The local HP through its external PR invited this lady publisher along with a few IT journalists to an event in Singapore. The lady even gave up her other invitation in Berlin just to attend the HP event. The reason for withdrawing her invitation was the lack of budget. The lady was fuming mad and reported it to the HP Singapore office. However, there was nothing she could do. In her whole life, it was the first time that an invitation to cover an event was withdrawn due to lack of budget. The PR firm had to apologize to the lady publisher because it was beyond their control.

I bet the lady would have to think twice if ever she will accept another invitation from HP in the future. Perhaps, before accepting any invitation, she would ask at the outset if there is a budget for her trip.

The merger of Symantec and Veritas was recently completed. Al Ramon de la Cruz, the former sales manager of Veritas Philippines is new boss of the merged entities in the Philippines. Janet Lizaso, former head of Symantec Phils, reports to Al.

Symantec, the surviving entity controls 60 percent of the new company, while Veritas owns 40 percent. In any merger, the acquiring company usually has the upper hand in choosing the top management positions. The top managers of the acquired company would either join the merged entity or get their separation pays.

There’s a synergy between the two. Symantec, a leading security software provider, while Veritas is also a leading storage company and gets a significant share in the backup and recovery market especially in Windows operating systems. I guess Al and Janet will have a synergistic working relations, too.

A local software development company, Ripple E-Business Int’l. Inc. has developed a retail solution called "Developed Barter." The application is specifically designed for the requirements of Filipino retailers. In creating a software application, Ripple was using Microsoft’s SQL but later on replaced it with Oracle’s system.

Why chose Oracle over Microsoft? Well, Ripple was convinced with Oracle’s database expertise and Ripple’s Retail Solution is a perfect match with Oracle to deliver the information. The company believes that technology should help and not add complexity to its business. There are other factors why Ripple opted for Oracle over Microsoft. It’s a matter of choice.

Sony Ericsson has opened its fourth Concept Shop located at the second floor of Greenbelt 1 in Makati City. Beside the Ericsson’s shop is Nokia’s center.

During the opening ceremony last Friday night, I asked Dennis Manzano, the general manager of Sony Ericsson if he was comfortable about it. He just smiled at me.

Dennis, a former sales manager at Nokia before joining Sony Ericsson, was proud that Sony Ericsson was doing well in terms of revenue performance in the first half of the year. As the number two branded mobile phone in the Philippines, next to Nokia, Sony Ericsson’s strategy to stay competitive in the market is to keep on introducing high-quality handsets that will make its users more excited.

Another innovation is the new Sony Ericsson Walkman W800i. The company decided to brand a line of phones with Walkman because the Walkman name is instantly recognized worldwide as being synonymous with music on the move.

It was strategic decision for Sony Ericsson to brand its line of phones with Walkman. Riding on the popularity of Walkman, Sony Ericsson could perhaps attract more customers over other brands.

That’s IT for this week!