Leadership and Revenue Don't Always Match Up
Category IBM/Lotus
Network World has published the results of Kathryn Korostoff's analysis of industry leadership. Korostoff is the vice president of Sage Research and polled over 643 respondants to identify which companies are recognized for their IT leadership. While its always fun to figure out who gets picked to be Homecoming Queen, this time there is a puzzling disconnect between those who won and those who received cash prizes.
It turns out, according to Korostoff's findings, some of the winners were admired as being tops in leadership, but not as highly ranked when it came time to purchase their products. Microsoft and IBM, in particular, trade places when it comes to being valued as an IT leader versus IT provider.
IBM was consistently esteemed as first-place in nearly every leadership category and Microsoft was always found in the middle of the top-ten listing: its position is below IBM, Apple, Dell, Cisco, HP, and even Motorola. Yet, when the question of whose products would be purchased, those polled gave Microsoft the number one perch.
Korostoff doesn't address this disconnect between a high leadership evaluation and lower commercial worth. I don't blame her; Sage Research has many clients, and her speculation is not going to benefit any of them in the top ten listing. But, there is nothing stopping me from wondering outloud about this ranking twist.
It could be that while Microsoft technology is not seen as exciting or cutting edge, it is the powerhouse of IT infrastructure. From Microsoft Office Suite, to the Windows desktop OS, through the Microsoft Active Directory login—most business accounts can draw a Microsoft-only straight line from their word processing to its file storage.
Or, this conundrum might be a predictor of change on the horizon. Purchasing is an activity which reflects the immediate needs of the current IT architecture, leadership implies direction for the future. Perhaps IBM is going to be making more in-roads over the next few years, and will move up in its purchasing ranking.
Finally, maybe my Grandmother was right: it's not always possible to have both fame and fortune.
Network World has published the results of Kathryn Korostoff's analysis of industry leadership. Korostoff is the vice president of Sage Research and polled over 643 respondants to identify which companies are recognized for their IT leadership. While its always fun to figure out who gets picked to be Homecoming Queen, this time there is a puzzling disconnect between those who won and those who received cash prizes.
It turns out, according to Korostoff's findings, some of the winners were admired as being tops in leadership, but not as highly ranked when it came time to purchase their products. Microsoft and IBM, in particular, trade places when it comes to being valued as an IT leader versus IT provider.
IBM was consistently esteemed as first-place in nearly every leadership category and Microsoft was always found in the middle of the top-ten listing: its position is below IBM, Apple, Dell, Cisco, HP, and even Motorola. Yet, when the question of whose products would be purchased, those polled gave Microsoft the number one perch.
Korostoff doesn't address this disconnect between a high leadership evaluation and lower commercial worth. I don't blame her; Sage Research has many clients, and her speculation is not going to benefit any of them in the top ten listing. But, there is nothing stopping me from wondering outloud about this ranking twist.
It could be that while Microsoft technology is not seen as exciting or cutting edge, it is the powerhouse of IT infrastructure. From Microsoft Office Suite, to the Windows desktop OS, through the Microsoft Active Directory login—most business accounts can draw a Microsoft-only straight line from their word processing to its file storage.
Or, this conundrum might be a predictor of change on the horizon. Purchasing is an activity which reflects the immediate needs of the current IT architecture, leadership implies direction for the future. Perhaps IBM is going to be making more in-roads over the next few years, and will move up in its purchasing ranking.
Finally, maybe my Grandmother was right: it's not always possible to have both fame and fortune.
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