Today's announcement of enterprise software maker and CRM provider Oracle buying marketing automation vendor Eloqua for $811 million has many people -- including this analyst -- blindsided. After all, Eloqua just went public in August, raising $92 million. And a little more than 4 months later, it gets acquired? It was unclear from the news announcements if it was an all-stock deal, but clearly, Oracle is trying to do battle with the other enterprise software maker and CRM provider … [Read more...]
Surprise! Social Technology Still Needs People
Though I didn't attend Dreamforce two weeks ago, it's still reassuring that software companies -- and not just marketing and PR people -- are understanding the power and role of social in today's enterprise. That social media marketing platforms such as Involver and Vitrue were sold to Oracle, and Buddy Media to Salesforce, and not to ad agency holding companies like WPP, Omnicom, and Interpublic warm my heart -- and let all of us who work tirelessly in the social media world know that 'Yes, … [Read more...]