"Y'know, Larry, you're the only one I'd admit this to, but the stock-price thing almost drove me nuts! Our revenue was higher, our growth rate was higher, our product line was bigger -- heck, those sissies can't even make PCs anymore! -- but I still couldn't get our stock price within spitting distance of theirs. At this point in my career, I try not to let emotion cloud my judgment -- but I hate IBM."
"Well well, imagine that -- and the media like to portray me as Captain Ahab. I'll admit, Mark, that hate can be a useful asset, but if and only if it's channeled properly. I think that when you were at HP, you let IBM get under your skin, when you should have been making sure it was you who got under theirs."
"Not really my style, I guess."
"Can you make it your style? Otherwise this could be a short conversation."
"C'mon, Larry, you wouldn't even be having this conversation if you didn't think I fit the Oracle style. Because I had to spend a lot of my time at HP fixing things, I didn't have as much of a chance as I would have liked to play the marketplace-predator but trust me -- I can be the most-competitive SOB you ever saw."
"I'm glad to hear that, Mark. So tell me how you're going to use hardware to get under IBM's skin so bad they'll think they're having a bad case of hives."
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"Yeah, well, as you know, while I didn't really enjoy your critique of my strategy at HP with 'the infrastructure company' stuff, I see your larger point. And based on a point you just made -- but Larry, let me say, this is hard for me; I'm not used to anybody telling me what to do or how to do it. So I want you to know I'm trying, but if it was anybody but you talking to me like you have, I'd tell that other person to KMA."
"I understand, Mark. Change is hard. But it is me. So go on."
"Right. (Sigh.) So IBM's had this Migration Factory business for several years and its sole purpose is to identify competitive installations where IBM could make a compelling case to rip and replace, and then call in the sales SWAT team to make the case, and then work it through for the customers. It's been very successful for them -- believe me, I know -- so I'm gonna take your advice and recommend we start the Cloud Transformation Business grou -- "
" -- I like this! -- "
" -- p that we can apply across various axes: private clouds, industry-specific solutions, SMBs with our channel partners, and even into middleware with things like the Integration Cloud."
"Now you're talkin', buddy! Your mistake at HP was that you attempted to trivialize IBM. They are many things, but trivial is certainly not one of them. Never has been, never will be. You tried to 'out-infrastructure' IBM at a time when they were redefining what infrastructure means, and what it does, and why it matters -- and I know you don't want to hear this, but unloading their PC business was a brilliant move.
"The creation of a line of cloud products is very inspired, particularly if you can use it to leapfrog their Migration Factory idea -- and Oracle will have all the pieces to really make that happen while everybody else is forced to play the part of specialty tinkerers. And just so you'll know, I don't plan to go off on any more of my cloud rants. But I'm telling you, don't underestimate IBM on this -- what they're doing with that extension of mainframe-level quality of services and manageability all the way through their entire server line is quite powerful."
"Larry, I agree. I hate to give IBM credit, but you're right. That's where the next wave of deals come in, starting with EMC and Netezza."
"Let's hold off on that for a second and talk about how we're gonna make all this work on a personal level. If you can't work with Charles and Safra as peers -- not with them reporting to you, but as peers -- then this will never work. And I don't mean first among equals, either -- I mean as peers. A few minutes ago, you mentioned you're not used to having people contradict you or contest you on ideas -- but trust me, pal, around here you'll find a level of debate and challenge that can be either exhilarating or crushing. There's no in-between."
"I'm a big boy, Larry -- I can handle it. I'm 53 now, and I didn't expect to be anything but a CEO for the rest of my career, but you've got something very special going on here and for the chance to be part of that (not to mention getting to give IBM some shots along the way), yeah, I can do the President of Systems thing while Charles does the President of Software thing and Safra does the President of Operations thing. But I just want to empha -- "
" -- Yes, Mark, I know, you want me to know that when/if I ever want to step aside as CEO, you're going to expect to be given full consideration."
"Okay -- we need to be straight with each other and since it looks like we're going to be able to make this arrangement work, Larry, I just wanted to be clear about that."
"Cool. And I just want to be clear that this is a job like few others in the world, and you can have a blast doing it and contribute incredible things to it but as we've discussed, this is my company -- not ours, but mine--and Mark, I'll give you and everyone else incredible autonomy and latitude and while we're working out our strategies you can take any side you want with no holds barred. But when I make a decision, it's final. Can you handle that?"
"Yes."
"Excellent. Well then--do you think your folks will be able to sign off on everything quickly so we can announce this during my keynote at Oracle Open World on the 19th?"
"Nothing would give me greater pleasure. See you then."
Bob Evans is senior VP and director of InformationWeek's Global CIO unit.
To find out more about Bob Evans, please visit his page.
For more Global CIO perspectives, check out Global CIO, or write to Bob at bevans@techweb.com.
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