The Hong Kong airline is upgrading its business class with private alcoves that offer more table space and a flat bed for side-sleepers.Cathay says it has gotten fantastic feedback on the new accommodations.
South Korean golfers Hee-Won Han,Na Yeon Choi and Jiyai Shin shared sixth place with Korean American Jenny Shin at the CN Canadian Women's Open in Mirabel,Quebec.American Brittany Lincicome won the event.Jessica Shepley was recognised for lowest score by a Canadian,finishing at one under par.
In Shanghai Monday morning,it was 86F under mostly cloudy skies.Winds were E at 9 mph,and the humidity was 66%.
Boeing(BA),Sinopec(SHI)

ALDI Jobs

ALDI,one of the largest food retailers in the world,is holding a hiring event for cashiers,shift managers and manager trainees on September 6 from 6-9am and 4-7pm at
UMUC at Marriott Conference Center
3501 University Drive
Hyattsville,MD 20783
and
Capital Marriott
1325 2nd Street,NE
Washington,DC 20002
visit ALDI.us/storejobs for more information
ALDI:Are you made for ALDI?

A Costly and Profitable Weekend Ahead

Insurance companies active in the eastern states are bracing for a round of natural fury from Hurricane Irene.As well,parts of the retail sector in the region could suffer from a relatively rare direct hit from this type of storm on the big cities of the northeast,as people shelter in place instead of shopping at malls and department stores or are even evacuated.Ocean City,Maryland and other eastern beach resorts are already evacuating guests and closing to new visitors.It's the first time since Hurricane Gloria in the 1980s that Ocean City was evacuated.
Some stores,however,such as hardware and food retailers,will benefit as citizens augment emergency supplies.One New York City woman bought 100 dollars worth of batteries.Bottled water and milk were other top sellers there.Home Depot ran out of flashlights.Mayor Michael Bloomberg recommended preparing go bags,which contain your medications,important documents and so on,should you face evacuation.
Hospitals are topping off generators with fuel,and citizens are also filling up their tanks,even as refineries may have to close.A spike in gas prices could result.
Home Depot prepositions containers full of disaster-related products at its distribution centers.When needed,they are simply rolled into semis for transport to the affected areas.Disaster operations are directed in consultation with district managers from a war room of sorts,complete with big screen newscast monitors.There are Home Depot staff members who are dedicated to disaster retailing.
Some 200 miles west of Ocean City,along the Blue Ridge Mountains,there was a good deal of rain Saturday evening,but little wind.Power went down several times for an instant,requiring the annoying resetting of digital clocks-except for one with a battery backup.The most striking visual of the day had been the rapidly moving low, dark clouds,showing that there was considerable energy aloft.There weren't any sirens going off,but there was just enough of a touch of weather history to make it an unusual-feeling day.
Home Depot(HD),Lowe's(LOW)

Hurricane Irene Forecast For Tristate Area

Hurricane Irene Forecast For Tristate Area

The Big Shift:Hewlett-Packard's Bet

CEO Leo Apotheker(pronounced "Ahpotayker")is moving Hewlett-Packard to an IBM model of software and services,says Scott Kessler,head of tech research at Standard&Poor's.It's gonna be uphill.It's gonna be very difficult to sell the pc business.Can they really be competitive in software?
HP is saying they don't want to be in pcs,tablets or smartphones.They are selling the Web OS operating system.HP is known at its core for its printer business.It's really gonna be a challenge to unload that.
This really is a sea change in tech.Google is getting into hardware,while HP is leaving it.These moves will have impacts for years to come,although attention has been focused on the financial markets recently,Mr.Kessler observed.
Carly Fiorina,who led HP from 1999-2005,thinks the current board has a lot of diverse experience and luminaries from the Silicon Valley.The board made a serious and substantial decision about the future.HP is a company with a very deep core competency in managing complexity.
HP is the largest tech company in the world,with more than 100,000 employees.The CEO is never the company;he is the leader of the company.It's all about the people and the systems and the culture of the company.Preparing a company for the future sometimes requires making a big bet.HP has been buying software companies.This isn't a totally new development,but they're making a big bet on unstructured data.
It's up to the people at HP to explain this and make it work.Anytime the stock drops like that,it places pressure on people-there's no question.They are doubling down in the enterprise space,former CEO Carly Fiorina pointed out.
UBS has cut its rating on HP from buy to neutral,lowering its price target to 26.00.
Hewlett-Packard(HPQ),International Business Machines(IBM)

Safeway Jobs

Safeway is hiring for its new stores in Olney and Bethesda,Maryland.All positions are open.Apply online at
www.careersatsafeway.com
Please reference Store 2848 for Bethesda and 2797 for Olney.
Safeway:Your Future Starts Now.Link your future to the Safeway Team.