Unabashedly Waxing Poetic on Apple From a User’s Standpoint

I started using Macs when they were powered by the Motorola 68000′s and Berkeley Breathed anthropomorphized one in Bloom County. Even back then, in the miasma of the awakening WinTel juggernaut and whiffs of Amigas and Atari STs, Macs were considered niche machines. I wrote my first dozen short stories on that little Mac, and after upgrading to a Mac SE/30 I went through high school with that little beige box on my desk. The Mac, and the Commodore 64 that preceded it, were my first technology proving grounds.

Later, because I was a hopeless gaming nerd, I migrated to Windows PCs for a stint. I built my own rigs. I spec’ed my own motherboards, hard drives, RAM chips, cases, power supply and garish-colored fans. When GPUs were invented, I pored over every polygon each had the potential to push. I had become a full-on hardware nerd.

My stay on the Windows side of thing lasted longer than I expected, because that happened to be the same time Steve Jobs was exiled from Apple and John Sculley began his seemingly-intentional grounding of the company into any rocky shore he could find. The Windows PC era was in full bloom, and nobody outside really dedicated typesetting/design studios ever thought about Macs again. Everyone thought Apple had been relegated into insignificance; Michael Dell even suggested that Apple should sell the stock back to shareholders and ‘shut the company down’.

In the early 2000′s, as real life became more real and I wasn’t spending my nights fragging strangers in Rocket Arena 3, I was looking for a more elegant computing setup. My giant, power-sucking, room-heating beast of  PC was too much, Windows was too boring, and I longed for something new. As it turned out for me, everything old indeed does become new again.

I did something that made everyone laugh at me: I bought an overpriced, shiny, white MacBook. That was back in OSX 10.1 days, when the OS was unquestionably immature and limited to the point of being annoying. It was also during the very beginning of Apple’s real resurgence, a movement that saw the iPod give way to the iPhone, and the introduction of what many argue is the new modern-day portable computer: the iPad. It also heralded a bona fide Mac explosion.

Today, I’m Apple everywhere, for better or worse. I have an iMac, MacBook Air, iPhone 4S, iPad and Apple TV. Everything just works. My days of fiddling with Windows and building my own machines have given way to technology that enables me to do what I want, easily, effortlessly. I  know it’s bad form to gush uncontrollably about a tech bias in public, but Apple has done something amazing with itself over the past 12 years, and I’m proud to say I’ve been along for (most of) the ride, through the doldrums as well as the ascent. To me, and from the perspective of the user, Apple is a brave company, one that stands for higher standards and holds a focus on user experience that is in its DNA, as opposed to watery marketing fodder.

A few days ago, Apple announced a historic quarterly earnings report. Even by the hyperspazzy standards of Wall Street analyst wonks everywhere, Apple absolutely showed that it is winning pretty much every battle its fighting. Scratch that — it’s not just winning, it’s dominating.

Apple announced sales of $46 billion. Think about that. Here’s a $100-billion-plus company growing at a 73% clip, which simply isn’t supposed to happen. Sales in Apple’s past quarter exceeded its entire 2009. And this year, we’re looking at the iPad 3, the iPhone 5, probably an Apple TV reincarnation, and who knows what else. What’s for sure is that this momentum shows no signs of slowing.

Some other interesting trivia in light of Apple’s performance:

Data shows that shows PC shipments waning — except at Apple.

Farhad Manjoo puts things in perspective for anyone who can’t get their head around what Apple just announced: Apple’s profits ($13 billion) exceeded Google’s entire revenue ($10.6 billion).

At Verizon, 55% of all phone sales for 4Q 2011 came from iPhones. That means two iPhone models (the 4 and 4s) outsold every Android device the carrier offers combined.

Finally, here’s the ultimate framework in which to look at Apple’s data: it just posted the second-most-profitable quarter in any company’s history.

Where’s Charlie Sheen when you need him? Oh, he’s right here.

Have a good weekend, everyone.

###

More links:

MIPRO Consulting main website.

MIPRO on Twitter and Facebook.

About this blog.

In case of death, do you know who gets your retirement account?

Before answering, think about it. Do you really know? In many cases, this amounts to a person’s life savings. It’s worth knowing.

As it turns out, the rules are more confusing that you might think. Carolyn Geer, writing for the WSJ, provides one such example:

Take the case of Leonard Kidder, who worked at Cajun Industries, a privately owned construction company in Baton Rouge, La., for nearly 20 years. The carpenter-turned-superintendent named Betty Kidder, his wife of 41 years, the beneficiary of his 401(k) account in the event he died before her.

As fate would have it, Betty died first, so Leonard updated his account paperwork, naming their three adult children the beneficiaries of the 401(k).

