The Goddess Shines on America

The days of January were not a good time for IBM's then CEO Akker. Even when he deliberately took a vacation to his sunny apartment in Miami to avoid the snowy days in New York State, his mood did not improve one bit.

The former glory is no longer there, and Acor clearly realizes that since Watson Jr., the son of the company founder, left, IBM has begun to fail to adapt to the development of modern society. And this kind of discomfort definitely first appeared when Microsoft was just emerging. Unfortunately, colleagues at that time may not be able to understand it so clearly.

Look, just a Harvard dropout can build a company with an annual turnover of over 100 million in just ten years, and it is said that it will go public in March this year. There is no doubt that Bill Gates will become a billionaire by going public, and he is only 30 years old now.

Such a rapid development speed from scratch was unimaginable at the beginning of this century when IBM was founded. But if it is just a general competitor, IBM, as a blue giant with a glorious history of 60 years, will certainly not be afraid of anything, but the problem is that Microsoft's business field is the software industry.

This is Big Blue's Argyri's heel.

When it comes to the ability to manufacture computers, especially business computers and supercomputers, not to mention Microsoft, even Apple, which is constantly making news, cannot threaten IBM. But the software field is different. Although the company invented UNIX and many products such as business analysis software, enterprise content management software, information management software, and ICS collaboration, the former operating system cannot be compared with Windows 1.0.

Although it is only a low-end version, a 1.0, anyone can see that it is a system completely different from UNIX. It is a system that is extremely suitable for personal computer users and is very popular. As the creator of the first PC, IBM can certainly see this.

Because of this, after many discussions with board members, Acor decided to jointly develop the Internet operating system series with Microsoft. Stealing a teacher in the process of cooperating with others is a very cost-effective deal. After all, Microsoft's current total number of employees is not even one hundred. Comparable to IBM, right?

Faced with the cooperation of "outnumbered and outnumbered", isn't it a matter of time before Microsoft squeezes out all its Windows products?

However, the ideal is full and the reality is very skinny. When the cooperation project officially started at the end of last year, Aker immediately realized that he had made a mistake.

The Microsoft research team, whose number is only one-fifth of its own, has exploded with research capabilities comparable to a hundred engineers!

After all, they are two companies, so this time the cooperation in research and development is of course not based on one product, but on the premise of mutual exchange of technical data, each develops its own product. According to Aker's thinking, it is also a matter of course that once the cooperation begins, Microsoft must be restricted by IBM in all aspects.

Do not cooperate? Of course, if you feel that you will be restricted and refuse to cooperate, of course it is possible. But don't want the pie delivered to your door. When IBM withdraws its self-developed products from the market, you Microsoft should not cry too beautifully.

But now everything is reversed.

Not to mention Microsoft's ability to keep up with IBM's progress all the time. Due to the existence of data exchange, the other party's team of 20 to 30 people still has the energy to notice the detours that IBM is taking. Min's technical department to make suggested guidance!

How on earth did they do it! ?

After experiencing the initial surprise, after two or three months, Acor finally began to get over it.

When the IBM delegation was discussing cooperation with the other party at the Microsoft headquarters, the second shareholder of Microsoft, a Ms. Wang, talked with Benjamin and others by phone.

Speaking of which, when did Microsoft's second shareholder change, isn't it Paul Allen?

Of course, there is no need for a non-listed company to make a statement on the management reorganization, but this matter is doubtful after all. In fact, when the delegation first came back, Acor was a little skeptical, but he didn’t think about it at the time, and he was happy because of the cooperation. up.

You know, this is a crucial cooperation meeting for Microsoft. Since you are the so-called second largest shareholder, how can you just use the phone to talk to the participants on the grounds of the delay of the plane?

Speaking of which, the surname is Wang...

A Kele's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

In fact, the reason for working with Microsoft to develop that Internet operating system... yes, of course, is because management noticed Cisco Systems.

A few days ago, the company that sent out a business invitation letter was directly returned by the other party.

