Thomas Otter: Prepare now for the HR tech M&A boom
Dr Thomas Otter is a leading advisor for emerging HR tech vendors and their investors, guiding them to build better products and be more successful. Read his new column every month at UNLEASH
Source | www.unleash.ai | Thomas Otter
I’ve been involved directly and indirectly in M&A in some form or other throughout my career. I remember one bank buying another bank in the middle of an HR systems project I was on as a consultant, that was fun.
Over the last year or two, I’ve developed part of my business advising those buying and selling HR tech companies.
Generally, HR leaders understand the impact of M&A when the companies they work for are bought or sold.
Post-merger integration is a major element of M&A success and failure, and HR’s role is key.
There is a mighty wave of HR Tech consolidation a foot
So, banks buy each other, steel companies buy each other, and increasingly, software companies buy each other. The wave of consolidation in HR tech is underway.
Odds are, will happen to the vendors of products you use. Have a look at Venero’s recent report for some stats on M&A in HR tech.
This post is not aimed at those buying and selling HR tech companies, it is aimed at the HR professionals and organizations using HR tech.
I’ve seen many HR leaders fail to effectively manage the positive or negative impacts when one of their vendors is acquired or acquires.
I’ll focus this post on the scenarios when your favorite niche vendor gets acquired by a larger suite software vendor.