Adobe Buys Omniture – Web Analytics Is Now Big Business!

Posted on September 18, 2009 in Analytics, Tech News

moneyThe top story this week has been the bizarre buyout of Omniture by Adobe. Why does a content production conglomerate want to buy the world’s most expensive analytics product suite?

I want to shed some light on what I think might be the reasoning behind this bold move, and how the analytics landscape is shaping up for the future.

Why Omniture?

First of all, Adobe does not deal with cheap products. Anyone who has bought an Adobe product knows what I am talking about. So, if Adobe were looking to buy analytics software, it would have to be top of the line – and Omniture IS the shogun of web analytics programs.

Why Does Adobe Want Analytics?

The reason that makes the most sense: Adobe product users will be able to use Omniture to track the effectiveness of their online content. The big buzz is about how Omniture’s SiteCatalyst product is going to help users analyze and monetize their Flash video content. Could this be a marriage made in Flash Heaven?

But… $1.8 billion to let users analyze their Flash content seems like a lot. I am sure that a team of highly specialized analysts reviewed the numbers, audited the sales figures and arrived at the incredible price of $1.8B. I, on the other hand, agree with the analysts who think Adobe overpaid in this deal.

This move is especially risky since it’s common knowledge that monetization of videos is HARD. Anyone in doubt should see how shifty Google execs get when questions about YouTube monetization are brought up on their earnings calls.

How Adobe is going to bundle Omniture with their other products will be an exercise in salesmanship. It will be one of the most interesting tech pairings, and definitely one to watch over the next few years.

The Google Analytics Factor

There is a pink elephant in the room: Google Analytics. I personally think that Google Analytics can do almost everything that SiteCatalyst does – for FREE.

Plus, I’m not sure how the elite clients of Omniture are going to react now that Omniture is just another Adobe product. Think of it like this: You go to an exclusive vendor to buy analytics in a high-end retail showroom. Then you find out it’s going to be sold at Target on a shelf next to the Acrobat Suite (no offense to Target or Acrobat).

In these times of cost-cutting, I’m also wondering how Adobe is going to be able to upsell its already expensive suite of products. Especially when there is a very good chance that the Google Analytics team is already working on upgrading their product suite to better track videos, Flash, etc, on the web. Once that capability is ready, I don’t know how many companies will pay for premium video and flash tracking.

However, in the end, I am a big fan of web analytics. So I’m glad that, finally, web analytics is having its glory day in the hot sun…complete with big money, fame and sexy buyouts!

Steve Jobs Returning to Apple this Month

Posted on June 5, 2009 in Tech News

After taking a six-month leave of absence, Steve Jobs, CEO and co-founder of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, is expected to return to Apple sometime towards the end of June. There is also some speculation that he might be attending Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference to announce the new iPhone – and he does have a reputation for making surprise appearances and announcements. Either way, the new iPhone will be launched at this event, which takes place on June 8th to 12th in San Francisco, and it will go on sale at a later date. Just in time for a lot of the original iPhone users to pick one up after their two-year contracts expire.

For some Friday and weekend inspiration, here is Steve Jobs’ Commencement Address to the Stanford University Graduating Class of 2005. In it, he describes how he has battled and overcome adversity in his life, all while holding on to his creativity, and never giving up on his dreams. Even if you have seen this before, it is worth a second watch:


 

 

Earth Day 2009: Companies Going Green

Posted on April 22, 2009 in Assorted Thoughts/Humor, Speaking Engagements, Tech News

Every year, the Environmental Defense Fund produces a report highlighting businesses that have implemented new, environmentally innovative technologies, policies and practices.

The environmental issues reviewed by the EDF include those related to e-waste, data centers, chemicals & green chemistry, green building, packaging, renewable energy, supply chain management and water.

Nearly 200 candidates were assessed against the following four criteria:

Environmental Benefits: To what extent does the innovation generate one or more of the following environmental benefits?

  • Greenhouse gas emissions reduced (e.g., carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide)
  • Energy use reduced or efficiency increased
  • Hazardous pollutant releases to air, water or land reduced
  • Environmental health risks reduced
  • Solid waste reductions, materials use reduced or efficiency increased
  • Supplier behavior influenced, resulting in environmental benefits
  • Natural resources (land, water or wildlife) protected or restored
  • Employee or consumer behavior influenced, resulting in environmental benefits

Business Benefits: To what extent does the innovation present a solid business case and generate one or more of the following business benefits?

  • Cost savings
  • Increased revenues or earnings
  • Reduced liability or risk
  • Return on investment/payback period
  • Market creation
  • Investment attractiveness
  • Employee retention or recruitment
  • Benefits for customers
  • Brand/reputation enhancement

Replicability: Is the innovation ripe for wider replication? Factors include:

  • Applicability to more than one business sector or in wide-reaching business areas, like retail, manufacturing or office environments
  • Commercial availability
  • Stage of development (at least tested at the pilot stage and ready to be taken to scale)

Innovativeness:

  • Is the innovation original or does it provide a new twist on an existing practice?
  • Is it not yet in widespread use?
  • Has it yet to be widely discussed and documented?

