Wednesday July 18, 2007

Movin' on up!

by Matt Donovan in Article

6 comments

The Acquisition

Monday, July 2nd was my first day at Geniant. The following Friday was my last day at Geniant because on Monday, July 9th, we all started working for EMC. An acquisition sounds a little scary, but EMC brought on the entire Geniant family, which is nice because I’m the junior man on the totem pole and I kinda like it here. My one beef is that I just finished explaining what Geniant does to my family and friends. Now, one week later, I have to start all over and explain EMC.

Naturally, I (and the rest of the UXD) had a lot of questions. After a thorough inquisition we all feel optimistic. In an effort to exude said optimism, we’ve provided answers to some of those questions (and some you might have):

FAQs

What does EMC do?
In a nutshell, EMC makes products and applications and provides services to help companies work and manage their information more efficiently. The official line is:

We help enterprises of all sizes manage their growing volumes of information—from creation to disposal—according to its changing value to the business through information lifecycle management (ILM) strategies. We combine our best-of-breed platforms, software, and services into high-value, low-risk information infrastructure solutions that help organizations maximize the value of their information assets, improve service levels, lower costs, react quickly to change, achieve compliance with regulations, protect information from loss and unauthorized access, and manage and automate more of their overall infrastructure. These solutions integrate networked storage technologies, storage systems, software, and services.
-http://www.emc.com/about/

What does EMC stand for?
EMC was founded by Richard J. Egan and Roger Marino in Newton, Massachusetts in 1979. So the “E” stands for “Egan” and the “M” stands for “Marino.” The “C” doesn’t have as clear an answer and is still debated internally.

Does the “²” have something to do with Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity?
A couple schools of thought here. Some claim it does, but not for any philosophical/scientific/spiritual reason. It just sounds smart.

One camp suggests that, if in fact the “C” in EMC stands for “Corporation,” the “²” may reference the word “Corporation” a second time. So instead of saying “EMC Corporation” where the “C” already stands for “Corporation,” one can simply say (or type) “EMC².” Either explanation is delightfully quirky.

Frankly, we’re not supposed to reference the “²” verbally. The UXD consensus is that it’s really hard not to.

Does this mean you work for the man now?
Yes, but he’s a kind man.

Now that you are a Microsoft Practice, can I have your MacBook Pro?
Negative, Ghost Rider. The moniker “Microsoft Practice” simply means we’re providing solutions using (mostly) Microsoft tools – things like Share Point and custom .Net application development. A lot of us still work on Macs, as do several EMC folks. They’re Mac-friendly, and that’s important.

How many people work for EMC?
Like a zillion. Seriously – they’re ginormous. (As we understand it, there are roughly 30,000+ employees.)

Are you moving in with them?
We like our digs and they respect that. There are no plans to move out of Room 404.

What will happen do this blog?
We’ll keep posting until we run out of steam or find a new home in their new-born blog presence. Please keep the feed and we’ll keep you posted. Probably.

Comments on “Movin' on up!”

1. Troy Thompson said:

   So will your Kansas City office move to the EMC office in Kansas City, or will you maintain separate offices?

2. Mark Kraemer said:

   @Troy – We don’t know yet. There are still lots of details to work out over the next several months. The thrust behind the deal wasn’t about “cutting over-head” of people or locations. It was really about increasing the capability of EMC to deliver consulting services and increasing the number of opportunities in the market for (the firm formerly known as) Geniant.

3. Viking KARWUR said:

   BrightCorner => Geniant ==> EMC2 :)

   Congrats…

4. Michael Montgomery said:

   Looks like a great opportunity to introduce their site to web standards.

   Hope it’s a great transition and a great company!

5. Ted said:

   Does this mean no more RefreshDallas meetings?

6. Nathan Smith said:

   @Ted – As far as I know, the Refresh Dallas meetings will continue.