Chapter 573
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After he Fengshan left home, Michael Blumenthal's excitement was still high. He even said that his trip was true. He even complimented Howard Hughes on taking over Kirk kirkerian's shares in Columbia film industry through Gao Xian. Sir Gao has great foresight. When I think about it, he can really do a lot of things in the film industry.
Gao Xian is not surprised because he knows the identity of Michael Blumenthal. In addition to American corporate executives and former American finance minister, he has also made great achievements in the field of public services, especially in the field of public services involving Jews.
For example, in the "old play", Michael Blumenthal, who lost his position as US finance minister, returned to the business executive community and served as the curator of the Jewish Museum in Berlin, Germany.
Of course, Michael Blumenthal also showed his kindness to the high string in his style.
After all, Michael Blumenthal, as the Treasury Secretary of Carter's cabinet, failed to enter the core circle of President Carter and dismissed him if he said he would be dismissed, which had a great impact on Michael Blumenthal.
Although Gao Xian is not the boss of Howard Hughes consortium, he is the financial manager appointed by Howard Hughes. Even the "Mormon Mafia" who serve Howard Hughes and try to get involved in the huge legacy left by Howard Hughes have been expelled, and Howard Hughes' relatives who want to divide up the legacy have also obeyed. This kind of actual authority and control, Michael Blumenthal is certainly loyal to Sir Gao.
"The film should be done by professionals." Gao Xian responded to Michael Blumenthal's enthusiasm in a good mood, "but Michael, you are also an expert in that period of history. If you are willing to spare time, I would like to ask you to be the consultant of this film."
"Yes, of course." Michael Blumenthal, who was right in the heart, agreed happily and subconsciously became close to Sir Gao.
Gao Xian smiled with understanding. After making a few calls through MCI's wireless communication network with the Motorola phone in the car, he talked about another thing with Michael Blumenthal, "I intend to set up a commercial satellite communication company headquartered in Xiangjiang and serving the Asian region, and the orders for communication satellites will naturally be handed over to Hughes Aircraft Company."
This is no longer a "serious" business. Michael Blumenthal looked serious. "Do you have any special requirements? Such as time."
"No, just deal with it as usual." Gao Xian patted Michael Blumenthal on the arm. "In this business, there are many joints that need to be opened, so it will take some time to really work."
"That's what Sir Gao gave himself for nothing." Michael Blumenthal, who quickly figured out the joints, replied with a smile: "just right, the design of the satellite also takes some time."
"By the way, recently Bora has lobbied me hard to get the resources to support their mainframe computer business, so that they can continue to survive under the strong pressure of IBM, the overlord in this field." Michael Blumenthal also talked about another topic excitedly, "this is the network I established when I was the Treasury secretary, and it's not easy to refuse."
"Sir Gao, according to my observation, under the pressure of the antitrust investigation of the Ministry of justice, IBM's aggressive operation has greatly converged, which makes other manufacturers in the mainframe computer industry a little relieved. Do you think Howard Hughes can enter the mainframe computer industry at this time?"
"The speed of high-tech development can only be described as changing with each passing day. For example, 32-bit microprocessors for personal computers have begun to be put on the market. In this case, within five years, mainframe computers will be eliminated." Gao Xian firmly analyzed: "What's more, once Li Gen, who shouted the slogan of new free economy from the Communist Party, wins in this year's presidential election, the antitrust investigation against IBM is likely to be revoked."
Upon hearing this, Michael Blumenthal's face flashed with disappointment. Because Gao Xian had such a conclusion, Howard Hughes naturally did not need to take risks and consume expensive resources to enter the large-scale computer industry with fierce market competition and weak industry prospects.
In fact, it's normal for Michael Blumenthal to have such mood swings. You know, he was recruited by Gao Xian to serve as CEO of Howard Hughes, and his main work performance was "success" , combing the internal affairs of this huge group has also satisfied Gao Xian, but there is one thing that completely belongs to him. Therefore, leading Howard Hughes into a new business field has become a breakthrough to meet his personal development.
The high string, which takes a panoramic view of Michael Blumenthal's response, leisurely added, "However, although the product of mainframe computer will be eliminated soon, the objective needs of those customers who use mainframe computers still exist. Therefore, the mainframe computer customer resources mastered by Bora company are still valuable. After all, the new type of computers that replace mainframe computers enter the market from scratch is far better than inheriting mainframe computing The form of client resources occupies the market and saves effort. "
At this turning point, Michael Blumenthal's originally depressed mood rose again, "Sir Gao means that you can promise Bora's help?"
"Yes, but we need to meet the conditions we put forward." Gao Xian replied playfully: "they don't necessarily have a good understanding of the development of the computer industry."
"That's right, that's right." Michael Blumenthal, who was delighted because the plan was adopted, sincerely complimented: "after IBM accepted Sir Gao's matchmaking and acquired Huanyu personal computer, WuChao deserves to be called a happy worry by Wall Street, for fear of adding another reason for prosecution to the anti-monopoly investigation of the Ministry of justice."
