back to article DXC Technology exec: What should our brand be known for?

DXC Technology exec veep and GM of the Build division Ed Ho says the organisation has yet to "define its brand" more than two years after the new corporate entity lurched into being. Ho, who runs the strategic front-end unit of DXC – which provides professional, advisory and consulting services – was addressing his staff at a …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Redundancies, cost cutting, job insecurity, poor customer service.....

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      The ability to take individual products that are good and turning them into systems or "updated products" that simultaneously suck and blow.

      Any redeeming qualities of said products will be outweighed by support/consulting staff who appear bamboozled by the customers intention to use their products.

  2. Pascal Monett Silver badge
    Thumb Down

    Whaa, whaa, whaa

    "DXC is losing ground to rivals integrators in 'digital programmes' by 'not getting its share of the wallet spend'"

    As far as I'm concerned, if you're getting something it's already more than the share you deserve.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Whaa, whaa, whaa

      At least he's admitted the problem. Corporates don't keep their funds in their wallets. Asking for a whip round after a sales pitch won't provide much in the way of fees.

  3. jake Silver badge

    Who?

    Never heard of 'em.

    1. Pascal Monett Silver badge

      Re: Who?

      Don't worry about it, there's barely been a whisper about them.

      1. jake Silver badge

        Re: Who?

        Thank you for helping to provide the advertising they were obviously trolling for. Please wipe your feet before re-entering the virtual bar & grill. Ta.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Greed

    Running the company into the ground by relentless cost cutting to preserve the share price so that the CEO can get his bonuses.

    1. Moomin

      Re: Greed

      Preserve the share price???

      It's halved in the last 2 years, how Mike Lawrie is still in a job is beyond me!!

      1. neilo

        Re: Greed

        When you are CEO, chairman of the board AND get your steak cut up for you, who is there to hold you accountable?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Greed

          The person who chews your food for you.

        2. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

          Re: Greed

          The chef.

  5. SVV

    What should DXC's brand be recognised for?

    The company that can't even decide what is good about itself. ff their own presumably well paid top brass don't know, and can't express it clearly, then how can anyone else be expected to take them seriously?

  6. Rameses Niblick the Third Kerplunk Kerplunk Whoops Where's My Thribble?

    Can't we just...

    ...have the poo emoji and call it job done? It can even be the one with a smiley face if they feel it needs to be 'friendlier'.

  7. highdiver_2000

    Without reading the article,

    The art of firing your staff.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    DXC defining their brand - Isn't is a bit late?

    DXC started trading in April 2017 and it's only now, more than two years later, deciding on their brand? It's all a little late in the day.

    From the article: "Namely, what do we want to be recognised for, and what are our differentiating capabilities." That is NOT a brand. Brands are not products, or logos for that matter - it's more about how customers feel about an organisation. Mind you, HPE thought their empty green rectangle was their brand so the organisation has form in this area.

    Yes DXC, you do need to decide what do you want to be recognised for, and what are your differentiating capabilities. Problem is, your realisation that you need to do this may have come too late to save you.

    1. Jay Lenovo

      Re: DXC defining their brand - Isn't is a bit late?

      To paraphrase:

      "Now that we've stirred and whipped what's left of you guys and exhausted our own effectual leadership, What do you think we should do?"

      Things are out of order. You ideally should have had this conversation while your staff experience was still strong. Now you decide to initiate this internal crusade with the leftovers and green seedlings of your last purge.

  9. Sir Runcible Spoon
    Coat

    On what scale?

    They say they scored 4.7/7 (out of seven??)

    I'm fairly sure that if it were on a scale of 1-10 they would probably get lower.

    1. sal II

      Re: On what scale?

      It's a pretty low bar, 5 means they are on par with the competition, which seems about correct, it being:

      IBM GTS

      Capita

      WiPro

      TCS

  10. Scoured Frisbee

    * Redundancy: it's not just for data anymore

    * DXC: "nothing" is our middle name

    * When everyone says it's impossible, DXC will take your cash up front

    * It's not witchcraft, we're sinkimg

    * Testing contract law since 2017

    * Good, fast, cheap: we've heard of them

    * Now offering flexible timetables for your projects

    1. noboard

      "* Good, fast, cheap: we've heard of them"

      I would go with:

      Good, fast, cheap. Pick one, as long as it's not good... or cheap... and fast is looking dodgy too.

