The HR Technologist

As quickly as you can say PRESS RELEASE, another one bites the dust.  Earlier today SuccessFactors announced their intent to acquire Workforce Analytics software vendor Inform.  This is the second acquisition in as many days by larger vendors in the HR space (Monster buys Yahoo! HotJobs).  Moreover this is the 4th acquisition that I can think of in the last 30 days or so.

It all started a mere two business days into 2010 with Bedford Funding acquiring PeopleClick.  In response to that acquisition I wondered aloud who would be the next to fall.  Back in late fall 2009 SuccessFactors built up their warchest through a secondary offering which raised $215m, with the intent to seemingly grow the business through acquisition.  That assumption has since been demonstrated to be fact.

By purchasing Inform SuccessFactors has successfully accomplished several strategic objectives:

1. Delivered capabilities for more in-depth reporting and analytics than existed with their current technology
2. Added workforce planning capabilities to their product offering
3. Gain greater access to consulting expertise around metrics, benchmarking, and information delivery
4. Gain further global credibility, with a much stronger presence in the Asia/Pac region of the world

In short this acquisition further positions SuccessFactors to deliver upon the promise of business execution software as their corporate tagline indicates.

From the perspective of the HR Technology market this acquisition is not the end of the M&A activity, but rather just the beginning.  With confidence in the economy rising, large companies sitting on piles of cash and depressed valuations I expect that this is just the tip of the iceberg.  2010 will be the year of the acquisition.