HP

HP Targets Telecoms' Customer Data Needs

New OpenCall and Service Governance Framework applications help create a real-time view of each customer and enable secure Web 2.0 development.

February 6, 2008

By Larry Barrett: More stories by this author:

HP is banking on telecommunications companies' growing need to get in-depth customer information at a moment's notice, on Wednesday introducing its new OpenCall Profile Manager and HP Service Governance Framework applications.

OpenCall targets telecoms looking for a single snapshot of all their customer data in real time -- no small order for information-saturated enterprises.

"In today's service provider world, it's a big challenge and it's only getting worse," Steve Dietch, vice president of HP OpenCall Software, told InternetNews.com. "There are multiple siloed repositories of the same customer information. It's hard to get a single view of a customer and it's very expensive to maintain."

OpenCall Profile Manager, which is now available to telecom customers, federates isolated databases -- for example, customers subscribing to voice messaging services or ring tones -- in real time, providing sales and marketing teams with consistent data culled from various data repositories.

It also makes centralized service provisioning cheaper and enables telecoms to tailor personalized services and advertising campaigns based on a customer's current subscription, physical location, social communities and known preferences.

Dietch said Profile Manager delivers real contextualized information that can be fed into a provider's CRM (define) application to provide more Web services to specific types of customers.

For third-party application developers, this federated view will allow them to push new products and services to telecom customers directly -- rather than having to pull account information from multiple sources to find their target audience.

HP also unveiled its Service Governance Framework (SGF), an application built on the service-oriented architecture (SOA) (define) technologies of HP's Service Delivery Platform 2.0.

The technology provides a single framework that enables operators to integrate telecom, Web and enterprise resources into converged services.

SGF features a registration portal, which third-party developers can use to securely integrate Web 2.0 services -- like an ever-growing catalog of communications mashups, real-time policy enforcement and a change-of-contracts facility between applications and services.

"It shields the complexity of the underlying communications but provides the enabling tools third-party developers need to build these mashups for service provider networks," Dietch said. "It provides a means to register and manage all these third-party developers. Otherwise, all these third-party applications can really run amok and cause catastrophic problems for these providers."

Establishing the proper governance and security protocols for wireless carriers will be an increasingly important after the government awards the rights to the much-coveted 700MHz spectrum currently up for grabs.

Regardless of which provider ultimately lands the spectrum rights, a good portion of the spectrum will be reserved for an open-access platform that would allow consumers to connect any legal device or software to the network.

"One of the facets of this auction is that certain service providers will need to open up their network to all comers," Dietch said. "They're going to need a secure, controllable mechanism to manage all these third-party applications and devices."
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cabelas

Cabela's Shares Fall on Warning

Jan 30 2008 7:42PM EST

Shares of Cabela's Inc. fell on Wednesday, after the recreational gear retailer warned fourth-quarter earnings would miss expectations amid a weak retail environment.

Cabela's, based in Sidney, Neb., said earnings will miss analyst predictions and sales at stores open at least one year, a key metric known as same-store sales, will fall 5.9 percent.

The company said revenue was hurt by a challenging consumer environment and added it will "significantly slow" retail expansion and focus on improving the profitability of existing operations.

Consumers have cut discretionary spending, weighed down by a weak housing market, tighter credit standards as well as high food and gasoline prices.

D.A. Davidson analyst Reed Anderson downgraded the company's stock to "Neutral" from "Buy."

"While much of the bad news may already be reflected in the stock price, we see little opportunity for meaningful appreciation potential until (same-store sales) trends improve," wrote Anderson in a note to investors. He also lowered his price target to $15 from $21.

Wachovia Capital Markets analyst Ralph Jean also lowered his rating, to "Market Perform" from "Outperform."

"We believe that fourth-quarter sales were impacted by a challenging retail environment, less-than-expected productivity in some new stores and another warm winter," he wrote. "Given our reduced growth expectations and our low visibility into near-term fundamentals as a result of internal operating initiatives and a challenging retail and economic environment, we are downgrading our rating on shares of Cabela's to 'Market Perform.'"

Shares fell 35 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $13.78 Wednesday. The stock has traded between $11.08 and $28.80 during the past 52 weeks.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

topic from : " http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/national-news/ap/2008/01/30/cabelas-shares-fall-on-warning "

Riley

Riley and staff find Pac-10 quality players in unlikely places ... how do they do it?

by PBuker

Sunday February 03, 2008, 10:18 AM

SUNDAY MORNING ... we ran a story in today's O. about Oregon State recruiting. Most of what I wrote made the paper, but here is the uncut version.

