Occam's Razor

It's the software stupid...

Stealing a good line from my old Friend Jeff..

Great post from Light Reading and Om Malik on Cisco software centric strategy. I'm wondering what this means for Alcatel, Siemens, Eriscson and Co...

Cisco has already set up a special software group (yet unnamed) to develop middleware, Web applications, and services products, says one reliable source who is close to the company but asked to remained unnamed. Other sources say Cisco has indeed set up a new software group but that it may have less dramatic goals...
...So why would Cisco do this? Experts point out that with networking technology becoming increasingly commoditized -- and with a looming fret from low-cost hardware competitors in China -- Cisco could help insulate itself from these trends by moving up the software stack and marketing consulting services and developing more sophisticated software...

...Given the company's dominance in routers, something like consulting might be Cisco's best way to create new revenue streams. "There's nowhere else to go," Dzubeck says.

Innovation Globalisation

I’m giving a 2 hours class on innovation globalisation (class will be in French) at the CNAM (3e) on Feb 1, 2005 at 19:30.

If you are interested in attending and auditing the course, send me an email, and you can attend the event (as long as you participate and ask questions...)

Tentative agenda for the class will be:

-         Innovation globalisation

-         Country-wide perspective, review of the Beffa report, compare and contrast the French and Israeli situation.

-         Corporate-wide perspective, review of the Harvard Business Case on Reuters and the Greenhouse fund.

-         SME perspective, review of recent European growth lessons

-         Conclusions

Feedback and ideas on what I should cover welcome before end of week...

CEOs are idiots who ...

Very entertaining post from Tom Peters, I've highlighted my top-3:

1. Fail to spend Hyper-aggressively on IS/IT; fail to follow "Gamechanger" IS/IT Strategies; fail to put their CIO on the Board; fail to exploit fully [Revolution Now!] the Web.
2. Believe in [BIG] mergers as The Key to Offense & Defense.
3. Hire MBAs in large #s.
4. Recruit mostly from conventional sources; have a low tolerance for risktakers-freaks.
5. Are less than 24/7 "Talent Fanatics."
6. Do too much Imitation/Benchmarking/ConstantImprovement, not enough "Breathtaking"/Disruptive Innovation; favor "marketshare" over MarketCreation.
7. Believe that "process" beats "passion," "analysis" beats "action."
8. Spend too much time in the Office, not enough time in the Field; fail to ColdCall at least One Customer per Week; are surrounded by sycophants; have low Tolerance for Contention.
9. ARE NOT LOVED BY FRONTLINE STAFF!
10. Do too much MicroSegmentation I: Grotesquely underestimate the Women's Market—and if they do more or less "get it," fail to understand the Strategic Transformation required to master it.
11. Do too much MicroSegmentation II: Grotesquely underestimate the Boomer-Geezer Market.
12. Have too few Women on the Executive Team, too few Women on the Board.
13. Who's ... Board = OWMs.
14. Balk at Technicolor actions and language—e.g., WOW!, Lovemarks, DreamMarketing, InsanelyGreat.
15. Think Design is a frill, nicety—not the Fundamental Basis for Value Added.
16. Tolerate less than Excellence, do not insist upon "Experiences that make me 'Gasp.'"
17. Deliver more on Short-term Earnings rather than Long-term Yearnings.
18. FAIL TO INSPIRE ME BY THE AUDACITY OF THEIR DREAMS. (Too much: "Dream" = "Buy MarketShare, Get BIGGER, Cut Costs.")

IBM IP Gambit

The word gambit stems from the Italian 'gambetta' which means: setting a trap. A gambit is a chess opening, where something is sacrificed in order to achieve a better position. Usually, the piece sacrificed is a pawn, but there are also gambits sacrificing a Bishop or Knight. Usually, the player who sacrifices something gains time or active piece play. A few days ago, IBM announced that it will offers 500 patents for open-source use, the event was well commented across the blogosphere:

Ross Mayfield's Weblog : IBM Opens the Patent Market

Steve Lohr reports that IBM is open sourcing 500 patents.

Joi Ito noted that

They're not the first to take this strategy. I recall Intel doing something similar, pooling patents around development using their chips so that developers could more easily create software without bumping into each other. Companies fight for intellectual property protection for self-interest arguing that without it, people will not innovate. On the other hand, many platform providers know that patents often encumber innovation. With software patents in particular, I believe that they stifle innovation more than they create incentives, especially for small companies. It's nice to see patent giants like IBM taking steps like this.

