Riding a wave of virtualization and server refreshes, IBM was the number one server vendor in the second quarter, posting growth in x86, UNIX and System z servers, analyst firm IDC said. According to IDC, IBM had a 31 percent share of overall servers in the quarter, increasing year-to-year revenue 17 percent in x86 servers, seven percent in System p UNIX and four percent in the System z servers.

At ZATZ, we aren’t just about how to do your job. We’re also here to help you learn how to handle troublesome coworkers and supervisors, find a new job, and how to leave the old one.

After the stressful process of looking for a new job while you’re still employed, accepting an offer is a huge relief. At last, you’re free! You probably can’t wait to share your good fortune with the world and tell your boss where she can shove that evil assignment she gave you last week.

You might think that since you’re leaving, you don’t have to worry what people think of you anymore. This is not the case. Unless you want to erase everything you’ve accomplished since you first accepted this job, your departure must be as strategic and deliberate as your arrival.

GFI Software, developer of network security, content security and messaging software, announced the release of the latest version of GFI WebMonitor for ISA Server, a solution that gives administrators comprehensive control over corporate Web usage and what employees are downloading from the Internet. GFI WebMonitor 4 boosts employee productivity and increases security whilst maintaining optimum use of the Internet as a business tool.

Siemens Enterprise Communications announced an OEM agreement that will allow IBM to license elements of Siemens’ OpenScape open unified communications capabilities to enhance the IBM Lotus "Unified Telephony" offering currently planned by IBM as part of the expanded Lotus Sametime product family. The deal combines the two companies’ strengths in providing converged voice, data and video communications as well as collaboration solutions for enterprises of all sizes around the world.

Under the agreement, IBM will license elements of OpenScape software and integrate them within IBM Lotus Sametime "Unified Telephony" software, the recently announced addition to IBM’s industry leading unified communications and collaboration strategy. By incorporating OpenScape technology, Lotus software users will benefit from easy to use communications tools within the applications they already use regardless of their back-end telephony systems.

Investintech is excited to unveil its most powerful PDF conversion software yet–Able2Extract Version 5.0. Its release comes hot on the heels of Microsoft’s launch of Windows Vista and Office 2007. Able2Extract is fully compatible with Microsoft’s new offerings and has been designed to make use of Vista and Office 2007’s powerful new abilities.

Chief among these abilities is Able2Extact’s new XML Paper Specification (XPS) conversion feature. XPS is Microsoft’s new electronic paper format that is being billed as the new competitor to the Adobe PDF. Able2Extract is the first PDF converter on the market with the ability to open, view and then convert XPS generated documents into formats such as MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Regardless of whether a file is received as a PDF or as an XPS document, users of Able2Extact are the first users on the planet to have the ability to handle and convert both PDF and XPS documents from within a single application.

A fair amount of business users remain oblivious or unconcerned about many of the security issues involved with mobile devices, according to a new study published by Cisco and the National Cyber Security Alliance.

While a greater number of business users are carrying laptop computers and mobile handhelds every year, a good number of people either ignore security threats related to the machines or policies meant to protect them from attack or data loss, the report finds.

According to a July 2007 survey by Gartner Group of 225 U.S.-based organizations, 66 percent projected some level of increase in IT staff looking 12 months forward. This is up from 61 percent in 2006. The H1-B visa program, which allows U.S. firms to petition for workers from abroad, has been one avenue of meeting this demand. But the number of positions needing to be filled is seemingly way greater than the allowable quota imposed by Congress.

Telecom managers will need to get a handle on which technologies are likely to emerge in the telecommunications industry over the next five years because users are going mobile with or without IT support.

About 27 percent of the Australian workforce is currently mobile, but this figure will rise rapidly in the next few years, forcing IT departments to facilitate enterprise mobility, according to Nick Ingelbrecht, principal analyst at Gartner responsible for the Asia Pacific mobile research program. The only certainty is rapid change over the next five years, he said, with faster data rates and constant upgrades, which is why enterprises will pick and choose what they need in the location they need it.

Our favorite Contributing Editor had an interesting problem. One of her users couldn’t delete Notes To Dos. Seems simple, right? Well, it turns out the answer was, indeed, simple. Finding the answer wasn’t so much.

Read this DominoPower article.

IBM made two big announcements Friday that should help smooth the way for bringing unified Web 2.0-style applications to the Notes/Domino-installed enterprise.

The new Lotus Notes 8 and Lotus Domino 8 releases merge collaboration, communication and productivity features into a single desktop environment, giving users integrated access to such things as RSS feeds and search, along with email, instant messaging, presence, word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation software.

At the same time, IBM announced Expeditor 6.1.1, an Eclipse-based mashups tool that forms the underpinnings of Notes/Domino 8 and thereby allows mashups via managed clients to reach desktops, laptops, and mobile devices.