Gao Xian was flattered this time because this is indeed the case. IBM, which ranks in the top 10 of the Fortune 500, has since entered the emerging personal computer industry through Huanyu personal computer. Now its market value is close to $55 billion, ranking first in the standard & Poor's 500 index, The market value of at & T, which ranks second, is only more than 35 billion US dollars, almost 20 billion US dollars less than the blue giant. The gap between the second and the first market value is not large.
The rise of IBM's share price has naturally benefited all parties including Gaoxian, IBM and Wall Street, and has become the most powerful proof of Gaoxian's successful investment in the computer industry. If Bora can get the light of gaoser, it is its blessing. Michael Blumenthal's compliment can be said to scratch the itch.
At this stage, the pattern of the mainframe computer industry can be simply described as that the stronger the stronger, the winner takes all.
In the era of large computers in the history of computer development, it is the stage for large companies to perform. In addition to IBM, Bora, control data, general electric, American radio, Honeywell, national cash income recording and UNIVAC are also on the American territory.
In the 1960s, when mainframe computer competition complemented each other, this pattern was called "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" by the media to describe the dominance of IBM.
Specifically, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when IBM began to attract antitrust investigations from the U.S. Ministry of justice, IBM's share in the mainframe computer market reached its peak, with an 80% share, and the remaining 20% share was shared by the "three dwarfs".
It should be pointed out that IBM won the dominant position in the mainframe computer market not only by simple technical advantages. In fact, system360 is not the most technologically excellent product, such as imperfect time-sharing processing function. In contrast, spectar70 series, a mainframe computer product of American radio company, took the lead in completely adopting semiconductor integrated circuit manufacturing, and so on, It was not until IBM launched system370 that it changed greatly and became worthy of its name.
The real trump card for IBM to win the dominant position in the mainframe computer market should be excellent public relations and sales, as well as the old pressure on competitors.
Take the control data company as an example. When it ambitiously announces a better product R & D plan, IBM will draw bigger cakes to customers. Even if it fails to fulfill its promise at that time, it will steal the limelight of the control data company.
It is estimated that it is these intrigues that make the antitrust investigation of the US Ministry of justice come so quickly.
But the reality is that the rice bowl in the mainframe computer market is not easy to eat. IBM, the overlord, has reason to have the resources to deal with the antitrust investigation of the American Ministry of justice. The "Seven Dwarfs" may not be able to afford it. Among them, the American radio company announced in September 1971 that it would withdraw from the mainframe computer market and replace its computer business unit, I sold it to UNIVAC for 120 million US dollars. Anyway, I have a wide business scope. Why do I have to fight with IBM in the field of mainframe computers.
The situation of General Electric Company is similar to that of American radio company. For example, in the three high-tech businesses of atomic energy, jet aircraft and electronic computer, the profits of the first two are much higher than that of the latter. Furthermore, in the large-scale computer market, there is no power to fight to the bottom with IBM.
However, GE has a good face and does not want to directly declare that it ended in failure like American radio. Instead, it played a golden cicada and found Honeywell to discuss. Let's gather together the large-scale computer resources on our head and form a joint company to fight IBM together.
Honeywell, which is also deeply troubled, readily agreed that the two sides formed Honeywell information systems company immediately, with an asset scale of US $3.1 billion and a total mainframe computer market share of 9.9%, firmly taking the second place.
At that time, the industry was excited about this and felt that the joint efforts of Ge and Honeywell were enough to set off a new round of competition against IBM in the mainframe computer market.
But the name Honeywell information systems is a hint that GE's mind has flown away, continuously reducing its joint stock until the last 11.7% was sold to Honeywell at one time, and completely withdrew from the field of mainframe computers.
Until this time, the outside world suddenly realized that GE had already backed out.
American radio company and general electric company withdrew from the mainframe computer market one after another, which not only caused a huge shock, but also made other mainframe computer manufacturers realize that they must hold together to keep warm in order to continue to survive. For example, the control data company and the national cash income recording company among the "Seven Dwarfs" are united.
This trend of huddling for warmth has also spread to other places. Six large-scale computer enterprises of one company joined hands with Hitachi and Fujitsu, one company with Toshiba, Mitsubishi Electric and Chong electric to form three new large-scale computer companies; In Europe, Siemens of West Germany, International Information Corporation of France and Philips of the Netherlands concluded a joint treaty and jointly established the largest computer enterprise in Europe - unideta company.
In short, in the mainframe computer industry, companies that don't want to become giants simply can't continue to mix. For example, Bora company, which is only looking for help now, is already a hindsight.
Of course, Bora company is certainly not really stupid. It seems to be slow in response and must have the strength to survive.
In a word, Bora has a long history. Its history can be traced back to 1886. Its business is the "adder" for four arithmetic operations invented by William Seward Burroughs, the founder of the manufacturing and sales company. This kind of thing can hardly be regarded as one of the distant ancestors of modern computers.