The point of the piece is that the Beavers are continually ranked near the bottom of the Pac-10 for their recruiting class yet they've managed to do well on the field.

OSU coach Mike Riley's ability to develop QBs (Derek Anderson and Matt Moore most recently) and send them on to the NFL is one reason that touted Santa Monica's QB Ryan Katz will sign a letter of intent on Wednesday. ... Riley said competing against USC for players is pointless. "You have to understand who you are,'' said Riley. "You have to put man hours into people you can sign.''

Bluechips don't come to OSU. Bluechips almost never VISIT the campus, let alone sign on the dotted line. And that doesn't keep Riley and Co. from finishing in the top half of the conference and going to bowl games.

I looked back at where Rivals.com has rated OSU nationally after Letter of Intent day and it was 51st (2003), 26th (2004), 47th (2005), 43rd (2006), 47th (2007) and 54th (as of Friday) in 2008.

OSU's Pac-10 rankings were 9th (2003), 6th (2004), 8th (2005), 7th (2006), 8th (2007) and 9th (2008, so far).

OSU's 2003 class included TB Yvenson Bernard, who was a two-star (out of five) player WITH ONE OFFER. The three-stars of that group included Andy Darkins, Kyle DeVan, Ryan Gunderson and Anthony Brown.

OSU's 2004 class had two four-stars, if you count JC recruit Keith Ellison. The other was Bryan Payton. ... Sammie Stroughter was a three-star, with (according to Rivals) offers from Utah, Boise St., Idaho, and Utah State.

OSU's 2005 class included two players who had no rating - Victor Butler and Tim Clark - and three four-stars in Ruben Jackson, Edorian McCullough, and Matt Moore. .. Al Afalava was a two-star.

OSU's 2006 class had two four-stars: Joey LaRocque and Gabe Miller. ... Dorian Smith was a three-star.

Here's what I wrote. This version includes some material that didn't make the paper. ...

Has Oregon State recruiting gone national?
Only if you count long-distance phone calls.
Brandon Hughes, who developed into an all-Pacific 10 Conference cornerback, found his way from Bloomington, Ill. to OSU when the late Jim Gilstrap (former OSU assistant coach) got a tip from a contact in the midwest.

A phone call out of the blue was also the catalyst in the Beavers' pursuit last year of running back James Rodgers of Lamar Consolidated High School in Rosenberg, Tex.
Rodgers turned into an impact player for a 9-4 team as a true freshman. He discovered that life in faraway Corvallis wasn't so bad and now his little brother - Parade All-American running back Jacquizz Rodgers - is expected to sign with OSU on Wednesday, National Letter of Intent Day.

Up and down the Oregon State roster, there are examples of players who weren't heavily recruited (James Rodgers had zero Division I offers) or flew so far under the radar they were "only'' one, or two, or three-star players in the eyes of recruiting websites Rivals.com and Scout.com.
And yet, the Beavers keep winning.
Oregon State coach Mike Riley said he doesn't lose any sleep over the fact he rarely, if ever, gets into the living room of a bluechip high school player.
"There's a ton of competition for those guys,'' said Riley. "Like everyone else, we (ital) try (end ital) to recruit them.

"But it's not easy for us to get in on somebody that USC wants. ... you have to understand who you are. You have to put man hours into people you can eventually sign.''
Routinely, OSU recruiting classes rank near the bottom of the Pac-10 in "star'' quality - yet Riley's program has finished third in the conference in back-to-back years, fashioned 10-4 and 9-4 seasons in 2006 and 2007, been ranked in the Top 25 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 1960s and has won four straight bowl games.
No wonder Riley and his staff have acquired a well-deserved reputation for identifying Pac-10 talent in the most unlikely places and turning high school players who have been told they aren't good enough to play for the likes of USC, or California, or UCLA or even Oregon and transform them into all-conference selections.

Rick Kimbrel, a west coast recruiting analyst for Rivals.com, said the Beavers have several major plusses going for them when they roll up their sleeves and scour the west coast, or Texas, or Hawaii, for talent.
- Riley's affinity for developing future NFL quarterbacks - notable examples being Derek Anderson and Matt Moore in recent years.
- Assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Mark Banker's instincts.
- OSU's skill at locating, and signing, players who fit into the Beavers' system, whether it be offense or defense.
- And, finally, Riley's staff is good at filling in the holes with junior college players.

