SGI alum returns as chief executive

Robert "Bo" Ewald has returned to SGI as the company's new chief executive, the company announced this week, replacing Dennis McKenna in the task of trying to rescue the faltering high-end computer maker's fortunes. Ewald previously was chairman and CEO of competitor Linux Networx, but earlier in his career was SGI's chief operating officer.

McKenna had taken over as SGI's chief executive in January 2006, staying at the helm while the company laid off staff and restructured during bankruptcy protection. Ewald will continue McKenna's strategy of trying to draw more mainstream customers, not just the traditional buyers of high-performance technical computing equipment.

[Maccess]

Rescuing SGI

I see only a few ways that SGI can salvage itself:

1) Extend the brand name to a wide range of technology products made by OEMs in China by licensing the SGI brands: Hi-end PCs, SGI Phone/PDA, etc.

2) Sponsor a major Open Source POSIX compliant Operating System (like Novell, but why limit themselves to just Linux, there's also FreeBSD, which needs more hi-profile corporate sponsors). Offer this OS as part of specialized PC based solutions.

3) Review the patent portfolio: Determine which can be gifted to the OSS community and which can be used to generate revenues. Don't be assess by suing everyone with something similar to your patents, give away some patents, but figure out which can be monetized by strategic licensing.

But, most importantly figure out where SGI is today and how it fits into the tech landscape. Discard any preconceptions about where SGI was 10 years ago.