IBM: In decline?

IBM – once a global powerhouse in the technology industry, once a company so big few would dare to take it on. But now, the company has hit tough times, with an uncertain future ahead. Problems with its core businesses and difficulties in advancing their “strategic imperatives” has seen IBM struggle recently. And yet, there are many encouraging signs for them going forward.

IBM were founded in 1911, after modest beginnings, the introduction of Thomas Watson as President in 1926 helped to make the company become one of the biggest. Indeed, by the 1970s, they had a stranglehold over several markets, where often firms wouldn’t dare take them on.

Having had the pleasure recently of attending their London South Bank base in London, United Kingdom, I came away with negative thoughts. Having met their staff, there seemed to overall be a lack of enthusiasm. The firm has been declining in previous years. They have five “strategic imperatives” – cloud, analytics, social, mobile and security. These are all areas that are heavily competitive. While at one point IBM would easily win any battle with competitors, it is not that way anymore.

An example of this the major own goal IBM recently scored involving a $600M contract with the Central Intelligence Agency, better known as the CIA. The CIA were offering the huge contract to a firm to help with their cloud and data storage. This was considered the “backyard” of IBM. Not many companies staged a bid for the contract in anticipation of an easy win for IBM, but it was far from the truth. Instead, despite IBM offering a much cheaper quote than eventual winners Amazon, there were grave concerns over IBM. Amazon – relatively novices in the cloud industry, secured the contract, which was an embarrassing moment for IBM.

The concern is that if IBM are unable to secure these big contracts, there is little hope for them going forward. The CIA contract is not alone, and despite impressive-looking partnerships/alliances with Apple and Twitter, there is no masking over the fact IBM are in a slow decline. But is the decline terminal?

IBM have always been a very forward-thinking, innovative firm. Virginia Rommety is the current President – it is refreshing to see a female lead one of the world’s biggest companies. In 1946, the company hired a black salesman – eighteen years before the Civil Rights movement. Then they have been responsible for some of the world’s best known inventions – such as the ATM machine, the barcode, and the POS system nearly always seen in retail.

Then there is the Watson Supercomputer. Ever since it came to the public eye in the 2011 US TV game show Jeopardy!, it has been a hot-topic for many. Making use of artificial intelligence, it is set to take the computer generation into the third generation of cognition. But with the Microsoft Azure a direct competitor, will IBM be able to control this market. Long time rivals Microsoft have often had the measure over IBM, will this market be any different?

There are a few more bright signs for IBM. As well as their reputation for innovation, which is likely to see them get out of their trouble, in fairness they are also a business in transition. Moving away from their core businesses such as mainframes and PC’s is not an easy transition – they seem to be managing it well. Then there is their impressive 2014 revenue figure – $92Bn – a staggering amount.

Overall, IBM are in a difficult moment. What was once one of the largest businesses in the world is falling on hard times. While many problems exist though, there are several positive signs that we are yet to see the best of IBM. It will be interesting to wait and see what happens with IBM going forward, especially in regards to the Watson Supercomputer and taking on their competitors. We shall have to patiently wait and see what events unfold.

/MF/
(‘067’)

What’s done is done: An Unexpected Occurance

I had an unexpected occurrence yesterday, as the title would suggest. It made me think. The occurrence was a message from an old friend, after some time which had seen us almost lose all contact, to receive a message was a pleasant experience. This friend a while ago had been more than just a friend, leading me to think in detail.

As I alluded to in the final line, it wasn’t just a friendship. While the feelings never seemed mutual, I always felt deep down they were. I used to care very much about this person, putting in as much effort as I could to try and make them happy.

But it never worked. I wasted an incredible amount of time trying to get somewhere, but it never quite worked out how I wanted it to. Our final meeting I left very sad and disappointed, but excited for whatever the future held.

Fast forward some time and this message arrives. It was nice to catch-up and hear all was going well. Of course, for as disappointed as I was, and to an extent, still am, all I truly ever wanted was for her to be happy, which she seems to be.

This conversation we had could have gone further, it could have potentially been the start of something new. But deep down, I knew it was time to let go; As the title suggests – “what’s done is done.” For as sad as it is, I knew it would only cause hurt to carry on.

We have many great memories and shared some wonderful times. I will never quite know what I did wrong, but since I have found a new, and in my opinion, better “friend.” While it is always painful to part from those we love, sometimes it is for the best. Plus, I am working towards something I truly believe will result in happiness, which is what everyone wants.

The point of this post, is to suggest to anyone who is in a similar position, to take some advice. Like I said, as difficult as it can be, sometimes you have to put yourself first and not live in the past. As sad as it is, some things just aren’t meant to be. There is normally as well someone else around the corner. The ultimate goal is to be happy in life, it is all about choosing those in your life that are going to contribute to this happiness, because many won’t, but some of course, will.

/MF/
(‘066’)

May the 129 people killed in the Paris Atrocities on Friday 13th November rest in peace. It just isn’t fair that something like that could happen. In time, hopefully there will be justice. RIP

A Sad Year for Sport Continues: Athletics Doping Scandal

Sport – one of the best aspects of many people’s lives. It presents the opportunity to be healthy, compete with others, and generally, have a good time. For something that so many people enjoy, and is responsible for the most-watched events around the world, it is tainted by disappointing scandals, which the latest to have arisen concerns the London 2012 Olympics, with senior Athletics figures at the heart of the allegations.

