One of my pictures shows the remnants of SGI. I'll explain a bit about SGI, because it's funny. In a mean sort of way.
SGI was a big tech company that decided enormous, expensive computers were the way to go for 3D graphics (as opposed to small, cheap ones). SGI's potential customers were evidently unconvinced. SGI now faces bankruptcy, whereas Google is prospering. That just goes to show, the customer is always right. And if the customer is wrong, then so are you.
There are three potential lessons to be learned from SGI's mistakes, and I'm not quite sure which one is correct:
- Listen to your cutomers. (If you can't find any customers, then try to guess what your competitors' customers might be saying.)
- If you find you have chosen the wrong corporate strategy, change it and direct your expertise towards more profitable ventures.
- Don't be SGI.
Sometime around 2004, Google moved into all of SGI's buildings. SGI retreated into a new, nearby building to await its destiny, which will probably arrive this year.
I'm struck by a sudden thought: my little history lesson is quite a contrast to the blog entries I've been reading recently about dumb people in charge making stupid decisions which affect real people. I mean, when all is said and done, who cares about some stupid tech company?