If they are so "completely different" then why would the ADP rep say:
“We are coming out with a product to compete with Zenefits, a full service integrated online payroll and benefits solution.”
I can't seem to argue with Zenefits stance that they are being sued for complaining that their access was cut off in an attempt to kill them off while ADP launches a similar product... On top of that who is ADP to cut off access that their clients are paying for? It doesn't matter if a human logs in or a computer, the cost to ADP is the same. Here they are blocking access for no legitimate reason while launching a competing product. This whole things stinks and I think the smell is coming from ADP....
I can't seem to argue with Zenefits stance that they are being sued for complaining that their access was cut off in an attempt to kill them off while ADP launches a similar product...
That's not their claim. Their claim is that the reason they were cut off was because of this product launch. They haven't presented any proof of this.
Simple fact is, the claim is coming from a company that has already made it clear they are doing things they should not be doing. They have the burden of proof. They have a mountain to climb.
Edit: As mentioned in the GP comment, this claim is also false:
"Within the same hour they filed suit, an ADP sales rep started selling a brand new Zenefits competitive offering — called “Opum” — to our shared clients."
> the claim is coming from a company that has already made it clear they are doing things they should not be doing
I'm troubled by this assertion. I know firsthand that ADP will actively fight attempts to integrate with them; their APIs are bad, poorly documented, and have reliability problems. Should somebody attempting to do well for the customer--and, yes, make some money, but it's not like Zenefits is inventing problems to solve--not do well by the customer first and foremost?
Like, from my perspective: forget ADP, forget Zenefits. Is this better for the customer?
I'm troubled by this assertion. I know firsthand that ADP will actively fight attempts to integrate with them; their APIs are bad, poorly documented, and have reliability problems.
I'm sorry, but I've seen numerous comments to the contrary.
Regardless, that they have APIs and documentation, regardless of your opinion of their quality, only supports my assertion.
The word "simply" does not belong in the same sentence with "implement ACH".
Signed,
Someone who worked on ACH for nine years.
ps: I'm pretty sure they're trying to do just that. But you have to consider just how incredibly difficult ACH is - not just from a coding perspective, but from a regulatory perspective. Banking and accounting legal entities need created.
pps: ADP knows good and well that Zenefits is working on their own ACH implementation with their buckets of cash. This is a preemptive strike.
On a side note, can we name[0] these strategies just as they do with chess moves so that when someone says "pulled an XXXX", it encapsulates the move and references it. On a long run there could be a website which defines these and references all the previous attempts and responses. I think it would be very useful for founders/team when they are short of time and are brainstorming counter moves. Also perhaps we would internalize these patterns just as a GM does.
[0]: If there is already a resource I would like to know about it.
It stinks but this is why you don't form a company based around another company's product. You will either get bought by them or screwed over, and you often won't find out which one it is until it's too late.
> It doesn't matter if a human logs in or a computer, the cost to ADP is the same
In the response that ADP posted a couple days ago, they said that the traffic from Zenefits was several orders of magnitude higher than what normal customers were using. If that's true, then the cost could well be higher for them.
I just saw this for the first time, they are claiming while only .25% of users used Zenefits it was responsible for 25% of all traffic which if true is very damning.
Comments
If they are so "completely different" then why would the ADP rep say:
I can't seem to argue with Zenefits stance that they are being sued for complaining that their access was cut off in an attempt to kill them off while ADP launches a similar product... On top of that who is ADP to cut off access that their clients are paying for? It doesn't matter if a human logs in or a computer, the cost to ADP is the same. Here they are blocking access for no legitimate reason while launching a competing product. This whole things stinks and I think the smell is coming from ADP....
That's not their claim. Their claim is that the reason they were cut off was because of this product launch. They haven't presented any proof of this.
Simple fact is, the claim is coming from a company that has already made it clear they are doing things they should not be doing. They have the burden of proof. They have a mountain to climb.
Edit: As mentioned in the GP comment, this claim is also false:
"Within the same hour they filed suit, an ADP sales rep started selling a brand new Zenefits competitive offering — called “Opum” — to our shared clients."
> the claim is coming from a company that has already made it clear they are doing things they should not be doing
I'm troubled by this assertion. I know firsthand that ADP will actively fight attempts to integrate with them; their APIs are bad, poorly documented, and have reliability problems. Should somebody attempting to do well for the customer--and, yes, make some money, but it's not like Zenefits is inventing problems to solve--not do well by the customer first and foremost?
Like, from my perspective: forget ADP, forget Zenefits. Is this better for the customer?
I'm sorry, but I've seen numerous comments to the contrary.
Regardless, that they have APIs and documentation, regardless of your opinion of their quality, only supports my assertion.
Zenefits could simply implement ACH themselves, as ZenPayroll has.
ADP is not a monopoly.
Zenefits built a model that vaguely value adds onto ADP by using a more modern web stack.
I'm no huge fan of ADP, but they're being generous to even consider themselves to be competing with Zenefits.
The word "simply" does not belong in the same sentence with "implement ACH".
Signed,
Someone who worked on ACH for nine years.
ps: I'm pretty sure they're trying to do just that. But you have to consider just how incredibly difficult ACH is - not just from a coding perspective, but from a regulatory perspective. Banking and accounting legal entities need created.
pps: ADP knows good and well that Zenefits is working on their own ACH implementation with their buckets of cash. This is a preemptive strike.
A la Meerkat.
On a side note, can we name[0] these strategies just as they do with chess moves so that when someone says "pulled an XXXX", it encapsulates the move and references it. On a long run there could be a website which defines these and references all the previous attempts and responses. I think it would be very useful for founders/team when they are short of time and are brainstorming counter moves. Also perhaps we would internalize these patterns just as a GM does.
[0]: If there is already a resource I would like to know about it.
It stinks but this is why you don't form a company based around another company's product. You will either get bought by them or screwed over, and you often won't find out which one it is until it's too late.
It's not a fun bet.
I just saw this for the first time, they are claiming while only .25% of users used Zenefits it was responsible for 25% of all traffic which if true is very damning.
In fairness, some sales reps will say anything to make the sale.