2. SYMANTEC
A leading software vendor specialized in
security and information management. Well
known for Norton brand of security products.
Operates in more than 40 countries and
consist over 17500 employees. In 2005, the
company made its largest acquisition to
date, acquiring Veritas Software for approx.
$13.5 billion.
3. Use of Common Software
After acquisition, it began an ERP rollout
known as Project Oasis. Its goal was to
create a single ERP (Enterprise Resource
Planning) system.
Both companies were using Oracle E-
Buisness suit 11d prior to the merger. Which
seemed a good thing for SYMANTEC’s
business operation
4. Requirement & Benefits
Combined company’s enterprise system was
needed to combine Symantec and Veritas
data from key business processes. A common
enterprise system would also reduce the
cost of maintaining Symantec’s IT
infrastructure and licensing fees for the
enterprise software.
5. Steps Taken by Symantec
Company opted to upgrade to oracle’s E-
Business suite on Sun Solaris Server. They
used oracle fusion middleware portal on the
front end ,providing a single point for
all of partners and customers .
6. Problem with New System
The initial reaction of launching the new
system was unquestionably negative . Users
were unhappy with this new system
.Customers began calling Symantec’s support
team for solution in record numbers ,but the
company was unprepared to meet the
increased demand for customer support.
Waiting time ballooned from an average of 2
min. to an average of 25 min. for a call.
7. Problem Continued
Once customer reached a Symantec
employee they had to spend
20 more min. troubleshooting the problems
and they were often told that there was nothing
that could be done .Customers were also
unhappy with Symantec’s changes to its
stock-keeping unit product system.
8. Decision Backfired
Symantec tried to improve the systems by single set of codes, But-
some small distributors and partners didn’t update their system to
handle new SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) system
extended the date but the overhaul still represented an annoyance
for many customers
changes to software licensing were another irritating thing to
customer
kept couple of weeks in getting license
not coordinated with rest of the project ‘OASIS’
difficulty in buying Symantec’s products via companies like Ingram
Micro.
partners were unhappy with time consuming processes
9. Result of Missteps
Symantec was in danger to loose many loyal
customers
company’s shortsightedness
in implementing project ‘OASIS’
earnings were less than expected
needed to cut $200 million in annual costs
top management had to confess their mistakes
10. Project Nero
For the purpose of undoing mistakes, the
company
immediately came up with Project Nero. The
goal was to recapture the loyalty of customers
who got annoyed after OASIS. This was
planned to done by-
Reaching to those customers
Fixing the problems with their information
systems to improve response time and
streamline operations
11. Implementation
Company added 150 customer representatives to
handle increased volumes of calls
reduce wait times
increase customer satisfaction
Company’s executives travelled the country
for improving relations with angered customers
and partners. Symantec also used Net promoter
technology to measure and increase customer
loyalty
12. Result
Symantec’s customer satisfaction levels which
were extreamly low after OASIS, improved
after Nero project. Symantec reported that it
now enjoys satisfaction level at par with the
rest of the industry and averted a potential
danger, though they never revealed the result
of net promoters survey and their total
damage.
13. Moral of the Story
Symantec’s ERP Turmoil shows that even
the most careful planning and well designed
system can quickly go down if customers are
unable to understand or use the information
system properly.
