Cisco on the spend

A handful of small acquisitions, including two by Cisco and one by IBM, were the highlights of the international ICT market last week.

At home, the news that SA is likely to miss the latest digital migration deadline was the main local story.

* Mixed Q3 numbers from Net1 UEPS Technologies, with revenue up 9.8% but profit down 0.2%.
* Positive trading updates from ISA and MTN Group.
* Nasdaq-listed technology education company 2U acquired Cape Town-based start-up GetSmarter for $103 million.
* Tel, a privately held telecoms company, bought fixed and wireless broadband Internet provider Jireh Technologies.
* South African companies paid more than R3.64 million for using unlicensed software in 2016, according to data from BSA, The Software Alliance. The figure includes settlements (R1.66 million) and the cost of acquiring new software to become compliant (R1.98 million).
* It was announced that SA is likely to miss the digital migration deadline again.
* ZTE SA has signed a new B-BBEE partnership with a 100% black female-owned enterprise, Saldomax Technologies.
* The appointment of Ian Russell as CEO of Telkom subsidiary BCX.
* The resignation of Isaac Mophatlane, CEO of BCX.

* The appointment of Adil Youssefi as CEO of Liquid Telecom Kenya.
* The retirement of Thari Pheko, CEO of the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority.
* The departure of Ben Roberts, CEO of Liquid Telecom Kenya.

SA is likely to miss the digital migration deadline again.

* Cisco acquired the advanced analytics team and the analytics intellectual property of Saggezza, a US-based data analytics company.
* Cisco also bought Viptela, an SD-WAN start-up, for $610 million.
* ESW Capital, a Texas private equity company, purchased Jive Software, a collaboration software business, for $462 million.
* IBM acquired Verizon's cloud and managed hosting service.
* Snap-On bought Norbar Torque Tools.
* An affiliate of Thoma Bravo purchased Lexmark's enterprise software operation in Lenexa, ie, what used to be the Perceptive Software business.
* Private equity firm BC Partners has launched Cyxtera Technologies, after closing acquisitions of CenturyLink's data centre portfolio and associated colocation business, and of Medina Capital's security and data analytics portfolio.
* Excellent quarterly results from Applied Optoelectronics (back in the black), Chunghwa Precision Test Technology and FormFactor (back in the black).
* Very good quarterly figures from Airgain (back in the black), Arista Networks, Cirrus Logic, Cognex, Facebook, Insight Enterprises, IPG Photonics, Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Paycom Software and Stamps.com.
* Good quarterly numbers from Activision Blizzard, Alpha & Omega Semiconductor (back in the black), Ansys, Axcelis Technologies , CACI International, Charles River Associates, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Cotiviti, EPAM Systems, ESCO Technologies, II-VI, Imperva (back in the black), NetScout Systems (back in the black), Oclaro, Qualys, Quanta Services, SES, Ubiquiti Networks and Web.com.
* Satisfactory quarterly results from ADP, Akamai, Alpha Networks, AMC Networks, Apple, Arrow Electronics, Aspen Technology, Belden, Cable One, CDK Global, Cogent Communications, Garmin, Genpact, Infineon, Inovalon, MagnaChip Semiconductor, Motorola Solutions, Qorvo (back in the black), Siemens, TBK Holding, Telecom Italia, TetraTech, Time Warner, TTM Technologies (back in the black) and Vishay Intertechnology.
* Mediocre quarterly results from Advantech, ARC Document Solutions, CenturyLink, CGI Group, Digi International, DISH Network, HannStar Display, Harris, IDT, Key Tronic, L3 Communications, NXP Semiconductor, Orbotech, Perficient, Sitronics, Telenor and Viavi Solutions.
* Mixed quarterly figures from Allied Motion Technologies, with revenue down but profit up; CDW, with revenue up but profit down; Charter Communications, with revenue up but profit down; CommScope, with revenue down but profit up; CommVault Systems, with revenue up but profit down; CSG Systems International, with revenue up but profit down; CPSI, with revenue down but back in the black; Delta Electronics, with revenue up but profit down; Engility Holdings, with revenue down but back in the black; Gartner, with revenue up but profit down; Global Payments, with revenue up but profit down; Itron, with revenue down but profit up; Investment Technology Group, with revenue down but back in the black; Nice Systems, with revenue up but profit down; Pitney Bowes, with revenue down but profit up; Plantronics, with revenue down but profit up; Quanta Storage, with revenue up but profit down; Rudolph Technologies, with revenue up but profit down; Sabre, with revenue up but profit down; SBA Communications, with revenue up but profit down; Shenandoah Telecommunications, with revenue up but profit down; Teledyne Technologies, with revenue up but profit down; TransAct Technologies, with revenue down but profit up; Transcend, with revenue up but profit down; US Cellular, with revenue down but profit up; and Verisk Analytics, with revenue up but profit down.
* Quarterly losses from 3D Systems, Aerohive Networks, Alaska Communications, AMD, Apptio, Arris Group, Black Line, Boingo, BroadSoft, Callidus Software, Cardtronics, Cray, Diebold Nixdorf, Epistar, Extreme Networks, FairPoint Communications, FireEye, Fitbit, FocalTech, Frontier Communications, GoDaddy, Groupon, Glu Mobile, GTT Communications, Hortonworks, Impinj, Infinera, Inphi, Intersect ENT, Kratos, Lumentum, Mitel Networks, MuleSoft, NeoPhotonics, Orbcomm, Quotient Technology, Radcom, RadiSys, RealNetworks, Sequans Communications, Shopify, Smith Micro, Sierra Wireless, Spark Networks, Sprint, Square, Systemax, Tableau Software, TiVo, Twilio, Varonis, Windstream, Xintec, Xperi, Zendesk and Zynga.
* A full-year loss from Kyocera.
* The appointments of John Kirchner as CEO of Xperi; Yohann Leroy as deputy CEO of Eutelsat Communications; Manuel Medina as CEO of Cyxtera; Sanjay Mehrotra as CEO of Micron Technology; and Arun Sarin as chairman of GlobeTouch.
* The departure of Tom Lacey, CEO of Xperi.
* An IPO filing for the NYSE from Advantage Solutions, a business solutions provider to consumer goods manufacturers and retailers.

