A Politician In Redmond

Mark Penn (Photo credit: jdlasica)

Mark Penn is a familiar name. The guy was a pollster during the 2008 election. He was on the other side! His new assignment makes sense to me. Politics is war by other means. Business is politics by other means.

Mark Penn, Microsoft’s New Strategist, Hopes to Boost Bing

a new corporate strategy role reporting directly to Steve Ballmer ...... is assembling a “SWAT team” to work on thorny strategy questions ..... corporate vice president of strategic and special projects. ..... politics and technology have been my two passions since I was about 12 .... the Microsoft boss was intrigued with Mr. Penn’s comparison of the marketing challenge of Bing to pitching a political candidate ..... Penn said more consumers need to be convinced to use Bing. .... “Diehard habits can be questioned, just in the same way that people drank Coke and then realized Pepsi was just as good if not better” .... Mr. Penn said he will continue to work from Washington, D.C., though he plans to spend time in Redmond

This hire speaks to Ballmer's tenacity.

Steve Jobs had innovation nailed down. Ballmer has tenacity nailed down.

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Motorola To The Rescue

Image via CrunchBase

Google Says Patents, Tech Were Less Than Half Motorola’s Price

$5.5 billion of the $12.4 billion price tag was attributable to “patents and developed technology.” .... would strengthen its patent portfolio and help legally insulate its Android mobile phone software from infringement lawsuits..... The acquisition would “supercharge Android,” Chief Executive Larry Page wrote then. .... Google said Motorola contributed some $1.25 billion in revenue, though the new unit also posted a $233 million operating loss. ..... Oracle sued Google for alleged patent and copyright infringement by Android in 2010, though a related trial earlier this year resulted in a victory for Google. .... $2.9 billion of the purchase price for Motorola was attributable to cash acquired, $2.6 billion was related to goodwill, $730 million for customer relationships and $670 million for “other net assets acquired.” ... the synergies expected to arise after the acquisition.”

For a software company like Google to want to do hardware in house is a big move. For a culture driven company like Google to nearly double its workforce size from one acquisition is not an easy move, not easy to pull off. For a young company like Google to buy Motorola which has a deeper bench of patents is wise, but it is a package deal. For Google to want to defend Android is very understandable.

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