ORLANDO, Fla.--You may not have looked closely at yourself in the mirror recently, but it appears you have a bloated applications portfolio.
When it comes to companies adding new abilities to their computing infrastructure, not enough thought goes into deciding whether it's really a good idea to do so and what the true cost of that change will be, said Gartner Vice President Andy Kyte. He spoke here Monday at the Gartner Symposium, a hub for information technology staff.
"Both business and IT managers are very happy to engage in the process of acquiring new applications," Kyte said. That has unfortunate consequences once the applications are running, though, he said.
"We're not interested in responsible parenting; we're interested in making babies," Kyte said. "The result: hundreds of orphan applications that wander the corridors of your enterprise, approaching every adult they see and saying, 'Are you my daddy? Are you my mommy?'"
... Read moreIt's not really a secret that Sony is in trouble. But the consumer electronics company is taking some calculated steps to change its fortunes.
On Friday, Sony announced it has hired longtime IBM executive George Bailey as chief transformation officer. He will report to Sony CEO Howard Stringer beginning June 1 as head of the Transformation Management Office and consult with two main company divisions: Consumer Products and Devices and Networked Products and Services.
George Bailey
(Credit: IBM)Bailey served for five years as the global managing partner of IBM's electronics industry consulting practice. His new title at Sony--though grand--describes exactly what Bailey has been known for in his career: fixing the way consumer electronics makers approach the business and help them make money--he even wrote a book about it.
Someone who can transform or kick-start Sony's global business is something the company desperately needs. Stringer has been saying for years he will reinvigorate Sony and figure out a way to get the many different parts scattered around the world to be more tightly integrated. But the results have been dismal: On Thursday, Sony reported its first annual loss in 14 years, to the tune of $1 billion.
Stringer has reshuffled some executives between its Japanese headquarters and its U.S. electronics division and most recently set out a manifesto of sorts for his company during his keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show. In it he said they needed to be focusing on the creation of better networked devices with long-term value and that embrace open standards and green materials.
Bailey has a simpler approach. In his book, "Irresistible! Markets, Models and Meta-Value in Consumer Electronics," he says the key to successful electronics companies involves shepherding innovation and giving customers what they want, from the packaging to advertising.
He has in the past praised Apple's approach to both the computer and consumer electronics markets, and specifically compared it to Sony's. It's a pretty easy bet that Bailey will be pointing out these differences to Sony and trying to steer the Japanese giant toward mimicking some of Cupertino's best practices.
Jim Breyer, a partner at venture capitalist firm Accel Partners, was named to Dell's board of directors Monday.
Jim Breyer
(Credit: Accel Partners)Breyer, 47, will join the board immediately and will be up for official election at the company's annual meeting in July. He will fill one of two slots left vacant by the impending departures of A.G. Lafley and Michael Miles, two directors who announced earlier this year they would not seek re-election.
Considering who he is replacing, Breyer's appointment is useful in looking at where Dell is heading. Breyer's solid credentials as a Silicon Valley money man, where he's invested in 30 Web start-ups, will likely bring a fresh perspective to Dell's board. Lafley and Miles--longtime leaders of Procter & Gamble and Philip Morris, respectively--are representative of the traditional business world establishment, but Dell has signaled that it's willing to try new strategies in order to get the company back on track.
Breyer is on the board of three companies, Wal-Mart, Facebook, and Marvel Entertainment, which conveniently intersect with areas of Dell's business the company wants broaden and improve. As part of its makeover of its consumer business, Dell has embraced retail as a key driver of sales. It's also looking to compete with Apple's hipness factor, and plugging into popular culture and social media as a way of communicating with consumers could help the company in these goals.
Michael Miles and Alan (A.G.) Lafley are stepping down from Dell's board of directors in July when their terms end, Dell announced Thursday.
Michael Miles
(Credit: Dell)
Alan (A.G.) Lafley
(Credit: Dell)Miles, a special limited partner of private equity firm Forstmann Little & Co., has been a member of the PC maker's board for 14 years. He was formerly CEO of Philip Morris.
Lafley has been a board member for just under three years. He steps down to spend more time at his day job as chairman and CEO of Procter & Gamble, according to Dell.
Miles is the chairman of the board's Government and Nominating Committee, and a member of the Leadership Development and Compensation Committee, of which Lafley is chairman. Lafley also sits on the Finance Committee.
Dell says it has already started looking for successors for the pair. The company is due to report its fourth quarter earnings next Thursday.
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