Both Siemens AG and Nixdorf Computer AG traditionally took IBM Corp as their role model and assumed that anything IBM did had to be right – Siemens was particularly good at pulling its 7.500 mainframe line apart and putting it together again to reflect whatever IBM had done. So with some kind of separation of IBM’s personal computer business in the wind, it comes as no surprise that Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG is to split the personal computer side of its business off from the rest of its data processing operations. But according to Computerwoche, industry analysts are sceptical as to whether, on the one hand, the move has not come too late and, on the other, whether it will be enough to give the company a competitive edge in the current cut-throat market. The new personal computer unit is to begin operations in October 1992 and is to assume responsibility for all business functions, from product planning and development through to production, sales and customer service. Although a detailed plan has yet to be finalised, the aim is to establish a structure that will allow for quick decision-making, speed of reaction to the marketplace and optimisation of costs; considerations that are imperative given the present market conditions. However, while no-one appears to doubt the wisdom of the decision, with some even commenting that it is long overdue, the achilles heel of the project appears to be neither the actual products being offered nor their means of production. Rather the main question seems to be whether, in actual practice, Siemens Nixdorf’s infrastructure will prove flexible enough to cope with such a change of strategy.
