Big chiefs need to produce tech wins

Howard Stringer. Photo / Supplied

Seats are being reserved in the last-chance saloon for two of the technology industry's biggest chieftains: Sony Group's Sir Howard Stringer and Microsoft's Steve Ballmer.

Stringer, a former CBS journalist who went on to run Sony's American business, including the record label and film studio, has made it his mission to knit the Japanese media conglomerate into a coherent entity.

During his six-year reign, Sony has scored individual hits with PlayStation consoles, Bravia TVs, Vaio laptops and the Spider-Man films.

But not all these initiatives have been profitable, and the benefits of making both media content and the gadgets with which to consume it have yet to materialise.

Last year, Stringer had hoped to announce a US$2 billion ($2.55 billion) annual profit. Thanks to Japan's tsunami and a sluggish global economy, he reported a US$3.1 billion net loss, the biggest for 16 years.

Kazuo Hirai, credited with masterminding the PlayStation's success and now corporate executive officer at group level, is heir apparent.

This will also be a crucial year for Ballmer. Microsoft has so far failed to catch up with Google on search advertising and has yet to make an impact on smartphones.

But none of that matters so long as Microsoft remains unchallenged in the PC sector, controlling 80 per cent of the operating-systems market. Ballmer's problem is that PCs themselves are now being challenged - by smartphones and tablets.

When Windows 8 is released later this year, billions of Ballmer's customers will consider whether to update an old computer or buy a new one.

Microsoft word processing, spreadsheets and email remain the standard, but a growing number of people may opt for a tablet rather than a laptop - and Apple dominates the tablet market.

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