Worldwide:
* The worldwide tablet market once again contracted in 1Q17, with total shipments of 36.2 million, a year-on-year decline of 8.5%.

* JSE All share index: Down 0.4%
* FTSE100: Up 1.3%
* DAX: Up 2.2% (highest weekend close)
* NYSE (Dow): Up 0.3% (highest weekend close)
* S&P 500: Up 0.6% (highest weekend close)
* Nasdaq: Up 0.9% (highest weekend close)
* Nikkei225: Up 1.3%
* Hang Seng: Down 0.6%
* Shanghai: Down 1.6%

International:
* Nokia selling its undersea cables business.

Africa:
* Viettel Global, the international subsidiary of Vietnamese telecoms company Viettel Group, entering Nigeria.

South Africa:
* The possible establishment of two new state-owned ICT companies.

The UK's Financial Times recently published its inaugural ranking of Europe's fastest growing companies, ie, its FT1000. The rankings are determined by revenue growth between 2012 and 2015. Included in the top 100, from a technology perspective, are:
* 3: Green IT Das Systemhaus (Germany)
* 6: Black Swan Data (UK)
* 7: Optal (UK)
* 17: Roc Technologies (UK)
* 18: UKCloud (UK)
* 21: iZettle (Sweden)
* 26: Nervecentre (UK)
* 28: Xovis (Switzerland)
* 33: Sixsentix (Switzerland)
* 46: Epos Now (UK)
* 51: Matooma (France)
* 61: Aquila Insight (UK)
* 64: Fairsail (UK)
* 69: Consorzio delle Technologie (Italy)
* 72: MyElefant (France)
* 83: Ecrebo (UK)
* 84: Winfin Sistemas (Spain)
* 89: Brandon Ferrari (Italy)
* 97: Actility (France)