“On one side, mega M&A of multi-billion dollar firms, and on the other side, the lean-down to compete approach to survival. Many are happening concurrently, like Chrysler aggressively leaning down while being acquired by Cerberus. Others, like Cisco are acquiring and assimilating to create synergistic business units and grab market position. Cisco's recent WebEx acquisition as example.
Corporate memory, like political/military memory, seems to get overridden by leadership ego when it comes to the success of mergers and acquisition and invading foreign cultures. Most mergers, while they may have been very successful for the merger masters have not been successful for the companies, stockholders and employees. Many have been disastrous. Daimler-Chrysler is now on the trash heap of failed mergers.
From my viewpoint as an independent ICT consultant, I would be inclined to steer my clients away from Nortel and Avaya if there are merger discussions or a merger because I couldn't advise my clients on what products will continue to be supported. I would expect uncertainty, doubt and confusion throughout the organization(s) while they are in transition and I need clarity and responsiveness from a telecom manufacturer and their VARs to install and support my client's mission critical Telecom / Unified Communications systems. Companies and organizations tend to buy telecom systems every 10 years or so. They like to know that they're investing in a viable company and supported product.
I imagine that the poor health of Nortel, the structural machinations of the large telecom manufacturers, the general confusion of products and services will bode well for Microsoft as a software solution and Cisco as a hardware solution.
While they might not necessarily offer the best technology or the best value solutions, they may be the natural choice for career-minded CTO's - and consultants.