Business

Oracle beats Microsoft in deal for TikTok's US operations – BNN

Published

4 years ago

September 14, 2020

Oracle Corp. edged out out rival Microsoft Corp. in negotiations over the weekend for the U.S. operations of TikTok, moving closer toward a deal for the Chinese-owned music-video app that could thwart a threat by U.S. by President Donald Trump to shut it down.

A deal between TikTok owner ByteDance Ltd. and Oracle will look more like a corporate restructuring than the outright sale Microsoft had proposed, though it is likely to include a stake in a newly configured American business, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public.

The terms being discussed with Oracle are still evolving, one person familiar with the talks said. One of the options being explored is that Oracle could take a stake in a newly formed U.S. business while serving as TikTok’s U.S. technology partner and housing the video app’s data in Oracle’s cloud servers. Early offers from both parties valued the U.S. business at about $25 billion, but that was before Chinese officials weighed in with new rules imposing limits on technology exports, said people with knowledge of the matter.

In a statement Monday morning, Oracle confirmed “it is part of the proposal submitted by ByteDance to the Treasury Department over the weekend.”

Oracle shares gained 6.5 per cent at 10:29 a.m. in New York Monday.

The sale of TikTok — forced by a Trump administration ban on grounds of national security — is one of the issues at the heart of the fraying Washington-Beijing relationship. Any deal still requires signoffs from both sides. Early on in the discussions, Trump had voiced support for a bid from Oracle, calling it a “great company” and co-founder Larry Ellison “a great guy.” Ellison is also one of the few Silicon Valley moguls to openly support Trump.

Microsoft, which was working with Walmart Inc., had been seen as the likely winner but talks cooled in recent days, one person said. Microsoft wasn’t asked to make revisions to its initial offer in the face of recent signs of opposition to a deal from Chinese government officials, the person added.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin confirmed on Monday that the administration received a proposal from TikTok that includes Oracle as the app’s “trusted technology partner.” He said he’ll be reviewing the proposal this week and making a recommendation to Trump, reiterating that a deadline to make a deal remains Sept. 20.

“We need to make sure that the code is, one, secure, Americans’ data is secure, phones are secure, and we’ll be looking to have discussions with Oracle over the next few days with our technical team,” Mnuchin told CNBC, adding that he had a lot of confidence in both Microsoft and Oracle. The Oracle proposal contains a commitment to make TikTok global a U.S. Headquartered company with 20,000 new jobs, Mnuchin said.

Couching the deal as a corporate overhaul could help win approval in Beijing. It could allay fears about TikTok’s cache of sensitive U.S. data while addressing Chinese concerns over the export of key artificial-intelligence technology, said Yik Chan Chin, who researches global media and communications policy at the Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in Suzhou.

“If you say this is a hostile takeover, that may not be nice for both parties,” she said. “But if you frame it as like a restructuring or spinoff,” that’s more acceptable to the two governments.

China’s government on Monday declined to comment on the prospect of a ByteDance-Oracle tie-up.

“China has talked about its position on TikTok many times. The U.S. is now encircling TikTok. This is a typical coerced transaction by the government,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a briefing in Beijing.

The progress in the talks with Oracle ignited celebrations among TikTok’s mostly young devotees.

“TikTok sold, you guys, that means we’re not going anywhere,” declared @ElianaGhen, who has 2.4 million followers, in a video touting the Oracle deal. “Best birthday gift ever, TikTok is here to stay!” said @mrsscott_teaches, who has 22,000 followers.

The app, which lets people record and edit short video clips ranging from lighthearted lip-syncs to more serious political statements, gained popularity during the global pandemic that’s kept many people cooped up indoors. TikTok’s loyal following of more than 100 million in the U.S. helps explain the strong interest among early suitors, from Microsoft to private equity giants such as Sequoia and General Atlantic.

Walmart remains interested in making a TikTok investment alongside a consortium of investors led by Oracle. A spokesperson for the retailer said Sunday it “continues discussions with ByteDance leadership and other interested parties. We know that any approved deal must satisfy all regulatory and national security concerns.”

Talk of a corporate restructuring harks back to ByteDance’s original intentions earlier in the summer to sell a partial stake in TikTok’s operations, or restructure the company with a global headquarters and board of directors outside of China. Those aspirations were complicated by Trump’s threats to ban the app and subsequent executive orders, which prohibit U.S. people and businesses from doing business with TikTok.

