Going the distance
I mentioned before in this blog that most of the companies that employed me in scientific information and high tech are no longer in business, at least not as the independent companies they were when I worked for them, or they are not doing the same type of business.
No, I do not think that there is any correlation, and certainly, no causality! 
I was surprised this evening, though perhaps I should not have been, to learn that Symantec will buy VeriSign’s security business, as reported by CNET, with rumors first reported by The Wall Street Journal. The deal should close by the end of September, according to the press release.
Symantec will buy VeriSign‘s security business and a majority stake in VeriSign Japan for about $1.28 billion in cash. (Note added August 25, 2010: I am rather surprised at all of the readers hitting this entry today, and I am rather delighted at the comparative price of Netscape when purchased by AOL in 1998-1999 for $4.2 billion! Ultimately, the real value of Netscape was in the amazing collection of PEOPLE in the organization, a resource ultimately squandered by BOTH the “old” AOL and the “old” Sun Microsystems. That’s OK. Most corporations waste people because they are managed by folks who are not “people persons.” At one time I considered making a T-shirt with a mock logo and name of a local waste/recycling company with “WM Waste Management” on the front, and “Before they waste YOU.” on the back, but I did not want to get into trouble for trademark infringement. ) (Note added September 3, 2010: People “coincidentally” hit this entry because it shares a title with that of a recently released romantic comedy starring Drew Barrymore and Justin Long. At least the reviews are good! ) CNET said that:
Enrique Salem, president and chief executive at Symantec, said during a conference call that the VeriSign check mark has 250 million impressions each day on more than 90,000 Web sites globally. The businesses of Mountain View, California-based VeriSign that are being acquired represent more than $400 million in annual revenue and about 900 employees, according to James Beer, Symantec’s chief financial officer.
It looks like VeriSign will retain the domain business. (Note added August 26, 2010: VeriSign runs the DNS (domain name system) servers for the “.com” and “.net” domains. So naturally, I found some statements by U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn III in his recent essay in Foreign Affairs to be interesting.)
Another article by Elinor Mills of CNET (written this evening; she is typing FASTER than I am today! ) is entitled, “Can VeriSign deal make Symantec the Web’s identity broker?” in the article, a number of industry analysts comment on the deal. Some questioned the $1.28 billion price tag as being too high.
I cannot say. Even with a general description of the product areas, I am willing to bet that not too many folks know EXACTLY WHAT ASSETS Symantec plans to purchase.
According to CNET, none of the analysts could answer what the deal means for VeriSign.
My comment for younger folks who still work in high tech would be that the last four of the five (Note added May 29, 2010: [… or six out of seven, depending upon how you count the “old” AOL and AOL Time Warner] companies [all very much leaders at some point in their histories] that employed me after graduate school either no longer exist or exist in VERY modified forms. The first company for which I worked is viewed by some as quasi-governmental. Your “career” [actually, just a series of jobs] must sustain you and your family both financially and in many other non-financial ways, over the course of most of your life. In contrast, the company that employs you exists merely to make someone money, and it’s usually NOT you.
Plan accordingly. Have back-up plans.
Enjoy, and good luck!
(Note added August 28, 2010: I have said before that “People are smarter than corporations.” The fact that you, too, will likely SURVIVE and OUTLIVE your place of employment, just COULD be the proof that Arthur C. Clarke sought when he said, “It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value.”)
(Note added August 30, 2010: Even my father, who started work at age 19 for a company that was established in the 1800s and continued at the same company for 41 years [yes, they DID things like that back then] “outlived” the company, although pieces of the company name continue.)
-Bill at
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