In an effort to be more nimble with its decision-making (and less of a lumbering corporate giant), Sony today has announced a new business structure, which it’s calling “Sony One.”
The initiative is Spearheaded by the company’s new CEO Kazuo Hirai, who has been vocal about his plans to revamp the company, and will also position digital imaging, gaming, and mobile as Sony’s new core business. Sony announced massive loss of $2 billion in February (the day after it appointed Hirai, no less), so the company clearly needs to shake up its management process somehow.
The new One Sony structure will begin on April 1, 2012 (perhaps not the best day to convince the public your business isn’t a joke). After missing out completely on the iPod era of portable music devices, now Sony is aiming to make up for lost time with a stronger lineup of smartphones, which it announced at the Mobile World Congress in February. Gaming is still a cash cow for the company, and it remains one of the better digital camera companies (I love my Sony NEX-5N), so the choice to emphasize its business around the company’s three hottest product categories seems wise.
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As part of the changes, Sony EVP Shoji Nemoto will now oversee the overall technology strategy and R&D operations, while EVP Kunimasa Suzuki will oversee product strategy (including mobile), as well as take charge of guiding Sony’s user experience moving forward. Hirai, meanwhile, is tasking himself with overseeing Sony’s home entertainment business, because the company desperately needs to find a way to save its ailing TV division.
Photo Devindra Hardawar/VentureBeat