As for the acceptance of products in the market, it is not difficult to imagine that abacus was not popular in the United States at that time, but the banking industry developed rapidly, and more efficient auxiliary tools were needed for objective financial calculation. Therefore, Bora's "adder" products were more and more widely known and popularized in the banking industry.
Bora entered the mainframe computer industry in 1953, focusing on R & D and sales of mainframe computer products serving the banking industry. It naturally became a member of the pattern of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in the mainframe computer industry.
It is necessary to point out that Bora has a deep foundation in the banking industry.
To take the most representative example, in the 1950s, Bora Corporation cooperated with the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States to develop a magnetic ink character recognition system that can carry out computer information processing, so as to help simplify the processing of checks and other bills in the banking industry.
The banking industry in the United States is so developed that Bora company has been able to eat its old capital for many years with this achievement alone.
However, everything has two sides. Just like IBM, the overlord of the mainframe computer industry, it is hard to escape the fate of being eliminated from the traditional mainframe computer business. Bora, which has a deep-rooted position in the mainframe computer product market for the banking industry, is indeed a little slow in adapting to market changes.
Of course, these details of Bora company are indeed quite attractive in Gao Xian's eyes, otherwise he would not have finally given Michael Blumenthal a turning point to resist the ups and downs.
Michael Blumenthal, once the finance minister of the United States, really knows Bora, which is closely related to the banking industry of the United States. He made a group of figures and said: "Under the wise guidance of Sir Gao, the reorganized Howard Hughes company is better than ever, and its business performance is booming. In terms of operating revenue, in the past 1979, it was nearly $3 billion, enough to rank in the top 100 of the Fortune 500, and its profit is higher than the excellent level generally recognized by the industry. It is no problem to exceed $400 million."
"Bora's operating revenue last year should exceed US $2 billion. Although it can't compare with IBM's annual operating revenue of more than US $20 billion, its profit performance is fairly standard, reaching US $200 million. There is no doubt. Except that it is completely dependent on the mainframe market and lacks stamina in the face of too fierce industry competition, there are no major problems in other aspects 。”
Gao Xian, who knew well, nodded and said, "Bora still seems to have a head and can be contacted further, but before making substantive investment actions, I need to find out to what extent Bora is willing to accept our leadership, especially in the new products that inherit the status of large computers."
"If Bora stubbornly clings to the incomplete, we don't need to waste that energy."
Michael Blumenthal, who found out Gao Xian's thoughts, clearly said: "I am responsible for the specific communication work and strive to report a clear result to Sir Gao in the first quarter."
Gao Xian further disclosed with great satisfaction: "although I sold my personal computer business to IBM, there are still many computer projects in operation, including new microprocessors and enterprise level solutions for server client architecture built on this basis. The banking industry is one of the target users."
"Compared with the traditional mainframe computer with special architecture, the server client architecture has obvious advantages in cost, maintenance and so on, and must represent the future."
"If Bora company can satisfy us, we can set up a new company to integrate this new product representing the future step by step with the customer resources held by Bora company. When the time is ripe, we can use capital operation means, or sell the new company to Bora, or directly push it into the stock market. Anyway, we can maximize the benefits How it works. "
Michael Blumenthal's eyes lit up. He seemed to see another capital feast like IBM's acquisition of Huanyu personal computer, waiting for himself to participate.
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After he Fengshan left home, Michael Blumenthal's excitement was still high. He even said that his trip was true. He even complimented Howard Hughes on taking over Kirk kirkerian's shares in Columbia film industry through Gao Xian. Sir Gao has great foresight. When I think about it, he can really do a lot of things in the film industry.
Gao Xian is not surprised because he knows the identity of Michael Blumenthal. In addition to American corporate executives and former American finance minister, he has also made great achievements in the field of public services, especially in the field of public services involving Jews.
For example, in the "old play", Michael Blumenthal, who lost his position as US finance minister, returned to the business executive community and served as the curator of the Jewish Museum in Berlin, Germany.
Of course, Michael Blumenthal also showed his kindness to the high string in his style.
After all, Michael Blumenthal, as the Treasury Secretary of Carter's cabinet, failed to enter the core circle of President Carter and dismissed him if he said he would be dismissed, which had a great impact on Michael Blumenthal.
Although Gao Xian is not the boss of Howard Hughes consortium, he is the financial manager appointed by Howard Hughes. Even the "Mormon Mafia" who serve Howard Hughes and try to get involved in the huge legacy left by Howard Hughes have been expelled, and Howard Hughes' relatives who want to divide up the legacy have also obeyed. This kind of actual authority and control, Michael Blumenthal is certainly loyal to Sir Gao.
"The film should be done by professionals." Gao Xian responded to Michael Blumenthal's enthusiasm in a good mood, "but Michael, you are also an expert in that period of history. If you are willing to spare time, I would like to ask you to be the consultant of this film."
