云計算大戰爆發

????SAP，接招吧！甲骨文（Oracle）最近宣布斥資19億美元收購云計算人才管理軟件提供商Taleo。而就在兩個月前，其競爭對手SAP剛剛宣布將以34億美元收購人力資源軟件提供商SuccessFactors。

????兩家科技巨頭都不約而同地采取了收購方式來進軍云計算領域。去年十月，甲骨文已將云計算客戶服務提供商RightNow Technologies收入囊中，而現在，甲骨文的人力資源服務又打上了軟件即服務提供商Taleo的烙印。

????近日，證券公司JMP Securities的分析師帕特里克?瓦拉文斯發布報告，深入總結了這一收購策略?！拔覀冋J為，甲骨文、SAP和IBM等大型企業軟件提供商目前在與小型軟件即服務公司的競爭中處于下風，后者發展迅速，而且越來越被市場所接受。我們越發認為，這些大型公司正將收購視為遏止市場份額流失、在競爭激烈的軟件即服務市場搶占優勢的良策?！?/p>

????所謂的人才管理軟件（以及其它用于管理員工的軟件）對甲骨文和SAP這類巨頭格外具有吸引力。雖然絕大部分客戶并未將其核心的金融或供應鏈軟件遷移到云端，但他們卻更樂意在人力資源管理軟件方面作出嘗試。

????Taleo成立于1999年，它經常強調，那時候人們還未開始討論云計算。Taleo的軟件能幫助人力資源部門處理招聘、績效管理、學習管理和補貼等事宜。同時，Taleo還在軟件中加入了一些社交協作功能。甲骨文開發部執行副總裁托馬斯?庫里安曾公開表示：“甲骨文正在積極向客戶提供全方位云計算解決方案，其中包括銷售自動化、人力資源、人才管理、社交網絡、數據庫和Java，它們都是甲骨文公共云的一部分。RightNow公司先進的客戶服務云計算軟件是對甲骨文公共云非常重要的補充?！?/p>

????隨著Taleo被收購，人力資源管理領域目前僅剩一家大型獨立軟件公司——Workday。不過雖然Workday現在很吸引人（據報道它已回絕了數次收購要約），但所有跡象都表明該公司將于今年進行首次公開募股（IPO）。甲骨文對Taleo的收購則預計將于今年年中結束。讓云計算大戰來得更猛烈些吧！

????譯者：項航

????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.