As regular readers will know, I am a Hewlett Packard alumnus and a longtime admirer of the company. I worked at HP in the eighties, and with hindsight it was one of the finest periods of my career. It was a GREAT place to work, as documented by books and case studies written about the […]
The Rise and Fall of Novell
Once again one of the great brand names of High Tech has been prominently in the news, this one for it’s demise as a standalone company. This time it’s Novell, Inc. Attachmate announced that it had closed its purchase of Novell, which becomes a brand of Attachmate. The price was $2.2B–not chicken feed, but much […]
Should Microsoft Break Up?
Once again there have been discussions in the press about breaking up Microsoft. Years ago it was the government pressing the issue because of Microsoft’s perceived monopolistic hold on a number of software markets. Now it’s being driven by shareholders, unhappy with the stock’s unimpressive performance over the last decade. MS management is not fond […]
Why is Intel Buying McAfee?
Intel’s $7.68B announced acquisition of McAfee raised more that a few eyebrows, both in the marketplace and on Wall Street. Does it make sense? It’s hard to say at this point. So much depends upon execution, as well as potential synergies seen by Intel’s management which may not be obvious to outsiders. The price is […]
Starting a Software Company in a Difficult Fundraising Environment
Some would say that it’s never an easy time to raise funds for a startup software company. In general, I’d agree. Except for a few brief moments, such as the pre-Internet Bubble in the late 90’s where money was being thrown around like air, fundraising is HARD. There are a few lucky folks that don’t […]