But the best analysis in my mind comes from the Business Week great article describing the gambit :

Why would IBM allow others to use its intellectual property free of charge?
In a word: Microsoft. The move is central to IBM's efforts to fend off Microsoft and its Windows monopoly. While the computing giant will continue to innovate and gather new patents as aggressively as ever, at the same time it is stepping up efforts to bolster the world of open-source software. IBM figures that doing so will give it a leg up in selling the software and services that work with the open-source programs it helped develop....

....  It's striking how different IBM's strategy is from Microsoft's. Microsoft, which declined to comment, is building a legal team to enforce intellectual-property claims. In so doing, it hopes to protect its monopoly: When makers sell PCs and servers loaded with Windows, Microsoft has the best shot at selling an array of applications. IBM has a different tack. In a strategy it calls "collaborative innovation," it shares some of its intellectual property, hoping to bolster open-source alternatives to Windows, such as Linux. Such programs are shared by thousands of companies and tens of thousands of programmers...

More Identiy Management Transaction

Following on my post from yesterday about SRD (aquired by IBM) , and the old Metamerge (Acquirred by IBM) et BusinessLayers (Aquired by Netegrity) , the fourth member of the identity-management-meta-directory-DB-integration class Calendra was sold to BMC for 25M€ ( good deal for the recent investors like Elaia Partners (who invested in May 2004), not so sure about the exit multiple for the old ones...).

BMC Software to Extend Identity Management Offerings with Acquisition of Calendra for 33M$ (25M€) BMC Software, Inc. (NYSE: BMC), a provider of enterprise management solutions, announced its intent to acquire privately held Calendra, the leading provider of Web-based business-oriented identity management solutions.

The acquisition enables BMC Software to deliver an integrated suite of identity management solutions that include enterprise directories (white pages and yellow pages), workflow, PBX management, and active directory management. The combined solution removes the complexities customers traditionally encounter when integrating various technologies from multiple vendors. Additionally, this acquisition strengthens BMC Software's Business Service Management (BSM) offerings, which enable customers to manage IT from a business perspective. Calendra is a privately held company headquartered in Paris.

Calendra has more than 200 customers and five million managed users worldwide. Its customer base is very broad, ranging from small and mid-sized companies to Global 2000 companies with complex business problems and large populations of employees, suppliers, partners and customers.

Identity Management Transaction

IBM has announced the acquisition of SRD, a privately held developer of identity resolution software based in Las Vegas in an all cash deal. Under the terms of the acquisition SRD's operations and products will be integrated into IBM's Information Management software division.  SRD's technology, based on SQL and Java J2EE, is designed to work with IBM and non-IBM data sources, including Oracle and Microsoft databases, enabling customers to integrate the software with existing infrastructures.

Sounds a bit like the old Metamerge - now tivoli directory integrator -  (funded by RVC and aquired by IBM in 2002).

Back on the running trail

A recent study pointed out by Brad Feld indicated that entrepreneurs who run do better in sales

Lacing up the running shoes is a powerful asset for small business owners, says a new study from Ball State University. A survey of 336 entrepreneurs found those who regularly run reported better personal satisfaction, independence and autonomy than their non-running or weight-training counterparts.

The study also found that companies managed by runners report better sales results than firms directed by non-runners.“Attaining excellent physical condition requires developing a mindset that accepts and embraces hard work,” said Mike Goldsby, a Ball State entrepreneurship professor who regularly competes in marathons and triathlons. “If small business owners were willing and able to grant their physical health the same respect as they do their financial and professional well-being, most would be in incredible physical condition.

I started to run 2 years ago (having NEVER run before) and I have since completed 2 marathons, and several smaller races. After a 6 month break last summer, i'm back on the running track, preparing for my next race planned for March 6 2005.

Here are my top 10 reasons for running :

1.  Experience management by endorphin around (if you are high enough on endorphin, there is not problem or situation that does not seem manageable)
2.  Get to experience the illusion of control during my running session
3.  Realize it’s all in my head, and that you are only running against yourself
4.  Understanding that by focusing on the simple, little things like breathing, moving my legs, and moving one stride at a time I can do amazing things (like completing a  marathon, and still smile)
5.  Walking the talk (or running the speech…), i.e. the incredible joy of doing (the daily run) what I have agree (my running plan)
6.  Feel pride as I cross the finish line, having done my best.
7.  Stealing time for myself on a regular basis (on a good week, I would run 4 or 5 sessions of 1 hour or more)
8.  Loosing the 8 kilos I put back since I stopped running last August
9.  Beating my person record next March for the half marathon (1h 54min) , and next April for the marathon (4h 15min)
10. Start taking care of my body again, as each running session will remind me how I’m doing at behaving with him

My running path in Paris takes me though the Palais Royal, the Tuillery garden, the  Seine river bank, and around the Eiffel tower (a nice 10K loop), email me if you are in town and want to run with me…