Micro Focus COVID-19 costs: Carry the one, decimal 9 places to the right... hmm. Holy cow, it's a $1bn+ loss

Things seem to be going from bad to worse for Micro Focus: its shares took a bath this morning on the back of a $1bn plus loss, largely due to a whopping goodwill impairment charge made to account for uncertainty caused by COVID-19. The retirement home for legacy software brands was already facing internal challenges, a …

[Roland6]

Complete the transformation to reduce overheads

More than 90 per cent of Micro Focus' 12,000 employees are working from home during the crisis, the company revealed, and just 10 of its 101 offices remain open, mainly in Asia.

Working on the assumption that home working hasn't negatively impacted productivity, it does look like a move to make home-working the normal and shutter as many offices as it can as swiftly as it can is going to be the best way to reduce overheads and maintain margins.

Word to those hesitating, if you haven't got your home office up and running by now (and your local social support network), now is the time to do so as it does look like home working is the new normal.

[Pascal Monett]

Re: Complete the transformation to reduce overheads

Yup. The office rental market is going to take a severe battering, that now seems obvious.

[julian.smith]

Re: The office rental market is going to take a severe battering

Spare a thought for WeWork

[Adrian Bool]

Re: The office rental market is going to take a severe battering

Possibly not so bad for WeWork and the like – occasional meetings and other face-to-face interaction will still be required and companies may opt for using spaces such as WeWork on a more ad-hoc basis rather than maintaining large, traditional offices.

[James Anderson]

Re: Complete the transformation to reduce overheads

So on top of your employer expecting you to provide a smart phone, and, pay the phone bill they now expect you to provide office space, laptop, fibre internet plus pay all the 'leccy bills.

[eionmac]

Re: Complete the transformation to reduce overheads

Never mix business and pleasure as any faults or tracing or resultant criminal actions for fraud, misuse, business intent can be a problem as you are operator and owner by paying bill.

Make sure the phone ( second landline?) or Mobile (smartphone) for business is not supplied by you or owned by you or you pay the costs for mobile phone. Business phones should be supplied by the business and fully paid for by business accounts folk or purchasing department.

This is one reason P R China mobiles can take two SIMs, one for work, one for own use.

Do not do personal stuff on a business phone.

Only allow your home router to be used for business, if your employer pays ISP costs, or a substantial amount of them as an re-reimbursed expense to you.