    2. Korev Silver badge
      Pint

      I enjoyed that, a pint for Scoured Frisbee...

  11. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

    !Spartacus Strategy to the rescue!

    We at !Spartacus Strategy have read the above comments, so you don't have to. And we have produced our Professional Informational Selectorial Synthesis - or PISS[TM] - to allow you to cut through the corporate information overload, maximise your temporal synergies and leverage our world-leading strategic expertise.

    Our core values for DXC are:

    1. Strategically rightsizing employee asset overhead, in a forward looking way to enhance shareholder value and optimise C-suite bonus levels. This will done via the power of Job Insecurity. Reducing staff numbers, thus expenditure, will also leverage the remaining human resources' fear of further headcount reductions into improved performance.

    2. The customer does not want excitement or high input of management resources into their IT projects. What they require is competence and simplicity. Thus we differentiate ourselves from our rivals by actually completing IT projects to the clients' specification in a reasonably timely manner - with as little drama as possible. We will also base our marketing strategy on this, and will thus trademark the ZZZ[TM] branding and use it in all our customer and market communicationz. From now on calmnezz will be our watchword, zimplizity and calmnezz - even boredom - and we will uze these "zeds" to enhanze our commnicationz and create market buzz.

    3. The above goalz will enable uz to rapidly increase both sales and profitability - by the synergization of marketing, salez, buzz, competenze and employee inzentivization and lead to the Rapid Acquisition of Gold.

    Thus I give you our new corporate value statement! - JIZZZRAG

    1. A. Coatsworth Silver badge
      Thumb Up

      Re: !Spartacus Strategy to the rescue!

      Is มาลัย (which means 'Garland of Flowers' in Thai), involved in anyway in this strategy statement?

      1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

        Re: !Spartacus Strategy to the rescue!

        Due to a performance under-run by our trademark consultants, we were initially sued by ¡Bong! Enterprises for our use of the exclamation mark. But matters were settled during an elevator pitch involving some nipple clamps, Swarfega and a live badger. Whilst I'm not at liberty to divulge the contents of this agreement, I vehemently deny the scurrilous rumours about this matter and am in a position confirm that the badger eventually recovered.

        1. ComplianceQueen

          Re: !Spartacus Strategy to the rescue!

          but no badgers were harmed during the course of the elevator pitch? need something to feed to the hounds

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    My suggestion

    Dad's Army

  13. Stoneshop

    Each year, DXC asks PWC to run an evaluation of its services

    Ah, the blind leading the blind.

    1. zb

      Re: Each year, DXC asks PWC to run an evaluation of its services

      In the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king.

      1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

        Re: Each year, DXC asks PWC to run an evaluation of its services

        Maybe, but in the land of the brain-dead the blind man is emperor.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Each year, DXC asks PWC to run an evaluation of its services

        In the land of DXC, the king is a right one eye.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Don't eXpect Competence

    Don't eXpect Competence

    Do eXpect Crap

    Dont eXpect a Career

    Double eXeutive Compensation

    take your pick

    1. James Anderson

      Re: Don't eXpect Competence

      "Digital" eXcuses Cr*p

    2. neilo

      Re: Don't eXpect Competence

      Don't eXpect Compensation

    3. sanmigueelbeer
      Happy

      Re: Don't eXpect Competence

      Double Xross Corp

    4. Paul 33

      Re: Don't eXpect Competence

      Delivering eXtreme Cuts

    5. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

      Re: Don't eXpect Competence

      I know some good people who, last I checked, were still with DXC. But they're members of small, specialized teams, little islands of quality in a sea of dreck. (In my own experience, the standard approach at DXC is "fail, but slowly".) I imagine they won't be with DXC for much longer - they'll be tempted away or forced out, if they don't just quit in disgust.

  15. Belperite

    DXC marketing statement on their brand: Not great, not terrible.

  16. Chairman of the Bored

    Just need three partners...

    Dewey, Phuckum, and Howe, LLC

    DXC -> DPH

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

      Re: Just need three partners...

      I thought the old law firm of Bodgitt & Scarper would be equally appropriate...

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Just need three partners...

        Bodgitt & Scarper are builders. The original name of Carillion.

        You may be thinking of Sue, Grabbitt and Runne.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    from one of the ancestors

    Someone decided it would be an idea to come up with some "motivational" posters but they got removed from some offices after the official text was replaced...

