Autonomy Buys Interwoven: Implications for Enterprise Search
January 23, 2009
The search related Web logs lit up on January 22, 2009. Autonomy acquired Interwoven. You can read about the $775 million deal on Yahoo here. KMWorld, the outfit that publishes my Google enterprise search column has an item here. Both write ups are useful, but both lack some color about the implications of this deal, assuming that it goes through, are not in these stories. Let me highlight the points that emerged from our discussion over shredded pork at the local Chinese eatery in Harrod’s Creek, Kentucky.
First, the content management sector is a bit confused. There are different types of “content management” in an organization. The Interwoven type focuses on Web content, although the system can be revved up to perform more robust tasks. Autonomy lacks a Webby CMS function, and the acquisition fills in a gap. Keep in mind that Autonomy has been quicker at buying into enterprise software than some of its competitors; namely, Microsoft. Microsoft bought search; Autonomy bought CMS. That is an important difference. Autonomy can continue to support SharePoint and use the Interwoven customer base as an upsell platform.
Second, the deal may mean bad news for Vivisimo and the other search vendors who have snap in solutions for the various Interwoven products. Autonomy will favor its own products, not those of a competitor. In the short term, there probably won’t be a dramatic change, but over the course of the next year, third party Interwoven solutions may dance to a different tune. Autonomy may prefer rap or hip hop; the third parties may like classical, find the Autonomy music not to their taste and vamoose on their own accord.
Third, Autonomy gets a revenue injection. I think that Autonomy’s management will need to crack open their MBA course books. Interwoven is not sailing in calm waters. CMS as a discipline is viewed as a disaster in many organizations. Some of the licensees of high profile systems are somewhat dissatisfied. I heard about one vendor who is facing legal action from a US government entity because the CMS didn’t work. With open source CMS looking more attractive, Autonomy will have to manage some fire drills with existing Interwoven customers, keep costs under control, and convert the Interwoven customers to Autonomy’s product line.
Fourth, CMS vendors have built their systems on the principles of what I call “prisoner of war” engineering. The idea is that prisoners have to use what’s available to meet their immediate needs. Some of today’s CMS solutions are pretty creative, but quite a few of them are not ready for prime time. Hacking is okay. Hacking disguised as commercial grade enterprise publishing solutions are not. Some CMS vendors’ engineering decisions, therefore, were made when the client wanted more than HTML pages with dynamic urls. Over time, the “prisoner of war” engineers used whatever code was available to craft something that would keep the client paying its CMS bills. It is too soon to tell if Autonomy’s talented engineers can “fix up” some of the Interwoven plumbing.
Finally, in a deteriorating market, some Interwoven customers may jump to lower cost open source alternatives. Sure, corporate information technology mavens want to buy brand name solutions. But if the choice is between the high priced, high profile solution and a lower cost open source system, I think Autonomy will have to do some serious offensive selling. If Interwoven’s existing customers slip away, then the price tag could be a tough one to swallow for a company of Autonomy’s size.
Sixth, Interwoven strikes me as having quite distinct CMS businesses. Autonomy may covet the legal sector. The question becomes, “What will Autonomy do with the enterprise business?” A quick decision may be necessary. Competitors like Open Text may strike hard and fast. Will Autonomy have the fench to contain the Open Text horses?
With the deal, Autonomy once again jumps ahead of its direct competition in the enterprise search sector. Endeca, Microsoft, Oracle, among others have yet to show Autonomy’s agility or its nose for opportunity.
As more information becomes available from “real” news sources, I will take a look and update the Beyond Search team’s quacks. Oh, if you want to tell me I am off base or if you want to add some information, please, use the comments section of this Web log. No more PR people today, please.
Stephen Arnold, January 23, 2009
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Autonomy acquires Interwoven…
On 22nd Jan, Autonomy announced agreement to acquire Interwoven for US$775 million approx. (ref: Press…
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