Are Unicorns Selling Their Horns?
February 23, 2016
I don’t think too much about start ups with valuations in the billions of dollars. Most of these companies do not do much business in Harrod’s Creek, Kentucky. I think more about the local truck stop’s supply of air filters than unicorns.
I did not, however, several items which may provide some insight into life after the slow down in the flows of easy investor cash.
The first item concerns some stakeholders’ efforts to convert their shares into cash. “Secondary Shops Flooded With Unicorn Sellers” reports:
the phones of secondary buyers are beginning to ring with a little more urgency, along with discounted offers of up to 30 percent off companies’ most recent valuations. Partly, such nervousness owes to employees, some of whom are getting laid off as companies cut back on costs in order to lengthen their runway. These former staffers have to exercise their options within 90 days or else lose them, and they’re calling secondary firms for help in figuring out what to do. Some sellers are venture capital firms that thought they could exit some of their investments in 2016 and are now concluding that they can’t.
The second article I noticed was “The £1.8 Billion London Tech Unicorn That’s Struggling to Pay Its Staff Is Worried about Going Bust.” I never heard of Powa Technologies. I learned:
London-based Powa is struggling to pay staff and suppliers. Accounts show it raised a total of $50 million (£34.9 million) last year from investors, but as of February 5, 2016, when the accounts were approved, it only had $250,000 (£174,600) in the bank. Meanwhile, the group owes $16.4 million (£11.4 million).
The unicorn zoo warrants a visit. Are smart unicorns selling their horns in an effort to survive? Are some unicorns starving? What about the pygmy unicorns in the search and content processing markets? How will these tiny creatures fend for themselves. Interesting? Without horns to sell, the baby unicorns may face an unpleasant fate.
Stephen E Arnold, February 23, 2016
Google Ad Change: Good for the GOOG
February 22, 2016
What’s good for the GOOG is good for the gander, okay? I read “Google Ditches Right-Side Desktop Ads: Who’s Screwed?” Let me congratulate ZDNet for its elegant phrasing. I particularly like the Miltonian touch of “Who’s screwed.” Classy.
The main point of the write up is that Google is shifting around the ads displayed when one does a free search on the Google search engine.
The purpose of a change related to advertising is to increase Google’s revenue. The write up seems to struggle with the impact of this concept. The points which catch the attention of the ZDNet folks are:
- Fewer ad slots on search results pages. Hmm. I thought that there would be the same number of ads but the cheaper ads are mostly a bad idea remedied.
- Organic results—that is, a euphemism for non paid or non SEO’d content—get less opportunity to reach a Google user who only looks at one page of results and rarely bothers to look outside the results which initially display. I am not sure that Google results have been particularly relevant for years, but maybe I am missing the point of Google’s search system. “Search” does not strike me as the vehicle for delivering relevant, on point results.
- Bidding wars will become more intense. Yep, and this makes the job of the online marketing decider that much more exciting.
How does one get relevant search results? Well, that is a good question. Hint: There are other online search systems, but these are getting more and more difficult to use from mobile devices. Give iseek.com a whirl from your mobile phone or try out qwant.com. How are these working out for you? Easier to use Google because, believe it or not, we are raising a generation of expert searchers who perceive information delivered via Google as correct. Do you want a grill for charcoal with your auto parts order?
Stephen E Arnold, February 22, 2016
Search Vendor RAVN Systems Embraces Buzzwords
February 19, 2016
The article titled RAVN Systems Releases RAVN ACE for Automated Data Extraction of ISDA Documents Using Artificial Intelligence on BobsGuide details the needs of banks and other members of the derivatives market. Risk mitigation leads to ongoing negotiations that result in major documentation issues to keep up with the changes. The article explains how RAVN has met these challenges,
“RAVN ACE can extract the structure of the agreement, the clauses and sub-clauses, which can be very useful for subsequent re-negotiation purposes. It then further extracts the key definitions from the contract, including collateral data from tabular formats within the credit support annexes. All this data is made available for input to contract or collateral management and margining systems or can simply be provided as an Excel or XML output for analysis.”
Not only does RAVN ACE do the work in a fraction of the amount of time it would take a person, the output is also far more accurate, always good news when handling legal documents. The service also includes an audit service that compares terms from the documents with the manual abstraction. By doing so, RAVN ACE is able to analyze the risks and even estimate the amount of negotiating necessary to complete the contract.
