Facebook targets $1 billion from social gaming

In an interview to Reuters, Kevin Ryan, the leading Internet entrepreneur and former chief executive of online advertising giant DoubleClick, has said that Facebook is on course to earn $1 billion in revenue from social gaming this year. The forecast of $1 billion takes into account the revenues from Facebook Credits, which allow users to buy items for games and other activities on the social... By shashwatdc gupta

Apple, RIM buy Nortels patents for $4.5 billion

After a hotly contested auction that saw Google and Intel loose out, bankrupt Nortel Networks Corp's remaining patent portfolio has gone for $4.5 billion to Apple Inc and Research In Motion that are part of a winning consortium of six companies. In a statement Nortel has said that Microsoft Corp, EMC Corp, Sweden's Ericsson and Sony Corp are also part of the winning consortium. The hotly... By shashwatdc gupta

Synchronica to acquire Nokias OB messaging biz

Synchronica, which provides communication systems for mobile operators, has announced that the company has reached conditional agreement with Nokia to acquire Nokia's Operator Branded Messaging (OBM) business for USD 25 million. This news must be seen in light of the fact that Nokia is keen to shed all its non-core businesses, as it prepares for the release of its first Microsoft Windows based... By shashwatdc gupta

India has 3rd largest number of Opera Mini users

The Norway based browser company, Opera, has issued a State of the Mobile Web report, in which it has taken look at booming mobile web traffic in India and how the Indian people choose to participate on the Web. According to this report, as far as Opera Mini browser goes, India has been the third largest market around the world between May 2010 and May 2011. The report also states that within... By shashwatdc gupta

Airtel launches 3G services in Gujarat

India's largest telecom company by subscribers and revenues, Bharti Airtel launched its 3G services in Gujarat at the midnight of 29th June 2011. The services will be available in Ahmedabad, Baroda, Rajkot, Surat, Gandhinagar, Bhavnagar, Nadiad, Anand, Bharuch, Ankleshwar, Amreli, Chikli, Dahej, Daman, Gandhidham, Godhra, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Porbander, Silvassa, Valsad, Vapi, Rajula, Diu, Una... By shashwatdc gupta

MySpace sold for peanuts

Yesterday IT Next had reported about News Corporation trying its best to get the price of $100 million for the also-ran in the social networking space, MySpace. We had predicted that News Corp. was unlikely to get this price. Now the social networking company has been sold for mere $35 million, which is just a fraction of the $100m its parent company was seeking. The lucky buyer of what was once... By shashwatdc gupta

Why success may elude Google +

For many years Google has been trying to carve a niche for itself in the social media space. Are you still on Orkut? What about Google Buzz or Google Wave! Despite so many attempts Google is unable to match Facebook even remotely. Now the company has come up with Google +, which got launched on 28th June. This social networking site allows users to share information with certain groups only. You... By shashwatdc gupta

Why success may elude Google +

For many years Google has been trying to carve a niche for itself in the social media space. Are you still on Orkut? What about Google Buzz or Google Wave! Despite so many attempts Google is unable to match Facebook even remotely. Now the company has come up with Google +, which got launched on 28th June. This social networking site allows users to share information with certain groups only. You... By shashwatdc gupta

Microsoft launches Office 365

Office 365 from Microsoft has gone live. Users in many countries around the world around the world, including India can now access services like Microsoft Office, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Exchange Online and Microsoft Lync Online in the cloud. Many analysts had predicted that Microsoft will be pitching this service to the enterprise market, but at the formal launch event in New... By shashwatdc gupta

India enterprise software market grew 16.3% in '10

The India enterprise software market showed broad growth and recovery in 2010 with total software revenue increasing 16.3% annually to total $2.5 billion, according to Gartner, Inc. In 2009, India revenue grew just 4.2 percent to $2.1 billion. "In 2010, major software vendors expanded their product portfolios, acquired companies where appropriate to their plans, and reached deeper into emerging... By shashwatdc gupta

Ritik Goel, Senior Business Analyst, Cognizant Technology Services

'Thanks to Next 100, I was introduced as Future CIO at my new workplace' Due to Next 100, I gained tremendous respect from the internal as well as external stakeholders of the organization. The quality of work assigned to me changed drastically as I got more of leadership assignments within my organization. Thanks to Next 100, in my new organization, I was introduced as the Future CIO to my team... By shashwatdc gupta

Consumer-driven IT makes a heady enterprise splash

The consumerization of IT across enterprise scale IT organizations has reached a tipping point where mainstream IT organizations are recognizing that no longer ignore the transformational impact of consumer technologies in the enterprise. A new IDC study, titled IT Consumers Transform the Enterprise: Are You Ready?, sponsored by CA Technologies reveals that while the consumerization of IT... By shashwatdc gupta