Business As Usual

The world did not end in 2011, just like it had failed to in 2010; the doomsayers had a close miss again. But the world came as close to ending as it could; storms and quakes raged across the globe, volcanoes spewed anger, and tsunamis struck cities, throwing life off gear. But it was not just nature that was busy asserting its control over everything on earth; people came out on the streets and shouted, fought, fasted and demanded change. It was a year of revolutions, unrest, and anger.

But none of this challenged human tenacity, which survived, sustained and multiplied. The human family grew to 7 billion: More hands to produce, more mouths to feed. Businesses across the globe grew and grew. Old behemoths reinvented themselves and new ideas raked in billions for entrepreneurs. The global giants were forced to look inside to rectify malfunction and the global kings in the making ventured forth. On one hand, the social summary of 2011 was ‘Turmoil’, and on the other, the business summary oscillated between ‘emerging economies’ and ‘austerity’. — By Aneesh Dubey

MICROSOFT BUYS SKYPE FOR $8.5 BN
Threatened increasingly from all sides, Microsoft, in a bid to retain its relevance in the Internet economy, purchased the extremely popular internet telephony company Skype Inc for $8.5 billion, gaining control of over its 150 million users. This gets Microsoft access to a new, dedicated consumer base. Facing direct competition from Google Talk/Voice and other Internet telephony services, this acquisition may result in a price war that would benefit the end consumer. This acquisition has also opened newer avenues for better and improved IP-enabled services for consumers as Microsoft brings its technology and software expertise into the Internet telephony game. The world is calling!

GOOGLE UPS THE MOBILE WARS ANTE, PURCHASES MOTOROLA MOBILITY
The total mobile subscriber base in the world is a little over 5 billion, with an exponentially-increasing penetration of smart phones that consume all sorts of Internet services. Google has been on the march already with its development of the open Android platform (now the single-largest smartphone platform). In a radical bid to assert leadership in the market, Google acquired Motorola mobility, the handset business of Motorola for $12.5bn, making it the fourth-largest handset manufacturer in the world. This was the first move into hardware manufacturing for the global search giant. This move, analysts claim, is the final nail in the coffin for the open handset alliance that was promoting the Symbian operating system. The mobile handset/software war is now out in the open and the consumers will decide the final winner in the time to come.

SOCIAL IS THE NEW GLOBAL
The Social Network, released in 2011, summarised the revolution that had been catching the fancy of people around the world. Social networks are here to stay, and 2011 was the year that asserted this with finality. With Google launching Google+ and Facebook valuations touching $50 billion, this was no longer a garage dot com idea. And it was not just ‘liking’ things, people were interacting on the Internet, collaborating to get group deals and discounts, talking about Internet shopping, and recommending products. The great consumer party just went online. Furious dealmaking was the trend, and with big ticket IPOs lining up at NYSE, the social networking business is here to stay for good. Groupon, the online discount store fended off a $5 billion acquisition offer by Google and is planning an IPO four times the size of that offer. Social networks were not only making news because of the big money; they played a major role in what now being called the ‘Arab Spring’. The platform has connected people in a way like never before and the phenomenon of ‘globalisation’ seems to be inching closer to its real definition!

AT&T BUYS T-MOBILE FOR $35BN
In the largest deal of 2011, American telecom giant AT&T purchased the US operations of German telecom multinational T-mobile, making it the biggest wireless carrier in the United States. The deal is still fraught with complications and has to overcome an anti-trust lawsuit, but analysts believe that the deal will finally go through. This deal follows the consolidation trend in the telecom sector, which due to increased competition, was facing margin crunches.

IBM GETS A NEW FEMALE CEO
The trend of female head honchos continued in 2011, with the world leader in servers and associated software services electing Ginny Rometty the new CEO. She is set to replace Samuel Palmisano as the new head of the $114 billion company. This spells success for the movement that has been calling for equal treatment of women in the corporate world.

Ms Ginny, who had been leading the Marketing and Strategy division, has been a key player in IBM’s recent successes. She joins the rapidly-swelling ranks of powerful women in the corporate world, indicating a marked shift towards equal opportunities.

NOKIA GETS LESS SMART, LOSES OUT TO APPLE
The Interbrand ranking of the world’s most valuable brands retained its static list of the global top ten, with one exception. The No. 7 slot, traditionally held by Nokia over the last five years, was taken over by Apple. The Cupertino-based company flexed its technology and innovation muscle all through 2011, bringing revolutionary products to the smartphone and tablet domain and leaving competitors struggling in its wake. Nokia, the erstwhile world leader in mobile handsets, was hurt the worst with all of its product lines losing out to Apple and other smartphone players like Samsung and HTC. Job cuts and finger pointing was the story for Nokia in 2011 as the technology business once again asserted, ‘Evolve or die’.
However, Nokia has tried to stall the fall in its smartphone market share with its tie-up with Microsoft. The two - both struggling to stay relevant in a space occupied by Google, Apple, and now Samsung - have joined hands to work on a range of Windows Mobile handsets (the first few handsets have been unveiled to good reviews).

THE GROUNDED KING
A flamboyant promoter, a page three heir, Bollywood beauties and a successful business! Vijay Mallya and Kingfisher appeared to be doing good all the time. The former is still doing good, but the case is not the same for the latter. The airline business was has been suffering in general due to rising fuel prices and the ‘last man standing’ kind of competition, but Kingfisher airlines touched a new low when they asked for a bailout from the government. The government, acting cautiously in these times of fiscal prudence, asked it to arrange money from other sources. With most banks unwilling to covert debt into shares, the days and years to come are surely going to be challenging for Kingfisher!

THE RISE OF MISTRY
Finally the suspense was over. Cyrus Mistry was appointed as the next chairman of Tata Sons, and will succeed Ratan Tata. Definitely younger than expected, the new Tata chief has valuable industrial experience and is expected to pump in fresh thought and leadership in one of India’s most respected business groups. His choice, however, did not fail to raise eyebrows. He appears to have superseded many other business champions in the battle for this coveted position, and surprised observers who’d been expecting a foreigner to be called in.