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All News Analyses by this Author

Xerox Acquisition of ACS Fits Vision, Execution Likely to Be More Difficult

September 29, 2009

Analysis of:Xerox Bets Big on Services | www.businessweek.com

Xerox's acquisition of ACS really does fit with its vision of owning all aspects of document management.  It is also a much better fit and price than what Dell obtained with Perot Systems.  However, execution is likely to be more difficult, as the ACS business will bring new management challenges associated with a large (and lower end) services business and the synergies are far from assured.

Nokia Best Served by Focusing on Strengths

September 23, 2009

Analysis of:Nokia Takes Aim at Apple | www.businessweek.com

While the iPhone has captured all of the buzz, Nokia still has great strengths in terms of scale, design, and operations within the confines of more traditional and lower cost handsets.  Nokia has invested significantly both internally and through acquisitions in the high end of the smart phone market.  For many years this yielded "brick sized" phones that appealed to only a few. Nokia's execs talk about avoiding a "me too" strategy, but that has proven difficult in practice.

Beware of Grand Master Data Schemes

September 17, 2009

Analysis of:Choosing the Optimal Multidomain MDM Architecture | www.information-management.com

The article adequately describes various Master Data management approaches at a conceptual level.  Unfortunately, we live in the real world where disparate systems are the norm and investment dollars are tight.  From 20 years of being held accountable for implementing systems and processes which drive financial benefits, I have found that narrowing the focus to critical data elements is essential, and that these critical elements must be evaluated from front to back in a company

Salesforce Service Cloud Offers Potential, but to a Very Cost Sensitive Segment

September 15, 2009

Analysis of:Salesforce.com's Service-as-a-Service | www.forbes.com

Salesforce pioneered the SaaS model for delivering software.  The new offering for the Service Cloud could also be a game changer.  Social networking holds the promise of lower cost and in some cases better support.  This will surely be an attractive offering for the smallest and largest companies.  However, there are many small and mid-sized companies that will find open source based alternatives that, with a small up front investment, hold the potential to be far less expensive. 

The Broader Crisis in Math and Science Education

July 9, 2009

Analysis of:How To Raise A Rich Daughter: The Short Answer - Teach Her to Love Math. | www.forbes.com

The issue of math and sciences education in the United States is probably one of the most important long term competitive issues we face.  Not only are fewer women pursuing advanced degrees in math and sciences, fewer Americans are in general and overall performance on standard tests place the US shockingly low versus other countries.  We should not lose sight that we have a math and science crisis in education that transcends gender and has far reaching competitive implications.  

No Apparent Drivers to Quick Return of PC Demand

June 8, 2009

Analysis of:HP chief cautious about return of pent-up demand | www.businessweek.com

Hurd is right to be cautious here.  There are few drivers to force upgrades and cash strapped companies are sure to delay purchases anywhere they can

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