Microsoft Ventures Announces First Set Of Think Next Initiatives In Association With Ispirt
At the first Think Next event in May, Microsoft Ventures and iSPIRT had jointly conducted a panel discussion, titled ‘Trends in Corporate Development: The Emerging Landscape of M&A’, which examined the overarching trends that will decide the future of Indian M&A’s in the software product industry. Some of the key learnings from the panel are:
• Most Indian startups fail to show up on the radar of the large acquirers in the US. Discovery is the number one challenge facing India technology product startups.
• Corporate development professionals are agnostic to the location of the company they target. Specific product and technology fit are primary criteria for corporates.
• Acquisitions with the sole intent of adding engineering talent (acqui-hires) are extremely hot right now. The shortage of Big Data, Analytics and Android/iOS engineers are the primary drivers.
• Entrepreneurial readiness is a key challenge during the M&A process. Indian entrepreneurs traditionally are techies and invariably spend limited time building a clear differentiation story or preparing themselves for organizational and financial diligence.
• A new generation of MNC companies looking to establish an India-presence will drive M&A activity in software products.
• Report identifies that potential M&A opportunities lie in areas such as Machine Learning and Analytics, HR and Recruiting, Cloud Infrastructure and Mobility.
READ MORE: World's 10 Most Valuable Startups and Skills Academy Acquires A4e India