IBM tops Software 500 list

A host of smallish acquisitions, including ones by Amazon, Cisco, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and NEC dominated the international ICT market last week.

At home, it was fairly quiet.

* Very good interim numbers from Adapt IT, with revenue up 45.9% and profit up 31.8%.
* A positive trading update from Mustek.
* A negative trading update from Datatec.
* Naspers' Irdeto acquired anti-piracy specialist Denuvo, which works with video game giants such as Electronic Arts and UbiSoft.
* Renewed JSE cautionaries by Cognition Holdings and Labat Africa.

* Satisfactory quarterly figures from Airtel Africa, with revenue up and back in the black.
* TPG Growth, a growth equity investment platform, bought a majority stake in Trace, the market leader in afro-urban music and entertainment.
* The appointment of Richard Roberts as VP for UK/Ireland and EMEA channels for Mitel.

Very good interim numbers from Adapt IT, with revenue up 45.9% and profit up 31.8%.

* Amazon acquired Sqrri, a cyber security start-up.
* Arrow Electronics bought eInfochips, one of the world's largest design and managed services companies, for $282 million.
* AVX purchased Ethertronics, a privately held manufacturer of passive and active antenna systems.
* Barracuda Networks acquired PhishLine, a leading SaaS platform for social engineering simulation and training.
* Cloud computing specialist Blueface bought its US competitor Star2Star for $500 million. The newly formed entity, StarBlue, will immediately become a top five global provider in the unified communications as a service market.
* Celestica purchased Atrenne Integrated Solutions, a leading designer and manufacturer of ruggedised electromechanical solutions.
* Cisco acquired Skyport Systems in a move designed to bolster its hybrid cloud positioning.
* Digi International bought Accelerated Concepts, a provider of secure, enterprise-grade, cellular (LTE) networking equipment for primary and backup connectivity applications.
* Power inductor maker Chilisin Electronics purchased fellow maker Mag.Layer Scientific Technics.
* Ebix acquired the Money Transfer Service Scheme business of India's Transcorp International for $7.4 million.
* Facebook bought Confirm, a software firm that specialises in authenticating government-issued identification cards.
* Fusion purchased the software, intellectual property and customers of privately held IQMax, a pioneer in developing secure messaging, enterprise data integration and advanced cloud communications solutions.
* GoDaddy acquired Main Street Hub, a full-service marketing platform that helps small businesses optimise their social media marketing, in a deal worth $125 million.
* Google bought UK-based Redux, a start-up focused on audio and haptics.
* HelpSystems purchased Fox Technologies, a solution provider in the cyber security industry.
* GTT Communications acquired Custom Connect, an Amsterdam-headquartered provider of high-speed network connectivity serving the world's leading multinational enterprises and financial trading firms.
* Mavenir, a world leader in mobile messaging and RCS, bought Aquto, a leader in mobile sponsored data and data rewards.
* Microsoft purchased Avere, a leading provider of high-performance NFS and SME file-based storage for Linux and Windows clients running in cloud, hybrid and on-premises environments.
* Mobile games publisher Nazara Technologies bought a 55% stake in India-based NODWIN Gaming, a gaming solutions company and creator of e-sports events.
* NEC purchased Northgate Public Services, a provider of software, outsourcing and IT services to local government and public sector organisations in the UK, for £475 million. The latter was bought by London-based private equity firm Cinven in 2014.
* Technology education services company NIIT acquired US-based Eagle International Institute, which provides technology training and work-process consulting services to clients. The deal was worth $8.1 million.
* Polycom bought VOIP specialist Obihai Technology, a key developer of software and hardware for VOIP endpoints.
* Silknet, the fixed-line operator in the republic of Georgia, purchased mobile operator Geocell from Telia and Turkcell for $153 million.
* Square acquired certain assets of Entrees On-Trays, a premier restaurant delivery service.
* Tele2 bought Com Hem for $3.3 billion to create Sweden's second largest telco.
* Trimble purchased Stabiplan (Netherlands), a 3D CAD/CAE software and building information modelling content provider.
* Vodafone Greece acquired Cyta Hellas, the Greek unit of the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority, for EUR118 million.
* Zayo bought Optic Zoo Networks, a Canadian fibre owner and operator, for C$31 million.
* Tencent invested in Skydance Media, a film production company.
* Wipro made a $9.9 million minority investment in Harte-Hanks.
* Softbank led investments in used-car dealing platform Auto1 ($561 million); and in Katerra ($865 million), a little-known construction technology start-up seeking to shake up the building industry.
* United Microelectronics Corporation has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Micron Semiconductor (Xi'an) and Micron Semiconductor (Shanghai).
* Alphabet has launched a cyber security business called Chronicle that is being led by Stephen Gillett, a former COO at Symantec.
* Qualcomm has been fined $1.2 billion by the EU for exclusivity deals with Apple, but has signed memoranda of understanding for sales worth at least $2 billion with Lenovo, Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications, Vivo Communication Technology and Xiaomi Communications.
* Rambus and Marvell Technology Group have signed a patent licence agreement.
* Stapleton Capital has changed its name to Blockchain Worldwide and will look to invest in businesses utilising that technology.
* Excellent quarterly results from SK Hynix.
* Very good quarterly figures from Netflix.
* Good quarterly numbers from Alliance Data, LG Electronics (back in the black), Mercury Systems, STMicroelectronics and Total Systems Services.
* Satisfactory quarterly results from Aspen Technology, Avnet, Celestica, Comcast, Lantronix, Microsemi, Rogers Communications (back in the black) and Verizon.
* Mediocre quarterly results from Bharti Airtel, LG Display, Siliconware and UMC.
* Mixed quarterly figures from AudioCodes, Crown Castle International, F5 Networks, Flex, Logitech International, Quality Systems, Software AG, TI and Xilinx, with revenue up but net income down; and from Cree, L-3 Technologies and Tessco Technologies, with revenue down but net income up.
* Quarterly losses from 8x8, Amphenol, AVX, Cabot Microelectronics, CommVault Systems, Datawatch, Digi International, Dolby Labs, Intel, KLA-Tencor, Lam Research, Maxim Integrated Products, MicroStrategy, Mitek, TE Connectivity, Teradyne and Western Digital.
* The appointments of Daren Baythorpe as CEO of ITS (UK); Brian Crutcher as CEO of TI; Patrick Dennis as CEO of Quantum; Brent Shafer as CEO of Cerner; Rich Templeton as chairman of TI (was CEO); Tom Wilkinson as CEO of Xplore; and Meg Whitman as CEO of NewTV.
* The resignation of Steve Smith, CEO of Equinix.
* The departures of Andrea Ayers, president and CEO of Convergys, and Giuseppe Recchi, deputy chairman of Telecom Italia.
* A planned IPO from German social trading platform Ayondo on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) this year.

