Unisys – in dire need of a raison d’etre

(By Anthony Miller). Reporting ‘read them and weep’ results (see here) , new Unisys CEO Ed Coleman could do little other than lay out yet another plan to restore the fortunes of what used to be one (OK then, two: Univac and Burroughs) of the most respected names in the ‘old world’ IT industry. There’s nothing intrinsically silly about narrowing focus to key markets and offerings, and generally cutting costs, but we've been here before. Unisys really seems to be in need of a ‘raison d’etre’; it didn’t find it in boom times so what hope now? Its stock has fallen 80% over the past year and the company is now worth little over $250m (yes, that’s millions, not billions). How the mighty fall.