January 14th, 2009Fall of a giant. Nortel is no more.
Former technology titan Nortel Networks Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection Wednesday, a move that will likely see what was once Canada’s great corporate success story broken up and sold to foreign rivals.
Canada’s largest ever tech company dies today. While many of the business units should live on post-restructuring, not necessarily fully intact or in Canadian hands.
It’s a sad day but also a sign of the times. After the tech crash in 2000, after accounting and financial scandals, after being stuck with way-too large bets on the wrong technologies (CDMA, Wimax, plain old telephone service) and finally a credit crunch, Nortel is dead.
Bad news for Canadian innovation in telecom. We could have been a contender.
Nonetheless while the stock holders, the bond holders may be wiped out, the human capital is still here. Time to start some new companies, unshackled by the past. It’s a new world out there with many new disruptive opportunities and our engineering vision talent will be needed as much as ever.
If you have your own eulogies, inside perspective, tributes or rants to offer, the comments section is open.
Link: Nortel files for bankruptcy protection
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Roy Pereira
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Chris Schmitt
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Terry
