5 Companies That Had A Rough Week

The Week Ending July 8

Topping this week's roundup of companies that had a rough week are Mitel, Polycom channel partners and anyone else who was thrown a curve ball by the sudden cancellation of Polycom's planned merger with Mitel.

Also making the list were presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton for the criticism for her careless use of a private email server during her stint as Secretary of State; AMD, which scrambled to correct power consumption problems with its Radeon graphics card; LG, which restructured its mobile phone business after poor sales; and Microsoft, for an awkward email sent by a company recruiter seeking intern candidates.

Not everyone in the IT industry was having a rough go of it this week. For a rundown of companies that made smart decisions, executed savvy strategic moves, or just had good luck, check out this week's Five Companies That Came To Win roundup.

Polycom Terminates Merger With Mitel, Leaving Partners Stunned, Uncertain

The planned merger between unified communications vendors Polycom and Mitel was suddenly called off Friday with the news that Polycom will instead be acquired by private equity firm Siris Capital Group for $2 billion and taken private.

Polycom said it received the buyout offer from Siris on Thursday, and Mitel declined to renegotiate the merger agreement.

The unexpected announcement stunned partners, who said the sudden change in direction created uncertainty after being told for months that the Polycom-Mitel merger would benefit the channel by creating a bigger company that could better compete with Cisco and other large players in the UC arena.

Businesses, of course, are free to accept the best opportunities offered to them. But Polycom's sudden turn of events made for a rough week for some of the company's stakeholders.

Hillary Clinton Takes Heat From FBI For Use Of Private Email Server

Presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton came under scathing criticism from FBI Director James Comey this week over her use of a private email server while she served as secretary of state from 2009 to 2013.

While the FBI recommended that charges not be brought in the case, Comey called Clinton's use of the server "extremely careless," and said it exposed sensitive, classified information to potential security breaches.

Solution providers contacted by CRN were equally critical, saying Clinton's use of a private email server, lack of adequate security and failure to establish an email archive constituted a significant lapse of judgment.

AMD Scrambles To Fix Radeon Power Consumption Problem

AMD developers were undoubtedly working overtime through the July 4 weekend to fix a reported problem with its Radeon RX 480 graphics card, following reports that the product was drawing too much power and could potentially damage PC motherboards.

While the Radeon RX 480 was rated as a 150-watt graphics card, product reviewers reported that the device was consuming more power than specifications allow through the motherboard's PCIe graphics (PEG) slot connector.

Thursday, AMD issued the 16.7.1 driver set that's meant to correct the problem.

AMD debuted the Radeon RX 480 last month.

LG Overhauls Mobile Division After G5 Sales Disappoint

In marked contrast to Samsung's report of solid Q2 operating profits and strong Galaxy S7 smartphone sales, LG has been shaking up the management at its mobile phone division because of the business's poor performance.

Multiple published reports, ranging from PC World to the Korea Times, said LG had undertaken a major shake-up of the senior executives in its mobile business division. The Korea Times said a statement from LG cited poor sales of its flagship G5 smartphone as a major reason for the restructuring.

Microsoft Sends Embarrassing Recruiting Email Inviting Interns To "Get Lit" And Play Beer Pong

In an apparent effort to look hip and recruit young interns, an email from a Microsoft university recruiter promised "hella noms," "lots of dranks" and "breaking out the Yammer beer pong tables" at a Microsoft party following next week's Internapalooza event in San Francisco.

The email, an awkward attempt to appeal to millennials, concluded with: "Hell yes to getting lit on a Monday night," according to a story on Business Insider Australia.

Microsoft has apologized, saying the email was poorly worded and "not in keeping with our values as a company," a spokesman told Business Insider. An investigation is underway.