There Will Be (Vendor) Blood

This should be the title of the battle between talent management vendors SuccessFactors and Softscape.  

Yesterday morning, SuccessFactors filed a lawsuit against Softscape citing claims of “false advertising, trademark infringement, computer fraud and abuse, defamation, trade libel, intentional interference with prospective economic relations, and unfair competition.” The claims come from a 40-page PowerPoint presentation that was routed to a number of SuccessFactors’ clients under the title of The Naked Truth, the contents of which were intended to undermine confidence in the firm.  SuccessFactors’ complaint (see it here) provides a relatively compelling read for a legal document, with all the intrigue of a well produced drama.  IP addresses were tracked.  Trademarks were stolen and misappropriated.  And if you concur with the latest press announcement, even Softscape’s general counsel confirms the culpability of the management team.  A great discussion on this topic is occurring over on Jason Corsello’s Human Capitalist blog, so please jump into the fray if you have an opinion.   

My surprise comes not from the fact that sales people use every trick at their disposal to secure victory, but instead comes from the lengths that Softscape allegedly went to in orchestrating this campaign.  I won’t pretend to be judge and jury, and thus think opinions should be weighed carefully, but if this in fact proves to be true, it would represent a brazen attack on the credibility of a growing industry.  Competition in the HR space has always been fierce, but winning under the guise of another’s destruction never carries the day.  

Let’s keep the conversation going (and the blood-letting to Hollywood).