If the Chinese company is able to get a deal through the White House that doesn’t involve an outright, forced sale, it would be a major feat for ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming, who has been reluctant to hand over such a prized asset. Yet critics were still questioning how a technology partnership with Oracle, rather than an outright sale, would assuage the White House’s national security concerns.

“A deal where Oracle takes over hosting without source code and significant operational changes would not address any of the legitimate concerns about TikTok, and the White House accepting such a deal would demonstrate that this exercise was pure grift,” Alex Stamos, former chief security officer at Facebook, said in a post on Twitter.

Beijing’s stance is another big question mark. Shortly after bids from Microsoft and Oracle were submitted, the Chinese government announced its right to be closely involved in approval of any deal as well as its opposition to exporting key algorithms, such as a recommendation engine that underpins TikTok. ByteDance appeared eager for a more limited sort of agreement than Microsoft wanted, where it would retain more control, one of the people familiar with the negotiations said.

Some U.S. officials would prefer shutting down TikTok’s U.S. operations if a sale doesn’t meet their demands for putting the business and related data into American hands.

“ByteDance let us know today they would not be selling TikTok’s U.S. operations to Microsoft,” Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft said in a statement on Sunday. “We are confident our proposal would have been good for TikTok’s users, while protecting national security interests.”

Microsoft representatives declined to comment beyond the statement. Representatives for TikTok declined to comment. The White House also didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Microsoft was the early front-runner for the acquisition, having started talks with ByteDance weeks before Trump’s executive orders and believing it had the preliminary framework of a deal the U.S. government could back.

Then Oracle, a company with a closer relationship to the U.S. president, emerged as a bidder with the backing of Sequoia Capital, a key ByteDance shareholder.

For the corporate software giant, TikTok is a less obvious fit, but may make sense in light of the company’s desire to build up its cloud-computing and consumer-data businesses. Oracle creates profiles of ordinary people and sells them to companies looking to reach specific audiences. TikTok currently stores massive amounts of data and is a large customer of cloud services run by Amazon Web Services and Alphabet Inc.’s Google.

“Oracle’s potential win in the TikTok saga could provide a minor boost to its cloud infrastructure services, as the software company looks to become a credible player in a market dominated by Amazon and Microsoft. However, Oracle has a long way to go before it becomes even a top-five player in the space, given its late entry.”

Anurag Rana, senior tech analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence.

Oracle has nurtured a relationship with Trump since before his administration began. In 2016, Chief Executive Officer Safra Catz served on the president’s transition team, and two years later, dined with him at the White House, where she complained about a government contract she deemed unfair, Bloomberg reported.

Vice President Mike Pence visited Oracle’s headquarters in Redwood City, California. Catz has contributed more than $125,000 this year to support Trump’s re-election, according to Federal Election Commission data. And Ellison let Trump use one of his California estates to hold a fund-raiser in February.

In recent weeks, the U.S. president had publicly endorsed the Oracle bid and called Ellison a “tremendous guy.” Trump economic adviser Peter Navarro, who earlier came out against a potential sale to Microsoft and had at one time advocated banning TikTok completely, echoed that endorsement during an August appearance on Fox News.

“If you look at Microsoft versus Oracle, the one thing that separates the two companies with respect to national security is that Microsoft has a large footprint in China,” Navarro said. “Oracle on the other hand has a strong reputation of really putting a great firewall between its operations and China and that’s an important thing.”

–With assistance from Jennifer Jacobs, Pavel Alpeyev, Justin Sink, Kurt Wagner, Katie Roof, Matthew Boyle, Nico Grant and Colum Murphy.

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Business

CANADIAN ACCOUNTANTS TELL ALL ON STATE OF SMB FINANCES IN NEW SURVEY

Published

2 days ago

November 19, 2024

Press Release

CANADIAN ACCOUNTANTS TELL ALL ON STATE OF SMB FINANCES IN NEW SURVEY
Accountants “open the books” on inflation, interest rates, technology, and lack of SMB support

TORONTO – Nov. 19, 2024 – A recent survey of 500 Canadian accountants has revealed several surprising conclusions about their frustrations, fears, thoughts on provincial support for SMBs, the investments that make them wary, and how many clients are actually using the financial technology they need.

And for a little fun, the survey even identified which Canadian celebrity they would back as an SMB CEO.

