Mondeca Acquisition by Stephane Senkowski and Christophe Prigent
January 24, 2014
A article titled Mondeca is Taken by Private Investors, Operation Advised by Largilliere Finance, an Independent Firm of Corporate Board on the french-language Fusacq describes the semantic technology developer Mondeca’s acquisition by Stéphane Senkowski and Christophe Prigent through the administration of Largilliere Finance as of December 2013. Mendeca was established in 1999 and in recent years spent some time under the direction of investor capital.
The article explains:
“Mondeca is taken by two experienced in editing software professionals and IT service delivery. The company has a strong technology core and a client installed with reference customers in France Park… The new shareholders are the operational management of the company with the ambition to accelerate its development. They will rely on a team of research and development very involved and leading partners to carry out their expansion in France and abroad.”
Mondeca will be managed by Stéphane Senkowski and Christophe Prigent, who both stated their excitement at the prospect of taking over the company. Mondeca is comprised of a small team of 15 staffers who have, after more than a decade of effort, hit a revenue of 1.3 million euros. Their clients include AP-HP, BNF, National Geographic and LexisNexis France.
Chelsea Kerwin, January 24, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
RTT Renowned 3D Innovator Acquired by Dassault Systemes
December 27, 2013
The article on 4–traders titled Dassault Systemes Announces Voluntary Public Takeover Offer to Acquire up to 100% of the Share Capital in Realtime Technology AG that seems to put Dassault’s recent search momentum on hold for more 3D. The company that they are buying, RTT, proclaims itself as a 3D leader for “exploring innovative ways for an emotive digital product experience across the entire product lifestyle.” This includes showroom concepts, storyboard development and visualization tools. The details of the acquisition are outlined in the article,
“The voluntary public offer is subject to the fulfillment of the condition precedent that the closing of the aforementioned private acquisition agreements occurs. All terms and conditions as set out in the offer document apply… RTT shareholders can only accept the voluntary public offer vis-à-vis their respective custodian bank as set forth in further detail in the offer document.”
The acceptance period for the offer began December 11, 2013 and will end January 29, 2014. It is even possible to read the entire offer document (in German) online. Dassault Systemes is considered the premier 3DEXPERIENCE Company in design software, and solution management. With 170,000 customers internationally ranging in size and industry, we expected Dassault to continue with their development of search, but this acquisition seems like a retreat into their comfort zone.
Chelsea Kerwin, December 27, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Yahoo Snaps Up NLP Startup SkyPhrase
December 13, 2013
There is more NLP excitement at Yahoo, we learn from TechCrunch‘s piece, “Yahoo Acquires Natural Language Processing Company SkyPhrase to Help Drive Intent Identification.” Writer Darrell Etherington reports that SkyPhrase will be integrated into Yahoo’s office in New York.
The article observes:
“Back in October, we covered SkyPhrase, and noted specifically that its NLP tech could be used to advance fantasy sports, which is of course an area where Yahoo excels and has a considerable investment already. The company has created an app that makes it easy for fantasy football players to search through stats and find only those relevant to making picks and monitoring their team, which would be very handy integrated directly into Yahoo’s fantasy sports products.
“[…] In October, the entrepreneur and cognitive scientist said that what he really hoped to accomplish with the company was to make NLP tech useful to as much of the world as possible via tailoring it to specific verticals in a way that’s easy for everyday users to access, and to make it easier for third-party partners to build NLP-powered interfaces for their own products, data and services.”
Sounds great! Unfortunately, laments Etherington, Yahoo is more likely to task its new acquisition with improving Yahoo’s products than with spreading the wealth of their third-party-friendly NLP. He notes that Yahoo has been focusing on mobile functionality, and that SkyPhrase’s tech can help with that.
Launched in 2011, SkyPhrase has built its algorithms around research performed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute by Cassimatis and some of his grad students. The startup received funding from investment firm Breakout Labs, which invests in breakthrough advances. Let us hope that Yahoo’s rulership does not dim SkyPhrase’s unique potential.
Cynthia Murrell, December 13, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Self Service Mashups Arrived For Endeca
December 10, 2013
Oracle is in the business of acquisitions and upgrades lately. They are ramping up the headlines before 2014 and Rittman Mead Consulting reports that “Oracle Endeca Information Discovery 3.1 And Self-Service Data Mashup Capability.” The new Oracle Endeca Information Discovery (OEID) 3.1 moves Oracle toward providing its clients with better self-service discovery capabilities.
The article states:
“OEID 3.1 now enables its non-technical users to securely run agile business intelligence analysis on variety of data sources in much easier way and without need to IT. On the other hand the integration with Oracle Business Intelligence is now even more tight to the extend that Oracle announced OEID 3.1 as ‘the only complete data discovery platform for the enterprise.’ The product data sheet is accessible here and in the same way as older versions of OEID, this software is downloadable via Oracle e-Delivery website which is the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud where you can find downloads for all licensed Oracle products.”