"Yes, of course." Michael Blumenthal, who was right in the heart, agreed happily and subconsciously became close to Sir Gao.
Gao Xian smiled with understanding. After making a few calls through MCI's wireless communication network with the Motorola phone in the car, he talked about another thing with Michael Blumenthal, "I intend to set up a commercial satellite communication company headquartered in Xiangjiang and serving the Asian region, and the orders for communication satellites will naturally be handed over to Hughes Aircraft Company."
This is no longer a "serious" business. Michael Blumenthal looked serious. "Do you have any special requirements? Such as time."
"No, just deal with it as usual." Gao Xian patted Michael Blumenthal on the arm. "In this business, there are many joints that need to be opened, so it will take some time to really work."
"That's what Sir Gao gave himself for nothing." Michael Blumenthal, who quickly figured out the joints, replied with a smile: "just right, the design of the satellite also takes some time."
"By the way, recently Bora has lobbied me hard to get the resources to support their mainframe computer business, so that they can continue to survive under the strong pressure of IBM, the overlord in this field." Michael Blumenthal also talked about another topic excitedly, "this is the network I established when I was the Treasury secretary, and it's not easy to refuse."
"Sir Gao, according to my observation, under the pressure of the antitrust investigation of the Ministry of justice, IBM's aggressive operation has greatly converged, which makes other manufacturers in the mainframe computer industry a little relieved. Do you think Howard Hughes can enter the mainframe computer industry at this time?"
"The speed of high-tech development can only be described as changing with each passing day. For example, 32-bit microprocessors for personal computers have begun to be put on the market. In this case, within five years, mainframe computers will be eliminated." Gao Xian firmly analyzed: "What's more, once Li Gen, who shouted the slogan of new free economy from the Communist Party, wins in this year's presidential election, the antitrust investigation against IBM is likely to be revoked."
Upon hearing this, Michael Blumenthal's face flashed with disappointment. Because Gao Xian had such a conclusion, Howard Hughes naturally did not need to take risks and consume expensive resources to enter the large-scale computer industry with fierce market competition and weak industry prospects.
In fact, it's normal for Michael Blumenthal to have such mood swings. You know, he was recruited by Gao Xian to serve as CEO of Howard Hughes, and his main work performance was "success" , combing the internal affairs of this huge group has also satisfied Gao Xian, but there is one thing that completely belongs to him. Therefore, leading Howard Hughes into a new business field has become a breakthrough to meet his personal development.
The high string, which takes a panoramic view of Michael Blumenthal's response, leisurely added, "However, although the product of mainframe computer will be eliminated soon, the objective needs of those customers who use mainframe computers still exist. Therefore, the mainframe computer customer resources mastered by Bora company are still valuable. After all, the new type of computers that replace mainframe computers enter the market from scratch is far better than inheriting mainframe computing The form of client resources occupies the market and saves effort. "
At this turning point, Michael Blumenthal's originally depressed mood rose again, "Sir Gao means that you can promise Bora's help?"
"Yes, but we need to meet the conditions we put forward." Gao Xian replied playfully: "they don't necessarily have a good understanding of the development of the computer industry."
"That's right, that's right." Michael Blumenthal, who was delighted because the plan was adopted, sincerely complimented: "after IBM accepted Sir Gao's matchmaking and acquired Huanyu personal computer, WuChao deserves to be called a happy worry by Wall Street, for fear of adding another reason for prosecution to the anti-monopoly investigation of the Ministry of justice."
Gao Xian was flattered this time because this is indeed the case. IBM, which ranks in the top 10 of the Fortune 500, has since entered the emerging personal computer industry through Huanyu personal computer. Now its market value is close to $55 billion, ranking first in the standard & Poor's 500 index, The market value of at & T, which ranks second, is only more than 35 billion US dollars, almost 20 billion US dollars less than the blue giant. The gap between the second and the first market value is not large.
The rise of IBM's share price has naturally benefited all parties including Gaoxian, IBM and Wall Street, and has become the most powerful proof of Gaoxian's successful investment in the computer industry. If Bora can get the light of gaoser, it is its blessing. Michael Blumenthal's compliment can be said to scratch the itch.
At this stage, the pattern of the mainframe computer industry can be simply described as that the stronger the stronger, the winner takes all.
In the era of large computers in the history of computer development, it is the stage for large companies to perform. In addition to IBM, Bora, control data, general electric, American radio, Honeywell, national cash income recording and UNIVAC are also on the American territory.
In the 1960s, when mainframe computer competition complemented each other, this pattern was called "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" by the media to describe the dominance of IBM.
Specifically, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when IBM began to attract antitrust investigations from the U.S. Ministry of justice, IBM's share in the mainframe computer market reached its peak, with an 80% share, and the remaining 20% share was shared by the "three dwarfs".