The survey conducted on behalf of Plooto, a leading payment automation solution for small-to-midsize businesses (SMBs), asked accountants, bookkeepers, and finance professionals a series of revealing questions that provide a snapshot of the current state of Canada’s accounting industry.

Key Findings of the Survey:

IT’S HARD OUT THERE FOR AN SMB
Asked what they think are the biggest financial threats to Canadian SMBs, more than half of Canadian accountants (54.5%) said ‘inflation increasing their own costs.’ This was followed by interest rates making borrowing rates more expensive (46.1%); staff turnover (41.2%); lower prices offered by larger corporations in the same space (39%); interest rates cooling on consumer spending (34.1%) and foreign competition (32%).

ACCOUNTANTS CALL OUT ONTARIO’S SMB SUPPORT
Asked which province they think is doing the least to help SMBs succeed, a definitive quarter (24.5%) of accountants cited Ontario. Quebec was a distant second at 15%; followed by Alberta (13.3%); BC (11.4%); Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador (tied at 7.25%); Saskatchewan (5.9%); and New Brunswick and PEI (tied at 4.9%). Accountants considered Nova Scotia as the province doing the most for SMBs, with the lowest vote of 4%.

ACCOUNTANTS SHINE THE LIGHT ON COSTLY SMB MISTAKES
Asked what the biggest financial mistake they see Canadian SMBs make on a regular basis, 21% of Canadian accountants said ‘not implementing the proper technology.’ This was followed by ‘not paying enough attention to cash flow’ (19%); investing in elaborate and expensive workplaces (12.2%); hiring too quickly (10.6%); buying rather than leasing equipment (10%); overpaying to attract a top-tier executive (9.8%); hiring too slowly (9.2%); and funding the first year with non-submitted HST payments (8.0%).

ACCOUNTANTS HESITATE TO ADVISE INVESTMENT IN ENTERTAINMENT AND EDUCATION
Based on the profitability of their current clients, accountants said they would NEVER invest in: arts, entertainment and recreation (32.2%), educational services (24.5%), travel and hospitality (22.9%), agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (19.8%) and; finance and insurance (19.6%).

THE ECONOMY IS CLEARLY KEEPING ACCOUNTANTS UP AT NIGHT
Asked to choose the factors that are keeping them up at night, 48.8% said ‘current interest rates,’ followed by ‘fear of a recession’ (46.7%); ‘worry that their SMB clients will go under’ (29.6%); the current Federal Government (27.3%); ‘another pandemic’ (26.9%); the 2024 U.S. elections (25.3%.) and; ‘a different Federal Government coming into power’ (25.1%).

ACCOUNTANT IRRITATIONS UP CLOSE
Asked what the most irritating things their clients do on a regular basis are, Canadian accountants said ‘not sending required information’ (64.7%); not reading financial reports (50.2%); not making time to discuss financial reports (48.4%); not paying invoices on time (47.8%); submitting information with ‘bad math’ (44.5%) and; not listening to recommendations (44.3%).

SMBs DON’T HAVE ALL OF THE TECH RESOURCES THEY NEED

Accountants say less than a third (31.4%) of clients have all of the tech in place that they need, despite its far-reaching benefits.
When their clients use fintech, 65.1% of clients can reconcile their books faster, and 56% can make and receive payments faster.

Bonus Insight:

RYAN REYNOLDS COULD RULE THE C-SUITE

Asked which Canadian celebrity they thought would be the most effective in running a SMB, nearly a quarter of Canadian accountants said Ryan Reynolds (27.1%). Reynolds edged out business celebrity Kevin O’Leary (22%) and left Keanu Reeves (15.3%), Drake (12.6%), Arlene Dickenson (8.6%), and Michele Romano (4.1%) as distant alternatives.

PLEASE REFER TO THIS AS A SURVEY BY PLOOTO IN ANY MEDIA MENTIONS

Business

Which Candidate Would You Hire? A or B?

Published

3 days ago

November 18, 2024

Nick Kossovan

Speaking from personal experience, a bad hire isn’t a good look. The last thing you want is to hear, “Who the hell hired Bob?” and have your hiring judgment questioned.

The job seeker who’s empathetic to the employer’s side of the hiring desk, which controls the hiring process, is rare.

One of the best things you can do to enhance your job search is to practice perspective-taking, which involves seeing things from a different perspective.