Chelsea Kerwin, February 19, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Smart Software: In the Race Are…
February 18, 2016
I read “How the Rest of Tech Is Playing Catch-Up to Facebook and Google in Artificial Intelligence.” I would summarize the article in one word: “Scrambling.” Alphabet Google and Facebook are leaders in smart software; others must catch up.
I thought about this idea when I read “Intelligent Assistant Landscape Shows Slow Growth but Huge Potential.” Of particular interest was a graphic composed of the logos of companies competing in the smart software revolution.
I noted the grouping for conversational technologies which seem to be nudging into functions which I follow from my redoubt in a hollow in rural Kentucky.
Here are the companies in this “talk to computers” cluster:
- Aivo
- Anboto
- Artificial Solutions
- Aspect Software
- Avaya Ava
- Bot Ego
- Botgenes
- CodeBaby
- Creative Virtual
- CX Company
- Denise Systems
- Do You Dream Up
- Existor
- Fetch
- Genee
- GetAbby
- Google Now
- Here
- IBM Watson
- Inbenta
- Inteliwise
- Intelliresponse
- LinguaSys
- Microsoft
- MindMeld
- Next IT
- NoHold
- Nuance Nina
- Speaktoit
- SRI International
- Synthetix
- Viclone
An interesting and eclectic list. The conversational cluster is very similar to the Virtual Agents and Customer Assistant cluster. My thought is that some specialists have been overlooked.
If you like these logo clusters, check this one out. Perhaps the next Facebook is on the list?
My reaction is that more precision in the groupings would have been helpful to me. Overall most of these outfits are in search and content processing businesses. A few have embraced smart software as the with-it way to generate leads and sales.
Stephen E Arnold, February 18, 2016
I Left My NoSQL Heart at the MarkLogic Conference
February 18, 2016
MarkLogic is a headlining company in the field of NoSQL enterprise databases, allowing companies to process, search, scale through massive data stores as well as build Web applications to handle the onslaught. As a respected enterprise leader, MarkLogic occasionally holds a conference to teach IT professionals as well as potential customers about its software benefits. This year MarkLogic will host the MarkLogic World 2016 US in San Francisco, California from May 9-12 at the Park Central Hotel.
The conference is described as:
“We kick the week off on Monday with three different hands-on workshops to choose from and end our week Thursday afternoon with our traditional closing keynote with our Founder and Chief Architect, Christopher Lindblad. New this year, we are including a special Partner Track, exclusive to MarkLogic partners and those interested in becoming one. If you are developing with MarkLogic, transitioning from RDBMS to MarkLogic, building apps on MarkLogic, or if you are just starting out on MarkLogic, this is the event for you. Sessions span from MarkLogic basics to technical deep dives covering data modeling, semantics, much & more.”
A Partner Track? That is a new feature at the MarkLogic convention, but what is its purpose? Will it be a daylong event where MarkLogic partners advertise their services or wares otherwise known as a commercial seminar without a free lunch? Will it be an informative explanation about how MarkLogic partners are shaping the NoSQL enterprise industry and combining their talents to advance the field? Maybe it is just a mix and mingle for networking?
The only way to know is to sign up for the conference and if you use the promo code “MLEMJAN” you can get in for free. It is also an excuse to visit San Francisco and ride the cable cars.
Whitney Grace, February 18, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Google 20% Time Policy Projects Take Users Around the World
February 18, 2016
The article on StumbleUpon titled 12 Lesser-Known Google Projects That Are Absolutely Amazing describes how certain Google employees took advantage of their creative time, or “20% time polcy” that dictates one day a week should be used experimentally. Hence some of these whimsical concepts like Google Sky, which functions similarly to Google Earth but in the far-out setting of space. Another idea is the game Ingress,
“Ingress transforms the real world into the landscape for a global game of mystery, intrigue, and competition. Our future is at stake. You must choose a side. A mysterious energy has been unearthed by a team of scientists in Europe. The origin and purpose of this force is unknown, but some researchers believe it is influencing the way we think. We must control it or it will control us.”
Other projects offer outlets to explore global culture and history, such as the World Wonders Project, which enables users to view high-res photos and 3D views of distant places like the Pyramids of Giza and Angor Wat. The Google Art Project contains quality images of important artworks from 400 art museums all over the world and allows users to build their own collections for take audio tours to learn more about famous pieces. Overall, the projects encourage increased engagement with technology, culture, and creativity.
