PURCHASING NOTES

By Staff -- Purchasing, 3/22/2001

At the North American Auto Show, IBM introduced a new e-sourcing option for automakers and their suppliers that enables them to lease business software applications over the Internet (IBMPlaces.ihost.com). Initial applications are for activities such as collaboration, quality management and Web data interchange. The services offering is designed to interoperate with and complement auto industry and related trade exchanges and e-marketplaces such as Covisint as well as private exchanges.

Timely market analysis, newsletters and expert interviews with major IT suppliers can be found at www.cicalaonline.com, a new Web site designed by Cicala & Associates for IT procurement and asset management professionals. In the future, subscribers will be able to visit the Web site to obtain objective advice on internal initiatives, research contractual terms and conditions, and tap into specialized procurement and asset management resources and tools. Cicala & Associates provides services that address entire lifecycle of an IT asset from initial planning to disposal-with a focus on cost reduction and streamlining processes.

Wireless Internet access devices including palm computers, wireless modems and two-way pagers will boom in popularity over the next several years and eventually displace the PC as the preferred Internet access method, according to Cahners In-Stat Group. Shipments of wireless Internet access devices will sustain double- and triple-digit growth through 2004, the high-tech market research firm says.

PC Expo takes place June 26-28, 2001, at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York. New to PC Expo this year: Visit Wizard, a proprietary Web-based software program that customizes attendees' visits to begin building relationships with exhibitors before the event. For more information, see www.pcexpo.com.

Demand for servers continues strong. New numbers from International Data Corp. show factory revenue jumping by 12%, while shipments increased 21% in the third quarter compared to the same period one year ago. "One of the biggest factors driving growth in the worldwide server market are Standard Intel architecture servers, especially rack-optimized servers," says Vernon Turner, vice president, global enterprise server solutions. "These devices enable horizontal scaling of the Internet infrastructure and are experiencing tremendous demand." According to IDC, revenue for rack-optimized servers increased almost 400% from 3Q99.