Multiprocessor mumbo jumbo

I was having a great time in the System Software department, developing new boxes and customizing SCO Unix for NEC BusinessMate and PowerMate product lines. But fortunately or unfortunately the world was ordering more of these with other 32-bit operating systems on them. The customer demand for these boxes preloaded with SCO Unix was far less than that for preloads with Novell, Banyan or Windows. I saw this as a good opportunity to get some experience and exposure on the business side of the house, and for the next five years I worked in the company's Product Planning and Management organization....

My first projects in PP&M involved all 32-bit operating systems, system setup utilities, and EISA configuration utilities. This was new and different for me, getting to negotiate contracts and licensing agreements with ISVs and OEMs. Next I worked on large tower Intel boxes with the latest and greatest CPUs, graphics, and hard disks. This was great, because it combined my budding business acumen with my existing technical background. It was about at this time that the multiprocessor project came up..... By keeping my ear to the ground, taking a lay of the land, and understanding the intricate nature of the relationship between our marketing team in the US and the marketing team back at the parent corporation in Japan, I did not feel it would be successul. The US marketing team were focusing on products with volume, trying to get revenues up and business thriving. The Japanese marketing team were focused on building showcase products. In the Product Planning and Management team, we set the direction and tried to ameliorate any disagreements between our marketing colleagues on both sides of the pond. The multiprocessor project seemed doomed to failure because of a disconnect between these two entities, and therefore I didn't want any part of it..... I voiced my concerns to my immediate supervision, but we were under direction to complete the project from the technical perspective and let the marketing folks figure out the marketing plan.....

For the better part of nine months I watched this product get developed from the sidelines. A miserable, suffering colleague had the unfortunate displeasure of having to ride herd over its development and launch. Everytime the Japanese planning team came over to discuss, the US marketing team did their best to ignore this project and focus on better revenue generators. When the time came where all software and hardware development was completed and the product was ready for launch into the market place, there was a big blowup and disagreement..... I don't know how many millions were spent on this, but I sure felt sorry for the guys on both sides of the pond who had their career aspirations dashed because of its failure. I don't think even 20 units got sold..... At the end of the day, NEC's Intel multiprocessor PC running on SCO Corollary MPX operating system may have been a good showcase product, but it did not fair well in the marketplace.....

After all that time under development, all that multiprocessor mumbo jumbo and hot technology, and no compelling business arguments. No salesmen or marketeers could demonstrate to customers any software applications which took advantage of the multiprocessor capabilities..... oops. More than a few heads rolled at the next re-organization. I learned a big lesson then: better to work on products that actually get sold and generate revenue, than work on some cool new whiz bang product showcase with dubious prospects of making budget. Multiprocessor mumbo jumbo or not, at that time it was still the simplicity and elegance of uniprocessor personal computers networked in small workgroups that were being bought in large volumes, and that was, after all, what paid the bills.....

Beginning in June 2004 with TransformTec, Inc. (my product development and technology broker company) , I now bring together technical teams and acquiring companies to monetize intellectual property. I have a passion for engineering new products and creating new markets, turning ideas into reality, and transforming technology concepts into products. No time like the present - if you have a product idea and need help with engineering design, development, and/or product launch, contact TranformTec, Inc. for a free preliminary consultation.