It should be pointed out that IBM won the dominant position in the mainframe computer market not only by simple technical advantages. In fact, system360 is not the most technologically excellent product, such as imperfect time-sharing processing function. In contrast, spectar70 series, a mainframe computer product of American radio company, took the lead in completely adopting semiconductor integrated circuit manufacturing, and so on, It was not until IBM launched system370 that it changed greatly and became worthy of its name.
The real trump card for IBM to win the dominant position in the mainframe computer market should be excellent public relations and sales, as well as the old pressure on competitors.
Take the control data company as an example. When it ambitiously announces a better product R & D plan, IBM will draw bigger cakes to customers. Even if it fails to fulfill its promise at that time, it will steal the limelight of the control data company.
It is estimated that it is these intrigues that make the antitrust investigation of the US Ministry of justice come so quickly.
But the reality is that the rice bowl in the mainframe computer market is not easy to eat. IBM, the overlord, has reason to have the resources to deal with the antitrust investigation of the American Ministry of justice. The "Seven Dwarfs" may not be able to afford it. Among them, the American radio company announced in September 1971 that it would withdraw from the mainframe computer market and replace its computer business unit, I sold it to UNIVAC for 120 million US dollars. Anyway, I have a wide business scope. Why do I have to fight with IBM in the field of mainframe computers.
The situation of General Electric Company is similar to that of American radio company. For example, in the three high-tech businesses of atomic energy, jet aircraft and electronic computer, the profits of the first two are much higher than that of the latter. Furthermore, in the large-scale computer market, there is no power to fight to the bottom with IBM.
However, GE has a good face and does not want to directly declare that it ended in failure like American radio. Instead, it played a golden cicada and found Honeywell to discuss. Let's gather together the large-scale computer resources on our head and form a joint company to fight IBM together.
Honeywell, which is also deeply troubled, readily agreed that the two sides formed Honeywell information systems company immediately, with an asset scale of US $3.1 billion and a total mainframe computer market share of 9.9%, firmly taking the second place.
At that time, the industry was excited about this and felt that the joint efforts of Ge and Honeywell were enough to set off a new round of competition against IBM in the mainframe computer market.
But the name Honeywell information systems is a hint that GE's mind has flown away, continuously reducing its joint stock until the last 11.7% was sold to Honeywell at one time, and completely withdrew from the field of mainframe computers.
Until this time, the outside world suddenly realized that GE had already backed out.
American radio company and general electric company withdrew from the mainframe computer market one after another, which not only caused a huge shock, but also made other mainframe computer manufacturers realize that they must hold together to keep warm in order to continue to survive. For example, the control data company and the national cash income recording company among the "Seven Dwarfs" are united.
This trend of huddling for warmth has also spread to other places. Six large-scale computer enterprises of one company joined hands with Hitachi and Fujitsu, one company with Toshiba, Mitsubishi Electric and Chong electric to form three new large-scale computer companies; In Europe, Siemens of West Germany, International Information Corporation of France and Philips of the Netherlands concluded a joint treaty and jointly established the largest computer enterprise in Europe - unideta company.
In short, in the mainframe computer industry, companies that don't want to become giants simply can't continue to mix. For example, Bora company, which is only looking for help now, is already a hindsight.
Of course, Bora company is certainly not really stupid. It seems to be slow in response and must have the strength to survive.
In a word, Bora has a long history. Its history can be traced back to 1886. Its business is the "adder" for four arithmetic operations invented by William Seward Burroughs, the founder of the manufacturing and sales company. This kind of thing can hardly be regarded as one of the distant ancestors of modern computers.
As for the acceptance of products in the market, it is not difficult to imagine that abacus was not popular in the United States at that time, but the banking industry developed rapidly, and more efficient auxiliary tools were needed for objective financial calculation. Therefore, Bora's "adder" products were more and more widely known and popularized in the banking industry.
Bora entered the mainframe computer industry in 1953, focusing on R & D and sales of mainframe computer products serving the banking industry. It naturally became a member of the pattern of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in the mainframe computer industry.
It is necessary to point out that Bora has a deep foundation in the banking industry.
To take the most representative example, in the 1950s, Bora Corporation cooperated with the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States to develop a magnetic ink character recognition system that can carry out computer information processing, so as to help simplify the processing of checks and other bills in the banking industry.
The banking industry in the United States is so developed that Bora company has been able to eat its old capital for many years with this achievement alone.
However, everything has two sides. Just like IBM, the overlord of the mainframe computer industry, it is hard to escape the fate of being eliminated from the traditional mainframe computer business. Bora, which has a deep-rooted position in the mainframe computer product market for the banking industry, is indeed a little slow in adapting to market changes.
Of course, these details of Bora company are indeed quite attractive in Gao Xian's eyes, otherwise he would not have finally given Michael Blumenthal a turning point to resist the ups and downs.
Michael Blumenthal, once the finance minister of the United States, really knows Bora, which is closely related to the banking industry of the United States. He made a group of figures and said: "Under the wise guidance of Sir Gao, the reorganized Howard Hughes company is better than ever, and its business performance is booming. In terms of operating revenue, in the past 1979, it was nearly $3 billion, enough to rank in the top 100 of the Fortune 500, and its profit is higher than the excellent level generally recognized by the industry. It is no problem to exceed $400 million."
