* Posts by The Godfather

606 publicly visible posts • joined 7 Oct 2011

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IBM offloads customer services biz for half a BEELLION DOLLARS

The Godfather
Pint

moving on...

Sold because undoubtedly it no longer forms an integral part of current direction or intended path. Question here is were others invited to tender for the business or was this a covert 'under the blanket job' with a preferred Distributor/partner? Better still, wonder how customers will see this?

Microsoft's 'We want a Mac look and feel' UK director splits after seven years

The Godfather
Megaphone

press-speak

When companies say there isn't a story......there generally is.

MoJ: Hey, hungry PC bods. Get ready to battle for this JUICY £200m contract

The Godfather
Facepalm

I'm 'armless'

'Come into my parlour' said the spider to the fly....

Microsoft buys Nokia's mobile business

The Godfather
Facepalm

Microsoft got them cheaply, but Nokia is undoubtedly better off without its phone business, one that was crucified by Elop. They can now move off and become a real telecom's company.

This is Microsoft busting a gut, hoping to one day match current leaders - not at all sure this will work.

Redmond's certification chief explains death of MCM and MCA

The Godfather
Meh

Re: Reality sinks in perhaps?

Spot on...odd how they figure this out now...

World+dog left counting costs: Still can't bury corpse of titsup Brit IT giant 2e2

The Godfather
FAIL

I'll have another one....

Says something about the quality of billing and the morass of getting one's head around ownership, liability and contractual terms in this type of activity. Woeful collection rate of book debts here.....

Comet brand yanked from its grave: Tycoon vows to open EIGHTY new stores

The Godfather
FAIL

Bolt the doors

Count me out, as either investor or shopper.....this kind of headline makes me cringe

Management buyout at Hamilton Rentals AGAIN

The Godfather

coming...or going..?

Going to have to remove the word 'rentals' and diversify if it is to survive...

Annus Horribilis for Avnet Inc

The Godfather
Pint

who else to buy..

Tough being one of the bigger players, demands are that much more...

Silicon Valley Cisco reseller charged with $37 million fraud

The Godfather
Childcatcher

Doh...

They didn't.....for quite a while...

Eurozone still the damp patch on Ingram's corporate pants

The Godfather
Pint

munch, munch

Behemoth's like this HAVE to buy to show growth......but for how long?

Worldwide tax crackdown planned against tech globocorps

The Godfather
Paris Hilton

Wake me up if and when it happens......until then, I'll snooze comfortably.

Truth is, many are at it, including major vendors, distributors and resellers.

Going into tech services? It's way bumpier than it looks

The Godfather
Angel

wheels keep on turning...

It's proving very, very tough for established players in traditional IT spheres to change or modify their business model to one driven by services as opposed to product; not just tough in terms of the move - It also requires skill, ability and a sound financial footing and not everyone has all three.

Look out, Lenovo! HP: We're not happy with being a 'number two'

The Godfather
Mushroom

tongue-twister

Love that executive 'gobblydegook' - usually a sign of not knowing what to say so say something meaningless...

Brit telly, laptop flogger Gimmi goes titsup owing whopping £1m

The Godfather
Meh

Doh...

All done on tick and other silly people's money and risk....see...

Oh, and it's off we go again...with the 'unnamed' buyer of certain assets..

Channel veteran Simon Aron rocks up at Viadex

The Godfather
Meh

what's going on ere then?

Looks like the first step to a sale...

How con men snatched £100,000+ in iPads and other kit from IT disties

The Godfather
Mushroom

weakness...

OK. one may lose one now and again but this kind of thing is preventable with sensible processes in place.

I suspect focus has been too often on the bigger sales leaving unsecured space at the back door for opportunists and planned fraudsters such as these.

It's so easy at times, like taking candy from children...

What 80/20 really means: One big failed customer will kill you

The Godfather
Angel

This is not by any means solely a bean-counter forced move. It is sadly a generalized movement to where volume is and not necessarily profit. In the SMB space, vanity in having a major client to talk about, as though it will raise their own profile or cause others insane jealousy is at fault.

A critical factor too is the loss of traditional salesmanship and sales or account management where most time today time is spent producing excel spreadsheets instead of selling or managing teams. Historically, while revenue growth streams were there, it was less of a problem but more recently, it carries a terrible sting in the tail.

Increasing customer breadth delivers greater stability and consistency and opens up new avenues of business activity. Using your clients to tell you what to sell is absolutely critical today.

