Google’s Trojan Horse into the Enterprise?

August 7, 2008 · Filed Under BSG, Deals, nGenera ·  

On the heels of Salesforce.com partnering with Google Enterprise to integrate Google Apps into Salesforce.com, Google has now done an equally extensive partnership and integration with SuccessFactors around embedding Google Apps and other apps into the HCM SaaS applications of SuccessFactors.

Google’s enterprise playbook seems like it is, or should be, clear … continue to build the collaborative productivity applications on the backs of consumers, layer & integrate them into the main enterprise SaaS apps via partnerships, and then probably consolidate those companies into Google - i.e. acquire SFDC, SFSF / TLEO, and others in core SaaS categories where the players are getting enterprise traction (i.e. above only SMB).

This is not the first time somebody has suggested that Google might acquire Salesforce.com, but the path is becoming clearer, and it would be more logical as part of a broader SaaS consolidation play along with SuccessFactors, and potentially others like Omniture and/or Taleo.

Even Eric Schmidt has commented publicly about the core nature of apps to Google (quote below was pulled from here):

CEO Eric Schmidt described “apps” as one of three strategic components for the company, alongside search and ads, adding that charging businesses for apps “is a business that looks like it is going to grow very nicely for us.”

What is unclear is the potential timing of this playbook being executed …

Some reasons why it might happen quickly are below:

  • Cisco or somebody else (Microsoft) takes a strong interest in acquiring Salesforce.com, which could force Google’s hand as SFDC is a unique property
  • Google feels pressure to diversify more quickly from its pure advertising model sooner due to the economy and other factors

Regardless of the above, I would consider betting that Google starts running a playbook like this within 18 to 24 months at the latest. The need for new growth engines may be motivation enough to move quickly, and as Henry Blodget points out, building out an enterprise-class sales & support infrastructure is not something that happens overnight.

It certainly seems like the clock has begun to tick faster for Microsoft on its Exchange / Sharepoint / Office franchises. With that at stake, the fascination with Yahoo is an even bigger head scratcher.

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Forstmann’s view on the credit crisis

July 7, 2008 · Filed Under Deals, Private Equity ·  

An interesting and very frightening assessment by Ted Forstmann on the state of the credit crisis (WSJ - Subscription required) - his assessment, we’re in the “second inning.” His view may be extreme, and I do want to compare it with Soros’ view in his latest book, but there must be some to a fair amount of truth to Forstmann’s view. Below are some snippets from the WSJ Commentary.

“I don’t know when money was ever this inexpensive in the history of this country. But not in modern times, that’s for sure.”

Combine this with loan syndication and securitization, and the result is a nasty brew. Securitization and syndication allow the banks to take the loans off their books and replenish their capital. They then use this capital to make new loans, which they securitize or syndicate and sell to the hedge funds, which buy them with the money they borrowed from the banks. For a time, everyone makes money.

………….

One reason is that the proliferation of new financial instruments has left the system more closely intertwined than ever, making a workout, or even a shakeout, much more difficult. Take what happened to Bear Stearns. “What should the health of one brokerage firm in America mean to the entire global financial system? To an ordinary person, probably not much. But in today’s world, with all the interdependence, a great deal.”

This circular creation of new credit, used to buy more newly created debt, all financed by ultracheap money and all betting with each other, has left the major firms hopelessly intertwined. “It’s very interrelated,” he says, locking his fingers together. “There’s trillions and trillions of dollars that slosh around between all these places and if one fails . . .” He doesn’t finish the thought.

I’m curious to know who is doing cutting edge research on the exposure of the interdependencies about which Forstmann speaks. It sounds like some type of domino-like crisis is possible, but I would like to see an analysis of what types of Black Swan events would take to trigger it. Please post any links to relevant research in the comments.

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Disney / Pixar - lessons in cultural integration

June 2, 2008 · Filed Under BSG, Deals, nGenera ·  

After being on the buy and sell side of many merger & acquisition transactions, one thing that is clear is that cultural integration is one of the toughest aspects of bringing two companies together following a transaction. It is the largely unwritten reason for why many (and some will say most) mergers & acquisitions fail. This article about Disney’s acquisition of Pixar in last Sunday’s New York Times highlights a high-profile acquisition success story, in an industry where many M&A deals do not pan out as expected. The intriguing parts of the article had to do with some quotes from Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO, and his philosophies on M&A transactions.

Bob has been on both sides of many deals, and has seen first-hand the time and attention that needs to go into cultural integration, and the consequences of not doing it right. Bob also recognizes that cultural integration is probably the largest predictor of whether an M&A transaction will be successful and meet its original goals.

“There is an assumption in the corporate world that you need to integrate swiftly,” Mr. Iger said. “My philosophy is exactly the opposite. You need to be respectful and patient.”

Key to the successful integration, analysts say, has been Mr. Iger’s decision to give incoming talent added duties. Instead of just buying Pixar and moving on, Mr. Iger understood what made the acquisition valuable, said Mr. Price, the author. “If you are acquiring expertise,” he said, “then dispatch your newly purchased experts into other parts of the company and let them stretch their muscles.”

The more deals I do, the more I am in Bob’s camp per the above quotes. It is in our capitalist nature to want to do things better and faster. However, mergers/acqusitions are largely about bring people of different (corporate) cultures together - and this is true more so in today’s knowledge-driven economy than ever before. We certainly want to do things better all of the time, but the speed at which we do it should not be a sole measure, especially when trying to integrate people. The concept of shared experiences, and creating / fostering ways for these to happen, is one of the best culture melding techniques available, and Bob suggests this in the above quotes regarding ’stretching muscles across the company’. Some good things still do take time.

One last interesting quote from the article is below

“It took about a year before there was a collective letting down the guard,” he said. “Initially people were thinking, ‘Is something going to happen?’ ”

Even in the best of cases, such as the Disney/Pixar deal, the same dynamics of M&A apply - typically a constant and natural fear that something is about the change or be cut at any time, no matter how well things are going. It takes time even when things are going well to build up mutual trust and respect. The best deals happen when the mutual trust and respect exists, builds over time, and both parties work together over the right period of time, making key decisions along the way to implement the desired change.

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