But putting all of your networking eggs in a single service basket is foolish. As a buyer of services, you should always maintain a second service supplier as a hedge against lackluster service. The Business of Big Business Mergers and acquisitions work is an industry unto itself, with thousands of consultants clamoring to help companies smooth the transition into a single organization. But the fact is that many consolidations fail to deliver on their promises. The American Management Association states that only 15 percent of deals achieve their financial goals, as measured by return on investment, profitability and share value.
Customers often take the hardest hit.
They rarely get a clear view of what the future holds for strategic products and services. Occasionally, plum products just disappear. Take, for example, ProTools. But don't try to find anything like it from Network Associates. Don't ask 3Com for the AccessBuilder 4000.