A Dell boss recently scoffed at the process of untangling two sectors of an organization into two freestanding enterprises, and now Symantec's customers may have to endure some of those complications as the software company prepares to cut itself in half.
Symantec will split into two publicly traded entities. One half will turn its focus on delivering security solutions, while the other half will offer backup and storage services.
"We really are in two businesses, and there are a lot of disruptive trends in each," said Michael A. Brown, chief executive of Symantec, which is based in Mountain View, Calif. "The best way to execute better and grow faster is to be separating into two companies."
For enterprises that have invested in love with Symantec's Norton suite, particularly its Security and Backup packages, the split will likely result in an untimely vast migration of services or a stepping down of support and reimbursement.
At this point, Symantec hasn't offered much information on how its plans to untangle its software suites.
"Post split, you have two companies, one focused more on cash flow and one focused more on revenue. So, put together, can it help revenue? I think it can, certainly, but you have to execute," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer with Solar Asset Management.
In the press release announcing the breakup, Symantec stated that it plans to unifiy its security software and support it with a big-data platform. On the information management side of things, Symantec is preparing to step up its cloud storage offerings by working with cloud service providers like Microsoft.
Like HP and its split, which is expected to be completed in 2015, Symantec is only speaking publicly about the agility the move will afford its primary operations.
"It has become clear that winning in both security and information management requires distinct strategies, focused investments and go-to market innovation," said Michael A. Brown, Symantec president and chief executive officer. "Separating Symantec into two independent, publicly traded companies will provide each business the flexibility and focus to drive growth and enhance shareholder value."
Brown will be the president and CEO of Symantec and Thomas Seifert will continue to serve as CFO. John Gannon will be general manager of the new information management business and Don Rath will be its acting CFO.
While Symantec's split was just officially announced on Friday, Oct. 10, HP's breakup was revealed earlier in the week and the world has had a bit more time to process the implications of the company's spinning off of its PC division. At this point, tech analysts aren't too optimistic about the chances of HP's PC division to thrive in the stagnant PC market.
