The Personal Network Solutions Division of Sony

Sony, Manufactures, markets and sells consumer and professional audio and video equipment, telecommunication fruits, calculating machine and peripheral products, forecast media and energy products, semiconductors and other(a) electronic components. (sony.com)It is a re on the wholey broad comp all that operates in many varied backup aras. The focus of this assessment is centered on the personal network solutions division of Sony.Personal vane Solutions Co. (PNSC)Handycam and Digital Handycam CamcordersDigital Mavica and Cyber-shot camerasGlasstron audio/video eyewareOn cable system photo service Image StationSMMemory Stickdigital media productsVAIO (Video Audio Integrated Operation) personal computersTrinitron computer displaysCLI handheld deviceSony operates in five note units. The computer and digital media devices both fall under the identical unit at Sony.Sony does have the make head focal point of many business strengths. The most nonable of which is its business n ame.Sony products have a reputation for being earlier their judgment of conviction as far as the blows many of them have. Many Sony products demand a support terms for being such a technological masterpiece. Sony has carryd to role this grant price scale in its computer line as well. By doing so it prices itself out of the value or budget line that many consumers seek.Sony has a reputation for producing high quality electronic devices and has too developed a sure customer base. Sony is able to gain customers from an early age with its video game systems PS One and PS 2. Sony could feed off of this and make these customers attracted for life.Sony products are always on the cutting margin of engine room. Sony has always pushed the envelope on design and cannot stop if it hopes to remain an electronic powerhouse. Sony hopes to stretch forth its electronic market with the recent gateway of its CLIE PDA or personal digital assistant. Competitors of Sonys have dominated thi s area and now it should be able to compete.As with most companies, where there is strength, there is also helplessness. This is definitely true at Sony with its biggest weakness being its in powerfulness to distribute its high end products as quickly as the market is demanding them. This was very evident during this past Christmas when Sony released the before mentioned Playstation 2. Demand was so high for this product that it is just now uncommitted in the stores as production and distribution has met up with demand. It did not help that there was a speck in the first shipment of the machines to the US and many who had to wait in long lines ended up with useless devices and had to wait until more(prenominal) arrived to have theirs replaced.Being on the cutting edge of the technology country makes opportunities always around the corner. However the work essential be done to make it to the corner.Sony puts the posited resources into its search and reading of all of its pro ducts. Without a doubt, Sony upgrades virtually of the most high quality electronic devices in the world. instantaneously it would like to do the same thing in the computer market. Sony first started producing consumer pcs in the mid 90s. Since then it has concentrated primarily on the consumer pc and especially the smaller coif or laptop version of the pc. This represents a definite opportunity with which Sony could gain even more of the consumer electronic market.As with all companies there are many threats, which mustiness be considered when conducting business. Some of these threats come from outside the company as some(a) of them come from within.One such outside threat is that of the United States economy. Consumers are much less likely to make major purchases, such as a new computer, during generation of economic trouble. While control of the entire economy is out of the hands of Sony, it can make some transports to assure that economic trouble does not completely caus e the company to shut down.Sony is also accounting entry an area of electronic business that they are not as familiar with. All electronic products at long last become obsolete. The computer sales market is one electronic area that is very time volatile. Newer, fast computers are always being released. Sony has for a long time operated in electronic business that has not been as technology and time sensitive. actual market conditions for Sony are not where it would like for them to be and are not at levels seen in past years. Much like other technology companies, Sony is in a transition period in which it is trying to find its permanent location in all markets. Sony has a main goal of inhabiting ahead of the contest as all electronic devices enter the digital age.Current Conditions and AlternativesSonys current market emphasis is based on offering a consumer driven product line with some business products addressable in various markets. Sony has not been able to keep up with o ther computer particular proposition companies in the areas of business applications.I dont recommend any Sony products to business users since they dont have the infrastructure to match a Dell or a Toshiba or a Compaq, says Ken Dulaney, vice president mobile computing at Gartner Group. Their products are more applicable for consumers they dont work with businesses.Sony may not be able to match the competing computer companies on the basis of size, however it is able to compete in terms of quality and technology. Many of the features available on a consumer pcs are not available on business pcs. Sony could subscribe some of the more neat features that its pcs have and develop a line that would better sheath a business application.There is no way to gain a full understanding of how the mesh and access to it has changed the way computers are used and designed. Computers today are much more advanced that those purchased still a few years ago. For those reasons, companies who had pr eviously been involved in computer markets have had to change the way in which it becomed machines.Sony has the benefit of being fairly new to the computer business and an understanding of the need to adapt to changing broadband technology. CEO Nobuyuki Idei stated, What we are and allow for be is a broadband delight company, in his 1999 vision of the company. Even though there have been some management changes the desire to stay on top of broadband entertainment is still present at Sony. (pcworld.com, surprises, 1)Every chance he gets, the 62-year-old Idei spreads the word about Sonys future as an Internet company Everything from the venerable Walkman to the popular PlayStation game comfort will soon connect to the Web.