The new version allows users to join data sources together, such as files, databases, and pre-built Endeca servers. Files no longer have to be solely in Excel format and the added geocode features allow users to map data. Users will not have to rely on IT to deliver enrichment for unstructured data, because there is a new option to find hidden entities, sentiment, and more. Managing data is easer with the application settings.
Oracle OEID 3.1 empowers the average user to become a data expert. The user-friendly UI and upgraded features are the software’s biggest selling features.
Whitney Grace, December 10, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Encomium For Oracle And CRM
December 9, 2013
Oracle has made a new acquisition, according to CMSWire in the article, “Oracle Adds InQuira Knowledge Management Technology To CRM Offerings.” Oracle purchased InQuira in hopes to strengthen its stance in the customer relationship management market. By acquiring InQuira, Oracle gains CRM technology for analytics and knowledge management. Oracle wants a piece of the $4 billion revenue CRM pie predicted for 2014. Microsoft, SalesForce.com, and SAP are the company’s biggest rivals. One of the ways Oracle’s rivals stay on the top is by continuing to add new features to their products, such as social media integration. Oracle hopes InQuira’s technology will give it the same, if not better, competitive edge.
“Oracle is a huge software company and its Fusion suite is massive. Many may wonder why Oracle elected to acquire InQuira’s knowledge management technology instead of building its own. Knowledge management is a specialized area and InQuira is one of the market leaders. Acquiring InQuira means Oracle acquires the InQuira’s market leadership — if Oracle can do a good job integrating the technology into its existing product offerings.”
Oracle saves time and cuts development costs by purchasing a company already acknowledged as a leader in the CRM market. InQuira’s reputation and client base is now transferred to Oracle. Was it a good strategic move? Most definitely.
Whitney Grace, December 09, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Splunk Announces More Customers, Acquisitions and Earnings for Q3
December 4, 2013
An article on ZDNet titled Splunk Shares Rise After Hours Thanks to Q3 Revenue Surge, Strong Outlook explains the progress of the San Francisco based software corporation Splunk. After upsetting estimates of losses on shares with the news of a record third quarter, Splunk announced the addition of 450 new customers, making the total 6400 customers internationally.
The article quotes Godfrey Sullivan, CEO of Splunk:
“ “More customers are adopting Splunk software as their enterprise standard. We expanded our product portfolio this quarter with the release of Splunk Enterprise6, Splunk Cloud and Hunk: Splunk Analytics for Hadoop, providing more power, functionality and flexibility for our customers.” For the fourth quarter, analysts were expecting Splunk to deliver non-GAAP earnings of six cents a share on revenue of $86.12 million. Splunk responded with revenue guidance of $88 million and $90 million.”
The upgrades Sullivan mentioned only skim the surface of the increased potential of the latest software. Splunk claims that the Enterprise 6 is 1,000 times faster than old versions. Quarter 3 also included the acquisition of BugSense Inc. and an expanded partnership with Amazon Web Services. Internal changes were also made, with Stephen Sorkin made chief strategy officer and Todd Papaioannou as chief tech officer for C-level appointments.
Chelsea Kerwin, December 04, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Kapow as a Division of Kofax
October 11, 2013
Now that data outfit Kapow Software is part of Kofax, it is emphasizing its enterprise search chops. The page that introduces its enterprise search solution is titled, “Enhancing Content to Ensure Search Relevancy and Accuracy.” The product description leads with the usual big data introduction, emphasizing that businesses must adapt to the shift from structured to a combination of structured and unstructured data. The blurb states:
“The problem lies in the fact that standard search engines may index content faithfully, but they are unable to gauge the content’s significance to the user without rich metadata. They also do not offer an easy way to enrich the content with metadata applied based on rules that are meaningful to your business and that will ensure the best search results.
“We help you solve that challenge by opening up access to any web based content source, providing a platform that makes it easy to enrich the content with metadata attributes that are meaningful to your intended audience. Using Kapow Synthetic API technology, you can enrich legacy and unstructured content without relying on manual processes, custom scripting or connectors.”
I am reminded of a thoughtful presentation Kapow’s CEO, John Yapaola, gave last spring about the unknowns within the big data; it is evidence that Kofax made a smart choice in bringing the Kapow team aboard. Launched in 2005 and based in Denmark, Kapow Software brings with it a healthy roster of customers from around the globe.
Customer engagement company Kofax makes it a point to begin at the beginning, emphasizing a focus on customer interactions from the start of the relationship (what they call the “First Mile”). Since the company began in 1991, it has gathered more than 20,000 customers around the world in a variety of markets. Though headquartered in Irvine, California, Kofax maintains subsidiaries in 30 countries.
