back to article BakBone ditches damp squib ColdSpark

BakBone Software is closing its one-year-old ColdSpark business and returning to its backup software roots to avoid cash losses. This follows the ousting of CEO Jim Johnson and the appointment of Steve Martin, BakBone's now triple-titled SVP, CFO and interim CEO. He's putting the financial house back in order by closing the …

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  1. The Fuzzy Wotnot
    Coat

    Well there's your problem!

    "the appointment of Steve Martin"

    How can the self-appointed king of American movie comedy be expected to understand the day to day running of an IT technology company! You'd think the shareholders might have at least seen Roxanne or LA Story first!

  2. Edlem
    WTF?

    Translation needed

    Could someone please explain what this means:

    " "Is it really a surprise that Bakbone has shit the bed? Amateurs with handcuffs is not a winning combination."

    I take it "shit the bed" is make a right mess of things, but I'm not following the amateurs with handcuffs comment at all.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Alert

    @Translation needed

    Yeah I'm confused as well. Plus does it refer to the antics of the previous establishment or to Martin's attempt at getting the company back on its feet.

    "The existing backup products and ColdSpark were to become components of an integrated data protection strategy. That's in ruins now."

    It was in ruined from the day the acquisition took place. ColdSpark is a glorified mail transport and has nothing at all to do with data protection whichever way you look at it. Only Johnson and his fellow goon Horner could ever think it was a good strategic step for the company or ColdSpark.

  4. tech_watcher

    Bakbone still obliged to pay full value of ColdSpark acquisition

    Despite the $810,000 payment referenced in its earnings announcement (for exercising a one time option to delay the 2010 cash payment for a year), Bakbone is still obliged to pay out the remaining balance of the full value of the acquisition in pre-scheduled payments over the next couple of years.

    The ColdSpark technology could certainly have been used to create an email data protection product that could be sold through Bakbone's field force. They never did. Organizational fail. Costly one for shareholders.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    @Bakbone still obliged to pay full value of ColdSpark acquisition

    "The ColdSpark technology could certainly have been used to create an email data protection product that could be sold through Bakbone's field force. They never did. Organizational fail. Costly one for shareholders."

    How can an email system be used as an email data protection product? Its like saying Microsoft Exchange could be a email data protection product. It cant. Sure you could add data protection to the email system but the you are protecting the email system not offering an email protection product. You sound about as technically savvy as the previous administration.

    Secondly you have serious lack in understanding in the strenghts of BakBone's sales and what is required to sell ColdSpark. BakBone has a channel sales business targetting the SME. The majority of its license revenue would come at the lower end. ColdSpark is a very technical product requiring a direct sales force, has very long sales cycle and is an enterprise product. So EVEN if ColdSpark could be used as a data protection product, which it cant, there is no synergy at the sales level.

    Everything about the acquisition is wrong. Its the wrong product, the wrong sales model, the wrong targetted customer and worse of all, the wrong price. Why did BakBone valued at around $25M with revenues of $58M buy a company for $13M with revenues of $5M (and not profitable). The whole deal stinks and those that were involved in it have questions to answer.... oh except they got their golden parachutes and probably legal protection against it.....

    And yes it is very costly to the sharesholders and very sad state of affairs for the ColdSpark employees who deserved better.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I agree anonymous coward and I would add...

    I totally agree with your assessment and would add that I question tech_watcher's assertion about full payment down the road. No where have I read this assertion except for his posting.

    I'm not too sure about the golden parachute for Johnson. A lot of his options proved to be worthless but in my opinion, shareholders should be able to sue the guy for what he did to BakBone during his tenure.

    I concur that ColdSpark was a huge mistake at the beginning. Ian Bonner, who is a long time Board Member of BakBone, also was the former CEO of ColdSpark so one might want to look to him as well as Jim Johnson in asking the question, "What in the world were you thinking?".

    What can Martin do? He is trying to cut his losses and get back to increased profitability. My first suggestion for him is to verify to shareholders that their accounting controls are fully effective -- something he has not done in his CFO position. The next step will be to demonstrate to shareholders that they are his number one priority vs. enriching top management. Thirdly, will be to increase market share internationally and drive that point back to the investment community. Hopefully some of the long term Board Members like Ian Bonner and Archie Nesbitt will either resign or be forced out at the next AGM.

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