Surface Pro for enterprise: We name the dates and the lucky partners

The Godfather

Head's or Tail's?

If this does go through just 5 large Reseller's you can bet the margin is wafer thin for them, anyone who buys from them and even thinner for those two chunky distributors. Volume may yield a fraction but will the volume be there? Fair bit of gambling going on....

HP confirms it's back in the smartphone business

The Godfather
Coat

Sigh.....

Something quite wrong when big businesses like this, run by people like that, can make big mistakes and still go down dead ends and blind alley's.

MoD signs Microsoft mega licensing deal for 180,000 PCs

The Godfather

margin? what margin?

Margin so thin it's translucent.....even if supplied directly

HP Enterprise scores major win with $3.5bn Navy network contract

The Godfather
Meh

Hmm

Direct client I take it....

Business is slow. Here's a good idea, let's compete with customers

The Godfather
Meh

Yep..

Bound to happen and is happening...no surprises or shocks there...

Steelie Neelie: One cloud contract model to rule them all

The Godfather
Pint

Go for it...

Sensible move in my view. There are far too many complex terms and conditions floating around that scare the living daylights out of most, considering movement to the Cloud. The current position also allows bigger players to openly 'bully' clients into shady and protracted deals..

Michael Dell: 'Cash in your shares, we are in a mess'

The Godfather
Pint

Go-man-Go

Michael Dell is absolutely correct in what he says...refreshing to find this in one so willing to see the perils of an old style Dell that started, peaked and ploughed the PC fields so successfully. He knows and acknowledges what's happening while others still cling to dying ideals and dissipating activities...nothing wrong in being visionary.

Major Brit IT provider denies turning to fellow resellers after burning up lines of credit

The Godfather
Black Helicopters

Choppy waters...

Is the Azzurri boat adequately sealed or is the the plug ill-fitting and leaking?

Reseller Computacenter LITERALLY smokes out squatters from offices

The Godfather
Angel

Smoke does get in your eyes..

Were the sleeping bags and other bits returned or kept by way of unpaid rent?. Guess this tactic would not have worked a few years back when Gypsies took over the car park of a well known Distributor.

Must give CC some credit here...great thinking and smart move...!

Keltec bemoans spending freeze as sales and profits dive

The Godfather
Angel

Row, row the boat..

They've battled exceptionally well over the years but it doesn't get any easier...

Network Rail axes hundreds of tech suppliers

The Godfather
Coat

Sad, but sorry?

This may well hurt the smaller suppliers but time they woke up anyway. Used to find it disconcerting that small to medium sized Reseller's just 'loved' having a big name or two in their client and debtor base. Often used to make little out of them and to top it all, these big clients pinned them to the floor with outrageous demands they always caved in to.

Tears, laughter and bankruptcy: How not to go bust

The Godfather
Pint

Knock knock..are you there?

Came across all sorts in my time, some unfortunate, some deliberate, some inevitable and some downright dishonest. I've also aided businesses in working informal arrangements with principal suppliers and funders, seeing them through troubled periods unscathed; some indeed went on to be very successful and were subsequently sold.

Failing's not a failing, how you fail is...!

PC market facing worst-ever slump in 2013

The Godfather
Pint

Tally-ho

Fascinated as to why there is surprise or or in some cases, major denial (usual suspects). What has driven lower prices and the demise of traditional ICT product has been a rapid surge in technology and its delivery coupled with an almost insatiable and savvy consumer demand. Add a traditional manufacturing sector with its head in the sand, increased competition and there you have it...no real need for complex or scientific explanations......

Danwood axes 200 after discovering 'accounting weaknesses'

The Godfather
Pint

deadwood?

Lot more work required here....

NetApp: We laid off 100s, profits dived - and it's all YOUR fault

The Godfather
Meh

I'll show-em...

If you make money and are still unhappy, bored, or being accused of doing very little to earn your salary, fire a load of people to show you're still there...simples.

Bumbling fraudsters fail to dupe 'Westcost' customers

The Godfather
Devil

Ooops..

Wonder if their spelling was their undoing... oddly, I just got an email supposedly from HM Customs and Excise saying they owed me £278.89 pence by way of refund...asking me to complete the requisite form to allow the refund to be made.....crude effort but could easily fool some people...

