Top 10 stories of 2007: Age of realignment

This year has been a time of realignment and redefinition as Apple launched its second zeitgeist-defining product of the new century, Dell and Intel battled to regain their former dominance, the software sector consolidated, Google rallied industry heavyweights around a common mobile device platform, and major vendors scrambled to embrace social networking. These, not necessarily in order of importance, are the IDG News Service picks for the top 10 stories of the year:

Software consolidation: The big fish get bigger

While globalization has fueled IT mergers and acquisitions for several years, consolidation in 2007 fundamentally reshaped the software industry. Facing saturated markets and nimble, innovative rivals, SAP, IBM, and Oracle have snapped up competitors and partners in order to expand customer lists and acquire expertise and technology in hot areas like business intelligence and software as a service. Some of the bigger deals this year included: SAP's $6.8 billion acquisition of Business Objects, IBM's $5 billion deal for Cognos, and Oracle's $3 billion buyout of Hyperion. As usual, Oracle provided the most drama with a $6.7 billion offer for BEA, which was successfully rebuffed -- at least, for now. While innovative entrepreneurs are bound to continue bringing startups to market, it's getting harder for medium-size vendors to refuse deals with the giants.

Dell reinvents itself
For years, Dell remained the world's No. 1 vendor in the cutthroat PC business by exercising unmatched control over logistics and sticking to its direct-sales model. But by 2006, HP unseated Dell as global PC leader. Dell seemed to lose its way as rivals adopted better supply-chain management techniques, and inquiries into accounting practices forced the company to delay earnings reports. In January, founder Michael Dell took back the CEO reins and the company expanded offerings for the enterprise, increased services for medium-size businesses, and departed from its traditional business model to start selling products in stores. Dell also plans to expand in growth markets globally. Early results are promising: Dell had record revenue growth for the third quarter, fueled by an increase in worldwide notebook sales.