> While a lot of companies make acquisitions, most don’t execute well on integration. I have a theory that much of the success of web-based companies isn't due

> While a lot of companies make acquisitions, most don’t execute well on integration. I have a theory that much of the success of web-based companies isn't due to the internet's reach itself, but because they can actually harness programming to business. Make something happen; check for something; modify everything. Of course, there's always problems with programming but it's so much easier than doing it any other way. But traditional businesses cannot reap these benefits, because they cannot make IT central. They can't be IT first. And they lack the talent and experience to handle all the problems of programming. Therefore, it is the new web-based companies that know what they are doing (with programming) that win this. The quote above is a great example: it's hard to integrate acquired businesses, they usually just become a messy "conglomerate". What if you could actually integrate other products and services into your products and services? With programming, it is possible, whereas it wasn't really before. There are still problems - and other commemts highlight how the UI has suffered. Indeed, enlarging a codebase inevitably has much in common with a messy "conglomerate". But it's so much easier than doing it in any other way than with programs (i.e. traditional businesses). (Atlassian's products also help other businesses run on programs, but that's not my focus here).