"Bora's operating revenue last year should exceed US $2 billion. Although it can't compare with IBM's annual operating revenue of more than US $20 billion, its profit performance is fairly standard, reaching US $200 million. There is no doubt. Except that it is completely dependent on the mainframe market and lacks stamina in the face of too fierce industry competition, there are no major problems in other aspects 。”
Gao Xian, who knew well, nodded and said, "Bora still seems to have a head and can be contacted further, but before making substantive investment actions, I need to find out to what extent Bora is willing to accept our leadership, especially in the new products that inherit the status of large computers."
"If Bora stubbornly clings to the incomplete, we don't need to waste that energy."
Michael Blumenthal, who found out Gao Xian's thoughts, clearly said: "I am responsible for the specific communication work and strive to report a clear result to Sir Gao in the first quarter."
Gao Xian further disclosed with great satisfaction: "although I sold my personal computer business to IBM, there are still many computer projects in operation, including new microprocessors and enterprise level solutions for server client architecture built on this basis. The banking industry is one of the target users."
"Compared with the traditional mainframe computer with special architecture, the server client architecture has obvious advantages in cost, maintenance and so on, and must represent the future."
"If Bora company can satisfy us, we can set up a new company to integrate this new product representing the future step by step with the customer resources held by Bora company. When the time is ripe, we can use capital operation means, or sell the new company to Bora, or directly push it into the stock market. Anyway, we can maximize the benefits How it works. "
Michael Blumenthal's eyes lit up. He seemed to see another capital feast like IBM's acquisition of Huanyu personal computer, waiting for himself to participate.
After he Fengshan left home, Michael Blumenthal's excitement was still high. He even said that his trip was true. He even complimented Howard Hughes on taking over Kirk kirkerian's shares in Columbia film industry through Gao Xian. Sir Gao has great foresight. When I think about it, he can really do a lot of things in the film industry.Gao Xian is not surprised because he knows the identity of Michael Blumenthal. In addition to American corporate executives and former American finance minister, he has also made great achievements in the field of public services, especially in the field of public services involving Jews.For example, in the "old play", Michael Blumenthal, who lost his position as US finance minister, returned to the business executive community and served as the curator of the Jewish Museum in Berlin, Germany.Of course, Michael Blumenthal also showed his kindness to the high string in his style.After all, Michael Blumenthal, as the Treasury Secretary of Carter's cabinet, failed to enter the core circle of President Carter and dismissed him if he said he would be dismissed, which had a great impact on Michael Blumenthal.Although Gao Xian is not the boss of Howard Hughes consortium, he is the financial manager appointed by Howard Hughes. Even the "Mormon Mafia" who serve Howard Hughes and try to get involved in the huge legacy left by Howard Hughes have been expelled, and Howard Hughes' relatives who want to divide up the legacy have also obeyed. This kind of actual authority and control, Michael Blumenthal is certainly loyal to Sir Gao."The film should be done by professionals." Gao Xian responded to Michael Blumenthal's enthusiasm in a good mood, "but Michael, you are also an expert in that period of history. If you are willing to spare time, I would like to ask you to be the consultant of this film.""Yes, of course." Michael Blumenthal, who was right in the heart, agreed happily and subconsciously became close to Sir Gao.Gao Xian smiled with understanding. After making a few calls through MCI's wireless communication network with the Motorola phone in the car, he talked about another thing with Michael Blumenthal, "I intend to set up a commercial satellite communication company headquartered in Xiangjiang and serving the Asian region, and the orders for communication satellites will naturally be handed over to Hughes Aircraft Company."This is no longer a "serious" business. Michael Blumenthal looked serious. "Do you have any special requirements? Such as time.""No, just deal with it as usual." Gao Xian patted Michael Blumenthal on the arm. "In this business, there are many joints that need to be opened, so it will take some time to really work.""That's what Sir Gao gave himself for nothing." Michael Blumenthal, who quickly figured out the joints, replied with a smile: "just right, the design of the satellite also takes some time.""By the way, recently Bora has lobbied me hard to get the resources to support their mainframe computer business, so that they can continue to survive under the strong pressure of IBM, the overlord in this field." Michael Blumenthal also talked about another topic excitedly, "this is the network I established when I was the Treasury secretary, and it's not easy to refuse.""Sir Gao, according to my observation, under the pressure of the antitrust investigation of the Ministry of justice, IBM's aggressive operation has greatly converged, which makes other manufacturers in the mainframe computer industry a little relieved. Do you think Howard Hughes can enter the mainframe computer industry at this time?""The speed of high-tech development can only be described as changing with each passing day. For example, 32-bit microprocessors for personal computers have begun to be put on the market. In this case, within five years, mainframe computers will be eliminated." Gao Xian firmly analyzed: "What's more, once Li Gen, who shouted the slogan of new free economy from the Communist Party, wins in this year's presidential election, the antitrust investigation against IBM is likely to be revoked."Upon hearing this, Michael Blumenthal's face flashed with disappointment. Because Gao Xian had such a conclusion, Howard Hughes naturally did not need to take risks and consume expensive