Let's see - an area where a group of people who can see all of the aspects of the business (financial, technical, asset management, resource allocation) at one time could use that vision to devise a business model that gave them advantages in day to day operations, time to market, and also in the metrics that wall street uses to value companies...
We know that Dell is not hung up on specifics of the business they happen to be in - they will simply ignore challenges which would draw them into a less efficient or less profitable position (from outfits like CPQ in the very low end for example). So it does not have to be a computer business. but to get leverage from their brand and reputation it probably needs to be a technology business, and one that has a 'hard' product (as opposed to services or software).
MSD seems to understand the dynamics of the internet as a business opportunity better than most. This is also a very hot area in terms of growth, easy capitalization, and currently, lack of any clear direction, much like the PC business was in 1982-83.
So one possibility is some business which has correctly determined a solid enough opportunity in some aspect of the net where a strong play could define the market, and where Dell could be sure of maintaining a business advantage long term because they would have a model in mind that others could not replicate (like JIT and direct sales in the current business).
This would also give them an opportunity to leverage their current cash position, mfg capability, and infrastructure into an area where the underlying industry has growth rates in the hundreds of percent instead of the 15% or so for the PC business.
I don't know what that business will be, I am only speculating, knowing the personalities and capabilities of the team at Dell and the kind of things they have done in the past. I would love to know more, my suspicion is that those on this thread are in a position to figure it out before anyone else. |
