SumTotal launches elixHR platform, eyes HCM giants

SumTotal, a privately held human capital management software company with annual revenue topping $220 million, on Tuesday will launch its elixHR Platform, which aims to compete with the likes of Workday, Oracle and SAP.

The elixHR Platform is designed to be an HR aggregator that links disparate human resources data, processes and analytics. With the move, SumTotal is looking to be an integration hub for various external systems.

HCM is a hot area. Workday, Oracle's Taleo and SAP's SuccessFactors are the three best known players. However, Cornerstone On Demand has surfaced as a leading independent player. SumTotal, which was built through various acquisitions and then retooled as a private company, is another player to note.

SumTotal CEO John Borgerding said in a recent interview that his company is a best kept secret largely because it went private and has refocused out of the public eye. Now SumTotal will be looking to expand on its roster of 3,500 enterprise and small business customers. SumTotal's fastest growing business is its cloud unit, but it has 28 million users with on-premise software.

If successful, SumTotal could position elixHR as the master data hub for all HCM information and processes. SumTotal's overall message is that enterprises shouldn't have to rip and replace their existing systems. Hardeep Gulati, executive vice president of worldwide products at SumTotal, noted the average large enterprise has three HR systems.

The features include the following:

• Integration with SharePoint, enterprise planning applications, customer relationship management, HR and payroll systems. External data from LinkedIn and other providers can be integrated.
• Portlets to take HCM data to other applications.
• Embedded analytics and planning tools to pull employee data into other applications.
• Talent profiles, org charting and employee directories that pull data from multiple systems.
• Job model frameworks and competency tools to find talent.
• Mobile and social features to go along with compliance tools in regulated industries.

SumTotal already has a large customer roster with multiple blue-chips ranging from Pfizer to Johnson & Johnson to Wells Fargo, Microsoft, Walmart and Praxair.

In many respects, the elixHR launch is a coming out party of sorts. SumTotal has the top learning content market share and is No. 3 in integrated talent management systems, according to Bersin.