Victor -
She_x actually talks to senior CPQ people - most of my high-level contacts left the company years ago. So from that perspective she probably has a better pipe into the "official line".
But in many ways the activities as seen from lower in the organization may be a better indicator of what is really going on than the relatively public positions of senior managers. Across the board in regard to 1Q99, I have heard of seminars cancelled, travel suspended or postponed, and capital spending put on hold. Sales people tell me that the idea that anyone deferred even a nickle of sales is pretty humorous - they were under intense pressure to close business in the quarter. Manufacturing people were working overtime to load product for shipment. None of this is consistent with the idea of deferring revenue and pulling expenses forward.
Furthermore, I don't think CPQ could execute a strategy like that even if they wanted to do so. The CPQ field is moved by some pretty simple levers and any attempt to change the dynamics would be widely known throughout the organization.
This kind of thing is usually accomplished by EP calling a meeting of all of the VPs and Directors where he lays out the strategy. This puts EP directly in touch with every cost center manager in the company. Last year EP held such a meeting in February. His message was blunt and to the point - "starting immediately, cut discretionary spending by 50%. This is not a goal, it is a requirement".
There was such a meeting last week, but the subject was the importance of everyone in the organization understanding the importance of CPQ's position in the internet infrastructure, the new NonStop eBusiness initiative, and having a consistent message to customers during innovate. In any event this was after the end of the quarter.
So although I am reluctant to contradict such a consistently solid source as She_x, in this case I think it is wishful thinking - possibly on the part of the people she was talking with. |
