I won't address your question as I'm sure it's rhetorical.
To other matters, the following IBD article caught my eye. Gordon Eubanks, CEO of Symantec, thought he'd retire from the CEO's job and before he knew it had decided to head a start-up developing directories. NN's affiliate, FastLane, does the same.
Today's IBD:
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When Gordon Eubanks decided to step down as Symantec Corp.'s chief executive in January, he hadn't planned to find a new project right away.
Eubanks intended to chair Symantec's board as soon as a new chief executive was found. But he hadn't counted on the persuasive powers of publishing tycoon William R. Hearst III, who also is a partner with the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
Last week, Eubanks announced plans to become chief executive of Oblix Inc., a small start-up that makes software that enables the use of directories, which are central places to store and manage information on a network. Hearst helped fund the 3-year-old start-up, and sits on the company's board.
''Chairman is not a job you do day to day,'' Eubanks said. ''(Leaving Symantec) would have happened eventually, but it was sooner than I would have imagined.''
What sped up the process was a call from Hearst. Hearst had tracked Eubanks' career at Symantec, which makes utility software that protects Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating systems from viruses and crashes.
''At Symantec, Gordon found a way to leverage Microsoft's platform rather than declare war on it,'' Hearst said.
That was an important quality, Hearst says. Oblix's software runs on directories from America Online Inc.'s Netscape division and Novell Inc. It will also run on an upcoming directory from Microsoft.
Hearst assumed retirement was in the cards when he heard of the 52-year-old Eubanks' transition from chief executive to chairman at Symantec. Then a colleague tipped off Hearst that Eubanks was willing to consider new projects.
That was all it took to make Hearst pick up the phone to pitch Eubanks on Oblix. Dialing was the easy part. The harder challenge was convincing the head of a large software company to come to a 50-person start-up.
''Gordon asked a couple hundred questions,'' Hearst said. ''Frankly, I was amazed he was interested.''
Eubanks says he was intrigued by a chance to return to his entrepreneurial roots.
''Big isn't always good,'' he said. ''This was a chance to build and develop something new.''
Also in the mix was a factor Eubanks hadn't initially considered when deciding to become Symantec's chairman: The company's new chief executive might not want him hanging around.
So far, chief executive candidates have been mixed on the role they want Eubanks to play at Symantec.
So when the Oblix position came up, Eubanks started researching the company.
''I started digging into this idea of directories,'' he said. ''At first I thought they were these nerdy white pages, but then I started to understand the implications.''
Hearst says his best selling point was convincing Eubanks that directories will become widespread.
''One of Gordon's biggest concerns was to understand how widely the technology was being deployed,'' Hearst said. ''He wanted to go somewhere that had a business, not just pure technology.''
Another big draw for Eubanks was that Oblix had an advantage in being one of the first to make directory software.
Eubanks also went to other chief executives for advice, such as Novell Chief Executive Eric Schmidt. Novell has a minority investment in Oblix.
''When we spoke, Gordon told me he had just read a 700-page book on the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (a technical directory standard),'' Schmidt said. ''I knew then that he had the bug.''
For Schmidt, talking to Eubanks brought a sense of deja vu. When he left Sun Microsystems Inc. to head Novell, Eubanks was one of the executives Schmidt turned to for advice.
Schmidt says he talked to Eubanks about the size of the opportunity and the issues involved. The revenue potential for directory software is in the billions of dollars, Schmidt says, leaving room for many companies to benefit.
''Gordon looked at the size of the market and came to the same conclusion,'' Schmidt said. ''And he's one that likes to roll the dice. . . . ''
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FastLane is a MSFT partner:
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FASTLANE™ PROVIDES FULL DIRECTORY MANAGEMENT SUPPORT FOR MICROSOFT® WINDOWS 2000 SERVER, BETA 3
--Close Cooperation with Microsoft Accelerates Upgrades to Windows 2000--
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, April 12, 1999 -- FastLane™ Technologies today announced that its ongoing partnership with Microsoft® has produced comprehensive product and industry support for the upcoming Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Beta 3 technologies. Using FastLane DM/Suite™, Global 2000 organizations will benefit with a fast, flexible upgrade methodology, optimizing Active Directory's capabilities.
As a Microsoft Certified Solution Provider (MCSP), FastLane offers a Directory Management vision, strategy, and technologies incrementally migrating users to the Windows 2000 operating system. FastLane DM/Suite easily handles post-merger and acquisition systems conversions, corporate reorganizations with associated infrastructure issues, enterprise Microsoft Exchange deployments with all associated directory issues, and the preparation for and adoption of Windows 2000 with Active Directory.
"We are delighted to partner with FastLane Technologies on the integration of new platform enhancements such as the Active Directory," said Mike Nash, Director of Windows 2000 and Infrastructure products at Microsoft Corp. "Customers are assured a better deployment experience because of the dedicated investment that companies like FastLane have made in the new operating system."
"The release of Microsoft Windows 2000 Beta 3 is truly a milestone for our joint customers," said Jan Kaminski, president of FastLane Technologies. "We launched our Windows 2000 preparation campaign over a year ago. Since then we have amassed a substantial knowledge base and expertise about Windows 2000 upgrades. What we've produced is nothing less than the most flexible, enterprise-class, domain upgrade and migration solutions for Windows 2000."
As an ISV for Directory Management solutions, FastLane enjoys strong interaction with Microsoft, ensuring enterprise customer satisfaction and confidence in its products and services.
About FastLane FastLane Technologies Inc. provides fast, scalable and cost-effective enterprise Directory Management solutions to Global 2000 customers. FastLane is a Microsoft Certified Solution Provider and Newbridge Networks Affiliate. The company can be contacted in Halifax at 902-421-5353, in Ottawa at 613-271-2022, and at fastlanetech.com. |