    Cowboys Selling Computers

    Cowboys Screwing Customers

    Cannot Stand Customers

    Comprehensively Shafting Customers

    Completely Shafting Colleagues

    Exactly which ancestor is left to the reader to work out...

    1. Admiral Grace Hopper

      Re: from one of the ancestors

      The other ancestor was little better.

      Every Day Sucks

      Enthusiasm Deficiency Syndrome

      Evenly Distributed Shit

      1. Cartimand

        Re: from one of the ancestors

        I can recall "Behind every mess - there's EDS".

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: from one of the ancestors

      You forgot Cock Sucking Cunts

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Management decision

    Its down to management direction to decide what DXC stands for.

    I don't know why Ho doesn't know what that is, he's close to the fire on that one.

    Its quite clearly stated to investors on Day One.... maximizing shareholder value and returning several billion to investors.... aka asset strip.

    What are the assets they are stripping? This comprises of two main things:

    1) The most important asset a company has - its employees

    2) The second most important asset a company has - its contracts with its customers.

    If it wasn't for those pesky customers demanding services from DXC and therefore the requirement to hire staff to service those customers, the books would look excellent! Cheeky customers, expecting service that they pay for.

    Its not an IT services company, its a solely a financial vehicle. It has no ambition to be an IT services company.

    They've cut through the flesh, through the bone too and the only thing that remains remarkable is that there seemingly is a third place in this old analogy and they are cutting through that too. Gotta give them credit for pushing the boundaries somewhere I guess.

    1. neilo

      Re: Management decision

      You have it so right.

      If it weren't for those outrageous customer expectations that DXC actually supply services, then DXC wouldn't have to employ those wasteful cost-centers known as employees.

      If only customers got with the program and simply paid vast amounts of cash to DXC without any expectations of anything in return then DXC's would would be a much better place.

      1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

        Re: Management decision

        neilo,

        Unfortunately the customers who like to pay large amounts of money with no expectation of anything in return have already been taken by Capita...

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "For example, do we want to be known for price, or for quality or having superior functional solutions."

    Wonderful. Customers can choose...ahem...either price OR quality OR something that barely works. What you want more than one? You should be spanked you Oliver Twist.

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The Digital (D) Transformation (X) for the Client (C) ?!?

    What they do is destroy well skilled and motivated people, suck them of all their moral, do not perform any upkeep on skills and then cast them aside as the age. The leave their former workers destitute and desperate with no prospect or ability to find another job ... because they have no recent trade skills to offer and all their certifications have expired.

    Anyone that remains has to deal with their exasperated and rather idiotic customers who ask for the sun, moon and stars on a regular basis but offer no information or configuration in return.

    on reflection

    They take good people and destroy their mental wellbeing ... that is what DXC do. The greying, hollowed husks of formerly excellent technicians and engineers now roam LinkedIn hoping to be able to apply their old and out of date certifications and experience somewhere that might last longer than a couple of years.

    1. Stoneshop
      Headmaster

      The Digital (D) Transformation (X) for the Client (C) ?!?

      That 'D' stands for Damned or Doomed

  21. smudge
    Coat

    DXC Chicken - because being so bad is no little feat.

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Lost - Season3

    After having just left a contract at DXC, I found the company and its contracting partner to be pathetically incompetent. They are most definately lost.

    It took 5 months to onboard me, as a temp contractor.

    It took 8 weeks to pay me.

    Their terms for contractors are 5 weeks in arears (who ever heard of this for contractors? I have always been paid weekly, at the most a fortnight delay).

    The lifers (employed staff) are dispirited, underpaid and devmotivated, they are all hoping to be made redundent.

    They take 8 weeks to renew or extends a contract, I have seen people leave site and have their accounts locked because the renewal is still with 'head office'

    They strip down the on site staff delivering the service to a bare minimum which results in poor service and stress for the workforce.

    Essentially they act like Michael Douglas in Wall Street, Win the deal, strip the assets, sack the employees, walk away with profit for exec's. Slash and burn methodology.

    I will not take a contract with DXC ever again.

    1. neilo

      Re: Lost - Season3

      Contractor terms ar in arrears 5 weeks? You got of lightly; here in the US our contractors were paid 90 days in arrears from the invoice due date. So when a contractor / external partner was developing a minor piece of code - say, the entire credit card processing part - and their invoices were not paid at 30 days, then they, to the great delight of our customers, simply stopped working.

      In once case, this caused the sudden postponement of a go-live.

