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In this Issue: > General Interest |
> GENERAL INTEREST
General
Global spam fell to the lowest level in three years in a sign that spammers may be getting a better rate of return by hitting social-media websites instead, according to the latest figures from Symantec. About 70.5% of all e-mail was spam, a still-high figure but one that is much lower than a few years ago, when it was well over 90%. The U.S. is the biggest source of spam, sending 28% of all spam, followed by India at 9%; Russia, 5.7%; Brazil, 4.3% and China at 4%.
The Outlook 2012 Survey of 605 business technology pros predicts that hiring freezes will persist next year at 30% of companies, even as internal demand for IT projects rises. Seventy-five percent of survey respondents now see demand rising for new IT projects, whereas barely 50% did in the survey two years ago. Two years ago, the IT hiring picture was bleak: Just 14% of companies were expanding and 18% were cutting back. Today, 25% are expanding and just 9% are cutting back.
The economy – Canada
Employment in Canada fell by 18,600 in November for total employment of more than 17.3 million, according to Statistic Canada’s seasonally adjusted figures. However, on a year-over-year basis, Canada has gained 212,100 jobs. The unemployment rate ticked up to 7.4 percent in November from 7.3 percent in October.
The economy – US
The ECRI weekly leading index of the U.S. economy rose to a level of 122.5 in the week ended December 2, up from the prior period’s reading of 120.8. However, the index’s growth rate contracted 7.6 percent in the week ended Dec. 2 compared to a contraction of 7.8 percent in the prior period. The level and growth rate can move in opposite directions because the growth rate is derived from a calculation that includes a four-week average of the weekly leading index level that is compared against the previous year’s average.
Information technology employment rose by 7,100 in November to 4,068,400 jobs, according to the TechServe Alliance’s monthly index of IT jobs. On a year-over-year basis, the number of IT jobs rose by more than 84,000 in November.
After offering mere hints in October of a possible upturn in U.S. business conditions, the Tatum November survey of CFOs now presents evidence that corporate activity could be about to help lead a recovery. The corporate-finance services and recruiting firm’s research registered sharp rises both in measurements of corporate business conditions for the past 30 days, and for the 60-day outlook; what Tatum called “a broad-based change for the better.”
Twenty-three percent of employers plan to hire full-time, permanent employees in 2012, according to CareerBuilder’s annual job forecast. The percentage of employers planning to hire is relatively unchanged from 24% for 2011 and up from 20% for 2010. Seven percent of employers expect to decrease headcount, the same percentage as did for 2011, and an improvement from nine percent for 2010. Fifty-nine percent anticipate no change in their staff levels. Eleven percent are unsure whether there will be change.
The economy – Outside North America
Job seekers can expect a slower first-quarter hiring pace than in the fourth quarter of 2011 in the majority of the world’s labour markets. But while the more subdued employer hiring plans continue to reflect current economic challenges and uncertainty, forecasts do remain in positive territory in 31 out of 41 countries, according to the latest first quarter 2012 Employment Outlook survey by staffing agency ManpowerGroup.
Nearly half of UK managers (43%) are expecting further redundancies in 2012, and over a third of managers (38%) feel insecure in their jobs, according to the annual end-of-year research from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). The Future Forecast report reveals that optimism about the UK’s economic performance remains low for 2012 at just 8%. Restructuring of public finances, the price of energy and the instability of the Euro are the top factors, which managers expect to have a damaging impact on their organisations next year.
> COMPANY NEWS
CDI Corp., a provider of information technology and engineering services and staffing, will cut 200 jobs and focus on long-term growth by combining operations and expanding internationally under a reorganization plan. The Philadelphia-based company expects revenue will increase to between $1.3 billion and $1.4 billion by 2014, up from $1.0 billion in the 12 months ended September 30, 2011.
