IBM – “Once a company defined by innovation, ISS has been heavily diluted by the hierarchy and structure of IBM”

Pros

Their security portfolio was truly at the forefront of the industry, they built an incredibly astute R&D organisation and had very capable sales people. Unfortunately the principles and culture which formed the foundations of ISS as a great company, weren't able to be effectively integrated into IBM. The company became distracted with complex back-end integration issues and seemingly took their eyes off the road.

Cons

Process overheads were introduced, key people could no longer be retained, product development stalled and inevitably their leadership position began to erode. Management 'generalists' with little-to-no security industry knowledge were introduced to fill in the gaps and suddenly the real essence of 'GO ISS!' is nowhere to be seen.

Advice to Senior Management

Study the softer aspects beyond financial performance and revenue synergies to truly understand what makes a company successful and do everything you can to keep them intact. Don't just rely on a 1 + 1 = 4 mentality and think that everything will work itself out after we get the number.