Eventually he got remarried, to Beth Bennett Kidder, and was on the verge of retiring. Six weeks later, at the age of 66, he died.

When Mr. Kidder’s children from his first marriage tried to claim the assets, reasoning they were the ones named on the most recent beneficiary form, they were rebuffed by Cajun, which ended up asking a court to determine the rightful owner of the money. Under the terms of the company’s 401(k) plan, if an employee dies, the employee’s spouse has the right to the account assets, unless the spouse waives that right in writing. (That priority for spouses springs from federal law.) Beth Bennett Kidder had never signed such a waiver.

The new Mrs. Kidder filed a motion for summary judgment, and the matter eventually ended up in federal district court in Baton Rouge, which this year awarded the approximately $250,000 in the account to her, disinheriting the children.

Geer’s article should be mandatory reading for just about anyone. Mandatory. Don’t miss it. Geer’s explanation of the labyrinthine rules surrounding retirement account assets is a harsh reminder that we all need to stay on top of these things.

###

More links:

MIPRO Consulting main website.

MIPRO on Twitter and Facebook.

About this blog.

Two days ago, Oracle acquired RightNow for $1.5B, and many analysts immediately said the purchase was, for all intents and purposes, missiles aimed at Salesforce.com.

But  how? What does this mean? How to decipher this? What does the acquisition do for Oracle? Won’t Oracle’s ‘Public Cloud’ be comprised of technologies already in Oracle’s stack?

Not exactly. According to ZDNet’s Phil Wainewright (and Larry Dignan), Oracle’s purchase of SaaS pioneer RightNow basically signals Oracle’s intent to go cloud shopping and pick up a slew of tier 2 SaaS players.

With the acquisition of early SaaS pioneer RightNow Technologies, Oracle has signalled its intention to build out its Public Cloud offering with what will likely become a string of acquisitions of second-tier SaaS vendors. I’m in total agreement with my ZDNet colleague Larry Dignan that the official press statement was “basically shorthand for ‘Oracle is going cloud shopping’.”

So who might be on the list?

I’d expect the shopping list to include public companies including Taleo and several others in the talent management sphere, along with ServiceNow.com in the IT service management space and various less well known names from other sectors.

Things are going to get interesting in the next few months. The most interesting part of all of is is the ideological shift that’s taking place: Oracle might not be building out its Public Cloud with primarily in-house technology; it plans on creating it via acquisition. And we all know Oracle’s extremely good at identifying smart acquisition targets.

Popcorn, anyone?

###

More links:

MIPRO Consulting main website.

MIPRO on Twitter and Facebook.

About this blog.

Benjamin Pimentel, reporting for MarketWatch:

Catz, who is also Oracle’s chief financial officer, said the company still believes a 20% earnings per share growth is achievable, even as the company expands. “We are hiring aggressively,” she said. Oracle saw a 14% growth in adjusted earnings per share in its last quarter.

I’ve always thought Oracle’s broad position in the market is its biggest asset — its position is not only wide, but also very deep. It’s the metaphorical one-stop shop perfectly built for enterprise needs. It seems Laura Lederman (of William Blair & Company) agrees:

William Blair analyst Laura Lederman said in a note, “We believe that Oracle’s broad technology footprint is its greatest competitive advantage. The company’s multitude of acquisitions has made it more strategic to IT buyers — many customers are taking an Oracle-first approach.”

I feel Oracle wants to be to the enterprise market what Apple is to consumers. A smart company with tightly integrated, highly-performant products and cutting-edge software mated to custom hardware. Enterprise or consumer markets, it’s all about end user experience. Oracle can deliver that in the enterprise space.

###

More links:

MIPRO Consulting main website.

MIPRO on Twitter and Facebook.

About this blog.

Carolyn Duffy Maran, reporting for NetworkWorld:

The outlook for IT budgets is solid, with 83% of survey respondents reporting that their 2011 IT budget was greater than or equal to their 2010 IT budget. This figure compares to 48% reporting stable or growing IT budgets in 2009.

Similarly, 85% of IT executives are predicting that their 2012 IT budgets will be greater than or equal to their 2011 figures. Only 65% of respondents made this prediction two years ago.

Another positive indicator is that IT budget allocations will remain steady in 2012, with internal staff expected to receive the largest share of the pie at 37% of spending compared to 38% this year.

Also note the outlook on outsourcing, forever IT’s boogeyman in the closet:

The SIM survey indicated no plans by management to increase offshore outsourcing, which has been a fear among IT professionals over the years. CIOs reported that they spent only 2% of their 2011 IT budgets on offshore outsourcing and 3% on domestic outsourcing. For 2012, they are projecting the same level of investment for offshore and domestic outsourcing.

