Hello there,

As you know I spent 2020 learning about how to connect and engage with people using email. I love writing and receiving high quality emails myself, and I subscribe to some really great industry lists such as BioPharmGuy. They're great because you can always snooze them until you are ready to read.

Thanks to the brilliant folks at Upscribe I am now able to bring you the long-planned paid news subscription. I want to try this approach (instead of advertising) because it is a way to maintain independence but also to fund the effort it takes to write and research these. The good news is that everyone already subscribed to my lists will get this new offering totally free for life. Please do tell your friends :)

I can tell you that Clarizen, a project management SaaS company I have a long-standing affection for, have been acquired by Planview, a specialist in programme management. The synergies are quite clear yet there are likely to be a few rationalisations in the product offerings this year.

In the world of AI ops and DevOps, Instana has been acquired by IBM. Although this is certainly good news in the short term, IBM have muffed plenty of acquisitions before...

And TIBCO have sealed their acquisition of Information Builders / ibi which helps them share customers and also technology. ibi is quite different from Spotfire and there is no obvious overlap. I am not even sure they will try to merge the products: they offer quite different things to different people.

These are the kind of industry trends and observations I hope to be sharing. I think of this premium service as being a better value alternative to FT and The Economist. I know, a hard act to follow! I am in the UK and this service will be from a UK perspective but with global coverage.

More soon!
Paul.