      Now, we all welcomed the extra time to complete the project to the customer's satisfaction, so there was a silver lining there. But it was poorly handled; DXC didn't tell our section that this was the policy; it certainly didn't tell the external partners. The contractors may have known; not sure.

    2. GrumpenKraut
      Devil

      Re: Lost - Season3

      > ... devmotivated ...

      Is this a DevOps thing?

      1. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

        Re: Lost - Season3

        Is this a DevOps thing?

        Looks like DXC is motivating the devs right out the door.

        Which makes sense, I suppose. DevOps is a portmanteau of "development" and "operations", and excision is one of the most common types of operation. "We were able to remove 5000 developers with good margins and no complications."

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What planet is Ho living on?

    DXC have perfectly reasonable "brands" already:

    BRAND new graduates to replace the thousands of experienced staff kicked out to feed shareholders and executive bonuses.

    BRAND new data centers to replace those sold off under the corporate strategy of real-estate downsizing.

    BRAND new second house for Mikey.

    BRAND new exit contracts as failing services force customers to drop DXC at the earliest chance.

    BRAND new Chief Executives because Mikey has fired all the others for questioning his master plan.

  24. adam payne

    "Not only do we have work to do but we also need to define our brand. Namely, what do we want to be recognised for, and what are our differentiating capabilities. For example, do we want to be known for price, or for quality or having superior functional solutions. We've got to be able to establish that."

    Well if you don't know then doomed is the only word that is going to define your business.

  25. Aristotles slow and dimwitted horse

    Ummm...

    As they still retain some part of the HP DNA, they could simply re-imagine, re-brand or rehash some of the old HP marketing materials to be "at DXC, we're not satisfied until you're not satisfied."

  26. trevorde Silver badge

    New taglines

    DXC - at least we're not IBM!

    DXC - mostly better than Capita!

  27. Mr Dogshit

    Ho Ho Ho!

  28. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

    Overwhelming Quality Counts and Has Always Provided Leads and Leaderships?

    I'd go for having quality superior functional solutions as a practical means to virtual ends.

    And it may be the case that such a facility would prove itself almighty empowering. Quite whether of an Autonomous Disposition or Not, is Oft to Appear in a Quandary for Quarry IT is Mining and Processing.

  29. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    hmmm...DXC

    Crapita without the bells and whistles?

  30. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    DXC - now to be pronounced Dixie Chicks

    We're pleased to announce that DXC has entered into a marketing tie-up with well-known country band, The Dixie Chicks. To all our clients, I Can Love You Better if you welcome us with Loving Arms. We'll analyse your IT estate and give you a report saying There's Your Trouble. Then we'll take over the running of your IT so that Tonight the Heartache's on Me.

    Remember, the grass ain't greener, it's bluer™

  31. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Doesnt eXecute Competently

    That is all

  32. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    DXC - YOUR MESS FOR LESS

    or...

    DXC - YOUR MESS FOR MORE

    or

    DXC - YOUR MESS FOR MORE MESS

  33. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    DXC Logo

    DXC Technologies - we spent so much on our logo we have forgotten what we actually do.

    Customers see a big X and think they have had divine inspiration and avoid X (which in most cultures means WRONG or INCORRECT).

    D x C = Do Not Contact

  34. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    New leadership

    IBM was going through a massive crisis in the 90's and being broken up. Louis V Gerstner came in and reversed the trend, preferring to adopt an approach that ita strength lay in the size and scale of the business. It turned IBM around. DXC is going through such a period too; where the leadership has focused so much on cost cutting that it's not realised it's breaking down and losing its standing in the market. DXC needs a new leader to stop this rot before DXC loses the scale it needs to compete. IBM has nearly 340,000 employees. DXC started with 170,000 (50% of IBM) but is on target to have 100,000 soon (30%) IBM. I've experienced the paralysis inside the business where even a few hundred dollars needs to be signed off by Mike Lawrie or his deputy. As an ex employee, I follow the DXC story with the kind of horrid fascination you get when watching a half squashed beetle writhing and wondering when it might die. All of us who have left expect it to collapse in a heap very soon and only wish for its survival for the sake of the livelihoods of our friends and ex colleagues still there. The best thing that could happen? IBM buy the business: get the lot for $20 a share and they'd be buying the leanest IT machine ever created.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: New leadership

      I recall when we took over (or were we taken over by) EDS, we had 302,000 employees, thats a good effort where they have manged to get rid of 2/3'rds of the workforce in a relatively short 10 years. 200,000 jobs just vapourised in the hope of generating bonuses.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: New leadership

        I saw that from the opposite side of the fence.. The number 2 IT services company in the world at the time.. sold out by Ron Rottenmeyer for personal gains to the evil HP. And the fat bastage who ran it.