It’s natural for employers to find candidates who have empathy and an understanding of their challenges and pain points more attractive. Candidates like these are seen as potential allies rather than individuals only looking out for themselves. Since most job seekers approach employers with a ‘what’s in it for me’ mindset, practicing perspective-taking sets you apart.

“If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from your own.” – Henry Ford.

Perspective-taking makes you realize that from an employer’s POV hiring is fraught with risks employers want to avoid; thus, you consider what most job seekers don’t: How can I present myself as the least risky hiring option?

Here’s an exercise that’ll help you visualize the employer’s side of the hiring process.

Candidate A or B?

Imagine you’re the Director of Customer Service for a regional bank with 85 branches. You’re hiring a call centre manager who’ll work onsite at the bank’s head office, overseeing the bank’s 50-seat call centre. In addition to working with the call centre agents, the successful candidate will also interact with other departments, your boss, and members of the C-suite leadership team; in other words, they’ll be visible throughout the bank.

The job posting resulted in over 400 applications. The bank’s ATS and HR (phone interview vetting, skill assessment testing) selected five candidates, plus an employee referral, for you to interview. You aim to shortlist the six candidates to three, whom you’ll interview a second time, and then make a hiring decision. Before scheduling the interviews, which’ll take place between all your other ongoing responsibilities, you spend 5 – 10 minutes with each candidate’s resume and review their respective digital footprint and LinkedIn activity.

In your opinion, which candidate deserves a second interview?

Candidate A: Their resume provides quantitative numbers—evidence—of the results they’ve achieved. (Through enhanced agent training, reduced average handle time from 4:32 mins. to 2:43 minutes, which decreased the abandon rate from 4.6% to 2.2%.)

Candidate B: Their resume offers only opinions. (“I’m detail-oriented,” “I learn fast.”)

Candidate A: Looks you in the eye, has a firm handshake, smiles, and exudes confidence.

Candidate B: Doesn’t look you in the eye, has a weak handshake.

Candidate A: Referred by Ariya, who’s been with the bank for over 15 years and has a stellar record, having moved up from teller to credit analyst and is tracking to become a Managing Director.

Candidate B: Applied online. Based on your knowledge, they did nothing else to make their application more visible. (e.g., reached out to you or other bank employees)

Candidate A: Well educated, grew up as a digital native, eager and energetic. Currently manages a 35-seat call center for a mid-size credit union. They mention they called the bank’s call centre several times and suggest ways to improve the caller experience.

Candidate B: Has been working in banking for over 25 years, managing the call center at their last bank for 17 years before being laid off eight months ago. They definitely have the experience to run a call centre. However, you have a nagging gut feeling that they’re just looking for a place to park themselves until they can afford to retire.

Candidate A: Has a fully completed LinkedIn profile (picture, eye-catching banner) packed with quantifying numbers. It’s evident how they were of value to their employers. Recently, they engaged constructively with posts and comments and published a LinkedIn article on managing Generations Y and Z call centre agents. Their Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter/X accounts aren’t controversial, sharing between ‘Happy Birthday’ and ‘Congratulations’ messages, their love of fine dining, baseball, and gardening.

Candidate B: Their LinkedIn profile is incomplete. The last time they posted on LinkedIn was seven months ago, ranting about how the government’s latest interest rate hike will plunge the country into a deep recession. Conspiracy theories abound on their Facebook page.

Candidate A: Notices the golf calendar on your desk, the putter and golf balls in the corner, and a photograph of Phil Mickelson putting on the green jacket at the 2010 Masters hanging on your wall. While nodding towards the picture, they say, “Evidently, you golf. Not being a golfer myself, what made you take up golf, which I understand is a frustrating sport?”

Candidate B: Doesn’t proactively engage in small talk. Waits for you to start the interview.

Which of the above candidates presents the least hiring risk? Will likely succeed (read: achieve the results the employer needs)? Will show your boss, upper management, and employees you know how to hire for competence and fit?

_____________________________________________________________________

Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers “unsweetened” job search advice. You can send Nick your questions to artoffindingwork@gmail.com.

