10 Years Ago: IT Circa August 2000

IT Circa August 2000

Ten years ago, the Nasdaq celebrated the end of August by crossing the 4,200 mark for the first time since July 17, 2000. In contrast, today, the NASDAQ is hovering around 2,130.

There were heady times for some, and a surge of "new economy" players were in the news. Still, old standbys like CA and Intel were in the news too. Here's a look at some familiar names ... and some that were just a flash in the pan.

Razorfish Reels In German Firm

Razorfish extended its global presence with its acquisition of Germany-based e-business integrator Medialab AG. The New York-based digital strategy firm obtained Medialab for its strategy consulting, back-end technology and advanced Web design work, said Razorfish Managing Director Karsten Xander (left). The deal was valued at roughly $9.4 million and included stock and cash.

Intel Embraces P2P

At the Intel Developer Forum, Intel set out to prove peer-to-peer networking was not just for Napster-like pirating of CDs.

"If you look under peer-to-peer, what you see are resources stretching across the Web," said Pat Gelsinger, (left), then-vice president and CTO of Intel's Architecture Group. "For example, it can allow distributed file sharing, and you no longer need a central server. Post a file, and it can be shared. Or it will allow CPU sharing. Intel will show how. We are no longer limited by the build-out of a server."

Gelsinger left Intel for EMC in 2009.

CA Founder Hands Over Reins To Kumar

Charles Wang, who built the $6.7 billion software giant acquisition by acquisition, announced that Sanjay Kumar, (left), would take over at the helm of Computer Associates. Wang remained as chairman and was aiming to direct his energy to finding technology or groups within CA to be spun off into new ventures.

The decision proved ill-fated when, six years later, Kumar was indicted on fraud charges. In 2008 he pled guilty to obstruction of justice and securities fraud charges. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined $8 million for his role in a massive accounting fraud at Computer Associates.

Wyse Touts Thin Clients

Today, Jeff McNaught, (left), leads Wyse strategy, marketing and customer support activities and is, according to his company's Web site, "widely considered the most quoted spokesperson for thin computing in the world." Ten years ago, McNaught sat down for a live Web chat to discuss Wyse's thin-client push and the advantages of these slim devices over the traditional PC. By August 2000, Wyse thin-client sales had increased 30 percent each quarter for the previous nine months.

Bringing Joy To Startups

Bill Joy, (left), a co-founder of Sun Microsystems, was reported to have personally made several strategic investments in new economy ventures -- including Brightmail, Packet Design and Surgient Networks. He resigned from Sun as Chief Scientist in 2003.

At present, Joy continues to be a high-tech venture capitalist.

LogicTier Brings Home Gold

Start-up LogicTier was named the Official Internet Operations Sponsor and Supplier for the 2002 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The internet infrastructure and outsourcing provider donated equipment, services and people. The 2002 Games were the first to enhance the viewing experience via the Internet. As Mitt Romney, then president of the Salt Lake Olympic Committee, said, "With the Internet, the Olympic experience will not be fed to you. You will be able to select the experience."

Romney (left) became Massachusetts governor in 2003 and a candidate for president in 2008, ultimately losing the Republican nomination to Arizona senator John McCain.

Five Months After Its Debut, MarchFirst Wrestles With Identity

In the almost 150 days since the company officially debuted, MarchFirst -- the single identity that emerged from the merger of Web integration and branding specialist USWeb/CKS, and solutions integrator Whitman-Hart -- generated a lot of talk. Not all was favorable.

MarchFirst's CEO Bob Bernard invited VARBusiness to attend a closed-door orientation meeting for employees, many of whom have seen their work lives turned upside down as the company reorganized and recast itself. The August 10 meeting was a mixture of theater, education and therapy.

MarchFirst's tenure was brief: Having opened its doors on March 1, 2000, it shut them on March 28, 2001. Bernard became the CEO of the reborn Whittman-Hart in 2003. He died of a heart attack in 2007.