Executive changes at Spescom

Last week was quiet from an ICT perspective. Internationally, there were a couple of acquisitions by the major players. Locally, the executive changes at Spescom were the main ICT news.

* A black empowerment and investment company consortium consisting of Convergence Partners Investments, Safika and VenFin took a 60% stake in Dimension Data's Britehouse Group.
* HBD Capital Fund invested R36 million in Fundamo, to fund its expansion into new markets within the African continent and elsewhere.
* Faritec was named as the preferred buyer for Software Futures.
* The appointments of Mutle Mogase as chairman of Spescom, Pieter Olivier as MD of xpedia fusion, and J'ene Palmer as CEO of Spescom.
* The resignations of Tony Farah, founder and CEO of Spescom; Paul Jules, MD of DigiPoS Store Solutions Group SA; and Jim Myers, chairman of Spescom.

* The appointments of Keith Deane as Infor's president for its EMEA region, and Geoff Hardwick as MD of the southern African operations of Gateway Communications.

* Google's $625 million acquisition of Postini, a provider of on-demand communications security, is yet another widening of Google's applications portfolio and its increasing influence on end-users.
* Motorola purchased Leapstone Systems, a communications software developer. Leapstone's technology helps create, manage and deliver video, voice and data-service bundles, and extends and complements Motorola's existing businesses. Leapstone's clients include AT&T and Verizon Wireless.
* The appointment of Michael Capellas as CEO of First Data, a global provider of electronic commerce and payment solutions, and a company that has just been bought by KKR, one of the world's largest private equity companies. Capellas was CEO of Compaq prior to its acquisition by HP, and CEO of MCI prior to its purchase by Verizon Communications.
* Excellent quarterly numbers from Corel, with revenue up nearly 50% and back in the black.
* Very good quarterly numbers from Infosys Technologies, with revenue up over 40%.
* Very good quarterly figures from LG Philips LCD, with revenue up over 40% and well back in the black.
* Very good quarterly results from Sony Ericsson, with revenue up over 35% and income up over 50%.
* Mediocre quarterly figures from Samsung Electronics, with revenue slightly up but profit down.

* A private investment company investing in NEC Electronics.

Google's $625 million acquisition of Postini is yet another widening of Google's applications portfolio and its increasing influence on end-users.

Paul Booth, MD, Global Research Partners

* JSE All share index: Up 2.5% (record all-time high)
* Nasdaq: Up 1.5% (highest level for over six-and-a-half years)
* Top SA share movements: Ansys (+13.8%), ISA (-9.1%), Stella Vista (-37.5%) and Vestor (+17.1%).

Business 2.0 has released its rankings of the 100 fastest growing technology companies and the 50 most influential individuals in the technology business.

On the 100 fastest growing technology companies list, Akamai Technologies is number one, with Apple at 12, Tibco Software at 27, Juniper Networks at 33, Red Hat at 36, Yahoo at 46 and Garmin at 50.

On the 50 most influential individuals list, the founders of Google are at number one, with Steve Jobs of Apple at number two, John Chambers of Cisco at nine and Mark Hurd of HP at 14.