Business

Job Seekers’ Trinity Focus, Anger and Evidence

Published

3 days ago

November 18, 2024

Nick Kossovan

Though I have no empirical evidence to support my claim, I believe job search success can be achieved faster by using what I call “The Job Seekers’ Trinity” as your framework, the trinity being:

The power of focus
Managing your anger
Presenting evidence

Each component plays a critical role in sustaining motivation and strategically positioning yourself for job search success. Harnessing your focus, managing your anger, and presenting compelling evidence (read: quantitative numbers of achieved results) will transform your job search from a daunting endeavour into a structured, persuasive job search campaign that employers will notice.

The Power of Focus

Your job search success is mainly determined by what you’re focused on, namely:

What you focus on.

Your life is controlled by what you focus on; thus, focusing on the positives shapes your mindset for positive outcomes. Yes, layoffs, which the media loves to report to keep us addicted to the news, are a daily occurrence, but so is hiring. Don’t let all the doom and gloom talk overshadow this fact. Focus on where you want to go, not on what others and the media want you to fear.

Bonus of not focusing on negatives: You’ll be happier.

Focus on how you can provide measurable value to employers.

If you’re struggling with your job search, the likely reason is that you’re not showing, along with providing evidence, employers how you can add tangible value to an employer’s bottom line. Business is a numbers game, yet few job seekers speak about their numbers. If you don’t focus on and talk about your numbers, how do you expect employers to see the value in hiring you?

Managing Your Anger

Displaying anger in public is never a good look. Professionals are expected to control their emotions, so public displays of anger are viewed as unprofessional.

LinkedIn has become a platform heavily populated with job seekers posting angry rants—fueled mainly by a sense of entitlement—bashing and criticizing employers, recruiters, and the government, proving many job seekers think the public display of their anger won’t negatively affect their job search.

When you’re unemployed, it’s natural to be angry when your family, friends, and neighbours are employed. “Why me?” is a constant question in your head. Additionally, job searching is fraught with frustrations, such as not getting responses to your applications and being ghosted after interviews.

The key is acknowledging your anger and not letting it dictate your actions, such as adding to the angry rants on LinkedIn and other social media platforms, which employers will see.

Undoubtedly, rejection, which is inevitable when job hunting, causes the most anger. What works for me is to reframe rejections, be it through being ghosted, email, a call or text, as “Every ‘No’ brings me one step closer to a ‘Yes.'”

Additionally, I’ve significantly reduced triggering my anger by eliminating any sense of entitlement and keeping my expectations in check. Neither you nor I are owed anything, including a job, respect, empathy, understanding, agreement, or even love. A sense of entitlement and anger are intrinsically linked. The more rights you perceive you have, the more anger you need to defend them. Losing any sense of entitlement you may have will make you less angry, which has no place in a job search.

Presenting Evidence

As I stated earlier, business is a numbers game. Since all business decisions, including hiring, are based on numbers, presenting evidence in the form of quantitative numbers is crucial.

Which candidate would you contact to set up an interview if you were hiring a social media manager:

“Managed Fabian Publishing’s social media accounts, posting content daily.”
“Designed and executed Fabian Publishing’s global social media strategy across 8.7 million LinkedIn, X/Twitter, Instagram and Facebook followers. Through consistent engagement with customers, followers, and influencers, increased social media lead generation by 46% year-over-year, generating in 2023 $7.6 million in revenue.”

Numerical evidence, not generic statements or opinions, is how you prove your value to employers. Stating you’re a “team player” or “results-driven,” as opposed to “I’m part of an inside sales team that generated in 2023 $8.5 million in sales,” or “In 2023 I managed three company-wide software implementations, all of which came under budget,” is meaningless to an employer.

Despite all the job search advice offered, I still see resumes and LinkedIn profiles listing generic responsibilities rather than accomplishments backed by numbers. A statement such as “managed a team” doesn’t convey your management responsibilities or your team’s achievements under your leadership. “Led a team of five to increase sales by 20%, from $3.7 million to $4.44 million, within six months” shows the value of your management skills.

Throughout your job search, constantly think of all the numbers you can provide—revenue generated, number of new clients, cost savings, reduced workload, waste reduction—as evidence to employers why you’d be a great value-add to their business.

The Job Seekers’ Trinity—focusing on the positive, managing your anger and providing evidence—is a framework that’ll increase the effectiveness of your job search activities and make you stand out in today’s hyper-competitive job market, thus expediting your job search to a successful conclusion.

_____________________________________________________________________

Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers “unsweetened” job search advice. You can send Nick your questions to artoffindingwork@gmail.com.