What's Dell's Next Big Move?
from the play-the-guessing-game dept
A Wall Street Journal article, reprinted at SF Gate tries to guess what Dell’s next big move is going to be. It’s pure guesswork, but history has shown that Dell is very good at taking some random technology product and selling it so efficiently that they drive others out of the market. The article lists a number of companies that are already (or should be) afraid of where Dell is going to jump next.
Comments on “What's Dell's Next Big Move?”
Complete Crap
Now don’t get me wrong, Dell has its place–they assemble very good PC’s for fantastic prices. Their inventory management is top notch. But repeat after me: “Dell is not a technology company.” They aren’t. Name me one technology innovation Dell has made. The fact that they sell computers does not make them a technology company–they are selling widgets.
I got particularly riled up at this quote:
“Imagine Dell being able to put forth a vision for how the Internet should work…”
Dell does not have a vision of anything except selling more PCs, more efficiently. Considering everyone laughed at Sun’s vision of how the internet should work, and Microsoft’s .Net initiative has not exactly been anything to brag about, why would any one care if Dell did try to present such a vision. Not that it matters anyway. If he’s imagining that because of Dell’s market share and the fact that they ship so many systems, they can roll out software/services that become standards, he’s nuts. Dell is completely at Microsoft’s mercy. Their OEM license doesn’t let them do anything of the sort. And if they don’t like it, then (as far as MS is concerned) they can find another OS to use or buy retail.
This one also seemed pretty
“The real question: Is there room in the computer industry for intense R&D from anyone besides Bill Gates, Andy Grove and the Linux enthusiasts led by Linus Torvalds? “
A. Dell doesn’t invest heavily in R&D. B. Linux enthusiasts don’t invest heavily in R&D–they spend time but not money. C. There’s a whole world of other companies out there besides MS and Intel who spend billions in R&D. To make such a statement is asinine.
They are not an industry leader in the technology field. If they were to expand in some areas to try and become a high tech company and a leader, I think they would probably fail miserably because that’s just now what their core competencies are.
Like I said, they’re a great company to buy a computer from. But if this is a reflection of his knowledge of the industry, the WSJ write who wrote this piece best keep his money out of the tech stocks.
steve snyder