Hi there, 

In today’s edition of The Transcript, we’re highlighting how software buyers are mitigating third-party risk.

Read on for: 

• Why SecurityScorecard was a “defensive purchase” that evolved into something more

• How Interos provides visibility into this customer’s vendor relationships

• Where Socotra beats legacy players (but not without risk)

• Why one customer picked Flexe and Stord

• How Shift Technology was able to overcome implementation concerns

We also look at a leading indicator of M&A below.

Competitor snapshot

But first, check out Okta’s competition in identity & access management.

Almost all of the buyers we’ve spoken with have evaluated solutions from Microsoft and Ping Identity alongside Okta (see graphic below).

Your risk is my risk

SECURITYSCORECARD | IT security

Understanding supply chain risk

INTEROS | Supply chain risk management

New vs. legacy tech

SOCOTRA | Insurtech

Redundancy is critical

FLEXE | Logistics

Cost savings reduce implementation risk

SHIFT TECHNOLOGY | Insurtech

M&A crystal ball

Prior business relationships — especially those to explore a new market, technology, or use case — can often lead to future M&A.

For example, earlier this month, LexisNexis Risk Solutions announced it would acquire Human API. 

If we rewind the clock a few years, we can see on LexisNexis Risk Solutions’ CB Insights profile that it partnered with the health data provider in 2017. 

We spoke with LexisNexis Risk Solutions about the partnership back in 2017. Here’s an excerpt:

On startups posing a threat to LexisNexis

“I look at it more in the lens [of] startups being partners to work with. I don’t look at it as far as an entity coming out and overtaking what LexisNexis is able to do. I don’t believe many insurance tech startups are looking at us as competitors. I think they look more at us as can they utilize our data to do things more efficiently.” — Elliot Wallace, Former VP of Life Insurance for LexisNexis Risk Solutions

Fast forwarding to today, we can see how tracking business relationships closely may reveal future M&A activity — in this case, LexisNexis Risk Solutions acquiring Human API.

Yardstiq clients can also get a 360-degree view of Human API by checking out our interviews with customers here.

I love you.
 

Anand

@asanwal

P.S. If you missed last week’s newsletter, we dug into Thoma Bravo’s portfolio.

We tracked what customers are saying about companies in its portfolio like Anaplan below. Check it out here.

ANAPLAN | Enterprise Tech

CSAT score: 8

Intent to renew: 50%

P.P.S. New transcripts on Yardstiq this week include: 

• Location intelligence: Placer.ai (CSAT: 7/10)

• Communication: Kore.ai (CSAT: 8/10)

• Accounting & finance: Ocrolus (CSAT: 8.5/10)

• CRM: Conversica (CSAT: 8/10)