resources to enter the large-scale computer industry with fierce market competition and weak industry prospects.In fact, it's normal for Michael Blumenthal to have such mood swings. You know, he was recruited by Gao Xian to serve as CEO of Howard Hughes, and his main work performance was "success" , combing the internal affairs of this huge group has also satisfied Gao Xian, but there is one thing that completely belongs to him. Therefore, leading Howard Hughes into a new business field has become a breakthrough to meet his personal development.The high string, which takes a panoramic view of Michael Blumenthal's response, leisurely added, "However, although the product of mainframe computer will be eliminated soon, the objective needs of those customers who use mainframe computers still exist. Therefore, the mainframe computer customer resources mastered by Bora company are still valuable. After all, the new type of computers that replace mainframe computers enter the market from scratch is far better than inheriting mainframe computing The form of client resources occupies the market and saves effort. "At this turning point, Michael Blumenthal's originally depressed mood rose again, "Sir Gao means that you can promise Bora's help?""Yes, but we need to meet the conditions we put forward." Gao Xian replied playfully: "they don't necessarily have a good understanding of the development of the computer industry.""That's right, that's right." Michael Blumenthal, who was delighted because the plan was adopted, sincerely complimented: "after IBM accepted Sir Gao's matchmaking and acquired Huanyu personal computer, WuChao deserves to be called a happy worry by Wall Street, for fear of adding another reason for prosecution to the anti-monopoly investigation of the Ministry of justice."Gao Xian was flattered this time because this is indeed the case. IBM, which ranks in the top 10 of the Fortune 500, has since entered the emerging personal computer industry through Huanyu personal computer. Now its market value is close to $55 billion, ranking first in the standard & Poor's 500 index, The market value of at & T, which ranks second, is only more than 35 billion US dollars, almost 20 billion US dollars less than the blue giant. The gap between the second and the first market value is not large.The rise of IBM's share price has naturally benefited all parties including Gaoxian, IBM and Wall Street, and has become the most powerful proof of Gaoxian's successful investment in the computer industry. If Bora can get the light of gaoser, it is its blessing. Michael Blumenthal's compliment can be said to scratch the itch.At this stage, the pattern of the mainframe computer industry can be simply described as that the stronger the stronger, the winner takes all.In the era of large computers in the history of computer development, it is the stage for large companies to perform. In addition to IBM, Bora, control data, general electric, American radio, Honeywell, national cash income recording and UNIVAC are also on the American territory.In the 1960s, when mainframe computer competition complemented each other, this pattern was called "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" by the media to describe the dominance of IBM.Specifically, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when IBM began to attract antitrust investigations from the U.S. Ministry of justice, IBM's share in the mainframe computer market reached its peak, with an 80% share, and the remaining 20% share was shared by the "three dwarfs".It should be pointed out that IBM won the dominant position in the mainframe computer market not only by simple technical advantages. In fact, system360 is not the most technologically excellent product, such as imperfect time-sharing processing function. In contrast, spectar70 series, a mainframe computer product of American radio company, took the lead in completely adopting semiconductor integrated circuit manufacturing, and so on, It was not until IBM launched system370 that it changed greatly and became worthy of its name.The real trump card for IBM to win the dominant position in the mainframe computer market should be excellent public relations and sales, as well as the old pressure on competitors.Take the control data company as an example. When it ambitiously announces a better product R & D plan, IBM will draw bigger cakes to customers. Even if it fails to fulfill its promise at that time, it will steal the limelight of the control data company.It is estimated that it is these intrigues that make the antitrust investigation of the US Ministry of justice come so quickly.But the reality is that the rice bowl in the mainframe computer market is not easy to eat. IBM, the overlord, has reason to have the resources to deal with the antitrust investigation of the American Ministry of justice. The "Seven Dwarfs" may not be able to afford it. Among them, the American radio company announced in September 1971 that it would withdraw from the mainframe computer market and replace its computer business unit, I sold it to UNIVAC for 120 million US dollars. Anyway, I have a wide business scope. Why do I have to fight with IBM in the field of mainframe computers.The situation of General Electric Company is similar to that of American radio company. For example, in the three high-tech businesses of atomic energy, jet aircraft and electronic computer, the profits of the first two are much higher than that of the latter. Furthermore, in the large-scale computer market, there is no power to fight to the bottom with IBM.However, GE has a good face and does not want to directly declare that it ended in failure like American radio. Instead, it played a golden cicada and found Honeywell to discuss. Let's gather together the large-scale computer resources on our head and form a joint company to fight IBM together.Honeywell, which is also deeply troubled, readily agreed that the two sides formed Honeywell information systems company immediately, with an asset scale of US $3.1 billion and a total mainframe computer market share of 9.9%, firmly taking the second place.At that time, the industry was excited about this and felt that the joint efforts of Ge and Honeywell were enough to set off a new round of competition against IBM