企業級軟件改走親民路線
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????差旅及報銷軟件供應商Concur遇到麻煩了，它發現不少用戶正在轉投別處。許多人選擇了面向個人用戶的網站制定差旅計劃。這些網站不但免費，而且更容易上手。所以，位于華盛頓州雷德蒙德市的Concur痛定思痛，開始收購針對主流人群的應用和網站，試圖向它們學習。2011年，Concur耗資1.2億美元收購了行程管理應用程序開發商TripIt。去年11月，Concur又宣布向提供類似服務的新創企業投資1.5億美元。無獨有偶，為了留住用戶，其它企業軟件開發商也都在競購用戶友好型軟件。【思科（Cisco）是個例外，它剝離了絕大部分個人消費者業務。】以下是一些堪稱業界風向標的收購交易。 |
????Concur (CNQR), the maker of travel and expense-report software, knows that some of its users have been unfaithful. Many have turned to free -- and simpler -- consumer-oriented sites to book business travel. So the company, based in Redmond, Wash., is taking cues from apps and websites aimed at the mainstream -- by buying them. It shelled out $120 million for trip-planning app TripIt in 2011 and, this past November, announced a $150 million fund to invest in similar startups. Concur isn't alone. Other enterprise-software giants are racing to acquire user-friendly software in hopes of keeping customers from turning elsewhere. (One exception? Cisco(CSCO, Fortune 500), which has divested itself of most of its consumer businesses.) Here are some bellwether acquisitions. |
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Vmware收購SlideRocket 時間：2011年4月 原因：SlideRocket的軟件與PowerPoint很像，當時已有25萬用戶使用該軟件制作了1,000多萬張演示文稿。 整合方案：Vmware此前已經收購了電子郵件軟件開發商Zimbra，而SlideRocket是對這宗收購的補充。 風險：演示文稿并不是虛擬化巨頭Vmware的核心業務。收購SlideRocket最終可能被證明純屬畫蛇添足。 收購金額：未披露 |
VMware buys SlideRocket When: April 2011 Why: At the time of the acquisition, some 250,000 people had created more than 10 million online presentations using SlideRocket's PowerPoint-like software. How it's being integrated: SlideRocket is now a supplement to another VMware (VMW) acquisition, e mail provider Zimbra. Risk: Presentations aren't central to the virtualization giant's core business. SlideRocket could end up a questionable afterthought. Amount: Undisclosed |
