企業級軟件改走親民路線
Concur (CNQR), the maker of travel and expense-report software, knows that some of its users have been unfaithful. Many have turned to free-and simpler-consumer-oriented sites to book business travel. So the company, based in Redmond, Wash, is taking cues from apps and websites aimed at the mainstream-by buying them. It shelled out $120 million for trip-planning app TripIt in 2011 and, this past November, announced a $150 million fund to invest in similar startups. Concur isn't alone. Other enterprise-software giants are racing to acquire user-friendly software in hopes of keeping customers from turning elsewhere. (One exception? Cisco(CSCO, Fortune 500), which has divested itself of most of its consumer businesses.) Here are some bellwether acquisitions.
差旅及報銷軟件供應商Concur遇到麻煩了，它發現不少用戶正在轉投別處。許多人選擇了面向個人用戶的網站制定差旅計劃。這些網站不但免費，而且更容易上手。所以，位於華盛頓州雷德蒙德市的Concur痛定思痛，開始收購針對主流人羣的應用和網站，試圖向它們學習。2011年，Concur耗資1.2億美元收購了行程管理應用程序開發商TripIt。去年11月，Concur又宣佈向提供類似服務的新創企業投資1.5億美元。無獨有偶，爲了留住用戶，其它企業軟件開發商也都在競購用戶友好型軟件。【思科（Cisco）是個例外，它剝離了絕大部分個人消費者業務。】以下是一些堪稱業界風向標的收購交易。
