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Technology Stocks : Nortel Networks (NT)
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To: jack bittner who wrote (4835)2/17/2000 2:52:00 PM
From: telecomguy  Read Replies (1) of 14638
 
I think one of the key differentiating factor to look at when assessing whether a company is diversifying into UNRELATED areas is exactly that word "unrelated".

What I mean is that if CLFY or PROMATORY has ZERO impact or pull-through benefits for other EXISTING Nortel products/services, then I would agree with you that they have diversified into their non-core competency.

If however CLFY or PERIPHONICS apps can be tightly integrated to provide a fully integrated network-application solution which increases the probability of NT winning more call-center or ASP contracts, surely you could not argue that this is a non-core competency issue?

Just as NT was literally forced to invest into the data/router market to integrated and package multi-media network platform products, it would be dangerous to conclude that software apps that are closely linked into the back-end network solutions that NT traditionally sold is not NT's business.

Sure NT could have cut an alliance deal with Periphonics, Promatory, CLFY, etc.etc. but we all know how shaky JV's and Alliances are especially if CSCO decided to buy those companies to break the alliance.

Not only does NT have to be the first mover, but they must also protect strategically important companies that can enhance and pull-through more business for NT's core networking products.

Of course, whether NT has core competency in the CRM market is another question that needs to be addressed but I am not sure that we can argue that NT has no business even trying to bring CRM apps into the NT's family of products.

At the end of the day, this is a very subjective argument but I don't think that NT is straying SO FAR from their core competency (like buying a NFL football team!)
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