As I watch the consolidations in the Talent Management Technology market and I try to come up with a way to describe it, all I can think of is SaaS Wars. And while it might seem like a stretch to compare it to the Star Wars movies, there are some definite similarities.

In my junior year in high school we put on the play Man of La Mancha (that's me on the left). It is based on the fictional story of Don Quixote, a retired country gentleman who goes a little crazy after reading too many books of chivalry and fancies himself a knight in shining armor. He does battle with windmills thinking they are ferocious giants posing danger to innocent people. The principle song in the play is The Impossible Dream, here are a few choice lyrics:

Last week I wrote about the SumTotal acquisitions of Accero and Cybershift and how it could signify a shift in the battle between the Talent Management Technology vendors (a.k.a. SaaS Wars). What started out as a niche product focussed on a single functional area has grown horizontally and is now coming full circle to take on core HRMS capabilities, of which they were once just a bolt-on extension

Yesterday I got to hang out in a room full of analysts and consultants to get an update from Kenexa on their vision and mission and progress. I am planning to write some product reviews, in particular the brand new Social/CRM solution they are launching.

But in the meantime, here are a few observations I took from the day:

Maybe Tech Crunch thinks the acquisition of SuccessFactors by SAP is boring stuff, but for me this is the biggest news our little industry has seen in a long time. When I heard about this Saturday evening, I thought "holy s**t, this is about to get really interesting!"

This deal has so many implications it is hard to know where to start.

After the bombshell from SAP over the weekend there have been a flurry of blog posts and news reports analyzing the message and the meaning of the SuccessFactors acquisition (mine included).

Any deal like this is going to draw critics and fans a like, but once all the hype fades to the background, it is traction with the client base that will make all the difference.

Here are a few thoughts on why this might be good for the customer: 

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water....

There had been lot's of speculation that Jobs2Web would be plucked from the pack of Extension products this year, but after last week's news would you have guessed SuccessFactors?

After talking with several colleagues about the SAP/SuccessFactors acquisition news, I am not the only one who thinks this is the beginning of a new wave of consolidation. 

I have heard that some people are calling it "the end of talent management." But I think it will just mark the beginning of The Next Generation.

The social media explosion has had a dramatic impact on our society. People don't get out as much. But the decision to wile away the hours by cruising the web is just a personal choice, there is no causal relationship.

The real impact is the data trail that is left in our wake.

After a flurry of action last week with the acquisitions of SuccessFactors and Jobs2Web, we are now in wait and see mode looking for the next shoe to drop. But whenever a big move is made like this, it is always interesting to see how the competitors respond.

I think the nature of their response tells a lot about the nature of the company. Here are a couple of beauties: 

We knew it would not take long for another shoe to drop, only I bet no one really was looking out for this one. I am sure plenty of analysts have speculated SalesForce to make a move into Talent Management, but doubt anyone thought it would be Rypple! 

Ever since SalesForce launched the Force.com platform and several companies started using the CRM for candidate management, there was always the potential for expansion into the Talent space. But I think very few would have pegged Rypple as an acquisition target.

In fact, I am a bit surprised by this acquisition. Here is why:

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've noticed a lot of moving and shaking going on in the HR software industry. While mergers and acquisitions are always interesting for industry analysts, the most recent bout of activity – including the acquisitions of Rypple and SuccessFactors by Salesforce and SAP (respectively), as well as the announcement of VC funds flowing into the market (with large investments in SmartRecruiters  and iCIMS) – are particularly exciting. Why? Because this activity is driving change in areas of talent management technology that we primarily paid lip service to in 2011.

I have worked in the Talent Management Technology industry pretty much from it's inception. People often ask the question "where is there a good source of all the talent management suite products available?" There has never been a very good answer.

Most of the sources out there focus on all the Tier One vendors, or anyone who has the budget to advertise on their site. But what about all the others?