We have exciting news to share!
Textkernel acquires Sovren! We have compiled a list of questions that we anticipate that our customers, partners and other stakeholders in Sovren may have.
What is happening?
Good things! Sovren is proud to announce that it has been acquired by Textkernel, a 21-year-old Netherlands-based organization that develops and licenses high-quality resume/cv parsing and semantic matching / Artificial Intelligence Matching (AIM) components, and offers many other ancillary products and services and professional services.
Both companies solved the parsing and matching problem for recruitment, and did so very well, but they did so from completely different programming/architectural philosophies. Now, a business combination allows the best aspects of both companies' software to be used to improve all products, and eventually to have a single unified engine behind the scenes powering multiple APIs.
Who is Textkernel?
Textkernel was founded 21 years ago in the Netherlands, and in recent years had become by far the strongest competitor to Sovren worldwide. The combined entity includes over 140 employees, offices in the Netherlands, Germany, France, and the US, and is by far the largest entity serving the recruitment intelligence market in the US, in Europe, in Oceana, and worldwide. Importantly, like Sovren, Textkernel is also very profitable, has ample reserves for growth, and is in fact growing rapidly. Textkernel offers core products similar to Sovren’s but also offers additional products, services and professional services that heretofore were not offered by Sovren.
Why is Textkernel making this acquisition?
Talent acquisition and talent management, across all industries, are transforming to become more digital and automated. Our customers and partners rely on us to deliver the foundational technology components to make that change. As a combined organization, Sovren and Textkernel can offer solutions for every imaginable use case related to our technology. And we are now able to offer that technology for more languages and are able to jointly develop faster in the future. Both companies have been leading the industry in terms of accuracy, reliability and innovation.
Both Sovren and Textkernel have many relationships with other software vendors and our ways of working and making our products available to the market are very similar. With the acquisition of Sovren, Textkernel strengthens its US based footprint, which allows it to invest more and faster in the US market through Sovren.
What will happen to Sovren’s products and services?
Think of this as Sovren + More. The v9 and v10 APIs will continue to be supported for years to come, while the engine powering those APIs continues to be improved. Textkernel is acquiring Sovren for the strengths of the products and the quality and productivity of its employees, and will invest even more into development resources. The teams are already working on adding specific, highly demanded technology from Textkernel to the Sovren product mix. These solutions will become available as add-ons to the products customers and partners are already using.
What about security and privacy?
Textkernel has reviewed Sovren’s security policies and have concluded that their security is at a very good level. Additionally, based on our due diligence in this area, we believe that integrating the two companies’ policies in the future will be a straightforward process and will pose no challenges to our customers. In the short term, Sovren corporate and product security will remain at their current strong levels. Currently Sovren has a SOC 2 type II attestation report and Textkernel is on a trajectory to receive a SOC 2 attestation report in 2022.
How does this acquisition benefit Sovren customers?
This acquisition is excellent news for Sovren customers, because it essentially ensures that Sovren products and services will continue to be market leaders under the much larger resources of the Textkernel organization. As Robert Ruff nears his 63rd birthday, it was important that Sovren's loyal customers and employees and minority shareholders have clarity about the future of Sovren without his day-to-day guidance and efforts. After evaluating many possible suitors over the last five years, it was clear that a combination with Textkernel represented an unambiguous win-win for both companies' stakeholders.
Sovren customers will have immediate access to Textkernel products, such as their labor market intelligence solution, Jobfeed. Other product enhancements will be made available soon, including improvements and modernizations to Sovren's skills taxonomies, leveraging the deep data expertise of Textkernel.
How does the acquisition benefit Textkernel customers?
The acquisition is a very important step for Textkernel in securing its mission of offering the market a truly global presence and solution. Already the revenue and development resource market leader, this acquisition will better position the new entity to innovate and continue its industry leadership. The larger customer base provides a greater opportunity to develop new services faster.
As the two companies developed what are now the leading parsing and matching solutions for recruitment, they did so from completely different programming/architectural philosophies. Combining the two product lines will allow the best aspects of each companies' software to be used, improving both products, and eventually creating a platform for a single, unified engine powering multiple APIs.
Are there any planned organizational changes?
Sovren will continue to work as an operating unit within Textkernel, and Sovren customers will continue to be serviced by existing Sovren contacts. Textkernel will invest into Sovren by adding even more highly qualified people to make sure both Sovren and Textkernel customers continue to receive the best possible service going forward.
Will the Sovren management team remain with Textkernel?
All Sovren employees, including those holding managerial positions, will remain. Robert Ruff has agreed to stay on as a consultant during the transition to help make it as smooth as possible.
Where should customers go for questions relating to finance, support or account management questions?
Sovren customers will see no sudden changes to their usual support contacts or manner in which they receive support today. In some cases where we there are overlapping customers, there will be a centralized point of contact. All bank account details remain the same. There will be a change to the invoice and new contracts, mentioning Textkernel LLC as the beneficiary of the Sovren operations and tradename.
Are any jobs – at either Textkernel or Sovren – being eliminated as a result of this acquisition?
No! In fact due to this acquisition and our imminent expansion plans, there will be more investment made in adding more great employees at both companies.
How can I buy Sovren or Textkernel solutions?
Please reach out to your account manager (or sales@sovren.com) who will be happy to assist you with purchasing Sovren or Textkernel Solutions.
Should you have any other questions, do not hesitate to reach out to your account manager, marketing or support through the usual channels.