Euro PC shipments plummet into bottomless pit of DOOOOM

The Godfather
Pint

Re: 2013: Microsoft's year of hell rolling along nicely I see

Me too...can't fathom out the surprise though..

Woes continue at Northamber after PC, server franchise breakage

The Godfather
Coat

Troubled times...

Will need major surgery to get this business back into long term survival and growth mode....will the anaesthetist and surgeon be found in time?

You thought only Google dodges UK taxes? So do all the Brit firms

The Godfather
Coat

Nothing new...

One needs check nearer home...vendors and distributors operate similar systems and set -ups, all designed to minimize or zero tax liability.

Esteem Systems bosses ponder selling themselves

The Godfather
Pint

Touch and go...

Easier to sell on an up or a down? Much depends on the buyer and the asking price. Publicly selling your business can have its draw-backs however.....it tends to weaken your position.

HP wanted to offload Autonomy on SAP, says SAP co-chief

The Godfather
Meh

If this isn't a for sale sign, I don't know what is

Folks were made "aware" that Autonomy was on the block sometime before last month, when HP chief Meg Whitman said during a visit to London that the firm was not for sale. At that stage, Whitman was still saying that HP would go on with its $11bn purchase, despite having to write down its value by $8.8bn.

"We remain committed to Autonomy, we remain committed to the brand, to Cambridge [where Autonomy is based], to the UK," she said at the time.

"It is an almost magical technology. It plays into a big shift in the market, the area of ‘Big Data’, which HP should be in."

'Zombie hunter' task force unleashed on the UK tech biz

The Godfather
Coat

I smell reduced or nil insurance on zombifications...

Tacit, public acknowledgement of 'crack teams' to isolate such firms suggests a few things....

Insurers have been careless and been burnt ...

Insurers, in 'coming out' hope to bring positive reaction from 'zombies'....

Insurers are preparing the ground for lower or no cover at all where debt level and interest paid hits a predetermined buffer...

Got nice list of them myself...

Notebook sales to surge, says notebook seller

The Godfather
Coat

some return....

470K profit on sales of 5.6bn...is that worth the effort? I'll warrant it's even less after this latest fanfare...

Arrow tightens belt yet another notch, vows to shed $75m in costs in 2013

The Godfather
Angel

Hot...

Shedding costs appears a common thread among the big boys...Big loss too for Arrow UK with 2e2. Challenging times and transition.....

Bechtle's double digit sales, profit hike in UK? Satisfactory, says parent firm

The Godfather
Coat

Easy...innit?

It's nothing....really, bit like beating Barcelona 7-0. We Germans don't get excited at expectation...

Credit safety net ripped from under elder IT distie Northamber

The Godfather
Coat

Unrest in Chessington...

Seems a trifle harsh it has to be said given the balance sheet position. Suspect the information flow is not getting to Insurers interim but this perhaps shows how tight they are now getting in provision of cover...foresee tough times.

Fund-a-mental: The real problem with clouds and managed services

The Godfather
Pint

Late payment/funding

Late payment is inherent in any trade on open credit. There are indeed ways to address this and minimize its effect and no doubt the author has experience of this. The more critical element is however how new and growing MSP's can fund growth which invariably requires up-front cost in people before increased revenue streams are achieved. Asset Based Lenders (ABL's) are chewing the cud and not being too helpful at present given the nature of billing.

Titsup 2e2's data centre dustup gave UK users the CLOUD FEAR

The Godfather
Flame

Fascinated by all this argument about 'cloud' and the 'apparent' sudden need to check the financial standing and strength of your chosen partner/supplier.

Fact is no matter what the type of supplier you have and no matter what the service, there is always an inherent risk the service may be damaged, halted or lost. It's really all down to getting the thing right approach to risk management, partner selection and recovery plan.

This is NOT a new phenomenon or uniquely applicable to Cloud or outsourcing

Apple beats revenue estimates but margins are falling

The Godfather
Mushroom

It's life...

Lower sales and lower margins are simply the consequence of other players getting savvy and competing strongly. Monopoly today and in the coming years will be far less achievable.

Mad Leo exit finally clears way for Blighty to love HP again

The Godfather
Meh

yessir

Either halted the decline or maybe a case of others moving to doing and selling other tech.....

8 in 10 small UK firms hacked last year - at £65k a pop: Report

The Godfather
Angel

Wise up..

When monetary loss values are 'touted', it's all about selling the stuff designed to prevent it...

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