in the mainframe computer market.But the name Honeywell information systems is a hint that GE's mind has flown away, continuously reducing its joint stock until the last 11.7% was sold to Honeywell at one time, and completely withdrew from the field of mainframe computers.Until this time, the outside world suddenly realized that GE had already backed out.American radio company and general electric company withdrew from the mainframe computer market one after another, which not only caused a huge shock, but also made other mainframe computer manufacturers realize that they must hold together to keep warm in order to continue to survive. For example, the control data company and the national cash income recording company among the "Seven Dwarfs" are united.This trend of huddling for warmth has also spread to other places. Six large-scale computer enterprises of one company joined hands with Hitachi and Fujitsu, one company with Toshiba, Mitsubishi Electric and Chong electric to form three new large-scale computer companies; In Europe, Siemens of West Germany, International Information Corporation of France and Philips of the Netherlands concluded a joint treaty and jointly established the largest computer enterprise in Europe - unideta company.In short, in the mainframe computer industry, companies that don't want to become giants simply can't continue to mix. For example, Bora company, which is only looking for help now, is already a hindsight.Of course, Bora company is certainly not really stupid. It seems to be slow in response and must have the strength to survive.In a word, Bora has a long history. Its history can be traced back to 1886. Its business is the "adder" for four arithmetic operations invented by William Seward Burroughs, the founder of the manufacturing and sales company. This kind of thing can hardly be regarded as one of the distant ancestors of modern computers.As for the acceptance of products in the market, it is not difficult to imagine that abacus was not popular in the United States at that time, but the banking industry developed rapidly, and more efficient auxiliary tools were needed for objective financial calculation. Therefore, Bora's "adder" products were more and more widely known and popularized in the banking industry.Bora entered the mainframe computer industry in 1953, focusing on R & D and sales of mainframe computer products serving the banking industry. It naturally became a member of the pattern of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in the mainframe computer industry.It is necessary to point out that Bora has a deep foundation in the banking industry.To take the most representative example, in the 1950s, Bora Corporation cooperated with the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States to develop a magnetic ink character recognition system that can carry out computer information processing, so as to help simplify the processing of checks and other bills in the banking industry.The banking industry in the United States is so developed that Bora company has been able to eat its old capital for many years with this achievement alone.However, everything has two sides. Just like IBM, the overlord of the mainframe computer industry, it is hard to escape the fate of being eliminated from the traditional mainframe computer business. Bora, which has a deep-rooted position in the mainframe computer product market for the banking industry, is indeed a little slow in adapting to market changes.Of course, these details of Bora company are indeed quite attractive in Gao Xian's eyes, otherwise he would not have finally given Michael Blumenthal a turning point to resist the ups and downs.Michael Blumenthal, once the finance minister of the United States, really knows Bora, which is closely related to the banking industry of the United States. He made a group of figures and said: "Under the wise guidance of Sir Gao, the reorganized Howard Hughes company is better than ever, and its business performance is booming. In terms of operating revenue, in the past 1979, it was nearly $3 billion, enough to rank in the top 100 of the Fortune 500, and its profit is higher than the excellent level generally recognized by the industry. It is no problem to exceed $400 million.""Bora's operating revenue last year should exceed US $2 billion. Although it can't compare with IBM's annual operating revenue of more than US $20 billion, its profit performance is fairly standard, reaching US $200 million. There is no doubt. Except that it is completely dependent on the mainframe market and lacks stamina in the face of too fierce industry competition, there are no major problems in other aspects Gao Xian, who knew well, nodded and said, "Bora still seems to have a head and can be contacted further, but before making substantive investment actions, I need to find out to what extent Bora is willing to accept our leadership, especially in the new products that inherit the status of large computers.""If Bora stubbornly clings to the incomplete, we don't need to waste that energy."Michael Blumenthal, who found out Gao Xian's thoughts, clearly said: "I am responsible for the specific communication work and strive to report a clear result to Sir Gao in the first quarter."Gao Xian further disclosed with great satisfaction: "although I sold my personal computer business to IBM, there are still many computer projects in operation, including new microprocessors and enterprise level solutions for server client architecture built on this basis. The banking industry is one of the target users.""Compared with the traditional mainframe computer with special architecture, the server client architecture has obvious advantages in cost, maintenance and so on, and must represent the future.""If Bora company can satisfy us, we can set up a new company to integrate this new product representing the future step by step with the customer resources held by Bora company. When the time is ripe, we can use capital operation means, or sell the new company to Bora, or directly push it into the stock market. Anyway, we can maximize the benefits How it works. "Michael Blumenthal's eyes lit up. He seemed to see another capital feast like IBM's acquisition of Huanyu personal computer, waiting for himself to participate.
