It appears Donovan Data Systems just laid off an estimated one hundred of its staff, half from Donovan Data and the other half from Media Ocean, its sales management system.
Few, if any of the layoffs were client facing, generally coming from operations.
Is this phase one for a take-over by Google’s DoubleClick division? Perhaps not, but it certainly sets the stage for an easier entry point.
Google and DoubleClick have long envied the relationship Donovan Data has with agency clients … one that Google covets and has always had trouble replicating in the media, financial and production arenas outside of Google’s search and ad-serving strongholds.
Few, if any of the layoffs were client facing, generally coming from operations.
Is this phase one for a take-over by Google’s DoubleClick division? Perhaps not, but it certainly sets the stage for an easier entry point.
Google and DoubleClick have long envied the relationship Donovan Data has with agency clients … one that Google covets and has always had trouble replicating in the media, financial and production arenas outside of Google’s search and ad-serving strongholds.
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4 comments:
Google will not buy DDS and has told them as much. Google views Donovan's systems, management and technology with contempt. Google has made the determination that the money it would take to buy DDS would be better spent on creating a newer and more advanced offline media systems in house if they decide to go in that direction.
Per Mark's comment about a more advanced system than DDS, whatever happened to MediaBank? From what I hear, they keep lurching from one mistake to another. MB bought Mediaplex Systems in an ill-fated attempt to win the IPG biz, and now is trying to sell two completely different systems: Datatech (HP Oracle) and Mediaplex (AS400). My guess is that they will abandon Mediaplex. Meanwhile, MB keeps laying off people, beginning in December at Datatech NJ. Sick days and personal days have been revoked as well. This is the "system of the future?"
Donovan layoffs continue to come thick and fast. They are still running applications designed and built for a mainframe using an IBM software development language 40 years ago and running on an home grown transaction server. I would worry that they have forgotten in their desire to downsize the company that they need someone who understands how these systems are designed if they have any hope of maintaining them, let alone enhancing them in the future.
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You're referring to a bunch of pencil pushing MBAs! These people don't think that way. They are trained to push their pencils (excel sheet if they haven’t fired the techs who can fix any glitches) to cutting wages and expenses so there is enough money to keep share holders happy and plenty left over for their own greedy deep pockets. When the talent that built the company is all gone and the company doesn’t have the know how to compete and develop in this tech savvy world and goes utters up (didn’t want to politically incorrect and use the T word) these MBAs (Masters of Business Annihilation) will move on to their next company to destroy (and become very rich along their way) with their next company annihilation project. All tangible companies are built on talented people with ideas being able to build or produce their ideas into a tangible product or service. When these companies become successful and grow too large in come the MBAs who then take the company public. Unskilled (MBAs) try to lead a technology service or MFG company with no idea of what makes the business successful and work. All they know is more profit with less cost. They get greedier and greedier, cutting out the talent and or knowledge base from any company they touch and the entire destruction process starts all over again. In my opinion MBAs belong in the same sack as so many Lawyers belong in (at the bottom of an ocean somewhere!)
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