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Truer words have never been spoken. I honestly do believe that the best is yet to come !... and those waiting for RIM's next chapter will have plenty to watch for as the company moves through the most crucial few months in its storied history.
RIM stock sinks ahead of next uncertain chapter | Insight - Yahoo! Finance Canada
Bring on bb10 !!
I think that - for lazy readers- the previous statements were interesting too ;-)However investors choose to assess this week's batch of news, the move to bring in the bankers hardly marks a change in RIM's strategy. Way back in March, after RIM's last quarterly results were announced, Heins spoke about the need to explore strategic opportunities as speculation mounted that the company would soon bring in bankers to drive the process. Everyone knew this was coming.
The good news in all of this is RIM is now, more than ever, on track to becoming a responsive, agile, and focused organization. Painful as they are, expected staff reductions that could bring head count down by a reported 6,000, will reduce the organization's burn rate and align it more cleanly with its now-single-digit market share. The radical restructuring, which has already torn through much of the senior ranks and is spreading to every corner of the company, will eliminate the layers of disconnected bureaucracy that observers contended were at the root of the company's initial failure to change. Its global subscriber base of 78 million continues to grow, albeit slowly, and it's sitting on $2.1 billion U.S. in cash.
The new BlackBerry 10-based devices, when they finally bow, should allow RIM to, if not take on industry leaders Google and Apple head-on, at least carve out a smaller niche focused on the enterprise buyers who have long coveted security and manageability above all else. Because the new operating system is based on technology acquired in the QNX Systems buyout in 2010, it could also allow RIM to move beyond the smartphone/tablet paradigm that has so vexed the company over the last two years. QNX code is already a fixture in industry-vertical solutions like industrial control and automotive, so it's not much of a stretch to see RIM taking it in other directions, as well — something Heins has repeatedly hinted at in recent months.
To get there, the company has to survive the falloff in demand for its current products. Calling in the banks simply means it's asking for help when it needs it most. All of which means the last card has yet to be played, and those waiting for RIM's next chapter will have plenty to watch for as the company moves through the most crucial few months in its storied history.
Restructurising and staff reductions sound very fine to stock owners, but from my perspective and experience they hinder the ability of the company to improve projects it is working on.
No, it's "get rid of dead weight". Then enroll new blod.