10 Companies That Came To Win This Week

We're starting a new weekly feature that looks at companies that made moves that could help put them ahead of competitors.

Sometimes these moves are bold ones. Other times, they're more subtle and strategic. Some moves are popular, others not so much. But they're all the types of decisions that could end up paying handsome dividends down the road.

Here are the first 10 vendors who came to win this week.

1. Apple Changes iPhone SDK Licensing

In the iPhone 4.0 SDK beta unveiled Thursday, Apple changed the terms of its iPhone Developer Program license agreement to prohibit cross-compilers, which allow developers to write iPhone apps using languages other than Apple's Objective-C.



Sure, Adobe Flash and Microsoft developers are upset about the change, which effectively shuts them out of the App Store gravy train. But who said Apple has to play nice? Apple is simply moving to protect its budding mobile business and prevent someone else's technology from becoming the standard platform for iPhone development.



Was is a ruthless move? Yes. Did it infuriate thousands of non-Apple developers? Sure. Was it unethical? That's debatable. But as everyone knows, Apple does what Apple wants, when it wants. This is a perfect illustration.

2. Google Buys Video Startup Episodic

People used to wonder why Google bought Youtube, but despite the enormous bandwidth costs it generates, Youtube is reportedly approaching profitability. But instead of sitting on its laurels, Google is continuing to invest in making Youtube better, as evidenced by this week's acquisition of Episodic, a San Francisco-based video startup.



Episodic's hosting and publishing platform allows users to manage video content, publish live streams and on-demand packages, regulate advertising and use analytics to determine viewer experience. Terms weren't disclosed, so it's unclear how much of an investment the deal represents, but Google is obviously willing to keep spending money to make Youtube a better and more financially lucrative experience.

3. Cisco Updates UCS, Data Center Portfolio

Cisco kept the pressure on new foe HP this week by updating its data center technology, which ties server, storage, and networking into a single offering called Unified Computing System, or UCS. UCS is the key to Cisco's Data Center 3.0 strategy, which hinges on helping customers build virtualized data centers.



Cisco would like to see UCS counteract the trend of companies opting for HP's blade servers, which is why it chose to update UCS just a year after its launch. At this stage, though, solution providers are wary of UCS in mission-critical environments. Still, by keeping UCS fresh with the latest technologies, Cisco is showing a commitment to the data center that's not going unnoticed in the market.

4. Verizon Admits Its iPhone Crush

Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg came right out and said it this week: Verizon wants the iPhone. He also said Verizon's network is plenty capable of handling the additional traffic that the iPhone will generate. This is notable because most CEOs dodge the types of speculative questions that arise from rumors. But clearly, Verizon would love nothing more than to get into an iPhone side-by-side comparison with rival AT&T.



Most of all, Seidenberg's decision to just come right out and admit that Verizon would like to go steady with the iPhone could cause prospective iPhone buyers to put their plans on hold until it finally does come to fruition. Score another one for the wireless carrier widely regarded as the nation's best.

5. Juniper Acquires Ankeena Networks

Juniper this week went ahead and bought Ankeena Networks, one of its strategic partners, in a move that underscores the growing importance of video in the networking space. The deal, believed to be in the $100 million range, gives Juniper a product portfolio that fits nicely into its nascent Junos Ready Software business group.



Ankeena's technology optimizes infrastructure for video and other forms of rich media content delivery. After a six month partnership, Juniper evidently liked what it saw in Ankeena and decided to pull the trigger on the deal.

6. Dell Courts Partners For Data Center

Dell says it's making closer engagement with solution providers a priority. OK, so we've heard that one before, but Dell's data center refresh strategy does look compelling when you look at today's aging servers and the technological goodness that Intel has baked into its new Xeon 7500 "Nehalem-EX" series of processors, which feature up to eight cores per chip.



While there are VARs who will never even consider working with Dell, you have to give the company credit for realizing that the channel is its best route to the data center.

7. NetApp Buys Object-Based Storage Vendor

NetApp this week added object-based storage with its acquisition of Vancouver, British Columbia-based Bycast for an undisclosed sum. Why is this important? Because with object-based storage, data can be stored and accessed without customers worrying about where and how they are stored.



Bycast also focused on the medical industry vertical. NetApp insists that Bycast's technology can be applied to a wide range of markets, but when you look at how much opportunity exists in the medical IT space, it's easy to see why NetApp decided to pull the trigger on this deal.

8. Intego Releases iPad Malware Scanner

As a company that makes security software for Macs, Intego would seem to have a job not unlike that of the old Maytag repairman. That is to say, an easy, predictable, and ultimately, kind of boring job.



And yet, Intego continues to roll out new products. This week, Intego updated its flagship VirusBarrier product to version X6 10.6.5, adding a function that scans the iPad for malware and malicious files. While it may seem premature, the move makes a lot of sense, as iPad's OS is very similar to the iPhone's, which means it's going to be vulnerable to the same types of vulnerabilities.

As Apple's market share grows, and more attackers turn their attentions to hacking Apple products, Intego could find itself sitting in the proverbial catbird's seat.

9. IBM Dangles $500 Million Carrot To Sun Partners

IBM is offering new financing incentives of up to $500 million in a bid to lure Sun Microsystems partners that might not be enamored with the idea of working within Oracle CEO Larry Ellison's purview. IBM Global Financing will provide assistance to "credit-qualified" Sun business partners and assist them in becoming resellers of IBM Power systems.



Since Oracle closed its $7.4 billion acquisition of Sun in January, Oracle has begun selling directly to some of Sun's biggest accounts, as opposed to going through channel partners. Predictably, that's not going over well with Sun VARs. IBM is striking at just the right time with this move, and claims that over 100 Sun partners have either established new IBM reseller businesses or grown their existing IBM-related businesses.

10. HP Slate Info Somehow Manages To Leak

What better way to counteract the breathless iPad adulation that to make a product comparison slide showing several key advantages your product enjoys, and then leak it to the media?



OK, there's no proof that the slide actually came from HP. Still, the slide has managed to take some of the spotlight away from the iPad this week, and that's no mean feat.



According to the slide, HP's Windows 7-powered Slate device has an edge on the iPad in terms of processing, graphics, connectivity, and cameras, while the Apple iPad wins in display size, wireless capability, and battery life. HP hasn't said when its Slate device will be available, so for now, prospective buyers are in a holding pattern.