The whole idea of coordinating the federal law enforcement agencies, for example -- it's tough enough in a big city police department like Philadelphia or New York to coordinate the units that are under your direct control.
The federated model requires that you coordinate the individual local operating units and ensure they are consistent and that they are not duplicating information, and determining who has jurisdiction of what.
"The biggest challenge a new chief executive officer faces is making sure the new business units can effectively coordinate among themselves, " said Yang Xiao, a Beijing-based analyst with research firm Analysys International.