Monday, January 9, 2012

Tech Companies: Who's In and Who's Out this 2012?



Technology and the companies owning it are moving forward to make it better each year. For those who can’t go with the flow, they’re doomed to be forgotten; those who can, succeed and earn billions of bucks. Such is life – either you keep up with the changing times or be easily forgotten in a single failure even after being the leader for several years.


As we say hello to the big year 2012, join me as I look at some of the tech companies from a consumer’s perspective.

HP is once again in its stabilization state, especially with its new CEO Meg Whitman. Though the company is stable per se, its strategies for the technologies used are under transformation. I hope they don’t make mistakes anymore such as the introduction and immediate pull out of the Slate.

Google has an exciting year ahead as it continues to grow rapidly and transform the technological landscape. Over the last year, it has introduced Google Plus among others, which the public greatly embraced. This year, we look forward to what new things it will launch and how it will utilize Android and Motorola to bring continued growth towards the company.

RIM is really struggling to stay alive. The sales of BlackBerry smartphones may be high in Asian countries, but it is not the case in other regions. In 2011, its value as a company has reportedly gone very low – shockingly low, in fact. Will they do something “WOW” this year? I hope so.

Samsung has been successful so far in making a buzz from all its products, especially with its smartphones. Throughout 2011, it has launched several products to fit different market segments. It is still not par from Apple and Google, but we’ll see what happens.

Nokia is still in the game, but not as big time as it used to be. The Nokia brand continues to be strong in the Philippines as a cellphone brand, but not so much as a smartphone maker. But now that it has partnered with Microsoft and has recently launched new smartphone units, will their brand be able to keep up?

Apple has shown so much innovation throughout the past years, upping the smartphone leadership with an ease. Now that Steve Jobs has passed, the company is in a transitional state. It might be able to manage its spot on top, but will definitely face struggles and slowdowns at some points.

Globe must work on and prove what it has launched last November – to build a bigger, faster and modern network, which will ensure us Filipinos are connected all the time. Its network modernization program will hugely impact the mobile experience of its subscribers. Will they be able to attend to their promises?

Smart continues its battle with Globe by offering great deals and promos to maintain its leadership in the telco industry as the one with biggest subscriber base. Now that Smart and Sun are starting to offer plans as a result of its merger, it will be a defining year to see what may happen to the telco wars.

What may happen in 2012 is everybody’s ball game. The tech industry is generally strong and vibrant, but companies need to work hard to maintain its ball on the winning side of the fence; else, it might fall. This year will be exciting!

This article is my 47th contribution to Manila Bulletin -- one of the Philippines' leading broadsheets -- published on January 09, 2012 (Monday) in the TechNews Section. You can view the PDF version here.

7 comments:

Interesting predictions but one thing I can agree on is that it is any one's ball game. Well let us just see after a complete year of what happens to each of these companies.

Wow thanks for this post. I am actually looking for companies for my internship. I'll consider those companies :))

correction samsung now have as well smart camera...hehe

Hello! Thanks, but I didn't say Samsung does not have one. Hehe

Good luck! Most of them don't have an local office here.

Yup! Maybe we can review this after a year. :)

Can I add something: Hot Websites this year:

1. Google2. Google+
3. 9Gag (Me gusta!)
4. Facebook
5. Twitter

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