Sony is no longer an electronics company | The Verge

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1. February 23, 2015 at 11:03 am

   Tomi Engdahl says:

   Sony’s Surrender on Synergy
   http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1325738&

   Sony is finally forsaking its delusional “content-hardware synergy” theory.

   Sony continues apace in the process of ditching practically all of its electronics business units — PC (gone last year), TV (already a separate company), and audio and video business (scheduled be split off in October).

   On the brink of the Mobile World Congress scheduled in less than two weeks, Kazuo Hirai, Sony CEO, said he would not “rule out considering an exit strategy” for the company’s mobile phone unit, Reuters reported.

   In essence, Sony is pulling a Motorola.

   But when it comes to Sony (not Motorola), my first thought is: Thank goodness, Sony’s finally forsaking its delusional “content-hardware synergy” theory.

   Almost 10 years ago, I talked to Nicholas Carr, author of “Does IT Matter? Information Technology and the Corrosion of Competitive Advantage.” He then bluntly said that synergy “hasn’t worked” for Sony. “Companies tend to delude themselves about the power of synergies between different businesses.” The former executive editor of the Harvard Business Review told us, “The synergies are theoretical, but the conflicts are real.” Well, that was back in 2005.

   Many experts questioned for years if the rigorous demands of consumer electronics and supporting silicon can ever mesh with the often nebulous culture of movies and music creation. Now we know, it’s better to focus on one, rather than both.

   This hodgepodge includes video games, music and movies, and device business represented by Sony’s CMOS image sensors.

   The device business doesn’t exactly seem to fit the puzzle – if Sony’s new strategy intends to focus on software.

   Just as Sony is planning to spin out its audio/video business (represented by Walkman, DVD players, audio accessories, etc.) as a separate subsidiary in October, Sony is likely to do the same with its device division including image sensors in the future, according to CEO Hirai, the Financial Times said.

   Back to silos
   As a reporter covering Sony for so many years, most puzzling to me is how practically every business strategy, corporate slogan and objective touted by Sony over the years failed to stick.

   Stringer also stressed the importance of breaking down divisional “silos.” A decade later, according to Sony’s new mid-term corporate strategy (FY2015 – FY2017), Hirai is trying to give each business unit “greater autonomy, while holding them accountable to achieving their targets.”

   Meanwhile, the “One Sony,” promoted by Stringer and later Hirai, is now turning into many Sony spin-offs. Each is left to its own devices. If they get lucky, they’ll find partners or buyers.

   Sony trumpeted a variety of marketing slogans over the years ranging from “The One and Only”, “It’s a Sony” to “like.no.other” and “make.believe.” Its current slogan is “BE MOVED.”

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2. March 3, 2015 at 6:45 pm

   Tomi Engdahl says:

   Sony Mobile head says division is not being sold: Le Figaro
   http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/02/us-sony-mobile-idUSKBN0LY2D520150302

   “At the beginning of February there was speculation about a sale of Sony Mobile,” division head Hiroki Totoki was quoted as saying by the newspaper in an interview published on its website late on Monday. “It’s completely untrue.”

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