5 Companies That Had A Rough Week

The Week Ending June 19

This week's roundup of companies that had a rough week includes some less-than-stellar financial results from Oracle; a nagging security flaw in some Samsung Galaxy S devices; the Microsoft executives who found themselves on the outs after this week's reorganization; Juniper Networks' loss of a key channel executive; and a Major League Baseball team suspected of hacking a rival's IT system.

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.

Oracle Misses Big In Q4 Financial Results

Oracle this week reported declining sales and earnings for its fourth fiscal quarter, missing Wall Street's expectations and capping an otherwise lackluster fiscal year.

Oracle's Q4 revenue dropped 5 percent year over year, to $10.71 billion -- well below the $10.95 billion financial analysts had forecast -- while earnings dropped 24 percent, to $2.78 billion. The news sent Oracle's stock plunging more than 6 percent in after-hours trading.

Oracle executives put the best spin on the results by highlighting the 200 percent growth in Software-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service bookings in the quarter and $2.3 billion annual run rate in cloud revenue. But for all of fiscal 2015, Oracle's revenue was essentially flat at $38.23 billion as traditional software license sales decline.

Security Flaw (Still) Prevalent In Samsung Galaxy S Devices

More than 600 million Samsung devices are at risk of a security flaw that allows hackers to eavesdrop on users' phone conversations and rummage through messages and contacts, according to a report issued this week by cybersecurity firm NowSecure.

Samsung smartphone models, including the recently released Galaxy S6, are vulnerable to a security flaw stemming from a pre-installed keyboard that allows hackers to remotely execute code as a system user, according to the report. What's more, NowSecure said Samsung was notified in December of the flaw, but as of this week it remained unpatched in four Galaxy S models.

Juniper Reportedly Losing Key Channel Executive

Juniper Networks has lost a number of key executives in recent years, and this week, sources told CRN that David Bankemper, who helped drive a channel renaissance at the company over the past seven years, is leaving the company.

Bankemper, senior director of worldwide channel programs, won praise from solution providers for helping assemble simple, consistent and improved channel programs for the networking technology vendor. "It's definitely a loss for the company," said a top executive at one partner.

Elop, Tatarinov Lose Out In Microsoft Restructuring

Microsoft this week revealed a company reorganization that consolidated some of its operations. And when the music stopped, there just weren't enough chairs for some executives who are now out of a job.

Topping the list of exiting executives is Stephen Elop, the one-time Microsoft manager who left to become Nokia CEO and then returned when Microsoft acquired Nokia last year. He had been serving as executive vice president of Microsoft's devices group.

Also out is Kirill Tatarinov, a 13-year Microsoft executive who most recently managed Microsoft's Business Solutions Group. And 25-year employee Eric Rudder, who has overseen Microsoft's server and tools and research units, also will "try something new," as CEO Satya Nadella stated in a companywide memo.

St. Louis Cardinals Under Investigation In Suspected Hacking Incident

Computer hacking for corporate espionage purposes is an increasingly common occurrence. But one baseball team hacking another?

The FBI is investigating whether officials from the St. Louis Cardinals baseball organization hacked the IT system operated by the Houston Astros, according to published reports in The New York Times and other media. The attack reportedly gained access to a special database containing personnel information, scouting reports and trade discussions.

The latest reports on Friday said there might have been multiple security breaches going as far back as 2012. And reports said that Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt Jr. was blaming "roguish behavior" for the incidents.