Nauseating times
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IT sales people 'puke out' unsold boxes to online auctions, CA chief reveals.
It was probably not the most tactful of phrases to 'bring up' over the dinner table. But the rotten economy is forcing hardware makers to 'puke' their surplus kit onto online auctions, according to Sanjay Kumar, CEO of Computer Associates (CA), the systems management software company.
"'Puke it to move it' is a term that hardware guys are using to move inventory on eBay that they dump at a low price to move it quickly," Kumar told a crowd of analysts over lunch. Furthermore, he said, cost-conscious customers are also looking there first for any bargains. That remark brought to mind the recent revelation that Gary Reiner, CIO of US industrial conglomerate General Electric, checks prices of second-hand IT equipment on eBay, despite having a $3.3 billion to budget to play with.
Kumar went on to admit that the tough business climate had changed the dynamics of the supplier-customer relationship. "I don't think... we will ever get back into a position where we can dictate to the customer. The customer has been burnt by over-promise and under-delivery," said the head of CA, without a hint of irony.
