云计算大战爆发

    SAP，接招吧！甲骨文（Oracle）最近宣布斥资19亿美元收购云计算人才管理软件提供商Taleo。而就在两个月前，其竞争对手SAP刚刚宣布将以34亿美元收购人力资源软件提供商SuccessFactors。

    两家科技巨头都不约而同地采取了收购方式来进军云计算领域。去年十月，甲骨文已将云计算客户服务提供商RightNow Technologies收入囊中，而现在，甲骨文的人力资源服务又打上了软件即服务提供商Taleo的烙印。

    近日，证券公司JMP Securities的分析师帕特里克•瓦拉文斯发布报告，深入总结了这一收购策略。“我们认为，甲骨文、SAP和IBM等大型企业软件提供商目前在与小型软件即服务公司的竞争中处于下风，后者发展迅速，而且越来越被市场所接受。我们越发认为，这些大型公司正将收购视为遏止市场份额流失、在竞争激烈的软件即服务市场抢占优势的良策。”

    所谓的人才管理软件（以及其它用于管理员工的软件）对甲骨文和SAP这类巨头格外具有吸引力。虽然绝大部分客户并未将其核心的金融或供应链软件迁移到云端，但他们却更乐意在人力资源管理软件方面作出尝试。

    Taleo成立于1999年，它经常强调，那时候人们还未开始讨论云计算。Taleo的软件能帮助人力资源部门处理招聘、绩效管理、学习管理和补贴等事宜。同时，Taleo还在软件中加入了一些社交协作功能。甲骨文开发部执行副总裁托马斯•库里安曾公开表示：“甲骨文正在积极向客户提供全方位云计算解决方案，其中包括销售自动化、人力资源、人才管理、社交网络、数据库和Java，它们都是甲骨文公共云的一部分。RightNow公司先进的客户服务云计算软件是对甲骨文公共云非常重要的补充。”

    随着Taleo被收购，人力资源管理领域目前仅剩一家大型独立软件公司——Workday。不过虽然Workday现在很吸引人（据报道它已回绝了数次收购要约），但所有迹象都表明该公司将于今年进行首次公开募股（IPO）。甲骨文对Taleo的收购则预计将于今年年中结束。让云计算大战来得更猛烈些吧！

    译者：项航

    Take that, SAP. Oracle just announced it is buying Taleo, maker of cloud-based talent management software, for $1.9 billion. The move comes just two months after rival SAP said it would acquire HR software provider SuccessFactors for $3.4 billion.

    Both tech giants have been buying their way into the cloud. Last October Oracle (ORCL) bought cloud-based customer service provider RightNow Technologies, and now it is rounding out its human services software-as-a-service offerings with Taleo.

    A recent report from JMP Securities analyst Patrick Walravens sums up the strategy well. "We believe that larger enterprise software vendors such as Oracle, SAP and IBM have been losing share to their smaller, faster growing SaaS competitors that are increasingly being accepted in the market. Increasingly, we believe these companies are viewing acquisitions as a way to stem market share losses and position themselves better in the competitive SaaS marketplace."

    So-called talent management software (and other tools used to manage employees) are particularly attractive to large players like Oracle and SAP (SAP) . While most enterprise customers won't switch their core financials or supply chain software to the cloud, they're much more willing to make the plunge with HR tools.

    Taleo has been around since 1999 -- before people were talking about the cloud, as the company likes to point out. Its software allows HR departments to handle recruitment, performance management, learning management, and compensation. It also has some social collaboration features baked into its software. "Oracle is moving aggressively to offer customers a full range of Cloud Solutions including sales force automation, human resources, talent management, social networking, databases and Java as part of the Oracle Public Cloud," Thomas Kurian, EVP of Oracle Development, said in a release. "RightNow's leading customer service cloud is a very important addition to Oracle's Public Cloud."

    The Taleo acquisition leaves one large, independent player in the human capital management space: Workday. But as attractive as Workday is (it has reportedly turned down multiple acquisition offers), all signs point to the company filing for IPO sometime this year. As for Oracle's acquisition of Taleo, the deal is expected to close mid-year. Let the cloud wars begin.