When Is It Safe to Hire?

Incentive programs are common in the software industry, where, instead of relying on a direct sales force, corporations like Sage Software often turn to small resellers to pitch their applications to a vast market of customers. Incentives as extensive and generous as Sage’s are rare, however. For the past three years, the company (formerly known as Best Software) has invested $1 million a year to … [ Read more ]

Post-Merger Integration: How I.B.M. and Lotus Work Together

AT 8:25 A.M. on Monday, June 5, 1995, Jim Manzi, chief executive of the Lotus Development Corporation, received an unexpected phone call from Louis V. Gerstner Jr., the chairman and chief executive of the International Business Machines Corporation.

I.B.M., Mr. Gerstner said, had just tendered an all-cash offer of $64 a share for Lotus, a storied software maker in Cambridge, Mass., and he hoped Mr. … [ Read more ]

Getting Reorganization Right: How Bruce Chizen Drove Change and Innovation at Adobe Systems

Five years ago, when the technology sector was booming, Adobe Systems was in trouble. The company was respected for its technical prowess and popular products, but Wall Street was skeptical; Japan, a major market, was tanking; and Quark, Adobe’s rival, launched a hostile takeover attempt. Forced to swim or sink, Adobe Systems launched a massive turnaround effort spearheaded by executive vice president Bruce Chizen, who … [ Read more ]

Symantec’s Strategy-Based Transformation

How fresh leadership, serial acquisitions, and a new market made CEO John Thompson’s billion-dollar promise come true.

A Passage From India (Infosys)

Infosys has emerged as a titan of the global software industry by carefully designing and constructing a unique corporate culture. Continued growth will test the quality and soundness of the company s architecture.

The Secret of How Microsoft Stays on Top

Critics say Microsoft’s incredible two-decade run at the top of the computer industry has less to do with innovation than it does with bully tactics. But new research from Harvard Business School professors Marco Iansiti and Alan MacCormack suggest a different reason: the company’s ability to spot technological trends and exploit key software technologies.

How Novell Manages its Reseller Channel

How does a company turn its reseller channel into a source of competitive advantage? It requires balancing the objectives of its resellers with its own.