'People who need people'
Jinfo Blog

By Joanna Ptolomey

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No I am not going to burst into Barbra Streisand mode and sing this, and I am sure that Frank Sinatra also recorded this title. But in this technology driven industry finding the right people can also be the difference between success and failure. Especially if you are product developer.

In the last two years there is one STM product vendor that for me stands out as behind some of the most interesting technologies and products for us users – Collexis.

They have been the power behind AIP UniPHY (http://www.vivavip.com/go/e24639 and http://www.vivavip.com/go/e25323) and BiomedExperts.com (http://www.vivavip.com/go/e29146) both of which I have reviewed favourably. They also made some excellent partnerships with Scopus to help academic institutions leverage their research intelligence (http://www.vivavip.com/go/e28577).

Collexis have had a busy and successful couple of years – so much so that Elsevier (developers of Scopus) decided to acquire them (http://www.vivavip.com/go/e29533) during the summer of 2010.

Collexis have developed technologies to expose the power of people and relationships. This adds ‘super charged dynamism’ to what can be quite flat bibliographic content. They have been adaptable products with usefulness way beyond what I believe were the markets they were intended for. Elsevier were canny buyers indeed.

The products are important, but behind every great product there are good people. In the case of Collexis there was Darrell Gunter. He decided to not cross into the Elsevier camp after acquisition and has recently been announced as the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) for the American Institute of Physics – which brings us nicely back to the very first discovery product I reviewed for FreePint. AIP UniPHY was a joint venture between the American Institute of Physics (AIP) and Collexis.

AIP UniPHY is a great product and it was exciting seeing something with quite a different spin. How much was AIP – well they had the great content. How much was Collexis – well they had the great technology. Who made it happen into a great product and deliver it to the market – that would be real people.

I am excited to see what happens at AIP with Darrell Gunter joining. You have been warned – you are on my radar for 2011 and my expectations are high!

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