Plus: Iomega and CA partner for SMB storage; cable modems net more subscribers
Eighty percent of senior executives expect to have teleworkers within two years, up from 54% today, according to a recent AT&T study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Drivers for the sharp increase include better network access, improved communication, increased globalization of their business and workforce, cost-cutting and employee pressure. However, the survey showed inhibitors to telework remain. Executives feared that telework would reduce managers’ ability to monitor and control work; increase security problems, equipment costs and opposition from senior management; and damage companies’ corporate culture.
Iomega and Computer Associates recently agreed to partner to offer a network-attached storage device targeted to small and midsize offices. The Iomega NAS Backup will include an Iomega NAS server with 1.28 terabytes of storage. Software includes CA’s Brightstor ARCServe Backup 9.0 for Windows data protection software and eTrust Antivirus 7.0 for Windows. The product is expected to ship this month. Pricing is not yet available.
There will be 63 million cable modem subscribers by 2007, up from 27 million this mid-year, predicts In-Stat/MDR in a recent report. High margins from 50% to 100% are one reason cable operators find cable broadband so attractive. “Broadband Bonanza: Worldwide Cable Modem Subscribers Approach 30 Million” also found that 95% of North America’s 14.6 million cable modem subscribers are residential users, which presents an opportunity for cable providers to expand into the small business data services market, dominated today by the incumbent local exchange carriers.
