Dim Dim: The Risk of Being a Salesforce Customer
My title is a bit of a play on ReadWriteWeb’s title about the Risk of a Free Service, but I raise the issue in all seriousness because I think we should be looking not at the seller (hey, at this price, this was not exactly a sale from strength) but at the buyer. Dennis Howlett, [...]
HRM #EnSW Vendor Consolidation Fairy Tales
“Fairy Tales May Come True, It Could Happen To You” There was a ton of consolidation in the HRM software and services market during 2010, and 2011 is off to a roaring start with SumTotal’s acquisition of GeoLearning. There’s a lot more to come, and speculation is already rampant about: which LMS vendor SuccessFactors and/or Peopleclick Authoria [...]
Emptoris Acquires Rivermine — Telecom Expense Management Meets Procurement
Today, Emptoris announced it has acquired Rivermine, one of the leading telecom expense management (TEM) vendors, further expanding its solution set into an additional complex category which has historically been outside of procur…
Keeping Score: Exit Activity for Venture Backed Companies in 2010
Not surprisingly in 2008 and 2009 exit activity for venture backed tech companies was very slow. Last year that activity seemed to have picked up, mirroring the overall improved business environment. I try to keep track of most of the…
The Narrow Bubble
Many are saying that we are in another tech ‘bubble’ – but is so, despite the extraordinary valuations accruing to a small number of companies, why are so many entrepreneurs having trouble getting funded?
Foxmarks, Xmarks, LastPass, Xpass, LastX, X%^&% Quick Rant
Warning: I think I’m becoming a curmudgeon – except that title has until now been reserved for somebody else . But I still have doubts about the recent transaction: LastPass acquired Xmarks. I really liked Xmarks – when it was Foxmarks. A simple bookmark synchronization service that would keep your Firefox up-to-date no matter where [...]
Friday Rant: Is Private Equity a Better Buyer of Software Companies Than Other Vendors?
Madison Dearborn’s recent Fieldglass buyout (here, here) provides further proof that today’s private equity firms might be better strategic — that’s right, strategic and not financial — buyers of software companies than software…
Deltek to Acquire INPUT, Extends Its Reach in the Government Contracting Value Chain
Today Deltek announced its intent to acquire market research firm INPUT. INPUT, originally founded in 1974 as an IT market research firm has, since 2000, focused on delivering market and opportunity intelligence to IT public sector contractors and agencies. The deal is expected to close Oct 1, 2010. INPUT offers government contractors (GovCon) sales and [...]
Where is the HR software market disappearing?
I’d like to be in the business card business this year if only to handle all the M&A activity in the HR software space. Better get to the HR Technology Conference next week before a whole bunch of other vendors get snatched up!
Cog and Gen getting it on? Naaaahhhhh
Lots of frantic noise this week that Cog has been making romantic overtones to Genpact – with India’s press jumping on speculation. Like any other industry observer, you can certainly see lots of romantic potential here – Wall Street’s darlings of BPO…