And finally, don’t underestimate this surprising finding regarding cloud computing spend:

One surprise finding was that CIOs are not planning to allocate a significant amount of their IT budgets to internal or external cloud computing services. Although cloud computing was listed as one of the top applications that CIOs are investing in during 2011, they are spending only a tiny amount of money in this area: an average of 6% of their 2011 IT budgets on internal cloud projects and 5% on external cloud efforts.

Emphasis mine. Interesting that despite all the marketing and the buzzworthiness of cloud computing, the pursestrings are still on hold. Maybe it’s a value realization thing — that cloud, while promising, can’t be presented to the C-level in terms of actual ROI yet? Maybe it’s the backlog of IT services that have been neglected over the past few years, so cloud is hot, but not as hot as things that have been on the to-do list for 24 months?

ERP salespeople, take note: there’s still unmet demand out there. Enterprise cloud/SaaS salespeople: your challenge is to prove that the cloud is now, the value is real and time time has come for private clouds.

What’s your take?

###

More links:

MIPRO Consulting main website.

MIPRO on Twitter and Facebook.

About this blog.

Delaney writes:

What I am saying is that I believe in me, and I believe in you and I believe in elbow grease, objectivity and history. Did you see the recession coming? Did it announce itself and tell you the date it would arrive? No, it did not. Nor will recovery. So quit whining. Pessimism is for losers.

So to paraphrase Warren Buffett, whose sterling, brick and mortar, brilliantly run, cash-rich company Berkshire Hathaway was ALSO downgraded by S&P in the past, “American stocks are on sale.” Why not pick some up? I did. And I’m a 34 year old, hard working husband and father who gives a **** about the country he lives in and doesn’t take orders from S&P, CNN, or Congress. I give them. And so do you.

Emphasis mine. It’s a blunt message, but one I think people could stand to remember right now.

###

More links:

MIPRO Consulting main website.

MIPRO on Twitter and Facebook.

About this blog.

Sarah Lacy for TechCrunch:

The real news are the numbers we’re hearing from multiple sources close to the company. Dropbox is looking to raise between $200 million and $300 million according to these sources. In terms of valuation, thecompany has already had multiple offers at a valuation north of $2 billion range, and recently more informal discussions in the $8 billion-valuation range. Our sources expect the valuation to end up in the $5 billion to $10 billion range.

That’s quite a step up from its previous funding rounds which have totalled a tiny $7.2 million.

Great news for Dropbox.

Incidentally, if you need a cloud storage/syncing solution that’s fast, easy, secure and open to integrations with all sorts of incredible apps, you’re missing out if you don’t look at Dropbox.  I literally use it every single day to keep files accessible (and synced) across my Mac, iPhone, iPad and Windows 7 laptop.  How many tools do you really rely on in your daily use?  If you don’t use it already, Dropbox will become one of them.

###

More links:

MIPRO Consulting main website.

MIPRO on Twitter and Facebook.

About this blog.

Without getting academic about it, Vinnie Mirchandani breaks up technology markets into old and new, which mean, nutshelled, traditional and innovation-driven revenue, respectively.  I’ve often looked at it the same way; in fact, one of the reasons I’m linking to Vinnie’s post is because he articulated my thoughts better than I could.  Here it is in its entirety.  You should read it.

Key quip:

There is old revenue and new, innovation generated revenue. The poster child is Apple. The iPhone has gone from zero to half of Apple’s revenue in less than 4 years. When you add iPad, barely a year old, you get even more of revenue which is new, innovation generated.

Contrast this to SAP, Oracle, Verizon, IBM and so many other large technology vendors. SAP has been talking in-memory applications and its BYD SaaS product for almost 5 years now, and related revenue is less than 5%. Oracle has been talking Fusion apps for over 6 years and it only has 50 or so customers. IBM markets the heck out of its “Smarter Planet” projects, but most of its revenues come from decades old Lotus, Tivoli and other software and data centers that often go back to the Cold War times. Verizon spends a disproportionate amount of its advertising budget on its 4G LTE offerings, when that is less than 1% of its revenues. There are plenty more examples in techland.

It’s not for a lack of want that these lip-service vs. performance discrepancies exist; it’s for a lack of an encouraging corporate culture and the fact that these companies must perform quarter after quarter, so radical new behaviors (and sales force incentives) are very difficult.  When there are analyst targets to meet and compensation plans to fulfill, nobody is going to push the avant garde products and services unless the company culture specifically demands they do so.

Another key point by Mirchandani:

It takes an Apple (and historically Intel) to actively develop and launch new products, and not worry about cannibalizing older revenues.

