Savo Group Acquiring KnowledgeTree is the First Needed Step in Industry Consolidation

A few weeks ago, I saw the announcement of Savo Group acquiring KnowledgeTree. I reached out to Amanda Wynne, Senior Director, Marketing at Savo Group, to discuss further.

Industry Consolidation from Savo Group Acquiring KnowledgeTree

The first thing Wynne pointed out was the need for consolidation in the industry. “When Jason Liu took over as CEO at Savo Group, he focused on the need for consolidation within the industry.” She further pointed out how crowded the marketplace is with niche vendors and their claims, and how it was confusing for buyers.

Their acquisition of KnowledgeTree starts the consolidation in the industry. Wynne expects both more consolidation and more acquisitions by Savo Group in the near future.

Address The Entire Market

The acquisition wasn’t only about consolidation, it was also about giving Savo Group an entry point into smaller point deals. “Savo Group is recognised as the leader in programmatic sales enablement thinking, but customers are often focused on solving a point problem,” explained Wynne. Wynne further illuminated that by offering a lighter weight solution with KnowledgeTree, Savo Group will be able to more effectively compete in these types of buying scenarios.

Savo Group was keenly interested in the predictive capabilities offered by KnowledgeTree. “The predictive capabilities of KnowledgeTree will form the basis for future functionality offered by Savo Group,” interjected Wynne.

Regional Footprint

Also of note was the regional footprint Savo Group will gain with the acquisition of KnowledgeTree. Savo Group already has a large presence in Chicago. The addition of  KnowledgeTree’s Raleigh Research Triangle Park (RTP) location will offer geographic advantage. RTP hosts a large number of  BioTech/LifeSciences and Information Technology companies. These companies are increasingly likely to purchase sales enablement tooling and are often the focus of vendors in the space.

I did query Wynne on product direction. Wynne indicated that they didn’t have all the details associated with the product roadmap or key partnerships. We are going to resynch in a month to discuss further.

My Take on Savo Group Acquiring KnowledgeTree

This is a natural step in the direction of industry consolidation. In my conversations with leaders in the space, there are far too many vendors with overlapping and competing claims around tooling. It actually inspired (in part) my blog post around content marketing. The net-net for buyers is that they are confused about what a vendor does. This confusion may be leading buyers to sit on the sidelines vs. purchase.

I also hear from vendors that they often compete with different companies in every deal. This is a sign of a slightly dysfunctional market. Consolidation, even if it is just one vendor, will help make the marketplace more stable and predictable for customers.

Beyond consolidation, this is a good move on the part of Savo Group. While Savo Group has great thought leadership in the space, the reality is the sales enablement function in most businesses is just starting to develop. Businesses are not ready to consume everything related to sales enablement technology. They need to address a smaller set of problems to make their sales reps more effective and efficient. By adding KnowledgeTree to their portfolio, they can offer that to businesses.

It does raise quite a few questions for me though. I don’t see Savo Group maintaining multiple product platforms, so which one is the basis for the future? Also, what about KnowledgeTree’s strategic use of SalesForce?

What do you think? Do you like this acquisition? Hit me up in comments, on Twitter or via my contact page.

About SAVO

SAVO is the leader in the sales enablement market having pioneered the sales enablement category since its founding in 1999.  SAVO provides the most insightful, prescriptive and secure sales enablement platform for global use, delivering content to sellers within the context of their selling situation. With SAVO, companies achieve their revenue initiatives by aligning their sales, marketing and operations to work together with a focus on the customer and greater results in the field. Learn about how more than one million sales and marketing professionals leverage SAVO today at www.savogroup.com.