Pros
Lyris is centrally located in Emerville, CA. Unfortunately for commuters, there are some clock watching managers.
Cons
Having been with the firm for quite some time now, I welcome the new ceo who has an Omniture sales background. Unfortunately, without a strong product, sales will have a difficult time selling "upstream" when the basics of the product are missing. While focusing "upstream" sounds good -- it won't be accomplished without fixing a product that is way behind the competition. Lyris has been confused over the last four years in trying to compete with smaller email service providers on price. Marketing's direction has been way off for quite some time. Money spent on marketing should have been spent on fixing the product. Transforming into a marketing automation company sounds good, but can't be done without people who intimately understand how to build and sell a marketing automation solution. I don't see how we can catch up with the true marketing automation players or with ESP's with solid products that integrate with crm's and other solutions. After a 3 month hiring binge, the new ceo has slashed nearly a third of the company's head count. This was necessary as there were many spectators simply collecting a paycheck. But doing this within a week of coming on board -- and without talking directly with many of the terminated employees, is in my mind a big mistake. Letting the new VP of Business Development and Partnerships go was a huge mistake. The guy was on board for just 3 months, really "got it" and was forming some great partnerships. To say we are not yet ready for partnerships is ridiculous and seriously mitigates sales' ability sell and retain customers. All other VP’s are still in place, so I’m not expecting much change. Slashing product management and engineering in hopes of an outsourced strategy is risky. Some things just shouldn't be outsourced. I remain cautiously optimistic that the new ceo, deep cuts, abandonment of partnerships, and "message" of swimming upstream will translate into a quick sale of the company. My only fear is that no one will buy us -- or worse -- that someone will pick us up on the cheap and that my stock will still be underwater. Fingers are crossed.