Exactly right.  When Apple designed the iPhone and, later, the iPad, it knew full well that the iPod’s days were numbered.  Think about that.  The iPod – an iconic device if there ever was one – was certain to be massively cannibalized by new products.  Not just new products, mind you, but new products forging new markets.  How many companies would have the courage of their conviction to walk headlong into that algebra?  Not many.

Eventually, as the competitive landscape firms up as it relates to these next-gen products and services, companies will make the internal adjustments based on market pressures.  When that happens, you’ll start seeing the shift from ‘old’ revenue to ‘new.’  And, ironically, my money says the products responsible for the ‘old’ revenue get a new (albeit perhaps short) lease on life.  Why?  Innovation increases the luster of everything in the house.

###

More links:

MIPRO Consulting main website.

MIPRO on Twitter and Facebook.

About this blog.

Eric Jackson, writing for Forbes.com, on what questions he would ask RIM co-CEO Jim Balsille over a cup of coffee:

1. Last month, when you reiterated your guidance that you cut yesterday, had you done any “confirmation” of the numbers beforehand?  Your excuse for cutting the guidance was because you had recently completed some “confirmation” process that led you to cut back.  Shouldn’t you have done that before your earnings call?
   
2. If you did do confirmation before earnings, doesn’t that mean that orders from carriers and customers have fallen off a cliff in the last 4 weeks?  If so, that’s a really bad sign isn’t it?
   
3. Do you know any examples of phone companies who see demand for their products which fall off dramatically and then suddenly bounce back when you release your new versions of your phones that you’ll show us on Monday?
   
4. The new phones that you say carriers are so excited about which you’ll present on Monday – aren’t they based on your old operating system that people don’t like and not your new QNX operating system?
   
5. The features you touted last night for your new phones were better battery life, a better browser, and better graphics for gaming.  Is someone going to buy a BlackBerry over an iPhone or Android phone because of your improved browser?  Is that what has been holding them back?  Also, for your games: I thought your PlayBook just ships with Tetris.  Are there going to be any other games I can play on the new BlackBerries that use your improved graphics?
   
6. Your bullish analysts used to say “yes, the US business is dying but International is going to keep growing.” You seemed to be saying last night that demand is drying up in Latin America too.  Does that mean the US was a sign of what is to come for your future International growth?
   
7. If you did such a poor job predicting your month out earnings 4 weeks ago, how can anyone trust your full-year guidance of $7.50 EPS?  And why didn’t you reduce your full-year guidance last night when you cut your quarterly earnings?  Your full-year guidance was back-end loaded before.  Now, it’s gigantically back-end loaded.
   
8. Last September, you told analysts to “stay tuned” and “just wait” to see the new BlackBerry phones.  We waited and you shipped the Torch.  Last night, you said “wait until Monday” and “stay tuned” for your new phones.  Why should we believe this time will be any different?
   
9. Even though your new phones may seem like a big improvement for you over the last BlackBerries, are you sure that real paying customers (not your employees and friends around you in Waterloo, Ontario) will be impressed?  After all, they’re not comparing your new phones to your old phones when making a purchase decision.  They’re comparing you to iPhone and Android.  How will your new phones compare to iPhone 5?
   
10. Can you name any company where a dual-CEO structure has worked?

Tough – and relevant — questions.  Would make for a pretty tense cup of coffee, I’d imagine.

###

More links:

MIPRO Consulting main website.

MIPRO on Twitter and Facebook.

About this blog.

CFO.com’s Alix Stuart: Business Failures Down, but Not Done:

Bankruptcy has been in the headlines recently, thanks to the high-profile Chapter 11 filings of companies such as gourmet-food retailer Harry & David and bookseller Borders. But business failures overall have been declining, according to the most recent data from Dun & Bradstreet. Formal bankruptcy filings in 2010 were down more than 5% from 2009, while a broader estimate of business failures fell about 13.5%.

That doesn’t mean the economy is out of the woods, though. The failure rate is still high in many industries, as is the percentage of delinquent payments, a leading indicator of bankruptcy risk.

“We’re seeing that the economy is improving, but there’s still a high degree of failure risk in the system,” says Andrew Lobsenz, senior vice president of global D&B risk-management solutions. If the recovery happens too slowly, “failure rates could kick back up rather quickly,” he warns.

Despite the tone of the article, the is good news.  (It’s all to easy to focus on big-name Chapter 11 filings and in the process ignore the larger trend).  The risk, obviously, is that the recovery needs to keep building momentum and not falter.  From everything we’re seeing and reading, things are coming along nicely, albeit slowly.

From where you sit, how is the the recovery progressing?  What are your experiences?

###

More links:

MIPRO Consulting main website.

You should follow MIPRO on Twitter and Facebook.

About this blog.