THE VERDICT: Google-Motorola Will Be A Colossal Disaster*

http://www.businessinsider.com/google-motorola-disaster-2011-8

by SoftwareMaven • 15 years ago

10 7 15 years ago

jigs_up• 15 years ago

Writer makes good points. I find it hard to disagree.

wanorris• 15 years ago

Motorola has 19,000 employees and can't consistently turn a profit. These two facts seem related in an obvious way, and this implies a way to turn a profit on it.

Cherry pick all the best research and software folks and bring them into Google, abandon MotoBlur and release devices with vanilla Android (thus eliminating the need for said software folks), and streamline operations with massive reductions in headcount. Possibly shutter unprofitable product lines like feature phones entirely, and focus the company on things Google considers strategic for them, i.e. Android phones and set top boxes.

Admittedly, Blodget is right that Google has no experience in performing this kind of maneuver, so there are a lot of risks, but considering that they bought a patent portfolio that happened to come with a company attached, there's no real reason to be afraid of downsizing the company to a point where Motorola can turn a decent profit and start growing again.

Or, as Blodget points out, they could just spin the company off as soon as they can and wash their hands of the whole thing.

jeffool• 15 years ago

Most of the points seem to be "Google doesn't know hardware". This is a valid point, but the article mostly reads like this one point repeated over and over.

First, it discounts the fact that Google isn't inheriting a shell company; those former Motorola employees? They're still there.

Second, so what if they don't already have a dedicated hardware factory already? They've got a dedicated team, one that's proven. Danger, Inc.

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/05/11/andy-rubin-gets-dange...

anigbrowl2• 15 years ago

Disagree. The companies' cultures are more similar than they might otherwise appear; Motirola has a strong engineering heritage and a good hardware pedigree but their software UI has been badly lacking. Not that the merger will be easy, but a colossal disaster? I think not.

rjd2• 15 years ago

You just made me realise it will be a total disaster. Because Google aren't buying the entirety of Motorola, they are buying the cellphone/consumer division of the company.

Hence if the clever ploys are true which John Gruber alluded too, then motorola are smart. And being smart they have already moved the best talent back to the other company "Motorola Solutions" and Google are buying a pile of average to bad.

Plus I doubt Google is ready for the HR mess thats about to hit them. If anyone here has been through a large restructure or merger then you can appreciate just how disruptive and demoralising the process is. Productivity and loyalty will plummet.

If you haven't been through a process like that go watch the movie "Office Space" its a light hearted view of a dark subject, and is way to close to home on many points.

anigbrowl2• 15 years ago

Talent issue, no I don't think so. Google's a company where individual talent matters a great deal, they're not oblivious to those issues. There will be a big culture clash and you are right that there will be many HR challenges. I worked as a contracter for Motorola (very briefly and many years ago) and can relate to the problems Google will encounter...but that's well known about Motorola. I don't agree that large mergers are always a failure; Ernst & Young is still together and successful, even though there was a huge clash of cultures there - it was literally a case of ne company being a Mac and one a PC.

THE VERDICT: Google-Motorola Will Be A Colossal Disaster*

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