Is it Beyond Metaswitch, or After Metaswitch? The Long-Term Value of a Warm, Personable Corporate Culture
Meta (from the Greek μετά, meta, meaning “after” or “beyond”).
Formerly Data Connection Ltd, the company was founded in 1981 in Enfield, London (where they used to make rifles and motorcycles, as well) and became Metaswitch in 2000.
Metaswitch’s founder no doubt wanted to indicate going beyond telco switching to IP. The discussion now uses the other definition of the ancient Greek word, “after” Metaswitch?
Last week, Microsoft announced layoffs most of which amounted to gutting of the Metaswitch company, which lost about 80% of its employees. Metaswitch products are now in a “no new customer” mode with no investment in new features. Support and bug fixes will be offered. Effectively, this is the end of a great company.
As a fellow Brit and naturalized US citizen of 25 years, I always admired my competitor, Metaswitch’s solid progress, over the past 2 decades. They succeeded with solid organic growth into rural telco’s and broadening into CLEC’s, a great achievement for a foreign vendor. I looked forward to their IPO, which they should have done. Former employees talk about a great culture which would still be thriving now if they’d continue to be independent.
Sadly, their management took a different route, and sold the company in 2008 to a pair of institutional investors, where short-term objectives such as financial performance figure more preeminent.
These investors then flipped the company to Microsoft in 2020. The value of the deal was believed to be around $1.5B* Reportedly, Microsoft purchased Metaswitch for 5G, to expand their cloud business into wireless switching. But Metaswitch had achieved most of its success in wireline, rural Telcos and CLEC’s. So, that’s a lot of money for an IMS software stack or there was a mismatch right from the start.
So, what ultimately drives best long-term value for shareholders? As so frequently documented in places such as HBR, a team of highly motivated people who believe in what they are doing, driven by a mission and a purpose and a sense of belonging, being inspired by good work colleagues around you, is what builds a great culture.
For example, those of us in the telecom industry who strive to provide easily accessible Universal Communications and now so importantly, in the face of the Robocall onslaught and its links with ransomware, rebuilding Trust for the PSTN.
I remember many years ago as a neophyte, (newly enlightened 😄) joining the Hewlett-Packard Test and Measurement business of old. I visited a manager in another office. He was on the phone when I entered the open plan office, and another phone started to ring. He interrupted his conversation, to invite me to answer that phone. The phone call would not have been for me as I was not from that office. However, the message to the neophyte was, be responsive. Whoever was making the incoming phone call, internal to the company or an external customer … answer it. Take action, take a message, respond, be available to serve … take ownership. Something ingrained in the corporate culture all those years ago, became ingrained in me.
Customers prefer a positive corporate culture in a vendor. Support teams are motivated to help you, as they are on a mission to achieve the higher goal. Corporate culture will typically be found developing in a startup or smaller companies where the passion is better communicated between stakeholders.
I would imagine working for company with a strong corporate culture makes things more rewarding as we seek to climb up the Maslow’s Triangle of hierarchy needs.
Meanwhile, enjoy the image of Icarus and Daedalus who was trying to travel in a non-native, and certainly wireless environment.
* According to Cavell Consultants
