Symantec has hired PricewaterhouseCoopers to help it integrate soon-tobe-acquired Veritas.

The firm has also hired Bain & Co. to deal with customer-facing issues surrounding the takeover. Spin doctors for the firm are claiming the deal will mean more opportunities for its channel partners rather than just removing competition, which is how they describe Oracle's acquisition of Peoplesoft. More on eChannel here.

Ed Gillis, Veritas's CFO, is in charge of integration planning for both companies. He is setting up joint teams to focus on: planning for sales, services and business structure, outlining the business and technology roadmap, detailing both firm's "go-to-market plans", integrating services and support, combining finance, infrastructure and legal operations.

John Thompson, chairman and chief executive of Symantec, said: "Symantec and Veritas are highly complementary in terms of product lines, account coverage structure and go-to-market approaches... Our synergies, along with the commitment of both companies' employees and the integration teams, should help make the integration process more manageable." ®

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