ISS Shuts Down Two International Offices

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Internet Security Systems Inc. on Thursday announced plans to shut down two of its international engineering operations in an effort to slash costs.

The announcement comes less than 10 days after the company reported third quarter net income of $5 million, down 21 percent from the same period last year. Revenue for the quarter also fell to $60.1 million from $61.8 million in the third quarter of 2002.

ISS plans to shutter its Reading, England, office by the end of this year and will close the Sydney, Australia, location by June 2004. As a result of the closings, the company expects to save about $4 million annually. ISS expects to take a charge of between $1 million and $1.5 million in the fourth quarter to cover the cost of the closings, including severance and lease-related expenses.

ISS, based in Atlanta, Ga., recently has begun shifting its product focus from its stable of individual software solutions to a more holistic approach that includes the introduction of a line of security appliances. The boxes include a wide variety of security functions, from antivirus to intrusion detection to content filtering, and ISS is shifting most of its engineering, marketing and sales efforts in their direction.

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