IDC reported in its recent research that between January 1, 2004 and March 31, 2005 the enterprise applications market saw at least 191 reported buyout deals worth more than $30 billion among 2,500 enterprise applications vendors, a newly released IDC study reveals.

"It's a classic case of an arms race to prepare for the future of the high-tech industry," said Albert Pang, research director for IDC's Enterprise Applications Research. "More than $30 billion has been spent on vendor acquisitions since January 2004, and the quickening pace of buyout activities will embolden certain companies while weakening others in the blink of an eye."

This week the domain name industry was shaken by the news about the Popes related domain name registration. Netcraft in its recent research says that it didn't take long for popesquatters to try and cash in on domains related to the new pope, Benedict XVI. The PopeBenedictXVI.com domain is for sale on eBay, with a starting price listed at $100,000. The monitoring agency reported that the "buy it now" price is just $250,000. The domain owner is Total Interest Ltd., a Bahamas-based domain company that grabbed the name in February.

Expanding the industry towards the future can be called the Microsoft's continuing initiative to provide learning opportunities in the technology related spheres, making technology field more accessible to a broader student population. Microsoft Corp. announced disbursement of half a million dollars in scholarships, benefiting the largest number of undergraduates since the scholarship program's inception in 1989. 

"This couldn't have come at a better time for me or my family," said Stephanie Dudzic, a sophomore at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who won one of the scholarships.

In the technology, Cisco Systems® announced new products and features targeted to service providers worldwide and aimed to increase their ability to deliver innovative new services.

Marketing expansion was demonstrated by XO Communications, Inc. this week with company announced the nationwide rollout of XOptions® Flex, its Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services bundle for businesses.

The VoIP services bundle for businesses combines unlimited local and long distance calling, dedicated Internet access and web hosting services for a flat monthly price.

Targeting new markets, Digital River, Inc. announced that it has expanded its operations and international e-commerce capabilities in Asia-Pacific markets. Extending its global presence, Digital River opened a branch office in Taipei, Taiwan. 

Widening the range of hosting related services, Apollo Hosting brought complete website design to its growing list of services. Apollo Hosting President Tamara Field explains, "Our customers have always requested design services. Like most hosting companies, we've provided a variety of online, template-based design tools. But online design tools can only take customers so far. " 

New solution launch was announced this week by Rodopi Software. The provider in new generation operations systems and software (OSS) and back office automation software, announced the launch of its Hosted AAA RADIUS solution.

Hosted RADIUS allows service providers to offer all types of metered usage applications, including VoIP, mobility, pre-paid cards, wireless hotspots and others by communicating allowable session time to gateways and access points. 

New web hosting plans intended to serve the large businesses was launched this week by Hosting Serenity.

Inter-industry approach was demonstrated this week by Verio. The company announced it will host an online sourcing marketplace for Source Global On-Demand. The new service is aimed to facilitate sourcing transactions and tracking for companies in the textile, apparel and home furnishings industries in China and throughout the world. 

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