Chapter 1225 Competitive Strategy

Fang Zhuo is thinking about the company's overall strategy in Silicon Valley and looking forward to the next development path.

Domestic friends are doing well, Penguin is still tenaciously promoting the mobileization of Wangpai, Alibaba, which has solved the Alipay problem, has freed up its hands, and Baidu is finally willing to work hard on maps other than search. Qingzi, Qingzi... probably has no hope.

On September 10, Fang Zhuo reviewed the written opinions on cloud business sent by Qi He and Wang Jian in the office.

These two people have two perspectives, but in the end they have the same goal. Qi He talks about the future of Yike with the development of Amazon, while Wang Jian hopes to open up a larger market with the development of technology.

"I should be convinced." Fang Zhuo said to him while playing with the spider robot just sent by technical director Xu Kedeng.

Xu Kedeng said "hmm", and when he saw the boss looking at him, he immediately added: "I don't know anything about this anyway."

Fang Zhuo patted Spider-Man angrily: "If you don't understand, you can learn. Aren't they just prospects like aPaaS, FaaS, dbPaaS, and adPaaS!"

Xu Kedeng knew that his boss always had a good memory, so he calmly asked: "Mr. Fang, please explain aPaaS in detail."

Fang Zhuo hummed: "These are to standardize the integration methods of applications, so that companies and developers in need can use them out of the box, so as to better digitize and automate, so that they can migrate data between different programs and systems, simplify data sharing and collaboration to improve business efficiency."

Xu Kedeng suspected that if he continued to ask, he would hear more rigid explanations. That's enough, that's better than many bosses.

He quickly said, "Okay, Mr. Fang, I will communicate more with Dr. Wang and others."

Fang Zhuo nodded, then looked at the Spider-Man in his hand, frowned and said, "Why are they still studying this thing?"

I had received the results of the Silicon Valley R&D Center when I was in the Shencheng office before, which was elusive. I didn't hear any sound later, so I thought it had stopped.

Xu Keden was refreshed and replied, "Mr. Fang, our spider robot is different."

Fang Zhuo looked at Teacher Xu in confusion: "What's different?"

"The algorithm behind it has improved!" Xu Keden said seriously, "It's still different."

Fang Zhuo touched the Spider-Man in his hand and found it difficult to agree with this aesthetic, and asked again: "So, what is it now?"

Xu Keden thought for a while: "It's a spider robot with an algorithm."

Fang Zhuo smiled and nodded, okay, okay, stay here with me.

The door of the office was knocked, and the secretary reported that former Microsoft CEO Ballmer had arrived.

Before Fang Zhuo accepted Gates' invitation to visit Microsoft, Ballmer, who had resigned and had nothing to do, made an appointment to come to Yike to see this company developed in the new century.

Fang Zhuo would naturally not refuse this, as long as Ballmer was not coming to the office to rush to the tower.

A moment later, Ballmer strode into the office and said his first impression: "You are really free here. I see there are electric pedals in the corridor. Will your company do this in the future?"

"It's fine as long as it doesn't bother others." Fang Zhuo motioned Ballmer to sit down and asked the secretary to pour him a cup of coffee.

Ballmer just sat down and saw the spider robot next to Mr. Fang, wondering: "What is this spider?"

"Bionic robot." Fang Zhuo replied.

Ballmer was quite puzzled: "This is also the technology incubated internally by Yike? It's quite scattered?"

Fang Zhuo waved his hand and said proudly: "Algorithm, algorithm, do you understand? The important thing is the algorithm behind it, forget it, otherwise how can you not be the CEO."

Ballmer looked at Mr. Fang and his robot, and felt respect. Yike still has something.

Xu Kedeng also felt respect when he saw this scene. Mr. Fang, you can't be stumped at all.

Seeing Ballmer's silence, Fang Zhuo decided not to mention that he would no longer be the CEO, which was indeed a bit cruel.

He was about to speak when he suddenly had an idea. The new CEO Nadella's previous work at Microsoft included cloud business. The Microsoft board of directors chose him this time. In addition to the mobile priority they predicted, they must also value his experience in this area and the future potential of cloud business.

It just happened to be able to verify Yike's cloud business.

For work, a little cruelty is understandable.

"If you don't become the CEO, now that Nadella is in power, Microsoft will carry out organizational reforms while doing mobile and cloud business." Fang Zhuo said affirmatively.

Ballmer couldn't help but praise: "Mr. Fang, although I disagree with your evaluation of yourself as the best CEO, you are worthy of being one of the best. Indeed, this is what we discussed and may be more in line with the direction of Microsoft's development."

He thought for a while and said, "Nadella is confident that he will build the cloud business into the company's largest revenue business in the future."

Fang Zhuo was surprised and commented: "This will be a big challenge. Will you give him enough time?"

Today, Windows-related businesses still account for the largest share of Microsoft.

"Even I'm leaving, how can you support me?" Ballmer laughed.

"You should leave, but if the feedback chain of the business is long, the enthusiasm and support of shareholders and employees will be a problem." Fang Zhuo pointed out the problem.

Ballmer laughed angrily: "I don't want to leave, I don't have to leave!"

Fang Zhuo wondered: "What's the point of that?"

"Let's go, let's go, there's nothing good about your company!" Ballmer stood up to leave.

"Let's discuss each other. Come on, let's go. I'll take you to visit our R&D center." Fang Zhuo stood up to persuade him to stay. He also wanted to hear the former CEO Ballmer's evaluation of the current CEO's decision-making.

He has felt Microsoft's determination to support the cloud business, but also wants to hear their judgment on competition in the current situation.