One of the businesses in the report this year is Google, recognized for implementing technologies to make their data centers consume a lot less energy. Details on the greening of Google’s data centers can be found here: Google Efficient Computing.

Big, bulky PC’s and laptops are being replaced with lower-cost, lower energy, thin models. These lean machines require fewer materials, and offer a longer life. Wyse, a Thin Technology leader, was featured in the report.

Also showcased in the IT category is power management software created by 1E. Power management software allows company’s to reduce operating costs and lower their carbon footprint by closing open documents and powering down computers at night (to whatever state desired).

The company has posted an online calculator that determines how much money can be saved annually by powering down computers: 1E’s Online Energy Savings Calculator. Here is a pretty startling fact from their studies:

“If all the world’s 1 billion PC’s were powered down for just one night – it would save enough energy to light up New York City’s Empire State Building – inside and out – for more than 30 years.”

In the hotel industry, the Marriott and the Westin were recognized for installing key-card enabled energy management systems for their guest rooms. More commonly found in Europe and Asia, hotel rooms powered by key-cards save energy by ensuring that guest rooms are not lit, cooled or heated when unoccupied.

The full copy of the EDF report can be read online: EDF Innovations Review 2009.

Of course, going green is not just for businesses. Doing something as simple as eating vegetarian one day a week can lower the greenhouse gas emissions that arise each year from meat production. Some really good tips for families can be found here: Family Guide to Going Green 2009.

Although the concept of going green was introduced in 1987 (with the Bruntland Commission Report), and Earth Day originated way back in 1970, it’s just in recent years that the ideas of sustainability are becoming mainstream. Companies that have taken the time and made the effort and financial investment to go green benefit tremendously from reduced operating costs and an improved public image. Plus, they have gained a competitive edge over companies who have not made any innovations. So, Green companies win, the Earth wins, we all win.

Think Hosting Issues Are Not Important? Ask Citibank.

Posted on February 26, 2009 in Tech News

After this appeared in the Wall Street Journal today:

“Citigroup Inc. is closing in on an agreement to boost the federal government’s stake in the company to as much as 40%, according to people familiar with the situation. A deal could be announced as soon as Thursday.”

This appeared on the Web:

citibank_crash2

Citicard.com has been down all day. Whether or not this is due to the rumors about the Citigroup deal is uncertain. But it’s clear that amidst all the excitement, the website’s hosting environment is the last thing on everyone’s mind – at least until today.

You can ignore your server day after day, and most of the time it will do its job. But the day it fails, you’ll wish you had paid more attention.

Here’s a basic checklist that everyone (even Citibank) should follow:

  1. Make sure your domain is registered in your name, and be sure to renew it before it expires.
  2. Check the amount of traffic that has been coming to your server. Is it time to upgrade?
  3. Find out who else is hosted on the same server. Are they using up bandwidth you need?
  4. Are you expecting traffic spikes from special events, announcements, or media stories? Don’t forget to clue in your IT guy before it happens.

An ounce of prevention saves you a lot of heartache: lost revenue, damage to your reputation, and “emergency” efforts on the part of your web team. It also means that your customers will always be able to find you online… and won’t lose confidence in your ability to deliver the products or services you offer.

“Mojave Experiment:” A Case Study in Slapping People in the Face

Posted on February 24, 2009 in Tech News

No company does a more splendid job of publicly humiliating its users than good old Microsoft.  They provide me with so many amusing missteps that someday I might exclusively blog about the stupidity of their marketing department. The latest installment in the Microsoft saga: they recently laid off 1,400 employees… and then sent them letters asking them to return part of their severance package. You can read about it here.

As enticing as that story is, what I want to talk about is the “Mojave Experiment.” If you’re lucky, you may have missed the ads on TV. These started around the time the multimillion-dollar  Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld  ad campaign went bust.

Mojave Slap

Here is a history of the “Mojave Experiment.”

  1. Microsoft spends millions of dollars on a fake “experiment” in which they publicly humiliate their users instead of fixing the bugs in Vista.
  2. They make believe that the whole Vista disaster is just a misunderstanding. After all, when the operating system is called “Mojave,” the problems magically disappear. Do they think people are that stupid: I guess calling a donkey a horse turns it into a Triple Crown winner!
  3. They tape a “focus group” in which a ethnically diverse group of ordinary people are shown some of the “tricks” of Vista. They react in front of the camera with ooohs and aaahs! TV does turn your brain to mush after all.
  4. They loved it!!! Really?… Well, our company did a mass move to Apple (and Windows XP for those requiring PC’s) after a double system-wide crash of the Vista operating system in early last year. If only we had been smart enough to call the system “Mojave,” we could have been saved all the heartache.

Never before has so much money been invested in insulting people. Nicely done!

Question: What is the one thing Mojave (desert) and Vista have in common?
Answer: A slow, horrible death if you venture out without proper support!

If you are running a business of any kind, please know that looking down on your customers or end users will only result in “Mojave” style failed experiments. Don’t be the company that alienates its users by insulting their intelligence – especially  on national television. Not cool.

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.”- Albert Einstein