> MERGER & ACQUISITION ACTIVITY
One of the few remaining staples of Ottawa’s technology cluster, March Networks, has been acquired for $90 million by Infinova Canada Ltd., a subsidiary of a Chinese company that seeks to gain a stronger foothold in the burgeoning video surveillance market. March Networks will continue to operate independently from its Ottawa headquarters, maintain its name and brands, and deliver on all of its commitments to customers, while taking full advantage of Infinova’s manufacturing expertise and R&D scale. March Networks was founded by Mitel boss Terry Matthews in 2000 as an IP video solutions provider. Matthews was the CEO in 2000 and held that role until 2004 when he took the company public. He is still a director of the company. March Networks was among the Canadian tech players hurt by the most recent recession, posting millions of dollars in losses as a result of the slump in global spending. In its most recent second quarter results, March Networks posted a quarterly loss of $2.3 million versus year-ago earnings of $1.2 million.
Salesforce.com will acquire Toronto-based cloud-based performance management vendor Rypple Inc. in a bid to enter the human resources software market. The move comes shortly after SAP made a major market splash by announcing its intentions to buy cloud HR software vendor SuccessFactors, the second-largest pure SaaS (software as a service) company after Salesforce.com. Exhibiting no small amount of chutzpah, Salesforce.com said it will relaunch Rypple’s application as Successforce, a new business unit led by John Wookey, who recently left SAP after serving as a top executive in its SaaS strategy. Salesforce.com had been quiet about Wookey’s planned role until now. “Salesforce.com and Rypple share a vision for extending the social enterprise to transform the way we work,” Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff said in a statement. “The next generation of HCM is not just about a cloud delivery model, it’s about a fundamentally better way to recruit, manage and empower employees in a social world.” Rypple’s Co-CEOs David Stein and Daniel Debow will stay with Rypple, as will most of the company’s staff of 45, to help build the application and look for adjacent areas to grow. Stein and Debow were also behind WorkBrain Corp., which was bought by Infor in 2007 for $227 million.
SAP of Germany is buying SuccessFactors, a web-based enterprise software company, for $3.4 billion. Deal activity has been robust in the enterprise software industry, as industry leaders like SAP hunt for smaller companies that provide services through the so-called cloud. In late October, Oracle agreed to purchase RightNow Technologies, a maker of customer service software, for $1.43 billion. It was Oracle’s largest acquisition, since the takeover of Sun Microsystems last year. SuccessFactors, a provider of employee management software, helps companies assess the performance of their employees, manage recruitment and fulfill other human resource needs. The San Mateo, Calif.-based company, which reported revenue of $91.2 million in the third quarter, has more than 3,500 customers spread across nearly 170 countries.
Software firm Jobs2Web, a cloud-based recruiting platform that lures top candidates through social networks such as LinkedIn and Twitter, has been acquired for $110 million in cash. The Minnetonka, Minn-based company, which appeared on the Inc. 500 for the third year in a row this year, will be acquired by California-based SuccessFactors, a human resources software vendor that is itself being acquired by German company SAP. Jobs2Web’s 2010 revenues totalled $9.9 million.
IBM is paying $440 million for DemandTec, a cloud-based company focused on pricing, merchandising and marketing analytics. DemandTec will give IBM a larger software-as-a-service footprint in retail and brings customers such as Target and FreshDirect to the table. DemandTec is expected to report $91.4 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending February 28, 2012, according to Thomson Reuters estimates. The company is also expected to report a loss for the fiscal year, but is close to break even. For Big Blue, the DemandTec purchase represents another pillar in its smarter commerce effort and another software as a service play. IBM has bet big on two key areas mobile and e-commerce. DemandTec falls in the latter category and focuses on retailers and consumer product companies. IBM’s DemandTec purchase also highlights the run on software-as-a-service companies. SAP bought SuccessFactors and Oracle acquired RightNow. However, IBM software and systems chief Steve Mills has noted that the company’s acquisition approach is different. In a nutshell, IBM is more about targeting verticals with its purchases while others are looking for more big bang deals. For instance, DemandTec wasn’t highlighted as a SaaS play that would be in great demand. IBM manages to find the acquisitions that fly under the popular radar. DemandTec’s applications allow companies to outline buying scenarios across multiple channels and even look at weather patterns and how they may affect shopping. The idea is that these scenarios will enable retailers and other companies to better gauge consumer demand and drive sales. DemandTec has 350 employees with offices in Minneapolis, London, Paris and Bangalore.