        Combining hp and eds .. at one point over 320k employees.. before HP inserted their 'price controls'.. and stellar leadership.. couldn't order office supplies.. nix.. got a contract that requires you print reports? you have to buy your paper through HP with HP margin on it internally.. then try to add a few points so your account can actually not go all loss..

        Oh and then there's that wonderful new "HP Way".. it's called screw the employees so Mark Hurd can wine and dine female contractors.. fly around the world at the corporations expense and keep sucking on the Oracle One's organ.

        And here comes Leo the loser.. another spectacular flop.. the board hated him.. why did they hire him?

        one of his first comments? "these employees are losers"

        And I won't even begin to start on the Meg.. who makes that other famous Meg on the animated show look like the new messiah intellectually.

        So as someone who has seen the same folks abused for years.. and i still have ex colleagues who work at all these derivative companies.. it's easy..

        HP>EDS for cash and contracts.. thinking they could just cut cut cut and the clients wouldn't notice.

        HPES>HP because HP leaders had zero farcking clue how to run a services business and finally admitted it.

        DXC>HPES easy.. more money for current execs and the doughboy was foolish enough to think he suckered them.. umm.. Mike buddy.. you're not that smart. and your lawyers are even more stupid.

        DXC>Perspecta cuz.. hey .. didn't we use to have a govt oriented division??? oh yeah CSRA.. but we signed a no compete.. BUT OUR NEW COMPANY DIDNT!!!!!

        pure unmolested greed and stupidity at the top of all the companies..

  35. elvisimprsntr

    DXC, a name synonymous with a part of the male anotomy. Already says it all.

  36. Claverhouse

    Perhaps their problem is that they hold 'Town Hall Meetings'.

    1. Denarius Silver badge

      Town Hall meetings

      reminded me more of sleep deprivation studies... while being lectured on how staff should die in trenches so bosses looked good. What's wrong with 80 hour weeks, it is interesting and shows commitment. Sad the PHB class has no concept of individual life.

  37. Denarius Silver badge
    WTF?

    seriously ? He wants libel bait ?

    Just say no

  38. Denarius Silver badge

    suggestion from current acronym

    DX: long range radio reception activity.

    C: To observe

    So a company that observes something a long long way away. No suggestion of anything else

  39. Chbingham

    Therein is the problem. Let’s focus on how much we can extract from the Wallet, rather than what DXC can constructively do to add value to your company

  40. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    DXC

    DXC is suffering with a form of corporate anorexia. With this in mind i think it needs sympathy and patience. Unfortunately the prognosis is not great. But i take great exception at the ridicule that DXC is facing on this site.

    Normally a person suffering anorexia would not be subjected to this kind of bullying.

    Please show some empathy.

  41. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    How is DXC appalling, let me count the ways ...

    What should DXC be known for?

    - their ability to delay any project by a factor of years

    - their ability to buy a product, sack everyone who knows anything about that product, and then continue to charge exorbitant maintenance fees for technical support by people who know nothing about the product they are supporting

    - over-promising and under-delivering

    - incompetetnce

    - their ability to project manage anything to death

    - did I mention incompetence?

    The sooner DXC goes belly up the better.

  42. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

    WHy am I reminded of..

    Irate customer: "Do you know who I am?"

    Waiter: "Sorry, mate, can't help you. Try looking in your wallet, your name should be on your credit cards."

  43. TrumpSlurp the Troll
    Trollface

    Our reputation is our staff

    Just ask any of them.

  44. well meaning but ultimately self defeating

    The world's greatest content management solution

    DXC should surely be known as the only company in the world with a direct feed from its internal staff communication system to El Reg, the real front page of the Internet

  45. fredesmite

    DXC will end up being

    Another talentless IT cesspool of contractors like Wipro

  46. Cronos

    Expensive, bad service and disappearing personnel

    I worked for them for 2 years in a senior, sub-exec role and watched people leaving, being fired and just giving up, left right and center.

    I do not know why customers would remain when personnel are constantly changing and the service is really bad

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