Progress Buys ShareFile for $875 Million: A Desperate Attempt to Stay Relevant in a Dying Industry
In a move that screams "desperation," Progress, a company that’s been trying to cling to relevance for years, announced its acquisition of file management platform ShareFile for a whopping $875 million in cash and credit. Because, let’s be real, who needs a dividend when you can waste money on a dying industry?
Progress CEO Yogesh Gupta claims that the deal will "bolster Progress’ portfolio with tools to help businesses more efficiently share — and collaborate on — documents." Yeah, because that’s exactly what the world needs: more ways to share documents. Who doesn’t love the thrill of sending a 50-page PDF to a colleague and waiting for it to load?
But let’s get real, this acquisition is a Hail Mary pass. ShareFile, once a hot commodity, has seen its user base dwindle to a mere 40 million users after its acquisition by Citrix in 2011. And now, Progress is trying to revive the company by throwing a bunch of cash at it. Because, clearly, the only way to make a file management platform successful is to throw money at it.
And don’t even get me started on the market for enterprise file sharing services. It’s a crowded and competitive space, with giants like Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft OneDrive dominating the landscape. ShareFile’s chances of making a dent in this market are slim to none.
But hey, Progress is optimistic. The company’s CEO, Yogesh Gupta, claims that ShareFile will "benefit from Progress’ strong customer focus, expansive product portfolio, and expertise as well as an unparalleled track record of customer success." Yeah, because that’s exactly what ShareFile needs: more of Progress’ "expertise."
In the end, this acquisition is just a desperate attempt by Progress to stay relevant in a dying industry. It’s a waste of money, and it’s a waste of time. But hey, at least Progress is trying.