IBM is buying Emptoris Inc., a contract management software company whose products include a vendor management system for contingent labor. Emptoris is owned by Marlin Equity Partners. Emptoris’ VMS ranked as the third largest VMS in terms of statement of work (SOW) spend and as the largest in terms of outsourced service contract spend, according to the 2011 VMS and MSP Supplier Competitive Landscape report by Staffing Industry Analysts. The acquisition is part of IBM’s “Smarter Commerce” initiative begun in March 2011 and aimed at helping companies respond to shifting customer buying patterns. “Procurement is being asked to show how it can deliver value to the organization,” said Craig Hayman, general manager of industry solutions at IBM. “Adding Emptoris strengthens the comprehensive capabilities we deliver and enables IBM to meet the specific needs of chief procurement officers.” Emptoris has more than 350 customers in 75 countries and is based in Burlington, Mass.
IBM is strengthening its hand in public-sector IT, announcing on Monday the purchase of Cúram Software, which makes applications for use by government social programs. Cúram is based in Dublin and has roughly 700 employees. Its products are used by about 80 government-related health, employment and welfare programs worldwide to deliver services more efficiently. IBM plans to absorb Cúram into its Software Group division, a process that should be eased by the fact the companies have been partners since 1999 and share many customers.
Cúram competes with vendors such as Lagan, another Irish company which was acquired by KANA Software last year, as well as products from SAP and Oracle.
The latter gained significant human services capabilities with its 2006 acquisition of Siebel and later built on that move with the purchase of policy automation vendor Haley. Oracle also announced the release of a social services suite last year. Those moves were seen as an attempt by Oracle to compete more effectively with SAP in social services, an area where SAP has long been a strong player. With the Cúram acquisition, now it seems that Oracle and SAP will be caught up in a three-way rivalry with IBM.
Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, founder and CEO of Kingdom Holding Company and one of the wealthiest people on the planet, has invested $300 million in social networking company Twitter. Twitter’s newest equity holder says that the investment was the result of “several months of negotiations and comprehensive due diligence”. Prince Alwaleed and Kingdom Holding (KHC) have stakes in many Arab and international media and entertainment companies; including a roughly 7% stake in News Corp. Reportedly, KHC bought a 3 percent stake in Twitter, which means the investment values the company at $10 billion.
Quest Software announced its acquisition of access-control technology vendor Bitkoo. Quest is pitching the acquisition as a way to provide its customers with a more centralized and nuanced approach for handling authentication in multiple environments: inside the enterprise, including for databases down to individual rows and columns, and SharePoint installations, as well as for cloud-based applications and Web services.
Seeking to strengthen its cloud computing and enterprise social networking products, Telligent has bought Leverage Software. Both are private companies competing in the social software marketing with Jive Software, which just went public, as well as larger companies like IBM. Earlier this year, Forrester Research ranked Telligent’s enterprise social networking software among the top four platforms for social collaboration, competitive with Jive, IBM, and NewsGator.
VerticalResponse will acquire Roost, maker of a social media campaign automation tool that will allow VerticalResponse to offer both email and social media marketing. VerticalResponse is best known for its bulk email delivery service, although it has been expanding its product line to include other marketing and promotional services, including online surveys and direct-mail postcard delivery. In September, it added VerticalResponse Event Marketing in partnership with givezooks, a social fundraising platform that provided the event scheduling and ticket sales functionality. Roost offers a campaign automation tool for social media marketing. Particularly oriented toward SMBs with limited time for marketing, Roost offers libraries of content, such as links to news headlines for many different industries, that can serve as conversation starters on a Twitter feed or Facebook page. Roost users can take advantage of entire pre-fab campaigns that include a mix of different post types (photos, questions, polls, news headlines).
> PRIMARY SOURCES:
IT World Canada – http://www.itworldcanada.com
Ottawa Business Journal – http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com
ZDNet – http://www.zdnet.com
Canada IT – http://www.canadait.com
Monitor – http://www.monitortoday.com
