Oracle Buys SelectMinds, Another Cloud HCM Company
Oracle is once again stirring things up in the heated human capital management (HCM) space.
The company is acquiring New York City-based SelectMinds, a cloud-based provider of social recruiting services, for an undisclosed amount. The deal serves to further strengthen Oracle Cloud, the company's answer to rival — and increasingly all-encompassing — business software-as-a-software platforms from Salesforce and SAP.
HCM on a Hot Streak
SAP kicked off an HCM buying spree late last year by snapping up SuccessFactors for a whopping $3.4 billion. Oracle followed suit in February by taking Taleo off the market for $1.9 billion. And last month IBM inked a $1.3 billion deal for social HCM specialist Kenexa.
Cynical types may wonder if Oracle's purchase is timed to steal some thunder from Salesforce.com, which is expected to make an HCM product announcement at this week's Dreamforce event. “At Dreamforce, we're going to be announcing Work.com, which is our rebranding and redevelopment of Rypple,” Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said during the company's earnings call last month.
Recruitment with a Social Twist
Timing notwithstanding, Oracle is doubling down on social recruiting by bringing SelectMinds' technology in-house.
In a letter to customers, Thomas Kurian, executive vice president of Oracle Development, noted, “Together, Oracle and SelectMinds expect to create a comprehensive recruiting, candidate sourcing, and talent management solution for organizations to reach quality referrals through social recruitment.” The deal also extends Oracle's continued move into mobile productivity and social enterprise collaboration.
“The addition of SelectMinds is expected to further extend Oracle's social and mobile initiatives into talent management and is already fully integrated with Oracle Cloud Recruiting, Performance Management and Human Capital Management solutions,” wrote Kurian.
Oracle believes it can help its customers lower recruiting costs by bringing SelectMinds' “social sourcing” applications, which leverage professional social networks, into the Oracle Cloud ecosystem. The company says bringing SelectMinds into the fold will be a fairly seamless process. “SelectMinds products are already fully integrated with Oracle Cloud Recruiting, Performance Management and Human Capital Management solutions.”
Oracle cites finding quality referrals as another benefit. “SelectMinds' applications enable organizations to empower recruiters, hiring managers and employees to leverage social connections to distribute job opportunities, source higher quality referrals, market their employment brand and manage corporate alumni relationships.”
The companies expect the deal to definitively close later this year. The companies will operate independently until that day arrives.
Pedro Hernandez is a contributing editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals. Follow him on Twitter @ecoINSITE.
Pedro Hernandez contributes to Enterprise Apps Today, and 11Press, the technology network. He was previously the managing editor of Internet.com, an IT-related website network. He has expertise in Smart Tech, CRM, and Mobile Tech, Helping Banks and Fintechs, Telcos and Automotive OEMs, and Healthcare and Identity Service Providers to Protect Mobile Apps.
