Dash Optimization acquired by Fair Isaac
A.L.
Optimziation acquired by Fair Isaac
http://www.dashoptimization.com/home/services/news/news_fairisaac.html
is this good or bad for Xpress-MP users?.. Frankly speaking (and this
is my personal opinion) I am worrying a bit. I believe that this will
be boost for CPLEX and other tool vendors that are EXCLUSIVELY tool
vendors.
A.L.
Paul Rubin
Well, I worried when CPLEX was acquired by ILOG, but that turned out
fine. If Fair Isaac retains the "brain trust" behind Dash, it's
probably good news for Xpress users -- I assume it puts more capital
behind Xpress. There is always the danger that, down the road, FI
decides they don't want to be in the optimization business. If that
happens and they sell-off or spin-off Xpress, it could turn out to be a
wash. The big thing IMHO is keeping the developers aboard.
/Paul
Bob Daniel
"Paul Rubin" <ru...@msu.edu> wrote in message
news:9IJlj.982$hI1...@nlpi061.nbdc.sbc.com...
The good news for Xpress-MP and its users is that ALL the Dash employees are
moving enthusiastically to Fair Isaac and the development budget is
considerably enhanced.
For those of you who don't know, the name "Dash" comes from (Bob) Daniel and
(Robert) ASHford. Robert and I, and the team we have recruited, have been
developing Xpress-MP for over two decades and we weren't about to sell our
"baby" to people who weren't dedicated to Math Programming and Xpress-MP. Of
course, we the founders have moved to Fair Isaac too.
Bob Daniel
A.L.
Well, if product company acquires tool company, then there is always
some doubt what is their motivation. In most cases, they just want to
reduce licensing fees. I don't see any reason why Fair Isaacs would
invest monies to improve Xpress and sell improved version to potential
competitors. Or why product company X could make itself dependent on
tools being sold by its competitor.
COPLEX vs. ILOG is a bit different story - ILOG was in constraint
programming business already, and CPLEX was logical complement.
A.L.
Paul Rubin
> Well, if product company acquires tool company, then there is always
> some doubt what is their motivation. In most cases, they just want to
> reduce licensing fees. I don't see any reason why Fair Isaacs would
> invest monies to improve Xpress and sell improved version to potential
> competitors. Or why product company X could make itself dependent on
> tools being sold by its competitor.
>
> COPLEX vs. ILOG is a bit different story - ILOG was in constraint
> programming business already, and CPLEX was logical complement.
>
I've tended to think of ILOG as more of a product company (Scheduler
etc.) than a tools company. Still, I see your point. If Fair Isaac
faces competition from other "product" companies whose optimization
components are improving, they'll have incentive to keep improving
Xpress-MP.
/Paul
Paul Rubin
>
> The good news for Xpress-MP and its users is that ALL the Dash employees are
> moving enthusiastically to Fair Isaac and the development budget is
> considerably enhanced.
> For those of you who don't know, the name "Dash" comes from (Bob) Daniel and
> (Robert) ASHford. Robert and I, and the team we have recruited, have been
> developing Xpress-MP for over two decades and we weren't about to sell our
> "baby" to people who weren't dedicated to Math Programming and Xpress-MP. Of
> course, we the founders have moved to Fair Isaac too.
If you're happy (and joining FI), we're happy. :-)
/Paul
A.L.
Actually, not exactly. "Product" companies are not in the business of
developing tools, these companies purchase tools from tool vendors.
Maybe Fair Isaacs has incentives to improve optimization tools, but
knowing "product" companies I would not see any advantage in making
these improved tools available to competitors.
A.L.
SteveM
I agree with AL. Fair Issac sells consulting and analytical
services. I can't seem them buying Dash for the licensing revenue.
Maybe they did a discounted cash flow analysis on the annual CPlex
licensing cost and figured out that buying Dash outright was NPV
positive relative to CPlex. If that's the case, then maybe they will
take in totally internal. Although if they wanted to continue to butt
heads with CPlex they could continue to license it, especially
thinking that CPlex is making plenty of dough. And there is really no
competitive disadvantage to licensing to competitors, because if FI
didn't license them Dash, they would just buy CPlex. The real value
behind FI's value prop is the complement of skill sets they bring to
the table, not the optimizer.
Martin Shell
One thing to remember here is that ILOG has a strong Business Rules
product line. They have, for a long time, worked in leveraging the
combination of the two technologies, as in ODM. FairIsaac owns
BlazeAdvisor, which makes them both a product company and a competitor
to ILOG in that arena. I would look for them to develop products
combining those two technologies.