Chelsea Kerwin, February 18, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Omnity Search: Yep, You May Have to Have to Pay
February 17, 2016
I read “Google Search Engine Face New Competitor : Omnity Semantic Search.” I had not heard about Omnity. I navigated to the firm’s Web page at https://www.omnity.io. I plugged in one of the names I use to test systems. The site then presented me with terms and conditions:
I noted section 8 “Payment Terms.” Here’s the passage I highlighted:
8.1 Payment. Unless otherwise expressly set forth in the Proposal, Omnity will invoice Customer in advance for the license Fees for the Initial Term and for any Renewal Term, and Omnity will automatically charge Customer’s credit card on file for the License Fees applicable to such initial Term and any Renewal Term.
My reaction was, “No way.”
Did the write up explain the fees for using Omnity? Nah.
Did the write up get beyond buzzwords and a reference to the Consumer Electronic Show? Nah.
Will Omnity be a threat to Google? Probably not, but I interpreted the sign up terms as a threat to moi.
I think this outfit suggested that Google was a cooked goose.
Nah.
Stephen E Arnold, February 17, 2016
DirectEDGAR plus DtSearch Equals Superior Search for Analysts and Researchers
February 17, 2016
The article on PRNewswire titled directEDGAR SEC Edgar Database Research Platform Now Embeds The dtSearch® Engine for Enhanced Search and Retrieval discusses the partnership between dtSearch, AcademicEDGAR+, and AppsPlus. The merger is meant to improve advanced search for analysts and academic researchers who rely on search to enable them to wade through tens of millions of documents. Why did Dr. Kealey, CEO of AcademicEDGAR+ choose dtsearch? He explains in the article,
“We have over two terabytes of SEC filings and there was no other vendor whose offering allowed immediate access to any document in the results set no matter how many documents are returned.” Dr. Kealey also notes that search granularity is critically important, and dtSearch’s unique operators extend far beyond the standard Boolean operators…To complete the implementation, AcademicEDGAR+ chose AppsPlus.”
AppsPlus has been around for over 15 years aiding in a huge range of development projects across industries. The article explains that with directEDGAR, users get more than just search. The product allows for extraction and normalization in one stop. That capability, paired with dtSearch’s instant search of terabytes, makes this partnership very exciting. Those academic researchers must be drooling into their elbow patches to get their hands on the new service.
Chelsea Kerwin, February 17, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Expedia: Objective Hotel Search Results? Not Likely
February 16, 2016
I read “Expedia’s New Bidding Program Lets Hotels Buy Better Placement in Search Results.” The write up states:
The exact details on the program aren’t public, but it allows hotel properties to bid for placement in select slots on search result pages. But hotels won’t be able to just buy their way to the top of every search result. They’ll still have to match other needs the consumer is looking for.
In my experience, locating a hotel in an unfamiliar city is a difficult task. The idea that a hotel search engine might return objective results was an expectation I had and have long since abandoned. For example, in Gaithersburg, Maryland, there was a hotel with Potomac in its name. The problem was that Potomac was miles from Gaithersburg. Navigating the interstate for a morning meeting was a thrill some executives did not want to experience. I have also stayed in airport hotels at BWI which were miles from the airport.
Now it is clear that objectivity is not on the radar of Expedia. I doubt if it ever was. It is nice to have my hunch confirmed that delivering on point results is irrelevant.
Great news for everyone except the person looking for a hotel near a meeting location in an unfamiliar city.
Stephen E Arnold, February 16, 2016
Coveo Lauds Itself for Growth, Innovation, and Industry Awards
February 16, 2016
The article on EIN News titled Coveo Achieves Another Record-Breaking Quarter and Calendar Year of Rapid Growth discusses the search companies growth and recognition in a nakedly self-congratulating post. In 2015, Coveo released both Coveo Cloud, a streamlined search-as-a-service, and Coveo Reveal, a self-learning search service aimed at understanding intent to ensure improved accuracy and relevance in search results. The article states,
“The company expanded its SI ecosystem with several leading CRM and Customer Community system integrators, including Appirio, Bluewolf, Cloud Sherpas, Etherios, NTT Data Cloud Services and Vertiba. Exiting 2015, Coveo had in excess of 100 certified SI partners… Coveo for Sitecore was named as a 2015 CUSTOMER Magazine Product of the Year Award winner, marking the fourth consecutive year that Coveo has won this award (In January of 2015 Coveo received its fifth consecutive CUSTOMER Magazine product of the year award…)”
So just how big was that fish Coveo caught? The private company reports a “record breaking quarter” lists any number of current projects and industry recognitions. According to the article, the company now has a total amount of financing of $75 million. 2015 was clearly a very good year, particularly in the financial services market. What company can resist patting itself on the back?
Chelsea Kerwin, February 16, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
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