My new favorite blog, Twitter Backlash

After commenting on Jason Corsello's blog a few days ago (http://humancapitalist.com/?p=695) in which I complained that his recent use of Twitter, instead of his blog, devalued his content, I considered a lengthy post here ranting about the ridiculous hype and lack of real value regarding Twitter.

In my opinion, Twitter is the Paris Hilton of web technologies, i.e. initially attractive, distracting, but ultimately almost devoid of value. And, like the lovely Ms. Hilton, it demands far more attention and fuss than it could possibly warrant.

But, rather than go on-and-on here, the blog Twitter Backlash (http://twitterbacklash.squarespace.com/) provides a thorough and thoughtful set of commentary about Twitter. Of particular value is the following post, http://twitterbacklash.squarespace.com/journal/2009/5/4/the-medium-is-the-message.html, wherein Twitter is examined in the context of the groundbreaking work of Marshall McLuhan relating to media. Now THAT is good blogging.

Last, every time I think of McLuhan, this following epic scene from Woody Allen's Annie Hall immediately comes to mind. Wait until the end...it's worth it.

Kenexa rebrands its website

Kenexa rebranded this week launching a new website and logo. I must say, it is a tremendous improvement is most regards. Kenexa's previous site was seriously ugly and not very helpful for those interested in the company. I can't seem to mention this enough but, the Lawson website is still the world champion for awful websites in HCM technology.

While I really like the new colors and logo for Kenexa, I am not so sure about their "i x e = s" concept. It is really gross oversimplification, and Kenexa's explanation of the concept, and reference to Martin Luther King therein, is a bit of bullshit. I mean really, is it in anyway appropriate to associate a company with someone of the stature of Martin Luther King and the American civil rights movement? On the other hand, given the restricted amount of neurons that the universe has seen fit to distribute to HR professionals, perhaps this is a shrewd marketing decision and the HR folks will lap it up and forget to ask Kenexa any probing questions about their technology.

It was an overdue makeover, but good for Kenexa in finally undertaking it.

Vista to buy SumTotal after all

In what appears to be the end of a bizarre auction process, Vista Equity Partners has triumphed, outbidding Accel-KKR for SumTotal Systems. The price ended up at $160 million or $4.85 per share, a respectable increase from Vista's original $3.25 per share offer. Accel-KKR can hardly be described as a loser though, after somehow convincing SumTotal's nitwit board of directors to double the break-up fee in their last bid to $6.67 million. I can imagine the Accel-KKR directors holding up the cheque saying, "Well lads, looks like we lost! The beer's on me!"

SumTotal agrees to buyout by PE firm Accel-KKR

With a quick 17% premium to Vista Equity Partners $3.25 per share bid, Accel-KKR seems to have swooped in and won the day, the 30-day shopping clause notwithstanding. The entire HCM/Talent Management space must be breathing giant sigh of relief as this perpetually under-performing company looks to finally be removed from public scrutiny. For SumTotal shareholders, I imagine champagne corks are popping, since their prospects if the company stayed public looked very ugly.

For SumTotal customers though, it is entirely too early to tell what the effects of the deal will be, good or bad. Change will be afoot though. Having done some research, I can tell you that there is a world of difference between rookie PE firm Bedford Funding (who bought out Authoria last year) and Accel-KKR. Accel-KKR is joint venture of two major PE firms that have deep experience and cash resources to drive a strategic vision with this purchase. Who knows what that vision is at this point? But, I have a suspicion that we'll see more of Accel-KKR in HCM/Talent before the year is up.

Oracle steps in...

Well, it looks like I called one aspect of the potential IBM/Sun deal dead right in my March 19 post below. Namely, that the very idea would drive Larry Ellison mad. The concept of IBM, or anyone else for that matter, controlling Java is simply something Ellison could not allow. Certainly, Oracle could behave badly (i.e. like IBM) with this acquisition, but their past behavior suggests that they will likely stay committed to open standards in technology.

Financially, Sun fits very well with Oracle, where long term recurring margin is king. With luck, the hardware business will see an upswing in innovation. Java, at least, seems safe for now. Larry Ellison the good guy? Who would have thought?

Sun deal dead for now...thankfully

Thankfully, IBM has withdrawn its offer for Sun. I hope this is permanent, but this deal could get resurrected. Let's hope some Van Helsing-type individual has driven an irremovable stake in the heart of this combination.

IBM buying Sun, bad for most everyone

I truly hope that another suitor will pick up Sun, or the IBM deal falls through on its own. Can you think of a single technology or software that has been improved after it has been bought by IBM? I can't. I can see why IBM wants to do the deal, and of course, I can see it from a pure economic standpoint for Sun shareholders, but for everyone else this very bad with one notable exception, namely Microsoft.

Microsoft will be the big winner here. Contrary to some thoughts out there that suggest that an IBM/Sun combination will strengthen Java and open technologies, I believe just the opposite. IBM's game is to monopolize the entirety of the IT stack, from hardware through services, and it inexorably moves in that direction. Why is this bad? IBM will stack the deck with proprietary (and often inferior) technologies like WebSphere, DB2, Cognos and more. Companies that loved Sun for it's commitment to openness and compatibility will begin to wonder how long they can stay on a JBoss/Oracle platform when IBM starts providing monetary and support advantages to other proprietary components of the stack. If that happens, it will be a shitty day for SaaS providers and other software developers.

So why does Microsoft win big by this? Because is reduces the stack monopoly providers, really to two companies, Microsoft and IBM. I tend to believe Microsoft will grow its market share substantially in database and .NET framework at the expense of ex-Sun customers that want no part of the big so-called value proposition IBM will drive, namely Blue from top to bottom.

So where will the open systems and Java communities seek shelter? My bet is HP. My hope would be the HP does everything it can to buy Sun in lieu of IBM, but I am doubtful. Perhaps they see some short-term growth in the enterprise server business if IBM gobbles Sun, but over the haul, this could be setting the stage for Microsoft and IBM to carve up the landscape. The nightmare scenario would be for IBM to take Java in a proprietary direction. I hope IBM would not do this, but I trust them not one bit.

Who is the biggest loser? Why Oracle of course. Larry Ellison must be ripping his hairpiece out right now at the thought of his biggest enterprise database competitor controlling the hardware that runs Oracle databases more than any other application. Can you imagine the headlines in 18 months? "DB2 processes on average 34% more queries per second than Oracle 11g on the IBM Sun new I-Sun Series database servers." I am sure Ellison is out of his mind about this.

Truly though, everyone in software will lose because all of those enterprise-class and scalable SaaS applications that utilize innovative open technologies are going to suddenly be marginalized in a market now being dominated by two players, named IBM and Microsoft, who have no interest in open technologies.

My list of potential saviors: HP, Intel, Cisco. I am already praying to their Boards for intervention. I suggest everyone do so as well.