At hard-hit IBM, Akers faces criticism but is likely to stay
Article Abstract:
IBM Chmn John F. Akers faces loud calls for his ouster, but so far has convinced the company's 14 outside directors that IBM has been victimized by a industry-wide downturn beyond his control. Many computer experts and investors, who are dumping IBM stock, disagree with that argument, but so far Akers has convinced retired Johnson and Johnson CEO James E. Burke, IBM's most powerful outside director. Under Akers' eight-year tenure, IBM lost its dominance in the computer industry, a development that has lead to factory closures, huge work-force reductions and the company's first-ever loss, in 1991. The 60,000-member United Shareholder Assn and a powerful institutional investor, California's public employee retirement fund, are battling to reform IBM. Reportedly, Akers also has the support of long-retired Thomas Watson Jr, who helped build IBM in the 1950s and 1960s.
Publication Name: The Wall Street Journal Western Edition
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0193-2241
Year: 1992
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IBM forecasts that core business will post revenue growth in 1991
Article Abstract:
IBM expects to boost 1991 revenue with the introduction of its new mainframe computers, but analysts say maybe. Contributing to roughly half of IBM's revenue and two-thirds of its profit, mainframe sales fell an estimated 20- to 30 percent in the first half of 1991. But IBM says sales will rise with the high demand for the new ES/9000 models 820 and 900 machines, of which 250 to 300 are expected to be shipped in 1991. The new ES models, which will provide users a wider access to machines of different sizes and manufacturers, along with an announcement of a more direct UNIX operating system, are all part of an IBM campaign to position itself as an 'open systems' vendor. Analysts expects discounts as steep as 30 percent for the new mainframes, citing the intense pressure exerted on the company's sales force.
Publication Name: The Wall Street Journal Western Edition
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0193-2241
Year: 1991
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Computers in disguise try to achieve wide acceptance that still eludes PCs
Article Abstract:
For years, optimistic computer proponents have been claiming that there will one day be a microcomputer in every home. While microcomputers have failed to live up to the billing, being found in only 25 percent of American homes, microcomputer technology in the guise of other appliances may well find its way into most homes. One of the first such uses is a bank-at-home telephone being marketed by Citicorp. The telephone will include a small screen to view the transaction and its insides would be basically the same as a microcomputer. The theory behind such telephones, as well as smart televisions that allow users to search databases of articles using a remote control unit, is that they may succeed where ordinary computers have failed because they are focused, single purpose machines.
Publication Name: The Wall Street Journal Western Edition
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0193-2241
Year: 1990
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