

Serena flip-flops: goes Google, then back to Microsoft - bensummers
http://www.itwriting.com/blog/2721-serena-flip-flops-goes-google-then-back-to-microsoft.html

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jimfl
I was a software developer at Serena when they made the change to Google,
which was generally well-received when proposed, and at cutover.

It didn't take long to discover that distribution lists were poorly supported.
When we could get them set up, delivery was sketchy. This was probably the #1
early complaint from within my team.

As things progressed, and we started using Google Apps, I personally found
that the very flat organization got out of hand when one had lots of documents
shared with them.

I don't know whether these or similar complaints factored much into the
decision. The decision to go to Google was made under a CEO who was very gung-
ho about various cloud computing strategies. The new CEO is focused on
returning Serena to core product strategies and increasing sales.

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Locke1689
Microsoft (obviously) uses Office internally _everywhere._ If you have the
money to buy all the little couplings (full version of the Office 2010 suite,
7 Enterprise, Communicator, Communicator compatible VoIP phones, smartphones
with Exchange support, etc.) it works very, very well. There's a lot to be
said about the cloud, especially for single individuals that move around a
lot, but Microsoft has a really enticing offer for businesses.

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Jun8
OK, call me an idiot but I thought this was about Serena Williams getting
sponsorship first from Google and then from Microsoft. I didn't know Google
had that kind of sponsorship (if you want to play as well as Serena, use
Google products would have been the message?) let alone Microsoft. My company
used Anna Kournikova and recently Megan Fox, to questionable effect, so I
thought, maybe. Duh!

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protomyth
sorta off-topic, but might be a valuable lesson in positioning yourself: if
Anna Kournikova had never played singles and only played doubles (where she
had some success) would she have a better reputation?

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tyree731
Anna Kournikova at different points in her career was ranked 8th in singles
and 1st in doubles worldwide. She also continues to have a very successful
career modeling. It's hard to call her a failure in any aspect of her career.

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protomyth
I wasn't. I really think ranking 8th and her doubles career was amazing
(consider also who else was active at the time). Most of the female player, if
they look any good, model these days. Most have such a short amount of time to
make the money. She actually has back problems, and I amazed she does the
marathons with the pain.

That being said, she did get beat-up pretty badly by ESPN. Heck, some of the
anchors seemed to take pleasure in it (one of the reasons I don't watch them
anymore). It just seems, in a lot of people's eyes, ESPN's perception is what
they take for reality. How do you fix or prevent this type of thing from
happening?

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Estragon
I have essentially no experience with Microsoft products, but in order to
collaborate with some folks, I recently prepared a MS using google docs. It
was a pretty terrible experience, which I never want to repeat. It kept
getting confused about where I wanted to put my text, and the font I wanted to
use for it.

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mikeryan
Its kind of amazing to me that no one has figured out an enterprise
calendering system on par with exchange. I kind of limp along with Google's
caldav but it can totally be hinky across various platforms.

I have to believe there's a YC entrant here.

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emehrkay
Lets build a solution!

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llimllib
Network effects matter: news at 11