(businessweek.com, Slump at Sony, 1)With new technology always around the corner, Sony must continue its current plan of being a broadband company. Sony has many new products in use today that take advantage of technological advances that have previously been uns een. For Sony to remain a leading edge electronic company it must continue with current company plans.There are many affirmable alternatives in which Sony can and should pursue. Many of the alternatives are time based and could not be made immediately. However, as Sony is well aware, to compete in an industry that is constantly changing, you, yourself have to be able to make changes as well.Sony could focus the majority of its attention to the cash cow it current has in the video and electronic market. This of demarcation would be its Playstation 2 video game system. This system has already sold over 10 billion units and Sony currently expects to sell 20 million in the 01-02 fiscal year due to increase in the production speed of the system.Sony will soon be seeing a new competitor enter the market of its video game system. Microsoft will be releasing its own version of a video game system that has many critics panting. Many see that the new system by Microsoft will be the bigges t direct competition in the video game reach for Sony since it has entered the field.There is a broad demand in the computer field for compatibility of products. Sony has made it possible for several of its computer products to use the same format of small removable memory. Better know as the Memory Stick, the chewing gum surface card has ability to store both medicinal drug and video on a single card. and then the card can be used in Sonys video camera line its VAIO line of personal pcs as well as the long time favorite, Walkman music device.It would also be possible for Sony to enter the business computer field of the market. Although there is definite competition in this market, Sony has the technology in its research and development department to make the business machines fly. The only gloam to this idea is the fact that Sony products are so highly sought after for the neat features that its products posses. To remove features from its current line to make them affordable to the business field would be an image-changing move. Sony products demand a premium price that business customers cannot afford to pay for.Sony joined the major players in the computer business with the intromission of its VAIO Direct website where consumers can purchase computers directly from the company. Although not as fully customizable as other companies computers, Sony still allows the user to make some changes that defiantly affect the performance and function of the machine.Along with this Sony could expand its variety of computer uses to include unique(predicate) areas or markets. The company has already shown its ability to manufacture a top level gaming system for the home. Why could it not take what it has learned from this development and manufacture a gaming ad hoc line of computers that was easily upgradeable as new computer technology becomes available?Along with the gaming pc, there are other areas that could benefit from specifically designed products. For a long time the Apple computer has been the choice for those interested in making movies on the computer. With Sonys ever increasing line of video cameras and accessories, it is only logical for it to create a movie specific line of pc. Computer design companies pay large prices for computers that are capable of running memory intensive design software. Sony could enter this market with a product designed specifically for the computer drafter.Many believe the next explosion of use for the computer will come in the automobile industry. As time goes by more and more automobiles are incorporating a type of computer into the vehicle. This unit does basic functions such as check e-mail and assist with driving directions. Sony could join efforts with its audio development division to produce an affordable and effective automobile pc.Sony is a world leader in the electronic business. It is new to the field of personal computers. Sony has used its past experience to set up a basis for operat ion in the computer business. There are some changes that it must make if it wants to remain in the computer business however.Sony should continue with its current plan of producing consumer pcs and try to avoid the general business market. Consumer pcs vary from those of business pcs in both features and price. Sony would have to remove features from its computers trance at the same time dropping the price to make them an affordable business option. This decision would change the image of Sony computers from a feature packed, top of the line computer, to one resembling the mainstream computers.Sony should also enter the market specific computer business with models available in three different fields movie making, drafting, and gaming. With these market specific pcs, Sony could still include all of the features that make its computers enjoyable to own while adding necessary hardware or software to enable them to meet the specific demands of each field.Most specifically, Sony shou ld definitely create a computer designed with the computer gamer in mind. Sony has reached millions of children with the production of the Playstation line of home video game systems. From here, it should continue with a computer for the children to use as they grow up. The unit should be easily upgradeable but feature all necessary parts from the beginning. With its strong brand recognition, this would, in tern, help in the sales of all Sony electronic products.Sony has made a major advance in its distribution methods of its computers. With the opening of the VAIO Direct website, Sony gave its consumers the ability to customize computers to some extent. The competition of Sony allows its customers to fully customize its computers.If Sony wants to remain at the forefront of the computer business, it must allow the machine to be adapted to specific uses. Much like the customized computers for various markets, Sony must also make its normal computers customizable to the average consum er. This variety in design will help Sony receive the premium prices that it has demanded in the past for its top-notch products.