Insights on Corporate Talent, Learning, and HR Technology
As we read and hear about the tumultuous news
in Iran and North Korea, it occurs to me that so much of our daily life, news, and time is now spent on global issues. This trend impacts the corporate HR and L&D function as well.
I recently completed a presentation and roundtable at the ASTD ... Read more»
Over the last year or so we have talked with hundreds of companies about their desire to transform their corporate training programs to take advantage of social networking, knowledge management, communities of practice, and better models of blended learning. As we studied dozens of high performing training programs through our Learning Leaders® program, we ... Read more»
The LMS market continues to heat up as two private equity firms bid for SumTotal Systems. 
This week Vista Equity Partners upped its bid to $4.75 a share (up from $3.80 several weeks ago), bringing SumTotal’s market capitalization to over $150 Million. (This is nearly twice the market cap of Saba, who’s revenues are ... Read more»
A 
very important partnership was announced today: IBM announced a major commitment to Saba as its primary learning management technology partner.
Background on IBM’s Learning Platform Business:
IBM has been in the corporate learning market for many years. In the 1980’s, the company offered a wide range of corporate training tools and systems, including PC ... Read more»
We have been carefully looking at the Talent Management Software market over the last few weeks, and the first quarter of 2009 was a bit of a disaster. The market for performance and succession management software, which we believe finished 2008 around $520M in size and is expected to grow to $655M in 2009, had ... Read more»
In April we published our bi-annual State of Learning and Talent Measurement research and again the news is mixed. (Report available here at no charge.) A few tidbits for you to think about:
There is now a little bidding war going on for SumTotal Systems. ACCEL-KKR, a private equity firm, outbid Vista Equity Partners by offering approximately $124 Million for the company. This bid is approximately 20% higher than the $103 Million offer which Vista extended in early April.
This is a very positive thing – ... Read more»
We just completed our IMPACT® 2009 Research Conference in Florida, which brought together over 300 top HR and L&D leaders from around the world. One of the things I talked about in my keynote is the real value of industry research, and I wanted to highlight some of this thinking here, through the use of ... Read more»
Today, at our IMPACT 2009 Research Conference, we released our 2009 Learning Management Systems research which details the pivotal changes taking place in the market for corporate learning platforms. This market has grown to $817 Million (projected for 2009) and continues to grow despite the economic downturn. Some of the highlights of our research include:... Read more»
Today was a very important day in the world of corporate learning and talent management systems.
Vista Equity Partners, a mid-sized private equity firm, announced a proposal to acquire SumTotal Systems, the largest independent provider of LMS software, and one of the pioneers in this industry.
Typically such transitions occur because the shareholders have ... Read more»
As I prepare my keynote for our upcoming research conference, IMPACT 2009: The Business of Talent®, I came to the realization that one of the most important issues in management today is the need to build talent and learning processes which make organizations ready for change.
Why “ready for change?” Because “Enduring Organizations”, ... Read more»
In preparation for our upcoming research conference IMPACT 2009: The Business of Talent®, I just finished a conference call with six executives from well known HR and corporate training outsourcing companies: Accenture, Convergys, General Physics, Intrepid Learning Solutions, NIIT, and RWD. Together, these six companies represent more than a billion ... Read more»
In the last 6 weeks three of my closest friends have been laid off from their positions, and each case gives an example of how difficult it is to manage such programs effectively. Our research report The Manager’s Guide to Successful Downsizing highlights many of these topics in detail, but let me give a few ... Read more»
Ok we know times are tough. Our just-released TalentWatch® research (Winter 2009) found that 61% of all organizations now rate “financial pressure to cut costs” as one of their top two business challenges, up from 36% only 3 months ago.
So how well are HR and L&D organizations doing at reducing expenses and rationalizing costs? ... Read more»
In today’s new green (and red ink) economy, businesses all over the world are working hard to reduce operational expenses, restructure their workforce, and transform themselves into sustainable business models. I think one of the most exciting examples of a company going through this transition is Vestas Wind Systems, the global leader in wind ... Read more»