Engineering and marketing synergism
Rick Nelson, chief Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 3/1/2005
What's more important, technical prowess or marketing sophistication? The fortunes of Agilent Technologies and Hewlett-Packard since they parted ways in 1999 sheds light on the question. The dot-com bust following 2000 hasn't been kind to either, and both have recently lost CEOs. But there the similarities end.
Note, first, the turmoil at HP. Carleton Fiorina was unceremoniously let go by HP's board last month with no clear successor in place. Her problems stemmed in part from fierce competition from Dell and IBM. Yet, she has been criticized for pursuing "rock-star celebrity"—choosing flashy deals like the hard-fought Compaq acquisition over steps that made better business sense. In fact, it may have been a February 7 article in Fortune detailing the drawbacks of the Compaq merger that persuaded the HP board to act.
But it may have been an overemphasis on marketing that led to the poor financial performance that made her retention untenable. The business journalist Lawrence M. Fisher writing in Salon notes that she mounted an ad campaign touting HP's invention prowess (complete with a fake version of Hewlett and Packard's famous garage) while slashing R&D budgets.
In contrast, at Agilent, CEO Ned Barnholt retired February 28 and turned the reins over to William P. Sullivan in an orderly fashion after what the Wall Street Journal reports was a year-long discussion with the Agilent board. Barnholt retains the title of chairman emeritus.
At Agilent, technological innovation pursued in conjunction with a keen eye on the market is driving a recovery from the dot-com bust. The synergy that marketing and technology can deliver is exemplified in the Agilent 93000 SOC Series test system, which debuted in 1999 and has steadily evolved to meet customer needs for high-performance analog and high-speed serial I/O test capabilities.
The complementary combination of innovation and marketing has resulted in the 93K becoming the first recipient of Test & Measurement World 's "Test of Time" award, created to recognize product lines that provide state-of-the-art performance for at least five years after their introduction (p. 29). We congratulate all the Agilent engineers and marketers, as well the administrative, production, and support personnel, who have had a hand in the 93K's success.
This issue also unveils our new TestVoices section (p. 7), which gives a reader a chance to sound off on important topics in a Q&A format. If you have issues to raise, contact Senior Technical Editor Martin Rowe (mrowe@tmworld.com). The TestVoices Q&A will alternate with long-time columnist Brad Thompson's musings.
Contact Rick Nelson at rnelson@tmworld.com.