"Not only do they have very good talent evaluation, they get JC guys to be good and that's kind of iffy sometimes,'' said Kimbrel. "For my money, OSU does a lot (with a little). Not everybody can be a five-star. One guy might be a two-star player or a three-star player, with the potential to be a five-star, but raw. Oregon State seems to find those guys.''
Riley can't remember a single recruiting story involving the Beavers and a player on the level of quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who is supposedly the nation's No. 1 recruit and reportedly is considering Oregon.
But Riley can talk about numerous players who didn't announce their college choice on ESPN but made a difference on the field once they got a chance to play in the Pac-10.

Wide receiver Sammie Strougher, an All-American all-purpose player and one of the nation's top punt returners, didn't get a sniff from USC but he helped (ital) beat (ital) the Trojans in 2006.
"He was a good high school player, but he wasn't a receiver, he was a fly sweep runner,'' said Riley. "You didn't see him running comebacks or streak routes but you could see his athletic ability.''
Riley said current OSU cornerbacks Hughes, Keenan Lewis, and Tim Clark were all "under the radar'' guys.

"They developed into pretty good players, but it took a couple years,'' said Riley. "For a couple years, we took our lumps out there.''
One of OSU's best-ever wide receivers, James Newson, had no Pac-10 offers and was headed for Nevada until Gilstrap - who had an uncanny ability to see things on film that others missed - talked Riley into offering Newson a scholarship.
Keith Ellison was a junior college safety who the Beavers zeroed in on as a potential outside linebacker. Ellison turned into an NFL starter for the Buffalo Bills.

The recruiting "experts'' scratched their heads when OSU signed the likes of offensive linemen Adam Speer and Andy Levitre but they turned into Pac-10 players under position coach Mike Cavanaugh, who is also one of OSU's top recruiters.
Derrick Doggett, ignored by the name schools, became one of the nation's top outside linebackers in the OSU system.

"It was late, maybe after the signing date, when we saw him on film,'' said Riley of Doggett. "He was a safety and a wide receiver, and boy, he could run. I'm not sure he had any other offers, but we brought him in as an athlete and we placed him (at outside linebacker) very early.''
Riley said Oregon State looks for intangible qualities in a recruit once he arrives on campus for a visit.

"Is he a hard worker? Does he have great desire? Does he have room to grow and develop? ... the key is in the evaluation,'' said Riley. "You have to have faith in what you're doing and not worry too much about what other people think.''
Banker, the Beavers' defensive coordinator, is a talent scout in the Gilstrap mold.

"He's really, really good,'' said Riley. "He's got a very good eye, but probably more than that, he's got a very good eye for how someone fits into our system. ... it's one of the reasons we've been able to have some continuity, we can somewhat 'recruit to our system.' "
Does Banker have a secret, besides hard work and having a feel for what OSU needs each year?

"We're looking for football players, like everyone else,'' he said. "We look at them in terms of how they can fit into what we do. And the other thing is, it's just a sense or a feel. You look for guys that fit Oregon State University. Hard-working athletes with a personality to them. Kids who are focused. Kids who can live in a small town, because we know the atmosphere you have in Corvallis isn't for everybody.''

Banker rejects the idea that Oregon State is turning leftovers into stars. "They still have to be athletes, players we can win with in the Pac-10,'' he said. "We don't put too much stock into what is written in magazines, or being said on the internet. We actually do our own work. We talk to coaches. We look at tape. We talk to the kids. We talk to their families.''
Gilstrap could watch film for hours, point to a player who nobody wanted, and tell Riley, "this kid can help us.''

But Banker is more hands-on. "I'm not as good as Gilly was at watching tape,'' said Banker. "I get more out of meeting a person face-to-face. I want to see him on-the-hoof. I want to talk to him. Then it becomes more of a gut instinct.''
The process isn't infallible. "I've been wrong on a lot of guys,'' said Banker. "You just hope you're right more often than you are wrong.''

Said Riley, who has final word on recruits, "it's not fancy. We don't claim to have any magic in the process. We just draw a line. Can he be a Pac-10 player? Does he fit? And from that point on, we don't pay too much attention to ratings.''
Obviously.