re: I'd like the Cisco bigots, who lurk on this thread, to show us what Cisco did the past year. (Of course they'll tell us how Chambers duped the analysts, set expectations low, and beat it and the stock went up, Eventually the street will realize this, and it will be PAYBACK time for Cisco too.)
Uhh, let's see Stockman -- Cisco increased market share across the board -- and when I say across the board, I mean with a far broader product line than any competitor like Bay can offer. Cisco continues to grow and maintain unbelievable margins, even as other competitors' revenues stall, price wars (often initiated by second-rate players like Bay as an act of desperation) drop price/port levels, etc. Cisco seems to continue winning more and more end-to-end business because they realize success lies with companies who deliver products that the market needs, as well as excellent customer service and support, a top-notch sales force, etc., etc.
Bay's approach has been to acquire technologies (Accelar, New Oak) far before their "market time", and bet the whole farm on them. If Bay started focusing on the customer, and not "gee wiz" technology that won't be widely deployed for at least 1-3 years, then maybe they wouldn't post such lousy, lousy earnings.
Bay can "pioneer" all it wants ... if it doesn't meet customer needs, and the leading player delivers similar technology combined with state-of-the-art customer service and support, (not to mention a sales force that tends to murder the competition) then it doesn't matter much. Bay needs to change fundamentally as a company, and it isn't making enough profit to build the service and support infrastructure it needs, plus cannot attract top sales people to sell products that don't meet customer requirements.
This all seems quite obvious to most savvy investors, but seems to be lost on you. |