Technical Director Xu Keden and others accompanied the boss and Ballmer to explain some of the technologies in Yike's Silicon Valley R&D Center from time to time. Since Yike has gathered many diverse teams since 2008, Yike has been working on something since last year. The thing is selective streamlining.

After Ballmer listened for a while, he felt that Yike had invested a lot in IC design, and the server chip architecture involved now also required long-term investment.

He took what he said before and asked Mr. Fang: "You are studying Arm-based servers. It seems that it will take a long time to see the benefits, and you may not even see them. How did you give the time plan?"

"Our team was originally acquired in Austin. I personally flew people there that time, and I personally promised Porter that I would continue to conduct research and development in this area." Fang Zhuo told about the Yike team. The origin is a US$23 million acquisition in 2008.

Before the financial crisis, the team's valuation was still $80 million, which was a miss.

From 2008 to 2011, as Yike's revenue increased, the original investment commitments have been implemented, and the team has been absorbing new blood.

Fang Zhuo smiled and said: "It is not easy for us at Yike to do some research. If we break our promise again, it will be even more difficult to build a brand. What's more, this is a relatively suitable research and development direction."

Ballmer nodded slightly and said with emotion: "Yike's business and R&D are gradually becoming fuller. Not only are they fuller, but they are also connected with each other. IC design was first successful on mobile phones, and the team below has a server architecture. The next step is to link it with your cloud business.”

He mused: "You Yike has a home field advantage in the Chinese market, but it will be more difficult in the US market in the future. Amazon's investment and development are very fast, I'm afraid it is a difficult competitor to compete with, and Google's investment in this area is also obvious. strengthened.”

Amazon is first, followed by Google and Microsoft. They are all researching the cloud business, but the resources invested are limited. Now, Microsoft is betting on the future in this area.

Fang Zhuo did not deny the connection within Yike, nor did he say anything. Instead, some competitive strategy ideas flashed in his mind.

As Ballmer said, it will be difficult for Yike to compete in the US market. First, there are Amazon, Google and Microsoft. Second, there are geopolitical factors.

Third, Yike, which made its fortune from hardware, may also have a disadvantage in acquiring large customers at the beginning.

In this case...

Fang Zhuo thought of his friends in China, Ma Chen, who was also recently shortlisted for the top ten CEOs in China. Alibaba's B2B business makes it easy to do business in the world, and its focus is on small and medium-sized enterprises.

Based on Yike's situation, there are leaders and giants such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft in the U.S. market, and there are also stronger political risks, so it would be better to focus on Europe.

There are no big Internet companies in Europe, and Amazon's efforts are not as strong as those in the United States. The small and medium-sized enterprises here are suitable for Yike's initial attempts to accumulate experience in solving problems and continuously invest in research and development.

It can also be considered as rural areas surrounding cities in this field.

After accepting the company's internal suggestions, Fang Zhuo quickly made plans for a competitive strategy.

Ballmer spoke for a while, but didn't hear Mr. Fang's response. He turned his head and said, "Mr. Fang? Mr. Fang?"

"Well, I'm considering competition based on Yike's situation." Fang Zhuo took a breath and said bluntly.

Ballmer looked at Mr. Fang and smiled: "I heard that Yike is going to build a data center in Houston?"

"So you're not worried about Yike's competition at all, right?" Fang Zhuo heard Ballmer suddenly mention this and immediately understood the intention behind it.

Ballmer smiled and said: "I am a bystander now. There are not many players in this field, but now we are working hard to open up the entire market. As for the future, I can only say that we are confident in lobbying for large orders." ”

What is a big order?

Billions, billions, even tens of billions of dollars.

This is the prospect of this field. The future transformation of the databases of government agencies alone is a big piece of fat.

Ballmer doesn't think Yike can compete in such a field. Just one reason for rejection is enough. Similarly, he is optimistic about Yike's efforts in the Chinese market.

Fang Zhuo smiled, mentally calculating the size of the sinking market.

If a data center is to be built in Houston, Yike should also provide similar role positioning in Germany and France. If the cloud business is spun off, development may be smoother.

In any case, Yike can make this market more volumeful. Well, in turn, it also puts forward higher requirements for IC design, which is further related to the development of ice cores.

Fang Zhuo kept thinking in his mind, planning to hold a general office meeting to discuss future development after he had more detailed data support. Giants like Microsoft were betting on the cloud business, and Yike should be more active. Do this piece.

As Ballmer's visit came to an end, he mentioned the progress of purchasing the team.

"If there is no problem, I will own the '76ers' team next month, and we can compete together in the NBA in the future."

Fang Zhuo laughed: "Our Rockets need to rebuild, and your team is not very good. We can see if we can complement each other."

Ballmer glanced at Mr. Fang and asked, "Are you violating the rules now?"

"You're not the team owner yet." Fang Zhuo replied, and out of the corner of his eye he caught Liu Zonghong pointing to his cell phone.

He chatted with Ballmer for a few more words, and then went to the side to ask about the situation, but it was Kong Yu who called, and the target of the investigation was Kawasaki Heavy Industries.

More importantly, Olympus has changed.

CEO Woodford issued an open letter in Tokyo, Japan, calling for the collective resignation of the board of directors and senior executives, which seemed to push the conflict to an unavoidable point.

Calculating the chips currently in control and capable of causing an impact, Toshiba, Sony, Hitachi, Panasonic, Kobe Steel, Akebono Brake, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, plus Olympus, which is about to self-destruct, there are only 8 companies.

Will it be a little less?

Fang Zhuo thought about the situation and was not sure whether these eight companies could blackmail them into more fraud. He hoped that Woodford could spend more time with Olympus.

Unfortunately, when the conflict reaches an acute point, it is difficult to endure it any longer.

Just two days later, Olympus held a board meeting and voted to remove Woodford from his position as CEO.