Dell is eating at the table of its competitors, yet, we have posters on the internet and analysts that would have many believe Dell is in dire straights.
They state that Dell is falling prey to AMD, can't sell into the big server market, TMeredith was Dell's last hope, Dell's management shakeup is destroying the company, Intel's failed pursuit of .13mu will kill Dell and on and on ad nauseum.
But, let's consider many of these immature complaints.
A)Tom Meredith:
Meredith literally left "Dell" over a year ago. He was acting as a "consultant" to "Dell" for this past year. Dell Ventures dropped in value by over 2/3rds, and some still propose that the "absent manager" retained significant interest in Dell's overall direction.
I think if the truth be known Meredith lost interest in Dell's overall direction - not in Dell the company. He lost interest due to personal ambitions, goals and health. A good man, a decent man that got tired.
B) AMD:
AMD will eat Intel for dinner? The AMD crowd has been saying this for five years. Every quarter it is the same...next quarter AMD destroys Intel, and eats Dell. Why isn't Dell using AMD...terrible decision on Dell's part. If Dell thought AMD could add to its bottom line, don't you think Dell would pursue AMD? Don't you think AMD has been pursing Dell for five years? Don't you think that Dell has tested and retested everything that AMD has given them? AMD is not a personal MDell bias; it's a business decision.
C: Intel and .13mu:
Intel's failed pursuit of .13mu could result in Dell's demise? Yaaaah. First of all, Intel hasn't even begun to fail in its pursuit of the .13mu. But, the introduction of the .13mu doesn't improve the quality of anything at Dell; it helps improve the potential earnings of Intel and helps lower overall potential costs to its supply chain.
Individuals are not going to replace their PC because Intel can produce smaller chip factors. IT Professionals are not waiting to horde new workstations based on the coming .13 chipset. The systems speed doesn't improve due to reduced form. Increased bandwidth, improved connections, improved substrates, less friction, and improved software improves the speed.
They should be talking about the improvements made to voice recognition software as affecting future PC sales, not necessarily .13mu.
D: All Knowing Internet Posters:
Here are two posts from RB on Dell which, when taken to their extreme, are not well thought through:
You're absolutely right, e-Yiorgos. NO mid-range business, much less large enterprize would ever consider buying Dell server even as a joke to entertain bored network admins. Moreover, 90% of novice users who needed PCs already own them, PCs do not break that often, and IT professionals, graphic designers, etc. - those who need PC upgrades on a regular basis will not buy them from Dell either.
Dell is running out of time, they need to change something and do it fast, or we will see single digits in 6 months.
Short @ 30 and strong.
Have you ever noticed that those who are supposedly short a stock are ALWAYS short a stock at a MUCH HIGHER price than at which it is currently trading? Without exception, they are all very wise. Even though this individual's reasons for being short Dell are extremely questionable, we're obligated to accept them at face value because he is short Dell at $30. One intelligent act makes up for a lot of ignorance. In that case I'm short Dell at $58. I'm really smart, huh? And I'm a poor liar.
What is a novice computer user by the way? How does he know that 90% of the "novice users" own a PC? Less than 10% of the world's population owns a PC. What is a "novice user", 1 out of 9?
PCs don't break that often? How many individuals have purchased a replacement PC because it broke? The answer is less than 5%. The remaining 95% purchased a new PC for upgrade reasons.
IT professionals and Graphic Designers will not buy from Dell? Is this poster an expert in mind torture? Dell is the number one supplier of workstations to IT professionals in the U.S.
If Dell is running out of time, I would hate to think where IBM, HWPs, GTW and CPQ's PC divisions are heading. If Dell has six months to live, then Dell's PC competition died a year ago.
Then there is this post:
Many people talk about how DELL is doing in servers but no one showed me how nany stock exchanges or ATMs, or AOLs, or Yahoos, etc.etc run on DELL's servers which are no more than a PC. Get a feeling of what we mean with server business and translate that to services too. DELL services is no more that a little guy who goes around with a screwdriver to change a failed drive to a PC box or to tell the customer how to reboot a PC. In my 25 years in a services organization I have never met a DELL services consultant, a programmer, a software engineer, a technology designer, an application architect etc etc. I don't understand what DELL means with Services. Probably a bunch of kids who replace a screw in a box. I hope some people realize who holds the secret in the enterprise center where the future is.
Actually, if you tour the floor of the NYSE you'll notice that many of the workstations are Dell. The same is true at the AMSE. Even CNBC utilizes Dell workstations.
And we are to believe that he has been in a "services organization" for 25 years. Let me guess; he runs the computer division for Wee Willy Winkers which employs a total of seven individuals and runs a day care for lower IQs?
Someone needs to show this individual that Dell controls 20% of the U.S. market. They sell more Intel servers than any other company. Dell has gone from 1% to 20% in ten years. By his estimation, then, 20% of the workstation and PC buyers have I.Q.s of less than 80; including those who "service computers".
A little guy with a screwdriver? The number one supplier of PCs and workstations to IT Professionals in the U.S. has a service team consisting of guys carrying nothing but screwdrivers and year's supply of hashish to help arrest periodic boredom.
He has never met a Dell technician. He doesn't understand the term "Dell Services". Do you think this has something to do with Dell subcontracting services? Or, do you suppose many of these posters have been writing too many dirty poems in the NYSE men's room too long?
This poster, by the way, implies that he owns CPQ. Good move - excellent move. Do you know who, according to him, holds the secrets to the Enterprise Sector? The secrets of success? While Dell is selling workstations hand over fist by hiring thumb suckers for the job, according to him, CPQ has been hording the secrets of eternal earnings life founded upon Enterprise systems. CPQ needs to share these secrets with its stock holders. I'm getting tired of a $16 share price.
I apologize for this rant. I'm very tired. Tired of all this b.s., the afterhours b.s., etc. I don't know how Dell, or any company for that matter, puts up with such nonsense. |
