Autonomy to take aim at the retail market

CEO explains his sponsorship strategy
29 Sep 2010 11:49 | by Mike Magee | posted in Business

Mike Lynch, the CEO of British pure play software company Autonomy, was interviewed by Gavin Evans on the BBC World Service radio channel this morning and revealed that the company was set to make a move into the retail market.

That disclosure came because Evans asked Lynch why Autonomy – a company which concentrates on enterprises – had decided to sponsor Tottenham Hotspur football and club and Mercedes Formula One team.

In the latter case, said Lynch, many of his Asian customers, like many another techie around the world, are interested in the technology used in Formula One racing.

And, he confessed, as the football season approached, sponsorship of soccer teams became cheaper and cheaper. His customers were more likely to be interested in soccer and F1 rather than his own passion, sheep dog trials. Putting the Autonomy logo on the side of a sheep would probably not do the trick.

Lynch did not say exactly how Autonomy would enter the retail business – we’ve contacted a spinner to follow up on this question but at press time we hadn’t received any enlightenment from on high.

There's been a lot of speculation about Autonomy being the target of a takeover bid. Lynch said that was unlikely - his company is highly valued right now.

from TechEYE