Cynthia Murrell, October 11, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
A New Acquisition for Yahoo in IQ Engines
September 22, 2013
Our globetrotting leader tells me he had trouble accessing Yahoo in Europe just last week. Nevertheless, acquisitions continue, as the company announces in, “Yahoo Buys Image Search Specialty Startup” at Yahoo UK & Ireland Finance. Service? Well, maybe later.
The startup in question is IQ Engines, and Yahoo plans to incorporate their tech into Flickr (which Yahoo picked up back in 2005). The press release tells us:
“IQ Engines is known for software that analyzes, sorts, and categorizes images using techniques including facial recognition. In May, Yahoo unveiled a dusted-off design of its Flickr photo platform with chief executive Marissa Mayer saying her goal was to make the online service ‘awesome again.’ Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo has been on a buying spree since Mayer became chief last year with a mission to revive the withering Internet pioneer. The list of more than 20 acquisitions includes Qwiki, a New York operation behind an application that converts video and pictures on iPhones into sharable movie clips complete with music soundtracks. Yahoo in June completed a billion-dollar deal taking over the popular blogging platform Tumblr, a move aimed at bringing more youthful users into the company’s orbit.”
Yes, “more youthful users” are an important commodity for Yahoo, which has indeed been going through some changes since Marissa Mayer took over last year. The CEO’s strategy also includes increased emphases on mobile devices, video services, personalized content, and the company’s reputation overseas. We have one suggestion for Mayer—focus a bit more on service, so Yahoo can retain existing users while pursuing new ones.
Founded in 2007, IQ Engines is based in Berkeley, California. Their image recognition platform, merrily titled Glow, automatically tags and arranges users’ photos and is designed to integrate with both mobile and web applications. The company professes that Glow can recognize people, objects, landmarks, and text within images. We can see why Yahoo wants to add that capability to Flickr.
Cynthia Murrell, September 22, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Lexmark to Purchase Saperion
September 21, 2013
Will document management work as a new business focus for an old printer company? We should find out soon enough; BusinessLexington reports, “Lexmark Announces Plans to Buy European Software Company Saperion for $72 Million.” The move is expected to expand Lexmark’s data management capabilities; it is probably a wise shift as the transition away from paper records continues. The write-up tells us:
“The purchase is another in a line of acquisitions aimed at transitioning Lexmark from a company that makes printers to a document management company, leaning heavily on software to store and deliver documents without the use of paper except when necessary.
“In addition to having a multilingual structure, Saperion’s platform can integrate with all major business software known as enterprise resource planning (ERP) as well as email and document management systems. Saperion has also developed cloud-based and mobile solutions to provide access to content, even when those trying to access documents are away from their offices.”
Saperion brings along a roster of clients from mid-sized businesses to global enterprises. The new addition would report to another acquired division, Perceptive Software, which Lexmark snapped up last year. I fact, Lexmark has been on a spending spree recently. The Perceptive deal was announced at the same time as the company’s acquisition of Nolij, and this past march it bought up Twistage and AccessVia. It looks like Lexmark is fully committed to adapting to market changes through acquisitions. Will it pay off?
Founded in 1991, Lexmark is headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky. The company stresses that its background in printing uniquely qualifies it to handle unstructured data. Saperion is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, has been helping clients digitize records since 1985. That business likes to focus on simplicity and efficiency, and serves organizations in a range of fields.
Cynthia Murrell, September 21, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Kofax Purchases Kapow for Analytics and Integration Software
September 3, 2013
Reuters reported on July 31 the update Kofax Buys Kapow Technologies for $47.5 Million. Kofax, an Irvine, California based company acquisitioned the Palo Alto based Kapow for its analytics and data integration software. The purchase moves Kofax into the big data analytics sphere. The Kapow integration product is lauded for its user-friendly interface and its simplicity (Kapow uses a subscription model which makes installation and tests unnecessary. The article Kofax Adds Integration, Big Data Analytics in Kapow Acquisition on eweek explains,
“Thus Kofax… is combining all its newly acquired software IP to provide the basis for a significant big-data software package that will enable large organizations to access data–particularly the hard-to-get data that sits behind apps with no APIs (application programming interfaces)–faster and more cost-effectively…
Kapow Katalyst provides near real-time application integration and process automation, offering traditional API level integration capabilities as well as what it terms a “synthetic API” approach, which provides business users with a point-and-click interface, the company said.”
Kapow Kapplets are the apps that implement that data integration made possible by Kapow Katalyst. Kapow customers include Astra Zeneca, Audi and Zurich Insurance Group. The Chief Officer of Kofax applauded Kapow for its consistent growth in revenue over the last four fiscal years. The most surprising aspect of the deal may be the low deal price, assuming $47.5 million is correct.
Chelsea Kerwin, September 03, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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