Infonic Share Discussion Threads

[amt] 07/2/2009 21:40

Very strange what occured here. Very bullish interims and then a whole string of contract wins and then bust. Did the Auditors qualify the accounts ?

[lemsoft] 06/2/2009 16:20

III BB's claim company could be sold today, does anybody know anything?

[egoi] 04/2/2009 12:04

Been travelling and just seen the news. What a bleeping waste, very sad for all of you.

[joestraughan] 04/2/2009 10:54

Looks interesting above (ric_ola)!

Regarding our administration here - the company is not quite at liquidation stage. The administrator is there to protect Barclays money first and foremost and then to try to protect the business. Very remote possiblity that the business might survive?! But I guess it will be sold at some stage if the administrator has to sell assets?

I think we have to assume in all probability that we will not see another penny here?!

[ric_ola] 04/2/2009 10:45

An interesting read - I wonder who company X is and who the "parent company" is

Vendor Stability Matters Too



Posted by Seth Grimes
Thursday, January 29, 2009
10:13 AM

Technology is important, and so is vendor stability. You want solutions that perform, and you need to be confident that providers will be there for support and upgrades.

I've seen evidence that two software vendors I follow are facing business complications. Do I relate what I see, possibly adding to the difficulties faced by companies I'd like to see succeed, or do keep my views to myself? This isn't an abstract dilemma. I have two companies in mind. Here are their stories, a cautionary tale, names withheld as an ethical compromise...

Call them Company X and Company Y. They are two among the dozens of BI, data warehousing, event processing, and analytics providers I track, both relatively young companies. They know who they are, but for the purposes of this article, readers don't need to.

Company X's software automates a high-value analytical process. These capabilities have become quite sought-after. Company X is a technology leader, and it and several of its competitors are recording and projecting very strong revenue growth despite the current, dismal business climate. Regarding 2009 Q1 sales, the CEO tells me, "worst case is that we'll do about 95% of our best ever quarter, and if we close anything else we'll blow it away."

I like Company X enough that I recommended it to a start-up looking for a technology provider.

Mergers and acquisitions are an IT-world constant. Company X joined up at one point with another company with similar but complementary technology and markets, a company that had been limping along for years but had recently won a very significant contract. Company X's CEO heads a segment of the joint operations. Too bad he doesn't run the parent company, whose CEO, it seems to me, boasts Larry Ellison's aggressive arrogance with none of Ellison's vision and ability.

The parent's market valuation is down 70% since the merger; trading was recently halted while (ominously) finances are clarified. I hope Company X survives the looming, likely divorce in good health – for its customers' sake and for its own – and that the market doesn't punish Company X for the sins of its parent.

Company Y's circumstances are different, but the viability concern is the same. The company is an independent, started by very experienced and competent industry veterans. Unlike Company X, Company Y is selling a new approach into a very mature market. Nimble start-ups can do very well, but Company Y faces the challenge of competing with both well funded start-ups and multiple, large, established solution providers.

Company Y has itself attracted significant venture funding. The company has won deserved favorable analyst and press coverage. It shows every sign of growth... in all areas except customer acquisition. The company does have prospects in the pipeline and a couple of marquee customers although it lost one due to a business decision unrelated to its software. What has gone wrong, or rather, what hasn't gone right?

Company Y has taken a very careful approach to cultivating opportunities but has only a "handful" of customers several years into its existence, according to an executive I spoke with. The market's not the problem: bright-light competitors launched after Company Y have dozens of wins. It doesn't seem to bother them if they're not winning a few high-touch, expensive-to-conduct face-offs against Company Y.

I project that Company Y's venture funding will be eaten up by the fall. In today's business environment, and given the competition the company faces, Company Y may find it difficult to secure sufficient additional funds. My money (figuratively) is on a late-2009 acquisition by the likes of Oracle, IBM, and EMC.

If I were a Company Y customer or prospect, I'd be concerned about the company's viability as an independent and about my situation if (when) Company Y undergoes a disruptive change in ownership. If Company Y is acquired, worst case is a gutting similar to what DATAllegro is undergoing at Microsoft's hand. Microsoft's Project Madison, when it eventually bears fruit, will bear little resemblance to the pre-acquisition, open DATAllegro appliance. If I had been one of the 2 or 3 pre-acquisition DATAllegro customers or a prospect, I would have started looking at other provider options as soon as the deal was announced. If I were a Company Y customer or prospect today...?

Actually, I'll cite a Company Z, this one by name: Interwoven, a content management vendor that is being acquired by enterprise-search leader Autonomy. Interwoven Universal Search is powered by Vivisimo Velocity. How long will it be before the text "Vivisimo is a leading provider of enterprise search software and expertise" disappears from Interwoven's Web site, regardless of the product change-over cost to customers?

I have meant this analysis as a caution, as a reminder: Technology is important, but so is vendor stability. A provider that is facing serious business challenges, whether due to possible misadministration (Company X) or lack of sales growth (Company Y) or evidence of being positioned for sale (Interwoven), will be distracted at best, perhaps unreliable, and likely a source of undue risk that should motivate customers and prospects to explore other options.

[pabloscaramanga] 04/2/2009 09:55

nothing - PI's always get nothing. the company has run out of cash. so there is nothing to share. PIs rank bottoem of teh list re: payouts anyway. Taxman, then staff then, then secured creditors etc etc until PIs at teh bottom.

they couldnt raise equity to survive which suggests no-one believed in their business model. pewhaps the 2 contracts that had payment outstanding were not that large. shame as their client base and product looked good but they obv didnt manage guess.

i got INFNC from a sharetip website predicting 16p. wil never pay attendtion to tip sheets again. learnt my (expoensive) lesson!

all imho

[h101] 04/2/2009 08:05

Has anyone any idea whether we're likely to get anything back - presumably the products/IP are worth something, but have we any likely purchasers?

[h101] 04/2/2009 07:52

Well broomsticks let me be the first on your list. I've lost tens of thousands of my money on this company. If I've neen cheated, and I've no evidence of anything, just a suspicion of incompetence, I'd like to know. If you want full disclosure of me as a PI and holding then leave me an email address.

[ric_ola] 03/2/2009 20:14

Makes you sick.

[joestraughan] 01/2/2009 21:27

lemsoft - lol!

Looking at FT this weekend, many companies (apart from the banks!) having to raise cash through distressed rights issues - I guess ifnc will be raising at 1p a share - at least hundred million shares?

[lemsoft] 30/1/2009 22:23

"how long is a piece of string?"

Twice as long as half its length... I thought everybody knew that :-)

[joestraughan] 30/1/2009 15:57

Just to add - from iii site - one poster got through to the company and was told an announcement will be made in the following days/weeks ! A sort of "how long is a piece of string?" answer!!

[joestraughan] 30/1/2009 12:41

Well - it's been a week now and still nothing!!

[joestraughan] 29/1/2009 17:36

I was thinking if they were issuing shares for deferred consideration this month for the final tranche due, it would be pretty hard on the Tokairo vendors to receive shares that were worthless (it's pretty hard on everbody!) - but it makes one think!