I remember going to London during the 2012 Olympics and being taken aback by the incredible atmosphere. There were people from countries all over the world, all of which coming to London the Olympics – the most watched sporting event in the world. So much time, effort and money had been put in to make the London Olympics such a success, with the games serving up some incredible memories.

So to hear the news regarding a high-level cover-up and doping is incredibly sad. A few days ago, The World Anti Doping Association (WADA) released a report detailing doping, corruption and extortion among some of the leading individuals within Athletics. What appears to have happened is high-ranking individuals have accepted bribes in order to ignore doping. This affects so many people.

The fans and supporters that pay good money to see Athletic events, along with sponsors and of course the athletes themselves’. This more specifically being the athletes that put in years and years of practice to reach the top of their game in time for major events, only then to lose out to someone who has broken the rules. The allegations centre around Russian athletics, with several medals won at the 2012 London Olympics allegedly ill-won.

An example of what has happened within this scandal is the case of Lilya Shobukhova. Former winner of the London Marathon, Shobukhova has been exposed as a cheat, supposedly paying £320,000 in order to bribe officials into letting her compete at the Olympics. A whole host of other Russian athletes are at the heart of allegations, it really is a sad case with so many repercussions.

In relation to the title of this post, I suggested that this was a sad year for sport. This centred around the on-going FIFA scandal. Football – the most popular game in the world, has been also dogged by bribery issues, with the scandal leading to President Sepp Blatter stepping down – something long overdue. Blatter was surely at the heart of the bribery, though sadly it doesn’t look as if he will ever be brought to justice. Again, it is the fans and sponsors that lose out in this instance. “The beautiful game” as it is known is being tarnished by these individuals whose greed ruins so much for so many people, it simply isn’t fair.

Overall, the term “greed” is perfect for this issue. There are many decent and honest people high up in organizations, yet there still is a minority that are too greedy. This is a terrible story, with this scandal incredibly disappointing. To think that the 2012 London Olympics and several other major events both before and afterwards have been tainted, it really is a sad thought. Hopefully in the years to come, sport will be much more scandal-free, but large-scale change is required to achieve this, whether or not it will be done remains to be seen.

/MF/
(‘065’)

Formula One: Time to Change?

Introduction
A simple Google search with the words “Formula”, “One” and “Boring” yields over 2Million results. What was once a hugely followed sport with worldwide reach has slowly been in decline, which looks to be terminal. After Lewis Hamilton once again cruised to the World Title, there have been many criticisms of the state of Formula One. This post shall take a look at the different issues arising and what can be done to combat these issues.

Lack of Competitiveness
A common criticism seems to be that there is too much science involved in Formula One, as opposed to the contest being decided by driver ability. There is such a gulf in class between the top teams and the back-markers. This means that for all we know, one of the drivers racing for one of the backmarkers could be the most talented driver on the grid, but for all their brilliance, they stand no chance thanks to the science involved. With Lewis Hamilton romping home to another World Championship win in 2015, there seems to be no sign of his team Mercedes domination stopping. Before Hamilton it was Vettel that dominated, the glory years were arguably 2005 to 2009, where it was unpredictable.

In my opinion, Formula One should be all about the strategy of the team, coupled with driver ability – no science involved. The best way to solve this would be to give all of the teams an identical car design – engine, aerodynamics, chassis and so on. Still allow the teams to adopt their chosen livery, yet that should be the end of the differences. It would then be more decided by the efforts of the Constructors. However, even though this would make Formula One much more entertaining, realistically it will never happen.

Pay Drivers
Having already alluded to how drivers aren’t given a chance to show their talent, many of the better drivers don’t even get to drive for one of the teams in Formula One any longer. Faced with rising costs, Constructors turn to “pay drivers” who bring in copious amounts of sponsorship money with them, usually with very little ability. The classic example of this is Pastor Maldonado, who has been involved in countless crashes and incidents, yet thanks to backing from his government, he continues to secure drives for high-ranking teams. There again, is a rather simple solution to this, linked to the next problem that will be discussed below.

Rising Costs
There is also the issue of cost. With teams having to find significant funding to be able to take part in the sport, it proves a huge barrier to entry. It has been rumoured that Red Bull and sister team Torro Rosso are set to leave the sport. This would leave just eight teams, the prospect of just sixteen cars running per race is near-pathetic. But given the high costs, it is very difficult for a new team to enter the sport. It leads the teams to desperate measures – among which the pay drivers, which hardly works because they are unable to consistently score high in the points. So there seems to be no chance for new teams to establish themselves’. Lowering costs is a must, it would help solve a lot in the sport.

Conclusion
Looking back to the history of Formula One – there have been so many great moments. Michael Schumacher – surely the best driver in Formula One history has an incredible legacy, while the likes of Ayrton Senna and Fernando Alonso will be remembered for a long time. But for all the great moments that the sport has witnessed, given the current state of Formula One – which is best described as “boring” – not many more great chapters will be added as things stand. Formula One has the potential to be a great spectacle again, but needs to address some gaping issues. But until the problems are solved, it could be a testing next few years for Formula One and its legions of fans.

/MF/
(‘064’)