Solbright Acquisition FAQs
Who is Operative?
Established in 2000, Operative (www.operative.com) is the advertising business management company that gives media industry leaders and their partners the freedom to move fast and forward with solutions that eliminate complexities within the advertising ecosystem. Through the alignment of people, process and technology, Operative.One brings together the business processes and systems necessary to package, sell, traffic, manage, optimize and collect revenue on advertising products. More than 200 industry leaders, representing more than 30 percent of digital advertising revenue, rely on Operative, including The Wall Street Journal, MSN, NBC Universal and National Public Media. Operative is headquartered in New York City.
Who is Solbright and what is their legacy in the industry?
Founded in 1999 and based in New York City, Solbright is the creator of the digital advertising operations category. Solbright pioneered digital advertising operations software and currently helps more than 3,000 leading websites manage their online advertising.
How will this acquisition impact Operative’s business?
Operative’s acquisition of Solbright means:
- A significant gain in market share as we estimate to now be managing more than 30% of digital ad spend through our solutions. Also, Operative now has presence within half of the top 50 online media properties.
- Greater value delivered to clients through a more scalable overall business and particularly, R&D organization, which will enable accelerated innovation and more and deeper integrations with client ecosystems.
- A strengthened competitive position, making Operative.One the only option for digital advertising business management, and well positioned to accommodate future demand for cross-media solutions.
How will Solbright customers benefit from the combination?
Solbright customers will benefit by partnering with the leader in advertising business management and the best and only option for enterprise-scale digital providers.
Operative offers Solbright customers a more robust, sophisticated platform and breadth of solution portfolio for advertising business management. More specifically, Operative.One delivers:
- Maximum monetization and yield through a superior architecture for product packaging and selling
- An enhanced platform for third-party system integration, e.g., Salesforce.com
- Ad trafficking and other value-added services for error-free, on-time campaign delivery
- Next-generation technology that provides a better path to the future, supporting cross-platform packaging today, and empowering cross-media innovation tomorrow
How will Operative customers benefit from the combination?
Operative’s existing clients will benefit from the addition of industry-leading product development and client services talent with 11 years of deep domain expertise in digital advertising operations, which strengthens the ability for the combined team to deliver:
- New and deeper integrations with demand and supply-side systems
- Accelerated Operative.One product innovation in the areas of analytics and expanded cross-platform support
- A robust Digital Media Index that provides access to actionable insights on industry pricing and spending trends
- Enhancement to the already high level of client service and support provided today
How will Solbright be integrated into Operative.One?
Operative will not be integrating with Solbright software. Rather, employees who built Solbright and have been working closely with Solbright customers for several years will join in the continued development of Operative.One. All customers currently on Solbright will be upgraded to this new platform.
How will this deal impact Solbright customers?
We will ensure business continuity and cost containment for Solbright customers as we upgrade them to Operative.One. For example, there will be no change in the account management and support resources dedicated to Solbright customers, and we will be honoring existing price terms. The first step, though, is to meet with each company’s stakeholders. Within 60 days, we will personally visit each company to introduce Operative.One, and chart short and long-term plans.
What percentage of Solbright employees will remain involved in the combined company? From which areas of the business?
We are excited about the caliber of employees at Solbright. One half of Solbright employees, including key executives, have become Operative employees and are critical to not only upgrading both Operative Dashboard customers and Solbright customers to Operative.One, but also driving future innovation for the Operative.One platform. These people are concentrated primarily in the areas of product development and client services.
What strengths do the two companies bring to the table?
Solbright brings an industry-leading client base and 11 years of order management software development and services leadership and expertise. Operative brings a next-generation ad business management platform, leadership in campaign trafficking and management, and significant market momentum. The combined companies’ solutions now control more than 30% of all digital ad spend.
When will the deal be finalized? How long will the transition take? What will be involved with the transition?
The deal is now final and our new employees are moving into Operative’s New York City office this week. The most significant piece of the transition is the upgrade effort. We intend to meet with every Solbright customer within the next 60 days and expect to move all clients to Operative.One during 2011.
How much did Operative pay for Solbright?
The terms of the deal will not be disclosed.
Will previous Solbright executives remain involved in the company?
Yes, we are strengthening our leadership team with the addition of:
- Kristi Daniels as Vice President of Client Services
- Evan Simeone as Vice President of Engineering
Both executives are critical to ensuring business continuity for customers and driving new Operative.One innovation.
Will Solbright have representation on Operative’s board of directors?
Yes, we have added two former Solbright board members to the Operative board.
What will happen to the Solbright brand?
Effective today, Solbright will be referred to as Operative and fully align behind the Operative corporate brand.
