​Analysis: Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL), which has a big presence in the Triangle following its acquisition of Tekelec, is growing even bigger following its decision to acquire Maxymiser. With the deal, Oracle is looking to maximize its content optimization and messaging capabilities, writes Stuart Williams, vice president of Technology Business Research.

HAMPTON, N.H. – The marketing function in forward-leaning enterprises has shifted from a cost center to a profit center, according to Technology Business Research Inc.’s (TBR) digital marketing summer 2015 research. This trend is driven by adoption of data-driven digital marketing tools that measure and optimize messaging engagement throughout the consumer life cycle. The resulting insights enable a more effective customer experience and provide ROI insights that show how marketing helps create and increase profits.

The acquisition of Maxymiser is a natural extension of and complementary component to Oracle’s customer data management capabilities, including attribution. We estimate Maxymiser’s global headcount at 425 with revenue on pace to reach $75 million to $90 million in 2015. TBR believes the acquisition provides cross-sell opportunities for Oracle and value-add for clients, as clients can leverage audience segments in Oracle’s data management platform to accelerate the optimization of content and messaging delivered via Maxymiser.

Oracle’s acquisition of Maxymiser makes Oracle Marketing Cloud an even more formidable competitor to Adobe Marketing Cloud. One Oracle executive stated the move goes “right at the heart of Adobe.”

TBR anticipates Adobe may counter by pursuing a U.S.-based peer, such as Optimizely, or a vendor with a strong European presence that is ramping up U.S. efforts, such as Ve Interactive.

Acquisition overview On Aug. 20, 2015, Oracle announced the acquisition of Maxymiser, a marketing technology vendor launched in the U.K. in 2006 that specializes in “conversion rate optimization.” At a high level, conversion rate optimization can be defined as maximizing the effectiveness of marketing messages to drive sales or other types of consumer engagements.

Delivering 20 billion consumer experiences per month, Maxymiser will extend Oracle Marketing Cloud’s capabilities around the delivery of timely, relevant messaging through real-time analytics, behavioral data and data science. While Oracle’s purchase of content marketing platform Compendium in 4Q13 provided clients \with a workflow and publishing suite, it was largely people-driven, whereby clients would develop and publish content. Maxymiser adds layers of data science and real-time decision making to improve engagements, sales and retention rates. Oracle Marketing Cloud Senior Vice President Kevin Akeroyd summarized the value of Maxymiser as “testing, rather than guessing what works, so you can optimize experience down to the user level.” Maxymiser’s platform includes key features:

  • Multichannel messaging (e.g., websites, mobile sites and apps)
  • A/B multivariate testing
  • Personalization of offers

The acquisition aims to close the gap between customers’ expectations and marketers’ ability to deliver by leveraging engagement data. The role of data-driven decision making aligns to Oracle’s historic data-centricity and the need among marketers for tools that enable ROI-generating decisions. Key competitors in the space include Adobe and IBM. Maxymiser’s client base is diverse, covering a variety of industries such as retail, travel, finance and media. Key clients include Teleflora, Lufthansa and HSBC.

(C) TBR

Technology Business Research, Inc. is a leading independent technology market research and consulting firm specializing in the business and financial analyses of hardware, software, professional services, telecom and enterprise network vendors, and operators. Serving a global clientele, TBR provides timely and actionable market research and business intelligence in a format that is uniquely tailored to clients’ needs. Our analysts are available to further address client-specific issues or information needs on an inquiry or proprietary consulting basis. TBR has been empowering corporate decision makers since 1996.

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