Taleo Included in Fortune's List of Tech Stocks for Tough Times
January 21, 2008

Whether it's a slowdown or full-blown recession, most people agree we're heading into choppy economic waters. The question, then, is which sectors and which companies are best positioned to withstand the tempest? One answer is technology, especially companies that help their customers stretch a buck -including firms that run a software-as-a-service model and ones that are pushing the limits of computer-virtualization technologies.

Taleo (TLEO) offers Web-based "talent management" software that simplifies hiring and performance reviews. The software does two things that make bean counters smile: cuts human resources' costs and helps identify the employees who are most essential. (SuccessFactors also competes in this space, but unlike that company, Taleo is profitable.)

Yankee Group expects the talent-management-software market to grow from about $3 billion in 2007 to nearly $4 billion in 2008. William McNee, CEO of research firm Saugatuck Technology, says he expects Taleo to start working with other companies to sell its service in bundles - a move that could yield great results. "I think that would be a very interesting play for 2008," he says.