According to information obtained by IBM from general sources, there are three company registrants, Leonardo and Sandy Bossack, and then...

It's really because that person has no sense of existence, otherwise Acor should not ignore that Alice-Wang.

After all, in Cisco's long-term operations, almost all the Bosacks have come forward. For a company that has not been established for two full years, this sense of presence is already resounding.

That Alice-Wang, will it be this Ms. Wang?

Speaking of which, it seems that last year there was a hit film director who also had this name...

A lot of things that I usually don't have the energy to think about rushed into my mind, and Akel suddenly had a headache.

God, Alice, Wang, no matter how bad these two words are, there is no need to have the same name to such an extent, right?

Or are they all the same person?

That was a big international joke.

And, Cisco...

Standing in his high-rise vacation apartment on the edge of Miami's sunny beach, walking into the balcony with parasols, Acor looked around. At this time, the sun is fine, seagulls and cats are flying together in the sky, hot air balloons are in the same color as white clouds, middle-aged and elderly people over fifty can be seen walking leisurely on the beach, and there are also many young men and women with tanned skin. Jog or ride.

What a beautiful scene, not to mention that there are a lot of amazingly large super vacation homes in the distance. Miami's reputation as a wealthy area is world-renowned.

This is the apartment building where the penthouse was bought by himself, and the property management company it belongs to is using Cisco routers and, of course, IBM computers.

Of course Aker didn't have the energy to go door-to-door, but he had heard that Cisco Systems developed with California as its base camp, and its products were used by many enterprises, colleges and research institutes. Moreover, in December last year, Cisco announced that it had started researching a new product called a "switch".

"The speed is really fast. Is this the development speed of IT companies in the 1980s? It is even more amazing than Microsoft and Apple."

This is exactly what Acor is most worried about now, the background of the blue giant is extremely powerful. With its ability to mobilize hundreds of employees at any time to form a special research team, it is not afraid to launch an impact in new fields. The question is, even if it has the ability to develop new fields, what about the speed of development, especially in terms of market capture?

At least, Acor already knew that IBM had basically lost the market in the operating system sector. Although UNIX also has many users, but in the future when PCs are about to become popular, this system developed for the professional research field will definitely become an end product.

And the Internet hardware market...

In just one year, Cisco has occupied a large area of ​​California and the West Coast, and is approaching the East Coast; Lucent Technologies in the communications industry also launched a router at the end of last year in an attempt to enter the central region market and compete with Cisco. Carve up the eastern region together. In such a situation, even if IBM rushes to catch up immediately, I am afraid that it will not get any benefits.

That's why we have to cooperate with Microsoft...

But now, even in cooperation with Microsoft, I'm afraid I won't be able to take advantage of it at all!

"Is the centipede going to die?"

Looking at the charming Miami Beach, looking at this place that is mostly for the rich to retire to, Acor suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

No, there should be a key person among them.

At any rate, he is also the CEO of the all-powerful Blue Giant. After a short period of random thinking, Acor launched a new idea.

Alice Wang, the third founder of Cisco Systems, may be this Ms. Wang who suddenly appeared from Microsoft!

They are all in the IT industry, they can do that, and they are all women surnamed Wang, how many can there be! ?

"But why is it the second largest shareholder? Can her value squeeze Paul Allen, one of the founders?"

Standing on the balcony, Acor took a deep breath.

He knew that it was necessary for him to return to the company quickly and ask the marketing director Benjamin a good question.

Are there any noteworthy details at the meeting site at that time?

Aker couldn't remember what happened to Benjamin when he came back, but he had a vague memory, and Benjamin obviously looked preoccupied. At that time, Aker just took it for granted that it was Benjamin who was thinking about the follow-up work, but looking at it now, it may not be the case.

"Lenny, yes yes, return to Armonk tonight and fill up my plane. Also, tell Benjamin to meet me in the office, yes..."

In this way, a call was made immediately.

A book friend group has been established, Penguin number: 495, 370, 946. Interested friends are welcome to join