February 28 2008
The Tragic Fall of SCO
It was painful to see the slow, but sure, destruction of SCO. Criticized as a company whose sole strategy was to sue the crap out of other companies, we did some good work to help change that perception. Here are some of the headlines we helped secure:
Var Business: And Now for Something Completely Different . . . SCO 4.0
Computerworld: SCO Pledges to Focus on Innovation – “we’re not just focusing on litigation,” says SCO’s Darl McBride.
CNET: SCO’s Mobile Service to Talk to the Masses
VUNET: SCO Softens it Tone
Despite a great PR Director (Blake Stowell) and good agencies (Sprout, Coltrin, and others), SCO couldn’t shake the bad rap and ultimately lost it’s legal suits – Giving credence to the criticism that they were just a litigation company. I would love to hear some opinions as to why this company failed . . .
Brain dump:
SCO was their own worst enemy. They picked a fight with a bunch of religious zealots (the open source linux crowd). They were outgunned. Their executive team had no idea what they were getting themselves into. Their model to sue the the world into submission was poorly thought out. They didn’t have the resources to do what it would have really taken to win. No amount of PR can save a moron CEO and a bad business model – especially when you’re up against the tech religious fruit cakes.
Exactly, Darl led them right into the ground at full speed. Any thoughts on what he does next? How tainted is his career?
I wouldn’t trust Darl to run the local 7-11 let alone any company with real funding, a real business model or actual revenue.
PS – the companies that actually paid SCO must feel like complete idiots. That’s what happens when you let the fear of being sued overrule good business decisions.
He should jump on the 7-11 if he gets the chance. Classic case of Karma, he had this coming a long time ago. You heard about their infusion of 200 million? What a nutty investment. I wonder who SCO will bring in to replace Darl since he has to resign. Looks like SCO is continuing the lawsuits with this money, give me a break . . .
They should hire me. Yes, I’m serious.