David, >>>"SCSI I/O on the CPU doesn't seem like it's going to happen anytime soon. Years
and years away. Maybe only after the IBM PC architecture is ancient history."<<<
Don't be so sure. Article in San Jose Mercury News today. See bold part. Still, Adaptec management moves perceived around here as the right thing to do. Adler is an all time hero at Adaptec.
Pardon me if the article's already been posted.
mercurycenter.com
Posted at 9:09 p.m. PDT Friday, July 31, 1998
Adaptec plans cautious
course after CEO quits
BY K. OANH HA
Mercury News Staff Writer
Adaptec Inc. plans to narrow its focus to it core
business and take a more cautious approach to
growth, the company's founder said the day after the
computer component maker's chief executive officer
resigned.
Late Thursday night, Grant Saviers quit as chairman
and CEO of the Milpitas-based maker of adapter
cards he had headed since 1992. Larry Boucher, the
company's founder, replaced him on an interim basis
as chief executive. The company says a search is
under way to fill both positions.
Boucher said the company's ''foundation'' of talent,
technology and balance sheet remains strong and a
recovery is around the corner.
''The board is looking at implementing whatever
mechanisms that would more quickly and with less
risk get to that foundation,'' Boucher said. ''The
board senses that a more conservative plan will lead
to an improvement of shareholder's value. The base
business of the company is very solid. We need to
focus on that.''
Boucher declined to give details of a new strategy
but said some operational changes may be in the
works.
Analysts were mixed on whether the management
shifts would turn the company around, but most
agreed the company needs to do more than just
concentrate on its main product, a technology called
Small Computer Systems Interface, or SCSI, if it's
looking for sustained, long-term growth.
''A return to basics is good ,'' said John Rossi, an
analyst with BancAmerica Robertson Stephen, ''but
they need to make a good bet on at least one other
product.''
And if nothing else, this latest round of musical
chairs will boost morale, he said.
''They're going back to the founders to recapture
some of the spirit and inspiration of the organization
in the early days, to see if Boucher has any visions
for the future,'' said Rossi, who noted that internally
the company has been in a state of discord in recent
weeks. ''This might give some doubters a reason to
believe again. This is a good first step.''
Some analysts weren't quite so enthusiastic.
''The problems facing the company now are not due
to management,'' said analyst Scott Randall, a
principal at SoundView Financial Group.
The company's woes are a result of a sluggish
personal computer market and lower sales. At its
peak, Adaptec's SCSI technology was found in about
12 percent of desktops sold. Now that number is in
the mid-single digits. And sales of high-performance
workstations and servers, which most commonly
require SCSI for high-speed data transfers, has
slowed. Adding to Adaptec's woes is Intel's
incorporation of a similar technology on its standard
chip sets, making the technology essentially free.
Profits have come in well below analysts'
expectations in its last three quarters. In fiscal 1998,
the company reported 8 percent sales growth rate,
down from 25 percent the previous fiscal year.
Shares of Adaptec stock rose $1 to $11.63 Friday.
The stock was trading at more than $50 late last year.
The executive shifts stem from differences between
the board and Saviers concerning Adaptec's strategy
forward, Saviers said.
''My plan for the company was a little higher growth
and risk than the board wanted,'' said Saviers, who
will continue as a consultant to the company. ''They
wanted a more conservative plan. As a result, we all
felt that it was time for a change in the leadership.''
Saviers said he and the board began re-evaluating
Adaptec's future and who should lead it soon after
the company scrapped its plan to acquire Symbios
Logic Inc. last month after it became clear the
Federal Trade Commission would block the move
for antitrust reasons.
Saviers' resignation follows last week's departure of
corporate vice president and treasurer Chris
O'Meara and last month's resignation of vice
president and chief financial officer Paul Hansen,
who left to head a Palo Alto company, TIBCO
Software Inc.
etc. |