EMEA/Africa:
* The EMEA traditional PC market (desktops, notebooks and workstations) recorded slight growth in Q417, with the market going positive (+1.2%) and totalling 20.9 million units, according to IDC.
* Annual spending on digital transformation (DX) initiatives in the META region is set to top $38 billion by 2021, according to IDC.

Worldwide:
* The global market value for 3D sensing technology, which has caught attention since Apple unveiled iPhone X with face-recognition functionality, will increase to between $9 billion and $10 billion by 2020, according to Digitimes Research.
* Global shipments of AIO (all-in-one) PCs were estimated to surge 3% on year to 13.92 million units in 2017, according to Digitimes Research.
* Samsung Electronics and Apple remained the top two semiconductor chip buyers in 2017, representing 19.5% of the total worldwide market, according to Gartner.
* Global spending on 3D printing (including hardware, materials, software and services) will be nearly $12 billion in 2018, an increase of 19.9% over 2017, according to IDC. By 2021, IDC expects worldwide spending to be nearly $20 billion, with a CAGR of 20.5%.
* Worldwide spending on robotics and drone solutions will total $103.1 billion in 2018, an increase of 22.1% over 2017, according to IDC. By 2021, IDC expects this spending will more than double to $218.4 billion, with a CAGR of 25%.
* Worldwide spending on blockchain solutions is forecast to reach $2.1 billion in 2018, more than double the $945 million spent in 2017, according to IDC.
* The total number of global cellular M2M connections will reach 1.3 billion by 2022, with emerging cellular networks, including LTE-M and 5G, growing to account for an estimated 10% of all cellular M2M connections, according to Juniper Research.

* JSE All share index: Up 1.1% (highest weekend close)
* FTSE100: Down 0.8%
* DAX: Down 0.7%
* NYSE (Dow): Up 2.1% (highest weekend close)
* S&P 500: Up 2.2% (highest weekend close)
* Nasdaq: Up 2.3% (highest weekend close)
* Nikkei225: Down 0.7%
* Hang Seng: Up 2.8% (highest weekend close)
* Shanghai: Up 2% (highest weekend close since late 2015)

International:
* A possible IPO from Dell.
* Interest in Pitney Bowes from Carlyle and Blackstone.
* Chinese live-video streaming start-up Kuaishou, backed by Tencent, closing a $1 billion funding round led by the tech giant, and plans to list as soon as this year.

Africa:
* MTN Uganda's licence renewal.

South Africa:
* The outcome of Cognition's B-BBEE transaction.

Towards the end of each year, Software Magazine produces its Annual Software 500 listing. The latest list, which was published at the end of 2017, includes the rankings of the largest software and software services companies. The top 10 in the list are (in ranking order): IBM, Microsoft, HP, HPE, Accenture, Oracle, Ericsson, SAP, Apple and Tata Consultancy.

New entrants in the list and in the top 100 include (alphabetically): Activision Blizzard, ADP, Brocade Communications Systems, CDK Global, CSRA, Engility, Fitbit, Logitech International, QuintilesIMS, ScanSource and Sopra Steria.