5 Companies That Came To Win This Week

HP: Going Android

Looks like Hewlett-Packard may finally have a (new) plan to win in the mobile space.

Industry reports indicate that HP is planning to shortly release Android-powered tablet PCs based on the Nvidia Tegra 4 processor, and that the company may also release Android-powered phones.

Deja vu? HP talked big about webOS-powered tablet PCs and smartphones when it acquired Palm nearly three years ago, but ended up scrapping its TouchPad tablet and never did come to market with such a phone.

But things could be different with Android which, unlike webOS, is a widely adopted operating system. And HP has already launched its first Google Chrome-based portable PC.

NetApp Joins The Enterprise BYOD Bandwagon

NetApp's announcement this week that it acquired ionGrid, a developer of technology that allows iPhone and iPad users to access corporate marketing materials as well as internal business applications through a secure container, shows it is serious not only about storing corporate data but making it easier to access.

ionGrid's flagship application, called Stratos, allows users to revise proposals, annotate mockups or comment on changes to presentations using annotation tools directly from their iPhone or iPad devices. This is done without the need for moving data to a storage cloud.

VMware Looks To Define Software-Defined Data Centers With Virsto

VMware already has software-defined servers and software-defined networks, the latter thanks to its its acquisition last year of Nicira. Why not storage?

Why not indeed. VMware's announcement this week that it plans to acquire Virsto, a developer of data storage optimization software, now gives it the three primary building blocks on which it can base its plans to develop software-defined data centers in which the entire data center architecture can be virtualized.

Pertino: SDN For SMBs

Startup Pertino's unveiling of its SDN technology this week aims to give SMBs and larger companies the power to build LANs and WANs using the cloud.

With the Pertino technology, a business or user can just download the Pertino software, send an email to other users to invite them to join the network, and then add more devices such as servers and printers. The result is a cloud-based network that lets users access business network and cloud resources as if they were connected directly to the corporate LAN.

SugarCRM Reorgs With Eye To Future

SugarCRM confirmed it has reorganized its sales force, ostensibly to streamline its operations and put more field sales representatives' "feet on the street" to work with channel partners, but also perhaps in preparation for a move to go public.

The move included the departure of Del Ross, channel sales vice president for North America and Latin America, and the consolidation of all of its customer-facing operations under Glenn Cross, executive vice president of worldwide field operations. That brings Cross closer to the company's field sales reps than the four layers of management that previously had to be crossed.